Battlefield 6 drops ray tracing to focus on performance

GAMING NEWS Fyra Frost - Sep 1, 2025, 5:00 PM

EA’s Battlefield 6 is breaking with recent industry trends by skipping ray tracing entirely, opting instead to deliver a smooth, high-performance experience across a wide range of hardware.

In an interview with PC Gamer, technical director Christian Buhl explained that the development team’s goal was to ensure the game runs well without leaning on advanced features like NVIDIA’s DLSS or ray tracing. "We want Battlefield 6 to run great without [DLSS], and we want to give you the option to use it if you want," Buhl said. This approach reflects a deliberate decision to make performance the top priority rather than pushing for cutting-edge graphical effects at the expense of frame rate.

The decision has already paid off. During August's open beta, players praised the game’s stability and optimization, reporting smooth performance even without upscaling tools. The recommended GPU, a five-year-old RTX 3060 Ti, is proof that Battlefield 6 is designed to be accessible, offering 60 frames per second without relying on additional software or extreme hardware.

Why the Team Cut Ray Tracing

Ray tracing has long been celebrated for bringing hyper-realistic lighting and reflections to games, but it comes with a steep performance cost. Players from earlier Battlefield titles frequently complained about significant frame rate drops when enabling ray tracing, with some reporting performance boosts from around 45 fps to over 130 fps after disabling it.

This feedback highlights a major issue: in a competitive shooter, high frame rates often matter more than flashy lighting. Some players even feel that ultra-realistic visuals can hurt a game's artistic identity. EA's developers appear to agree, choosing to deliver a consistent, fluid experience over headline-grabbing graphical tech.

By moving away from ray tracing, Battlefield 6 sets itself apart from many AAA games that rely heavily on advanced rendering techniques. The development team has instead focused on strong base performance, ensuring the game runs smoothly on mid-range PCs without sacrificing its signature large-scale battles and destructible environments. While the absence of ray tracing means players won't see some of the cinematic lighting effects found in other shooters, Battlefield 6's optimization strategy makes it more accessible and competitive-friendly. Optional DLSS and other upscaling tools remain available for those who want them, but they’re not necessary to achieve a solid experience. For competitive players, this shift is a clear win. A performance-first approach allows for smoother gameplay, quicker reactions, and fewer hardware barriers to entry. Casual gamers also benefit, as they won’t need to invest in top-of-the-line GPUs just to enjoy the game at its best.

EA's gamble seems to be resonating with the community. The early beta response suggests players are embracing the studio's decision to focus on stability, speed, and accessibility, even if it means leaving some cutting-edge lighting features behind.

With the release of the game approaching, it's quite clear that Battlefield 6 has the potential to become the biggest launch in the iconic FPS series. If you don't want to miss it, our comparator can easily provide you with the cheapest Battlefield 6 PC codes.