[STEAM] Battlefield 6 Sparks 'Zoomers' vs 'Battledads' War Over Movement — but the Devs Are Looking for Somewhere In-Between

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movement is top of mind for EA, Battlefield Studios, and players, as the community’s latest debate has formed around the topic of “zoomers” vs. “battledads.”

Few gaming communities take movement mechanics as seriously as first-person shooter fans. As gamers new and old now drop into what has become one of the most popular Battlefield games ever, everyone's talking about what kind of player Battlefield 6 should cater to.

Apparently I'm a "Battledad" now cuz I enjoy playing games slower and don't want to always be zooming around.

It's ok young one, it'll hit you too one day. You'll get it and understand why it's still fun.

— CRREAM (@CrReaM)

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While FPS games like Call of Duty have ramped up movement shooter mechanics with things like jet packs, wall-running, and, more recently, Omnimovement, players have long seen Battlefield as the yin to that yang, offering a more methodical approach to the tactical military shooter sub-genre. So, when the August Battlefield 6 beta revealed mechanics that leaned more into movement shooter territory than the series had ever experienced before, longtime fans – often not-so-lovingly referred to as "battledads" – were quick to ask for changes.

EA and BF Studios obliged,

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that Battlefield 6 movement had been tweaked to “create a more balanced and traditional Battlefield experience,” later that same month. Changes included reduced horizontal speed and a hit to jump momentum that many had used to dance around others. Shooting while jumping or sliding was also nerfed, thus causing a stir amongst newer fans — often called zoomers — who typically favored movement shooters, such as Call of Duty. You can probably see where this is going.

Battlefield 6 developers have removed building momentum and bunny hopping, and yeeting yourself 10-30 feet off ledges and cover.

DICE has introduced aim penalties when sliding and shooting, jumping and shooting and trying to spam movement.

Movement community is in shambles.

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— Xfactor Gaming - Battlefield 6 (@rivaLxfactor)

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“Another AAA studio gutting movement to cater to people that play games one hour a week that will never run into people utilizing movement tech anyway,” content creator and X/

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user

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.

“Oh go fly a kite, bro,” content creator and X user

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. “If you want movement in your shooter go play COD. Battlefield’s a different kind of game.”

This is where the line in the sand remains for fans today, now months later. Launch has come and gone, and while many of those same battledads and others

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, those on the zoomer side are

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.

As pointed out by

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, EA and BF Studios fall somewhere in between.

We're looking at adjustments for sure to find a good in-between, we already have some changes that are cooking on our side and monitoring the feedback for more

— Florian - DRUNKKZ3 (@DRUNKKZ3)

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DICE principal game designer Florian Le Bihan remains active on social media as players parse out the best path for Battlefield 6. His recent comments may disappoint players on both sides, as he

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smaller adjustments without impacting base movement speed.

“We won't go back to Open Beta movement but we are working on some slight adjustments that will help with some parts that feel a bit clunky,”

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when asked for a proper return to Battlefield 6 movement from the public August build earlier this week. “We'll share more about that as soon as we can!”

The zoomer crowd is on the edges of their seats, waiting to see just how close they can get to a return to the fast-paced Battlefield 6 movement they enjoyed. Battledads aren’t quite as enthusiastic, with some sharing fears of “overcorrection.”

Go back to your CoD slop if you think the movement now is worse than in the beta. Beta was fine but now it is even better

— Clemens S (@MrCleman1)

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“My main concern is they’ll over-adjust again, just like what happened with [Battlefield 2042],”

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says. “They went from massive maps that felt too open to mostly small or mid-sized ones only. It was a total overcorrection. Don't repeat the same mistake with movement DICE.”

We’ll have to wait to see how substantial any upcoming movement changes end up being, but one week removed from launch, one thing is certain: the Battlefield 6 team is moving quickly. New hotfixes for community requests and glitches have been published nearly every day, with recent examples

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(which was

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following fan outcry) and

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. Upcoming updates promise changes to

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, as well as

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.

Battlefield 6 launched for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S October 10 and

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. For more on Battlefield 6, visit IGN's Battlefield 6 guide for a complete list and video of all campaign collectible locations, tips for getting an edge in multiplayer, and more.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and

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(@MikeCripe).

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