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Battlefield 6 skips ray tracing to optimize performance
Ripple Effect’s upcoming shooter, Battlefield 6, will launch without ray tracing — a deliberate decision developers say was made to deliver higher and more stable frame rates across a wide range of PCs and consoles. During the recent beta weekends, PC players noticed the absence of any ray tracing options in graphics menus. That observation was confirmed by Christian Buhl, Studio Technical Director at Ripple Effect (formerly DICE LA), who told Comicbook.com the team never prioritized ray tracing for the release and has no near-term plans to add it.
Why ray tracing was left out
"No, we are not going to have ray-tracing when the game launches and we don’t have any plans in the near future for it either," Buhl said. He explained the decision was intentional: the studio wanted to concentrate engineering effort on performance optimization for default settings and default users rather than on implementing costly real-time ray-traced effects. In short, Battlefield 6’s development prioritized consistent high frame rates, reduced latency, and broad hardware compatibility over cutting-edge lighting features.
Product features and performance-focused technologies
Although ray tracing is absent, Battlefield 6 supports multiple modern upscaling and frame-generation technologies that boost performance and visual clarity:
- NVIDIA users can leverage DLSS Super Resolution along with Frame Generation and Multi-Frame Generation to increase frame rates without sacrificing perceived fidelity.
- AMD players can enable FSR 3 and FSR Frame Generation to improve throughput on supported GPUs.
- Intel platforms can use Intel XeSS and XeSS Frame Generation for smoothing and frame-rate uplift.
These options are designed to deliver a smoother multiplayer experience and help the game reach its performance targets on a wide range of GPUs — from high-end enthusiast boards to entry-level hardware that meets minimum specs.
Comparisons: Battlefield 6 vs. past entries
The move feels like a step back in visual tech when compared to Battlefield V, which was among the first PC titles to implement ray-traced reflections in 2018, and Battlefield 2042, which later introduced ray-traced ambient occlusion. However, the trade-off is understandable: competitive multiplayer shooters typically favor high frame rates and lower input latency over ultra-realistic lighting. For large-scale battles with many players, vehicles, and dynamic physics, maintaining steady performance often provides a better gameplay experience than incremental graphical enhancements.
Advantages of the performance-first approach
- Wider hardware compatibility — more players can join on default settings without dropping frames.
- Lower latency and more stable frame rates for competitive play and esports scenarios.
- Simplified QA and optimization pipeline, enabling the team to target consistent experiences across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X.
Use cases and target audience
The decision benefits players who prioritize frame rate and responsiveness: competitive gamers, streamers, and those on mid-range or older GPUs. For players with high-end rigs who want the best possible visuals, the lack of native ray tracing may feel limiting, but upscaling and frame-generation technologies (DLSS/FSR/XeSS) provide a practical compromise between visual fidelity and performance.
Market relevance and developer rationale
From a market perspective, the choice reflects current industry tensions between photorealistic rendering (ray tracing) and broad accessibility/performance. GPU vendors continue to push ray tracing and hardware acceleration, but not every multiplayer release benefits equally from those effects. By leaning into optimization and vendor-driven upscaling technologies, Ripple Effect aims to maximize player reach and minimize technical fragmentation at launch.
Release date and final thoughts
Player response to the beta suggests the strategy paid off: Battlefield 6’s beta became the largest registration event in the franchise’s history, indicating that gamers prioritized playability and performance. The full game is scheduled to release on October 10 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X. While future updates could revisit ray tracing, for now the emphasis is clear: high frame rates, wide hardware support, and a competitive multiplayer experience.
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