Battlefield's answer to Call of Duty Warzone's Resurgence?
- Tom Belous (The Lanky Soldier)
- Jul 17
- 5 min read
Battlefield’s new Gauntlet mode could offer more than just an alternative to Battle Royale - it might be the franchise’s most flexible free-to-play experience yet.
As the hype around the next Battlefield is building up, leaks are steadily shaping what the players can expect. Among the most intriguing is the reveal of Gauntlet, a standalone game mode expected to accompany the franchise's upcoming Battle Royale experience. In the latest episode of the Battlefield One Podcast, we dissected what Gauntlet could mean for the future of Battlefield, and how it compares to alternatives like Call of Duty’s Resurgence or Plunder. This article offers a detailed breakdown of the Gauntlet leak, its implications for free-to-play players.
From what we’ve discussed on the podcast and interpreted from the leaks, Gauntlet feels like Battlefield’s response to what Warzone does so well - diversity. In Call of Duty, free-to-play players can engage with Battle Royale, Resurgence, Plunder, and various time-limited events. Gauntlet seems to serve that same purpose. From what the leaks indicate so far, if you're a free2play player and you don't own the latest Battlefield title to play Multiplayer, Gauntlet sounds like an alternative if you don't want to play the rumoured Battle Royale mode that is coming later on.
It's a squad based mode, where you will be competing against other squads in round based game modes like Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Payload, etc., and the worst performing squads will be eliminated each round until we have the ultimate winning squad. The closest example Tom (TheLankySoldier) managed to find to describe this Gauntlet mode is Call of Duty Vanguard's "Champion Hill" game mode, where 3 people squads are competing against each other in similar round based modes until all squads get eliminated. It was not popular mode and Call of Duty audience was a not a big fan of it either, but that's another topic for another day.
There's no footage of this Gaunlet mode yet, but one of the game mode names that stood out to us during the episode was Hotwire, which we believe may be a revival of Hotwire from Battlefield Hardline - a fan-favorite vehicle-based mode where players capture objectives by driving specific cars. If that's accurate, it’s a sign that DICE and Ripple Effect are dipping back into the franchise’s more creative moments to shape Gauntlet.
What stands out most about Gauntlet is that it’s an intentional move toward platform-building, a recurring theme we discuss often on the Battlefield One Podcast. Instead of throwing players into a single rigid experience, Battlefield seems to be embracing a model where the game is a broad ecosystem. Single-player (assuming this is not scrapped or delayed), Multiplayer, Battle Royale, and now Gauntlet could all coexist under one launcher, one live service, one game.
And that’s a big deal. Battlefield has always struggled with player retention across fragmented modes. If Gauntlet becomes a bridge that funnels players into Battle Royale or vice versa, it solves a major pain point that Battlefield 2042 failed to address. And if we want to go deeper, limited number of maps and modes available in older Battlefield games like Battlefield 1 or Battlefield 4, as those maps/modes are locked behind Premium package.
It's also a good starting point for competitive Battlefield to have a comeback, as the Gauntlet mode sounds like a competitive mode by nature. In Battle Royale, you need to be the last man standing while fighting players on a big map, while Gauntlet seems like has the same premise, but the game mode itself is focused on Multiplayer like gameplay experience. And it's not a new mode entirely for Battlefield either, as we had similar competitive experiences back in Battlefield 1 with Closed Alpha of Battlefield 1 Incursions, which was praised by a lot of players for being the only good 5v5 Battlefield like competitive experience.
Of course, this also introduces concern. As Andre mentioned in the episode, supporting multiple modes at launch could lead to content being stretched thin, especially if handcrafted multiplayer maps are sacrificed in favour of repurposed Battle Royale locations. We don't have confirmation of that yet, but we will learn later as we're getting closer to the full release of the game. It’s a trade-off we’ve seen in Call of Duty, sometimes to great effect and sometimes at the cost of quality.
Still, if Battlefield Studios plays it smart and launches Gauntlet as a staggered rollout - post-launch content, seasonal rotations, or curated playlists, it could be a powerful tool for long-term engagement. The key is ensuring that Gauntlet feels like a Battlefield experience and not just a generic game mode churned through a seasonal content machine.
At Battlefield One Podcast, we’ve long said that Battlefield is good franchise to be a "platform" - not just a one-and-done release. Gauntlet feels like another step in that direction. It could become the mode that lets newcomers experience the chaos, creativity, and tactical magic of Battlefield without jumping straight into full-scale "warzones". . .ha ha.
If you’ve been sceptical about Battle Royale or worried that Battlefield is losing its identity, Gauntlet might surprise you. It may not be the core mode - but it could very well be the heart of the game’s free-to-play ecosystem. We’ll be watching it closely and Tom (TheLankySoldier) is actually very excited for this mode to be a reality. We will see.
This article is brought to you by the Battlefield One Podcast, where we break down announcements like this, analyze gameplay footage, and track the development of Battlefield week to week. Whether you're new to the franchise or a returning veteran, follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you listen, and get the full picture behind the frontlines.
Before you go... Thank you for reading this article from Battlefield One Podcast - we appreciate you taking the time to be on this website and read everything we have to say. If you enjoyed what you read, be sure to check out our full podcast episodes, where we discuss the history, chaos, news, updates and community "temperature" behind the Battlefield franchise in even more detail.
This website is entirely ad-free and independently run. We’re able to keep it online, maintain the archive of all our episodes, and keep creating new content thanks to the generous support from our listeners through Patreon and direct donations. If you value what we’re building here and want to help us keep going, please consider subscribing or making a contribution.
Every bit of support means the world to us and helps us stay focused on what matters - delivering honest, detailed, no nonsense Battlefield related content without compromise.
Please go to Patreon.com/TheLankySoldier or our dedicated donation page on this website, Battlefieldone.net/Donation
