Since its 2025 release, Battlefield 6 has received a steady stream of content. The game has experimented with various modes, including Battlefield Labs and even introduced Redsec, a Battle Royale. Now, as the game’s one-year anniversary slowly approaches, it’s looking to close it out with its biggest seasonal event yet: Top Gun. As the name implies, the latest season will be a collaboration between the two franchises, introducing new characters and ways to play. Ahead of its August 18 release date, MonsterVine was invited to go hands-on with the update and walked away hopeful about the latest season.
While playing, we had limited time for each mode, and as soon as one ended, everyone would be instructed to jump into the next to ensure we played everything. The first mode we all played was Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep, a Jets-only mode. Although we didn’t have much time in Fighter Sweep, I learned a few things. First, I need to get better at flying jets in Battlefield; second, this is a mode I can see myself getting lost in.
Fighter Sweep had me doing a number of different things. When I wasn’t trying to shoot down someone or avoid getting shot down myself, I was tasked with destroying key objectives on the ground. This is where the fun came in, because if you were on the defending side, you had to decide how aggressive you wanted to be. While on the offensive, you had to make sure that your plan was solid enough to see through.
What I enjoyed most were the Top Gun cinematics, voiced by the actors who played them in the movies. There were a lot of them, too. They changed based on the mode I was playing. For instance, the ones in Fighter Sweep focused more on the dogfights in the air. But the ones in Carrier Strike were a bit different. Instead of having Rooster (Miles Teller) and Bob (Lewis Pullman) yell at one another, they would be listening to Warlock (Charles Parnell) give them orders for the fight ahead. I mean this in the best way possible; in a lot of ways, it felt like I was playing a Top Gun game rather than a Battlefield game.
After watching an intense meeting with the Top Gun cast, my time with Carrier Strike, the new limited mode had begun. In many ways, this is a reimagined version of Carrier Assault, with the same goals. But this time, both teams start on an aircraft carrier intending to destroy the other. As soon as both teams set off on the map, you’ll be forced to capture key areas that will begin to shoot missiles over at the enemy aircraft carrier, weakening it.
After it’s taken enough damage, you’ll be able to board their ship to attempt to blow it up. This can be challenging at times for a few reasons. The first is that you’re now fighting the enemy team on their spawn point, so it’s a lot easier for them to come back and defend their home base. The other is that the areas are a lot smaller than they are on the map, so you have to be especially careful when it comes to peeking out of corners and lining up your shots to make them count.
That’s what made this part of the game especially fun because every little thing you did mattered. One little mess-up, and you’d either lose the game or the chance to win it. One unfortunate part of this season is that Carrier Strike won’t stay around forever; it seems like a giant mistake not to leave it in. But who knows, maybe it could before the season ends.
Once I was done playing through Carrier Strike, I had reached the final part of the session. For the last hour and a half, I was playing Conquest and Escalation on Wake Island. Going into this mode, I knew that this was a remake of an iconic Battlefield map that’s been in other installments. It’s almost become a tradition to include this map in each game; that said, there’s not much to be said about it. Electronic Arts has mastered the formula for doing this map justice, no matter the era the game is based in.
Admittedly, I didn’t get to try a few things, including the cosmetics and gear. Because of time constraints, I only had time to explore the content side of Top Gun. Although I can’t speak much about it, the new season includes new skins based on Rooster and Bob from the film, as well as the F/A-81f Super Spectre and the F-74A Sea Cat that Top Gun inspired. Even though I probably won’t use it because I’m not great with a Sniper Rifle, the latest update also introduces the Desert Tech HTI.
The latest season, based around Top Gun, feels like a natural fit for Battlefield. It’s a collaboration that stays true to the franchise’s core: over-the-top fights with cinematic beats. The new modes are a blast to play, and the cinematics only add to the immersion. The Top Gun update is scheduled to release on August 18.
