Battlefield 6's Season 5, Siege of Vegas, starts October 13 with two new maps, Vegas Strip and Area 51, and EA's roadmap promises the long-requested server browser and Platoons on December 8. Also in this short weekend roundup: Squadron 42, the single-player Star Citizen game, is now on Steam ahead of its planned second-quarter 2027 launch, and Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero marks its second anniversary with a roadmap that ends in a cross-play beta.
Battlefield 6 Season 5 starts October 13, server browser follows December 8
EA's Season 5 roadmap, published October 9, splits the season into three drops for Battlefield 6 and its battle royale, REDSEC. The official Battlefield account posted the same schedule:
- October 13, Siege of Vegas: the Vegas Strip and Area 51 maps, Rapid Royale (a faster REDSEC mode for Trios or Solos with fewer players), four new weapons, a new Ranked BR season and REDSEC's Open Series.
- Halloween: Dead Space returns in a limited-time Convergence Event set beneath Area 51. EA has not given its dates yet.
- November 10, Casino Heist: a new infantry-focused map, European Casino, and a limited-time Casino Heist event.
- December 8, Frozen Aces: Operation High Roller, Platoons, a server browser, and updated versions of the Blackwell Fields and New Sobek City maps.
Two more dates to know: the Gauntlet mode leaves the game on October 13, and EA is running a Battlefield 6 Full Game Trial from October 15 to 19 (the length can vary by platform). Battlefield 6 also joins Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on October 13, the day Season 5 begins.
Update (October 14, 2026): EA released a Battlefield 6 Game of the Year Edition on October 13. The Xbox Store lists it at $99.99, on sale for $59.99 for a limited time, and it bundles the base game with an Ultimate Shortcut Kit, one Battlefield Pro token for a season's Battle Pass and 25 tier skips, and cosmetic packs. The Ultimate Shortcut Kit also sells on its own for $29.99: for each of the four classes it unlocks 7 weapons and 2 vehicles at 100% mastery, plus that class's gadgets.
Update (October 17, 2026): Season 5's launch came with an XP problem. On October 15, the Battlefield Comms account said that after Season 5 launched, backend configuration changes caused an unintended issue with XP earn rates across modes and with progression for hardware such as weapons. Those changes have been reverted, and the team says it is watching the data to make sure earn rates return to intended levels.
Our take: Two maps at launch and a third in November is a solid season. The bigger change is the server browser, which EA itself calls highly requested: it is finally on a dated roadmap, so you can soon pick the servers you want.
Squadron 42 opens on Steam with a second-quarter 2027 launch window
Cloud Imperium Games opened Squadron 42's Steam page on October 10 and released a new trailer called "The Oath". The official Squadron 42 account posted the wishlist link at 8:20 a.m. PT / 11:20 a.m. ET that day and says the game "Launches Q2 2027." Variety reported the same window.
What it means for you:
- What it is: a story-driven, single-player space adventure set in the Star Citizen universe. You enlist as a rookie in the UEE Navy and fly combat ships, fight on foot and live aboard a capital ship with your crew.
- Platforms and price: the Steam page lists Windows only. Neither the store page nor the October 10 post gives a price or an exact date.
- Cast: Variety lists Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, Henry Cavill and Andy Serkis among the cast.
- Languages: full English audio, with interface text in nine more languages, including French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Korean.
Our take: A Steam page is a concrete step for a game that has been in development for well over a decade. Wishlisting costs nothing, but wait for reviews before you buy.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero plans a cross-play beta after summer 2027
To mark the game's second anniversary on October 11, Bandai Namco posted a 2026‑2027 roadmap on October 9. The headline item is cross-play, which enters a limited beta after summer 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam. Bandai Namco says details about the full release of cross-play will come later.
What it means for you on PS5, Xbox and Steam:
- Fall 2026: a Legendary Warrior Face-off event with Gogeta (Super).
- Winter: Tower of Power, a free solo mode of increasingly hard fights that rewards Ki Aura customization items.
- Spring 2027: a free update with Tower of Power Team-up (up to five players, each fighting 1v1 battles), Mission 100 SP and Survival Mode SP.
- After summer 2027: the cross-play beta and a paid DLC with a new playable character.
On Switch and Switch 2, the plan runs later: a Frieza (Super) event in fall, Mission 100 and Survival Mode plus the paid Super Limit-Breaking NEO DLC in spring 2027, and Tower of Power after summer 2027. Cross-play does not include the Nintendo versions.
Our take: Cross-play would help a fighting game whose online players are split across platforms, but a limited beta almost a year away is a promise, not a feature. Tower of Power is the free content you can actually plan around.