Battlefield 6 has an epic launch bug where it fails to recognize that the game is already installed — EA boss suggests one affected user to ‘refund and buy on Steam’

Battlefield 6 cover art showing a combat scene
(Image credit: EA)

Battlefield 6 is shaping up to be one of the biggest AAA game launches this year, but the game’s opening day is far from perfect. Users who purchased the title on the EA App encountered a glitch, with the game indicating that both multiplayer and the single-player campaign are still to be installed, even though both are already present on the user’s PC, as reported by ComputerBase. It took three hours after the game dropped for EA to acknowledge the error, and another three hours to fix the issue.

This had led to frustration among players, especially with the massive hype for the game. Battlefield 6 boss Vince Zampella was also miffed with what’s happening, going as far as posting on X saying, “I have yelled about ea app people. Any suggestions on next levels of escalation?”

The post is somewhat ironic, given that he’s the Executive Vice President of Electronic Arts. We’re unsure if the EA app is under his department, but it seems that he’s frustrated enough to publicly speak out on it.

One user said that he should buy the Steam version instead to solve the problem, to which Zampella replied, “I am playing on steam”. Another player said that this was unacceptable, to which he said, “Can you refund and buy on steam?”

Steam players aren’t immune to launch-day issues, too, though. Some users who purchased the game from the platform receive a “Game not released” message. To address this issue, Battlefield released a workaround, instructing them to uncheck Battlefield Multiplayer HD and Battlefield Multiplayer DLCs in the game’s properties. Others also report that clearing the download history cache and restarting Steam resolved the issue.

Battlefield 6 announcement and apology on X

(Image credit: Battlefield 6)

It seems that most of these launch-day issues have since been resolved, though, and those who stuck it out with the EA app were set to receive some goodies from the company as an apology. Affected players will receive 12 Hardware and 12 Career 60-Minute Boosters, as well as full access to a seasonal Battle Pass. Those who already have one through the Phantom Edition will also get Season 2’s full Battle Pass as part of their compensation.

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Jowi Morales
Contributing Writer

Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.

  • micheal_15
    Why do EA (etc) games get called AAA titles?

    Thats like me releasing a debut song and declaring it "the greatest album of all time".

    Smug, unwarranted arrogance. EA and pretty much every single "top tier" studio have released nothing but utter boring crap for the past 5 years at least.

    Indie studios release more engaging, better programmed, more enjoyable stuff ALL THE TIME, but don't get called AAA titles.

    Basically EA (n pals) claim "AAA" title based on nothing more than fond memories of EA when it used to do Commodore 64 titles in the eighties, and its current "spaff £100 million up the wall on advertising". strategy.

    Boring games, Dull uninteresting tired IP, unecessarily gigantic install sizes and unoptimized piss-poor programming.
    Reply