I’ve played 1,500 hours of Battlefield — here’s why Battlefield 4 is still the most essential entry in the series

I’ve played a lot of Battlefield.

Across the series, I’ve spent more than 1,500 hours running and gunning through its virtual combat zones* — that’s about 0.7 per cent of my entire life.

And as our Battlefield 6 review details, 2025’s flagship first-person+ shooter from Battlefield Studios has put the long-running franchise back in the spotlight after an extended off-season.

It even beat Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 to become the best-selling FPS game of 2025.

However, Battlefield 6 didn’t release with a huge amount of content, and not everyone loved the game’s compact maps, weapon balance, or seasonal update cadence.

I myself felt let down by the glacial progression system.

To its credit, Battlefield Studios announced a roadmap in April 2026, led by a third season designed to stir nostalgia for Battlefield’s previous present-day installments, Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 .

Having spent a cool 675 hours in-game, Battlefield 4 is one of my most played titles of all time — for comparison, I’ve put 135 hours into Battlefield 6 since launch.

It seems Battlefield Studios is keen to remind us of the good old days, so when Season 3 came around, I plugged in my PS4 to see how far my favorite shooter series has come. (*675 hours in BF4, 510 hours in BF1, 135 hours in BF6, 50 hours in BFV, and an estimated 200 hours in BF3.

Sheesh.) Back to basics (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future) With my bipod knife equipped, I was ready to jump into Battlefield 4 — but finding a game in 2026 isn’t as easy as pressing ‘Quickmatch’.

Amazingly, there are still a few official PS4 servers, but they’re always empty.

The server browser is the best way to find a game via community servers, which means dealing with smaller map rotations, unofficial rules, and the occasional power-tripping admin.

Battlefield 6 has the opposite issue — a server browser is on the way, but for now, your only option to find a game is to quickmatch into a lobby full of randoms.

That’s a win for Battlefield 4 ; I’ve always enjoyed learning the ebb and flow of a server and its residents over the course of a few matches.