Battlefield 6 brings back Conquest Air for a Top Gun crossover

EA announced today that Battlefield 6 will include Conquest Air, a mode dedicated to air-to-air combat that hasn't appeared in the series since Battlefield 2 in 2005. The mode is part of a Top Gun: Maverick crossover.

Conquest Air strips out ground vehicles and infantry, leaving only jets and helicopters fighting over control points in the sky. EA confirmed the mode will launch with at least two maps designed specifically for aerial combat, though ground assets might still appear as static targets or objectives.

The Top Gun tie-in reportedly includes F/A-18 Super Hornet skins and themed cosmetics. No word yet on whether the crossover will be free or part of a premium battle pass tier.

This is a smart pull for the dogfighting crowd — Conquest Air was beloved in BF2 but got axed when DICE pivoted toward combined arms in later games. If the flight model holds up and the maps have enough verticality, this could carve out a niche that War Thunder and DCS don't quite fill for casual players. The Top Gun branding is pure nostalgia bait, but at least it's funding a mode people actually asked for.

Battlefield 6 doesn't have a release date yet. If you're still grinding older Battlefield titles, run a fresh optimization playbook to see where your rig stands before the next beta drops.