The “purchase to play” error in Battlefield 6 is a known issue primarily affecting players who purchased the game through the EA app.
Players encountering this error are wrongly told they need to buy DLC or content to play, despite having already purchased the main game. This issue appears to be related to a license recognition problem within the EA app, where the game mistakenly thinks the user does not own or have the necessary content installed.
🔍 What people found / what’s going on
Here’s a summary of what’s been reported so far:
Players who bought the game via EA App / purchased digitally on EA’s launcher are seeing “Purchase to Play” when trying to access modes even though they already own the game.
Multiplayer (or other components) sometimes show as not installed even though download seems completed.
Repairing the game, reinstalling, or rebooting sometimes helps—sometimes doesn’t.
EA has acknowledged the issue and is reportedly working on a fix.
A few players say that Steam purchases don’t have this issue (or much fewer problems).
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đź› Possible fixes / workarounds people are using
Here are things people have tried. Some worked, others didn’t, partially because the problem seems to vary by user.
Fix | How to do it | Reported success |
|---|---|---|
| Repair / verify game files in EA App | Use the “Repair” function for the game in your library. | Mixed; helped some players. |
| Reinstall the game / multiplayer component | Fully uninstall, then re-download/install everything (single‑player + multiplayer, expansions, etc.). | Worked for a few but not all. |
| Use a workaround via server browser | Some say going through server browser → hover server → press the info (or join via custom servers) lets them bypass “Purchase to Play.” | |
| Move to Steam | A few players refunded / repurchased on Steam, or moved the files into Steam’s folder, then launched via Steam. That reportedly fixed the issue for them. | |
| Check EA App / EA account linking / entitlement | Ensuring your EA account is fully authenticated, check that your purchase is recognized in your account, etc. Some suspect entitlement/licensing bug. | No guaranteed fix from that yet. |
âś… What to try if you have the issue
If you’re stuck with “Purchase to Play” but you did buy the game, try these in order:
Check your purchase/license
Make sure your EA account shows you own Battlefield 6.
If you got a Phantom/Deluxe/Standard Edition, make sure it’s fully processed (no payment issues, etc.).
If possible, check EA’s website/account to see if the game appears in your library and is fully activated.
Verify/repair install
In the EA App: locate Battlefield 6 → Repair.
Check that all required modes/components (multiplayer, campaign, game data) are installed. Sometimes the multiplayer-specific data is separate.
Enable Secure Boot & update prerequisites (if on PC)
Battlefield 6 requires Secure Boot to be enabled on Windows. If that is disabled or not properly configured, it might block access.
Also make sure GPU drivers are up-to-date.
Restart the system / EA App
Close EA App completely, reboot.
Sometimes clearing its cache or doing a fresh restart helps.
Try alternate launch method
If you have it on Steam or other platform, try launching from there.
If not, see if moving installation files helps (some have done this, but it’s risky).
Contact EA Support
Because this seems to be a server / license recognition issue affecting many users, EA Support may need to manually check your account.
Provide proof of purchase (receipt, order number).
Report the “Purchase to Play” error with details: platform, EA App version, whether multiplayer is installed, etc.
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