Battlefield 6 is set to go up against Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 later this year, and while both are military first-person shooters, it sounds like there will be at least one significant point of difference: skins.
Call of Duty’s foray into goofy skins territory is not a new phenomena, although recent releases have certainly amped up the conversation around them. With the likes of Beavis and Butt-Head and American Dad hitting the game this year shortly after weed-obsessed bundles starring Seth Rogen, some fans have said they’ve had enough of what they call the ‘Fortnite-ification’ of their beloved Call of Duty, and have pleaded with publisher Activision to return to its mil-sim roots.
Enter Battlefield 6, a game EA is pitching as having a “gritty realism” aesthetic. But will this extend to skins? In an interview with VideoGamer, UX director Alan Pimm said he was unaware of any internal plans to release crossover skins that would break the aesthetic Battlefield 6 is going for, and promised the developers were listening to fan feedback.
“What I can tell you is I don’t know of any plans and, at the moment, that package is the ‘gritty realism’ and that we listen. That I can tell you,” he said.
Now, we must also bear in mind that there is enormous pressure on Battlefield 6 to do the business for EA. Indeed the company has said it’s all in on the game, which it sees as a platform just as Activision does with Call of Duty. It would be naive to expect EA to resist the temptation to release eye-catching skins, and even crossover with other IP for bundles.
The question is, how far will it go? Will EA, when all is said and do, stick with Battlefield 6’s “gritty realism” when it comes to skins, as Call of Duty initially set out to? Or will it buckle and end up going down the same path with 90s cartoon skins of its own?
In a separate interview with DBLTAP, Battlefield 6 design director Shashank Uchil doubled down on EA’s committment to grounded realism, and even pointed to Call of Duty’s infamous Nicki Minaj skin as something Battlefield 6 doesn’t need.
“It has to be grounded,” he said. “That is what BF3 and BF4 was — it was all soldiers, on the ground. It’s going to be like this,” Uchil said, pointing at the key art featuring soldiers in soldier gear looking out over a wartorn New York City.
He added: “I don’t think it needs Nicki Minaj. Let’s keep it real, keep it grounded.”
We’ve got plenty more on Battlefield 6, including a hands-on preview. It launches on October 10.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
