Though Xbox and Activision's fast-paced FPS series Call of Duty stands as one of the biggest and most popular gaming franchises of all time, one major point of contention that's divided fans in recent years is its skins.
From neon pink assault rifles that fire glittery rainbow trails to celebrity collabs with Nicki Minaj and Seth Rogen to bizarrely anachronistic crossovers with cartoons like American Dad and Beavis and Butt-Head, Call of Duty has increasingly abandoned its military aesthetic in favor of walking Fortnite's path — releasing the goofiest, gaudiest cosmetics possible.
Battlefield 6, though, will be different. Following its explosive multiplayer reveal and Open Beta dates announcement, its developers took to interviews to promise a "grounded" visual style for its skins.
"It has to be grounded. That is what BF3 and BF4 were — it was all soldiers, on the ground. It’s going to be like this,” design director Shashank Uchil said to DBLTAP. "I don’t think it needs Nicki Minaj. Let’s keep it real, keep it grounded."
UX director Alan Pimm spoke on this topic with VideoGamer as well, noting that while "skins are not my field of expertise," he can confirm that the art direction for its unlocks will be rooted in Battlefield's "gritty realism."
“They will be handled by other teams,” Pimm said of the game's cosmetics. “What I can tell you is I don’t know of any plans [to change the visual style] and, at the moment, that package is the ‘gritty realism’ and that we listen. That I can tell you.”
The Call of Duty and FPS-focused outlet CharlieINTEL also reports that other Battlefield 6 developers have stated, in response to questions about skins, that "The thing we can say, we are a military shooter in modern times.”
For an example of what the game's cosmetics will likely tend to look like, you don't have to look further than the skins included in the $100 Phantom Edition (see them below). It contains a suite of black and red unlocks that — despite having noisy red accents I personally find ugly — do keep with that "grounded" focus, complete with modern military gear like helmets, tactical vests, and ghillie suits.
Overall, the aesthetic DICE and its fellow Battlefield developers are shooting for is a huge breath of fresh air at a time when other military-themed multiplayer games are deserting their art styles in record times to chase the mass-market success of Fortnite. It's something I've grown exponentially frustrated about in recent years, and I'm glad there's at least one game drawing a line in the sand.
I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a cynical part of me that wonders how long it'll be before EA and DICE go back on these assurances and put something dumb like Battlefield 2042's infamous Santa skin in the game, tempted by the allure of microtransaction sales. But even so, I'm hoping that the devs stick to their guns and take advantage of the opportunity to stand out.
Battlefield 6 will hopefully be a triumphant return to form for the mass-scale, combined arms-driven shooter after the negatively received Battlefield 2042, and based on everything that's been shown of it thus far, it definitely looks to be one.
Fans can look forward to the return of Battlefield's class system, impressive destruction that's capable of reshaping the gameplay flow of maps, the series' classic modes as well as several new ones, a new story campaign, a reworked Portal that's essentially Halo Forge, and more.
Preorders for Battlefield 6 are available now on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5, with the Standard Edition costing $70 (EA is committing to no $80 games for now). It's scheduled to launch on October 10; note that it's also getting an Open Beta this month on the weekends of August 9-10 and August 14-17, with Early Access on August 7-8 offered as Twitch Drops during the multiplayer reveal or to anyone who participated in early Battlefield Labs testing.
