How much of Battlefield 6's AI is generated?

If you've been following recent news about Battlefield 6, you've probably already seen that the biggest talking point over the holidays isn't the new maps and content, but rather the crappy AI-generated art that's appearing in stores for players to purchase with real money. There's been no comment on this from DICE, EA, or Battlefield Studios more broadly.

Last week, players discovered that the latest BF Pro Battle Pass skin reward included a mask very similar to the infamous mask from Call Of Duty: Ghosts. The prevalence of AI-generated art in Battlefield 6 might have given the team the benefit of the doubt if it hadn't already been exposed over the past month, but looking closely at both images, it's clear that the skin has been ripped as is.

On the left is the Call Of Duty ghost mask and on the right is the Battlefield 6 skin.

Battlefield 6 is a premium game at a premium price point, with a reported budget of over $400 million. The game was also the best-selling video game of 2026. There is no place for this kind of AI slop in a game of this caliber, or any game for that matter. We need to shout it out and shout it out. Otherwise, we are racing to the bottom of the barrel defined by cheap art and unoriginality. And I will continue to call it slop, the CEO of Microslop. Because that's what it is. (link)

But this speaks to a wider problem with Battlefield 6. If this use of AI is so obvious, what exactly is being used behind the scenes?

Bigger Problem: Deep Distrust

AI has become a wider part of the conversation about modern gaming over the past year. The expansion of AI-assisted game development was inevitable, and it is clear that in the future, all modern video games will be developed using at least some form of AI technology, including concept art, coding, and voice acting.

It has already been confirmed that EA is using AI coding as part of its game development strategy. Last year, we reported on EA's ReefGPT, a platform that can be used to create video games from scratch, with the news that EA developers were finding the integration of AI tools frustrating. Developers spend more time correcting mistakes made by AI than writing their own code.

As part of the Saudi-backed takeover of EA, one of the key parts of The Financial Times' original report on the deal was: “Investors are confident that AI-driven cost savings will significantly increase EA’s profits over the next few years.” Although the deal is still in its early stages, this line should worry anyone who's been a fan of EA products for years. AI does not mean quality.

When you see crappy AI-generated art displayed in the cosmetics department of a premium game, it makes you question everything about the game.

With that in mind, what's happening in Battlefield 6?

It's pure speculation on my behalf that EA's approach to Battlefield 6's live service launch so far has been based on AI data and built using AI tools. I am a huge fan of the game. I've played it for over 400 hours since release and absolutely loved it. However, there are some glaring flaws that have not been corrected over time. In fact, most updates have made the game worse.

Since launching on Steam, player count has dropped by over 85%. Don't misunderstand. The game is still hovering around 100,000 concurrent players on the platform, and that's without taking into account players playing on EA apps or consoles. This makes the game one of the most consistently successful Battlefields of all time. Nonetheless, I can't help but feel that the game and its potential have been messed up. There was so much hype after the big open beta, but that's almost gone now. Reviews for Mixed on Steam have recently fallen, and negative reviews continue to pour in, citing poor hit registration, poor map design, and slow AI slop.

This is not an attack on the developers, but rather an evidence-based analysis of why AI works deep into the fabric of how Battlefield 6 is currently working. I've written before about why I think the data-driven approach to BF6 isn't working due to seemingly pointless changes to the map layout in Breakthrough mode, but the problem actually goes much deeper.

An update is pushed that has obvious flaws. Most recently, the BF Pro Battle Pass was released at the wrong time and I couldn't complete it (but it was a holiday so maybe this slipped under the radar). Going further back to the Winter Offensive update, it was released with some notable issues. The menu didn't work at all, and for some players on console it wouldn't be fixed for several days. Some skins resulted in character models losing their hands and causing stuttering and lag in the game that wasn't there before. It seems odd that these issues would slip through the cracks of a game made with a budget of over $400 million and a team that (I think) fit that budget.

I'd also like to talk about one of the new maps in Season 1, Blackwell Fields. I'd like to compare it to some of the greatest maps from Battlefield 5 or the first generation of Battlefield, like Passchendaele or Iwo Jima. Blackwell Fields is a soulless place, stained with black oil smoke. It lacks character, substance, and style. The map border is designed in a way that traps players in a funnel of death, but is so narrow that tanks can sit outside the map border, blowing up enemy jets and taking fire on hapless infantry. Nothing about this map has been particularly carefully thought out or tested. It looks like the kind of map you'd easily imagine from an AI tool designed for Battlefield 6 map creation.

And therein lies the problem. I don't think Blackwell Fields was created by AI, and I don't want to discredit the developers here. But as awareness of the use of AI grows within EA and across the industry, these doubts are starting to arise. Nothing can be trusted. As Larian demonstrated a few weeks ago, people who talk about using AI are criticized, but I think it's the only way to be sure of anything anymore. We know you're using AI. Show them when and how to use it. Be transparent. Anything else is just anti-consumer.

And until then, keep AI slopes out of the store, EA. We don't want to see that.

Battlefield 6

4.0/5

released

October 10, 2025

ESRB

Ages 17+ / Blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, in-app purchases, user interaction

developer

Battlefield Studio

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