Battlefield 6 Devs Draw the Line: “We’re Not Chasing Trends” as Call of Duty Backtracks on Skins

The FPS genre is undergoing a vibe shift, and it’s not subtle. After weeks of backlash, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 reversed course on its plans to push over-the-top cosmetics, moving away from skins that felt closer to Fortnite than a military shooter. On the same day, Battlefield 6 developers doubled down on their own direction—stating plainly that their game will remain grounded and realistic.

The Message from Battlefield Studios

In a recent interview with IGN, Battlefield 6 technical director Christian Buhl made the studio’s stance clear:

“We want to be a gritty, realistic shooter. Other games can and should be whatever they want to be, right? Fortnite is pretty goofy, and that game is pretty good. But we’re happy with where we are. Battlefield is gritty, grounded, and realistic—that’s what we intend to be.”

Buhl did leave the door slightly cracked with the phrase “for a while,” which could raise eyebrows given EA’s history of monetizing cosmetics. But for now, the commitment to authenticity feels strong.

Console combat designer Matthew Nickerson backed this up:

“We’re not chasing trends. We’re not chasing other products. From a design perspective, we’re doing us. We’re staying in our lane.”

Nickerson pointed to the Road to Battlefield 6 event in Battlefield 2042 as a preview of what’s to come. The 30 premium skins offered there are far from fantastical—they focus on tactical gear, camo patterns, and grounded designs rather than fire-breathing dragons or neon armor.

A Contrast with Call of Duty

The timing couldn’t be more telling. While Call of Duty is now steering away from “garish” cosmetics in Black Ops 7, Battlefield seems determined not to make that mistake at all. The message is simple: if you want operators that look like soldiers, not superheroes, Battlefield 6 wants to be your game.

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This stance from Battlefield 6 is refreshing, but let’s be real: “realism” has always been relative in FPS games. EA has shown in the past that it won’t ignore a lucrative trend for long, so the big question is whether this promise holds two or three years into the game’s lifecycle. For now, though, the studio seems committed to winning back lapsed fans who were turned off by Battlefield 2042’s early identity crisis. If COD is pulling back, and Battlefield is staying true, the pendulum may finally be swinging back toward gritty authenticity in the FPS wars.