Summary
- EA revealed a brief look at pre-alpha Battlefield 6 gameplay footage yesterday.
- Already, fans are calling on the newly formed Battlefield Studios to keep cosmetics on theme, rather than getting too silly like Call of Duty or Fortnite.
- Others, however, suggest a toggle for skins.
Yesterday, EA announced a coalition of four iconic developers under the umbrella of Battlefield Studios, giving us our first glimpse at pre-alpha gameplay footage from Battlefield 6.
It already looks like a return to roots, with many comparing it to Battlefield 3 due to its boots-on-the-ground modern warfare. But there is already concern about how EA might monetise the game given the controversy over Battlefield 2042’s sillier skins, namely Santa Claus.
This has become a trend among most live-service shooters in the wake of games like Fortnite, with even Call of Duty embracing it wholeheartedly (despite Activision once fearing that the Zombies mode would be too outlandish). With a battle pass and in-game storefront, silly skins and crossovers are to be expected. But fans hope Battlefield 6 will buck the trend and stay on theme.
Battlefield Fans Want Skins To Fit The Military Setting
Following the brief teaser, u/ScipioAfricanus82 opened the Battlefield subreddit and posted, “I hope they keep the character designs true to the military setting and find some way to make money other than releasing clown skins.”
Many echoed that sentiment in the comments, emphasising that they only want cosmetics that fit the tone, or minimal changes like weapon camos and glove skins. But a couple commenters have another, far simpler idea.
Skin Toggles And Paid Expansions: The Solution To Silly Skins
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“If they do decide to add the funky weird skins in, at LEAST give us the option to toggle them on or off if we don’t want to ruin the immersion,” u/GallusTSP said. “I’ll even pay for it,” u/Albake21 added.
Another top comment, from u/trippalhealicks, instead calls for paid expansion packs to make a return over the miasma of cosmetics. “I will GLADLY pay for maps and modes if it means I don’t have to see some neon camo’d clown show bullsh*t,” u/KageXOni87 replied in agreement.
But some fear that this would split the playerbase, as used to be the issue with older shooters. Those without the new, paid maps, would be stuck on the vanilla ones. Or if not enough people bought the DLC, new maps would be incredibly difficult to find players for.
Paid expansions for multiplayer games feel like a relic of the past for good reason, but perhaps a toggle is the best way forward, giving those who like the sillier skins a chance to buy them, and those who don’t a chance to turn them off.
