Battlefield 6 fans accused EA of selling an AI-generated image after spotting a sticker of a dual-barreled M4A1 in the in-game store.
Following a similar controversy over generative AI in rival shooter Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Battlefield 6 was criticized for selling what some fans called “low-quality AI-generated garbage.”
This sticker is included in the Windchill cosmetic pack for Battlefield 6, which costs 900 Battlefield Coins. It includes six items, one of which is a sticker on the player card called “Winter Alert”. The red flag here is the two barrels on the M4A1, but the soldier's hand position as well as the sights don't look right.
“Remove this AI crap from the store,” Redditor Willcario said in this topic has been voted 4600 times. “Sure, two barrels on the M4A1. I would literally rather have no sticker than some low quality AI generated garbage. You can watch BO7 and see how many AI generated favors are won with them.”
The use of generative artificial intelligence is one of the hottest topics in the video game industry as publishers are forced to cut costs and speed up development to increase profits, despite the risk of backlash from some fans. Indeed, according to the report Financial Timesnew potential owners of EA (the ones who just spent $55 billion to take the company private.) are banking on using generative artificial intelligence for this purpose. And EA itself, even before it was bought out, made it clear that it was betting on generative artificial intelligence, CEO Andrew Wilson insists artificial intelligence is “the very core of its business.”
It definitely looks AI generated, right? #Battlefield6 pic.twitter.com/VLYMhEMOqQ
— Battlefield 6 News (@BF6Updates) December 21, 2025
While EA has yet to release a statement regarding the allegations regarding Battlefield 6, fans are looking into past comments from Rebecca Kutaz, general manager of original series developer DICE in Sweden, and Criterion, the UK studio that is now also part of what is collectively called Battlefield Studios. who said in October that players won't see anything created by generative AI in Battlefield 6.
Kutaz said that while generative AI is “very attractive,” there is currently no way to implement it into the daily work of developers. However, Kutaz explained that generative AI is used in the preparatory stages “to give more time and space for creativity.”
While this is the first significant controversy regarding generative AI in Battlefield 6, there have been a number of generative AI-related controversies in Call of Duty in recent years, including Santa's infamous six-fingered zombie bundle. Earlier this year Activision was forced to add “AI Generated Content Disclosure” to the Steam page for Black Ops 6. after Valve changed the storefront rules. Currently, Battlefield 6 does not have such AI content disclosure on Steam.
And last month Activision has issued a statement in response to player protests regarding the perceived use of generative AI art assets in several areas of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.. Players took to social media to complain about images they believed were created by the game's AI, primarily focusing on images of business cards that they claimed used Studio Ghibli style, after AI-Ghibli image trend that emerged earlier this year. The Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Steam page also includes the following disclaimer: “Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some of the game's assets.”
This week IGN reported on the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 video game. which was stripped of its Game of the Year award at The Indie Game Awards due to its use of generative artificial intelligence.. Meanwhile, Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian plans to address the use of artificial intelligence in the upcoming game Divinity after backlash online..
Wesley is IGN's News Director. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
