The player backlash against generative AI in gaming has hit a fever pitch as we close out the year, and Battlefield 6 is the latest target of fans’ ire. Kotaku understands that EA is currently investigating accusations of AI slop in season 1’s recent winter cosmetics and trying to determine just exactly how the controversial technology may or may not have been used in their production.
The accusations started over the weekend when fans circulated one of Battlefield 6‘s new stickers from the Windchill bundle, which is currently being sold for just under $10. The cosmetic shows a character aiming down the scope of a double-barreled rifle. “Two barrels on the M4A1, sure,” read one angry viral post on the game’s subreddit. “I would literally prefer to have no sticker than some low quality AI generated garbage. You can look at BO7 and see how many favors AI generated rewards won with them.”
This led some fans to start doing an AI “vibe check” on other cosmetics in the game. While nothing as glaring as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6‘s six-fingered Santa Zombie loading screen has been found, it’s raised questions about how widespread the issue might be. For example, there’s an in-game sticker of a bear who appears to have more than 10 claws on its paws. Is this just sloppy quality control or evidence that Battlefield 6‘s post-launch development has been outsourcing designs to generative AI tools?
An AI-generated double-barreled rifle would fun afoul of a promise made earlier this year by EA VP Rebecka Coutaz, who oversees DICE and the other teams making Battlefield. In an interview with the BBC, she promised fans they wouldn’t see any AI-generated imagery in the final game, but admitted that the technology is used in the earlier phases of production “to allow more time and more space to be creative.”
There are a couple of increasingly common ways AI slop like this might make it into a big-budget blockbuster that’s on its way to being the best-selling game of 2025. The first is that concept artists might use generative AI to create references for a design before digitally painting over those by hand. The second is that an outsourcing team EA subcontracts with ends up submitting designs for cosmetics that then slip through a rushed review process.
EA has been uniquely bullish on the potential for AI to transform game development. “We view AI as a powerful accelerator of creativity, innovation, and player connection,” CEO Andrew Wilson told investors during the company’s earnings report last May. Staff across various departments, from art and QA to marketing and customer service, have been strongly encouraged to find ways to experiment with AI tools in their daily workflows. Kotaku reported just last month that the tools were used to create an entire cover for the Deluxe Edition of NHL 26.
But while a double-barreled rifle might be a dead giveaway that AI was involved, other errors might simply be a result of quality control going down as teams rush to flood Battlefield 6‘s post-launch window with new content and microtransactions. According to a source familiar with the game’s production, the scope of its current roadmap has stretched resources thin when it comes to reviewing it all for any potentially embarrassing mistakes.
EA did not respond to a request for comment.