Electronic Arts

Battlefield 6’s new weapon to take down Call of Duty is Jimmy Butler and Zac Effron: “We’re here to do one thing”

Electronic Arts confirms the return to a “grounded” experience.

Update: Sep 30th, 2025 18:58 CEST

The First-Person Shooters season is just around the corner, and this time around, the competition will be tougher. Since its presentation, Battlefield 6 has made it clear that it is going for realism, explosions, and an experience that can only be found in that game. There will be no need to follow in the footsteps of other shooters such as Fortnite or Call of Duty by using garish colors and guest artists who break the illusion of the game to attract attention.

This is abundantly clear in the latest trailer, where Zac Effron, Jimmy Butler, Morgan Wallen, and Paddy Pimblett make an appearance at the beginning as if they were classic special guests. Lightly clad, looking more like they’ve stepped out of an action movie... However, their screen time is short-lived. “Who was that?” asks the next squad, better uniformed, more realistic.

A trailer that makes a bold statement

Electronic Arts made it clear from the outset that its game strategy was to deliver a “grounded” game. “That’s what BF3 and BF4 were — it was all soldiers, on the ground. It’s going to be like this. I don’t think it needs Nicki Minaj. Let’s keep it real, keep it grounded,” said Shashank Uchil, design director at DICE, in his memo. All of this is a direct blow to the skins that have been released in the latest Call of Duty installments, featuring characters such as Leo Messi, Kevin Durant, Ninja Turtles, The Boys, Snoop Dogg, Terminator, or Paul Atreides as part of a battlefield that has gradually lost its “realism” to focus more on licenses that sell.

Battlefield 6 will be released on October 10 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.