EA has released a trailer for Battlefield 6 which takes aim at Call Of Duty’s celebrity endorsements, ahead of its launch next month.
Battlefield 6 might have a steep hill to climb if it ever wants to match Call Of Duty’s popularity, but that doesn’t mean EA can’t take a few potshots.
The developers have repeatedly insisted they’re making a ‘gritty, realistic shooter’ with Battlefield 6, in contrast to the goofy crossovers and skins seen in other shooters, like Call Of Duty and Fortnite.
If this was a minor dig at Activision’s juggernaut franchise, the launch trailer for Battlefield 6 gives up on any sense of subtlety.
The trailer opens in a style reminiscent of past Call Of Duty trailers, where a celebrity cast marches forward in machismo fashion to the sound of Bullet with Butterfly Wings by The Smashing Pumpkins.
Twenty seconds later, however, a missile screams down and obliterates the entire line-up, consisting of actor Zac Efron, basketball player Jimmy Butler, country singer Morgan Wallen, and UFC star Paddy Pimblett.
After a blown off boot flies through the air, a squad of ‘real’ soldiers comes through from behind. ‘What was that?’ one of them asks. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ another replies. ‘Let’s move.’
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The rest of the trailer leans into the supposed authenticity of Battlefield 6, with live action footage of soldiers in combat – albeit still in Michael Bay-esque fashion.
The opening segment is a clear dig at Call Of Duty’s past use of celebrities in its marketing – although you could argue Battlefield 6 is simply doing the same in an irreverent style.
In 2022, a trailer for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 featured Nicki Minaj, Pete Davidson, and Lil Baby, but the trend stems back to an advert for 2010’s Call Of Duty: Black Ops where Kobe Bryant made an appearance.
A stack of celebrities have appeared in Call Of Duty trailers since then, including Jonah Hill, Sam Worthington, Robert Downey Jr., Megan Fox, Cara Delevingne, and Michael B. Jordan.
Battlefield 6 is set to launch across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC worldwide on October 10, which is over a month ahead of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7’s release on November 14, 2025.
While there’s a lot of positive momentum behind Battlefield 6 following last month’s beta, the series has a knack for bungling things at launch – as proven most recently with predecessor Battlefield 2042.
However, with EA investing so much manpower behind this next entry, there’s a greater level of hope and expectation that this could put the series back on course, as an actual Call Of Duty competitor.
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