Battlefield 6 fans suspect EA used generative AI in a cosmetics pack for the shooter: 'I would literally prefer to have no sticker than some low quality AI generated garbage'

Battlefield 6 fans have spotted what they believe to AI-generated art in a winter-themed cosmetics pack for the hugely successful multiplayer shooter.

In a Reddit post titled "Remove this AI shit from the store", user Willcario uploaded an image of a player card sticker named "Winter Warning", which comes as part of Battlefield 6's Windchill cosmetics pack. The sticker depicts a soldier aiming down the sight of an assault rifle. Upon closer inspection, however, the assault rifle clearly has two barrels, leading Willcario and other Battlefield 6 fans to suspect the sticker art is AI-generated.

Accidental replication is certainly an error common among AI-generated images, as anyone who has seen AI-generated pictures of humans with far too many fingers will understand. That said, this image is the only evidence Willcario cites, meaning the mistake could potentially be down to human error.

Nonetheless, Willcario makes his thoughts clear about the apparent use of generative AI. "I would literally prefer to have no sticker than some low quality AI-generated garbage," they say. "You can look at BO7 and see how many favors AI-generated rewards won with them."

Willcario is referring to Activision's likely use of AI to generate player cards and other elements of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which contributed to its 'Mostly Negative' Steam rating and its score of just 40% in PC Gamer's Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 review.

Remove this AI shit from the store from r/Battlefield

It's worth noting that Blops 7's apparent AI generated artwork isn't the only problem the shooter suffered from. The latest entry was led by a truly appalling campaign, while its scattershot multiplayer experience struggled to provide much that was new or interesting.

Willcario's thoughts on the sticker was met with a broadly concurring response. "Well, there goes my want to keep supporting this game," wrote user Whiterun_jay. User amanisnotaface, meanwhile, said that the fact the sticker is only part of a cosmetics pack does not change how they feel about the apparent use of AI to create said pack. "Well aware I don't have to buy it to play the game, but I'm more than happy to ditch the game entirely if this is the route they go."

In October, VP general manager of Dice and Criterion Rebecka Coutaz told the BBC that players would not encounter generative AI content in Battlefield 6. However, the CEO of EA has previously expressed his excitement over AI tech, while Coutaz followed up her promise by stating that AI was "very seducing" and that "if we can break the magic with AI, it will help us be more innovative and more creative."

Hence, does this represent a change in perspective for EA regarding AI content in Battlefield 6? Or when Coutaz said players wouldn't see AI-generated content in the game, did she mean the release version specifically? Either way, if the sticker is AI-generated, it would surely require EA to disclose generative AI use on Battlefield 6's Steam page in accordance with Valve's policy, which the page doesn't currently do.

PC Gamer has reached out to an EA representative for comment.