Silly skins don’t bother me in Battlefield 6. Battlefield isn’t a military simulator, and it isn’t trying to be hyper-realistic, so a daft skin is kind of funny. Even if the Season 5 skins were made with AI, who cares? The skins I’d actually worry about are the ones that make you hard to see.
What happened with the Battlefield 6 Season 5 skins?
Season 5 went live on 13 October (Battlefield 6 Season 5 release date), and two of its cosmetics got roasted that same week. One McNeil skin has a patch on the sleeve that reads “SECUTY” instead of security. Another, the Midnight Mirage skin, has five pistols strapped to one operator.
Players quickly started calling them AI-made. On 18 October IGN reported that the Battlefield team had responded to the backlash (IGN on X).
What did DICE say about the “Secuty” typo?
DICE answered on the official Battlefield Discord. It said a correction for the “Secuty” patches “has already been planned for the Season 5 Phase 2 release” (MP1st).
It also admitted the slip: “Items that miss the mark like this do not reflect the quality standards you expect from us, or that we set for ourselves.” And it said it’s reviewing how it tells players about known visual bugs.
The five pistols, apparently, are on purpose. DICE called the skin “an intentional creative concept”, a nod to action movie tropes where an operative has a backup weapon strapped to every spare inch of gear. It didn’t say how the skins were made, so the AI question is still open.
Do silly skins bother me in a military shooter?
Not in Battlefield. It’s not a military simulator, and it doesn’t pretend to be hyper-realistic, so a guy with five pistols is kind of funny, if I’m honest.
I think a Battlefield skin could look like anything. Some of them would be hilarious if they just went completely ridiculous with it. games.gg has also covered Battlefield 6 bringing back old battle pass gear for a price.
Why are players angry about AI skins?
For a lot of players, it’s about paying for them. Kotaku rounded up the reaction on 15 October, including one Reddit thread that read “Charging players $$$ for AI generated content is peak disrespect” (Kotaku).
Kotaku also points out it isn’t the first time. By its account, Battlefield 6 shipped seemingly AI-generated cosmetics a few months after launch and didn’t patch them out until months after that.
Are the Battlefield 6 skins AI?
I don’t know, and even if they are, who cares? The people who are super against AI are really just against bad AI. They assume anything made with AI is going to be bad, and in my opinion that’s because they lack the skill.
They’re not going to stop it either. The reason there are so many data centres going up, and so much money being poured into AI, is that it’s the future. You can be against it as much as you want.
People were against the internet and TV too. But unlucky, that’s where the money goes. People don’t pour that much money into something unless they think it’s the future, so that tells you where this is heading.
What’s the real problem with Battlefield skins?
The skins that worry me aren’t the ones that stand out. A ridiculous skin that looks out of place is easy to spot, so it’s not really a problem.
It’s the ones that try to make you harder for everyone else to see. I think that’s where people are going to find exploits.
If you’re keeping up with the season, games.gg has the full Season 5 patch notes and the rest on the Battlefield 6 page.
FAQ
Is the Battlefield 6 “Secuty” typo being fixed? Yes. DICE says the fix is planned for the Season 5 Phase 2 release.
Is the Battlefield 6 five pistol skin a mistake? No. DICE says the Midnight Mirage skin is an intentional creative concept, a nod to over-the-top action movies.
Were the Battlefield 6 Season 5 skins made with AI? DICE hasn’t said. Its statement covered the typo and the pistols, not how the skins were made.
