EA insisted that players wouldn’t see anything created by generative AI in Battlefield 6.
The operate of generative artificial intelligence is one of the hottest topics in the video game industry, putting pressure on publishers to cut costs and speed up development to escalate profits despite the risk of backlash from some fans. Indeed, according to the report entitled Financial Times.EA’s modern potential owners (those who just spent $55 billion to take the company private) are betting on using generative artificial intelligence for this purpose.
EA itself, even before it was bought out, had signaled that it was betting on generative AI, with CEO Andrew Wilson insisting that AI was “at the heart of its business.”
For now, however, at least when it comes to Battlefield 6, generative artificial intelligence is receding into the background. Rebecka Coutaz, CEO of original series developer DICE in Sweden and Criterion, the British studio now part of the so-called Battlefield Studios, said BBC that although generative artificial intelligence “is very seductive”, there is currently no way to operate it in the everyday work of developers.
However, Coutaz explained that generative AI is used in the preparatory stages “to provide more time and space for creativity.”
EA’s approach to Battlefield 6 is different from Activision’s approach to Call of Duty. In recent years, Call of Duty has sparked many controversies related to generative artificial intelligence, including: now the infamous six-finger zombie Santa set. Earlier this year, Activision was forced to add “AI-generated content disclosure” to the Black Ops 6 Steam page after Valve changed its storefront policies.
Judging by Coutaz’s comments and the current lack of information about AI-generated content on the Battlefield 6 Steam page, we won’t see anything similar in EA’s competitive first-person shooter.
In August, Treyarch’s associate innovative director Miles Leslie suggested that AI generative images had mistakenly made their way into Black Ops 6.
“We live in a world now where AI tools exist,” Leslie told IGN ahead of Black Ops 7’s release at Opening Night Live 2025. “I think from the official statement we made last year for Black Ops 6 that everything that goes into the game is 100 percent controlled by the team. We have generative AI tools that we they help, but none of it makes it into the game.
“And then you say, ‘Yes, but that’s what happened.’ I will say it was by accident. And it was never intentional. We came out and made it clear that we were using them as tools to aid the team, but they weren’t going to replace any of the fantastic team members we have who are putting the finishing touches and creating the content to put it into the game.”
“So everything you play: made and touched by humans. AI tools in the world we live in: how to improve it? That’s really the goal. Not to replace, but to improve.”
It’s worth paying attention to the Black Ops 7 Steam page does include artificial intelligence disclosure.
But will Battlefield Studios’ stance on generative AI last much longer, especially with new owners EA? In an interview with the BBC, Coutaz expressed optimism about the use of this technology in the future. “If we can break the magic of artificial intelligence, it will help us be more innovative and creative,” she said.
The debate around generative AI is broader than in-game assets. Earlier this week, Nintendo released a statement in response to claims about generative AI, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman calling copyrighted Sora 2 character videos “interactive fan fiction.”
Last month, the famously controversial The Pokémon Company formally responded to the Department of Homeland Security’s use of Pokémon TV character Ash Ketchum and the show’s theme tuneas part of a video showing people being arrested and handcuffed by law enforcement officers. “Our company was not involved in the creation or distribution of this content,” a spokesperson told IGN, “and no permission has been given to operate our intellectual property.”
Wesley is the news director at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
