We’re a few weeks removed from the Battlefield 6 open beta, and by all accounts, the test was a massive success. While it was live, the beta topped the Steam charts while also placing highly on both Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5’s active-user leaderboards. Once it was over, its absence (and some freebies) prompted a huge spike in sales of its predecessor, Battlefield 2042. The vibes around Battlefield haven’t been this good in a while, thanks to that beta.
Feedback has been coming in quickly since the beta ended, with many fans taking to social media and forums to talk about what they most liked and disliked about this new Battlefield experience. However, there’s one particular reaction that I find fascinating, and that’s players being happy about the lack of collaborations with outside IP.
“Forniteification,” as some call it, has turned other franchises into interactive IP catalogues, tapping into current trends and nostalgic trips to yesteryear in order to sell skins and other cosmetics. Battlefield’s biggest competitor, Call of Duty, has embraced the concept, enlisting a range of established faces from WWE wrestlers to Cheech and Chong to Nicki Minaj into its platoon.
Activision has since acknowledged fans’ criticism that the series has “drifted” from its identity, but I don’t know if the company can fully close Pandora’s box at this point. Activision may not think so, either: The news that Black Ops 6 skins will not carry over to Black Ops 7 notably does not include the battle royale Warzone, where wacky skins will continue to exist–Activision may be trying to find a way to get the best of both worlds.
Then again, we can’t use the term “Fortniteification” without mentioning its namesake, as Fortnite is currently enjoying a season headlined by the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. Name a popular IP across movies, TV, video games, or even music thanks to Fortnite Festival, and there’s a chance it’s been a part of Fortnite at some point. Fortnite’s cartoony style may have immunized it from similar criticism, though; for “military simulations” like CoD and Battlefield, there are expectations of realism that fans aren’t always willing to compromise on.
The devs behind Battlefield 6, to their credit, are talking the talk so far; Vince Zampella recently spoke to Eurogamer, where he said that BF6 will “stay true to Battlefield” with cosmetics that stick to what the article calls the “core visual identity of Battlefield.” Online forums like Reddit seem to be happy with this, with one commenter saying they hope this declaration is “not an empty promise.”
Look, I appreciate those who want Battlefield to be as “authentic” an experience as possible for its fans–whatever that even means. However, it would be completely naive to think that Battlefield won’t try its hand at the collaboration game, simply because Electronic Arts likes money and wants to earn as much of it as possible. The main reason those wacky Call of Duty skins appear in the game in the first place is because Activision knows people will buy them, and EA would be silly to leave those potential dollars on the table.
Please don’t misunderstand me: I am not saying that a Battlefield where Ronald McDonald and the Burger King finally settle their score is inevitable (though if Fortnite wanted to take on this hypothetical…). What I am saying, though, is that expecting Battlefield 6 to maintain this lack of collaboration throughout its life cycle is setting yourself up for disappointment, because there’s simply too much money to be made in those partnerships.
That said, there are ways to make the inevitable collaborations with outside IP blend in seamlessly with Battlefield’s look and feel; namely, choose partners that are a natural fit for a military simulation sort of game. They’re out there, and I’m willing to bet the IP owners would be thrilled to join Battlefield 6 if the game mirrors the success it saw in open beta when it fully launches in October.
Take Helldivers 2, for example. This one doesn’t have to go too far–armor skins, perhaps a weapon or two–but the defenders of democracy in Helldivers 2 would make a nice fit into Battlefield 6, even with their futuristic look. Another one that sticks out to me is Metal Gear Solid, as I’m sure many Battlefield players who are also MGS fans would love being able to have the official Foxhound logo, or Snake’s bandana, or any of Big Boss’s many camouflage patterns from MGS 3 on their character. Let’s not forget that Battlefield 2042 included Mass Effect and Dead Space collabs, so EA could always dip into that well again too.
There’s fertile ground for partnerships outside of video game IP as well. Reacher on Amazon Prime comes to mind; if Alan Ritchson wanted to record some lines and lend his likeness to a Battlefield version of Jack Reacher, that would fit nicely. EA could even go for a nostalgia hit with another fictional Jack in 24‘s Bauer, especially if Kiefer Sutherland would lend his voice and likeness as well.
These are off-the-cuff ideas, but the overall theme remains consistent; with some restraint, Battlefield 6 could jump into the Scrooge McDuck money bin that is outside IP collaboration, but do it in a way that “stays true to Battlefield” as Zampella suggests is the plan. Partnering with other IP owners doesn’t mean you immediately have to throw Pennywise the Clown into your game; by being selective, EA has an opportunity to walk the fine line and get outside IPs into Battlefield 6 without driving it into becoming a parody of itself.
I just hope the BF6 teams at DICE and the other studios can figure it out, because if I had to guess, the challenge is going to come to them eventually. There’s simply too much money to be made for EA to ignore.
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