Battlefield 6 Live-Action Trailer Shows It’s Commitment to Authenticity While Taking Jabs at Call of Duty
EA is taking a page right out of Activision’s and even SEGA’s marketing book, as a new live-action trailer for Battlefield 6 has been released, featuring some high-profile celebrities.
But don’t think for a minute that this is a trailer for Call of Duty, as things quickly take a turn for the better, as the series reaffirms its commitment to “Gritty Realism” and authenticity.
Battlefield 6 Throws Shade at Call of Duty
Taking a look at the video’s thumbnail above, you’d probably take a wild guess and think to yourselves, “So Battlefield is going to have celebrities and goofy skins?” Well, you’d be wrong, because if you haven’t hit play already, then you really should.
The live-action Battlefield 6 trailer, which features (and I’m not using the wording “stars” on purpose) Hollywood actor Zac Efron, NBA Star Jimmy Butler, singer Morgan Wallen, and MMA fighter Paddy Pimblett for a measly 20 seconds, is a clear reference to Call of Duty’s past marketing, where they would use celebs in their live-action trailers. Rather than build an entire trailer around them, EA and the Battlefield Studios make light work of the guest celebs by blowing them up within the first 20 seconds of the video, with the tone of the trailer shifting to something far more serious as more believable soldiers roll in. One soldier says,” Who was that?” while another responds with “Doesn’t matter.”
It’s clear shade thrown at Call of Duty for their overreliance on celebrities as a selling point. Though technically hypocritical for even featuring them in the first place, the message is pretty loud and clear.
Despite the shade thrown, it’s all in good fun, much like Nintendo and SEGA had in the early 90s when they competed against each other, which is something we’re seeing today, at least on the SEGA side, where the publisher is throwing shade at Mario Kart with its recent release of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.
Got to love it!
Now the bigger question is, will Call of Duty respond to Battlefield 6’s marketing with a little bit of their own? We wouldn’t be shocked, considering that the publisher and studios are already reacting to some of the backlash Battlefield 6 has brought to the Call of Duty franchise by simply aiming to be more authentic when it comes to skins. Treyarch has already cancelled some big collaborations that were initially planned for the game, and even halted the carry-forward feature that would bring over past purchased skins into the game.
With two months to go until the release of Black Ops 7, we wouldn’t be surprised if they try to respond in their own creative way. Either way, a little competition is good, and we’re excited to see how both franchises push each other in the coming years.
Battlefield 6 officially launches on October 10, 2025, on the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Pre-loading for Battlefield 6 will begin this week, on October 6, 2025, for all platforms.
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