Battlefield 6 Faces Controversy Over Alleged Influencer Payments, Claims by COD Insider Spark Debate

Battlefield 6 (EA/DICE)

TheGhostOfHope, a well-known Call of Duty leaker and insider, has stirred up controversy after alleging that Electronic Arts (EA) and DICE are spending huge amounts of money on content creators to playtest and promote Battlefield 6.

His comments have fueled debates about transparency in gaming marketing, especially as Battlefield 6 appears to be gaining momentum against Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 in early pre-order and beta charts.

According to a post shared on August 23, 2025, TheGhostOfHope claimed that EA/DICE paid creators anywhere from $10,000 to $300,000 for involvement in promotional events such as the Battlefield NEXT showcase. He further suggested that many creators are still being paid to regularly playtest the battle royale mode.

In his words:

"EA/DICE are paying content creators thousands upon thousands of dollars to playtest and advertise Battlefield 6. Creators who went to the Battlefield 6 NEXT event for example got paid a minimum of 10k to attend with a top end of 300k for someone like TimTheTatMan. Anyone who has had active involvement for months and is actively playtesting their BR is regularly getting paid big bucks. COD on the other hand has not done this for Black Ops 7 outside of paying for travel so far. Be very wary of who is hyping this game up and what they gain from it."

The claim immediately ignited a storm of reactions across social media. Some users dismissed the claims outright. Content creator IceMan Isaac, who attended the Battlefield NEXT event, fired back: “What the hell did I just read? They have a marketing budget… It was NOT a minimum of 10k. I sure as sh*t didn’t get paid near that much. This is a WILD attempt to discredit BF6’s success. You’re talking like COD has you on payroll…” Similarly, other creators insisted they had received no direct payments for their participation.

Others, however, supported Hope’s warnings. As one wrote: “People don’t realize the majority of the content creators who have been hyping up Battlefield are COD creators. When BO7 drops, not a single one of them will play Battlefield 6 again.” Another skeptical user argued: “BF is such a great series, it shouldn’t need to shell out money like that to streamers. When big money is being passed to influencers, it’s because someone wants to influence the masses.”

Some users even recall earlier reports from Insider Gaming, claiming that EA is going "all in on Battlefield" by offering “substantial amounts of money” to influencers, including multi-million-dollar partnerships.

Adding context, gaming news outlet CharlieINTEL highlighted how Battlefield 6 has been outperforming Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 in certain areas. Four days after the reveal, the Black Ops 7 Vault Edition sat at 6th on PlayStation 5’s preorder charts, still behind the Battlefield 6 Phantom Edition. A day earlier, they noted: “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is one of the first Call of Duty games to not top the PS5 pre-order charts days after announcement… behind both editions of Battlefield 6.”

Meanwhile, Battlefield’s beta has already set records with over 500,000 concurrent players, the most in the franchise’s history. These statistics show that despite the controversy, player interest remains strong.

The debate ultimately raises bigger questions about influencer marketing. EA’s aggressive strategy might be seen as a bold “all-in” comeback after Battlefield 2042’s failures. Yet, as one Redditor put it: “Hype can be bought, but staying power can’t.” Whether Battlefield 6 keeps its momentum or fades after launch will determine if these payments were a smart investment — or just expensive noise in the ongoing Battlefield vs. Call of Duty rivalry.