Some Battlefield 6 players are up in arms after first information about Season 1 revealed what they believe is an out of place soldier skin.

Fans have waited weeks for a first look at Season 1 and its new maps, modes, and guns. However, after EA and Battlefield Studios finally pulled back the curtain with a trailer yesterday, the only thing on the community’s mind was a question: could this be the beginning of the end?

New Battlefield 6 maps like Blackwell Fields and Eastwood certainly served as meaningful attention grabbers, but it’s just one skin that has completely controlled the conversation. The cosmetic in question is Wicked Grin, a new skin for the Assault Class. A sneak peek at the suit arrived via various Battlefield 6 Season 1 previews that hit the web yesterday, revealing a wardrobe that fans feel ranges from grounded to gaudy.

PC Gamer was one of a few sites to share an image of the skin, which features dark blue highlights from head to toe. It’s Class operator also sports a toothy smile painted across their bandana. It’s been more than enough to set off alarm bells among the Battlefield 6 community, especially considering the Wicked Grin skin description teases that it can be “unlocked as a free store gift.” It suggests Assault players could flood lobbies with those standout blues as soon as next week, potentially bringing fans’ fear of goofy skins into reality. Even if this or any of the other Season 1 skins remain a far cry from the dozens of celebrity, superhero, and cartoon character crossovers present in other popular shooters like Call of Duty and Fortnite, tens of thousands of fans are clearly unhappy with what they’re seeing so far.

“So, weren’t we supposed to have realistic skins for some time?” one popular comment from a fan says. “Something that someone would really wear during a war? Yet it seems that with the start of Season 1, everything will turn to colorful mess, with no way of differentiating teams based on uniforms, the game will look more like a Paintball or [ActionSportGames] event.”

“I will not revive anyone wearing this kind of skin. My take,” one Reddit user says. “I’m gonna miss the days when everyone has default and beta skins,” another Reddit user adds. “I’m afraid this game won’t be recognizable in the future.”

EA and BF Studios have never set a hard rule describing what exactly their version of a grounded Battlefield 6 looks like. Still, the Season 1 skin is being perceived as a breach of trust after the community had been told to expect grounded visuals across the board for at least a while.

“We are a gritty, grounded, realistic shooter,” Ripple Effect and BF Studios technical director Christian Buhl told IGN last month. “That’s what we intend to be, and that’s what the game is going to look like for a while.”

Many admit that there is still much ground to cover before Battlefield 6 stops looking like the grounded military shooter that it currently is and starts introducing some of the more outrageous characters seen in other games. There’s also the fact that there are, of course, many other more grounded outfits both in the Battlefield 6 base game and coming in Season 1. As for what we’ve seen from Season 1 so far, though, fans are now more on edge than ever.

“Is it realistic? No,” another community comment adds. “Is it more grounded then Beavis and Butt-Head, Peter Griffin, Sgt. PsPsPs, Wubz, Feelin Sloothy, the list goes on… I would say yes.”

“If you want to use regular, realistic outfits, there are plenty,” someone else says. “If someone wants to wear one with a bit of colour, they can. It’s a video game, not real war.”

Time will tell if Battlefield 6 will push past the Wicked Grin skin seen with Season 1. Until then, you can check out all of the major additions set to be introduced in next week’s content drop. You can also read up on how players in the Engineer class are using the repair tool to create works of art.

Finally, be sure to check out our full list of all currently available Battlefield 6 multiplayer maps. Those looking to brush up on their online skills can also read our multiplayer tips and tricks guide.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).