Records, hype, and a beta that took over everything
Hardly any other shooter has been the subject of as much discussion in recent months as Battlefield 6. Even the open beta sparked a veritable storm: the community racked up almost 100 million hours of play within two weeks. Even before the test phase ended, pre-orders on Steam climbed to over 800,000 according to industry experts – a sales potential of around $40 million.
Analyst Rhys Elliott was convinced: “Battlefield 6 could outperform not only its predecessors, but also many competing shooters if the marketing momentum continues until September.” However, EA did not want to leave this momentum to chance, as revealed by a recent disclosure that is currently causing quite a stir.
Behind the huge enthusiasm lies a marketing machine that is second to none. The well-known Call of Duty insider TheGhostOfHope reported via X that Electronic Arts spent huge sums of money on influencer collaborations – on several levels.
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, were paid a minimum of $10k to attend, with a top end of $300k for someone like TimTheTatMan.
Anyone… pic.twitter.com/yQa97zzuxo
— Hope (@TheGhostOfHope) August 23, 2025
“Up to $300,000” – That’s how expensive the show was
The multiplayer reveal at the end of July was particularly impressive: More than 400 creators showed several hours of gameplay simultaneously. According to the insider, there was “a minimum of $10,000 per participant,” while big names received sums of “up to $300,000.” One of the participants spoke of “the highest amount I’ve ever seen for a sponsored deal.”
But EA is said to have gone even further. According to reports, players who participated in the internal “Battlefield Labs” tests over a period of months not only received travel expenses, but also regular payments. “Everyone working on the battle royale mode is being generously rewarded,” wrote TheGhostOfHope – while warning: “Be very careful who you praise this game and what they get out of it…”
Back in July, Insider Gaming reported on a multi-million dollar influencer offensive by the publisher. Apparently, not only were individual creators recruited, but entire agencies were also hired to keep the hype constantly high on all platforms. The effort has already paid off for EA: thanks to the Battlefield 6 euphoria, the stock price recently climbed to a new all-time high.
