Two screenshots from Battlefield 2021 reveal trailer allegedly leak—but how real are they?

Two screenshots that are allegedly from the upcoming Battlefield 2021 reveal trailer have appeared online.

While the screenshots made the rounds on the “Battlefield 6” subreddit this past weekend, a link to the screenshots appeared over two weeks ago in comment on a different subreddit post. The first screenshot shows what appear to be several Osprey planes flying over a massive island map. The second screenshot is from inside some kind of cockpit and shows a massive tornado heading towards a rocket launch pad.

The images are compelling. But are they real?

Well, if they aren’t, then the person who’s been allegedly leaking all of the information that we have about the next Battlefield will have ruined his reputation.

That’s because the screenshots show nearly the exact frames that leaker Tom Henderson drew a few weeks ago. Henderson confirmed on Twitter that the images are screenshots from the reveal trailer but stated that he did not know why the leaker chose to post the same frames from the trailer as the ones that he had drawn.

In response to Twitter users questioning the quality of the images, Henderson speculated that the low resolution is possibly due to the leaker capturing images during a Zoom call and the trailer itself being an early cut of the final version.

Henderson later hosted a Q&A stream about the leaked images and supposedly revealed more information about the trailer itself. According to Henderson, the trailer’s running time is less than 2 minutes and features the U.S. faction infiltrating an island and trying to stop the Russian faction from launching a rocket.

To make a long story short, Henderson—who has a solid track record for leaking information about Call of Duty games (and now Battlefield)—has staked his reputation on the veracity of these images. Unless he’s plotted a massive hoax from the beginning that will somehow help his career as a social media consultant, why would he do that?

Whether these images are real or not, we can’t be far from seeing the actual reveal trailer for the next Battlefield. EA CEO Andrew Wilson previously stated that EA and DICE would reveal the game in the spring, and the publisher’s next earnings call with investors is on May 11th. If there was ever a time for EA to have something to brag to investors about—such as the high view count for the next Battlefield trailer—it would be now.

The next Battlefield is scheduled to launch during holiday 2021 and is confirmed for PC and next-gen consoles.

Image: Battlefield 4, Electronic Arts