Battlefield 6 dev confirms the ghost bullet problem is very real amid 'bloom' debates: "It is commonly observed with the target being visibly hit but no damage is confirmed"

Battlefield 6
(Image credit: EA)

If you've been getting frustrated at Battlefield 6 because it feels like your bullets aren't doing anything despite being on target, don’t worry, you aren't the only one. Devs for the blockbuster shooter have confirmed the issue as well, and some sort of fix is in the pipeline - once they understand exactly what’s going wrong.

The problem boils down to a perceived glitch where you can have your enemy in your sights, clear as day, but then when you start shooting, nothing happens. It's like your weapons are filled with blanks, while they can return fire ad nauseum. Incredibly annoying regardless of the situation.

There's some discussion over how legitimate this is and what's actually going on. Given that this is such a huge game, with some emphasis on realism, the community was somewhat torn when looking at clips. Perhaps it was bad aim, bad lag, or just poorly calibrated recoil?

Alright, which one of you loaded up my rifle with blanks? from r/Battlefield6

Even the moniker has discourse. "Recoil pushes the sight around, so if there is 'bloom' the sight should be moving accordingly and providing that feedback, which visually keys in the player to tap fire," reads one argument.

Bloom, or perceived inaccuracies caused by unpredictable bullet spread, seems separate from this ghost bullet fiasco. There's been separate, vocal debate about how Battlefield 6 balances controllable recoil with random bullet spread, but bullets literally vanishing is another problem entirely.

"We're currently investigating this issue. It is commonly observed with the target being visibly hit (blood splatters) but no damage is confirmed in the HUD," Florian Le Bihan, principal game designer on Battlefield 6, posted on X/Twitter.

Le Bihan requested further details from players who've experienced it, and received a variety of responses. Some have predictably been a little heated, with one reply to the game's official account opening, "How about addressing the insane ‘bloom’ across most weapons".

Le Bihan's comments suggest this is high on the list of current priorities. We'll keep you updated on any patches as they're rolled out.

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Anthony McGlynn
Contributing Writer

Anthony is an Irish entertainment and games journalist, now based in Glasgow. He previously served as Senior Anime Writer at Dexerto and News Editor at The Digital Fix, on top of providing work for Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PC Gamer, and many more. Besides Studio Ghibli, horror movies, and The Muppets, he enjoys action-RPGs, heavy metal, and pro-wrestling. He interviewed Animal once, not that he won’t stop going on about it or anything.

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