Battlefield 6’s Biggest Competition Is Closer to Home Than Call of Duty

The age-old competition between Battlefield and Call of Duty is back on this year, with both franchises expected to launch a new title in 2025. For Battlefield 6, this old rivalry is not what it once was. Black Ops 7 continues Call of Duty’s most profitable series, and looks likely to be one of the most successful games of the year financially, and no doubt EA would like its own shooter franchise to perform just as well.

But the times when these two games went head-to-head can sometimes seem far away today. In the past, fans of either series might have debated which one “won” or came out on top in any given year, but with Battlefield’s last couple of releases being so turbulent, the battle for mind and market share could be much closer to home. Battlefield 6 may want to square up to Black Ops 7, but it needs to earn the trust of Battlefield‘s core fanbase first.

Battlefield 6 COD Black Ops 7 Fighting Same Territory

It May Not Look Like It, But Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Are Fighting Over the Same Territory

This year’s new CoD title, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, will be going head-to-head with the next Battlefield game in the coming months.

Before Battlefield 6 Can Take On Call of Duty, It Needs to Prove Itself to Its Most Loyal Fans

Alongside the announcement of Battlefield Labs, EA and DICE have been saying that Battlefield is getting back to its roots. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is: prior to the release of Battlefield 2042, the game was described as a “love letter to the fans,” indicating a move back toward a more traditional Battlefield experience that BF1 and 5 had moved away from. Despite the messaging that 2042 was more like classic Battlefield, when players got their hands on it, the reception was very different, as many were disappointed by the lack of classes, barren maps, and quippy Specialists, with some saying it was further from Battlefield’s identity than BF5 had been.

Battlefield 2042 rolled back many of its design choices in later patches, including re-adding a class system.

This is all water under the bridge now, of course, as over the past four years, 2042 has recovered some of its reputation, and the BF Labs testing environment seems to have shown many fans that there is a real drive to avoid the pitfalls of 2042’s release. But it can’t shake them entirely, and judging by comments left on Labs leaks all over the internet, there has been a certain level of anxiety about how good the next game will be. Some Battlefield 6 details have been controversial, and not helped in this regard, but mostly, it’s a pervasive, cautious optimism that a beloved franchise will get it right from the start this time.

Battlefield’s Competition With Call of Duty Could Be Diminished, but It Doesn’t Mean It’s Over

With FPS games being typically some of the most popular around the world, and many new ones coming out each year to try to grab a portion of the pie, there will always be competition. This applies to Battlefield and Call of Duty’s rivalry all the same, as even today, many people are comparing the two games, even if they often serve different audiences. It can be hard to move away from a particular legacy, and the tongue-in-cheek face-off these two huge franchises had was very popular in gaming discourse ten years ago. The fact that it is even being discussed shows that, despite circumstances changing, the idea of a rivalry between them is still around today.

But even if Battlefield astonishes its fans, Call of Duty is not the only thing it should be worried about. Indie projects such as Battlebit proved Battlefield can be competed with, and as more shooters innovate to meet fan demands, Battlefield should be wary of appealing too much to an old vision. There is a fine line that DICE needs to walk with Battlefield 6, where the game harkens back to the series’ classics, but also delivers a smooth, modern experience that proves it has legs.