When a new Call of Duty game gets announced, it usually dominates headlines for weeks. This year is no different: Treyarch and Activision finally unveiled Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 with a flashy new cinematic trailer. And yet, instead of making me excited about a new COD game, it convinced me to pre-order Battlefield 6 instead. Here’s why.
Call of Duty vs. Battlefield
Past vs. present
For more than a decade, the two franchises have sat on competing ends of the FPS genre. Both games had great storylines, but their multiplayer modes are where the biggest differences lie. Call of Duty let you play with/against your friends on split-screen or online in small arenas. They also included different modes, like Zombies in the Black Ops or Survival in the Modern Warfare franchise. Whereas Battlefield’s online mode was more of an all-out war, where matches of hundreds of players would simulate a real war experience, packed with era-specific tanks, planes, or artillery.
As the two franchises battled it out over the years, Call of Duty would eventually pull into the lead, and that’s where they have stayed to this day. Battlefield tried hard to play catch-up, but it could never draw back the FPS fanbase from the yearly Call of Duty releases. But gamers are getting tired of playing the same Call of Duty game with a different title slapped onto it. And Battlefield 6 looks primed to take advantage of the market when it shifts.
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Battlefield 6
- Released
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October 10, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Battlefield Studios
- Publisher(s)
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EA
- Engine
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Frostbite
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
- Released
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November 14, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
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Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
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Activision
Battlefield 6’s open Beta
Positive reviews across the board
Battlefield 6 just had its open beta, leaving fans and critics struck by how good the game is. DICE/EA split the open beta across two weekends in August and created a custom playlist of maps, modes, and challenges available during each weekend.
The beta gave players a mix of larger, vehicle-heavy maps and smaller arena-style maps across both weekends. Game modes in the beta included Conquest, Breakthrough, Domination, and King of the Hill, giving players a feel of what large-scale and small-scale combat will be like as the game continues to develop.
The beta drew huge attention, with peak concurrent users on Steam climbing into the hundreds of thousands, with reports showing around half a million players at its peak. Battlefield 6 has since been wish-listed three million times and has already sold 600 thousand copies on Steam.
Call of Duty’s new trailer
Black Ops 7 looks like Fortnite 2.0
By comparison, Call of Duty’s big Black Ops 7 trailer landed with a thud. It was shown as a gameplay reveal trailer, but there wasn’t much gameplay to be found. Instead, we got cutscenes stitched together with some character reveals, glimpses of the villain, and a few flashy campaign moments.
To be fair, the character animations and environments look incredible. But the actual “gameplay” shown looked stale, and the over-the-top skins, wacky gameplay, and cartoonish aesthetic feel more Fortnite than Call of Duty. For a series once built on gritty warfare and realistic action, that shift feels like a misstep, especially when players are asking for a more grounded approach to the series.
There’s a shift in the FPS market
For years, Call of Duty has had no real challenger. But right now, there’s a gap in the FPS market; players want large-scale, realistic, gritty warfare again. And Battlefield 6 has positioned itself perfectly to take on all the fans who have grown tired of the Call of Duty franchise. I have already pre-ordered my copy of Battlefield 6, which I assume many other gamers are busy doing right now. But I will say, it’s good to see Call of Duty get knocked off its pedestal. Maybe this will push them to innovate more in their games going forward.