Battlefield vs. Call of Duty: A Traditional Rivalry in the Gaming Industry
The direct competition between the franchises Battlefield and Call of Duty is one of the most longstanding and oldest in the gaming industry. Both highly popular brands cater to different sides of the first-person shooter community. While the relentless annual release schedule of Call of Duty has made it difficult for Battlefield to keep up in recent years, 2025 will be unique as reports claim a Battlefield and a CoD title will be released – the first time since Battlefield 2042 and CoD: Vanguard in 2021.
First details about this year’s release of Battlefield are already emerging, including leaked gameplay footage from thorough playtesting. The project is already being met with many positive reactions – a stark contrast to the criticism that Battlefield 2042 faced throughout its lifecycle. As this goes against the potentially risky path that CoD is reportedly taking with its 2025 release, it presents a huge opportunity for the Battlefield franchise. And the upcoming game must choose the perfect timing for its big reveal to maximize its chances of directly competing with the industry giant, CoD.
A Well-Timed Reveal Date Could be the Perfect Set-Up for the Next Battlefield Game
The playtests for the upcoming Battlefield project are the most rigorous the franchise has ever seen. DICE launched the „Community Development Collaboration“ of Battlefield Labs to put fans at the center of the development and creative direction of the title. This seems like a logical step after Battlefield 2042 brought the franchise a lasting bad reputation, especially at the time of its release. DICE seems to be taking fan feedback to heart more than ever with its next project.
The playtests in the Battlefield Labs are being conducted in stages. Future playtests will expand to more regions and eventually involve tens of thousands of first-time players.
It is certain that the next Battlefield will once again adopt a modern setting. The return to 64-player matches and more compact maps has already drawn big comparisons to games like Battlefield 3 and 4. This has earned the project a lot of sympathy early on, especially among longtime fans of the franchise, and the timing of the game’s full announcement should maximize this positive attention as much as possible.
2025 will be an unusual year for CoD. Many reports suggest that this year’s CoD release will be another Black Ops title. Rumors have it that it will be a direct sequel to Black Ops 2 from 2012. This project runs the risk of repeating the same criticism that Modern Warfare 3 received in 2023 as the second of two consecutive Modern Warfare releases. Rumors already suggest that CoD 2025 could repeat the same revamped multiplayer map catalog, which only added to the criticism of MW3 – though with some new maps mixed in.
A Well-Timed Battlefield Reveal Has a Real Chance of Taking Steam Away from Call of Duty’s 2025 Project
While a continuation of the story of Black Ops 2 could be an intriguing prospect, the allegedly limited amount of new content for CoD’s multiplayer in 2025 could bring it into a relative lull, making the excitement around the next Battlefield all the more valuable for the EA franchise. The Black Ops 6 era of CoD recently got a nice boost from the highly anticipated re-introduction of Verdansk in Warzone, and the next Battlefield should take its time and wait until this hype dies down before fully establishing itself in the FPS scene.
Since CoD reveals usually begin around April or May, it might be wise for Battlefield to wait with its reveal until the CoD 2025 release starts its own marketing campaign. This way, fans of the FPS genre can fully inform themselves about this year’s CoD offerings and make a direct comparison with what Battlefield has to offer. A timely reveal of the next Battlefield, after the initial interest in this year’s CoD reveal has died down, could be invaluable for DICE and hand the lead over to Battlefield for one of the most exciting showdowns the two massive franchises have ever seen.