Every year that a Battlefield and a Call of Duty both release, there is a tendency to compare the two. Not just because they are both military shooters with multiplayer components, but because it seems as though each game looks at its competition and tries to one-up the other. Some could say that Battlefield looks more closely at Call of Duty than COD looks at Battlefield, but it’s hard to deny that they aren’t aware of what the other is doing.
For 2025, it feels like there is a shifting of the tide, at least as far as the competition is concerned. Battlefield 6 has generated a ton of interest and found a lot of success with its strong suite of multiplayer offerings. The argument could even be made that, if there was to be a year that Battlefield beats Call of Duty, this is it.
Battlefield vs Call of Duty competition aside, it does feel like the two franchises are at an interesting inflection point. Call it franchise fatigue or complacency, but Call of Duty doesn’t appear to have the same cache that it regularly does, at least among the hardcore multiplayer fans. There’s little doubt that Black Ops 7 will be successful, and very well could be the best-selling game as usual, but Battlefield 6 has made an impact in a way that more recent entries failed to do.
Battlefield 6’s success with multiplayer has established that the franchise can and will compete in the future. Where past entries may have struggled, Battlefield Studios has a blueprint for what works. However, I would argue that this success should also give the developers the confidence to drop a part of the Battlefield package that is typically weaker.
The Battlefield 6 campaign is fun for what it is, but most would agree that multiplayer is where the game shines. In fact, many of the positive reviews for Battlefield 6 (of which there are many) have glowing things to say about the game despite feeling like the campaign is forgettable. Where other games’ review scores might have been docked for the campaign being subpar, Battlefield 6 retains a high overall score from critics and players. You could even argue that some of the lower scores might have been even higher if there hadn’t been a campaign at all.
Battlefield 6 offers an a stounding multiplayer experience, but its campaign is rather forgettable.
So the question becomes whether Battlefield needs a campaign? Obviously, when looking at the comparison to Call of Duty, there must be a feeling that the answer is yes. Like bullet points on the back of the box, Electronic Arts must feel like checking “Campaign” is important. But I would argue that it isn’t. Including a campaign in a multiplayer shooter feels more like an obligation because Call of Duty does it, and not an essential piece of a compelling triple-A package.
I am a fan of shooter campaigns, but even I can see that they are not the main draw for a lot of people. I enjoy the bombastic thrill ride of a solid Call of Duty campaign and the Battlefield 6 story has its moments, but it feels disjointed and even its cool narrative beats pale in comparison to the emergent chaos that can occur in a given multiplayer match. Call of Duty offers visuals and experiences that you can only get in its campaign, whereas Battlefield tends to use the building blocks of multiplayer to create a campaign.
It might be a foregone conclusion that the single-player campaign box simply needs to be checked with every Battlefield release, but past games have skipped them. I don’t think that any Battlefield game would be less attractive to its fan base without a campaign, in the same way that Call of Duty would. Both COD and Battlefield are multiplayer titles first and foremost, but they differ in so many ways that it would be more exciting to see them diverge even further. Battlefield doesn’t have to be a jack of all trades in the same way; it can focus on multiplayer and use those previously campaign-focused development resources to make its multiplayer offering bigger and more diverse. Hopefully, Battlefield 6’s success gives Battlefield Studios the confidence to chart its own path, instead of peeking over the fence at what the competition is doing.
Battlefield 6
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 90%
- Released
- October 10, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-App Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Battlefield Studios
- Publisher(s)
- EA
WHERE TO PLAY
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Franchise
- Battlefield
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
