Attention around Call of Duty is starting to shift away from Black Ops 6 as players gear up for more information on the upcoming Black Ops 7. While it might be expected that Black Ops 6 would quietly sail into the sunset, the title has been at the middle of some pretty big controversies over the past few months. Activision is adding a huge range of crossover content to Black Ops 6, often including things like operator skins that completely go against any semblance of immersive themes or realistic visuals that CoD has.
Out-of-place cosmetics are not an issue that is limited to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, however, speaking to a much larger issue that has divided the franchise's fan base for quite some time. This issue seems to have come to a head recently, with a real disconnect starting to take hold between CoD's initial identity and its modern practices. The longstanding rivalry between Call of Duty and Battlefield is set to be reignited with the upcoming launch of Battlefield 6, and this game could win a lot of fans over by simply maintaining a gritty and grounded overall theme with its own customization.
Why Battlefield 6's Open Beta Dropping Soon Would Make Perfect Sense
As DICE and EA get closer to a full reveal and the evidence piles up, a Battlefield 6 open beta dropping soon would make perfect sense.
Call of Duty's Identity Crisis Could Be Battlefield's Gain
The type of content associated with Call of Duty has shifted dramatically in recent years. Starting around the time of the franchise's divisive transition into live service content delivery in 2019, things like battle passes and a massive in-game store have dominated the series. Like many other big franchises, it is no secret that Call of Duty is attempting to emulate the massively successful business model of Fortnite, which extends to consistent content collaboration with other IPs.
Call of Duty has introduced a massive range of crossover content because of this, collaborating with film, TV, and real-world celebrities. This has become more and more invasive and against the grain of a given game's more grounded setting over time, with heavily stylized Beavis and Butt-Head and American Dad skins being added to Black Ops 6 over the past few weeks. CoD collaborative content is seemingly becoming more and more on-the-nose with how departed it can be from the franchise's usual graphics and themes, turning the shooter series into a cultural mishmash of conflicting aesthetics.
The sentiment around these skins and weapons is only worsening as Call of Duty leans further into them, with a lot of division currently circulating around BO6 because of it. With it becoming a growing opinion that Call of Duty may have jumped the shark with its frequency of conflicting collaborations, the ball is firmly in Battlefield's court to go against the grain of this industry-wide pattern. Battlefield stands as arguably the most longstanding and relevant direct competitor to Call of Duty, making the upcoming launch of Battlefield 6 one of the most important showdowns in both franchises' histories.
While unconfirmed, Battlefield 6 is expected to launch around November 2025, with current reports suggesting the game will release no later than March 2026.
Battlefield 6's Focus on Tradition Should Be a Perfect Match For More Grounded Experiences
Battlefield 2042 was no stranger to controversy itself, and the way DICE handled the concept of in-game operators for the title was a particular point of discussion. Reports suggest that Battlefield 6 is taking things back to basics with grounded soldiers as opposed to exaggerated specialist operators, alongside things like a more traditional class system. With DICE citing the likes of Battlefield 3 and 4 as the major inspirations for BF6, the game can surely maintain a more gritty and consistent in-game feel away from the pitfalls of what CoD is currently facing.
Of course, Battlefield 6 can still possess an engaging level of customization and even in-store content, but this can be achieved while staying true to the themes and immersive qualities of the game. This seems to be quite a hot-button issue for Call of Duty at the moment, and DICE can get an easy victory over the Activision giant by simply maintaining a level of consistency for its in-game experiences that does not lean into things like massively outlandish skins and collaborations.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- October 25, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
- Engine
- IW 9.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes - PlayStation, Xbox, PC
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- FPS
