Summary
Debuting just a year before it,Battlefieldhas always had a bit of a rivalry withCall of Duty. At first, both franchises revolved around a WW2 setting, and while the latter stood out for its cinematic campaigns,Battlefieldfound its niche with large-scale, grounded multiplayer battles. Though the two franchises would try to keep to these niches, some similarities started to appear across the franchises toward the end of the 7th console generation, and the rivalry was propelled into the spotlight.
For a good few years in the early 2010s,Call of DutyandBattlefieldwere constantly compared to one another, with both franchises in their heyday. However, asBattlefieldhas started to stumble over the last few years, its rivalry withCall of Dutyhas become less of an enjoyable spectacle for fans. It’s clear now thatBattlefieldneeds to focus on itself and not its competition, but taking and flipping oneCall of Dutystaple could put theBattlefieldfranchise exactly where it needs to be.
Battlefield Should Subvert a Successful Call of Duty Approach
Call of Duty: Warzone Has the Free-to-Play Battle Royale Genre Locked Down
Released back in March 2020,Call of Duty: Warzonehas had a tight hold on the free-to-play battle royale market for a while now, at least when it comes to more grounded military shooter BRs. Coming out of the gate swinging,Call of Duty: Warzonedelivered just about everything fans wanted from aCall of Dutybattle royale at the time, taking elements from its previous Blackout mode, along with lessons learned from games likeFortniteandApex Legends, to make a truly excellent free-to-play BR title.
WhileBattlefield 5tried its own hand at releasing a battle royale a whole year beforeWarzonelaunched, it failed to really capture the attention of the masses for a few reasons. On top ofBattlefield 5not being received all too well by fans on launch, itsFirestorm battle royale modewas also never made free-to-play, which restricted its reach even further. While it might be tempting for the nextBattlefieldto seeWarzone’s continued success and try to make its own rival battle royale mode, it shouldn’t waste the resources. Instead, these resources would be much better spent undercutting the competition.
The Next Battlefield Should Make its Multiplayer Free-to-Play
For almost two decades now, theCall of Dutyfranchise’s biggest draw has been its multiplayer. While the campaign is a nice inclusion, and an additional mode like Zombies is usually met with a lot of fanfare, multiplayer is the main reason why so many players continue to drop cash on the newestCall of Dutyevery year. The nextBattlefieldgame might be able to gain the upper hand by flipping this model on its head. ThenextBattlefieldgamecould offer its core multiplayer for free, while charging players for its campaign. UnlikeCall of Dutymaking a battle royale mode free and charging for its multiplayer,Battlefield’s multiplayer could be the next free-to-play hit.
This could be a pretty big double-edged sword forBattlefield. On one hand, this would put some monumental expectations onBattlefield’s next single-player campaign, but on the other hand, it would alleviate a lot of the pressure from its multiplayer. If the nextBattlefieldfollows in2042’s live-service footsteps, then it might be a good idea to make its multiplayer component free-to-play, with fans likely to be more lenient of a live-service approach if they aren’t also being asked to spend some money upfront.
This same strategy was used byHalo Infiniteback in 2021, and for a while, it worked exceptionally well. Initially, fans were much more accepting ofHalo Infinite’s live-service structureas it was completely free-to-play, and this bold decision went a long way in bringing the franchise back into the spotlight for a while. Things only stopped working out forHalo Infinitewhen 343 dropped the ball on its seasonal updates.
Battlefield
EA’s Battlefield franchise is a series of first-person shooter games. The games have predominantly been set in the modern day, though there have also been titles set in World War 1, World War 2, and in the near future.The Battlefield franchise is often compared to Call of Duty, with both franchises offering single-player campaigns and online multiplayer.
