After a few years away,Battlefield 6is looking to restore the franchise’s reputation as a premier first-person shooter that can rivalCall of Duty. Doubling down onmassive player counts, vehicular play, and destruction, theBattlefieldseries has always found itself filling a different void than the small-scale, arcade action ofCall of Duty. Despite this, the two are similar enough to be consistently compared with one another, something that is expanded upon by the franchises’ warring communities.
However, while it is true thatBattlefield 6andCall of Duty2021 are going to be releasing at the same time, the two projects seemingly have hugely different strategies.Call of Dutyseems to be doing all it can to double down on sales, withBattlefield 6looking to wow gamers via next-gen improvements instead. When combined with the games’ rumored settings, the two projects could look entirely different from one another — making it even more interesting to see which one comes out on top.
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Call of Duty’s Strategy
Thus far, nothing has been said regarding the platforms thatCall of Duty2021 is going to be launching on. With no changes mentioned by leakers, it seems likely that the nextCall of Dutygame will launch on last-gen consoles as well as the current-gen platforms. This fits well withCall of Duty’s history, as the first threeCall of Dutygames of the PS4 and Xbox One generation found themselves on PS3 and Xbox 360 as well.2013’sCall of Duty: Ghosts, 2014’sCall of Duty: Advanced Warfare, andCall of Duty: Black Ops 3were all ported over to last-gen systems.
WhileCall of Duty: Black Ops 3’s port was particularly messy, as it showed that the older consoles could no longer keep up,Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s port was decent enough. As such, it seems likely that at least one more cross-genCall of Dutygame will be released before Activision finally moves the series forward in a major way. As such,Sledgehammer’sCall of Dutyprojectseems set to be another cross-generational title, and from a business standpoint, this makes perfect sense.
Call of Dutyis consistently breaking records, with the franchise’s sales being unmatched for over a decade. As such, Activision will likely be determined to keep this trend going, and one surefire way to do that is by releasing the next game on all the active PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Cutting out a large chunk of gamers before absolutely necessary is not the Call of Duty style, and keeping PS4 and Xbox One users in the loop will surely ensure more sales for the game. WithCall of Duty: Modern Warfare’s IW8 enginebeing used to develop the 2021 game, the tech will likely not be advanced enough to justify a next-gen only release. In turn, Activision will seemingly be continuing with the plan to haveCall of Dutyappeal to as many gamers as possible.
Battlefield 6’s Strategy
Battlefield 6’s strategy will apparently be completely different. According to leakers,Battlefield 6could skip last-gen consoles, taking full advantage of the new systems. While this is unconfirmed, it would not be too shocking.Battlefield 4’s cross-platform launch was disastrous, as DICE struggled to get the game running on the older technology of the PS3 and Xbox 360. As a result,Battlefield 4struggled from issues for several months, with the game taking far too long to get into a fully enjoyable state.
Beyond wanting to avoid the mistakes ofBattlefield 4and have a launch that ismore likeBattlefield 3, doubling down on next-gen consoles fits with theBattlefieldstrategy. Always positioning itself as a cutting-edge FPS with gorgeous visuals and massive battles, taking full advantage of the PS5 and Xbox Series X fits the M.O. for the series thus far. Further, it explains how the game would be able to pull off some of the feats discussed thus far. Fully destructible cities, massive natural disasters, a huge player count, and battle royale-sized maps all seem more viable on the new systems.
Aside fromBattlefield 6’s destructionand overall gameplay being improved by a next-gen only release, another aspect of EA’s strategy will reportedly see the game launch on Xbox Game Pass. If this is true, it could seeBattlefieldbringing in a larger player base than ever before. While EA may take a hit in terms of sales, as less full-priced copies of the game would be sold, the series could instantly find itself back in a warring position withCall of Dutydue to player interest. Further, withCall of Duty’s PlayStation exclusivity and EA’s past relationship with Xbox, such an agreement simply makes sense.
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Which Strategy Will Prove More Effective?
In terms of sales, dethroningtheCall of Dutyserieswill likely be impossible. The strategy that will seemingly be taken by Activision ensures that the game will be hugely profitable just like past entries, and with this being the company’s goal, it will surely be achieved. Commercially,Call of Duty’s strategy seems set to be the better of the two, as keeping last-gen players involved is always a wise business decision if the game can hold up.
However,Battlefield 6’s strategy seems primed to lead to a massive player count and more critical praise. By doubling down on next-gen technology,Battlefield 6could truly wow gamers and critics alike with its destruction and multiplayer action. In turn, the game could have more positive word-of-mouth, leading to more sales and a renewed interest in theBattlefieldbrand. Further, ifthe Game Pass rumorproves true,Battlefield 6could have a massive player base that carries on throughout the new console generation’s nextBattlefieldreleases.
One final aspect worth touching on is how the next-gen only launch could benefitBattlefield 6’s longevity. WhileCall of Duty’s yearly release cycleis seemingly not going anywhere, and players will be moving on to a new game in 2022,Battlefield 6does not need to follow suit. With a PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X release, the nextBattlefieldcan become a platform that DICE supports and improves upon for years to come. UnlikeCall of Duty, there will be no need to upgrade to a new game for some time, asBattlefield 6would remain a top notch technical and visual perspective for some time. With games-as-a-service titles doing better and better, and gamers being increasingly critical ofCall of Duty’s yearly release schedule,Battlefield 6’s rumored next-gen only strategy might just make it a major success.
Battlefield 6andCall of Duty2021 are currently in development.
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