When thinking of first-person shooter franchises across the entire gaming industry, none are quite as synonymous with the genre as the Call of Duty and Battlefield IPs. Both franchises have honed their respective crafts over decades of numerous releases, and still hold a commendable amount of sway and influence over the industry to this day.
With that being said, many fans feel that the more recent identities and releases to come from Call of Duty and Battlefield have lost a lot of the core frameworks of what made the IPs so historically popular. With this in mind, the immediate future of both franchises is extremely important, and the next mainline releases to come from both will consequently be in similar situations.
The Recent Installments of Call of Duty and Battlefield
Both Call of Duty and Battlefield can be said to be at a relative crossroads in terms of the identity of both franchises, and this is primarily down to some of the most recent releases from both FPS titans. For example, 2021's Battlefield 2042 was viewed by many within Battlefield's community as a disappointment for a variety of reasons.
Battlefield 2042 boldly did away with any form of campaign mode for the release, which immediately put the release at a disadvantage towards many fans who adored past narrative elements to the Battlefield franchise such as the fan-favorite Bad Company releases. With so much focus subsequently being placed on the game's multiplayer mode, a lot of criticism was placed on the alleged lack of content that was present at launch with 2042, with the player count for the game dropping off significantly only a few months after its October release. The lack of classic mechanics like classes in favor of specialists also led to controversy.
While many are fans of the most recent mainline release to Call of Duty in 2022's Modern Warfare 2, the next release for the franchise is set to come in 2024, being spearheaded by longtime CoD developer Treyarch. The most recent Treyarch franchise release came with 2020's Black Ops Cold War, which itself garnered controversy from its buggy launch. Following this, the company headed the zombies mode for Call of Duty: Vanguard, which itself was lambasted for its lack of content and its departure from the original zombies experience.
The Next Games For Call of Duty and Battlefield
Due to the recent controversies surrounding both Call of Duty and Battlefield, it is clear to see where the similarities lie between the next releases of both IPs. It is worth noting that both Battlefield 2042 and Black Ops Cold War both relatively redeemed themselves in the months following their respective launches, and this is an ethos that can be sustained within both upcoming releases.
Both releases also have an unprecedented amount of anticipation placed on them, with the 2024 release for Call of Duty being a chance for Treyarch to restore its reputation. With the poor reception of Battlefield 2042, it is likely that an equal amount of anticipation will be placed upon the next installment to the Battlefield franchise as well.
As well as this, both games will likely aim to return to the roots of their historic titles, with the next Battlefield title likely having to include some form of narrative experience and the next Call of Duty having to provide a more classic zombies experience. It remains to be seen what kind of gameplay angle that the next Call of Duty and Battlefield titles will feature, but it is clear that both games will be aiming to be comeback releases for both Treyarch and DICE.