This year’s battle between Battlefield and Call of Duty is shaping up to be an interesting one, both because of the games themselves and due to the communities surrounding them. In the case of Battlefield 6, Battlefield Studios is aiming to right the ship after the divisive BF5 and critically panned 2042, returning to a modern setting with a focus on classes and destruction in BF6. For Call of Duty, Black Ops is moving back to the near future, giving players the successor to Black Ops 2 that they have been wanting for so long. Unfortunately, despite both series doing exactly what fans wanted, neither game has the full stamp of approval from their respective community - though one is faring a bit better than the other.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is Suffering for the Franchise’s Recent Sins
Though Black Ops 7 should be a well-received game on paper, the response to the title has been anything but positive thus far. Nearly every facet of the upcoming title is being criticized, as fans have something negative to say about all three pillars. For multiplayer, Call of Duty’s most important mode, fans have a few points of criticism. Though quality-of-life additions like sharing loadouts are nice, and bigger maps are a welcome change after BO6, players remain split on omnimovement - especially with wall-jumps being added to the pool of maneuvers. Additionally, though Black Ops 7 has supposedly kept criticism about BO6 cosmetics in mind, it doesn’t matter if it adds less goofy skins because all the looks from BO6 will carry forward. As such, players won’t be escaping Beavis and Butthead with the new release.
As for the campaign, players have concerns about the final mission being an extraction shooter, as there is a chance it could negatively impact the storytelling of the mode. Additionally, the story picking up on characters from a 13-year-old game is a risky endeavor, as many of today’s CoD players were toddlers when BO2 released - meaning they have no attachment to Raul Menendez or David Mason. These points, when combined with the fact that a trippy, mind-bending story in a military FPS just won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, give the mode an uphill battle to face. Lastly, there’s CoD Zombies, which is perhaps drawing the most ire of the three modes. Though players have been asking for a TranZit-like map for some time, there are various criticisms about the new iteration of Zombies unrelated to the map, such as:
- The old-school Zombies fan base simply despises modern Zombies, disliking everything from the Warzone-like armor system to the points approach seen in games like Cold War, BO6, and now BO7.
- Zombies fans are frustrated by the classic characters suddenly reappearing via Reckoning’s final cutscene, as they see it as a lazy nostalgia play and are concerned about their favorite cast’s legacies being ruined.
- Though small survival maps being split off the full round-based launch map is a big win, as fans haven’t had this since Black Ops 2’s TranZit and its offshoots like Town, players are angry that survival maps are coming as midseason Reloaded content throughout the year instead of dropping all at once.
There are general criticisms about the game, too, whether it be the continued use of AI assets in Call of Duty thanks to Steam or the game essentially feeling like an expensive DLC due to a lack of meaningful improvements.
Battlefield 6 is Faring Better, But There Are Still Plenty of Complaints
While Battlefield 6 may not be facing the “same game, new price tag” complaints Zombies fans are leveling at BO7, it is very comparable in the sense that longtime fans are the ones complaining the loudest. Just like veteran CoD Zombies players who miss the days of BO3 and its predecessors are the most negative about what has been shown for BO7, Battlefield 6’s detractors tend to be players from the older Battlefield titles. These fallen fans are quick to point to games like Battlefield 2 as the peak of the series due to massive maps full of vehicles, arguing that Battlefield 6 feels too much like Call of Duty thanks to its close-quarters gameplay. Though its cosmetics have been grounded thus far, even those have come under fire from these traditional fans, with the pacing of BF6 described as “exhuasting,” the idea of open weapons being seen as offensive, and the server browser being tied to Portal viewed as an unnecessary step.
However, while some older Battlefield players have pushed back against BF6 and maps like Empire State, it’s impossible to ignore the statistics. Hundreds of thousands of players pre-ordered Battlefield 6 on Steam due to loving their time with the beta, while over 20 million players gave it a try over the open beta weekends. So, while a vocal minority may be flooding the official Battlefield subreddit with complaints about sliding or nitpicks about the main menu, and saying that BF6 isn't a "real Battlefield," the difference between Battlefield 6 and Black Ops 7 is that a majority of players do seem satisfied with the former. Black Ops 7, on the other hand, has fans of all three pillars concerned for various reasons, with the dislikes on its latest trailer dwarfing the like count (and the top comment even claiming the footage caused them to pre-order Battlefield 6).
Ultimately, though gamers may see heavy criticism for both titles across social media right now, making it hard for optimistic fans to be excited and show positivity, it does seem that a larger portion of the Battlefield fan base is behind its new game. Unfortunately for fans of gaming's other flagship military shooter, the general vibe around CoD is the worst it's been since 2016’s Infinite Warfare.
Battlefield 6
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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
