Nowadays, the Call of Duty franchise is performing in top form. Every new game in this series manages to break some kind of sales record. It’s not even a surprise, given how many gamers have made Call of Duty their go-to franchise for some multiplayer fun.
Another reason for its unmatched success is just the fact that Call of Duty is currently running this race without competition. The nearest competition this franchise has ever seen is in Battlefield, but that too has lost its steam. But how? What happened to the Battlefield franchise was that it continued to go downhill. Let’s try and find out.
How the Battlefield franchise lost the race with Call of Duty
Many gamers might not be aware, but the Battlefield franchise was released before Call of Duty. Battlefield 1942 was the first game in the series, and it launched in 2002. The first Call of Duty game saw its launch in 2003.
The difference between both games was that one had a heavy focus on multiplayer, while the other featured a robust single-player story mode alongside the multiplayer. Both ended up earning critical acclaim and becoming successful.
Eventually, Call of Duty won this game when Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare launched. But DICE, the developer of the Battlefield franchise, once again gave Infinity Ward tough competition with Battlefield 3. Besides being a very engaging first-person shooter, there was one more thing that was pretty special about Battlefield 3: its emphasis on being more of a simulator.
Its characters looked more realistic; they moved realistically, and the weapon sounds were pretty realistic too. There was no denying the fact that DICE had put a lot of effort into making their game stand out and not look like they were just copying Call of Duty. And it paid off too; the game was a success.
Its sequel was a success too; Battlefield 4 pretty much doubled down on everything its prequel did right. It was the first game in the series to launch for the next generation of consoles, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Its visuals showed too; it was a very good-looking game that became a massive success.
Then came Battlefield Hardline, a game starring cops. To give DICE a break, EA decided to give Visceral Games a chance at this franchise. And they delivered a good enough game. But this game also caused some kind of identity crisis for the series. These were a series of simulation games, so players got to play as cops.
But these games were also known for their large-scale multiplayer battles; that’s why they are called Battlefield. It did not sit well with fans, and even though it sold decently, its reviews were mixed, and fans forgot it pretty fast. This is where this roof started sinking in.
And with Battlefield 1 and V, DICE returned to World Wars 1 and 2. These were incredibly well-made games let down by EA’s need to monetize their games. Incredible stories, incredible visuals, and some of the best sound design ever seen in a game. But they were just average when it came to sales.
Then EA decided to push DICE for the next game, which was going to be in 2042. A brand-new idea with something to showcase those next-gen visuals. A dynamic map that changed randomly. Massive twisters surround the warzones, skyscrapers falling down, and people fighting in those falling buildings. This game was crazy, but it was pushed for release earlier than intended, and it came out as an unfinished game. DICE is fixing it to this day. It has started showing some rise in players, but now it does not matter much.
There were two things that brought about the downfall of the Battlefield series. One of EA’s needs was to excessively monetize its games, and the second was the fact that they could not decide where to go with their games. Here’s hoping they do better with Battlefield 6, though.
Is Activision making the same mistake with Call of Duty?
The Call of Duty franchise is a whole other beast. Over the years, Activision has made sure it has a bunch of teams standing by just so they are ready with their own Call of Duty title at hand. The fact that they monetize their games as badly as EA nowadays does not matter here because now they have the kind of fans who would just blindly buy a Call of Duty game. Battlefield never managed to gather such a fan base.
But Activision better be careful, as their campaigns keep getting shorter and less impressive. There was a time when that was the only reason people used to buy Call of Duty titles. If they keep neglecting their single-player story mode the way they did with Modern Warfare 3, fans might not like it.
