It's hard to deny the unwavering superiority Battlefield and Call of Duty franchises, a supremacy that was only deepened by following Battlefield 6a significant start. love them or hate them Battlefield and Call of Duty they regularly lead the gaming industry in cultural relevance and commercial performance, like two titans competing for the affections of mainstream audiences, time and time again, for all eternity.
and for a while Call of Duty he was a consistent winner of these matches and regularly outsold Battlefield whenever both franchises released during the same year. In terms of sustained market dominance and cultural presence, Call of Duty a consistent annual release schedule helps, bringing Activision new revenue every year and benefiting from year-round gaming coverage, eSports media, the holiday gaming boom, and the like. BattlefieldDue to its more modest pace of release, it is relatively more specialized than Call of Dutyit feels more like a traditional gaming franchise and less like a cultural institution. Call of Duty also got a massive shot in the arm thanks to Microsoft's Activision-Blizzard acquisition, which gave the already mammoth series plenty of new resources and more reach. But despite all that, Battlefield 6 clearly “beat” Cod in 2025, and its ostensible strengths — its annual release schedule and relationship with Microsoft — may actually be partly to blame.
Battlefield 6 it sold over 10 million copies in its first month, making it the best-selling game in the franchise's history. Meantime, Black Ops 7Sales are lagging significantly, down more than 60% compared to Black Ops 6.
Battlefield 6 has surpassed Black Ops 7
X-Factor: What Battlefield 6 Has and What Black Ops 7 Doesn't Have
Before looking at Battlefield 6 and Black Ops 7 individually, it's helpful to view them in the context of their respective franchises. Last Battlefield the game was Battlefield 2042 in 2021, which generally ranks as the worst in the series. Complaints about Battlefield 2042 they were and still are countless, but many agree that its problems started with a jump: it launched in terrible technical condition, ran poorly, and featured new, unpopular matchmaking systems. With no campaign, large-scale core game modes, and various goofy cosmetic controversies, Battlefield 2042 she was mostly relegated to mediocrity. It certainly didn't inspire hope ahead Battlefield 6.
Battlefield 2042 it's been much improved since launch, but its legacy will likely always be tarnished; no more attractive than its predecessors or successors, despite post-launch fixes and updates.
But while expectations for Battlefield 6 were somewhat low, the final product landed with a bang. In the eyes of many longtime fans BF6 is exactly what Battlefield should be: a series of grounded, dynamic multiplayer war scenarios that prioritize teamwork, role-playing, and long-term strategy. Each Battlefield 6 The match feels like a carefully choreographed war movie with a sense of weight and atmosphere due to its sheer scale and cleverly implemented mechanics. Battlefield 6 it even won over a number of series newcomers and deftly straddled the line between faithful and accessible.
It also came at perhaps the worst time Call of Duty. Expectations for Black Ops 7 were already very low, with the game receiving a ton of negative publicity upon its reveal. But a lot of negativity around Black Ops 7 it was less about the game itself and more about its context within Call of Duty industrial machine. Simply put, the gaming audience is getting a little jaded Call of Dutywhose annual release schedule was slowly robbing it of its novelty, excitement and identity. Call of Duty it's turned into the McDonald's of the gaming world: it's a nice treat and a lot of people get really addicted to it, but it's inherently shallow, replaceable, and lacking in nutrition. It's impossible for a franchise to stay ahead when it has no downtime and when its creators aren't given the time and space to either do something new or really focus on what makes the IP special.
The Game Pass of It All: How it could have damaged Call of Duty's relationship with Microsoft this year
Battlefield 6 had a much greater cultural impact in 2025 than Black Ops 7and it also ranks better with gamers, but game consumers care about these things in the first place – game publishers and platform holders are much more concerned. Black Ops 7commercial success. As already mentioned, Black Ops 7 is behind Battlefield 6 in terms of both dollar and unit sales, but this is not exclusively, or perhaps even primarily, a matter of quality. Yes, Black Ops 7 has a worse PR than Battlefield 6but the disparity in sales between the two games can largely be attributed to the first game's first release on Game Pass.
Xbox is widely popular, but increasingly unsustainable games-on-demand service has brought Black Ops 7 to subscribers at no additional cost and immediately upon launch. If an Xbox or PC gamer was planning to try out the new Call of Duty anyway, why would they spend $70 to own the full game when they could access it for a fraction of the monthly price? This of course affects sales, but it will probably have a negative impact on Black Ops 7also longevity: if people don't actually own the game, they may be less motivated to play after a few months. And with stiff competition in the form of Battlefield 6new Call of Duty may lose control of the multiplayer shooter scene even sooner.
- Released
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October 10, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, in-app purchases, user interaction
- Developers
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Battlefield Studios
