When thinking of first-person shooter franchises across the entire gaming industry, none are quite as synonymous with the genre as theCall of DutyandBattlefieldIPs. 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 fromCall of DutyandBattlefieldhave 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.
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The Recent Installments of Call of Duty and Battlefield
BothCall of DutyandBattlefieldcan 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’sBattlefield 2042was viewed by many withinBattlefield’s community as a disappointment for a variety of reasons.
Battlefield 2042boldly 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 theBattlefieldfranchise such asthe fan-favoriteBad Companyreleases. 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 with2042, 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 toCall of Dutyin 2022’sModern Warfare 2,the next release for the franchise is set to come in 2024, being spearheaded by longtimeCoDdeveloper Treyarch. The most recentTreyarch franchise release came with 2020’sBlack Ops Cold War, which itself garnered controversy from its buggy launch. Following this, the company headed the zombies mode forCall 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 therecent controversies surrounding bothCall of DutyandBattlefield, it is clear to see where the similarities lie between the next releases of both IPs. It is worth noting that bothBattlefield 2042andBlack Ops Cold Warboth 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 the2024 release forCall of Dutybeing a chance for Treyarch to restore its reputation. With the poor reception ofBattlefield 2042, it is likely that an equal amount of anticipation will be placed upon the next installment to theBattlefieldfranchise as well.
As well as this, both games will likely aim to return to the roots of their historic titles, with the nextBattlefieldtitle likely having to include some form of narrative experience and the nextCall of Dutyhaving to provide a more classic zombies experience. It remains to be seen what kind of gameplay angle that the nextCall of DutyandBattlefieldtitles will feature, but it is clear that both games will be aiming to be comeback releases for both Treyarch and DICE.
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