LONDON: The world’s best-selling war game franchise, Call of Duty, rolls out its latest installment on Friday, under pressure to match the strong debut of old rival Battlefield.
Call of Duty Black Ops 7 places players in a near-future environment as they follow a special forces unit as it confronts a Nicaraguan terrorist.
For twenty years, Call of Duty and Battlefield have dominated the first-person shooter genre in a fierce, ongoing rivalry.
The former still claims the number spot, with more than 500 million copies sold since the first game’s release in 2003, according to publisher Activision Blizzard.
Several episodes are said to have individually exceeded 20 million sales.
However, playing the new game in 2035 could be seen as a risky choice, with previous ‘Call of Duty’ games set in the future proving to be the least popular.
Rivalry
“Black Ops 7” will remove features unpopular with fans, such as “jetpacks” and “wall running” gameplay, Activision communications director Stephanie Snowden said AFP.
A new feature lets characters bounce off walls with a double jump instead.
Overall, it sticks close to recent installments while cultivating the success of older titles in the hopes of keeping fans happy.
The latest story follows Black Ops 2 and 6, including familiar characters and maps.
Stretching the formula would risk alienating the Call of Duty audience.
At the same time, “the franchise doesn’t innovate enough,” said Lou Martin, a marketing student who tested the game during Paris Games Week.
And then there’s the huge success of “Battlefield 6,” released on October 10.
“Battlefield 6 will shatter records and be the biggest launch in franchise history,” publisher Electronic Arts said a week after release.
More than seven million copies of ‘Battlefield 6’ were sold in what EA called one of the biggest gaming and entertainment launches of 2025.
Some specialist media estimate that it has since surpassed 10 million sales.
It marked a significant recovery after ‘Battlefield 2042’, released in 2021, was considered disappointing.
“I was planning on buying ‘Black Ops’ before the end of the year, but ‘Battlefield’ changed my mind,” Martin said.
“Battlefield” challenges its rival with smaller multiplayer maps than usual and a “battle royale” mode where players take each other out one by one, similar to a popular mode found in “Call of Duty.”
“Even if there isn’t enough innovation, I relatively prefer it… to the ‘Battlefield’ franchise, which is too complex for me,” said Reda Mbarki, a gamer in his 30s, after testing the game.
By continuing to offer multiplayer and zombie modes, ‘Call of Duty’ can still count on a loyal audience.
