Summary
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3is now in full swing, with a lot of pressure currently being placed on its core multiplayer. The recent release is in a kind of limbo at the moment as it attempts to transition away from 2022’sModern Warfare 2, with a lot of expectation being placed on its debut season.
The current state ofCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3has already invited a lot of criticism about the franchise, and any competitors toCall of Dutywill know that now is the time to strike.Battlefieldis the franchise that is in the best place to capitalize on the current uncertainty surroundingCall of Duty, with its most recent installment,Battlefield 2042, doing a lot in recent months to move away from its own controversies.
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Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 2042 May Have Turned the Tides
WhenBattlefield 2042launched, it faced a resounding amount of criticism for how it supposedly regressed from the multiplayer experiences of past releases for the IP. With the game choosing to do away with the popular single-player narratives of past games, there was a huge amount of pressure on a multiplayer that simply did not deliver at the time. This had a huge impact on how2042was perceived in 2021, with its multiplayerplayer-counts facing a rapid drop-off soon after its release.
This early reception ofBattlefield 2042was quite damagingfor the franchise’s reputation, and was a stark contrast to the success ofCall of Dutyat the time. Even though 2021’sCall of Duty: Vanguardwas met with its own mixed reviews by theCoDcommunity, the franchise as a whole was very much clear ofBattlefieldat the time in terms of its player retention and prospects for the future.
Call of Dutyis also helped by its annual releases, with the 2022 release ofModern Warfare 2giving a big boost toCoD’s prospects and keeping players engaged. Comparatively,Battlefieldhas not had another mainline release since2042, with there still being a clear need for the title to pick up the slack from its problematic release, though DICE has made great strides in this regard in recent months.
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Battlefield 2042’s Resurgence Makes it a Rival to Modern Warfare 3
In the wake of2042’s release, many thought that the longstandingrivalry betweenBattlefieldandCall of Dutywas dead in the water, withCoDreigning supreme. However, the many improvements made to2042come at a time when theCall of Dutyfranchise is in a period of struggle.
The recent in-game seasons ofBattlefield 2042have made a concerted effort to bolster the content of the title, making it much more reflective of the experience that fans were initially expecting in 2021. For example, the highly praisedSeason 6 of2042introduced a better pool of maps, with past updates also implementing highly-demanded features like a return to the traditional class system ofBattlefield. With these updates, combined with smart moves like free-to-play weekends,Battlefield 2042recently reached a new peak player count of 107,000 in October of this year, exceeding the hype of its launch.
Conversely,Modern Warfare 3has had its own problematic release, with longstanding issues like skill-based matchmaking, reused content, and confusing interfaces still dominating the discourse around the franchise. With2042picking up a lot of steam that is set to be extended within its next in-game seasons, the rivalry betweenBattlefieldandCall of Dutyis gearing up to be unpredictably close over the coming months.
