Battlefield 6 will force 'lazy' Call Of Duty to change says former Blizzard boss
Following its launch last week, the open beta for Battlefield 6 has been a huge success – despite the presence of cheaters on the frontline.
Over the weekend, the beta hit an all-time player peak of 521,079 on Steam. This is higher than Call Of Duty's all-time peak of 491,670 players, across both Black Ops 6 and Warzone.
While it remains to be seen if this popularity will continue when the game launches on October 10, a former executive at Microsoft and Blizzard has made some bold claims about how Battlefield 6 will fare against this year's Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7.
In a post on X, Mike Ybarra, who served as president at Blizzard for three years until 2024, wrote: 'Battlefield will boot stomp Call Of Duty this year. But the real win here is Call Of Duty won't be lazy anymore, and we'll all get better first person shooter games for it.'
When a user highlighted how Call Of Duty has consistently outsold Battlefield in the past, Ybarra replied: 'Call Of Duty has gone downhill for years since then. It's a mess. Cheating, heavy UI/install, rainbow colours. People are sick of it. Luckily Battlefield will force them to change it.'
For context, 2011's Battlefield 3, one of the best-selling entries in the series, managed to shift 15 million copies. In comparison,2013's Call Of Duty: Ghosts, an entry which failed to meet Activision's expectations, sold 28 million copies worldwide.
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Battlefield will boot stomp CoD this year. But the real win here is CoD won't be lazy anymore, and we'll all get better FPS games for it. — Mike Ybarra 😇 (@Qwik) August 8, 2025
CoD has gone downhill for years since then. It's a mess. Cheating, heavy UI/install, rainbow colors. People are sick of it. Luckily BF will force them to change it. — Mike Ybarra 😇 (@Qwik) August 8, 2025
As such, it's very unlikely Battlefield 6, even with all its positive momentum, will 'boot stomp' Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 in terms of sales. Activision's shooter has been the dominant military shooter for too long to have its reign dethroned overnight, but if Battlefield 6 does continue to gain popularity, Activision will be forced to pay attention.
Ybarra went onto clarify his 'boot stomp' comments in a later post, where he stated that Battlefield 6 will not surpass Call Of Duty's player numbers overall, because it's available on Xbox Game Pass.
'What I meant by boot stomp is it will review better and drive urgency from the Call Of Duty team like never before,' he added. 'Player counts you can't use because Call Of Duty is free on Game Pass. Which makes it interesting to see if it will sell close to Call Of Duty – maybe so.' More Trending
With only a few exceptions, such as 2023's Modern Warfare 3, Call Of Duty generally review well, and not significantly less than most Battlefield games.
What I meant by boot stomp is it will review better and drive urgency from the CoD team like never before. Player counts you can't use because CoD is free on Game Pass. Which makes it interesting to see if it will sell close to CoD – maybe so. But I'm not wrong, more competition… — Mike Ybarra 😇 (@Qwik) August 9, 2025
'But I'm not wrong, more competition will make Call Of Duty better and I'm all for Battlefield doing that. It shouldn't take that – Call Of Duty is lazy… 130GB+ installs, slow UI, incredible cheating on and on… they need to fix it. The only way they will is through competition.'
The big question is whether Battlefield 6 will actually eat into Call Of Duty's audience. While they are both shooters with similar DNA, Battlefield has always predominantly targeted PC players, while Call Of Duty has traditionally sold better on console.
For Battlefield 6 specifically, the biggest test will be whether it can stick the landing at launch – something the series has, historically, struggled with in the past, especially when it comes to being bug-free.
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The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
We know that cosy games have big audiences – so where's my epic Call the Midwife sim?
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Metro
8 hours ago
- Metro
Games Inbox: Should Leon die in Resident Evil Requiem?
The Thursday letters page hopes that video game demos will become more commonplace as the generation goes on, as one reader recommends Forza Horizon rival CarX Street. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ Life and death I really like the fact that Resident Evil has never had a reboot, and I wish other games had that sort of history. There are plenty that have been around for as long or longer, but you don't get that same sense of looking forward to seeing favourite characters come back or watching them age. I'd be totally fine with a game where they were getting into their 50s, because anyone that played the original would be in a similar situation and I think that's really cool. We had an Indiana Jones film recently where the actor was 80 years old but it's even easier for a game to do, because nobody's going to break their hip on set. 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I think another reader mentioned how they're starting to become more common nowadays, after being guaranteed for any Xbox 360 era game but then falling out of fashion. I know the hard data says people that play a demo are less likely to buy a game but I'm not sure how they really measure that. How can they tell they were going to buy it and then the demo put them off (either because they didn't like it or, I guess, because they feel they've already played it now)? I do see a bit of crossover there with the Game Pass effect, where too much choice becomes paralysing but for me personally, if I'm on the fence about a game or don't really understand what it is, then a demo is very welcome. Maybe things will continue to improve and they'll become more common, because betas are blatantly just demos by another name, and they definitely work. Skimble More Battles My main hope about Battlefield 6 being a success is that it makes it more likely that EA make a Star Wars: Battlefront 3. 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That one is the one I wanted the most because it's very important to the overall storyline but it often gets forgotten because it was originally a Dreamcast game. It's also quite a flawed game and I'm curious to see if Capcom will actually improve it, especially as it's got that pointless rehash of Resident Evil 1 in the middle. To be honest, as good as the other remakes are, what they did with Resident Evil 3 doesn't give me much hope. That was already a lesser entry and they somehow made it even worse in the remake, taking out the few things that made it special. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, that they learned from that, especially as I believe that was the B-team working on that one. Not sure why they threw it out so carelessly though. It was a mainline sequel and now they're left with the difficulty of trying to make Resident Evil 0 decent. Maybe they should do a remake of the remake of 3 instead? Gazza Curated selection I might rate Game Pass more than PS Plus Extra/Premium but one thing the latter is good at, is its picks for the day one indie games it has. There's been Stray, Humanity, Rogue Legacy 2, Sea Of Stars, Teardown, Animal Well, The Plucky Squire, Dave The Diver, Blue Prince, and this month Sword Of The Sea. Good month in general for me with that game, Indika, Earth Defence Force 6, and Unicorn Overlord all peaking my interest. Simundo GC: Unicorn Overlord is great. Cross-platform customer As well as defining a 'gamer' in that spending report, we also need to determine what they mean by a person. Yes, I know that sounds silly but let me continue. I, for example, have a presence in four gaming sectors: Nintendo, where this year I have bought a Switch 2, some peripherals, Nintendo Switch Online, and quite a few games across both Switch platforms. So about £800. Microsoft, where I have a Game Pass Ultimate subscription but have bought no games or peripherals: £168. Sony, where I have the lowest PS Plus subscription and this year have bought two games: £200 Apple, where I have not paid anything beyond the Netflix subscription that includes games but regularly play free games like Pokémon Go. So, does the survey consider me to be one person spending about £1,200 per year on games, or four people that are spending an average of £300 each? Also is hardware included? And how does it factor in mobiles, tablets, and PCs that also have non-gaming applications? PazJohnMitch Out of touch I'm not sure the graphics are what most people were worrying about when it came to Football Manager 26 but at least it seems like it's actually going to release this year. I didn't know what to do without it last Christmas. We all complain they're too similar every year but being stuck with the current one for longer than usual, I'm yearning to play the new version. Football Manager used to be so good at understanding its audience, I hope this doesn't mean they've lost that touch. Skinner Budget drive Thought I would send in my thoughts of CarX Street on Xbox Series X, as it's had me hooked since release. I love open world racing games but got bored of Forza Horizon and Need For Speed; CarX Street does things a bit different and for the better. Firstly, this is not a sim but has more realistic handling than any other open world racer. Hitting objects will slow or stop you, so you can't just plough through everything. Even going offroad will slow you down and get real slidey, this is a tarmac racer. The AI is really good, even seeming to act quite human with no catch-up. The world looks great and the devs said they are going to expand it even though its already big. I love that there's so much traffic, if you turn it to max there's full-on traffic jams, though it does affect performance. The cars aren't licensed but look like their real world counterparts, with extensive tuning and customisation. So at least there's no chance it will get shut down to licensing issues. Also, it's cross-play, so there's always full lobbies, something all racers should have. My only problem is occasional slowdown and no car damage, but the devs are still working on it with a roadmap. More impressive is it's only £25; it's gonna keep me busy for a while. Rob Inbox also-ransGame I'm looking forward to is Cronos: The New Dawn. George GC: We should be seeing it, and speaking to the developer, at Gamescom next week. People talking about the Switch 2 Lite, I don't understand why Nintendo doesn't sell the current model but just without the dock? They could sell the dock on its own too, if anyone wanted it later, and probably end up charging more for both separately. Cubby More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@ The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers' letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader's Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don't forget to follow us on Twitter. MORE: Games Inbox: Is an Xbox Game Pass subscription worth it? MORE: Games Inbox: Does it matter that physical video games are dying? MORE: Games Inbox: What's the best way to play Nintendo Switch 2?
Scotsman
15 hours ago
- Scotsman
Battlefield 6 beta: when does beta open again
Gamers will get a second chance to try out Battlefield 6's multiplayer open beta 🎮👀 Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Battlefield 6's open beta will be back later this week. EA has confirmed the full list of maps that will feature. But when will the open beta start again? Battlefield 6's open beta might have just closed, but players will have another chance to try it out very soon. The highly anticipated entry in the stories franchise gave fans a first taste of its multiplayer mayhem from Saturday (August 9) to Monday (August 11). For those who were busy on these dates, or those who just want to experience it more, the open beta will return later in the week. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad EA will be holding a second week of the beta in the coming days and it has confirmed an extra map will be available to try out. Ahead of it starting, the publisher said: 'Our Open Beta has a number of maps, modes, and features for you to try across these two weekends, including the opportunity to play with Closed Weapons.' When does Battlefield 6 beta week 2 start? Battlefield 6's Empire State map is in the second open beta | EA/ Battlefield The first weekend of the first person shooter's open beta finished at 9am today (August 11) British time. It ran from Saturday at 9am British time until this morning. Fortunately, players will have a second chance to try out Battlefield 6's multiplayer shortly. The beta will open again at 8am UTC on Thursday (August 14) - which is 9am British time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It will run through to next Monday (August 18) and will finish at 9am British time. So players will have four full days to try out the beta once more. Which maps will feature in Battlefield 6 beta? During the first weekend of the open beta, players had access to three maps. EA will be adding one extra one for week two in the form of Empire State - based on New York City. The full list of maps available during the second weekend of the Battlefield 6 open beta includes: Siege of Cairo Liberation Peak Iberian Offensive Empire State The modes that will be available to play across the maps during the second week of the open beta have also been confirmed. It includes: Conquest Closed Weapon Conquest Breakthrough Domination King of The Hill Rush Squad Deathmatch Closed Weapon Conquest & Breakthrough What isn't available during the Battlefield 6 beta? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Battlefield 6's Empire State map is in the second open beta | EA/ Battlefield Plenty of the maps that will be available in the multiplayer mode upon release are being saved and will not feature in the open beta. A total of four of the maps can be experienced during the beta as of the second weekend. EA has promised that the full game will have: '5 Theaters of War, 9 Maps, with hand-crafted Combat Zones to maximize variety.' The full game will also have more modes to experience during multiplayer, even beyond those featured in the beta. Gamespot reports that there will be one called Escalation, which will be similar to the fan favourite Conquest mode. The website reports it will be one 'where players must capture flags and whittle down enemy lives, but the maps will apparently shrink and consolidate'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Battlefield 6 will also feature a full campaign mode for those who enjoy a single-player experience. On its website , EA said: 'Drive tanks across the Sahara. Storm the beaches of Gibraltar. Defend New York from invasion. Join an elite squad of Marine Raiders fighting relentlessly to save a world on the edge of collapse.' There will also be a map-maker mode called Portal. The publisher explains: 'Take unprecedented control of your environment by moving, scaling, and duplicating objects. Create your own gamemode and custom UI. Design unique multiplayer experiences using NPC scripting. Your creation can rise the ranks to become an official mode.' What can you play the Battlefield 6 open beta on? It will be available on PC as well as on the current generation of consoles. You can play the beta on PS5 as well as Xbox Series X/ S, it has been confirmed. For those who plan to play it on PC, it will be available on Steam, Epic Games Store and the EA app. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Players can pre-load the beta before it opens, so you don't have to waste time waiting for it to install once it has started. Have you tried out the Battlefield 6 beta so far? Let me know your thoughts on it by email: .
