Open betas are a tumultuous time in the pre-release marketing cycle of blockbuster triple-A games like Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. We’re a week removed from Battlefield 6‘s open beta, which spanned two separate weekends in August, and Black Ops 7‘s early access beta begins in a little over a month, on October 2. Both likely have similar goals: stress test network infrastructure, gather some data on game balance, and field player feedback.
Battlefield 6 has already gone through its beta debrief, highlighting some surprising stats and discussing changes being made before launch. The beta’s reception seems to be generally positive, even if there are a few prominent criticisms (like worries over map sizes), but longtime Battlefield fans seem to be maintaining their cautious optimism towards the announced changes. Vocal detractors have made their opinions known as well, but Black Ops 7 releasing roughly a month after BF6 will hopefully smooth things over.
Some Beta Players Are Upset BF6 Movement Is Changing
Sliding & Jumping Is Being Nerfed
Battlefield 6 has a pretty robust movement system. You can slide, dive, sprint while crouched, and roll after falling from a decent height. It gives you a lot of very interesting situational options, but even in the short time allotted by the beta, a subset of very skilled players learned to abuse some of the mechanics. A community update from the developers, posted to EA’s website, pins the issue on conserved momentum between jumping and sliding, and the efficacy of consecutive jumps.
Both of these issues will be addressed, effectively slowing gameplay to eliminate bunny hopping strategies and reining in the length and speed of slides. Many who played the beta are opposed to these changes, noting that they enjoyed the increased mobility, and arguing that it’s simply another mechanic to be mastered. But the ability to abuse sliding and jumping is antithetical to Battlefield‘s identity, which, in the series’ most beloved entries, attempts to feel grounded, even if outright realism isn’t a significant part of the equation.
To speak plainly, perhaps at the risk of sounding reductive: such high mobility belongs in a game like Call of Duty, and has never really meshed with Battlefield. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a fast-paced shooter, but Battlefield 6 is the wrong place to look for one. Luckily, Black Ops 7 will swiftly give those players an alternative.
Black Ops 7 Releases A Month After Battlefield 6
Healthy Competition
Battlefield 6 will arrive on October 10, and with it being heralded as the series’ big comeback, there’s bound to be newcomers joining in on the hype alongside longtime series fans. Some players from both groups are bound to bounce off BF6, and that’s completely fine – everyone has different tastes. Movement is sure to be a hot-button issue still at launch, and there will almost certainly be a number of players who feel the game is too slow.
Black Ops 7 releases on November 14, and will provide the perfect outlet for those that were hoping for their next twitch shooter fix. Developed concurrently with Black Ops 6, BO7 will feature its predecessor’s omnidirectional movement system in the series’ classic arcade maps – in addition to ambitious new modes like the 20v20 Skirmish mode. Call of Duty‘s return will be able to take some pressure off of Battlefield 6 being the new FPS destination.
Battlefield Has Never Been A CoD Replacement
Longtime Rivals Going Head-To-Head Again
Call of Duty and Battlefield are clearly rivals, and BF6 will want to keep as many players as possible from jumping ship to Black Ops 7, but the two have never been able to replace one another. Battlefield has long included smaller game modes like Team Deathmatch and Domination, and Call of Duty has repeatedly experimented with larger maps and vehicles in the new Modern Warfare trilogy’s Ground War.
Neither has been more than a shot across the other series’ bow, and that’s unlikely to change with Battlefield 6 and Black Ops 7. The games simply have different strengths, and there’s room for both to appeal to different players, even though their audiences have significant overlap. Both series are so entrenched that changing too much results in a title like Battlefield 2042, which feels familiar, but doesn’t really appeal to longtime fans, nor is it engaging enough to capture a brand-new audience.
Battlefield 6‘s movement changes are important for accomplishing the game’s most important goal: getting the series back on track. It is very clearly a spiritual successor to Battlefield 3 and 4, and has finally answered the pleas for destruction to return to Bad Company 2 levels. Undermining the classic, squad-based flow of Battlefield by allowing a very small subset of players to abuse movement mechanics would be a mistake.
Yes, it can be argued that it’s a matter of skill, but sliding into a series of bunny hops while hip-firing a whole squad to death is well outside the scope of a faithful Battlefield experience. Some players crave the frantic action that CoD can deliver, and that’s fine – Black Ops 7 will bring it. Movement in Battlefield 6 will likely remain a debated topic around the game’s release, but Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will hopefully provide some reprieve a month later.
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Battlefield 6
Systems
- Released
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October 10, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Battlefield Studios
- Engine
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Frostbite
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Number of Players
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Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
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Unknown
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
Systems
- Released
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November 14, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Treyarch, Raven Software
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
- PC Release Date
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November 14, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
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November 14, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
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November 14, 2025
