Apparently, in a court document, Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision, stated that the sales of Call of Duty for the year 2025 went down by more than 60% when compared to 2024, attributing the drastic decline to the release of rival games like Battlefield. The statement was included in the legal reasoning that was directed against the Federal Trade Commission and was meant to show that there is an active competition in the first-person shooter genre. This sudden disclosure, while apparently justifying the sharp decline, produces an inquisitive atmosphere around the real reasons behind the drop for one of the longest-lived brands in the video game industry.
In all honesty, Bobby Kotick is crying wolf and pointing the blame directly at Battlefield. However, is this really the road he is traveling? The guy says, “COD will be 60% down on last year due to strong competition from titles like Battlefield.” He basically gives the FTC these figures to say, “Look, I told you there is competition,” which comes right after their whole anti-trust issue. Nevertheless, the whole thing has a humorous side when you read that tweet from charlieIntel?? Because if you just take a two-second scroll down into the replies, honestly no one is backing him up. Not a single person. The place is a total massacre down there.
Gamers, to say the least, are not convinced by Kotick’s words. The community’s reaction is purely sarcastic. One gamer, Arinze, surprisingly makes a very sensible statement, saying, “Competition is good, but it’s quite far-off to put all the blame on Battlefield. COD fatigue, price, yearly release, and player trust, all these are factors.” That’s it. The point is not one thing but it’s the accumulation of everything over the years that eventually leads the whole situation to just…collapse.
The replies, however, keep getting more and more direct while also being funnier at the same time. “It’s not Battlefield’s fault; it’s that COD is old and tasteless,” one user asserts. Another user just states, “It was not Battlefield’s fault; it was because of the release of a poor game.” Ouch! indeed! Interestingly, the word “slop” is used quite frequently. It has become the most common term to describe the situation. “People are just now realizing that they are still being served slop,” says Darkobsidion. It’s a mood, and the mood is that the standard is no more.
What was I discussing? Oh, yes, the passing of guilt. So Kotick blames Battlefield. The community offers… well, a plethora of other things. Some comments even mention the ever-present culture war angle. “Did they intentionally create slop as a way of bypassing antitrust issues?” is the inquiry that Aurondarklord raises, which sounds like a far-fetched conspiracy theory but, to be frank, one cannot totally rule it out in this atmosphere. Some are bolder in their approach: “No, it’s because the new bloated black female bosses have been imposed on the franchise. Rest in peace,” is one response. Another commenter points at “woke nonsense, and the majority of the skilled developers have left.” Regardless of whether you concur with these opinions or not, it is crystal clear that a considerable segment of the player base quite strongly has this feeling and that this is to a certain extent responsible for the rift.
Then, the practicability comes into play. “I don’t know; maybe they should just stop producing one game a year?” is the advice given by a user called “m'”. It’s the annual release schedule, that’s it. It has always been a point of contention. You just cannot expect a major breakthrough when you are on a conveyor belt. And when a competitor, even one that has had rough times like Battlefield, puts out a game that feels fresh? You can be sure that the gamers will check it out. Turtle Lasagna goes to the extent of claiming that “Battlefield 6 beat COD in the market of FPS for 2025.” This is in sharp contrast to Kotick’s claim; it’s not only about competition, it’s that the other product was better.
Keep the Game Pass scenario in mind. “No, it was bad AND on game pass,” is the smart response of Cyberpug2077. If the newest COD is available on a subscription service on its release day, a big chunk of people just will not buy it. Therefore, regular sales figures would have to be impacted negatively, right? But that’s a business move, not a problem with Battlefield.
What a hilarious sight the juxtaposition of legal corporate speak and the raw, unedited reaction of gamers is, the former being smooth, tactical, and made for an attorney’s office, while the latter are real, erratic, and narrating the gamers’ experience on platforms like PlayStation and Xbox.
