The world's best-selling war game saga, Call of Duty, releases its latest installment Friday, under pressure to rival the strong launch of longtime competitor Battlefield.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 plunges gamers into the near-future and follows a special forces team facing off against a Nicaraguan terrorist.
For the past 20 years, Call of Duty and Battlefield have dominated the first-person shooter series with an intense rivalry.
The former still claims the number on spot, with more than 500 million copies sold since the first game's release in 2003, according to its publisher, Activision Blizzard.
Several of its installments are said to have individually surpassed 20 million sales.
However, setting the new game in 2035 could be seen as a risky choice, with previous Call of Duty games set in the future proving the least popular.
"Black Ops 7" removes features unpopular with fans, like "jetpacks" and "wall running" gameplay, Activision communications director Stephanie Snowden told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
A new feature allows characters to instead bounce off walls with a double jump.
Overall, it remains close to recent installments while cultivating the success of older titles in hopes of keeping fans happy.
The latest story follows on from Black Ops Two and Six, including familiar characters and maps.
Stretching the formula would risk alienating Call of Duty's audience.
At the same time, "the franchise doesn't innovate enough," said Lou Martin, a marketing student who tested the game at Paris Games Week.
And then there is the blockbuster success of Battlefield 6, released on Oct. 10.
"Battlefield 6 Shatters Records Becoming the Biggest Launch in Franchise History," its publisher Electronic Arts said one week after its release.
More than seven million copies of Battlefield 6 were snapped up in what EA touted as one of the biggest gaming and entertainment launches of 2025.
Some specialised media estimate that it has since surpassed 10 million sales.
It marked a significant rebound after Battlefield 2042, released in 2021, was deemed disappointing.
"I was planning to buy Black Ops for the end of the year, but 'Battlefield' made me change my mind," said Martin.
Battlefield challenges its rival with smaller multiplayer maps than usual and a "battle royale" mode where players eliminate each other one by one, similar to a popular mode found on Call of Duty.
"Even if there's not enough innovation, comparatively I prefer (it) ... to the Battlefield franchise, which is too complex for me," Reda Mbarki, a gamer in his thirties, said after testing the game.
By continuing to offer multiplayer and zombie modes, Call of Duty can still rely on a loyal audience.
