The annual battle for shooter supremacy is in full swing, but this year's fight feels decidedly one-sided. Battlefield 6 is dominating the charts after a massively popular beta and a launch that, despite overwhelmed servers, has captivated players. Now, with the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 beta having just wrapped up, players who tested both are making a clear choice.

The consensus? Battlefield 6's genuine innovation is making Black Ops 7 look stale, iterative, and for many, a questionable investment.

Black Ops 7: "All Too Familiar"#

For many veterans of the Call of Duty franchise, the Black Ops 7 beta was a jarring case of déjà vu. The core problem, as many players are reporting, is that if you've played Black Ops 6, you've pretty much played its sequel.

While maps are admittedly well-designed and tighter than its predecessor's, they heavily resemble those seen in older titles like Black Ops 3. The gunplay, while perhaps a fraction faster, is in no way drastically different, even with a new futuristic setting. It's all just a little "too familiar."

This isn't to say it's bad—Black Ops 6 was a great game—but it's a huge letdown for fans who expect their yearly installment to feel substantially different. While not quite as shallow an upgrade as Modern Warfare 3 was to Modern Warfare 2, it's uncomfortably close.

Battlefield 6: A "Genuine Innovation"#

On the other side of the battlefield, DICE appears to have learned its lessons from Battlefield 2042. Battlefield 6 feels like a genuine innovation over its direct predecessor.

The most celebrated change is the return to form, dispensing with the frustratingly limiting and poorly implemented Specialists in favor of a flexible class system. Maps are a huge improvement, ditching the "enormous" and empty stretches of 2042 for more intricate and highly destructible environments that encourage strategic play.

This level of quality has carried over into the full experience. The gunplay and approach to teamwork feel significantly more balanced, punchy, and engaging. Even the game's worst maps are being praised as offering a genuinely compelling multiplayer experience that's like nothing else on the market.

The Verdict is In#

Battlefield 6 has delivered a "groundbreaking, explosively fun, and endlessly replayable multiplayer experience" that is winning over both hardcore fans and series newcomers.

Yes, the single-player campaign is reportedly disappointing, but Battlefield has never been known for its compelling single-player content. The multiplayer is what matters, and in that arena, Battlefield 6 has delivered a knockout. It's so good, it's causing even the most dedicated COD fans to ask the one question Activision doesn't want to hear: "Why even bother buying Black Ops 7 this year?"