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Harold Miguel Baco
ECON 110-C
Individual Paper #1

The Decade-Long Rivalry of Call of Duty & Battlefield

Introduction

When it comes to first-person shooter games, consumers would normally think of games
with loud explosions, rapid gunshots, and fast-paced movement; yet none other would compete
with the pioneers themselves, Call of Duty (COD) and Battlefield. Whether it be sharp, improved
graphics, or well-written storylines behind the single-player campaigns – as each game is
developed throughout the years, numerous features are continuously added to maintain the
loyalty of its userbase, and more importantly, to stay at the top of the rivalry between both
games.

But why is it that these two franchises consistently compete with one another? Both have
been battling each other for the better FPS game within the last two decades, trying to stay two
steps ahead of the other. The reason behind this is that they fall under a monopolistic competition
wherein many firms are competing for the same group of players. There are certain
characteristics that one must assume to define whether or not a specific firm is considered under
this type of market structure. These are “(1) Firms are profit maximizers. (2) Firms have similar,
but differentiated products (not perfectly substitutable). (3) There are many consumers and firms.
(4) Firms have some control over price (but not total control) and (5) there are few barriers to
market entry/exit.” (Joseph C.T.). One can see that the video game industry highlights many of
these aspects under monopolistic competition. By looking at these characteristics from the
perspective of the two biggest FPS games, we can understand how they compete with each other
and find out which franchise has the upper hand over the other.

Firms are profit maximizers

The main goal of every firm would be to maximize its profits – profit being defined as “a
financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in
buying, operating, or producing something.” (Joseph C.T.). Certainly, in handling a video game,
there are multiple factors to consider in order to produce the perfect game that is catered to the
wants and needs of the gaming community. It’s also important to note the cost of developing a
video game worth selling nowadays. Especially with the technological evolution that society has
gone through today, production costs can cost up to “tens and even hundreds of millions” in
developing their games. (Beattie).

The massive boom of the video game industry has also led to added pressure for
companies to keep up with their competitors. “Businesses are spending millions of dollars on
research and development in an attempt to stay ahead of their competitors”. (Offir, 3)
With that in mind, we can only speculate on how much it costs to develop the high-quality
graphics and aesthetics that both COD and Battlefield spend in for their respective titles.
Knowing that all businesses want to maximize their earnings, we understand how these games go
through thorough planning while producing the material and features that go into their goods.

There are many consumers and firms; there are few barriers to market entry/exit.

There are a plethora of rivals in the video game industry, particularly in the sub-sector of
first-person shooters. What distinguishes these two games from the others is that they were
pioneers in the market for these sorts of video games, with Battlefield launching "Battlefield:
1942" in 2002 and Infinity Ward releasing "Call of Duty" in 2004. There have been countless
challengers to these two brands up to this point, including Halo, Medal of Honor, CS:GO, and
many others. (IGN)

Firms have some control over price (but not total control)

Video game franchises often have complete control over the pricing of their goods.
However, there is a sort of "price ceiling" that is unintentionally imposed across all games in the
business. When we search through video game retailers, we usually notice costs that are around
$60 or Php 3,000 for the basic version of the games. The pricing guarantees that both the utility
of the client and the profit of the business are maximized. (Joseph C.T.) Games such as Call of
Duty and Battlefield maximize this price knowing the costs to produce such a game with
high-quality graphics and features.

Firms have similar, but differentiated products

Finally, the final and most important characteristic would be the ability for these two
titles to differentiate their products. The amount of monopoly power of a firm within a
monopolistic competition is determined by how it can separate its product from other businesses
in the market. To look deeper into how these two games were able to stay competitive against
each other, we can look through the history of titles that have passed through the decades.

As already mentioned above, the very first games that were released in the early 200s
were “Battlefield: 1942” and “Call of Duty”, which both focused on a period during the World
War 2 conflict. Each game had its differences, with Battlefield centering on “vehicles and
large-scale multiplayer” maps while Call of Duty created their shooter game with “fast-paced
action and fantastic graphics”. (IGN). Both were able to capture the gamer community in their
own way, and at the same time, start an unseen rivalry that would last for years to come.

In the following years, one of the franchises considered making a jump towards the
modern era of warfare, as Battlefield: Bad Company sequel was introduced to the public. The
game was particularly remembered due to its Frostbite Engine release, which added destructive
elements to another level. Meanwhile, Call of Duty stuck with its vintage era of warfare with
“World at War” being released to the community. This was the first game created by Treyarch,
which emphasized a more dark and gore-filled action that kept audiences at its feet. Although
what made this game a cult-classic was how it built the foundation for Call of Duty: Zombies, a
game mode that served as its trademark as fans would ultimately look forward to it in the future.

By the year 2010, both companies had fully made the change to contemporary military
action. The two titles battled each other with games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and
Battlefield: 3 – the most successful and popular releases. Each had its distinctive qualities and
features in its own way. Call of Duty continued to be a game that supported “accessibility; quick
kill times, plenty of aiming assistance (on consoles) and a wide array of effortless indirect
weaponry rewarded for avoiding death.” while Battlefield focused on “Less auto-aim, higher kill
times and strategising” for extensive matches.

After the era of games that centered on the theme of modern skirmishes, they finally both
went their ways concerning the era of their storylines. Call of Duty moved on to build more
modern, fast-paced gameplay, while Battlefield stayed true to its World War II heritage. Not only
that but there were even more titles available for people to test out and play, such as Halo and
Titanfall. Despite the number of rivals, brand loyalty is one of the key reasons why these two
games have remained on the market. With a strong community behind both games, the audience
was eager to return to support the game they'd always loved.

However, the rivalry changed when the age of battle royale games arrived. Even if the
franchises had their own version of a BR mode, one did not have a chance against the other when
Call of Duty: Warzone was released. By this time, COD had become one of the most popular and
successful BR games throughout the industry. According to NetBet, it was estimated that
Warzone “makes around $1.9 billion a year. This puts Warzone’s total earnings across 2020 and
2021 at around $4 billion US Dollars.” As of April 2021, over 100 million active users were
playing the Call of Duty game. (Statista)

Opinion

I've always enjoyed playing video games on a daily basis, up until college. In my gaming
journey, I've experienced a plethora of genres, including sports, fantasy, sci-fi, shooters, and so
much more. However, I noticed that nothing ever piqued my interest as much as playing
first-person shooting games. Without a doubt, my favorite element of the game was sprinting
around a map, finding enemies, and remaining at the top of the ranks in every lobby.

As a kid, I had the privilege of playing both of these games on my Playstation and Xbox.
With regards to Battlefield, I was only able to try out “Battlefield 4: China Rising” and
“Battlefield: Hardline”. On the other hand, Call of Duty was something I encountered a lot more
as I’ve been able to play 8 titles of the franchise – from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to Call
of Duty Black Ops: Cold War. I even joined the competitive leagues by the end of my Call of
Duty addiction.

However, that does not necessarily imply that I prefer one over the other. Battlefield will
always bring back memories for me because I played it for years and was determined to get my
hands on the multiplayer mode even though it cost money to play online. I believe that
Battlefield overtook Call of Duty as my childhood's top first-person shooter in terms of utility.
On the other hand, Call of Duty was the game that I enjoyed playing the most in the latter years
of my adolescent years, particularly during the pandemic. Because there wasn't much to do
during the lockdown in 2020, I felt the need to play Call of Duty again after a prolonged hiatus.
After playing the game for a while, I started to get better at it, so I decided to compete against the
biggest players in the nation. Knowing that both franchises could provide me with the
satisfaction I need as a customer, I was curious to determine which game, objectively rather than
subjectively, had the upper hand overall.

I was able to grasp and recognize not only how the two games differentiated themselves
from one other, but also how they differentiated themselves from the rest of the first-person
shooter industry by looking at both firms in a monopolistic competitive market. Even though
both games had a decade-long rivalry, I was able to see how these two games were competing
not just with one another, but also with the rest of the titles in the business. I discovered that the
reason COD began pursuing a more future sort of genre was to stay up with the rest of its
competitors, such as Titanfall and Halo, who were enjoying success owing to their sci-fi style of
gameplay. Not only that, but I was able to grasp the notion of excess capacity in the market,
especially when the period of battle royale games became more popular in the community.
Several games that used BR style of gameplay hit the market but eventually exited owing to a
lack of adequate product differentiation.

Going back to the rivalry between Call of Duty and Battlefield, I think it’s safe to say that
Call of Duty is the winning franchise between the two – not only on a subjective level but even
based on facts. According to Shaw, the COD franchise has outsold Battlefield by 310 million
copies of their games.“ As of April 2021, Call of Duty had sold an astounding 400 million
games, easily making it one of the most popular, successful, and lucrative game franchises of all
time” with over $27 billion in sales overall. (Shaw)

Figure 1: Call of Duty®: Warzone™ Reaches 100 Million Players, Premium Call of Duty®
Game Sales Eclipses 400 Million.
Conclusion

At the end of the day, these two franchises will continue to compete against one another,
offering games that fulfill the community in every manner conceivable. They have both
developed the most successful titles in gaming history, and they will continue to do so for a long
time. However, one of the issues I see in the near future is a progressive drop in the number of
gamers in their base of users. This is owing to the fact that both games have recycled their
material throughout the years, particularly Call of Duty. An example of this would be their latest
game, Call of Duty: Vanguard, another take on the World War II timeline that they’ve had
multiple times in the past. Not only that, but COD has also been reusing their Black Ops and
Modern Warfare titles up until this date, so it’s no wonder that some of the people in the gaming
community have been pointing this out.

What I see out of this issue is an example of the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility,
which states “the added satisfaction that a consumer gets from having one more unit of a good or
service.” (Bloomenthal). Following this concept, it can be assumed that the more they repeat the
same concept and genre behind their games, the more likely they are to maximize their
consumers' utility. In other words, their audience is likely to become weary of playing the
franchise's identical, repetitive categories of games. That being said, both series must start
experimenting with new concepts and narratives to keep them at the top of the market's ladder of
first-person shooter games.
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