Mike Ybarra, who served as president of Blizzard Entertainment from 2021 to 2024, believes the launch of Battlefield 6 could be the competitive push Call of Duty needs to raise its game.
In a post on X, Ybarra said the new Battlefield installment might “boot stomp” Call of Duty this year, calling the rivalry a potential win for the first-person shooter genre. “The real win here is CoD won’t be lazy anymore, and we’ll all get better FPS games for it,” he wrote.
Battlefield will boot stomp CoD this year. But the real win here is CoD won’t be lazy anymore, and we’ll all get better FPS games for it.
— Mike Ybarra 😇 (@Qwik) August 8, 2025
The comments follow a strong early reception for Battlefield 6, which has attracted large numbers to its open beta ahead of its October 10 release. Despite reports of some cheaters bypassing the game’s kernel-level anti-cheat system, feedback from early players has been largely favorable.
Ybarra also criticized Call of Duty’s recent trajectory, pointing to persistent cheating issues and heavy storage demands as factors that have eroded its appeal. However, his view that competition will drive improvement is not shared by all players. Many argue the franchise’s sales dominance means it will continue to outpace rivals regardless of quality changes.
Activision, publisher of Call of Duty, has expressed confidence in the brand’s resilience. Industry reports suggest the company does not see Battlefield 6 as a major threat, with the next series entry, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, expected to launch in November.