As Call of Duty Continues to Double Down on Movement, Battlefield 6 Can Show How Less is More

The identity and feel of Call of Duty‘s core gameplay has changed drastically over the years, with the franchise’s annual releases inevitably coming with a range of different creative directions. Movement mechanics are arguably some of the most important gameplay features in any given CoD title, with movement as a whole being one of the most consistently controversial elements of the franchise over the years.

It is no secret that Call of Duty has leaned further and further into the “movement shooter” label as time has gone on, with the series constantly trying to expand upon things like sprinting, diving, and sliding. Recent entries to the IP like Black Ops 6 have only furthered the debate around CoD movement, setting up one obvious point of comparison between the upcoming Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6. Call of Duty and Battlefield have not gone head-to-head like this in quite some time, and Battlefield 6 has seemingly capitalized on a more traditional approach to movement to offer a direct comparison to the twitchier movement mechanics of Call of Duty.

Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Will Put Shooter Movement Mechanics Directly in the Spotlight

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 brought the debate around the franchise’s movement to a head by introducing the “omnimovement” system alongside pre-existing movement features like tac-sprint. This overhaul of core movement mechanics now allows players to sprint and dive in any direction on the fly, making good movement even more of an integral part to successful multiplayer gameplay. A lot of criticism has been levied at this system since its release, with some players chastising the idea that CoD is moving further and further away from gunplay in favor of unrealistic and jarring movement systems.

It has been confirmed that an “evolved” version of this omnimovement system will be making its way over to Black Ops 7, though this will not include to the jetpacks and wallrunning mechanics of prior Black Ops entries. This seemingly confirms that Call of Duty movement is set to remain complex and fast-paced in the face of these criticisms, putting a lot of attention on how Battlefield 6 is going to handle this controversial aspect of many modern shooters.

It is worth noting that Battlefield 2042 faced its own backlash over movement mechanics, with the game controversially featuring its own tactical-sprint system. Many players cited this as one of the many ways that Battlefield 2042 went against the identity of the franchise, making BF6‘s core mechanical decisions even more of a make-or-break moment for the series. Tactical Sprint has been widely criticized by Call of Duty fans for years, too, as though omnimovement has its share of fans, Tac Sprint has far less defenders. However, from what has already been seen of Battlefield 6, it seems that DICE has smartly taken things back to basics.

Battlefield 6’s More Traditional Movement is Already Paying Dividends

A lot is already known about BF6‘s multiplayer thanks to the massive scale of the BF Labs beta testing system. The feedback that has already been generated from early playtesting has generally been quite favorable, validating DICE’s claims that BF6 is aiming to recapture the classic feel of beloved prior entries like Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4. Early gameplay suggests that Battlefield 6 will feature no tac-sprint, while seeing the return of features like crouch-sprinting, combat dives, as well as things like contextual vaults and grabs.

The more grounded movement of Battlefield 6 is in direct defiance of the increasingly rapid mechanics of Call of Duty. While the more arcade-like and faster-paced gameplay of CoD multiplayer is always going to warrant twitchier movement compared to Battlefield, BF6 will hopefully be proof that movement mechanics do not have to be constantly evolved and intensified. The upcoming showdown between Battlefield 6 and Black Ops 7 is already shaping up to be fascinating, and players will have the most direct comparison between traditional and modern shooter movement systems that has been seen for some time.