Battlefield 6 "offers things that no one else really can," says series lead, so it's not a major Call of Duty rival even if one ex-Blizzard boss is rooting for it to "boot stomp" Black Ops 7

Ahead of the launch of Battlefield 6, franchise lead Vince Zampella argues that while he does "kind of" see EA's FPS series as a Call of Duty competitor, "Battlefield is unique, and offers things that no one else really can."

In a new interview (via content creator Jake Lucky, below), head of Battlefield – Zampella – and the SVP, general manager of Battlefield at EA – Byron Beede – are asked if they see Battlefield 6 as a Call of Duty competitor, and how they view the competition between the two.

It's a particularly interesting question given that both devs have history with Call of Duty – Beede previously served as the senior vice president and general manager of CoD, while Zampella was once studio head at Infinity Ward – but Zampella doesn't seem to view the two games as having a fierce rivalry.

"They've both existed for so long together. I think they compliment each other in different ways," he begins. "We have things that they don't – the destruction, the class systems and stuff. It's such an amazing experience. It's different. Is it a competitor? In a way, like every other game is a competitor, kind of, in a way. But, you know, Battlefield is unique, and offers things that no one else really can."

It's a much more friendly outlook towards Call of Duty than former Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra has, anyway. Last week, Ybarra said he thinks that Battlefield 6 "will boot stomp" Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 this year, which will mean that Activision's series "won't be lazy anymore, and we'll all get better FPS games for it." What's more, he said that "CoD has gone downhill for years."

We'll just have to wait and see how the two new games compare later this year, but if Battlefield 6's beta is anything to go by, it's clear that EA's upcoming FPS is going to be popular.

Battlefield 6 dev says the beta's small maps are "to make sure we hit the full-octane version of Battlefield on the head" and, don't worry, "large maps exist" too.