The battle royale genre is a bit of a crowded one right now. Just asDoomdid for first-person shooters, andDark Soulsdid for action-RPGs,Fortnitehas shown just how popular the battle royale genre can be, and just how much money is in it for publishers. Because ofFortnite,PUBG, and a few other 2017 battle royales, the market has now been flooded with pale imitations. While most recent battle royales haven’t lasted more than a few months, failing to reachthe monumental heights ofFortnite, some have stood their ground, withCall of Duty: Warzonebeing one of them.
Though it hasn’t had a great track record over the last year or so,Call of Duty: Warzonehas comfortably taken a spot at the top of the battle royale pyramid, right alongsideFortniteandApex Legends. And with the announcement of aCall of Duty: Warzone 2,coming withModern Warfare 2’s release later this year, the game is primed to duke it out once again for the top spot. However, there’s one other competitor that might rear its head this year:Ghost Recon Frontline.
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Ghost Recon Frontline is Already Struggling with Warzone Comparisons
Announced in October 2021,Ghost Recon Frontlinewas not met with the excitement Ubisoft had probably expected. Over the last decade or so, Ubisoft has really dropped the ball of theGhost Reconfranchise. What was once a bold, tactical third-person shooter series that was unafraid to innovate and stand out from the crowd has become anotherrun-of-the-mill open-world Ubisoft franchise, barely standing out from the rest of the publisher’s library, let alone from the rest of the video game landscape.
The last fewGhost Reconentries have been flooded with microtransactions and barebones mechanics, with poor visuals that make them feel instantly outdated before they’ve even hit store shelves. So, with the announcement thatthe nextGhost Reconis going free-to-play, and will be a battle royale no less, fans of the series weren’t all that pleased, especially when Ubisoft confirmed that the game is intended to be a live-service title.
When Ubisoft released the first trailer forGhost Recon Frontline, fans flocked to YouTube to dislike it, expressing their disappointment and skepticism in the comments section. Ubisoft promptlycanceledGhost Recon Frontline’s upcoming alpha test, and although no official reason was given, the likely scenario is that it wanted the discourse to die down before any gameplay was shown.
In January of this year,Ghost Recon Frontlinelaunched its first closed beta. Despite players having to sign an NDA to participate, gameplay footage from the beta still leaked onto the internet, and within mere moments, it had spread like wildfire. Both fans and non-fans alike shared their discontent with the state of the game’s visuals and gameplay, with a good portion of critics expressing the opinion thatGhost Recon Frontlinesimply looked like a watered-downCall of Duty: Warzone.
Where Warzone and Ghost Recon Frontline Differ
While it’s easy to compare the two free-to-play battle royales, there are some key differences betweenCall of Duty: WarzoneandGhost Recon Frontline, though they may not be enough to save the Ubisoft franchise from failure if it goes up against the FPS juggernaut. The main difference separating the two games isGhost Recon Frontline’s class-based gameplay. UnlikeWarzone, which allows players to build their own classes,Ghost Recon Frontlinewill provide players with pre-made classes, each with their own unique set of abilities. This could have the potential to makeGhost Recon Frontlinea more team-oriented game, which could make it stand out fromWarzone 2.
However, the big kicker forWarzone 2is that it’s part of theCall of Dutybrand. Whether it’s right or not,Call of Dutysimply has a bigger presence thanGhost Recon, and that’s especially true right now.Modern Warfare 2is one of the most anticipated games of the year, whileGhost Reconis a franchise that’s barely still in the public conscious. If the originalWarzonewasn’t enough of a reason for fans to get invested in the sequel, then theCall of Dutyiconography, withpopular maps like Highriseapparently being worked into the newWarzonemap, will be more than enough to draw attention away fromGhost Recon Frontline.
Call of Duty: Warzone 2is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
