Battlefield and Call of Duty have been in competition with each other for many years as two of the top franchises in the FPS genre. Some fans prefer the large-scale, strategic approach to Battlefield while others prefer the fast-paced chaos of Call of Duty. Both games offer different approaches to the same type of game. That being said, Call of Duty has recently claimed its stake (with great success) in the mobile gaming world with the release of Call of Duty Mobile. Now that Battlefield's biggest competitor is in on the mobile scene, will the game's developers be looking towards implementing their franchise into a mobile game as well? Could it even succeed in doing so?
Large-Scale Battles
One of the stand-out features for Battlefield is its large battles. Typically played on big maps, Battlefield matches feature massive battles with gunfights happening all over the place at any given time. It gives the gamer a sense of being dropped into the war zone with many points of attack to proceed from. That format begs the question of whether Battlefield-style games even perform well on mobile. To do so, the game would have to sustain a large number of players and details on a small mobile interface.
But if other games are any indication, Battlefield would do fine. PUBG, Call of Duty Mobile and Fortnite succeed on mobile with large-scale, battle royale game modes that feature up to 100 players in any given map. Battle royale maps tend to be even larger than standard Battlefield maps, which is a solid indication phones are more than capable of handling the large-scale battles Battlefield provides.
Controlling Vehicles
Another staple of the Battlefield franchise is vehicle combat. Players are able to control a variety of vehicles including tanks, planes, helicopters, quads and others. It's exciting to get in a dogfight with another player high above the map, working to control the skies to give the team an advantage. This might be one of the hardest aspects of Battlefield to translate into mobile gaming.
One of the biggest problems with mobile gaming is the majority of games have their controls tethered to the touchscreen. This typically makes it harder to control your character with precision and consistency. Vehicle controls in Battlefield already tend to be tricky, but adding the increased challenges of touchscreen interfaces could make it hard to control vehicles effectively in a mobile-based Battlefield game.
Destructive Environments
Battlefield allows players the freedom to destroy environments, adding another level of depth to any given match. Destroying precious cover with a tank is satisfying and can give a team an advantage. Maps are generally interactive and change throughout the course of a match, which could prove difficult for phones to handle.
Games such as Fortnite also allow players to ability to destroy houses and trees and the rest of the environment around them, but the scale at which it happens in a Battlefield match is much larger.
There isn't a definite answer to whether Battlefield could succeed as a mobile gaming experience. With Call of Duty Mobile's successful release, the Battlefield franchise has the opportunity to join in on the ever-growing industry. If the franchise can translate some of the best aspects of the game to mobile, it would do so in a way that would set itself apart from the others.