The Online Shooters Shoot-Out: ‘Battlefield’ vs. ‘Call of Duty’ vs. ‘ARC Raiders’ | Button Mash

The Ringer-Verse

The Ringer

Tv & Film

4.6 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2025

⏱️ 82 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ben is joined by Kotaku’s Claire Jackson and Zack Zwiezen as they react to the just-announced nominations for the Game Awards (focusing on the Game of the Year candidates, the record number of nominations for ‘Clair Obscur,’ and the debate about the definition of “indie”) and then break down the industry implications, player considerations, and AI ramifications of the competition brewing among a trio of online-multiplayer powerhouse shooters: ‘Battlefield 6,’ ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 7,’ and ‘ARC Raiders.’ Intro (0:00) The Game Awards nominations (3:23) The first-person shooter showdown (22:10) Host: Ben Lindbergh Guests: Claire Jackson and Zack Zwiezen Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome into the Ringerverse, your nexus feed for all things fandom.
0:20.0	I am Ben Lindberg, senior editor for the Ringer and Ringiverse Raider on the battlefield of Buttonmash.
0:25.8	As promised, we are answering the podcast Call of Duty today to bring you our online shooter shootout,
0:33.0	in which we'll discuss the competition playing out on PCs and consoles among a trio of recently released online multiplayer powerhouses,
0:41.4	Call of Duty Blackop 7, Battlefield 6, and Arc Raiders.
0:45.7	Like the campaign in Blackop 7,
0:48.2	this episode is designed as a co-op experience.
0:51.3	Although unlike Call of Duty co-op,
0:53.2	the podcast can be paused and played offline.
0:56.1	With me today is, I think, roughly a third of Kotaku's full-time staff, two Kotaku colleagues
1:02.6	whose coverage of these games specifically and gaming in general, I have long enjoyed
1:07.2	Kotaku Associate Editor for Tips and Guides, Claire Jackson. Welcome, Claire.
1:13.0	Hey, thanks for having me. Not the last time I'll be saying Claire on this episode.
1:18.0	So unlike some Claire's, you, to my knowledge, were not nominated for Game of the Year.
1:23.0	You weren't eligible to be fair. Yeah, you're not obscure enough. But a...
1:27.2	I certainly try.
1:29.4	Yeah, it's true.
1:30.4	I'm calling you out of obscurity to appear on this podcast.
1:34.1	Also here is Kotaku's staff writer, Star Wars correspondent, and GTA devote Zach's
1:40.5	Weizen.
1:41.0	Hello, Zach.
1:42.0	Hello.
	...

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