Ubisoft recently revealed the newest entry in the Ghost Recon franchise, titled Ghost Recon: Frontline. It is a new free-to-play battle royale that aims to blend mechanics and elements from the popular genre with elements of the Ghost Recon series. The reveal was met with a lot of skepticism from longtime fans that are hesitant to see it move away from the slow-paced tactical gameplay the series cut its teeth on, but it also garnered a lot of attention from new players who were excited to see another spin on the battle royale format.
Many of those new players are fans of another modern military battle royale - Call of Duty: Warzone. Call of Duty: Warzone is one of the biggest battle royales out there, and sees players facing off against one another across a massive map with a variety of different vehicles, weapons, loadouts, and special pieces of equipment. These elements are rather similar to those showcased in Ghost Recon Frontline's reveal, but there are also quite a few differences between the two titles that are worth making note of.
What Ghost Recon Frontline Is
There is still a lot that is unknown about Ghost Recon Frontline, but the developers at Ubisoft have made it a point to emphasize that the game is sticking to its roots with tactical PvP action. The game will be free-to-play when it launches and features a class system that allows players to choose from a number of unique abilities and pieces of equipment that help dictate how their squad approaches firefights. Matches also appear to be played completely in first-person and spread out 100 or more Ghost Recon players over an impressively large-looking map.
During matches, players can also hunt down pieces of intel, although the benefit of doing so has yet to be detailed by the developers. The trailer also mentioned players being able to extract from matches as well as being able to get tactical drops to help them out. So far, those revealed have included automatic turrets, smoke screens, and sniper towers. Ghost Recon Frontlines also promises an ever-changing map that features numerous biomes and landmarks that will not only evolve through seasonal updates, but will also change throughout matches thanks to realistic weather patterns and events like thunderstorms. This will push players to adapt to ever-changing conditions, while also mixing up how matches play out thanks to changes in visibility or certain equipment being favorable.
How Ghost Recon Frontline is Similar to Call of Duty: Warzone
The most readily apparent similarity between the two titles is their modern military setting. While Call of Duty: Warzone has gone back in time with the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, many of its items are still rather modern. The release of Call of Duty: Vanguard may change this with the introduction of more equipment and weaponry from World War 2, but Ghost Recon Frontlines could very well step in to fill that gap. Both titles also feature distinct characters that players can unlock and choose from with each having their own appearance, voice lines, and history for dedicated players to learn.
Ghost Recon Frontline also seems to have a similar range of equipment for players to take advantage of. The game's trailer showcases weaponry with a wide variety of attachments and camos while also showing vehicles and gadgets that will help players out. This is pretty similar to Warzone where players can customize every gun in the game to fit their play style as well as being able to find a variety of vehicles to traverse Verdansk. The two games also seem to feature island maps that have a similar modern style focused on giving players a variety of biomes and locations to explore. It also seems as though Ghost Recon Frontline will follow in Call of Duty: Warzone's footsteps of modifying its map.
How Call of Duty: Warzone and Ghost Recon Frontline are Different
However, the games do already seem to have some pretty defining differences. One large thing that Ghost Recon Frontline is doing differently is its class system. Operators in Call of Duty: Warzone are merely a cosmetic choice, but it seems as though classes in Frontline will largely dictate how players approach matches and what options they have. This falls closely in line with Ghost Recon's history as a series and should offer some interesting ways to play the game. So far, Frontline's contractors also seem to be a bit more grounded, as strange characters like Rambo and soon Scream's Ghostface have been added to Call of Duty: Warzone over time. Of course, this could change over the course of Ghost Recon Frontline's lifespan.
Another big difference between the two comes in the form of Frontline's tactical equipment. The pieces of equipment that have been shown off, like air-dropped barricades and sonar grenades, seem a lot larger and more powerful than the grenades and throwing axes found in Call of Duty: Warzone. Frontlines also does not seem to have a purchasing system like Warzone that allows players to spend money from kills on certain upgrades and killstreaks, so the meta for the two games will likely focus on very different mechanics. The two game's positions in their series might also be quite different, especially as Ghost Recon: Frontline's reveal trailer was met with a fair share of backlash by frustrated fans, while Warzone has become an integral part of Call of Duty as a franchise.
It will be very interesting to see how Frontline stacks up to already established battle royales on the market. While some franchise fans may not be very excited to check it out, its success or failure could have some very big implications on future Ubisoft titles like Assassin's Creed Infinity, which could radically change some of the biggest franchises in the games industry. Hopefully, players will get some more news and a release date for Ghost Recon Frontlines soon.
Ghost Recon Frontline is in development for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.