Since video games were created, game developers have been trying to top each other by releasing “the next best title”. Over the last decade, two of the worlds leading developers have been battling it out, not only trying to top their own games, but their competitors last big title as well. Both have some of the best selling games out right now with the “Halo” series (Bungie) and the “Call of Duty” series (Infinity Ward), but the question is; Would these games be better if they weren’t trying to push out titles to beat the competitor? Bungie When Bungie made Halo they had no idea it would be as popular as it is. The series has become extremely popular world-wide. They planned to make a follow-up to the original release from the start but they didn’t know the original would grow to be such a big hit. At that point they knew they had to step it up on the second release because the fans were expecting more of the same and more. While they were trying to meet their fans expectations with the new release, another great series was on the rise. Bungie had nothing to worry about though because they had a #1 seller and another on the way. When Halo 2 was released it sold more than any blockbuster movie at that time. After Halo 2, Bungie continued to release great games in the Halo series but while they were trying to juggle around keeping the fans happy, making a better game than the last, and keeping up with the new technology, they were also trying to top the competitors games that were rising to the top of the charts. The one thing that makes Bungie stand out from the competitiors is they always listen to their fans. Although, all the Halo titles are great in their own way, they kind of died down a bit after Halo 2. Could the reason be they were trying too hard to stay at the top of the charts? Infinity Ward Infinity Ward is well-known for their “Call of Duty” franchise. They focused on obtaining a wider audience with their hit series by releasing the games on several consoles. With doing this, they were still not selling as much as the competition. Their games were providing the entertainment value but lacking with variety and the storylines were not the greatest. They released several Call of Duty games at the beginning of the franchise that all had the same problems and they knew they had to expand on the series or the sales would start going downhill. They did add an online multiplayer to the mix with Call of Duty 2 & 3, but it could not match up to what bungie had on Halo 2 with the online gaming. Then Infinity Ward began working on a project that would give Bungie some real competition. Their next chapter in the series was Call of Duty Modern Warfare, and it was a beast being unleashed with top of the line graphics, a different environment stepping away from World War II and bringing it to a modern setting, an epic storyline, and they really made improvments to their online experience which brought the franchise to the top of the charts. They then released Modern Warfare 2 which topped the first. Then with their last 2 releases they introduced a zombie killing mode that just gave them the variety they needed.