6. Battlefield
One of the major contenders for multiplayer top-spot over the last few years has been EA/ Digital Illusions CEs Battlefield franchise. All together more cartooney than CoD in its single-player campaign, Battlefields online modes nevertheless aggressively battled CoD for player retention and does to this day. Why? Well, Battlefield included degradable cover, meaning gameplay was much more frantic; pilotable vehicles of land and air, which made for a hugely interesting dynamic, and also allowed groups of players to form into squads so they could all remain together, and play more tactically more easily. There are many more reasons that Battlefield contends with CoD of course, the above is simply a shortlist. But the fact remains, that while Battlefield is still running as a franchise, CoDs King of Multiplayer status is contested.