Back in 2023, the trial between Microsoft and the FTC pulled back the curtain on the gaming industry in a way we rarely see, revealing secrets about both tech giants. One statistic from that time, revealed in a letter from PlayStation's Jim Ryan, has always stuck with me, and its implications feel just as relevant today. According to Sony's own data, there were about 1 million PlayStation users who spent 100% of their gaming time on one title: Call of Duty. A million people, investing in a powerful, expensive console, seemingly as a dedicated vessel for a single experience. It’s a concept I’ve wrestled with ever since. On one hand, I completely understand the comfort of a familiar game. I have my own digital comfort foods—games I return to when I need to unwind or feel a sense of nostalgia. But the idea of that being the only destination, of never docking at any other port in the vast ocean of interactive stories, mechanics, and worlds, feels as perplexing to me as a master chef who only ever eats plain toast.

I want to be clear: it's not my place to judge. Life is busy. People have careers, families, and other passions. For many, hopping into a few rounds of Call of Duty with friends is a reliable, low-friction way to connect and decompress. It’s a social ritual, a digital third place. I get that. But as someone whose life and career is built around exploring this medium, I can't help but feel a profound sense of… missed opportunity on their behalf. You possess this incredible piece of technology, a PlayStation, which is less like a simple game player and more like a portal to countless other universes. To use it for only one thing is akin to owning a library card but only ever checking out the same book, year after year, while new bestsellers, mysteries, and epic fantasies line the shelves around you, many of them free to borrow.

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Let's talk about the game itself. Call of Duty is a cultural titan, a franchise that has defined a genre for a generation. But conceptually, its evolution has often felt more iterative than revolutionary. Meanwhile, the gaming landscape around it has exploded with creativity. Even staying strictly within the shooter genre—a comfort zone for any CoD devotee—the variety is staggering. You have:

  • The Free-to-Play Arena: Games like Apex Legends, Overwatch 2, and Fortnite offer distinct twists on team-based combat with zero financial barrier to entry. Trying them costs nothing but a bit of hard drive space.

  • The Narrative Powerhouses: Titles like the BioShock series (a masterpiece of atmospheric storytelling), the Borderlands games (loot-driven mayhem with heart), or more recent gems offer the visceral thrill of shooting woven into rich, compelling worlds. They prove a shooter can be so much more than a scoreboard.

  • The Service Game Giants: Destiny 2 provides a massive, evolving universe of sci-fi action and deep build-crafting, creating a hobby unto itself for millions.

The point is, the specialization is immense. Your PlayStation Plus subscription, which you likely have for online play, already grants you access to a rotating catalog of games. It’s a built-in sampler platter! I understand the inertia. Learning a new game's meta, convincing your squad to jump ship, the fear of not being "good" right away—these are real hurdles. But they are also the very hurdles that lead to discovery, to that fresh thrill of mastering a new ability or getting lost in an unfamiliar story.

Looking at it from a 2026 perspective, the industry has only grown more diverse. We have incredible new IPs and sequels that push boundaries in storytelling, gameplay, and social interaction. The hardware in your living room is more capable than ever. My earnest plea to that dedicated cohort—and to anyone who finds themselves in a gaming rut—is simple: please, just try something else. Anything else. Dip a toe into a different genre. Download one of the free offerings. Pick a title from the monthly PlayStation Plus games. You don't have to abandon your favorite; think of it as taking a vacation. You might just find that your console, which you thought was a dedicated CoD machine, is actually a key to dozens of other worlds you'll love just as much. The investment you've made in your hardware and your time deserves to see more of what it can truly deliver. The greatest game you'll ever play might be the one you haven't tried yet.