Last week Activision publishing CEO Eric Hirshenberg called for EA to cool its jets and put an end to the incessant trash talk it has been levelling at the Call of Duty franchise over the past few months.

Competition is of course a good thing,” said Hirshenberg.

“It keeps us all on our toes and ultimately makes the games better. It’s healthy. But it’s one thing to want your game to succeed and another thing to actively, publicly say you want other games to fail.

This came after EA’s John Riccitiello described his plan to grow the Battlefield franchise, explaining how he hoped that Call of Duty would “rot from the core”.

Hirshenberg has a point, and many agree that EA would be better off letting its games speak for themselves instead of creating a unfriendly environment within the industry.

EA doesn’t feel the same, however, with corporate communications head Jeff Brown firing back at Hirshenberg with a public message: “Welcome to the big leagues Eric, ” and “I know you’re new in the job but someone should have told you this is a competitive industry.”

“You’ve got every reason to be nervous. Last year Activision had a 90 [percent] share in the shooter category. This year, Battlefield 3 is going to take you down to 60 or 70. At that rate, you’ll be out of the category in 2-3 years.”

“If you don’t believe me, go to the store and try to buy a copy of Guitar Hero or Tony Hawk,” said Brown.