Activision and Infinity Ward has been shrouded in controversy for a while now, over microtrasactions, and lootboxes. With the release of Black Ops 4, Activision forced Treyarch to implement egregious, manipulative microtransactions or lootboxes to extract more cash from the Call of Duty fanbase. I, Carlos, don’t mind the microtransactions, as long as the “store” treats the customer right. Black Ops 4’s microtransactions could’ve avoided controversy, if BO4 was fair with the microtransactions. For example, Treyarch implemented a contrabrand stream where you’d get rewards through earning in-game currency that is also purchasable online, and you have only a 00.02 chance of winning that reserve. Most of the microtrasactions were either stupid (like charging $0.2 cents for a reticle, should have been on the disc), repackaged goods (yes, from your disc!), and other dumb ideas Activision shoved down players’ throats.
Ever since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was about to be revealed, there was a leaker that has been talking about what’ll be included into Modern Warfare before its even been announced. Infinity Ward called this person out publicly on Reddit, and told people not to believe rumors and speculation until you hear it from them (Infinity Ward). Regardless of that, the same leaker (TheGamingRevolution), kept going. It heated up when he sent out a tweet…
There were rumors of whether Activision legal would go after this leaker or not. In the meantime, the tweet angered a lot of Infinity Ward employees, including Joel Emslie. Mr. Emslie even went on Reddit to debunk the rumors, and it did not go over well. In fact, no matter how many times Emslie said that there’d be no microtransactions or lootboxes, fans did not believe him because 99% of the time, it gets overturned by Activision in the months that follows the launch of a Call of Duty title. Black Ops 4 was riddled with microtransactions and lootboxes a month after the game came out. Activision and Infinity Ward had many discussions for months about it, and neither side was going to budge until a decision was made. I’m not sure how everything went (between Infinity Ward, and Activision), but that’s the story thus far. Activision and Infinity Ward made a statement about post-launch plans, and the clarification about microtransactions/lootboxes. I will post the entire excerpt for you, so you can understand from THEIR mouths what is going to happen in the aftermath of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s October 25th launch…
A message from the Call of Duty team.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is almost here. From the moment this project began three years ago, the energy has been extraordinary.
We’ve set our sights on not only creating the best game possible this year, but also on breaking down walls and bringing the community together. Starting with Modern Warfare, we will be:
· Introducing crossplay to unite the community across platforms for the first time.
· Removing Season Pass and a la carte DLC multiplayer map packs to ensure everyone can play together.
· Delivering free post-launch multiplayer maps and modes for all players.
· Releasing post-launch multiplayer maps and modes simultaneously on all platforms.
We are excited about what these changes will bring to Call of Duty players. That said, we also recognize there is one more topic that many fans are interested to learn more about.
Today, let’s address the basics for the in-game economy coming in Modern Warfare.
· We are introducing a new Battle Pass system, not a loot box system.
· All functional content that has an impact on game balance, such as base weapons and attachments, can be unlocked simply by playing the game.
· The new Battle Pass system will allow players to see the content that they are earning or buying. Battle Passes will launch timed to new, post-launch live seasons, so you can unlock cool new Modern Warfare-themed content that matches each season.
· With the new Battle Pass system, players will be able to earn COD Points by playing the game.
· There will be both a Free Stream and a Premium Stream of content in the Battle Pass System in Modern Warfare. New base weapons will be earned through gameplay, simply by playing Modern Warfare. Functional attachments for base weapons can be unlocked through gameplay as well just like in the game’s Beta.
· The Battle Pass and the In-Game Store will feature a variety of cosmetic content that does not impact game balance.
The Battle Pass System for Modern Warfare will not launch when the game releases on October 25th. Here’s why: First and foremost, we are all focused on making the Day One experience awesome. Second, it’s important to us that everyone who is playing Modern Warfare has the chance to work their way through the new game and unlock all the rewards that are waiting for you. We expect to launch this system for Modern Warfare later this year.
Understandably there are still questions around how the economy will evolve throughout the post-launch, live seasons. We recognize this will take time to fully demonstrate. Please know we are committed to delivering a fair system guided by the principles we’ve outlined here, and will continue to monitor feedback and player engagement to help us achieve that goal.
Please look for more information on the live seasons and post-release content plans for Modern Warfare throughout the year and beyond.
We are looking forward to playing in just a few days.
Thank you.
Source: Activision’s Blog Post
