Summary
- A new kind of microtransaction is seemingly coming to Black Ops 6 in the form of an Event Pass.
- The pass will kick off with the Squid Games collaboration, which is set to debut beginning Jan. 3.
- In the wake of the development, fans took issue with the latest batch of charges, with some even calling for the game to go free-to-play.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6‘s first major event, a collaboration between the first-person shooter and popular Netflix show, Squid Games, hasn’t even happened yet, and it’s already causing controversy in the community. That’s because, on Friday, it was revealed that a new kind of microtransaction would seemingly be joining the first-person shooter, an Event Pass.
As it stands, the Event Pass will be similar to those of Fortnite or Apex Legends, offering players a suite of in-game rewards. It represents another sort of microtransaction, along with a paid Battle Pass and multiple skins on top of the game’s standard $69.99 pricetag.
In the wake of the development, Call of Duty fans took to Reddit to criticize the impending changes, including issuing calls for the game to become free-to-play.
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Why Must Everything Be Monetized?
“Monetizing an event that is itself an advertisement,” one user succinctly summed up the situation, which will likely get further details before Jan. 3.
“I’m of the opinion (that) this game should just be free to play,” another user explained. “You can still have the battle passes and all these skins and ****, but what are we even paying $70 for? The right to pay more? I work and enjoy gaming in the 1 free hour a day I get. I will never complete any of these events, and I’m not paying to buy the guns.”
To that end, the Warzone element of COD is free-to-play. However, the core PvP multiplayer, Zombies and Campaign aren’t. Additionally, games that do offer Event Pass purchases are free-to-play, making COD a lone ranger in charging for both access to the game and additional goodies.
“Game is a joke,” another user wrote. “An embarrassment at this point of greed, monetization, engagement, manipulation. It’s not a game. It’s a storefront. An overpriced storefront of garbage.”
To the user’s point, Black Ops 6 has been the subject of controversy leading up to its release and over the past several weeks. Originally, it was revealed that “carry forward” skins would not be present, only for monetization to begin with a weapon camo tied to a $350 prop gun replica. There was also the bong gun, the “Unicorn Fart” finishing move and myriad skins that have players calling the game pay-to-win due to their visual effects.
In many ways, the latest Squid Games controversy is just one of many that the game has experienced. With Jan. 3 rapidly approaching, more details about the collab and the Event Pass should surface. That said, it likely won’t do much to quell the concerns of gamers just several weeks after launch.
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