Black Ops 6’s Squid Game Event Pass so Controversial?

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 6, 2025 27 Views 8 Min Read
Black Ops 6's Squid Game Event Pass so Controversial?



Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a game of two halves. Although it has a single-player campaign that takes itself very seriously, it also has a multiplayer component that is a chaotic free-for-all, stuffed with wild cosmetics, microtransactions, and crossover events. The Call of Duty series has certainly not shied away from embracing the wackier side of things with its multiplayer offerings, but recent entries in the franchise, like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, have taken this approach to the next level, much to the chagrin of some long-time fans. These days, practically everything can be found in a Call of Duty game, from King Kong and Homelander skins to Donnie Darko and Snoop Dogg operator packs.

The latest crossover event for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and its free-to-play battle royale counterpart, Call of Duty: Warzone, was released earlier this month, and it includes cosmetics and modes inspired by the iconic Netflix TV show Squid Game. Activision had teased this Squid Game collaboration late last year to commemorate the then-upcoming release of the series’ second season. Despite featuring a sizable amount of limited-time content, this Squid Game event, which is set to last until January 24, has been under fire lately due to the monetization methods it employs.

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The Call of Duty x Squid Game Event Pass Has Come Under Fire

Black Ops 6‘s Squid Game collaboration contains a free battle pass (also known as an Event Pass) that players can progress through to obtain new skins, emblems, calling cards, stickers, and other in-game items. The unlockable content in this battle pass is going to remain available to all players for the next few weeks, but it will soon become unobtainable once the event concludes on January 24. Battle passes like these that take advantage of players’ FOMO are unfortunately a common occurrence in the Call of Duty series, and frankly, most other live service games.

Call of Duty’s Squid Game Event Has Two Separate Battle Passes, One of Which is Paid

What isn’t a common occurrence, however, is the inclusion of paid battle passes in a Call of Duty event. Indeed, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6‘s Squid Game collaboration has a second, premium battle pass that’s locked behind a paywall. Unlike the other free Event Pass in the game, this battle pass costs 1,100 CoD Points (a.k.a. $10) to unlock, and it includes exclusive cosmetics, such as a Front Man operator bundle, that cannot be obtained anywhere else. Premium battle passes have been present in Call of Duty games before, but this is the first time a collaboration in the series has featured its own paid set of in-game rewards.

Unsurprisingly, the reception towards this premium Squid Game battle pass has been fairly negative among the Call of Duty community. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone are already criticized regularly for their excessive microtransactions and pricey cosmetics, so the introduction of another FOMO-inducing monetization scheme into the games is the last thing that many fans would ask for. Of course, the fact that Black Ops 6 is a paid, $70 title and not a free-to-play game like Destiny 2 or Fortnite makes the situation even worse. The premium battle pass in the Squid Game collaboration would sting less if players who bought BO6, its Vault Edition upgrade, or its $30 Blackcell DLC received a discount of some sort, but sadly, that hasn’t happened.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is still chugging along nicely when it comes to sales figures and concurrent player counts, but controversial decisions like this place a black mark on the reputation of an otherwise well-received game. Although the backlash towards this Squid Game battle pass will probably not convince Activision to stray away from its unfair monetization practices, it may at least encourage people to be more wary of these intrusive microtransactions in the future.

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