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EDIT:Activision has begun to censor andban viewerson theCall of DutyTwitch channel for voicing their disdain for the Black Ops pass and for posting the #SayNOToBlackOpsPass hashtag.
Recently, theCall of Duty: Black Ops 4season passdetails were revealed, which has provided for some interesting commentary from the community. The season pass, now referred to as the Black Ops Pass, is taking an “all-or-nothing” approach to obtaindownloadable content which means players will not be able to purchase individual map packs like with prior titles. The decision has not gone over well with fans of the franchise, with many criticizing publisher Activision for implementing an outdated-DLC model that does more harm than good as it divides the player-base with paywalls.
Normally,Call of Dutytitles have always released downloadable content in content packages which featured new maps for the multiplayer and zombie modes. If players didn’t want to spend larger amounts of money on the packs individually a season pass was always available, which combined all of the packages for a cheaper price. However, there was no mention of that season pass whenBlack Ops 4was announced which lead players to speculate that the DLC would be free in a similar to style to Epic Games’Fortnite.This speculation has now officially debunked on Activision’s website.
In a FAQ section of the publisher’s website, the contents of the Black Ops pass was described as follows:
In response to a question about whether players could buy parts of the Black Ops pass separately, it was made clear that this was not possible. The content included within the Black Ops pass has to be purchased as a bundle.
Call of Dutyfans have noted though that the current backlash directed at Activision is not just about the “all-or-nothing” approach that they’ve taken withBlack Ops 4,but on the continued application of “pay-to-win” practices of paid-post launch content that the company has applied to the franchise for the past few years. Members of the community have taken a stand against the company stating that these practices are abusive towards consumers, deceptive, and sections off whole segments of the player-base from one another. They’ve been further outraged by supposed access to 4 retro maps that are guaranteed to be playable inBlack Ops 3upon pre-orderingBlack Ops 4,which have been reported to have 0% of players being inserted into those maps which makes it difficult to play on any of them.
Recently, it was announced that majorCall of DutyrivalBattlefieldwould no longer offer paid DLC through a premium pass this year withBattlefield V. Electronic Arts did this in response to the massive success of games such asFortniteandOverwatch,which offers all of their post-launch content for free to all players. More games within the industry are moving forward with this approach as it is highly profitable and does not divide the player-base as a result of different matchmaking profiles like what paid for maps often have been known to do. MajorCall of Dutypundits such as CharlieIntel’s Keshav have argued that Activision does need toreconsider this move and follow suit with the rest of the market before it is too late.Keshav also cited a similar instance in which Activision’s main competitor Electronic Arts received similar backlash after last year’sBattlefront II, which prompted the company to reconsider how they develop their games and how they produce content. The negative backlash towardsBattlefront IIsent ripples across the industry as a cautionary message from consumers and has been a big influence on numerous companies that are moving towards free post-launch content to avoid similar losses. This is also why Electronic Arts decided to phase out the traditional Premium pass that is typical toBattlefieldgames and utilize the new Tides of War mode to roll out new content forBattlefield V.
The backlash are further validated by the fact thatBlack Ops4is going to continue the trend of having lootboxes available for purchase, which have been used in previousCall of Dutytitles such asWW II, Infinite Warfare,andBlack Ops 3.These lootboxescontain unique cosmetics and upgrades for weapons and characters. The practice of applying microtransactions such as these have been cited as hugely profitable for companies like Activision, which made over $3.6 billion in 2016 from players purchasing them. That should be enough to afford producing playable free content for players at launch.
Activision has always received criticism aboutCall of Duty’smap pack model as they have always been divisive for players and this situation has only been further complicated this year due to this announcement, which has segmented the community into two groups. This more restrictive take on “pay-to-play” or “pay-to-win” has only made things more difficult for Activision, which has desperately been trying to improve thediminishing sales numbersofCall of Dutytitles every year sinceModern Warfare 3.Vocal critics within the community on numerous forums like the subreddit r/BlackOp 4 are currently pushing heavily to make themselves heard to Activision that these practices are not acceptable in today’s market. They have since created a hashtag #SayNOToBlackOpsPass which is currently trending on numerous other subreddits and is starting to gain traction on Twitter and Youtube. Hopefully,Call of Dutydevelopers who frequent these forums take these criticisms into account and correct this mistake.
It is not currently known how Activision is going to handle this current controversy as we draw closer to the release ofBlack Ops 4,which is just five months away. In most cases, critical backlash such as this would garner a response but the publishing giant has been relatively silent with no real solutions being offered to remedy the concerns of consumers. This may not be a surprise though forCall of Dutyplayers, though. Activision has established a reputation within the industry and among consumers as a company that stands by their unpopular business decisions such as lootboxes, a refusal to sellCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remasteredseparately at the launch ofInfinite Warfare, and now this recent “all-or-nothing” approach with downloadable content inBlack Ops 4.IfCall of Dutydie-hard players are hoping for a positive outcome with this year’s latest installment to the franchise then they may be waiting awhile. It is likely that this game will have a reception similar toInfinite Warfare,which was negatively received by the fanbase and sold poorly in countries like the United Kingdom where it’s sales were down 50% fromBlack Ops 3the year before.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4will launch on October 12th for PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox One.
What do you think of this news? Are you outraged with Activision? Let us know in the comments below!
FandomWire Staff
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