Game giant Activision-Blizzard hasn’t exactly had the best public image recently, with the companysplitting from Destiny studio Bungieandlaying off hundredsof employees as part of restructuring — despite record profits. Now, the company’s biggest franchise has found itself in hot water after introducingparticularly intrusive loot boxes.
As part ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 4‘sbig “Operation Grand Heist” content update, the game added “cases” to the Black Market system. These cases contain certain playable zombie Blackout characters as well as variations on weapons, items from past Operations, and certain skins. For those who happened to miss an Operation that offered an item, this is the way you can acquire it anyway. It can be done through normal play in multiplayer or Blackout mode, or, naturally, by spending Call of Duty Points you paid real money to get.
AsEurogamer noted, some of the items you get can actually provided experience boosts, potentially giving those who pay real money access to gear before those who don’t. It sounds a tad like the system put in place by one of Electronic Arts’ shooters before the companyremoved them from the gameentirely.
Players on the game’sReddit community pagehave expressed their frustration, pointing out that it will now take them longer to get Reserve gear if they don’t want to purchase crates. The progress seems to be brutally slow, as well. It’s a shame, because earning new goodies inBlack Ops 4as you progress through levels is relatively quick, and doesn’t require forking over extra cash.
Those who playCall of Duty: Black Ops 4religiously could easily be spending more than $150 with this new system. The base game costs $60, and theseason passlocks upcoming maps out from those who bought the game alone. Most other multiplayer shooters have moved away from this model, includingBattlefield V, which provides players with a steady stream of new content for free.
There are certainly other options for players right now. Respawn’sApex Legendshas been a smash-hit success using a free-to-play model, with more than25 million playersin just a week. The game’s popularity has even caused asurge in activity forTitanfall 2,which also didn’t charge extra for maps.
