Call of Duty introduces a hammer that costs $28 - COD players getting mad at monetization

[Hamster Plugin]

Call of Duty these days may be the best example of monetization gone completely mad. First, you have to buy the game for full price. Then there's a $50 season pass that you need to play new maps. And then there's microtransactions.

Before yesterday's update that brought back community-requested features like the Barebones playlist with old school COD gameplay without specialists, Treyarch was also teasing some other stuff like the introduction of a hammer melee weapon. Based on what was offered in the past, people assumed that they would add a new row to the battle pass system for you to grind with the hammer as a reward at somewhere in it. But no...

This is the "Triple Play" bundle that has 4 items in it because nothing makes sense any more. The hammer has been forced into a bundle with a bunch of loot boxes and battle pass tier skips. It costs you 2800 COD Points which is $28 when not including bonus points from those "best value" bundles. There is no way to earn COD Points by playing the game, not even via the battle pass system. It's entirely real money currency.

At the moment, nearly the entire front page of r/blackops4 is full of posts making fun of microtransactions. Most major COD fan Youtube channels have a video complaining about it (NerosCinema, TheXclusiveAce, PrestigeIsKey). The official Call of Duty Twitter is constantly promoting microtransactions and the replies are pretty much universally negative.



If you can ignore the hammer, it gets worse. Black Ops 4 is on its third battle pass now, and the 2nd one featured new guns - a sub-machine gun and assault rifle that are both quite decent. If you came late to the game or didn't have the time to grind all the tiers in the 2nd battle pass which is gone now, the only way to get those new guns now is to get them from a loot box. RNG is back!

The main reason for this thread is to show what COD has become. This is a $60 GAME WITH A $50 MAP PACK SEASON PASS. And they just want more money. Do you really want Modern Warfare 4? When they're so aggressively monetizing the Black Ops sub-series, what do you think they're going to do with the most anticipated sequel?

 

[BarcaTheGreat]

The end of Activision will come not with a bang but a whimper... I joke I joke... Do I?

 

[sambills]

hammer seems pretty sweet idk

 

[Bear]

Absurd. Monetization is getting really bad lately. I thought battle passes would offload some of this nonsense, but they're really not.

 

[AudioEppa]

Lol..please just release a free to play competitive CoD game so I never have to look at multiplayer bullshit like this ever again.

 

[Deleted member 4044]

If people with no self control want to pay money for this so that future Activision games only cost me $60 new, more power to them. That's how I tend to view all of these "unnecessary" microtransactions.

It's a lame practice but at the end of the day, nobody is holding a gun to your head and making you buy this, or even keep buying Battle Passes. Walk away when you've had enough, and don't buy subsequent entries in the series.

 

[Jakisthe]

Couldn't care less about paid cosmetics, but lootbox weapons? Thatsnogood.snc

 

[freakybj]

I wonder how Activision will handle Blackout when the next CoD game is released. It doesn't make sense to spend money on the microtransactions if they become obsolete when the next CoD game comes out. Those prices are egregious. I'd rather spend $28 on a new game, not cosmetic microtranscations. I'm confused as to why people think that spending money on this is a good idea.

 

[Deleted member 16876]

If people with no self control want to pay money for this so that future Activision games only cost me $60 new, more power to them. That's how I tend to view all of these "unnecessary" microtransactions.

It's a lame practice but at the end of the day, nobody is holding a gun to your head and making you buy this, or even keep buying Battle Passes. Walk away when you've had enough, and don't buy subsequent entries in the series.

Click to shrink...

This line of thinking is dangerous and could lead to even worse garbage.

 

[Sheepinator]

After years of somehow flying under the radar of gamers wrath despite doing everything their peers do and more, is Activision finally getting the same attention gamers give to EA and Ubi?

 

[Jaaake]

hammer seems pretty sweet idk

Click to shrink...

The hammer costs almost half as much as the entire base game

Really think about that for a second

 

[Brass Body Dave]

First, you have to buy the game for full price. Then there's a $50 season pass that you need to play new maps.

Click to shrink...

Well, no you do not have to buy the game for full price. Nobody wants that pass anyway, so its ignored.

people assumed that they would add a new row to the battle pass system for you to grind with the hammer as a reward at somewhere in it. But no...

Click to shrink...

Why would someone assume that? They've never done that except with holiday events. Not when there's a new item.

This is the "Triple Play" bundle that has 4 items in it because nothing makes sense any more. The hammer has been forced into a bundle with a bunch of loot boxes and battle pass tier skips.

Click to shrink...

Well, ten plus three, right? Still, yeah, pay attention to what you spend money on and if this isn't worth it for you, don't buy it

Black Ops 4 is on its third battle pass now, and the 2nd one featured new guns - a sub-machine gun and assault rifle that are both quite decent. If you came late to the game or didn't have the time to grind all the tiers in the 2nd battle pass which is gone now, the only way to get those new guns now is to get them from a loot box. RNG is back!

Click to shrink...

Well...yeah. You're not supposed to get the previous seasons' stuff unless you were there. Incentive to play the game consistently.

I know it sounds like I'm defending microtransactions but I'm not. The context this is all laid in isn't entirely accurate.

Its fun to play and maybe you shouldn't buy the hammer because it's a fucking hammer, who gives a shit

 

[Hamster Plugin]

Couldn't care less about paid cosmetics, but lootbox weapons? Thatsnogood.snc

Click to shrink...

The guns were in the battle pass originally, but the pass is gone now. If you buy the game now, you must get the guns from loot boxes if you want them.

 

[Tango-Pirate]

Usually I'd defend CoD until I'm blue in the face but this year's game has gone so far across the line it's ridiculous.

 

[Deleted member 4044]

This line of thinking is dangerous and could lead to even worse garbage.

Click to shrink...

Voting with your wallet and time could lead to worse garbage? Then what's your alternative - keep buying it while simultaneously making YouTube videos about it?

 

[lobdale]

I used to make these games a yearly event, playing through the single player mode on veteran for several years in a row starting with CoD4 and then runnin through the multiplayer for a month or two. But a few years ago they started to move on to this kinda thing and well... I moved on too.

 

[Brass Body Dave]

It's a lame practice but at the end of the day, nobody is holding a gun to your head and making you buy this, or even keep buying Battle Passes. Walk away when you've had enough, and don't buy subsequent entries in the series.

Click to shrink...

Yes, this.

exercise some self control

 

[Duxxy3]

I absolutely want Modern Warfare 4. The campaign should be fun and I like playing against bots.

 

[Thugnificent]

I still enjoy BO4 and play it on a regular basis but the micro transactions (if you can even call them micro) are so ridiculously overpriced. I don't like micro transactions period, but shit I mean even if they just sold the hammer for $10 instead of $28 they'd probably get more purchases right? It feels like they're just throwing prices at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Nothing too surprising but still dirty. I remember in one of the patch updates they tried to shame people who didn't buy the season pass by putting a caution or warning symbol next to your name in the lobby. It backfired because not only did people complain, you could see that most people in fact did not buy the pass.

 

[DrArchon]

I wonder how Activision will handle Blackout when the next CoD game is released. It doesn't make sense to spend money on the microtransactions if they become obsolete when the next CoD game comes out. Those prices are egregious. I'd rather spend $28 on a new game, not cosmetic microtranscations. I'm confused as to why people think that spending money on this is a good idea.

Click to shrink...

That's a topic I've been thinking about for a while.

What happens to BR games that are part of some franchise (namely Blackout and Firestorm) when the next game in the series releases?

We've never had to think about that with BR games before, so it's going to be really interesting to see what happens when CoD2019 gets announced. Will it come with its own, brand-new BR mode? Will Blackout keep being supported? Or will Activision effectively kill it but not replace it?

 

[impact]

This line of thinking is dangerous and could lead to even worse garbage.

Click to shrink...

There's nothing to do about it as long as there's people with money to waste.

I don't remember seeing any uproar when people were selling CS:GO knives for thousands of dollars. It wasn't F2P at the time either. A fool and his money.

 

[Hamster Plugin]

If people with no self control want to pay money for this so that future Activision games only cost me $60 new, more power to them. That's how I tend to view all of these "unnecessary" microtransactions.

Click to shrink...

The microtransactions haven't removed the $50 season pass which is needed for all the content. They're having their cake and eating it too.

 

[Deleted member 16876]

Voting with your wallet and time could lead to worse garbage? Then what's your alternative - keep buying it while simultaneously making YouTube videos about it?

Click to shrink...

Not buying and boycotting the game itself. Just telling people to buy it if they are this stupid will only lead to profit. Whales don't care.

 

[Rocketz]

• Season Pass
• Battle Pass
• Loot Boxes
• COD points bundles

Am I missing anything else?

Activision killed my interest in this series long ago.

 

[Brass Body Dave]

We've never had to think about that with BR games before, so it's going to be really interesting to see what happens when CoD2019 gets announced. Will it come with its own, brand-new BR mode? Will Blackout keep being supported? Or will Activision effectively kill it but not replace it?

Click to shrink...

All you gotta do is stop doing new seasons, keep the servers up as long as people play. Easy way to do it

ideally you refine the experience with the same pool of folks, though, so you never "quit" one and move onto their next iteration. A smart company will work on that player retention and keep everyone in the same pool. Its clear that having no cost is the best way to keep your shit relevant

 

[Captain of Outer Space]

The Call of Duty Season Map Pass + Monetization Hell thing has to end at some point. They have to realize that they could more easily get away with this stuff without charging for maps, right?

 

[Kalentan]

That's a topic I've been thinking about for a while.

What happens to BR games that are part of some franchise (namely Blackout and Firestorm) when the next game in the series releases?

We've never had to think about that with BR games before, so it's going to be really interesting to see what happens when CoD2019 gets announced. Will it come with its own, brand-new BR mode? Will Blackout keep being supported? Or will Activision effectively kill it but not replace it?

Click to shrink...

We know CoD 2019 has no BR.

 

[EvilChameleon]

I always feel bad for enjoying the gameplay of COD games, because the microtransactions since Advanced Warfare have been so gross. I suppose I boycott by just not spending money on microtransactions.

 

[Falchion]

Sounds fucking dumb but whatever. The market will decide if this shit rides.

 

[Deleted member 41931]

It's wild how far down the rabbit hole they've gone with this game. Assuming they continue in this direction, it'll be interesting to see where the breaking point is.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

So glad Bungie is free from these vultures. Hopefully they find a reasonable and fair monetization middle ground in their post-Activision life.

 

[StarStorm]

Battle passes and Loot boxes? The hammer nearly cost as half as the base game. Their monetization practices are disgusting.

 

[Acorn]

They are gonna ride all these monetisation models until something gives.

It's Activision's m.o, only thing different from guitar hero or whatever is cod seems immortal.

 

[RoboitoAM]

People are idiots and will keep buying this shit.

Oh yeah and the grind required to finish levels in the multiplayer is ridiculous.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

lol I'm glad I didn't buy this trash game. I jumped off the COD bandwagon years ago.

 

[Stone Ocean]

Their monetization has been getting exponentially worse with every game for the past few years, if you're still buying CoD at this point you got no one to blame but yourself because you should have seen this coming.

 

[TheGhost]

COD has been like this for awhile now, at least 3-4 games.

 

[Deleted member 36578]

Pretty whack. I'm not surprised this is the path they've taken, but it's absolutely insane to ask customers for that kind of money on top of everything else. It's preying on certain peoples wallets.

 

[Kalentan]

Battle passes and Loot boxes? The hammer nearly cost as half as the base game. Their monetization practices are disgusting.

Click to shrink...

To be fair to the battle pass, while it is dumb that you can buy tiers. The actual battle pass is free.

 

[Bleu]

well, do people keep paying ? does it still work ?
if yes they are right.
blame the players, or ask for regulation against predatory practices and whaling. they won't stop by themselves otherwise.

 

[stan423321]

So for clarity, what is this hammer for? Is it for breaking open your lootboxes, or for breaking down opponent's lootboxes?

 

[Deleted member 30681]

And this is why I haven't bought a cod since BO3 and refuse to do so. The first 3 months of Black Ops 3 were honestly bliss but once the MTs started creeping up it turned into a fuckin shitshow. The funny thing was that the first thing they introduced to BO3 to encourage people to pay for lootboxes was basically melee weapons. At the time I sorta shrugged it off as I said the melee weapons were largely cosmetics. 3 weeks later new weapons (insanely good weapons might I add) were added to supply drops and long with that the earn rate for cryptokeys (the ingame currency used to buy lootboxes) was decreased.

I'm not surprised at what a shitshow this has turned into. The audacity to charge for a 50 dollar season pass when you've more or less monetized every facet of this game is fucking disgusting.

 

[Hamster Plugin]

To be fair to the battle pass, while it is dumb that you can buy tiers. The actual battle pass is free.

Click to shrink...

You buy "special orders" for the battle pass that adds another row of stuff for you to get. So it's like mini versions of other games' premium passes.

So you want that viking outfit? That'll be 800 COD Points for the Special Order. But then you have to grind 10 tiers (= play 10 hours) or buy them to finally get that outfit.

 

[DNAbro]

BO4 has just about every monetization scheme. I'm glad Bungie left Activision cause I'm sure that's the kind of thing they wanted in Destiny.

 

[asynchrny]

I hadn't bought a CoD game for a while. Jumped into Blops 4 because of the impressions it got from the players.

At this point I'm really feeling guilty about supporting this series with my money, it's completely abusive.

This is tolerable on F2P games. If this is what the publisher wants CoD to be, stop asking for my money upfront.

 

[Mechanized]

The monetization is out of control. But the only thing that really affects me is locking new guns behind battle pass tiers and kinda dragging out new progression. I have to play the game a good chunk more than I usually would just to make sure I get them before the season ends, getting my daily tier plus 2-3 earned every day. Then when I get the tier 100 gun I'm burnt out from playing so much. They should be set at 25 and 50 with a mastercraft at 100.

There is also so much garbage in reserves, and filler tiers like sticker sets and tags and emotes. I have never seen a single human being use an emote in 100~ hours of Blops 4 gameplay. I'm the second person I've ever seen use sprays in a play of the game to style on people.

It's essentially the same stuff cod WW2 was ragged on for in loot boxes, that they fixed, but are just doing again in tiers AND loot boxes.

 

[0451]

It was always wild to me that other publishers have opted to have 1-2 monetization systems in their games that would cycle out whenever they went out of favour (paid maps/gameplay content being phased out and subsidized by cosmetic items, for example) while Activision continues to add whatever the new trend is into their historical collection of the last 15 years of monetization systems.

 

[RLCC14]

Anyone that still buys COD at this point is a sucker tbh

 

[Pancakes R Us]

PS4 timed exclusive. Hah. What a hit, son. If people were willing to buy $28 virtual hammers from me, I'd sell them. Heck I'd sell them for $14.

 

[sambills]

The hammer costs almost half as much as the entire base game

Really think about that for a second

Click to shrink...

yea the hammer is prettg cool tho