Call of Duty players have noticed something a little different with the Warzone and Black Ops 6 mid-season Season 05 Reloaded update: a lack of goofy cosmetics. A sign of things to come, perhaps?
Amid pressure from the more grounded Battlefield 6, Activision recently confirmed a U-turn on Call of Duty’s out of place skins for the upcoming Black Ops 7 by canceling plans to let players carry forward items from Black Ops 6.
Call of Duty’s foray into goofy skins territory is not a new phenomena, although recent releases have certainly amped up the conversation around them. With the likes of Beavis and Butt-Head and American Dad hitting the game this year shortly after weed-obsessed bundles starring Seth Rogen, some fans have said they’ve had enough of what they call the ‘Fortnite-ification’ of their beloved Call of Duty, and had pleaded with publisher Activision to return to its mil-sim roots.
Enter Battlefield 6, a game EA is pitching as having a “gritty realism” aesthetic. Developer DICE has indicated it has no plans to release crossover skins that would break the aesthetic Battlefield 6 is going for, and promised the developers were listening to fan feedback.
“We know there’s been a lot of conversation recently about the identity of Call of Duty,” Activision said last month. “Some of you have said we’ve drifted from what made Call of Duty unique in the first place: immersive, intense, visceral and in many ways grounded. That feedback hits home, and we take it seriously. We hear you.”
Activision went on to say that Black Ops 7 bundles and items “will be crafted to fit the Black Ops identity.” “We hear the feedback,” the mega publisher added. “We need to deliver a better balance toward the immersive, core Call of Duty experience.”
That line was about Black Ops 7, but it looks like Activision is already taking action for Black Ops 6 as it nears the end of its annualized lifecycle. As fans have noticed, an Activision blog post detailing the cosmetics due out with September 4’s Season 05 Reloaded update does not include anything too wacky or out of place. No anime skins or cartoon soldiers to be seen here!
The most outlandish skins are Nuketown mannequins, but most fans are actually praising their inclusion, given they’re lifted directly from the famous Multiplayer map.
“It’s low-key both funny and f***ed up seeing them finally adding more grounded skins to the game, not only when its lifecycle is close to ending, but also after cancelling carry forward in BO7,” commented redditor Voodoo_Hendrix.
“This is the type of event passes I want to see, something Black Ops themed, not something like the collab events,” rldeadlock added.
Interestingly, there are a number of Call of Duty players who have expressed frustration that their goofy skins won’t carry forward into Black Ops 7, and you can understand why despite the online backlash from more hardcore players. Call of Duty players had expected items to carry forward, as they have in previous years, so felt they’d get a decent amount of value out of their purchases, however outlandish the cosmetics. Now, if these players move on to Black Ops 7, they will have to leave those expensive virtual items behind.
Other games are criticized for doing this. EA’s FC series (once known as FIFA), for example, does not let players carry forward Ultimate Team cards from one release into another, forcing a reset. Some players love taking on the grind every year, while others feel they’re not getting enough time with their coveted items.
Activision will have thought long and hard about the decision for Black Ops 7, knowing it will potentially upset some less vocal players. Many are saying this is the Battlefield 6 effect in action, while others are saying it was a long time coming. Whatever the truth, Black Ops 6 looks like it’s going out as Activision has promised Black Ops 7 will enter the fray.
There’s a lot happening in the world of Call of Duty. We just got the announcement of a Call of Duty live-action movie from Paramount, and Activision just gave Call of Duty Warzone and Black Ops 6 players 20 Battle Pass Tier Skips and 15 XP Tokens for free.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
