A new report has emerged which suggests that Activision and Treyarch are considering putting some of the next Call of Duty game’s limited-time modes behind a paywall.
According to Call of Duty leaker The Ghost of Hope, the next game (which, in a break from tradition, will apparently be Call of Duty: Black Ops 7) will have more seasonal limited-time modes, but “the only way to play [them] will be to have the battle pass”.
Right now, anyone can enjoy Call of Duty‘s seasonal limited-time modes regardless of whether they pick up the battle pass or not, but under these proposed changes, it seems you’d need to pay up for the privilege.
The Ghost of Hope says that Activision and Treyarch, who will be developing the game, are “planning on taking the higher tier skins, loot, and crossover operators” obtained through limited-time game modes and “making them only accessible to battle pass owners”.
According to Hope, purchasing any paid battle pass for Black Ops 7 will get you access to the limited-time game modes under the new system, although premium-tier Blackcell pass would probably get a little something extra.
It is worth noting that the next Call of Duty game hasn’t officially been unveiled yet, so this information should definitely be taken with a pinch of salt. Given Activision’s eagerness to monetize Call of Duty, though, as well as its many high-profile crossovers, it wouldn’t surprise me if limited-time event monetization is on the cards.
Call of Duty‘s major high-profile crossovers include the likes of Squid Game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Warhammer 40k, and while not all of the crossovers arrive with limited-time modes, many do, meaning these crossovers could end up behind paywalls in future.
We’ll have to wait and see what Activision has in store for the next Call of Duty to find out whether this leak is true or not. If the timing of Black Ops 6‘s announcement is anything to go by, we can probably expect a reveal for the next game in the series in summer.