With the launch of Call of Duty Season 4, Activision quietly inserted advertisements into loadout screens for Black Ops 6 and Warzone, triggering widespread backlash.
Activision already faces criticism for aggressive monetization in the premium Black Ops 6 and its free-to-play battle royale, Warzone—but this latest move may have crossed a line for many players.
After Season 4 launched, ads for weapon bundles began appearing in the loadout and weapon customization menus. These ads are unavoidable as players adjust their gear.
Really? I have to see this crap even in my loadouts
byu/SWO0ZY inblackops6
.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }> Did they seriously add bundle ads to the weapon selection menu?
byu/JustTh4tOneGuy inblackops6
.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }> Season 4 brings new in-game ad space for weapons
byu/whambampl inblackops6
.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }Elsewhere, Activision has added bundle and Battle Pass promotions to the Events tab—a controversial change that’s drawn further complaints.
Don’t miss the “opportunity to buy skins” event!
byu/tideshark inblackops6
.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }Here’s a snippet of the response, sourced from across Call of Duty subreddits, Discords, and social media:
I wouldn’t even be upset if this were limited to Warzone, a free game—but slapping ads into a pay-to-play premium title, especially as prices climb to $80? F**k off. This game still costs €80. I get they rely on the store for revenue, but shouldn’t the bare minimum for a premium product be ads-free menus? At this point, it feels exactly like opening a mobile game—every screen pushes something to buy. Anyone interested in a bundle would’ve gone straight to the store. Placing ads here doesn’t drive sales; it just annoys players. Just wait until they pop up ads during gameplay.
Call of Duty has faced monetization controversies before, of course. Players are accustomed to battle passes, premium battle passes, and even pricier tiers atop the $70 (soon $80) entry fee. But there’s a growing sense the franchise’s microtransaction approach has intensified since Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
It’s also worth noting that earlier this month, Activision shut down Warzone Mobile, the title meant to propel the battle royale genre forward, admitting it failed to meet expectations.
IGN has asked Activision for comment.
