Activision and Sony have been heavily criticised by Call of Duty fans over “anti-consumer” Black Ops Cold War PlayStation exclusivity.
Yesterday it emerged that PlayStation 4 and 5 players of Treyarch and Raven’s first-person shooter Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War get two extra create a class slots, extra tier skips, extra weapon XP and exclusive double XP events.
The Battle Pass Bundle Bonus, as it’s called, gives PlayStation players who buy the $20 Battle Pass Bundle an additional five tier skips – that makes for a total of 25 tier skips.
More egregious, however, is the PlayStation Party Bonus. Here, PlayStation players who play together in parties receive +25 per cent bonus weapon XP. (This bonus still counts when playing with cross-platform teammates.)
Then there’s a Double XP Bonus for PlayStation players. This involves exclusive Monthly Double XP events that last for 24 hours.
And finally, PlayStation gamers get extra loadouts. PlayStation players get an additional two loadout slots, ready for customisation. This is accessible when Create-A-Class unlocks upon reaching level four.
All this is in addition to a 12-month exclusive on the two-player co-op Zombies Onslaught mode.
Sony said these exclusive benefits and the Zombies Onslaught mode are exclusive to PlayStation until 1st November, 2021.
For many fans, this latest set of exclusives is a step too far, and Activision and Sony have come under fire on social media and in forums for the deal.
On the bonus tier skips, redditor Task_Set said: “It basically just means your money is worth less on Xbox/PC, which is a shitty feeling.”
Redditor BenjaminWareing said the loadouts exclusivity “is blatantly anti-consumer to PC and Xbox”.
“Last year, an exclusive game mode was lame enough, but it was not game-changing,” BenjaminWareing added.
“It was manageable and a somewhat fair trade-off for cross-platform and all that other stuff.
“Now granting two extra create a class slots ONLY for PlayStation players, AND extra tier skips, AND extra weapon XP, AND EXCLUSIVE Double XP events – ALL ONLY FOR PLAYSTATION is crossing the line.
“There is no trade-off, cross-play is a granted, it’s just anti-consumer at this point and if it was a consequence of PlayStation’s exclusivity deal with Activision, they should bow their heads in shame.
“This is gross and is another stepping stone along the way towards complete player base disenfranchising. This is another stepping stone along the way to losing players to non-predatory alternative games.”
For 2019’s Modern Warfare, Activision was praised for ditching loot boxes, instead using a battle pass system that meant all gameplay-affecting items, such as new weapons, were obtainable by all for free. All maps are also free for all players.