Activision Details the Microtransactions in Modern Warfare

I hate to dedicate all the day’s news to one company, but if they’re the people doing stuff, then my hands are kinda tied.

This news, at least, is dedicated to the now less(?) hated of the Activision-Blizzard duo, Activision, whose latest military shooter, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, is set to launch on October 25th. People have been antsy about how exactly the game plans to nickel and dime you after you pay your sixty-bucks entrance fee, but now it’s just been announced that the game will not have a season pass, or even the dreaded loot boxes that have been plaguing the series as of late.

Rather, it’ll be using a Battle Pass, which includes a free and a premium version.

The free version of the battle pass will include “functional” unlocks, including weapons and attachments. Everyone will be getting that stuff just by playing the base game. The premium version, on the other hand, will have cosmetics as well as COD points, which can presumably be spent on other, direct-to-purchase cosmetics.

However, it is worth noting that the game will not launch with a Battle Pass:

The Battle Pass System for Modern Warfare will not launch when the game releases on October 25th. Here’s why: First and foremost, we are all focused on making the Day One experience awesome. Second, it’s important to us that everyone who is playing Modern Warfare has the chance to work their way through the new game and unlock all the rewards that are waiting for you. We expect to launch this system for Modern Warfare later this year.

Understandably there are still questions around how the economy will evolve throughout the post-launch, live seasons. We recognize this will take time to fully demonstrate. Please know we are committed to delivering a fair system guided by the principles we’ve outlined here, and will continue to monitor feedback and player engagement to help us achieve that goal.

It is worth remembering that Activision-Blizzard has a nasty habit of launching games without loot boxes and the like, only to add them later after the reviews ship. So even if this was praise-worthy, I wouldn’t start heaping it on quite yet.