For better or worse, the ‘gaming’ community got used to ‘free-to-play’ games. It even tolerates some monetization systems. But what they will never put up with is that a company puts up for sale DLC or ‘pay to win’ microtransaction as Activision recently did in the DMZ mode of Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0the package with the skin ‘Roze and Thorn’.
But before we tell you what’s going on, we need to explain something to you.
What is a DLC “pay to win” or ‘pay-to-win’?
In the world of video games, the DLC and microstractions considered “pay to win” or ‘pay-to-win’ are those that give the buyer a clear advantage over players who have not.
Although they are fewer and fewer, a few years ago online games were common that offered characters, weapons or equipment for sale that clearly had advantages over those that were offered for free to encourage players to pay for them. This usually aroused the ire of the community and that caused them to disappear little by little, although never completely.
That is why the vast majority of free games today only offer cosmetic items for sale. These should not give paying players any advantage over non-paying ones.
‘Roze and Thorn’ pay-to-win package controversy for DMZ in Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0
Activision recently put a pack called ‘Roze and Thorn’ up for sale in the in-game store for 1,800 CP (1,000 CP costs 35,700 Colombian pesos, depending on the platform). This includes the ‘skin’ brush with thorns (Thorns Out), which causes the player to spawn with a free perk at the start of a DMZ match: a UAV.
This advantage reveals the location of enemies on the minimap for 30 seconds. When this became known in April, before the pack was released, it sparked controversy among players. Activision was surely aware of this. The version that hit the store had a one minute counter before the player could activate the perk. However, this did not calm the waters because this ‘skin’ of Roze also has an extra operator slot.
Players are angry at Activision for the way it is handling the microtransactions of Call of Duty: Warzone for several months, since several have been considered “pay to win” or ‘pay-to-win’. Some of the ones that have annoyed the most are those that include extra spaces for operators such as the classic Ghost pack.
Some popular streamers like Stodeh have led the criticism against Activision over this matter. He alleges that a team of three people who have paid for this ‘skin’ can easily destroy a game. It’s an unfair advantage.
Activision, as controversial as ever
Activision is widely considered “one of the greediest companies in the industry.” Although it is true that these accusations are sometimes exaggerated, there are many abusive monetization practices that they have used in some of their games.
Some of the best known cases are that of Diablo Immortala mobile game that required its players pay for access to the ‘lootbox’ missions in which we can obtain key Legendary Gems to improve the characters. We also remember the case of Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, which added an exaggerated microtransaction system after reviews were published celebrating that it did not have them. We also do not forget that made players abandon everything they had bought in the first version of Warzone.
And if that was not enough, Activision has been the target of multiple workplace and sexual harassment lawsuits. Its CEO Bobby Kotick has been accused of trying to cover them up.
Curiously, This isn’t the first time a Roze skin has been accused of being ‘pay to win’ in Call of Duty: Warzone.
Fuente: Reddit