Latest news with #CallOfDuty:BlackOps6
Metro
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Black Ops 6 players threaten to quit over new microtransaction ads
A new addition to the weapon loadout screen in Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 has caused outrage amongst players, as season four gets underway. Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 added a bunch of multiplayer maps, modes, weapons, and gameplay tweaks last week, as part of its fourth season, but one particular change has sparked anger amongst players. After the season four update rolled out on Thursday, May 29, Call Of Duty players have noticed an advertisement promoting premium weapons and skins in the weapon select menu which wasn't there before. While the Call Of Duty launcher often carries these kinds of promotions, players are miffed they've crossed over into the gameplay itself – especially as Black Ops 6 players have already forked out £69.99 for the full game. 'One of the unwelcome changes I've noticed with season four is that they've now inserted a new ad spot at the top of the list of your weapon specific builds,' Reddit user whambampl writes. 'So now every time you toggle between weapon builds you get to stare at ads for $20-$30 skins. I'm sure the Activision developer who suggested this terrible feature is very proud of themselves.' They added: 'This change is especially unneeded because you could already toggle from Builds to Shop on any given weapon and apparently not being thrown directly in our faces didn't make them enough money. Many of us paid $60-$100 for a feature game and don't want to be bombarded with additional ads.' Season 4 brings new ad spot in game for weapons byu/whambampl inblackops6 In a nod to SpongeBob SquarePants, one user replied: 'Actively witnessing Call Of Duty become the Krusty Krab.' Other players have vowed to quit playing following this update. 'This ad mess is ridiculous,' one user wrote. 'They make huge bank already for them to even do this should be illegal. I've never been done with a COD this fast ever. But she's getting deleted.' More Trending Another added: 'I'm so dumbfounded… this seriously makes me want to uninstall based on principle alone! You guys have to be smoking something.' This issue has been the subject of several threads expressing a similar sentiment. 'I wouldn't even be mad if this was just in Warzone, a free game, but putting it in a pay-to-play premium title, with how expensive they're getting?' questioned one commenter. Last month, a report highlighted how Call Of Duty was slowly losing players each year. As of March 2025, Call Of Duty had 20.6 million players, a decline from 20.8 million in March 2024 and 22.4 million in March 2023. While these are still huge numbers, it's perhaps a sign that Call Of Duty's dominance could be at risk if a competitor makes a big enough splash. EA is hoping to do just that with the next Battlefield, which is set to launch sometime before March 2026. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Survival Kids hands-on preview – the biggest Switch 2 third party exclusive MORE: Nintendo is bringing one of its exclusive games to PC claims Microsoft website MORE: Ubisoft teases Splinter Cell reveal but don't get your hopes up
Metro
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Call Of Duty is losing players faster than ever despite Xbox Game Pass
Not only did Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6's launch on Xbox Game Pass do little to boost the service, but the series has less players than last year. While Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard didn't result in Call Of Duty going Xbox-only, it was still a massive boon to the company; one that's cemented it as the world's largest video game publisher. Aside from getting to reap the benefits of Call Of Duty's sales on PlayStation, Microsoft can now add the games to its Xbox Game Pass service. As such, last year's entry, Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6, became a day one Game Pass title, in a clear ploy to boost subscription numbers. Unfortunately for Microsoft, this strategy doesn't seem to have worked, at least not to the degree the company must have hoped. Financial results from January showed Black Ops 6 generated only a 2% boost in Game Pass subscriptions, which coincided with Call Of Duty in general continuing to haemorrhage players. This is according to data from analytics firm Ampere, provided to The Game Business, which states that the results of Black Ops 6's Game Pass launch were initially positive. 33.7 million people were playing Call Of Duty last November, in the wake of Black Ops 6's launch, which was 13 million more than the number of players from the year before. This can partially be attributed to 2023's Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 being an unusually unpopular entry in the series, with the story campaign widely believed to be repurposed DLC, but Black Ops 6 also improved on the 31.4 million players of 2022's Modern Warfare 2. Since then, Call Of Duty's overall player count has declined, with Ampere reporting 20.6 million players as of March 2025. By comparison, where were 20.8 million players in March 2024 and 22.4 million players in March 2023. Basically, while Call Of Duty is still huge, players are slowly drifting away. Even if some games would kill to have more than 20 million players, Microsoft and Activision probably aren't thrilled to see player numbers declining with each passing year. Especially when Black Ops 6 is one of the better games in the series and a sales success. More Trending That said, these numbers are from before a significant April update for Call Of Duty: Warzone brought back the game's original Verdansk map, something that was much demanded by players and sparked a noticeable jump in player count. Game Pass has also enjoyed some growth in the past few months, with spending having gone up by 11% in the first quarter of 2025 (January to March) compared to the same time in 2024. However, it's unclear how much of this, if any, can be attributed to Call Of Duty's presence on the service. Considering Black Ops came out in November last year, it's more likely that Game Pass' bump was thanks to newer additions to the service, be they Microsoft published games like Avowed or third party titles like Atomfall. It'll be interesting to see how this year's Call Of Duty fares, assuming it too is a day one Game Pass title. No official details have been shared yet, but rumours suggest it's yet another Black Ops game. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: UK game console sales drop 25% as even Call Of Duty and FC 25 decline MORE: Call Of Duty: Warzone in trouble claims insider as fears of a shutdown grow MORE: Call Of Duty is dying and its downfall is long overdue – Reader's Feature
Metro
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Call Of Duty 2025 will lock game modes behind battle pass claims insider
Activision is planning to make changes to the battle pass in the next Call Of Duty according to a new rumour, including locking limited time modes behind a paywall. Microsoft has already warned this year's Call Of Duty could cost up to £80, but it seems this might not be the only price squeeze facing players. While nothing has been announced about the successor to Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6, it's strongly rumoured to be a direct sequel to 2012's Black Ops 2, with remastered maps and returning mechanics. However, a new rumour suggests Activision is planning on revamping the battle pass system in the next Call Of Duty, so that you effectively have to pay to access limited time modes. This comes from regular Call Of Duty leaker TheGhostOfHope on X, who claims Call Of Duty 2025 will have 'more seasonal limited time modes' and 'some of them would be considered 'higher value' with unique rewards and different game mechanics/modes'. However, the only way to play these 'higher value' limited time modes 'will be to have the battle pass, unlike how it's currently free for everyone'. They added: '[Activision] are planning on taking the higher tier skins, loot, and crossover operators for limited time modes and making them only accessible to battle pass owners instead of having the 'Premium Event Track' we currently get during Reloaded updates.' EXCLUSIVE: Activision/Treyarch are currently planning to make changes to the Battle Pass with the release of Black Ops 7 (2025). Black Ops 7 will reportedly have more seasonal LTM's and some of them would be considered 'higher value' with unique rewards and different game… — Hope (@TheGhostOfHope) May 4, 2025 If true, this would mean, for example, the Joint Operations limited time mode in the current Call Of Duty season (if it is considered 'higher value') would be exclusive to battle pass owners, instead of being free to everyone. More Trending At the moment, Activision only incentivises players to purchase the battle pass through operators, emotes, skins, and weapon blueprints, so this would be a more aggressive way of pushing people into buying the battle pass for 1,100 COD Points (£8.39). None of this has been confirmed by Activision, who haven't even announced the game yet, but you can guarantee it's not something that's going to go down well with most fans. Last week, Call Of Duty kicked off Season 3 Reloaded, which includes two new multiplayer maps (Haven and Signal) in Black Ops 6, a limited time mode, new modes for Zombies, and a new operator based on actor Seth Rogen. The next Call Of Duty hasn't been officially announced but it will likely be shown off during the Xbox summer showcase on June 8, if not before. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: How to get Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga for free – but you have to be quick MORE: Games Inbox: Why has GTA 6 been delayed? MORE: Best new mobile games on iOS and Android – May 2025 round-up
Metro
01-05-2025
- Business
- Metro
Xbox games facing new £80 price tag as console prices rise by £50
It's not only Xbox consoles and controllers that are increasing in price but the games too, with Microsoft blaming adverse 'market conditions'. Microsoft revealed only this week that sales of their various Xbox consoles are continuing a downward trend, with hardware revenue dropping by 6% in the last three months. Sales have been falling for years now and they're unlikely to be helped by Microsoft's latest annoucement: a worldwide price increase for all Xbox hardware… and software. Sony has already announced a £40 price hike for the PlayStation 5 digital edition, but not the disc version or the PS5 Pro. This was blamed on 'a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates.' Microsoft's justification is even vaguer, with mention only of unfavourable 'market conditions' and increased development costs – the latter a reference to the fact that major triple-A titles will be seeing a price increase to $80 in the US. $80 is only £60 but currently major titles in the US, such as Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 and most Sony first party titles, are priced at $70, with the equivalent in the UK being £70. That suggests that this new price increase will likely be £80. 'We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration,' said Microsoft in a statement. 'Looking ahead, we continue to focus on offering more ways to play more games across any screen and ensuring value for Xbox players.' In terms of hardware prices, the Xbox Series X will see an increase of £20, to £499.99; while the 2TB Xbox Series X will increase by £40 to £589.99; and the Xbox Series S will see a massive £50 jump, to £299.99. For once, and no doubt thanks to the tariffs, the US seems to have it worse, with the Xbox Series X price rising $100 and the 2TB model up by $130. That means there is hope that the $80 price rise will not be as much as £80 and possibly will not happen at all, as at the moment all that's been announced is the US increase. We asked Microsoft for clarification but were told only that, 'Local pricing may differ across countries and platforms. These differences reflect regional considerations including foreign exchange rates and market conditions.' The only real silver lining is that existing games will not increase in price, it's just new titles from this Christmas. 'This update will apply to physical and digital versions. That said, different games and expansions will continue to be offered at a variety of price points,' says a new Q&A on the subject. The same website also notes UK prices for all Xbox controllers, but they're less affected than the US, with only the Elite Series 2 (Full) seeing a £10 increase to £169.99. The news comes only weeks after Nintendo announced their prices for Switch 2 games, which vary considerably by title but at the highest end costs £67 for the digital version of Mario Kart World and £75 for a physical copy. More Trending As many suspected, this seems to be merely the vanguard of an industry wide wave of price rises. Rumours suggest that GTA 6 could cost up to £100 – with other publishers eager to charge the same for their games, if that price is accepted by customers. Video games are unquestionably more expensive to make now than they've ever been but it's unclear whether that or tariffs are the primary reason for Microsoft's software increase. Although tariffs should only affect the US, given most Xbox hardware is made in China, many companies, whether in the games industry or not, will be looking to limit price increases in the huge US market by also increasing prices elsewhere, if only by a smaller amount. Microsoft is never going to admit that's the case, any more than Nintendo or Sony would, but it certainly seems as if a new era of more expensive video game software and hardware is firmly upon us. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Highest rated game of 2025 is already 20% off on PS5 and Xbox MORE: Games Inbox: Is GTA 6 really out this year? MORE: PS6 and next gen Xbox out by 2027 reveals cancelled game report
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
How To Unlock The Kilo 141 Assault Rifle In ‘Warzone' And ‘Black Ops 6' Right Away
The Kilo 141 returns. Credit: Activision Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 3 is almost here after the season was delayed two weeks into April. While there are new maps coming to multiplayer and a new Battle Pass with Operators like Mace and Hudson, the big draw of the new season is the long-awaited, highly-anticipated return of Verdansk. But the classic Warzone map isn't the only thing returning to the game after a long hiatus. Several weapons are making a comeback from the OG Warzone days, including the CR-56 and the HDR Sniper Rifle. But the first weapon you can unlock before even opening the new Battle Pass is the fan-favorite Kilo 141 Assault Rifle. Season 3 starts in two phases. First, on Wednesday April 2nd all the new Season 3 multiplayer content goes live, including new maps and modes. Then, on Thursday April 3rd, Verdansk returns to Warzone. On Wednesday, Warzone servers go dark. But you should still login to the free-to-play Battle Royale game if you have Black Ops 6. Doing so on Wednesday will automatically unlock the Kilo 141 AR. You can spend Wednesday leveling up the gun and then drop into Verdansk with it equipped to your favorite loadout. You might also find the Kilo 141 as ground loot on Thursday. There's a big change coming to loot as well: The oldschool 'floating loot' returns from the original game. Now, items won't be on the ground or on shelves, but rather floating a few inches above the ground, making them a lot easier to spot. When you open one of the classic loot crates, items will pop out and float for you to easily examine. This is a step away from realism and back to the way Warzone was when it first launched five years ago. The Kilo 141 will almost certainly rise through the ranks as one of the most-used new guns in the game, though that depends a lot on balancing. The CR-56 and HDR Sniper will also likely be top picks. Tons of changes are coming to Warzone this week including nerfs to omnimovement, sound effects changes and more measures to counter the cheaters. Will it be enough to return Warzone to its former glory? We shall see. See you in Verdansk.
