As loot box regulations begin to impact the gaming industry internationally, many studios are appropriately adjusting their in-game shops to stay well within the legal limits, while having ongoing conversations with their customers in how they expect the shift to alter customization options. A fantastic example of embracing this shift is the critically acclaimed Rocket League developers Psyonix, which is shifting to a credit system. On the other end of this spectrum, apparently, would lie Infinity Ward with the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
Infinity Ward’s art director has taken to Reddit yesterday afternoon, vehemently denying any type of loot box (or the colloquially known supply drop) system being worked on by the developers. When confronted with the art asset video leaks from The Hollywood Reporter, and even user-submitted screenshots showing the loot box framework was included in the beta, he refused to reply further to the thread.
Infinity Ward via YouTubeOne could readily wave away the assets as remnants of old code, not reflecting a recent mental shift Infinity Ward has experienced during the development of the newest installment of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, if consumers haven’t experienced this microtransaction free parade many times in the past, by the same developers. One only must look back to the most recent of the seemingly annual installment, Black Ops 4, where Treyarch assured gamers that there were no microtransactions to be found yet added an entire system (coined Contraband Items) two months after release. Even further back, where Battlefront developers pulled a bait-and-switch for reviewers, altering unlock times for heroes to gain better reviews prior to release.
Then removing them altogether. Then adding the entire system back.
https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1156972864106651649
Consumers may be forgiven for their apprehension; there is clearly a large and specific pattern that is pursued by developers; mislead, misdirect, and culminate their proverbial magic show with adding the exact systems that they swore to abstain from. Call of Duty fans are currently set against each other, with one side pointing to broken promises in the most recent iteration, while the other side finds little to no reason why Infinity Ward would come out directly and state this without provocation.
Consumers currently have an arduous, if not monumental, task before them currently. Should the consumers believe that this time, the game developers won’t pull yet another bait-and-switch?
Current Infinity Ward trailers feature beautifully rendered cut-scenes, the iconic Captain Price, and absolute mayhem that seems to span across the globe. Plan on getting your hands on it, and resolving the most current iteration of this debate, at its release on October 25, 2019.
