A pre-order listing for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 makes clear that the online multiplayer shooter will once again employ the Call of Duty: Points premium currency.
Call of Duty: Points, the franchise’s premium microtransaction currency, will be returning in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 according to the game’s pre-order listing on Battle.net. COD Points have historically been used to unlock various in-game elements like supply drops or crates with real money rather than through gameplay. The Battle.net listing notes that COD Points may not be available at launch, but rather added at a later date, which is something past Call of Duty titles have done as well.
The inclusion of COD points in Call of Duty 4: Black Ops is unsurprising since the currency has been featured in all of the franchise’s most recent releases of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Call of Duty: Infinity War, and Call of Duty: WW2. Nevertheless, it’s still a subject that draws an extent of attention and scrutiny given the state of microtransactions in today’s video game industry. Players deserve to know what they’re getting into, especially when there’s a $60 up-front cost.
There’s also an extra layer of scrutiny involved with Call of Duty 4: Black Ops that may not have been there for past Call of Duty titles. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will not feature a single campaign, or at least it won’t have one at launch. That means that all content will be online and likely influenced at least in part by the microtransaction strategy of Treyarch and Activision.
With past Call of Duty games, players could purchase the title knowing that at the bare minimum they would have a polished single-player shooter experience to enjoy. If the multiplayer wasn’t to their tastes or if they felt put off by the microtransactions, the player could still feel comfortable with their purchase. With Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 not having a single-player campaign, the likelihood of controversy continues to grow.
Details regarding what kind of microtransactions Treyarch is planning to implement in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 remain unknown. That kind of information rarely becomes available prior to launch. And if the microtransactions are delayed and introduced well after launch, as the listing suggests, then players will be even less informed regarding the actual product they’re purchasing at full price.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 releases on October 12 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
