Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 Battle Pass LTM Paywall Rumor Sparks Gamer Outrage
The growing trend for gaming in 2025 is that everything is getting more expensive, with no exceptions. The popular Call of Duty franchise falls into the 'no exceptions' category, as there are some early murmurs claiming that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will have some more expensive changes to its Battle Pass system.
According to user @TheGhostOfHope on X, some items such as higher value rewards and loot will be available only to Battle Pass owners. Same goes for Limited-Time Modes, which supposedly will be locked behind an additional fee. This expanded paywall (beyond the base price of the Battle Pass), if true, could keep many casual players away from some of the nicer perks you can gain in the game itself, unless they pony up the extra bucks.
One unsatisfied gamer in the X thread, @person_UwU_, said "So now we're going to have to pay to play portions of the multiplayer after already paying $70 (Probably $80 this year just to get in, what a joke."
Such paywalls are rarely popular in games, and can often spark a significant amount of outrage in the user base. Microsoft knows this, so it's interesting to see how it will deal with the implementation that is done by Activision and Treyarch developers.
According to user @TheGhostOfHope on X, some items such as higher value rewards and loot will be available only to Battle Pass owners. Same goes for Limited-Time Modes, which supposedly will be locked behind an additional fee. This expanded paywall (beyond the base price of the Battle Pass), if true, could keep many casual players away from some of the nicer perks you can gain in the game itself, unless they pony up the extra bucks.
One unsatisfied gamer in the X thread, @person_UwU_, said "So now we're going to have to pay to play portions of the multiplayer after already paying $70 (Probably $80 this year just to get in, what a joke."
Such paywalls are rarely popular in games, and can often spark a significant amount of outrage in the user base. Microsoft knows this, so it's interesting to see how it will deal with the implementation that is done by Activision and Treyarch developers.
Call of Duty is a massive franchise with a large player base, and part of what makes the Microsoft acquisition of Activision so important. It's available on the Xbox and PC Game Pass, the subscription service that Microsoft is banking on for its future video game related sales.
Microsoft has recently increased the pricing for its hardware, which includes the various flavors of Xbox consoles. Xbox hardware sales have lagged behind the Sony PlayStation 5, which has been the juggernaut in console gaming for a consistent number of years now. Knowing this, Microsoft has even made available previous Xbox exclusives, such as Forza Horizon 5, on the PlayStation console.
It is possible that Microsoft will seek to monetize its intellectual property powerhouse titles to maximize revenue that it can generate. Having more expensive in-game purchase items may be unpopular with gamers, but it's a cash cow for the developers. This includes paywalls and other strategies that may not directly raise the price, but indirectly affect the value for the dollar. This way, Microsoft can balance the subscription fees for Game Pass as it becomes more platform agnostic, whilst retaining the triple A titles that gamers desire.
Microsoft has recently increased the pricing for its hardware, which includes the various flavors of Xbox consoles. Xbox hardware sales have lagged behind the Sony PlayStation 5, which has been the juggernaut in console gaming for a consistent number of years now. Knowing this, Microsoft has even made available previous Xbox exclusives, such as Forza Horizon 5, on the PlayStation console.
It is possible that Microsoft will seek to monetize its intellectual property powerhouse titles to maximize revenue that it can generate. Having more expensive in-game purchase items may be unpopular with gamers, but it's a cash cow for the developers. This includes paywalls and other strategies that may not directly raise the price, but indirectly affect the value for the dollar. This way, Microsoft can balance the subscription fees for Game Pass as it becomes more platform agnostic, whilst retaining the triple A titles that gamers desire.
