Call of Duty locks formerly free DMZ content behind a paywall
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Call of Duty, one of the most popular first-person shooter video game franchises, has put some normally free content behind a paywall. It has caused frustration among its players, not only because of the new need to pay, but also because they have not been open about it.
Al Mazra and Ashika Island are still free for DMZ, but Building 21 now has a fee. Building 21 was previously accessible to players for free but now requires the purchase of the full Modern Warfare 2 game for $70. If you want to play the Building 21 mode, you must own a copy of the game or it will not launch for you.
The problem is that Activision has two different statements, one claiming that this is a bug, and one confirming that it is true. It’s hard to know what to believe.
Editor’s Update: Infinity Ward has responded. Activision Support was incorrect, Building 21 is just experiencing some issues and remains free-to-play. It really makes you wonder what else Activision Support has been wrong about but just gave out faulty information.
Building 21 paywall DMZ
Infinity Ward has posted the inability to access Building 21 as a bug on its Trello board. The Trello card claims that some Warzone players are experiencing a missing DLC pack message when trying to access Building 21.
They stated on the card that they are aware of it and labeled it as a Global Known issue that they are investigating. However, that contradicts another statement.
An email from Activision support disagrees with the statement on the Trello board. An Activision Support email states that players must purchase the full Modern Warfare 2 game to access Building 21. As a result of this discrepancy, players have become increasingly frustrated, as this shows Activision isn’t willing to own up to what has happened or resolve the confusion.
CharlieIntel’s tweet shows both.
This move has prompted criticism from players, who are mostly angry about the lack of transparency.
Call of Duty is not alone in hiding formerly free content behind a paywall. Other video game franchises, including Fortnite and Apex Legends, have adopted similar strategies in recent years. These moves are often justified by the need to generate revenue to fund future content and updates.
However, When it comes to transparency, it feels wrong to not get any information after something like this happens. One way or the other, players at least deserve to know what is going on.
