Call of Duty: Modern Warfare PS4 Exclusive Deal Could Alienate Fans
A few months ago, the hype for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reached levels the franchise hadn't seen in years. Fans were excited by the realistic campaign, return of fan-favorite characters like Captain Price, and the revamped Spec Ops co-op mode that hadn't been seen since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Hype for the upcoming shooter only increased as Activision made one popular, consumer-friendly decision about the game after another, instilling many with confidence that this year's Call of Duty could very well be one of the best yet. While there is still quite a bit of hype for the game, a recent announcement has already alienated some fans, and it threatens to put a stain on a game that has otherwise been met with enthusiasm from the community.
During the most recent PlayStation State of Play presentation, Activision revealed the first major Call of Duty: Modern Warfare campaign trailer. At the very end of that trailer, it announced that the upcoming Spec Ops mode would have a Survival variant (essentially the Call of Duty version of Horde Mode), but that it would be exclusive to PlayStation 4 owners for an entire year. Since it was tacked on at the end of the campaign trailer, the announcement didn't generate much attention at first, but then word of the exclusivity deal started to spread, sparking outrage and disappointment online.
Fans knew that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare PS4 owners would enjoy a day 1 advantage of some kind, but no one thought the advantage would come in the form of a mode being exclusive to one platform for an entire year. The announcement seemed to fly in the face of Activision's initiatives with the game, with cross-play and promises to keep the community together across PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
This Spec Ops Survival mode exclusivity deal seems to have come about in place of the typical Call of Duty timed-exclusive DLC maps. Since the Xbox 360, Call of Duty games have offered DLC maps to one platform first, for a timed-exclusivity window of about 30 days. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is doing away with that entirely, and in fact, is giving Call of Duty players all of the DLC maps for free. Some PC and Xbox One players may feel that getting DLC maps for free, and not having to wait for them, is a decent trade-off for losing Spec Ops Survival for a year, but it's clear that many people are still unhappy with the decision.
The length of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare PS4 exclusive deal seems to be the main reason why people are upset about it. It's less so that the deal exists at all, and more so that PC and Xbox One owners who get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will be blocked out of an entire game mode practically until next year's Call of Duty game will be coming out. But despite getting less content, PC and Xbox One players are still expected to pay the same price for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare as those getting it on PS4.
Of course, exclusivity deals like these are really nothing new, especially when it comes to Activision. Before Call of Duty had an exclusivity deal with PlayStation, it had one with Microsoft, and the Destiny series has had all sorts of timed-exclusive PlayStation content. The PlayStation-exclusive Destiny content didn't thrill everyone back in the day either, but it also didn't lock PC and Xbox One players out of an entire game mode for a whole year.
Now, something else that has soured fans on the game is the rumor that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will have weapon microtransactions and loot boxes. These mechanics haven't been confirmed or outright denied at this point, but even though they're based on rumors and not facts, Activision's track record of adding microtransactions to games post-launch has left some consumers understandably skeptical.
Unfortunately, the backlash to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's rumored microtransactions and the Spec Ops Survival mode's PS4 timed-exclusivity has caused some people to verbally attack developers. Infinity Ward has responded to these toxic comments with a post on Reddit that simply asks people to remember that there are are real live human beings working on this game. And not only that, but the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developers, in all actuality, aren't even the ones making the decisions about the game's monetization or what will be exclusive to what platform, so the anger is misplaced.
Moving forward, it's unlikely that exclusivity deals like these will stop. Console manufacturers have been seeking them out for decades, and so they must be effective. And we should note that it's not just Activision that engages in these kinds of deals. In fact, just recently it was revealed that Civilization 6 on PS4 will come with free content that Xbox One users will have to pay for. Despite the backlash to these deals, though, it doesn't seem likely that these practices will change any time soon, if ever.
We'll find out if the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare PS4 exclusive mode hurts the game's sales on other platforms, or if it manages to become the best-selling game of 2019 as many analysts have predicted.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare launches on October 25 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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