It’s Possible, Because CoD Is Changing
Since Modern Warfare and Warzone, CoD has been making less money and reaching fewer people, so Modern Warfare 2 is intended as a resurgence. A new era, and a return to form for the franchise. Accordingly, many are anticipating (or hoping for) monetization changes. Basically all fans agree that buying skins from Activision is better than buying lootboxes, so the new system is better than the last one in that sense, but there are problems with this system, too. See, most skins come in the form of weapons pre-kitted with attachments you’ll probably want to change. So, you’re going to have to choose between a great weapon and a pretty one. Not to mention that the gun skins are much cooler looking than camos or the gun skins you can get without spending money, so there’s a clear divide in aesthetics between those who spend money and those who don’t. In the past, CoD sold map packs, and many are wondering if these will come back once again as a new, perhaps better, way to make money. Considering that fewer people have been playing CoD recently, selling map packs would be a good way to boost revenue, which Activision is always open to doing. Beyond that, the biggest problem with map packs was how it would split the playerbase between those that bought map packs and those who didn’t. However, today that isn’t as much of a concern with the multiplatform crossplay nature of modern Call of Duty games.
But It’s Still Not Likely to Happen
Nonetheless, map packs likely won’t be a thing. The problem is that selling skins is a reliable moneymaker for Activision, and not much controversy is generated by Activision selling skins, so them removing the store altogether is very unlikely. Considering that fact, adding a new form of monetization on top of what already exists would not be well-liked by players and would likely generate a ton of controversy while adding little. Ultimately, it’s just bad optically, and Activision probably wouldn’t even make that much money from them, while the playerbase would still get divided, people would be upset, and the game would get more expensive. However you personally feel about the live service nature of CoD aside, it’s true that a big part of modern CoD games is in the live service support after the game’s launch, so if you now start charging extra for that, the community is going to be furious, with many likely opting to just stick with Warzone that’s free. While map packs, to most, would be preferable to microtransactions at large, this really is not what’s likely to happen, considering how much money is at stake here.
Though, Other Changes to Monetization Could Happen
While map packs might not make a lot of sense, there are good changes to monetization that Activision could, and might, implement, namely some tweaks to how skins work in Call of Duty. If skins could be applied to a variety of attachments, or if instead of skins outright there were camos you could buy that could be applied to any weapon, these changes would go a long way towards getting players to buy more skins. Even if somebody can justify the price of a particular microtransaction, oftentimes they’ll also have to sacrifice effectiveness in-game, too, which is often what is the step too far. If you could use skins and visual tweaks on guns while still getting to choose your attachments, that would be a big deal. Plus, you could also do something where you see the particular skin but the actual mechanics of your weapon reflect whatever attachments you have selected. This does break down realism a bit, of course, but CoD has never been a particularly realistic franchise.
