Call of Duty: Modern Warfaremarked a major shift for theCall of Dutyfranchise in many ways. The biggest change had little to do with gameplay though, but rather monetization. WithCall of Duty: Modern Warfare, Activision shifted away from the loot boxes and Season Pass DLC of previous games, instead employing a battle pass-style monetization scheme. And by all accounts, Activision’s decision has been very successful and more importantly profitable.
Activision president Rob Kostich recently held a quarterly earnings call, in which he discussedModern Warfare’s monetization. Kostich described the changes as necessary “to create a better experience,” specifically referring to how the removal of premium content and platform-exclusive content brings players together. “We’re focused now on free content for the entire community to drive engagement,” is how Kostich characterizes the changes.
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While Kostich can characterize the changes however he wants, it’s the numbers that his shareholders want to hear. To that effect, Kostich delivers a persuasive argument for the changes. Kostich says that removing loot boxes and Season Passes and replacing them with the battle pass has led to “double-digit percentage” growth in in-game spending.Call of Duty: Modern Warfareplayersare spending more than ever before.
The increase in spending is attributed to a higher engagement year-to-year by Kostich. That means more people are playingModern Warfareday-to-day, they’re playing for longer times, and they’re spending more time involved with the battle pass progression system. People spend more money on things that they’re actively engaged with andModern Warfareis apparently delivering what fans want in that regard. Kostich adds that attach-rates are also increasing, meaning more people are spending money at all, where they may otherwise have not inBlack Ops 4’s loot boxand Season Pass system.
It’s worth noting that Activision leaves a lot of ambiguity in its summary forCall of Duty: Modern Warfare’s revenue. For example, they use the same language to describe bothModern Warfare’s sales andModern Warfare’s in-game revenue. They use the term “double-digit percentage” growth. That could imply that in-game spending is simply increasing at the same rate as overall game sales. In other words, the battle pass may just be similar to loot boxes and season passes at bringing in revenue. It could even be worse. The ambiguity leaves a lot of room for confusion, butCall of Dutyplayers are probably happy regardless.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfareis available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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