Activision Accused Of Introducing Pay-To-Win Warzone Skin

Activision Accused Of Introducing Pay-To-Win Warzone Skin

Written by 

Tom Chapman

Published 

25th Jan 2021 17:45

There's trouble in Verdansk as Call of Duty: Warzone is accused of hiding a pay-to-win skin to its latest season. Like any popular shooter, the addition of skins is supposed to be cosmetic. Fortnite recently came under fire when the introduction of its black superhero skins allowed players to lurk in the shadows undetected. Activision has done a pretty good job of keeping its Operator skins purely cosmetic, however, has all that changed?

On the potential chopping block this time is the Rozlin "Roze" Helms skin. While plenty of players love the look of the Modern Warfare Season 4 Operator - complete with her signature mask - it's causing problems out there in Warzone. Some sneaky players have been using Roze for their own nefarious advantage. Now that the issue has become known to the wider CoD community, Codders are calling Roze a pay-to-win Warzone skin.

 

Pay-to-win Warzone skin: What's the problem?

Ironically, Roze has a hidden Easter egg inscribed on her costume that references James Cameron's Aliens. In the 1986 movie, the character Vasquez has "el riesgo siempre vive" written on jer chest. This translates (roughly) as, "The Risk Always Lives", which is also written on Roze's outfit. As shown off by Redditor u/Myb4d, Roze's alternate outfit is too dark to be spotted in the shadows. In the clip, she can be seen taking out a whole squad without being noticed. 

Myb4d easily skulks around the map and comes face to face with several enemies without them spotting Roze. At one point, an enemy even makes contact with Roze without realising it's Myb4d hiding in the dark. Instead of continuing to use the exploit for themselves, Myb4d has highlighted it as a problem for others to look out for. Commenters quickly suggested that Roze be pulled, claiming she's a pay-to-win Warzone skin. 

Instead of taking her out of play, someone else said, "Easy fix would be to just add some kind of coloured accessory to her. Surprised that they havent changed the skin yet considering it discourages new operator purchases". Another added, "I really don't see an issue with the skin. The British MP mil-sim operator is just as dark and I've never seen a complaint about that". The fact that the all-black Roze skin was part of the Battle Pass means you won't be able to buy her now. Still, there were plenty who'd picked her up when they could. 

 

Pay-to-win Warzone skin: Are there more?

Issues with Roze have been doing the rounds since Season 5, but only hit headlines thanks to a recent Twitch Rivals tournament. As she continues to cause a stir, developers will have to roll out a fix in the near future. Complaints about Roze come in the immediate aftermath of the Gallantry MAC-10 being nerfed for inadvertently getting a boost. There are continued accusations that the addition of Cold War blueprints to Warzone have made some weapons pay-to-win. 

As the Reddit thread points out, it would be relatively easy to add some form of coloured accessory to spot Roze in the dark. For the time being, adding Roze to your arsenal could be a smart move to make - well, if you don't want to play fair. In the meantime, you're encouraged to keep your eyes on every corner for any unsuspecting Rozes hiding in plain sight.

 

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Images via Activision

Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.

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