Call of Duty's latest store bundle promotion ignites player fury amidst unresolved game issues. A recent tweet boasting a new Squid Game-themed bundle has garnered over 2 million views and a torrent of angry responses, accusing Activision of being tone-deaf to the community's concerns.
Both Warzone and Black Ops 6 are plagued by rampant cheating in Ranked Play, a problem Activision has yet to adequately address. This, coupled with other game-breaking bugs and server instability, has led to a significant player exodus on Steam, with player counts plummeting since the October 25, 2024 release of Black Ops 6. Even professional players like Scump have publicly declared the franchise's current state as its worst ever.
Activision's focus on promoting new store bundles, rather than acknowledging and rectifying these persistent problems, has fueled the outrage. The January 8th tweet announcing the VIP Squid Game bundle became a focal point for this frustration.
The backlash was swift and widespread. Prominent figures like FaZe Swagg urged Activision to "read the room," echoing the sentiments of countless players. CharlieIntel highlighted the absurdity of prioritizing new bundles over fixing the severely broken Ranked Play mode. Many players, like Taeskii, vowed to boycott future store purchases until the anti-cheat measures are improved.
The Steam player count decline, showing a drop of over 47% since launch, strongly suggests that the issues are driving players away from Black Ops 6. While data for PlayStation and Xbox remains unavailable, the trend suggests a significant overall player base reduction, likely linked to the ongoing hacking and server problems. The situation paints a grim picture for the future of Call of Duty.
