Gaming as a hobby has been rapidly getting more expensive in recent months, with the introduction of $80 games thanks to Mario Kart World from Nintendo. Nintendo isn't the only gaming company that is finding a way to squeeze more money out of the consumers who are still willing to buy video games and not just exclusively play free-to-play games. According to a prominent and reliable Call of Duty leaker, the next entry in Activision's — and, by extension, Microsoft's — yearly FPS title will include some unfavorable changes to its battle pass. Combine that with Microsoft announcing that some of its games will be $80 this holiday, and Call of Duty fans may be in for an expensive time this holiday. The Ghost of Hope on X shared that Call of Duty 2026, expected to be Black Ops 7, will change how limited-time events work moving forward, limiting access to them based on whether you have the paid battle pass.

Separating players based on the premium battle pass is bad for players

Going back to the Xbox 360 era of fractured multiplayer games

According to The Ghost of Hope, in the new Call of Duty, limited-time game modes will only be accessible to players with the premium battle pass for the season. Currently, limited-time modes are available to everyone and typically come with an event pass. That event pass is a shorter battle pass, featuring 10 to 20 free and paid rewards tiers. Players who pick up the event pass are basically paying for the limited-time mode in a roundabout way for the players who don't pick it up.

The new system would require players to own the season premium battle pass in order to play in limited-time modes, which, unfortunately, seems like it would fracture the player base. Back when new maps were paid DLC in Call of Duty, players who didn't have the DLC would often complain that they were being cut off from new playlists. This move seems primed to bring that back, asking players to spend more money on Call of Duty if they want access to all the playlists in a game that isn't free-to-play.

Squeezing players for even more money sucks, especially since COD isn't free-to-play

Call of Duty already features tons of monetization

Call of Duty is already a pretty expensive series to keep up with. Not only are there yearly installments, which cost $70 currently and might cost more soon, but there are $10 battle passes each season, in addition to the event passes. That also ignores the store, which constantly adds new bundles that can cost up to $40, depending on the bundle. Sure, a lot of that is optional, but when you constantly throw microtransactions in front of players, it can feel a bit gross. The argument for this is that it allows the company making the game to make more money, without impacting gameplay, since skins have minimal impact on gameplay.

That argument doesn't hold water with this new system, as the microtransactions are now tied directly to gameplay. Sure, it isn't pay-to-win, but blocking off new limited-time playlists, already designed to make players feel like they are missing out, results in unnecessary pressure on people to buy the battle pass, moving it out of optional territory.

A microtransaction on top of a microtransaction is bad

There's a reason calling something a "hat on a hat" is negative

A core issue with the decision comes from the second part of the information shared in the leak. That info says that rewards that typically appear in the paid version of the event passes will be locked behind the premium battle pass as well. Without the exact details, it's unclear exactly how this works, but it sounds like in order to purchase the limited-time rewards, you will need to have purchased the premium battle pass. While something similar exists already, which is the Blackcell version of the battle pass, a third tier requires an additional purchase on top of the battle pass, but tying it into limited-time events means more pressure to cave on the purchase. It also means you need to make a purchase, which feels gross regardless of how you spin it.

More funding could mean better limited-time modes

The leak does say it's not every limited-time mode

An important note in the leak is that this is only being considered for "higher value" limited-time modes. That means there wouldn't be most limited-time modes, only ones with special mechanics or modes that go beyond typical Call of Duty modes. Extra funding coming in from these modes by requiring a paid battle pass could give the developers the resources to justify getting more creative with these limited-time modes. The phrasing of the leak could also suggest that there won't be an additional purchase for battle pass owners, potentially making this a cheaper system than the current one.

That's wishful thinking, though

I don't think it's wrong to be pessimistic when it comes to Call of Duty and monetization. Activision is likely in a position where it feels that it needs to make up for any money lost by Call of Duty launching on Game Pass in 2025. Games are expensive to make, and most corporations want to pass those costs onto the consumer through whatever means they can. For Call of Duty, it isn't surprising that Activision is returning to locking content behind paywalls and not just optional cosmetics. And if a premium paid game like Call of Duty can get away with a cover charge for limited-time game modes, don't be surprised if free-to-play games try it out too.