SomeCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2players have taken online to share their frustrations with Activision’s recently revealed decision to start selling sounds as microtransactions. The polarizing audio bundle is just one of many new additions arriving as part of the newly detailedSeason 3 roadmap forModern Warfare 2andWarzone 2.In terms of paid add-ons, Season 3 is primarily focused onnewCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Battle Pass content, which is in line with Activision’s recent monetization efforts. Yet the mid-April roadmap reveal also saw the publisher announce an array of new paid cosmetics, including two Tracer Packs of operator skins and an Inkblot Bundle.RELATED:Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Player Dies After Grenade Throw Goes Horribly WrongOne final piece of newly confirmed content came in the form of The Throwback Pack: ‘09 Weapon Audio Bundle, which replaces the remake’s weapon sounds with those from the originalCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. This collection of 2009 audio assets will be usable in both the main game andWarzone 2, its free-to-play battle royale mode. The bundle’s announcement flew a bit under the radar due to the sheer size of the newly revealed Season 3 roadmap, but some of the players who did acknowledge it ended up being quite critical of the collection, positing that the sound pack should have been free.
Other critics adopted a more resigned stance, pointing to Activision’s recent DLC track record as evidence that the decision to peddle old weapon sounds is hardly some huge monetization line for the company to cross. “They [already] sell loading screen images,” wrote one user on Reddit, referring to a recently launchedCall of Dutyartwork pack that forgot how bullets work.
And while there’s no shortage of negative reactions to the new audio bundle, the overall social media buzz surrounding its announcement isn’t predominantly negative. On the contrary, many players said they were excited about the prospect of hearing iconic sounds from the originalModern Warfare 2, implying they will happily pay for that privilege.
A portion of the fandom is also positing thatCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Season 3 is a huge step in the right direction, irrespective of this somewhat polarizing audio addition. Between that and the fairly high likelihood that this sound pack was informed by market research—as tends to be the case with most paid DLC in AAA games—it’s plausible that Activision expects it to do well. This hence might not be the last time the publisher decides to monetize sound packs. In the meantime,Modern Warfare 2players are still waiting for Activision to reveal how much the newly announced audio assets will actually cost, and when exactly they will arrive.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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