Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Developer Addresses Microtransactions and Loot Boxes

With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's release just under two months away now, one of the biggest topics that's still frequently asked about pertains to the game's monetization plans. Loot boxes and microtransactions have been brought up frequently by fans who, often with concern, wonder about Activision's plans to profit from the game post-release. Infinity Ward's multiplayer design director Joe Cecot recently faced one of these questions during Game Informer's Modern Warfare podcast and answered what he could while reassuring fans about certain parts of the game's customization system.

While fielding questions from Call of Duty fans, Cecot and studio narrative director Taylor Kurosaki were met with an inquiry about loot boxes in Modern Warfare. The user who submitted the question said "let's be real" and asked if there'd be loot boxes in Modern Warfare, a fair question considering how prevalent the monetization method has become. Cecot couldn't answer that question specifically and said things are still in beta.

"We can't really comment on MTX or the systems for that," Cecot said around the 43:50 mark in the video below. "Right now it's all beta, beta, beta, and then launch the game."

It's an expected response to the recurring question of how Activision will implement its monetizations, but the follow-up answer is a more reassuring one that indicates the developers are pushing for players to get as much content as possible.

"All I can say is that we're pushing really hard to create a player-first or player-forward system," he continued. It's something that's really important to us on the development side. We want when we release new content for players to get access to that content and have fun with it, and so it's a huge focus for us."

As for some unlockables like camos, Call of Duty players who value their in-game achievements will be pleased to see that camos will be geared towards weapon proficiency just as they were in older Call of Duty games.

"We've also kind of made a big push for things like camos," the developer continued. "Camos in our game are meant to be status symbols, so outside of a couple of promotional things, you get them by playing with the weapon, doing challenges, with the weapon. And then when you see someone who has that badass camo, you know that person put in some work."

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is scheduled to release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC platforms on October 25th.