Black Ops 6 Is Now “pay to have a better experience” as Developers Lock Xp Bonuses Behind a Paywall

Those who regularly buy Blackcell battle passes for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be eligible for “loyalty bonuses,” the company announced. Microsoft and developer Treyarch brought back the Blackcell battle pass in November 2024 with the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 1.

The Blackcell battle pass system was redesigned by Treyarch when Black Ops 6 Season 1 was released, altering how players received rewards for playing Call of Duty over an extended period of time. However, this approach from Treyarch is absolutely ridiculous.

Call of Duty: BlackOps 6: More Blackcell Battle Pass Means More XP

Players who buy the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Blackcell battle pass will receive a 10% boost to Player and Weapon XP in the upcoming season if they buy Blackcell again, the announcement stated.

Additionally, the bonus will increase with each additional season they buy. For instance, a player will receive a 10% XP boost for Seasons 2 and later if they buy Blackcell in Season 1 of Black Ops 6 and then buy it again in Season 2.

New BlackCell Loyalty Bonus incoming: players who obtain two (or more) #BlackOps6 BlackCell seasons will receive an additional 10% Player and Weapon XP boost that will stack with each new season obtained. pic.twitter.com/2KH3Bn8WEP

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) December 3, 2024

That boost, however, rises to 20% for Season 3 if they buy it, and so forth. A player who buys Blackcell each season will gain 50% more player and weapon experience points by Season 6, per a shared matrix.

When Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Blackcell loyalty rewards were revealed, there was a mixed response on the internet. According to some players, the loyalty bonus makes sense for devoted Call of Duty players because it adds value to a product that they would probably buy anyhow.

Some players hypothesized that players could gain “insane” amounts of experience points quickly if the XP boost also stacks with modifiers from Call of Duty Double XP Tokens and events.

Others didn’t like that Call of Duty was encouraging more spending while the game still had bugs and balance issues. For reference, the BlackCell Battle Pass costs $29.99.

Black Ops 6 Has Become a “Pay to have a better experience” Game

When fans discovered that gaining more experience points would be restricted by a paywall, they were not pleased. Since players who frequently buy the BlackCell will probably have attained Prestige Master long before Season 6, this XP gain could not mean much. However, the decision is unpopular with players because of the controversy surrounding this issue.

There is an additional incentive to level up in order to obtain all rewards and flaunt their rank since Black Ops 6 reinstated the traditional Prestige system. At launch, though, players found that leveling was too time-consuming.

This story began when Treyarch responded with an update on November 4 that increased XP earn rates. Activision also disclosed that, exclusively for players who bought BO6, they would increase XP gains in Warzone.

In the end, that choice didn’t cause too much controversy, but it wasn’t the end. Players then noticed that BO6 had added double XP tokens from earlier games when they logged in on November 14. Activision later stated that this was an error, and the tokens were removed.

Following a barrage of unfavorable comments, the development team decided to reverse the contentious decision, which was referred to as a “slap in the face.”

Lastly, during the Double XP weapon weekend on November 28, XP gain did not track accurately. Players referred to the event as a “scam,” and pictures of receiving fewer experience points than anticipated went viral on social media.

In the long run, rewarding a BlackCell purchase doesn’t make much difference, but Activision doesn’t need any more criticism on this subject.