A new cosmetic bundle called “Bomb Squad” was introduced on April 12 in the Call of Duty store, and it’s causing pay-to-win concerns in its extraction mode, DMZ. The bundle offers some new advantages to DMZ players, including a fourth Active Duty Operator slot, which is otherwise unobtainable thus far. However, the included operator skin and weapon blueprint have unique perks that could be considered game-changing.
The “Boom Proof” blueprint for the SAKIN MG38 LMG has a bonus effect exclusive to DMZ. This bonus can be seen in the bottom right of the screenshots and offers an insured weapon cooldown time of 15 minutes, which shortens the time that it can be used again if lost in an infiltration. Meanwhile, the “EOD Specialist” operator skin for Fender also comes with its own DMZ bonus effect. The skin comes equipped with its own free Medium Backpack, which is loot that must otherwise be found or used from the player’s inventory.
Unfortunately, this bundle has sparked pay-to-win concerns among DMZ players. And it looks like this bundle is just the beginning. A future bundle featuring the Roze operator was data-mined from the update and posted to Reddit. According to the data mine, that skin will come equipped with its own UAV killstreak. Many players have expressed their dissatisfaction with these new features and believe that it undermines the spirit of the game.
DMZ players in the replies were unsurprisingly none too pleased, with many jumping to call the UAV pay-to-win. “Alright, the backpack, whatever, but a free UAV? Is that on every infil? That’s [pay-to-win],” one commenter asked. When one commenter said that DMZ was being ruined “before it ever makes it out of beta,” another commenter posed the idea that Activision is testing the waters to see what can be done while it’s still in beta, so it can be rectified if player response is negative enough.
“The beta batch might be the way out,” the commenter said. “If this terribly misfires they might do a 180 on this. Unlikely but possible.”
In conclusion, the new “Bomb Squad” bundle in Call of Duty’s DMZ mode is causing pay-to-win concerns among players. The unique operator slots and bonuses may be enticing, but many players feel that it’s not worth the extra cost. It remains to be seen how this issue will be addressed by Activision, but for now, the bundle is available for purchase in the store for 1,200 CoD Points.
