There were rumors floating around that all future Call of Duty titles would move to a $79.99 price point. And honestly—why would Activision ever make COD free? It’s the best-selling game every single year. You don’t give away a product millions of people are lining up to pay for. As much as we hardcore players like to think we drive the industry, the truth is we’re just a very vocal minority.
COD usually drops in November, yet within six weeks it ends up being the best-selling game of the entire year. That’s the sheer power of the IP.
Look at the yearly staples:
Madden
NBA 2K
MLB The Show
NCAA Football
FIFA
Call of Duty
There are millions of players who buy only these games every year. They outnumber us “hardcore” gamers by a landslide. And as much as we might wish the next Battlefield could outsell COD, it simply won’t—because Battlefield isn’t built to be as accessible or “noob-friendly.”
And then we get into microtransactions. Publishers like EA, Activision, and Take-Two make more money from in-game purchases than they do from selling entire new games. Ubisoft is another prime example—adding XP boosters, material boosters, and “time savers.” They make their games grindy on purpose, creating a problem just so they can sell you the solution.
This is exactly why so many older gamers don’t even touch modern releases anymore. They’d rather go back to classics that respected their time and didn’t nickel-and-dime them at every turn. Just look at how many people still play:
Skyrim
Fallout: New Vegas
GTA V
Red Dead Redemption
The Last of Us (Remastered/PS4)
Dark Souls
Minecraft
Borderlands 2
Witcher 3
All games released years ago, yet they’ve aged better than most of what’s being churned out today
