Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered just recently got the Variety DLC pack on Xbox One and PC. Despite the return of four classic maps to two more platforms, players aren’t exactly thrilled. A debate over its $15 price has sparked a trending reddit thread with nearly 4,000 upvotes and more than 400 comments.
This vitriol primarily originates from the fact that that, not only is it somewhat unprecedented for a developer to release paid, remastered DLC for a remastered game, but it also costs at least $5 more than its original version nearly a decade ago. In fact, to make that gap even wider, we discovered that the original Variety Map Pack was given away as a free PC download in the game’s 1.6 Steam update. In that case, some gamers are now paying for a previously complimentary product.
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The general feeling about this discrepancy is anything but positive. “Activision has no shame,” wrote user PerfectionismTech. Others said the decision “bums me out” and called the publisher “stupid” and “greedy” for its decision. Usually there are some shreds of positivity to be found in heated threads like this, but we honestly couldn’t find many.
Since that perspective isn’t really there, we’ll offer it for argument’s sake. While it’s true the Variety Map Pack originally cost $10 in 2009, doesn’t Activision have a right to increase its fees to keep them consistent with inflation? In fact, the original Modern Warfare was only the second series title to sell for the $60 standard price we know today. Before the Xbox 360 released in 2005, games cost $50. Inflation happens. It’s also worth noting that there’s been free DLC releases that add content not found in the original game as well.
The weirdest thing about this whole pricing debacle is that it’s based on details that have been known for quite some time. Tech outlets briefly discussed the price difference when the Variety Map Pack came to PS4 in March, but it didn’t seem to spark the outrage we’re seeing on the internet this weekend.
All things considered, however, the gaming community at large has a unique bone to pick when it comes to Modern Warfare Remastered. Since the game released this past November, it’s been a pack-in with the Legacy Edition of Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Sale pricing of the package has made it more of a value in recent months, but fans felt odd about having to initially purchase an $80 dual set even if Infinite Warfare didn’t appeal to them. Since Activision has yet to budge from its initial stance, the public hasn’t been very forgiving of the project as a whole.
Do you think it’s lame that Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered has paid DLC? Is the Variety Map Pack’s $15 price too high? Tell us in the comments section!