The cheapest confirmed edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 costs $70, and fans have already begun to express their displeasure with the price hike.
As previously teased, Activision formally revealed Modern Warfare 2 earlier today, sharing the first details about the sequel’s multiplayer suite, campaign, and Warzone 2.
Of course, pricing and preorder-related information accompanied the unveiling. When Modern Warfare 2 lands on Battle.net, Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms this fall, it will launch with at least two editions in tow.
The Vault Edition with its additional Operators, Season One Battle Pass, and other extras will run customers $99.99. Meanwhile, the base version of the Modern Warfare sequel won’t drop below $70 on any platform.
Modern Warfare 2’s price tag frustrates players
The $10 price hike for current-gen titles has been a long time coming, especially since Take-Two and Sony set the precedent at the start of this console generation with the likes of NBA 2K21 and Demon’s Souls. But it appears the increased price for Modern Warfare 2 will even affect PS4 and Xbox One.
As of now, the only way to purchase Modern Warfare 2 on last-gen hardware is through the $70 cross-gen bundle. Many Call of Duty players haven’t taken the news well, either.
In response to a post from charlieINTEL, Twitter users MrGruntington and Edco noted that such “premium” pricing should only be reserved for games without microtransactions.
Twitch streamer Antt added to the chorus, too, joking that users will have to submit to the cost increase just so Activision can “resell all the skins that won’t carry over.”
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Why? A game like COD that's already full of MTX does not need to be $70??? https://t.co/HU503hcnsQ
— MrGruntington | | (@mrgruntington) June 8, 2022
$70 for the base version of Modern Warfare 2 just to resell all the skins that won’t carry over
— Anthony (@TheAntt_) June 8, 2022
Others such as MilesMangrum and Nokelal have a hard time believing that a publisher will charge $70 for a game on PC.
And countless Call of Duty fans from around the globe can’t help but lament the much higher prices in their domestic territories.
In Canada, the base version of Modern Warfare 2 bears an $89.99 CAD ($69.99 USD) price tag, with the Vault Edition costing $129.99 CAD ($99.99 USD). And the lowest-priced option in Australia costs $109.95 AUD; the Vault Edition comes in at $159.95 AUD.
It doesn’t seem as though it will be long now before $70 becomes the industry standard for AAA releases.