Call of Duty 2025 Could Put Limited-Time Modes Behind Paywalls

Call of Duty looks set to resume its annual-release tradition with the presently unannounced Black Ops 7 rumored to arrive this year. Leakers have already revealed some key details about the rumored title, including the return of the original Zombies crew, a futuristic Japan setting, and Activision’s plans for its Battle Pass system. However, it turns out that the publisher is reportedly looking to monetise Limited-Time Modes in an egregious new way that has already caught plenty of flak from fans online.

Black Ops 7 Could Feature Pay-to-Play Limited-Time Events

As revealed by serial leaker TheGhostofHope via an X post (formerly Twitter), Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, or CoD 2025, will feature seasonal LTM‘s that will be walled behind the paid Battle Pass. This would be a significant departure from the current format, which lets players access all LTMs for free but restricts rewards such as skins and weapon blueprints behind a premium Event Pass.

According to the leak, “Black Ops 7 will reportedly have more seasonal LTM’s and some of them would be considered ‘higher value‘ with unique rewards and different game mechanics/modes BUT the only way to play the LTMs will be to have the battle pass, unlike how it’s currently free for everyone.”

The leaker added, “They are planning on taking the higher tier skins, loot, and crossover operators for LTMs and making them only accessible to Battle Pass owners instead of having the ‘Premium Event Track’ we currently get during Reloaded updates.”

Reactions to the report online were predictably negative, with players accusing Activision of gross monetization. It’s hard to argue against that sentiment, but it’s important to remember that this change remains unconfirmed as of yet. As for the reason behind such a move, Microsoft could be looking to recoup the profit lost by bundling new CoD titles with Game Pass through additional microtransactions such as these.

We’ll have to wait and see if the new system comes to frution. But if it does, many players will likely miss out on the crucial bits of seasonal content that keep Call of Duty games interesting throughout their annual cycle.

What do you think about the leak? Would you pay for higher-quality LTMs? Let us know in the comments.