Developers of Call of Duty and Microsoft decided to drop full-screen advertisements for Modern Warfare 2023 on the console’s homepage. This has sparked massive criticism in the community, as fans aren’t happy about this.
We saw Microsoft finally acquire Activision Blizzard in October for 69 billion dollars. Finally, after 20 months since its initial announcement. This ordeal was meticulous and took a lot of time. Microsoft faced several hurdles and pushbacks from regulators, which resulted in a court case with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). However, they’re utilizing the acquisition for good use now.
Fans weren’t pleased with the full-screen advertisement in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
The upcoming Call of Duty title is already being hated for several reasons. Players are disappointed with a campaign that is only 3-4 hours long. Call of Duty storylines aren’t on the shorter side generally, but Activision pushed their luck with his one. The game itself is nearly 200 GB in size, which is mind-boggling. With these full-screen advertisements, Microsoft just hammered the last nail of the coffin.
Upon starting the game on Xbox, players are met with a full-screen advertisement for the upcoming Call of Duty title. Many people are assuming that this marketing push was Microsoft using the entire potential of their recent acquisition. Most of the community isn’t delighted by this feature from Call of Duty and Microsoft even in the slightest. Needless to say, this has been impacting players mostly in the US.
I’m accepting of it for new features / dashboard updates, but not for game ads
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) November 2, 2023
Tom Warren from The Verge recently posted on his X profile (Formerly Twitter) saying that he is alright with this sort of thing but “for new features/dashboard updates.” He clearly announced his disappointment and said he won’t be so forgiving with marketing such as this advert.
Xbox adds full-screen ad for COD on startup
byu/willdearborn- ingaming
The subreddit of Xbox posted a thread dedicated to discussing this topic and several users have expressed their opinions. Players are so displeased with this entire ordeal that some are labeling this marketing stunt “vomit-inducing” and “unacceptable”.
Is Microsoft planning to utilize full-screen marketing for their upcoming titles as well?
Also Read: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Criticized for Major Flaw That Could Doom Multiplayer Mode
Several people are expressing their opinions on this topic. Some are joking that Microsoft is putting its recent, record-breaking acquisition of Activision Blizzard King to good use, while others are making sarcastic comments such as players should expect to see Candy Crush preloaded on consoles in the near future.
On a general point, however, we’ve seen Microsoft use such pop-up advertisement methods in some titles, such as Starfield and Forza Motorsport, earlier this year. There might be chances that they’re planning to go ahead with the full-screen marketing. Maybe it is going to be the norm going forward.
