When I woke up today and was thinking of what I planned to write about, I just turned on my Xbox One X and it was staring me right in the face. On the main screen there was a blurb for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and under it there were four words that literally were speaking to me on the game’s situation: Prepare to go dark.

I will admit, that since Activision decided to give Sony complete versions of Call of Duty similar to what they did with Destiny 1 and 2, then the series truly began to sour on me and I distanced myself from their actions. Even if the exclusive content was only for one week or month, it was still a slap in the face to those who played on either Xbox or PC and shown just what Activision would do to make extra money.

Destiny however, took it to a whole new level, as when Activision gave PS4 owners all the exclusive content, it wasn’t for a week, nor a month. It was for a full YEAR! And even after that year was over, they STILL did not give Xbox gamers the chance to obtain all that exclusive content that was promised to them in the end. Thus, I started making claims that both the Xbox and PC versions of Destiny 2 were “gimped” as they did not include everything that the PS4 version included, and Activision was still charging the same price across all platforms.

Thankfully Bungie got smart. They left Activision took the Destiny IP with them, published it themselves, and now are releasing Destiny 2 for free, with ALL the content included (including all which was originally available only on PS4.)

But, again, it looks like Activision is still not listening, and they made it even worse with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. At first it was looking better than past years. There would be no season pass, and new maps would be launched simultaneously across all platforms. But then came the Special Ops announcement, where the Survival Mode would be available only on PS4 for an entire YEAR! And we know what would happen once the exclusivity deal came to an end, everyone would have moved on to CoD Vietnam, CoD Black Ops 5 or whatever Activision churns out in 2020. No one would still be playing Modern Warfare, and it seems that Activision would be fine with that as long as all that sweet Sony money keeps coming their way.

But I can hear you typing right now. “But Todd, don’t you also own a PS4 now? Why does this still bother you?” That’s not the point of my rant, whether or not I own a PS4. There are those who prefer to play on Xbox or PC. They might have friends they want to team up with on their console of choice, despite cross-play now being added. There are those who want to add to their gamerscore/achievements. And yes, there are those who are much happier playing with a keyboard and mouse instead of a gamepad. They want to have the full experience, not one that is reduced because Activision is earning Sony money, and for Activision to charge $60 (minimum) for all platforms just shows the level of greed that continues in this industry.

Dare I say Activision is even WORSE than Electronic Arts? It’s starting to look that way.

Call of Duty has been dead to me for years. This latest example just buries them further than the six feet hole they were already in. Thankfully there are those who are realizing this as well, by cancelling their pre-orders. Good for them. Do not support this company if they continue these anti-consumer actions. You shouldn’t have to pay the same price for a gimped product as someone who gets the complete game.

Activision, you just made my Worst of 2019 list.

Currently Playing: NHL 20 (Xbox One X,) Astral Chain (Switch)