Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 called 'pay-to-win' over spatial awareness add-on

We’re just a couple of days away from the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

It’s always a nervy time.

Last year’s Modern Warfare III beta left us all hyped, only for that abysmally short campaign to stop our hype train in its tracks.

To say it was a disappointment is an understatement.

Yes, it was no secret that Modern Warfare III began life as an expansion to Modern Warfare II, but when the decision was made to make it a standalone release, we expected that it might therefore actually feel like one.

With all of that in mind, hopefully, Black Ops 6 is the game that we’ve all been waiting for.

It won’t be too long until we find out but in the meantime, prospective players are already up-in-arms over one controversial mechanic.

Take a look at Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in action below.

In Black Ops 6, players will be able to make use of spatial audio - but there is a catch.

It’s somewhat of a paid add-on with many fans of the franchise displeased with this glaringly obvious pay-to-win mechanic.

It’s been circulated by some CoD fans that the mechanic is totally locked behind a paywall but that’s not true.

All Black Ops 6 players will have access to a ‘universal’ profile when it comes to spatial audio.

This essentially means that its settings are pre-determined and locked.

What the paid add-on offers is a personalised profile. This was explained over on the Call of Duty blog.

“Included as part of the game’s Enhanced Headphone Mode, is a Universal HRTF profile which has been specifically created for the Call of Duty soundscape,” a post read.

“Optionally, players can choose to enhance this HRTF experience even further by creating a personalised profile that takes into account the player’s physical attributes, such as the shape of their ear or head. This customisation is accessed in-game and completed by using Embody’s personalisation portal.”

Even still, paying for the personalised profile is clearly going to provide an advantage, but perhaps not as much of an advantage as many originally thought.

Will this be the game’s last controversy? I’d be surprised.