An Analysis Of Call Of Duty: Mobile’s Microtransactions

Activision and Call of Duty have always been expensive and predatory when it comes to cash-grabbing, with their traditional overpriced DLCs that plagued every modern Call of Duty games. Because of that, it’s a surprise when they announced that Call of Duty Mobile would be free. As expected, the game is filled to the brim with options to spend real money, from battle passes to loot boxes, however, it could have been worse.

Currently, there are two types of currency available in Call of Duty: Mobile; COD Points and Credits. Credits are the points that you can get by playing the game, and they are pretty useless - as you would expect from a free game. After 10 hours of playing, you can expect to earn about 1000 Credits, not counting events. Some of the more common skin for a gun cost about 1500, which is probably 15 hours of playing. The rarest skin available in the Credit Shop cost 20k credits, which is the equivalent of 200 hours. If you are planning on getting any worthwhile skins for free, prepare to spend hours and hours of grinding.

What could you buy with real money in Call of Duty Mobile?

COD points cost about one dollar for 80 each, with a 10% bonus for larger purchases. If you want to buy more than a few items from the store, things can get really expensive pretty quick. Weapon skins that could be purchased with points are currently about 800 or 1,600 each. It’s very important to notice that primary weapon skins are not purely cosmetic changes – they would also give one a gameplay-related bonus. For example, The AK117 – Color Burst that costs 1,600 points would give the player a skill that automatically increases their speed right after spawning.

As of the moment, they are just minor stuff that barely affects the game’s balance, however, who knows what’s going to happen in the future. Pay-to-win skins could eventually be a part of this game, and that won’t be pretty.

Can you acquire the skins at a cheaper price?

Yes, you can, as sometimes they are available in a bundle at a somewhat lower cost. However, if the skin you want isn’t included, you are pretty much out of luck. Not every unique skins have abilities, especially the ones that are given away for free. Battle Royale skins are also cheaper than the usual multiplayer skin, as it’s just one mode and chances that players are not going to play it very much.

Is Call of Duty: Mobile’s Microtransaction overpriced?

Comparing to its competitors, Call of Duty: Mobile’s real money cosmetic items are way too expensive. Both PUBG Mobile and Fortnite are cheaper, with better free skins and without the pay-to-win additional effects. On average, the weapon skins in Call of Duty Mobile cost way more than that of the previously mentioned two games. This might be a method to influence people toward purchasing loot boxes, however, as it is another way that people can get their wanted skin for cheap.

There are currently two types of weapon crates in Call of Duty: Mobile that you can purchase for various prices. The Season Crate cost 160 points and provide you with a tiny chance to get the two epic skins, while the 80 points only have chances for one. You can cut the price down a little by purchasing crates in bulk, however, it's just not enough.

And it is obvious that buying a loot box just gives you a tiny chance to get that item. The chances currently are 58% for uncommon, 40.7% for rare, and only 1.3% for an epic. While uncommon and rare items can sometimes be useful, spending money on loot crates just to get them would certainly be a bad thing, as you would spend more than you would have.

It is a well-known effect that the crates prey on the addictive tendencies of people, which in turn is amplified by the “limited time” mechanic that stimulate the short supply. If you absolutely want the epic skin that’s in a crate but the thing would be gone in a few days, the situation would create a panicked state in which you would be tempted to shell out as much money as it needs to get that 1.3% chance weapon. Loot crate might seem to be innocent at first, but it’s anything but that.

However, there is one thing that is still worth purchasing: the Premium Pass

The “season pass” model is one of the least predatory forms of microtransaction, as only for a modest price of 800 points, you would get access to a lot of rewards in exchange for the amount of time you spend on playing the game. For each tier you accomplished during the season, extra rewards would be unlocked.

Unlike the Loot Crates and Points Store, this Premium Pass model is actually a pretty nice deal. Most Multiplayer games nowadays seem to have it – they are a good way to ensure a steady income for the game while creating artificial progressions for players to engage in activities. It is rather easy to get through tiers in Call of Duty, as the Premium Pass gives you even more quests to unlock later tiers faster. There is another level of upgrade called the Premium Pass Plus, which is the premium pass with 25 tiers bonus into it. This doesn’t worth your money as much as the previous one, however, you can get the most out of it by upgrading at the end of the season after you have completed the previous easier tiers – the bonus would help you shoot forward by 25 more.

Overall, while Call of Duty Mobile does contain both the usual loot boxes and expensive microtransactions, there are still options that are worth your time and money. The Premium Pass system is a fairly decent mechanic that would let you acquire a fair amount of content for an acceptable price. You won’t have to worry about pay-to-win any time soon, as currently, the paid skills are all negligible.

Interested in more of our COD Mobile related articles? Please check out this post for a complete guide of control schemes in Call of Duty.