rewrite this title Activision removes Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 loadout menu ads after backlash, claims inclusion was an “error”

Facepalm: Activision Blizzard has used the tried-and-tested “it was an error, honestly,” excuse after it placed ads for purchasable items in the loadout screens of Black Ops 6 and Warzone. Their appearance led to a huge backlash, and now Activision is claiming they were a “feature test” published “in error,” which nobody believes.

Following the launch of Season 4 last week, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone players discovered the unwelcome sight of adverts for premium weapon bundles and skins in the build and weapon menus of both games. Their placement meant that viewing ads for the microtransactions was unavoidable for players altering their loadouts.

The move found about as much support as any forced-ad would receive.

“Every time you toggle between weapon builds you get to stare at ads for $20-$30 skins. I’m sure the Activision developer who suggested this terrible feature is very proud of themselves,” wrote a Reddit user.

Season 4 brings new ad spot in game for weaponsbyu/whambampl inblackops6

One player noted that this wouldn’t be as bad if these only appeared in the free-to-play Warzone – DLC is usually how FTP games make their money, after all. But their placement in the $70 Black Ops 6 has generated a lot of angry comments.

“It really feels like one of those free cell phone games from a tiny indie studio begging you for money at every turn. Pathetic for a full price, stand alone game from a huge developer,” replied another

“I’m so dumbfounded… this seriously makes me want to uninstall based on principle alone,” complained one person. “You guys have to be smoking something.”

Activision has now responded to the ads. The official Call of Duty Updates account on X posted that “A UI feature test that surfaced select store content in the Loadout menus was published in the Season 04 update in error.” The post confirmed that the ads have been removed from the live game.

📢 Call of Duty #BlackOps6 | Call of Duty #Warzone

A UI feature test that surfaced select store content in the Loadout menus was published in the Season 04 update in error. This feature has now been removed from the live game.

– Call of Duty Updates (@CODUpdates) June 2, 2025

It should go without saying that the majority of replies to the post express contempt at what appears to be a made-up excuse for a real addition that received enormous backlash.

“They do this crap every cycle around this time… introduce something awful and see if people are mad or not,” wrote one person. “If the outrage is enough they pretend like it was an accident and remove it.”

Some comments note that the CoD developers seem more interested in squeezing even more cash from players than addressing the cheating problem affecting the game. 136,000 ranked play accounts have been banned for cheating across both Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone, but many say this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Activision is unlikely to care that nobody believes its excuse, of course. In 2021, the company reported it made $5.1 billion in revenue from microtransactions and DLC across all its games. Call of Duty: Mobile has been a significant contributor, generating over $1.5 billion as of February 2022. Diablo IV, meawhile, surpassed $1 billion in revenue last September, with $150 million coming from microtransactions