Black Ops 6’s Most Infamous Revenue Source Has Now Become It’s Worst Nightmare

As Black Ops 6 players demand that Treyarch adopt a more realistic design approach with new skins, Call of Duty‘s controversial operators are once again at the center of controversy. While Black Ops 6 players were hoping that 2025 would see the return of more grounded designs, recent additions to the in-game store have disappointed fans. Realism in Call of Duty has been a hot topic for many years.

Although they weren’t the first, games like Modern Warfare 3 in 2023 and Black Ops Cold War in 2020 are among the most recent to feature bizarre operator skins.

However, unrealistic skins in Call of Duty have existed since Advanced Warfare in 2014 when players could take on the role of a gingerbread man. Players appear to have had enough of Call of Duty’s increasingly strange operator skins over the last four or five years.

Year after year, this argument has been revived, and it’s not even the first skin controversy since Black Ops 6 came out. When Treyarch revealed a vibrant new bundle in November 2024 with a fluorescent green dragon skin, fans went crazy.

A shark skin was released a week later, demonstrating that Activision hasn’t changed its mind about new bundles in response to community criticism, despite players’ intense backlash of the skin for its odd design and lack of realism.

Anybody else feel like these skins are getting out of hand?
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Even after all the controversies, Activision hasn’t learned its lessons. That is why a fan has mocked the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 skins on Reddit by posting a screenshot of the Operator section of the game, where he posted an image of Peter from Family Guy in that.

Just imagine playing the game with that peculiar skin put on, and suddenly your character shouts in Peter’s iconic voice to deliver the iconic “Hey Lois, remember the time when….” dialogue. Right the skins are not in a place of criticism anymore as these have become a subject of mockery.

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And the way the Operator skin quality in the game is degrading, we wouldn’t be surprised if Activision actually launches. However, if Activision continues making this mockery over the Operator skins, which produce a hefty amount of revenue for the game, then it might kill the golden goose with its bare hands.

Miles Leslie, Associate Creative Director at Treyarch, was recently interviewed by Dexerto about Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Leslie stated in this interview that the studio likes to “break the rules” in order to provide entertainment and that enjoyment will continue to take precedence over realistic skins.

Leslie claims that while the Multiplayer gives the team more cosmetic freedom, Black Ops 6‘s campaign emphasizes “era-specific” looks for its characters.

Treyarch intends to “stay grounded” in its core gameplay to make sure the most recent Call of Duty preserves the Black Ops DNA, despite the concerns of some players. Leslie adds that post-launch content can be used to establish new lore and appearances for the Rogue Black Ops and Crimson One.

Fans have voiced their disapproval of the fanciful cosmetics, despite the fact that they will continue to be added to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Although Miles Leslie reminded players that the Black Ops series has always featured strange elements, such as in its storytelling and the Zombies game mode, these fans feel that the cosmetics deviate from the game’s original intent.

Black Ops games have long featured time travel, alternate timelines, and hallucinations, in contrast to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, which places more emphasis on realistic military aspects. When players finish the Campaign, the cosmetics are appropriately contextualized as the story of Black Ops 6 continues into the Multiplayer.