Editing Activision Blizzard (section)

==Incidents==
'''Removing access to MWII(2022) and MWIII(2023) through the Call of Duty HQ (2025)'''

===Account lock and forced arbitration (2024)===
{{Main|Activision Blizzard account lock and forced arbitration}}

Activision Blizzard blocked access to Blizzard services, requiring customers to accept [[forced arbitration]] terms in the updated Blizzard [[end-user license agreement]] (EULA).

===Termination of Blizzard's contract with NetEase (2023)===
Mainland China lost access to Blizzard's main titles for over a year as a result of licensing agreements going unmet.{{Citation needed}} Following this Overwatch was review-bombed on [[Steam]] and, eventually, acquired by Microsoft Gaming.{{Citation needed}}

===Call of Duty selling AI-generated content (2024)===
[[File:ZombieClaus.jpg|thumb|An example of one of the paid AI generated loading screens for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6]]
In late 2024, Activision introduced multiple pieces of content to ''Call of Duty: Black Ops 6'' that were AI-generated.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Wesley |last=Yin-Poole |title=Call of Duty Fans Give Black Ops 6's Zombie Santa Loading Screen the Finger Amid 'AI Slop' Backlash |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/call-of-duty-fans-give-black-ops-6s-zombie-santa-loading-screen-the-finger-amid-ai-slop-backlash |website=IGN |date=9 Dec 2024 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241209130211/https://www.ign.com/articles/call-of-duty-fans-give-black-ops-6s-zombie-santa-loading-screen-the-finger-amid-ai-slop-backlash |archive-date=9 Dec 2024}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |author=Shaun_LaDee |title=Amid the 6 fingered Santa Controversy, I looked into some loading screens included in PAID bundles... |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/CODZombies/comments/1h90fn2/amid_the_6_fingered_santa_controversy_i_looked/ 
|website=[[Reddit]] |date=7 Dec 2024 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250116055426/https://old.reddit.com/r/CODZombies/comments/1h90fn2/amid_the_6_fingered_santa_controversy_i_looked/ <!-- Had to use "old" domain, new domain was buggy --> |archive-date=16 Jan 2025}}</ref> This content was additionally paywalled, which further upset fans online.<ref name=":0" /> It was not originally disclosed to consumers that this content was in-fact AI-generated, and it was not until Valve changed Steam's disclosure policies that it was confirmed publicly that this content was generated using AI software.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Cole |last=Martin |title=Activision is forced to confirm the use of AI in Call of Duty due to Steam's disclosure policy |url=https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/activision-is-forced-to-confirm-the-use-of-ai-in-call-of-duty-due-to-steams-disclosure-policy |website=Windows Central |date=24 Feb 2025 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250225051549/https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/activision-is-forced-to-confirm-the-use-of-ai-in-call-of-duty-due-to-steams-disclosure-policy |archive-date=25 Feb 2025}}</ref>

===H2M mod bait and switch (2024)===
On August 15th, 2024, the Twitter account for the creators of the H2 Multiplayer Mod (a fan-made mod for ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered'') announced they had received and were complying with a cease and desist order on behalf of Activision effective immediately.<ref>https://x.com/H2Multiplayer/status/1824167247436542167</ref> This occurred on the day before the mod was supposed to be released. Weeks prior, Activision put ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered'' on sale on Steam in order to drive sales in anticipation of the mod's release, as possessing a licensed copy of the game was a prerequisite in order for the mod to function. Fans immediately derided the move as a deliberately timed act, subsequently mass refunding and review bombing ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered'' on Steam in protest of the C&D.<ref>https://www.ign.com/articles/modern-warfare-2-multiplayer-mod-canceled-the-day-before-launch-after-activision-sends-devs-cease-and-desist</ref>

===Microtransaction (MTX) overload===
:''Main article: [[Downloadable content#DLC overload|DLC Overload]]''

Activision is well-known for its excessive usage of microtransactions, with $1.34B in Q1 2021,<ref>{{Cite web |first=Derek |last=Strickland |title=Activision Q1 microtransctions hit $1.343 billion, best Q1 in 6 years |url=https://www.tweaktown.com/news/79133/activision-q1-microtransctions-hit-1-343-billion-best-in-6-years/index.html |website=TweakTown |date=5 May 2021 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625045126/https://www.tweaktown.com/news/79133/activision-q1-microtransctions-hit-1-343-billion-best-in-6-years/index.html |archive-date=25 Jun 2021}}</ref> and further peaks, such as $5.1B in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Kareem |last=Anderson |title=Activision’s $5.1 billion in microtransaction revenue could play a huge roll in Microsoft Gaming’s future |url=https://onmsft.com/news/activisions-5-1-billion-microtransactions-revenue-quarter/ |website=onmsft.com |date=7 Feb 2022 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207192956/https://onmsft.com/news/activisions-5-1-billion-microtransactions-revenue-quarter/ |archive-date=7 Feb 2022
}}</ref> It is clear that Activision is highly incentivized to generate as much revenue via microtransactions, going so far as to contribute to the detriment of the games according to fans.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Brianna |last=Reeves |title=MW2 players say increased microtransaction sales are why COD won’t improve |url=https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/mw2-increased-microtransaction-sales-vanguard-cod-improve-2127808/ |website=Dexerto |date=27 Apr 2023 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430021047/https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/mw2-increased-microtransaction-sales-vanguard-cod-improve-2127808/ |archive-date=30 Apr 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Catherine |last=Lewis |title=Microtransactions are killing Call Of Duty, players say |url=https://www.gamingbible.com/news/microtransactions-are-killing-call-of-duty-players-say-344299-20230428 |website=Gaming Bible
|date=28 Apr 2023 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704220002/https://www.gamingbible.com/news/microtransactions-are-killing-call-of-duty-players-say-344299-20230428 |archive-date=4 Jul 2023}}</ref> The cosmetics seen inside Black Ops 6 are reported to be the most distracting in the franchise to-date.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Daniel |last=Morris |title=Black Ops 6 cosmetics: has Call of Duty jumped the shark? |url=https://www.destructoid.com/black-ops-6-cosmetics-has-call-of-duty-jumped-the-shark/ |website=Destructoid
|date=20 Dec 2024 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241221082811/https://www.destructoid.com/black-ops-6-cosmetics-has-call-of-duty-jumped-the-shark/ |archive-date=21 Dec 2024}}</ref>

Blizzard is additionally not innocent of pumping their content with MTX, with one of the most egregious examples being Overwatch 2.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Overwatch 2 |url=https://macrotransactions.org/overwatch-2 |website=macrotransactions.org |date=2022 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250522003401/https://macrotransactions.org/overwatch-2 |archive-date=22 May 2025}}</ref> The microtransactions among this game has sparked controversy among the community as well.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Star99er 
|title=Overwatch’s Aggressive Microtransactions |url=https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/overwatch%E2%80%99s-aggressive-microtransactions/948993 |website=Blizzard |date=26 Jan 2025 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250708180127/https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/overwatch%E2%80%99s-aggressive-microtransactions/948993 |archive-date=8 Jul 2025}}</ref> Other Blizzard IPs are also not safe from this either, such as WarCraft,<ref>{{Cite web |title=World of Warcraft |url=https://macrotransactions.org/world-of-warcraft |website=macrotransactions.org |date=2025 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250411171331/https://macrotransactions.org/world-of-warcraft |archive-date=11 Apr 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Jason |last=Parker |title=World of Warcraft’s New Microtransactions Are Greedier Than Ever
|url=https://www.esportstalk.com/news/world-of-warcraft-new-microtransactions-greedier-than-ever/ |website=EsportsTalk |date=23 Nov 2021 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240906133710/https://www.esportstalk.com/news/world-of-warcraft-new-microtransactions-greedier-than-ever/ |archive-date=6 Sep 2024}}</ref> Diablo,<ref>{{Cite web |first=Wesley |last=Yin-Poole |title=Now Diablo 4 Is Out in the Wild, the True Horror of Its Costly Microtransactions Has Revealed Itself |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/now-diablo-4-is-out-in-the-wild-the-true-horror-of-its-costly-microtransactions-has-revealed-itself |website=IGN |date=7 Jun 2023 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608130657/https://www.ign.com/articles/now-diablo-4-is-out-in-the-wild-the-true-horror-of-its-costly-microtransactions-has-revealed-itself |archive-date=8 Jun 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Diablo Immortal |url=https://macrotransactions.org/diablo-immortal |website=macrotransactions.org |date=2022 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809175513/https://macrotransactions.org/diablo-immortal |archive-date=9 Aug 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Diablo IV |url=https://macrotransactions.org/diablo-4
|website=macrotransactions.org |date=2023 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811063956/https://macrotransactions.org/diablo-4
|archive-date=11 Aug 2024}}</ref> and Starcraft.<ref>{{Cite web |author=ackmondual |title=MTX (microtransaction) is beyond suckage |url=https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/sc2/t/mtx-microtransaction-is-beyond-suckage/22690 |website=Blizzard |date=16 Jul 2021 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250708180115/https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/sc2/t/mtx-microtransaction-is-beyond-suckage/22690 |archive-date=8 Jul 2025}}</ref>