'Black Ops 4' Original Plans Didn't Include Loot Boxes, According To Designer

You’d be hard pressed to find a bigger hot-button issue in gaming right now than microtransactions. It seems for every “Apex Legends” or “Overwatch” that use them smartly, games like “Battlefront 2” or “Middle-Earth: Shadow of War” lock progression behind a paywall.

The later has proven to be the case for “Black Ops 4,” especially coming off the release of the first DLC. But according to one of the game’s producers, that wasn’t the case originally.

David Vonderhaar, design director for “Black Ops 4,” has had to defend a September 2018 interview where he said all characters would be earnable in the game through quests. In an interview with PC Gamer, Vonderhaar said that it was the only answer he could give at the time because that was the plan.

The latest DLC for “Black Ops 4,” titled “Operation Grand Heist,” snuck in loot boxes that kept the new characters locked behind them. It adds yet another paywall to a game that requires a full purchase, has a cosmetic shop, and a season pass.

Vonderhaar said in the interview with PC Gamer, "I can tell you what we have done and what we plan on doing, but things change that I cannot predict or I didn't know about. Doubly true with the business side of things which have little insight into and even less control over."

The timing couldn’t be worse for Activision, either. It was a recently announced that Activision would be cutting hundreds of jobs despite record profits and the end of its partnership with Bungie in regards to “Destiny,” which Bungie retained publishing rights to.