COD: Black Ops 4’s Matchmaking and Season Pass Are Frustrating Players

Can’t play the new maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 because you don’t have the season pass? Neither can those who own it. At least, that’s the sentiment circulating within the COD: Black Ops 4 community right now (particularly in the game’s subreddit).

One player noted they played “for close to 3 hours last night” and never got to play on any of the new, season pass specific maps. They’re worried they “bought the pass for nothing.” That’s a sentiment that has been echoed by countless players, not just wwpurdy1987.

Poor matchmaking, when it comes to season pass maps, could be a fluke or something that can be improved through patches. However, it could easily be what the community fears. There may not be enough season pass holders to make the map rotations work in a way that’s satisfactory to everyone.

The bad blood between the community, and the team’s approach to the season pass has been bubbling for a long time now. Fans think the $50 price tag is too steep, they resent that DLC can’t be purchased separately, and the fact that the pass could only be obtained (on day one specifically) by purchasing the Digital Deluxe Edition, Digital Deluxe Enhanced Edition, or the Pro Edition were all sources of frustration.

Now a bug has caused players to see icons in the public lobby next to the names of those who do not have the season pass. The icons are large yellow warning signs.

Players were pushing back on this, accusing the company of trying to “shame” and “bully” them into buying the season pass. Treyarch has addressed fan concerns in a separate thread, promising this is just a bug that will be fixed later. These icons will still exist but they will only be displayed in parties (not publically). Below is Treyarch’s reply.

This was a bug that’s being fixed in an upcoming patch, and should no longer show up. These triangles are only meant to display in parties (not public lobbies) next to a party member’s name if they don’t have all maps installed, to let your party know why some maps aren’t appearing in rotation.

A more subtle indicator will be displayed in parties when the Black Ops Pass maps are back in rotation as intended.

Unfortunately, bug or not, the negative floodgates have opened. Loading up the game and seeing a slew of warning signs (i.e players without the season pass) has made some players feel discouraged when it comes to buying the pass at all because it makes it look like no one really owns it. Even if that’s not true, perception becomes reality.

Having initially released in October 2018, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is still young and that means there’s plenty of time for the season pass to prove its worth.

[Source: Reddit (1) and Reddit (2)]