Over time, the Call of Duty ecosystem is becoming more integrated with the esports scene, with Ranked Play being a staple (eventually), tournaments surfacing left and right, and Call of Duty League and World Series of Warzone bundles and advertisements being promoted actively across all platforms and in the games themselves.
It’s not a new premise – it has been a thing since Call of Duty esports were popularised a decade ago, but it’s just becoming much more of a common sight and feel in the games.
It has now been revealed that pro COD players from the CDL are designing custom Operator skins and cosmetics that’ll be used in Modern Warfare III, 2023’s Call of Duty game. But, according to reports, they’re not happy about it…
Put In A Creative Box
For a while, one of the most common sights in Call of Duty has been the array of Operator skins themed around the Call of Duty League. It’s all too traditional now to step into a public or a Ranked Play match and find yourself surrounded by skins representing the teams playing at the very top of the esports game in Call of Duty.
It was recently revealed by Dexerto that these very teams are hard at work designing exclusive Operator skins and weapon cosmetics for Modern Warfare III. It was just days ago that we broke the news regarding MWIII’s impending arrival, and this is yet another arrow in the quiver to act as confirmation of the game’s existence.
However, things aren’t always what they seem, and apparently, the players and creators that are being tasked with building out these cosmetics are being locked in a creative box. They’re set to be customisable to some extent – but we don’t know how just yet – but that’s not the point.
In a Tweet responding to Dexerto’s post, OpTic Aaron stated that they’re being hampered by ‘dog shit guidelines’ that restrict them in more ways than they’d care to admit:
“Can’t edit straps, can’t edit goggles, can’t edit pants, no texture, no patterns” go fuck urself
— OpTic Aaron (@AARONCREATE) May 18, 2023
Further down the chain, Aaron stated that working with the Halo and Rocket League teams to create skins and cosmetics ‘is a dream compared to working on CDL cosmetics’.
This sentiment was echoed by 100 Thieves’ Raw, who said it ‘Felt like (he) was using a coloring book designing that ish’. Apparently, designing the weapon blueprints coming to the game involved editing a ‘JPEG Microsoft paint file’, but we’re unsure how accurate that statement is.
So, CDL cosmetics are already being pushed for Modern Warfare III, which is rumoured to be launching in November 2023. Let’s wait and see what the end result is for the designers.
For more Insider Gaming news, check out our coverage of the suggestion that GTA 6 will be released in 2024.
