Activision announces that microtransactions have been added to Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 in the game's latest update in the form of Call of Duty points.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 has already made Activision quite a bit of cash, with the game dominating sales charts and defeating Fallout 4 to be the best-selling game of November 2015. Now Activision is looking to capitalize on the massive popularity of the game by introducing microtransactions to the experience.

The microtransactions in Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 comes in the form of a new in-game currency called Call of Duty points. Not to be confused with the CoD points from previous Black Ops games, players don't earn these points in-game and gamble with them in Wager Matches. On the contrary, Call of Duty points must be purchased using real world cash.

There are four pricing tiers for Call of Duty points. They are $2 at their cheapest, which will net players 200 Call of Duty points. $40 is as much as one can pay for these microtransactions, and that equates to 4,100 Call of Duty points. These points are only available on the new-gen versions of the game, with last-gen players missing out on Black Ops 3's new microtransactions.

So, what exactly are these points used to purchase? Well, Call of Duty points can be spent in the multiplayer Black Market, as well as in the game's dedicated Zombies Mode. The points are used to buy items that have been newly added to the game as of today's update, though these items can also be acquired randomly through supply drops.

In multiplayer, players can use the points to purchase a butterfly knife, brass knuckles, new taunts, new cosmetic items for their Specialists, new camouflage for their weapons, new calling cards, and extra slot packs. In Zombies, the points are used to buy extra vials of Liquid Divinium, used in Shadows of Evil, as well as extra slot packs.

Microtransactions being added to Activision games post-launch seems to be a new trend. Destiny added microtransactions a couple of months ago, and they have proven extremely successful. Clearly Activision is hoping to find similar success by adding microtransactions to the Black Ops 3 experience, and it will be interesting to see how the Call of Duty community reacts.

Microtransactions are a constant source of controversy in the gaming industry these last few years, with most developers heavily criticized whenever they're added to games that aren't free-to-play. However, some developers have alleviated the sting of microtransactions by making other content free. For example, Halo 5 has microtransactions, but has them in lieu of making players pay for new maps. In the case of Black Ops 3, Activision is selling Call of Duty points on top of a pricey season pass, which may not sit well with players.

Regardless, it appears as though microtransactions are here to stay. The practice appears to becoming more and more common each year, and soon it will be strange to see a game release without microtransactions. Time will tell if the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 community embraces these new microtransactions or not, but with such a wide player base, it seems likely that Activision will bring in serious cash thanks to this decision.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is currently available for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The PS3 and 360 versions of the game do not have microtransactions.

Source: GameSpot