For years, the Call of Duty series, which cost $60 at launch, include season passes that cost nearly as much as the base game, and feature mountains of microtransactions, have been criticized for their monetization practices. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is no different, bringing back the COD Points currency, and having even more monetization than past games thanks to the Blackout battle royale mode. Now the game's monetization practices are yet again under fire, this time due to a cosmetic item that some think is a little pricey.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is now selling a red dot sight reticle for 100 COD Points, which translates to $1 in real world money. Called the Open Dot, anyone interested in purchasing the item from the Black Market can actually pick it up for half off - 50 COD Points (or 50 cents) - until January 1.

While some may not have a problem with Activision selling what is quite literally a dot for $1, others online have criticized the decision. Some feel that microtransactions don't impact them as long as they don't buy any, whereas others argue that microtransactions are often predatory and have a direct impact on how games are developed.

Regardless of where one falls on the argument of microtransactions in gaming, this isn't the first time Black Ops 4 has been criticized for its montetization practices. The game's Black Market in-game store has been routinely criticized since its launch, as some estimates indicate that it would take thousands of dollars to unlock everything in the game.

Unfortunately for any Black Ops 4 fans who want to see Activision change up its monetization practices, that seems highly unlikely. Microtransactions have proven to be extremely profitable for the video game industry, to the point that game publisher Take-Two has outright said all of its future gaming products will have microtransactions in some capacity. Because of how profitable microtransactions are, it's clear that they're here to stay, though events like the Star Wars Battlefront 2 loot box controversy may see game companies change the way they approach them.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: Multiplayer First (via Techspot)