Although most modern shooters have a variety of weapons befitting of any playstyle, few are arguably as controversial as the shotgun. While the weapon offers crowd control opportunities as well as the ability to unleash a powerful shot that works at closer range, its undeniably become a tool for camping players, who often hide in hard to see areas and execute players who accidentally wander into their line of sight.
While this has been an issue with a number of PVP shooters over the years, it seems one avid player has a pretty firm stance on the presence of shotguns in the world of video games. That player is none other than Call of Duty World Champion Crimsix, who recently revealed on Twitter that he believes "shotguns do not belong in video games."
"I cannot think of one game/one shotgun that was skillful but most importantly, FUN to use," Crimsix tells his followers during an impassioned Twitter post, going on to claim they're included "for the sole purpose of catering to cowards." He follows up the message by comparing shotgun-using campers to taking his dog out to do its business, claiming "it involves a lot of crouching, waiting, and it can turn messy real fast." As expected, the message hasn't gone down all too well with Crimsix's followers, who have argued against this hot take in the World Champion's replies.
"Have you ever tried playing a game where the player can run faster than a decrepit sloth? People don't camp in these games and shotguns are fair game," one Twitter user claims, while a second tells Crimsix "sounds like people playing a game tactically. Why don't you try to uh, strategize around it." A third response tackles Crimsix's opinion on the weapon from a very different standpoint, telling the esports legend that maybe casual players enjoy the game this way because they can't keep up with those who play Call of Duty frequently. He goes on to tell Crimsix: "If you are going to create a code of honour maybe cheaters and weirdo peripheral users need to be higher on your list of the damned."
Overall, Crimsix's take on shotguns seems to be quite a polarizing one. While some agree they can be an overpowered means for less-skilled players to dominate the battlefield, others have called for Crimsix to look at titles like Doom, Quake, and Battlefield to see why the weapon is such a solid part of any good video game arsenal.