This past week, Operation Monarch began in Call of Duty: Warzone. Operation Monarch is a crossover event in the battle royale with the successful Godzilla vs. Kong movie series. It opens up a new LTM in which both Godzilla and King Kong invade Call of Duty: Warzone's Caldera map. The response to Operation Monarch, however, has been mixed. The criticism has even led to a surprisingly dismissive response from Raven Software's Senior Creative Director.Raven Software's Ted Timmins is an active Twitter user and is more than comfortable responding to feedback to fans. In this case, a poll was posted by a popular Call of Duty news account that voted in favor of calling Operation Monarch an "L". A fan pointed Timmins to the poll, leading him to respond. The message from Timmins reads, "I respect all opinions and views, having fun isn't for everyone." Needless to say, Timmins doesn't think much of the poll.Criticism regarding the Operation Monarch event largely revolves around two different areas. The first has to do with players who didn't have their expectations met by Operation Monarch. They were hoping for a proper battle between Godzilla and King Kong, or a deeper level of interactivity. The second has to do with many of the pervasive issues Call of Duty: Warzone is criticized for outside the new LTM. Those criticisms being connection issues, technical issues, and frustrating bugs.
Of course, while there may be legitimate criticisms to be heard regarding Operation Monarch, how it was marketed, and Call of Duty: Warzone's continued technical issues, that doesn't mean that's what Timmins was responding to. On Twitter, he's likely dealing with arguments made in bad faith, trolls, and other ridiculousness. His making a sarcastic response seems intended to be taken in a lighthearted manner, though the undertones of frustration are apparent, as well.
It can't be easy working on live events for Call of Duty: Warzone when Fortnite exists. Fortnite's raised expectations for live events and LTMs in a way that no other battle royale has managed to compete with, yet. The Godzilla vs. Kong crossover is a genuinely impressive achievement for Warzone, but compared to, for example, Fortnite's Robot vs. Monster Chapter 3 event, it's easy to see how players might be unfair to Warzone.
The Operation Monarch LTM will remain available to play in Call of Duty: Warzone until May 25. Not only does it feature massive Godzilla and King Kong, but it removes heartbeat sensors and UAVs for a unique Warzone experience. Raven Software should be able to take feedback for Operation Monarch and put it into new and exciting content going forward.
Call of Duty: Warzone is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.