Who can resist a good battle pass? If you’re diving into Call of Duty Black Ops 6’s latest crossover with Squid Game, which starts today, January 3, and runs through January 24, you might find yourself thinking twice.
This event features not just one but two battle passes. There’s the usual one and a premium version, each packed with items that proudly show everyone you’ve got a taste for the hit TV show with games like “red light, green light.” But is this double battle pass approach overkill for even the die-hard CoD fans who live for this content? Well, that really depends on who you ask.
Here’s the scoop: According to the latest blog post unveiling the event, it introduces a new Red Light, Green Light multiplayer mode, along with Dead Light, Green Light for zombie enthusiasts. As you make your way through the matches, you’ll advance through the Squid Game Event Pass, which divides into two distinct paths. There’s a standard free track and a premium track, which is priced at 1,100 COD Points—roughly $9.99 or £8.39. The premium pass offers exclusive rewards like the “Front Man” operator as its top-tier prize, while the free track still grants a selection of Squid Game-inspired player skins and other bonuses.
Activision highlights that while all players can earn items on the free reward track, unlocking the premium rewards demands a pass purchase. Rewards include the instant “High Authority” XM4 Assault Rifle Blueprint, additional blueprints for the Knife, GS45 Pistol, and Saug SMG, as well as a skin for the Concussion Grenade, a Finishing Move, the ‘Throwdown’ Emote, the ‘Who’s Left’ Talking Gun Screen, and more.
The community reaction? Mixed, as expected. On platforms like Twitter and Reddit, some players mockingly note, “We got battle passes in between battle passes now.” Others simply see it as optional—treating the premium path as something they can easily skip if it doesn’t pique their interest. Once again, the never-ending debate about the ethics of microtransactions, especially when they only yield cosmetic items, is in full swing.
User SuperRSM weighs in, saying, “The content in the premium pass is comparable to or even better than some of the more expensive 2400 COD Point bundles available now. Spending 1100 COD Points and needing to play the game to earn the rewards feels more acceptable to me than a lot of the current store offerings. They could’ve simply put these rewards in a $20-30 store bundle and no one would blink. Just view it as another store option and see if it’s worth it for you.”
And let’s not overlook the additional store bundles releasing alongside this event: the Pink Guards Tracer Pack, The VIPs Tracer Pack, and the Young-hee Tracer Pack, though their prices are still under wraps.
So, what’s your take on stacking battle passes within battle passes? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
