If you want someone to blame for Call of Duty's rampant monetization, it turns out that Jeffrey Epstein, of all people, had a hand in its inception.
In newly uncovered correspondence between Epstein, futurist Pablos Holman, and former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, taken from the over three million Epstein Files that were released on Friday, conversations were had about "indoctrinating kids into an economy" through in-game cosmetics.
"X prize is a good idea but key is real world rewards," Kotick said in an email to Epstein. "Learn to read: [earn] cell phone minutes, iPhone credits, virtual items in games."
I'm all for indoctrinating kids into an economy. You gotta love how his [example] for 'real world events' is 'virtual items in games'—Pablos.
Interestingly, these emails were sent on May 3, 2013, mere months after Black Ops 2 launched — the first game in the series to feature microtransactions. Activision tested the waters with personalization packs, extra slot packs, and paid calling cards, the first of which released on April 12, 2013.
Call of Duty: Ghosts, which launched later that year, went even further, with paid "special characters", voice over packs, skins, camos, and even weapons; it's not hard to draw...
