Activision and Sledgehammer Games have been quiet for the most part when it comes to the microtransaction system in Call of Duty: WWII. Well, the studios finally broke silence and detailed how the microtransaction system will work in the game and that it will be available November 21st.
According to Gamespot, Activision was originally scheduled to launch the microtransaction cash shop a lot sooner but had to delay the roll out of the feature to November 21st due to some unforeseen issues that had to be resolved.
The article notes that those who bought the digital versions of Call of Duty: WWII will receive 1,100 CoD points to use in the cash shop.
Unfortunately there are no details on what can be purchased from the cash shop, only that the CoD points can be used to purchase things. Previously, the points were used to open supply drops to unlock new weapons and upgrades in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, along with opening crates that could be used in the Zombies Mode.
It's doubtful that points accumulated from last year's game would carry over to Sledgehammer's first-person outing. The article speculates that Activision will make the CoD points purchasable from the in-game store given that the DLC will be available from the tab as well once it becomes available. For now the only thing you can buy in the store tab until the update drops on November 21st is the game's season pass. Purchasing the season pass will not grant you access to Call of Duty: WWII's CoD points.
Activision was somewhat wise to stave off the access to the microtransactions given the absolutely massive backlash that the gaming community is dispensing onto companies like Warner Bros. and Electronic Arts.
In fact, Warner Bros. weathered the storm early on with the release of Middle-Earth: Shadow of War but then things tapered off after some gamers reported that it was possible to beat the game without microtransactions. Electronic Arts hasn't been so lucky, with the microtransactions in Star Wars: Battlefront II being so pervasive and in-grained to the gameplay experience that it has created a massive backlash against EA and developer DICE.
Gamers have been leery about the microtransactions and loot boxes in Star Wars: Battlefront II since this summer. And while gamers were aware that Call of Duty: WWII would have microtransactions, details on the feature were kept mum up until now. Heck, even now we don't know exactly what will be in the cash shop when it does finally open up on November 21st.
So far gamers have been able to play the title and enjoy all the other modes and content without the cash shop, including the single-player campaign mode, the new and improved Zombies Mode, and the standard online competitive modes.
Activision could have been waiting for things to cool down regarding the debates about loot boxes before introducing it into Call of Duty: WWII. The only response about the delay was that there were some issues to work out but there were no details given on what those issues were.
