Cold War players claim they’ll boycott game as “best mode” removal sparks fury

Zackerie Fairfax
player finishes opponent in Cold War 12v12 mode

Hours before Vanguard’s release, players are claiming they’ll boycott Black Ops Cold War following the removal of the game’s “best mode.”

With Activision releasing a new Call of Duty annually, each game’s lifespan is two years tops. Some CoD titles will fizzle out before then, while others hang on for dear life near the end of year two.

Vanguard aims to take players back to WWII. Many fans have expressed their disappointment with returning to an oversaturated time period. So much so that players had planned on sticking with Black Ops Cold War for a second year.

However, players’ plans to stick with BOCW changed after the recent removal of the fan-favorite 12v12 mode. This isn’t the first time Treyarch removed this mode, but fans have reason to believe it won’t be coming back.

players fight at gas station in cold war 12v12 mode

Fans boycott Cold War following 12v12 removal

Just days before Vanguard’s release, Treyarch has pulled the plug on Black Ops Cold War’s 12v12 mode. And of course, fans are furious. Players that had planned to stick with BOCW for a second year are now boycotting the game until 12v12 is reinstated.

Many fans have taken to Twitter and Reddit to express their disappointment. Tweets from users like chaigrima and ColvinoYT state that 12v12 was the “only reason” they played CW Multiplayer.

Replies to posts similar to these are from fans stating they won’t be returning to BOCW until 12v12 is reinstated. And a Reddit post from u/RagingSerenity claims that 12v12 was BOCW’s “best game mode” and the game is boring now that it’s gone.

For the most part, fans understand why Treyarch removed the game mode. Activision wants Vanguard to sell as many copies as possible at launch. And one of the best ways to do so is to throttle players’ enjoyment of a previous title.

With so many players flooding Vanguards servers over the coming days, Activision may also need to free up server space. Nonetheless, BOCW fans are still outraged at the removal of 12v12. And it’s hard to say whether Treyarch can justify bringing it back after the release of Vanguard.

For more Cold War, check out when Season 6 ends and Vanguard Season 1 starts.

Image Credit: Activision / Treyarch