How About No More Celebrity Influencer Operator Bundles In ‘Call Of Duty’ From Now On?

There’s nothing like good internet drama to keep us all glued to our Twitter feeds, clicking on the gossipy links and feeling either outraged, superior or pointedly indifferent. When it comes to video games, much of the best drama comes by way of influencers—streamers, YouTube personalities, the occasional game journalist or developer.

The latest drama is all about Call Of Duty, Activision’s perennial best-selling military shooter. It began a few weeks ago, when the publisher added two new Operator Bundles to the Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare II Store: TimTheTatman and Nickmercs, two famous video game streamers and influencers.

These were not the first ‘celebrity’ Operators added to Call Of Duty. The game has added various athlete celebrities from basketball, soccer and so forth, including Kevin Durant and Neymar. But unlike these mega-celebrities, TimTheTatman and Nickmercs were gamers, and had built their reputations and careers gaming. This led many of their fans to claim that they were selling out, and many fans of Call Of Duty to complain that the chosen influencers were the wrong choice. Much ballyhooing ensued. Garments were rent. Teeth gnashed.

But it was only the tip of the spear.

Not long after, Nickmercs waded into the LGBTQ debate, with a tweet heard ‘round the world. I won’t recap, I’ll just point you to Forbes Games’ Paul Tassi who wrote about the whole thing. Suffice to say, it stirred up a great deal of backlash. This backlash led to Activision removing the Nickmercs Operator Bundle from the Call Of Duty Store.

This, in turn, led to infamous streamer and internet personality Dr. Disrespect quitting and uninstalling the game (for the umpteenth time) out of a show of support for Nickmercs—though, if we’re being honest, it’s more likely not a show of support for Nickmercs as it is a way to generate buzz for Doc himself. Gotta keep your finger on the pulse of the latest internet controversy!

Now, TimTheTatman is publicly calling on Activision to also remove his Operator Bundle from the Call Of Duty Store, also in a show of support for Nickmercs, though I have another theory: Since Activision didn’t completely delete the Nickmercs Operator, some people still own the bundle. Since this is the only bundle gamers are unable to purchase, it means that it will quickly become one of—if not the—rarest skins in the game. Maybe Tim wants a piece of that action.

Also, if gamers suddenly think that Activision might comply, it may lead to a whole bunch of them buying up the bundle before it’s gone. Clever!

I have two things to say about all of this:

First, I’d ask for my own bundle to be added to replace the gaping holes that are left when Tim and Nick are no longer for sale in CoD, but I already have one (in the 2019 Modern Warfare and Warzone, at least):

Second, can I just make one simple request: I don’t care about zany, wild, weird skins in Call Of Duty. You want an Easter Bunny? Fine. You want freaky clowns and mad scientists and dudes with skull masks? Fine. But can we please stop adding in real-life people to this game? Actual influencers and athletes and celebrities who might say something terrible or assault somebody or say something that’s not even that bad but triggers the alarmists online and in marketing departments and then have to have their Bundle revoked and all the ensuing controversy and silliness? Can we just let these games exist in their own fictional realm? Can we just play these damn games without being dragged into stupid political scraps and culture wars?

Is that too much to ask?

IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK???