COD:MW2 Map Pack to cost $15

Can you say milking the players?

Despite our sources insisting that nothing had been set in stone yet on the pricing for the first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Map Pack (also known as the “Stimulus Package”), it would appear that Activision will be trying to milk both the players and franchises for all that they are worth when the Map Pack drops on the Xbox 360 on March 30th.

We can confirm that the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Map Pack, called “Stimulus Package,” will go for $15 or 1,200 Microsoft points, despite previous Map Packages only costing $10, or 800 Microsoft Points. According to our sources, the decision on pricing is strictly an Activision decision and Infinity Ward had little input into the pricing.

With the news of the “Stimulus Package” we also know that it contains only five Maps, and out of the five in the downloadable package, only three of them are actually new Maps. The other two included maps are re-hashed versions of two classic Maps from the previous Modern Warfare release. The news of the $15 price tag is already causing a lot of grumbling and unhappiness, but most players that we spoke with say that they will bite the bullet and buy the Map Package anyway.

We are already predicting that the decision to price the “Stimulus Package” at $15 is going to meet with a lot of opposition and dissatisfaction among players. We have to suspect that this pricing decision will not cast Activision in a good light; and with the current legal entanglements they have concerning West and Zampella, it really comes at the wrong time.