A Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developer has responded to long-circulated rumors of a "supply drop" loot box system, saying Infinity Ward is not working on loot boxes of any kind. The Modern Warfare supply drop rumors began in late September, after a YouTuber posted supposed leaks about the system to Twitter.
The YouTuber, TheGamingRevolution, claimed a string of his tweets came straight from an anonymous source at Infinity Ward. The tweets claimed a supply drop system would not only include more than 300 emotes and 500 titles, but weapons as well, leading the Modern Warfare community to believe the game would have a pay-to-win loot box system. This, coupled with the news of Modern Warfare's yearlong PS4-exclusive mode, brought much controversy to a game that looked like it could have the best Call of Duty multiplayer in years.
Infinity Ward Studio Art Director Joel Emslie, u/artpeasant on Reddit, posted a thread to the Modern Warfare subreddit yesterday, shooting down the supply drop rumors. Emslie said Inifnity Ward is "definitely NOT" working on supply drops or loot boxes of any kind. He also said "functional stuff" (items that affect gameplay, like weapons, presumably) will be unlocked through gameplay. Immediately following the initial emergence of the rumors, Emslie had posted another Reddit thread, where he asked fans to focus on confirmed facts and not "ill informed people that want to make a name for themselves" by spreading rumors. His first post did not directly confirm or deny the rumors, so yesterday's thread appears to be the first official comment on Modern Warfare's loot box plans. Emslie concluded by saying Infinity Ward plans to release more information later this week.
After the backlash to Modern Warfare loot box rumors, TheGamingRevolution claimed Infinity Ward held a meeting to discuss changing the game's supposed supply drop system, so it's possible that things changed internally between TheGamingRevolution's post and Emslie's most recent update. Still, the wording of Emslie's initial post, which indirectly called TheGamingRevolution ill-informed, seems to indicate the YouTuber could have been working with incorrect information from the beginning.
Since its announcement, Modern Warfare has been subject to both hype and controversy. Besides the now-debunked loot box rumors, the Modern Warfare White Phosphorus controversy brought criticism to the game for its casual use of the controversial chemical weapon as a killstreak reward. Nearly everything revealed so far about Modern Warfare's gameplay, however, looks quite good. The a Modern Warfare campaign trailer showed off the game's extremely impressive graphics, and fans flocked to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare beta, making it the biggest in Call of Duty history.
Source: Joel Emslie/Reddit