It seems like there’s a revolving trend in Call of Duty. Put simply, a skin that’s seen as being ‘pay to win’ is released, floats on the market for a few weeks, then is ‘adjusted’ by the developer until another one is introduced, and the cycle continues. Who remembers the ‘Roze’ skin that caused widespread controversy in Call of Duty Warzone? Well, it’s now all about the ‘Gaia’ skin, otherwise known as the ‘Groot’ skin, which makes your player character take on the appearance of a see-through tree person.

Yes, really.

It has been at the forefront of the ‘bugbear list’ for players the world over for the last few weeks, namely because of how overpowered it can be. It’s a half-see-through skin, making it difficult to even spot properly, and on a map with trees, like Wasteland or Estate, it’s borderline impossible to pick out. It has glowing eyes and a brightly-coloured cloud emanating from it, but it’s not enough – and Sledgehammer Games is now preparing to ‘adjust’ it.

Will The Groot Skin Be Removed From COD?

Image Credit: Activision Blizzard

In a way, yes. It has been confirmed by Sledgehammer Games that the Gaia skin – and its BlackCell counterpart – will be temporarily disabled in Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone until it can be adjusted. It hasn’t been said how it’ll be adjusted, but like with the Roze skin, Sledgehammer Games will likely tweak the skin to make it more visible across all maps. It’s sure to be a solid fix that’ll placate the Call of Duty community – and wholeheartedly vex those who shelled out to purchase the skin’s bundle.

But it doesn’t end there, does it?

‘Adjustments to Gaia and Gaia Blackcell Operator Skins are in the pipeline for Modern Warfare III. In a future game update, we’ll disable this item until said changes can be released to all players.’ – Sledgehammer Games

It’s widely expected that once Sledgehammer removes and amends Gaia, it’ll be a few weeks until the next ‘pay-to-win’ skin comes around. At the end of the day, it’s business – Activision Blizzard needs to sell these bundles, and if there’s no incentive or selling point, how can they? However, it’s the disingenuous nature around them that bugs fans — it’s like these Call of Duty developers pretend they’re blind to the fact that they’re making pay-to-win skins.

We’ll still buy them, right?

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