Modern Warfare 2 changes premium "camo" skin and now fans want a refund

LA Thieves skin
(Image credit: Activision)

Modern Warfare 2 players have hit out at Activision for nerfing a premium skin that was making it easier to hide in plain sight.

The LA Thieves skin - all black besides a red logo on the chest - made it to Steam's top 20 best-sellers list as fans flocked to buy the premium suit.

However, the suit proved so popular - and effective - that just two weeks after it was first released, Activision decided to add additional red accents onto the outfit, making it easier to spot across the map and dampen pay-to-win accusations. 

The trouble is, thousands of players had already bought it, leading to complaints that they'd been sold something that has since been changed.

"It appears that players on Battle net and Xbox are able to get refunds on the LA Thieves skin. May differ for each person," COD site CharlieIntel tweeted (thanks, PC Gamer), and while that may be the case for some, others say they're not getting the same results. 

It's kicked off quite the furor, with some players angry that they'd been "cheated" into spending $10 on a skin that's since changed and others angry that some were "cheating" by using a camo skin in the first place. It remains to be seen if those attempting refunds will be found to have violated the ToS. 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is already the best-selling game of 2022 in the US, replacing Elden Ring at the top of the charts.

According to US market analyst group NPD, based on dollar sales Modern Warfare 2 was the best-selling game of November 2022, followed by God of War: Ragnarok, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and Sonic Frontiers. It's worth noting, however, that NPD doesn't track digital sales for first-party Nintendo titles - those Pokemon games could potentially rank higher.

It's not been plain sailing, though. Initially, unhappy Warzone 2.0 players reported that the free-to-play battle royale is locking them out of the game because they don't own Modern Warfare 2. It appears that after a handful of Warzone 2 games - and sometimes even when they do indeed own the premium shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, apparently - the game locked them out by displaying a pop-up that instructs players that they need to "purchase Modern Warfare 2 to have access to everything".

Warzone 2 is completely free-to-play and, in theory at least, a different game, so players shouldn't require Modern Warfare 2 to access Warzone 2. 

"Warzone 2 isn't a battle royale revolution, but rather a steady march toward a new horizon for Call of Duty," we said in GameRadar+'s Warzone 2 review in which we awarded the shooter four stars out of five. 

"Al Mazrah is a real victory, and the action contained within this impressive map is often unpredictable and challenging in a way that the original Warzone wasn't."

Did you catch the story about unscrupulous Modern Warfare 2 players stealing the codes off of promotional packs of Jack Link's Pork Strips? Or what about when hackers made boats fly in Warzone 2.0?

Whatever skin you've equipped, here's how to start the Modern Warfare 2 Raid if you want to test your skills. 

Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.