Warzone devs explain why they canceled UAV price hike

Liam Mackay
Warzone cash and buy station

Warzone’s developers announced UAVs would return to Vanguard Royale for a whopping $9,000, but backtracked on the price hike ahead of the mode’s return and explained why.

UAVs have always been a crutch killstreak in Warzone, allowing players to see every un-Ghosted player around them. Warzone’s devs felt that they were a little bit too common in Verdansk, so raised the price to $6,000 in Caldera and removed them from Buy Stations in Vanguard Royale.

Vanguard Royale returned in the March 3 playlist update, with UAVs back in Buy Stations. Raven Software confirmed on March 2 that UAV price had been bumped up to $9,000 but changed their minds, explaining why.

Raven Software announced in the March 3 patch notes: “Upon further discussion, our team has decided to reintroduce UAVs at the lower price point of $6,000 to monitor match pacing closer to the original design.”

“Once we’ve gathered enough data, we’ll make the subsequent decision as to whether or not we follow through with the proposed increase to $9,000,” they explained. “Providing Players with a fun and consistent long-term experience can sometimes take a little bit of short-term experimentation!”

While some of the Warzone community were glad about the change of pace that removing UAVs from Vanguard Royale Buy Stations offered, others were disappointed to see it disappear. Raven Software said they saw “both sides of feedback,” and made a “compromise where UAV’s will remain accessible but less inclined to be so readily exploitable.”

It appears they’ve abandoned the compromise for now, but don’t be surprised if UAV prices are hiked again in a future update. The devs think of the change as more of an ‘experiment’ to see what works better, so the $6,000 UAV price is far from set in stone.

For more Warzone, you can check out how to unlock the Vargo 52 Assault Rifle once it arrives on March 4.

Image Credit: Activision

About The Author

Liam is CharlieIntel's Editor. After graduating in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University, Liam made use of his passion for FPS games, including Call of Duty, by writing for sites such as The Nerd Stash, Red Bull Gaming, and GAMINGbible before joining CharlieIntel in November 2020. You can contact Liam at [email protected].