Call of Duty is getting a microtransaction nobody can get mad at: A unique premium skin whose proceeds will go to LA wildfire relief

Close up of new CoD skin in support of LA wildfire relief, with a hooded figure wearing a mask that looks like a fingerprint and holding a firearm, all with a matte grey texture overlaid with a psychedelic, metallic swirl camo pattern. — (Image credit: Activision)

Activision has announced a new cosmetic bundle for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 whose proceeds will be donated to the Los Angeles Fire Department to assist with wildfire relief. The LA Fire Relief pack includes a player skin and matching weapon camo, costs 2400 CoD points ($20), and is available now on the in-game store.

"In the wake of devastating fires in Los Angeles impacting our friends, colleagues, and residents in Southern California, we're adding the LA Fire Relief pack to Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone," Activision wrote in a tweet on the official Call of Duty account. "100% of Activision's proceeds from purchases of the LA Fire Relief pack will be donated to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and Direct Relief."

Activision message explaining the LA Fire Relief bundle and its donation of $1 million to the LA Fire Department. — (Image credit: Activision)

In another post on the main Activision Twitter account, the company announced that it will also be donating $1 million directly to the LAFD Foundation and Direct Relief. "As a company with roots deeply tied to the LA area, our hearts go out to our friends, colleagues, and residents impacted by the devastating fires," Activision wrote in the second post.

It's a great move, and I also appreciate that the skin itself actually looks pretty sick even absent a charitable context: You've got a hooded, tacticool, almost Squid Games-looking operator type wearing a mask with a sort of fingerprint swirl texture to it. The whole thing's brought together with a swirling, metallic, teal and fuchsia camo pattern over a charcoal grey base. It's maybe a little too smoke shop, streetwear, gen-Z for my taste, but still one of the cooler skins I've seen, and probably a good fit for the tastes of your average CoD-liker.

The fires have had other ripple effects in the gaming world, with numerous office closures for LA-based studios and a pause on filming the Fallout Show's second season. Activision also isn't the only studio that's given back to the city: Riot donated one of its backup generators to an impacted fire station, as well as meals from its employee cafeteria.

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Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch. You can follow Ted on Bluesky.