Warzone devs revert UAV prices after 1-day “experimentation”

Theo Salaun

Call of Duty: Warzone’s developers have reverted the UAV price increase in Vanguard Royale after just one day. In an update, they explained that this was part of their “short-term experimentation” process.

When you play Warzone, you are not just a soldier, a teammate, or a competitor. You are apparently also a guinea pig, in the effort to test things out and create a better game for everyone.

While we already knew that the developers experimented with player reaction to modes like Iron Trials and weekly playlist tweaks, it seems they’re now trying out smaller alterations as well.

To start the Pacific integration, Raven Software upped UAV prices to $6,000. In December 2021’s holiday event, they tested an increase to $12,000. Now, they’ve gone ahead and tested an increase to $9,000 for Vanguard Royale – and reverted it after just one day.

Warzone devs revert UAV price increase after 1-day experiment

In the March 2 update, Raven said they were upping UAV costs to $9,000 as a “compromise where UAVs will remain accessible, but less inclined to be so readily exploitable.”

On March 3, they quickly pivoted from that decision and reverted the price to $6,000. Explaining why, the devs said they intend “to monitor match pacing closer to the original design.”

Further, the team clarified that “providing players with a fun and consistent long-term experience can sometimes take a little bit of short-term experimentation.” As such, the one-day price bump was simply a way to gauge sentiment.

Warzone Ghost gameplay
UAVs have been much more expensive in Caldera than they were in Verdansk.

It seems that the Warzone devs are intent on ironing out the game’s pacing for the future. Players should therefore expect spontaneous adjustments like this UAV price movement, especially in the non-default playlists.

With the game’s cash economy also being toyed with, a lot of tweaks are on the table. The devs’ communications are emphasizing one thing, though: these are not random adjustments, but all serve an experimental purpose.

About The Author

Théo is a former writer at Dexerto based in New York and built on competition. Formerly an editor for Bleacher Report and philosophy student at McGill, he fell in love with Overwatch and Call of Duty — leading him to focus on esports for Dex.