A brand-new emote in Warzone has quickly been branded as “pay to win” by many players, with some calling it one of the most overpowered add-ons to date.

Call of Duty has long featured cosmetic items and add-ons for players willing to spend extra money. However, in recent years, the frequency and prominence of these additions have noticeably increased, frustrating a large portion of the community.

While these cosmetics are intended to be purely visual — offering no competitive advantage or disadvantage — there have been numerous instances where they’ve done exactly that. The "pay to win" cosmetics are especially controversial, as they allow players willing to spend money to gain an edge over those who don't.

Many fans have urged the developers to “read the room” and shift focus away from pushing cosmetics, especially while the game still faces more pressing issues. Nevertheless, new add-ons continue to be introduced.

Cardboard Commando Emote Deemed Pay-to-Win in Black Ops 6

The trend continues in Black Ops 6 with a new emote included in the Cardboard Commando bundle. As the name implies, the bundle gives weapons and gear a cardboard-themed makeover — but the standout feature is the emote, which lets players hide inside a cardboard box for a few seconds, making it easy to ambush unsuspecting opponents.

It didn’t take long for players to label it “pay to win.” YouTuber ElvisCOD commented: “It can work. It will work. If you want to mess around and troll people in-game, this is a great emote to do that.”

Not everyone found it amusing, though. Some players voiced their frustration, with one saying, “Gotta love the monthly pay-to-win bundle. Good thing the store keeps getting promoted!” Another added, “Bad players won’t even notice. Classic COD P2W bundles,” while someone else called it the “most broken emote in Warzone history.”

However, not everyone is convinced it's truly effective. The size of the cardboard box does make it pretty noticeable, although there are still plenty of clips showing players getting fooled by it.

As one player put it, “I don’t understand how people see an oversized cardboard box and think, ‘yeah, that looks totally normal.’”