Activision Adds New Age Requirement to Play Call of Duty

On July 16, Activision introduced an age-verification requirement that requires Call of Duty players to add their birthdate to their account to continue playing games like Black Ops 6 or Warzone.

Underage users who do not submit a valid birthdate or gain parental consent may risk their Call of Duty accounts being deleted within four months.

The new requirement came following a Warzone update that addressed some bugs and made balance changes to two Marksman Rifles. While the DM-10's damage multipliers were nerfed in a previous Call of Duty update, the July 16 patch further reduced its minimum and maximum range, along with additional damage adjustments.

Some changes were also made to the TR2 rifle, as its bullet velocity, aim down sight speeds, and sprint to fire speeds were reduced across the board. Issues related to Ranked Play and the Plunder game mode were addressed.

As reported by CharlieIntel on social media, Activision now requires all Call of Duty players to submit their birthdate as part of a new age verification system introduced with the July 16 game updates. Activision stated that the change was made as part of ongoing efforts "to deliver a positive community experience as detailed in the Call of Duty Code of Conduct." The submitted birthday is then linked to each player's Activision account. Underage users must gain parental consent to continue playing Call of Duty, or their accounts will be deleted within four months of Activision's initial request.

However, Call of Duty is not the only service to verify the age of its user base, as popular PC storefront Steam periodically asks for a valid birthdate when accessing games that contain mature-rated content, including the Call of Duty franchise. While some users have found ways to get around the mature content warnings on Steam, the same can't be said for Call of Duty's new age gate. In response, Call of Duty players expressed concerns that this would lead to submitting a valid ID or driver's license in future updates, while others pondered potential workarounds.

Between the new age verification change and the upcoming gameplay reveal of Black Ops 7 at Gamescom, the attention that the Call of Duty franchise has received this summer has been a mixed bag. It remains to be seen if the birthdate requirement to play Call of Duty will be adjusted further.