Call of Duty publisher Activision has unveiled Recon Squad, an invite-only program aimed at gathering community feedback throughout Black Ops 6 and Warzone​​​​​’s seasons in order to improve both titles. Although the most recent entry in the Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops 6, received rave reviews from critics and players at launch, the shooter appears to have been on a sharp decline along with Warzone due to a large number of issues related to bugs, performance issues, and cheaters.

There are many weird and wonderful issues with Treyarch Studios’ latest Black Ops game, but many Call of Duty players believe Warzone ​​​​​​is in a much dire state. The feedback from the community appears to have already been heard by Activision, as the studio revealed earlier this year that Season 2 of Warzone would have less content than originally planned so that there could be a greater focus on gameplay tuning, quality-of-life improvements, bug fixes, and more. Although the news of less content was certainly disappointing, fans were happy to see Activision put a stronger focus on improving the general gameplay of Warzone​​​​​​. But with problems still persisting, the studio looks to be upping its communication with players via a brand new program.

Call of Duty: Recon Squad Program Revealed

Alongside the reveal of Call of Duty Season 2 Reloaded, Activision has detailed a new program known as Recon Squad. According to the announcement, Recon Squad will continue Activision’s mission to make its games “social and fun.” The studio says it values the opinions and feedback of Call of Duty players, which is why it has opted to create a new line of communication via Recon Squad. The program is invite-only, but will be extended to a wide range of individuals and won’t be simply targeted toward those with a high number of hours played. Activision says Recon Squad is a research community that will be active throughout Black Ops 6 and Warzone‘s seasons and will give players the opportunity to provide feedback through surveys, online community discussion boards, and focus groups.

Any feedback given to Activision regarding Call of Duty could have a huge impact on the future of the franchise, but the studio has also said that players will be able to earn points in Recon Squad that can then be redeemed for Warzone or Black Ops 6 in-game items. It’s unclear what the studio means by “in-game items,” as this could range from Call of Duty‘s lucrative Double XP tokens right up to COD Points, or even the ever-so controversial operator skins. For players looking to gain access, Activision says it will be emailing Call of Duty players at random via the email address associated with their Activision ID.

The announcement of Recon Squad comes just weeks after Call of Duty‘s player count declined massively on Steam. While the number of players on PlayStation, Xbox, and Battle.net remains unknown, the massive drop in players on Steam seems to reflect the overall mood of the Call of Duty ​​​​​​community. With almost 50% of players ditching Call of Duty on Steam since the launch of Black Ops 6, now is the perfect time to take the community’s considerations into account and implement the changes that players want to see the most. With cheating still a prevalent issue in both Black Ops 6 and Warzone, fans will be sure to want to make their voices heard.