Activision has reiterated the fact that their game promotes fair competition and has standards to limit any unfair advantages players might gain. For the game to be fair, all players should have the same probability of winning, and Call of Duty has on most occasions stood firm on its claims.
After all, cosmetics have been the only things you can purchase in COD. Players can spend their Points on skins and a variety of other diverse items. Most of the skins in COD’s collection aren’t pay to win. Nevertheless, every once in a while, some cosmetics have proven to be otherwise.
Back in Season 5 of the Call of Duty: The 'Rook' skin for Operator Roze was a reward to hit level 100 of the Battle Pass. The skin turned the individual a noticeably dark color, making it especially difficult for them to differentiate them in the darker regions of the Warzone Map from the surrounding scenery.
ROZE is a fair and balanced skin... from r/CODWarzone
Several times during the video, the enemies stared directly at the user, failing to see him in the corner due to how dark his Roze skin is. With one player even running up to Myb4d and failing to see him despite making contact, the problem with the skin is clearly illustrated in the clip.
Although Roze's default outfit and reference to the Aliens film on the helmet is appreciated by players, its alternate variant has been a victim of frustration by the Warzone community's Call of Duty! Because of its darkness, Roze can camouflage in the shadows of Verdansk and Rebirth Island, and has no distinctive features. As Redditor Myb4d shows, this issue is serious and quite concerning, since the user displayed in the video managed hide in the corner to eliminate a full group of enemies.
Roze's Rook skin has been an issue ever since it was released, but it wasn't the subject of mass attention until recently. After it was used by participants in the high-profile $250,000 Twitch Rivals tournament leading to accusations of cheating. Currently, Call of Duty players are surfacing clips of all-out war against players using the Roze skin - even squads full of them.
Warzone solos is more toxic than ranked League of Legends. I played 4 games and every single enemy was wearing the all black Roze skin. All but one of them sat in a dark corner the whole time and did nothing until I walked by them.
— Drift0r (@Drift0r) January 26, 2021
Unfortunately, Activision and Raven are unlikely to force Roze's Rook cosmetics to be withdrawn as those that have the skin have had to purchase it in a Battle Pass. One of the newer examples of pay-to-win cosmetics was the premium Gallantry MAC-10 SMG design. The weapon was much more effective than its regular version.
Following the community's uproar, Warzone players issued a hotfix to the gun in question, creator Raven Program. So, the pay-to-win charges on Roze could force Raven to nerf the impact somehow, likely by modifying the template to reduce its effects and uphold its famed competitive integrity.