MW3 devs are pulling the pay-to-win ‘Groot’ skin until changes can be made

Call of Duty players, rejoice: developers Sledgehammer Games are cutting down the demonic tree terrorizing Modern Warfare 3 lobbies worldwide with plans to remove the Gaia Operator skin from the game and change it “in a future game update.”

Sledgehammer has today confirmed the Gaia skin will be disabled for all MW3 players in a Nov. 20 Reddit AMA, stating adjustments to both the base model and the Blackcell battle pass upgrade are in the pipeline. “In a future game update, we’ll disable this item until said changes can be released to all players,” the devs said. Unfortunately, Sledgehammer did not give a date for when the skin will be disabled and when it plans on returning, nor have they indicated a form of compensation to those who purchased the battle pass intending to unlock the Gaia skin.

While the troublesome skin didn’t seem to be on most players’ minds during the AMA, as many had questions regarding MW3’s matchmaking, the CoD community will be pleased to hear action is being taken after a frustrating few weeks of multiplayer.

The Gaia skin was made available with season six’s launch in late September 2023. The CoD skin consists of a collection of branches and roots connecting to create a humanoid figure while a soft glow emanated from the center—with many seeing the resemblance to Groot, a beloved character from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In MW2 and MW3, the Gaia Operator can only be obtained by purchasing the battle pass, meaning the skin is locked behind a paywall. Given how slender the character model is, players reported visibility issues and struggled to bring down the player using the skin, leading many to call Gaia “pay-to-win.”

“This skin should have never made it into MW2 or MW3,” one player said following Sledgehammer’s announcement. Others praised Sledgehammer’s swift action and communication over the issue, saying it would have taken other studios months to address the concerns.

Here’s hoping Gaia’s reworked skin—and any other similar skin set in the future—takes into account competitive viability and visibility before it makes it to the CoD store.