Following its initial release, a Call of Duty skin based on the appearance of The Boys‘ newly-introduced super antagonist Firecracker has apparently had its ‘rear assets’ significantly reduced by Activision Blizzard.
A wholly original-to-the-TV-series character introduced in the first episode of The Boys‘ fourth season and played by Detroit: Become Human actress Valorie Curry, Firecracker is one of the new supes, alongside Sister Sage, to have been recently added to The Seven’s roster.
Possessing super strength, the ability to generate explosive sparks from her hands a la Marvel’s Jubilee, and one hell of a grudge against her former child beauty pageant rival Starlight, Firecracker is portrayed as a ‘social media hotshot’ whose genuinely racist and conspiratorial ways of thinking have led her to become an instant hit among the show’s interpretation of the American right wing.
In promotion of The Boys‘ then-upcoming return to the airwaves, January 2024 saw both Firecracker and her fellow The Seven teammate A-Team join Homelander, Black Noir, and Starlight as purchasable characters for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone.
Upon her initial addition to the game, Firecracker’s character model possessed a noticeably ‘curvy’ rear end – so much so that, as documented by Dexerto, it prompted a mini ‘thirst wave’ among fans that lasted until she was rotated out of the in-game stores.
However, upon her re-addition to said storefronts in honor of The Boys‘ season four premiere on June 13th, it was quickly discovered that in the months since her debut, the red-headed heroine’s backside had been subject to a significant graphical nerfing.
Now, rather than having a well-defined behind, this area of Firecracker’s model is practically non-existent, the supe now looking less like herself and more like King of the Hill‘s own Hank Hill.
Further, not only was this unnecessary change made to Firecracker’s model, it also appears to have been implemented rather shoddily.
As seen in a video provided by Twitter user @Gamesnosh, “They didn’t update the physics model to reflect the change, so now the jiggle physics are broken and her ass moves really weirdly.”
Notably, this decision to subject Firecracker to a ‘backside reduction’ is but the latest display of Activision Blizzard’s lack of integrity regarding the Call of Duty franchise’s DLC offerings.
Most recently, the developer was calculated as charging players an egregious total of $80 USD for an in-game replica of the B.E.A.S.T. glove worn by the titular simian kaiju in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, as acquired by purchasing all four of the film’s tie-in bundles.
As of writing, neither Activision Blizzard, nor their parent company Microsoft, have offered any public comment on or explanation for this editing of the Call of Duty Firecracker crossover skin.