Activision is the latest video game publisher to bring streamers into its games. Players in the Call of Duty titles Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone will soon be able to unlock skins that feature the likenesses of creators Nickmercs (real name Nick Kolcheff) and TimTheTatman (real name Tim Betar).
The skins, slated for a May 31 release, will be included in an “Operator bundle” that will allow players to customize their in-game characters. To publicly reveal their respective partnerships with Activision, both Kolcheff and Betar took to their streams to check out their virtual doppelgangers. Kolcheff even flexed into the camera to show viewers that his Operator’s muscles are not exaggerated.
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The trend of playable streamers in video games now stretches from the U.S. to India. This is the first time that Activision has put influencers into its own games, though the Nickmercs and TimTheTatman Operator skins will join likenesses of other famous and fictional people. Warzone players can already appear as Rambo, NBA star Kevin Durant, and soccer sensation Neymar Jr.
“I feel very very proud to be in a game like this,” Kolcheff said on his stream. “It’s a big deal for the Call of Duty space because it opens the door for a lot more of this stuff to happen.”
Kolcheff is known for delivering high-level gameplay, and Warzone is one of his most-played titles. On his stream, he has devoted 2,500 hours to the game, generating 108,000 hours of watch time along the way. He reached 371,000 concurrent viewers when he revealed a new Warzone map to his fans in 2021, and he was one of the first people who ever got to play the game’s sequel, Warzone 2.
In addition to their Activision collabs, Kolcheff and Betar have piloted partnerships with numerous consumer companies. Betar has worked alongside brands like HyperX, while Kolcheff was the first gamer to ever partner with Beats By Dre.
