The recent banning of 6-year-old Call of Duty: Warzone player, RowdyRogan, proved to be an entirely staged spectacle. Just a few days ago, a section of the gaming community seemingly rallied around RowdyRogan after he was suddenly banned from Warzone while streaming, with some going so far as to create the #FreeRogan hashtag.
A lot of speculation floated around trying to ascertain what RowdyRogan - or his parents - may have done to deserve such a ban. There was no evidence or indication of cheating, no abusive exploitation of something like the Juggernaut glitch that's been affecting Warzone gameplay as of late. RowdyRogan is also not known to be any kind of inappropriate while playing, streaming, or communicating with other players - he is only six, after all. What could have been most plausible was the fact that Warzone has an ESRB rating of M, indicating that only those who are age 17 or older should play the game. However, RowdyRogan does all of his gaming with his father's permission, and given the general demographics of Warzone players, Activision would stand to lose a huge amount of its Warzone player base if it started to impose the enforcement of age restrictions. There must have been some logical explanation, right?
Well, it turns out there is. According to an article from Game Rant, the controversial ban was staged as part of FaZe’s Top 20 Challenge, a challenge designed to have players compete to create viral videos with the winner gaining membership to the FaZe clan. RowdyRogan entered the competition in the hopes of making him the youngest member of FaZe and to likely generate some level of publicity for his channel. Apparently, this particular idea was Rogan's idea, to which he received positive reinforcement from his parents, and so far the plan seems to have created the desired effect. Tons of players were shocked by the apparent ban and RowdyRogan was able to generate a serious amount of attention.
Though one might feel fundamentally deceived through such a prank, it was simply that, a prank (albeit with the purpose of further propelling the 6-year-old's gaming career). Activision was in on the whole thing, and a video on Twitter began circulating detailing the creation of the prank's concept. All in all, it seems that given the attention that this faux controversy generated, RowdyRogan just might win the competition. Also, especially with the looming release of the new Warzone map, Rogan may just see his viewership increase.
It's never good to get pranked, so it's understandable if those who supported RowdyRogan over his supposed Call of Duty: Warzone ban feel tricked. However, it should be easy to keep in mind that this sort of prank is one that is close to the ideal: generally harmless and done without any real malice or ill will.
Call of Duty: Warzone is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Source: Game Rant
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