Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will debut on Xbox Game Pass. The news was announced in an official blog post on the Xbox Wire website, and while there aren’t a lot of details about exactly how this will work, it’s a big move to attract a new wave of players to the subscription service.
As for when we might get these additional details, Call of Duty is set to have its own small E3-style showcase on June 9 during the Summer Game Fest, where we’ll be able to see the game in action for the first time, followed by an Xbox Games Showcase where more details will likely be shared, so if this news surprises you, it’s worth keeping an eye out for those.
We don’t know what level of Game Pass you need to get into Call of Duty 4 on day one, but regardless, it offers a fantastic deal for gamers who own a PC or console. It’s crazy to be able to get into the new Call of Duty for such a low price, especially since you can cancel your subscription when you’ve had enough and save yourself a ton of money. Microsoft’s intention is clearly to attract long-term players, people who will stick with Game Pass for months or even years, eventually outgrowing the $60-70 purchase price that Call of Duty usually demands.
It’s also interesting to look at this news through the lens of the FTC following Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Documents revealed during the lengthy legal process show just how valuable Call of Duty is to PlayStation. While the FTC couldn’t find any evidence that Microsoft kept Call of Duty exclusive on Xbox (which was confusing for other companies like Bethesda that were steered in that direction), the Game Pass angle does make it clear which platform got the better deal. Call of Duty may remain on PlayStation, but you’ll have to pay full price to play it on day one, while Xbox players can join in for a fraction of the cost.
Whether this plan succeeds will likely be revealed in the coming years. If Microsoft succeeds, then it will use Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 to reinvigorate Game Pass’s stagnant user base and bring in more profit than traditional box sales. It’s a tall order, though! Even if Modern Warfare 3 (2023) sells far fewer games than Modern Warfare 2, it’s making a ton of money from sales alone. If players flock to Game Pass but don’t stick around for long, we’re talking about millions of dollars in losses. Sure, you could argue that this would make Game Pass a valuable service, but millions of dollars could be lost just to make Game Pass look good.
What do you think – is this a smart move by Microsoft? Let us know below!
