game news “The reason is mainly commercial” Call of Duty or Diablo 4 in Xbox Game Pass? It’s not for tomorrow…
Call of Duty in Game Pass is to be expected when Activision-Blizzard is acquired by Microsoft. But from the looks of it, the publisher doesn’t seem very interested in it… and not just in Game Pass.
Holy Bobby
Another message that sows confusion or at least irony. As everyone knows, Sony is staunchly opposed to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, out of one main fear: the exclusivity of Call of Duty games on Xbox, specifically the inclusion of the various episodes in Game Pass. The Japanese house would then lose an insane amount of money, with Call of Duty raking in a lot, but then also a lot of money on PlayStation platforms.
Le hic, is that Activision-Blizzard itself admits that it doesn’t like free video game subscription services. It was Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick himself who admitted this during a court hearing before the American FTC against attorney Jennifer Fleury.
I have a general dislike for the idea of a multi-game subscription (…). The idea of offering a game on a content library’s subscription services would hurt the economy. It’s inconsistent with the idea of starting free-to-play by creating universes and offering multiple flexible ways to play.
An honest discussion?
When the FTC asks Kotick if Activision has made the formal decision not to offer its games through a subscription service (like Game Pass or PlayStation Plus), he certainly agrees.
Of course not, I don’t think we want or would do that. From time to time we experiment. In general, I don’t think this is the right way to offer our shareholders the greatest possible value or to offer our players flexibility.
However, some Activision games have already been offered on such services, which immediately reminds him of the FTC. Kotick replies that it was j ust “experiments”. “In general we don’t believe in it, I don’t believe in it, management doesn’t believe in it. I don’t think subscribing to a content library is the best way for gamers to invest in games.”
Finally, he is asked an extremely interesting question. “If Microsoft offered attractive commercial terms, could these games be integrated into Game Pass?” And the answer was loud and clear:
The proposal should be evaluated. I don’t think there is any company that can ever offer us that kind of commercial commitment or is willing to deliver that kind of structural value.
A priori donc, Inclusion of Call of Duty, Diablo and other publisher games in a Game Pass, to name a few, would be possible provided you provide sufficient proof (which would probably be unusual).
Seeing Bobby Kotick literally tackle the subscription service model might seem odd, and rightly so. Some wonder if the CEO isn’t acting in this way to reassure the FTC and confirm the acquisition.
Because as soon as the takeover has taken place, which Kotick would like very much, he will no longer be the only captain on board and Phil Spencer will likely be able to add Activision Blizzard games to Game Pass if he wants to. The case of the Bethesda titles is also a good example (one can quote Starfield). We will see.
