What you need to know
- A new report that Windows Central can confirm reveals that the next Call of Duty title – part of one of the biggest gaming franchises in the world – is heading to Xbox Game Pass.
- Microsoft, which acquired Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard in 2023, plans to add the upcoming 2024 game to Game Pass after much internal debate.
- The company is expected to announce the news next month during what is expected to be a separate Call of Duty show, held after the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9.
- Windows Central previously revealed that Call of Duty 2024 will be a new entry in the Black Ops line and will be set during the Gulf War in the early 1990s.
Microsoft – which completed its highly controversial $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October – has decided to add the publisher’s next Call of Duty release in 2024 to its unlimited gaming subscription service Xbox Game Pass. A The Wall Street Journal reports that Windows Central can confirm comments that Microsoft is expected to officially announce this next month during the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase; the news will likely be revealed at an expected Call of Duty-focused event held after the main show.
An earlier report suggested that Microsoft was discussing internally whether or not Call of Duty should be added to Xbox Game Pass, with some concerned that revenue from sales of the globally popular first-person shooter would decrease through access to Game Pass. Call of Duty titles, like many other ‘AAA’ game releases in recent years, usually retail for $69.99, and have historically always sold exceptionally well.
Presumably Call of Duty on Game Pass will mean users on Xbox Series identically priced PC Game Pass subscription. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a $15/month advanced service tier, allows subscribers to play the game on both platforms. Availability on Xbox Cloud Gaming is possiblebut Microsoft would have to make a deal with Ubisoft because it transferred the streaming rights to the publisher to appease the CMA regulators.
The choice to bring a new Call of Duty game to Game Pass is a landmark decision, but at this point it’s unclear whether Microsoft plans to add previous titles to the service as well. The addition of future releases to Game Pass may depend on how successful it ultimately becomes, although Xbox leadership may have details to share about the Call of Duty strategy next month.
We also don’t know if Xbox Game Pass subscribers will get a discount on the full purchase of the next Call of Duty, as Microsoft is offering such price cuts on some, but not all, additions to the service. Another unknown question is whether Microsoft will increase the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate again after doing so last year. The aforementioned report suggested that the company has recently considered this and could eventually do so if it goes ahead with its plan to add one of the new ones. the largest gaming properties in the world for the service.
Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox Games Showcase is scheduled for June 9 and is expected to showcase several upcoming games currently in the works at Xbox Game Studios. This includes the next Call of Duty title – an entry in the Black Ops series set during the Gulf War in the 1990s – as well as other high-profile titles such as Avowed and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Analysis: Wow, it’s really happening
Everyone has been wondering whether Microsoft would actually bring Call of Duty to Xbox Game Pass or not since the company originally announced its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard in 2022, but two years later and over six months after the deal’s completion we finally have an answer.
This decision is undoubtedly made carefully, with the pros and cons carefully weighed. Putting one of the most popular gaming IPs in history on Game Pass will certainly boost the service’s growth significantly, but it will certainly reduce the number of players who buy the game outright. Ultimately, I expect Microsoft has determined that the long-term benefit to its Game Pass business outweighs the downside of lost revenue.
We’ll certainly learn more about Microsoft’s plans for Call of Duty in the coming weeks and months. Personally, I expect older games in the series to come to Xbox Game Pass as well, though I think the likelihood of future titles appearing on the service will be determined by how the upcoming Black Ops game performs.