After years of debates and uncertainly in the wake of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, reports have emerged indicating that 2024’s Call of Duty game – presumed to be another entry in the Black Ops sub-series – will launch day-and-date on Xbox Game Pass alongside its regular release. This is a huge deal all around, given that Call of Duty is one of the highest-selling games year in and year out. Seeing such a big, popular title show up on Game Pass is certainly an exciting prospect.
With that said, this Game Pass release feels almost like a make-or-break moment for Xbox, and for subscription-based gaming in general. Xbox has been very heavily promoting Game Pass, and it looks like they greatly want to embrace a subscription-based future of gaming. With Call of Duty’s entry onto Game Pass, along with its day-one release, it seems they’re willing to pull all the stops to ensure that the service is juicier than ever. But with big questions about this future Xbox is trying to build, it’s fair to wonder if this bold strategy will truly pay off.
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Great News For Gamers
It should be said that Call of Duty arriving on Game Pass would be an absolute win for gamers, especially those already subscribed to Game Pass. As previously mentioned, Call of Duty is one of the most popular and high-selling franchises in gaming every single year. For the longest time, Call of Duty has almost become a “critic-proof” franchise, as audiences still show up in droves eager to play the next year’s game.
Whether you like it or not, Call of Duty is a marquee title. Without question, it’s a game that brings in players of all different types around the world, and it’s perhaps the AAA game of all AAA games. Having a game such as this land on Game Pass will bring a little extra spark to the service, which is something it could absolutely use. Recent reports indicate that Game Pass growth has become stagnant, and while it’s not clear if one game could do the heavy lifting, a game as popular as Call of Duty could no doubt boost interest in the service.
Furthermore, with Call of Duty being one of the notable games on the market to retail at $70, a Game Pass release will be far more convenient for some. Instead of having to pay $70 for the upcoming title, players can pay $17 a month to play the next Call of Duty on top of over 400 other games. It’s a great deal that should become even sweeter for gamers if the franchise continues to receive day-and-date releases on Game Pass in the future.
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Questionable News For Xbox?
Let it be said, though, that Xbox and Activision are absolutely in “make or break” territory not only with Call of Duty’s arrival on Xbox Game Pass but with the franchise at large. This yearly series has warded off “franchise fatigue” for the better part of the last decade or so, but 2023’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III was the first entry in the series to be met with meaningful disdain. While it didn’t stop the series from selling, the overall sales of this title were 38% lower than 2022’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II across the first few weeks.
Now yes, it can be said that Modern Warfare III was the epitome of a rush job, and as a glorified DLC that was needlessly expanded into a full game, this may end up being an outlier for the franchise. Even so, the reception to this new entry is unequivocal proof that this franchise can bleed. Certainly, even with a separate developer at the helm handling a game in a different sub-series, the next entry will definitely be met with some caution compared to years past.
Of course, Xbox itself is in “make or break” territory with Call of Duty’s inclusion on Game Pass in the first place. Sure, it’s a massive title, but can one game truly do all the heavy lifting by itself? Furthermore, reports indicate that Game Pass will see some changes to its current model to accommodate Call of Duty’s arrival. Such changes would possibly include a price increase, something the service has already seen once. Given that Game Pass prides itself on being an affordable service for gamers, will one game truly be worth jacking the price up again?
Game Pass has also received a lot of concern because of its future stability. Xbox has already struggled to maintain a steady stream of excellent games as the service starts to leave its “honeymoon phase” of sorts, and not even titles like 2023’s Starfield helped the service achieve meaningful growth. Truly, a lot is riding on Call of Duty’s appearance on Game Pass as, amidst questions about the service’s future stability, one has to think that if a game as popular as Call of Duty can’t sell audiences on Game Pass, what will?
Furthermore, given that Call of Duty is a heavy-budgeted title, a Game Pass release may take away from some pure sales, which leads to some questions about whether the Game Pass release will be worth it in the end. Given how expensive this franchise is from both a development and marketing standpoint, this upcoming title could stand to lose some of its pure sales from a Game Pass release. Of course, it will still be available on PlayStation, and customers on that console will still be paying full price for it, but the attention will have to turn to whether the increase in Game Pass subscribers will be enough to offset the potential sales hit on Xbox.
From all angles, adding Call of Duty to Game Pass is incredibly risky. While it’s an exciting proposition, Microsoft has certainly not made it easy for its core audience to trust them. Gamers will certainly be happy to see a game like this land on the service, but there’s still an extreme possibility that this goes wrong for Microsoft. In a year with a lot of bad news already swirling around the Xbox brand, let’s just say that they need this bold strategy to work desperately if they want to feel any kind of internal comfort.
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