2024-05-17 20:15:00 –
Following the closure of Microsoft’s $75.4 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard late last year, the company is now gearing up to bring one of the publisher’s biggest games to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service. This week, The Wall Street Journal reported that 2024’s Call of Duty will be the first to debut on Game Pass when it launches this fall.
According to the report, people familiar with Microsoft’s plans claim the company will announce the arrival of Call of Duty 2024 on Game Pass at its showcase on June 9th.
It’s virtually impossible to overemphasize the enormity of this move for Xbox. Call of Duty is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, topped only by Mario, Tetris, and Pokémon. Despite terrible reviews, last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III was the second best-selling game of 2023, toppling critically acclaimed smash hits like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Mortal Kombat 1.
These games are enormously popular, and for the first time, Game Pass subscribers are going to be able to dive in without having to pay $69.99 upfront.
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This is a calculated risk from Microsoft, as the company is willingly forgoing millions of dollars in sales to boost Game Pass membership. Microsoft noted it “set a record for the most Game Pass subscriptions added on a single day ever” when Starfield launched last September. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (the entry expected to arrive this fall) is sure to help shatter that record.
Source: BGR