Call of Duty: Back Ops 6, the next installment in Activision’s popular first-person shooter series, will be available at launch as part of Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft confirmed Tuesday. All Game Pass subscribers will be able to play the game on day one. The confirmation comes days after reports that parent Xbox plans to put the next Call of Duty on its game subscription service.
Microsoft has made huge bets on Xbox Game Pass, making all of its first-party titles available on the service at launch. However, this strategy cost Xbox sales of its exclusive games. Including Call of Duty, one of the world’s best-selling game franchises, on Game Pass would likely boost subscriber numbers, but it could also hurt direct sales. Game Pass will make Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 playable at launch at no additional cost to subscribers on Xbox consoles, PCs and other supported devices.
In January, Microsoft only if Game Pass subscriber numbers after more than two years of hiatus, confirming that the service has 34 million subscribers. While this represents a 36 percent augment over the numbers reported over two years ago, gaming subscription services have recently struggled to add recent paid members. Gaming industry analyst Mat Piscatella said earlier this month that spending on non-mobile gaming subscription services has stalled. “Spending on non-mobile video game subscriptions in March 2024 was up only 1% compared to April 2023 data…”, he stated in his X post then.
Earlier this month, Microsoft shuttered several game studios under its brand, including Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks and Redfall developer Arkane Austin, to focus on its “priority games.” While Redfall was met with negative reception and failed to meet Microsoft’s expectations, Hi-Fi Rush was, in the company’s words, a “breakout hit” by “all key measures and expectations.” However, it was believed that a vast portion of players for this rhythm action adventure game came from Game Pass rather than direct sales. The release of Call of Duty, a massive and money-making tentpole series, on Game Pass could therefore be Microsoft’s biggest bet on a subscription service.
Activision, which was acquired by Microsoft last year, confirmed last week that Black Ops 6 would be the next Call of Duty title. The publisher plans to fully reveal the game during a Direct presentation immediately following the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9. Activision hasn’t revealed much about the game so far, releasing a few teasers and a live gameplay trailer after the game was confirmed. Microsoft said it will share more details about Black Ops 6 during its Direct presentation, where players can expect their “first detailed look at the gameplay in this murky recent chapter of the Black Ops series.”
