Call of Duty: Back Ops 6, the next installment in Activision’s popular first-person shooter franchise, will be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch, Microsoft confirmed on Tuesday. All Game Pass subscribers will be able to play the game on day one. The confirmation comes days after reports claimed the Xbox parent was planning to put the next Call of Duty on its game subscription service.
Microsoft has gone big on Xbox Game Pass, bringing all of its first-party titles to the service at launch. That strategy, however, cost Xbox sales of its exclusive games. Bringing Call of Duty, one of the world’s best-selling game franchises, to Game Pass would likely result in subscriber growth, but could also hurt direct sales. On Game Pass, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be playable at launch at no additional cost to subscribers on Xbox consoles, PCs and other supported devices.
In January, Microsoft released Game Pass subscriber numbers after a hiatus of more than two years, confirming that the service has 34 million subscribers. While that represents a 36 percent jump from the numbers recorded more than two years ago, game subscription services have struggled to add new paying members of late. Game industry analyst Mat Piscatella argued earlier this month that spending on non-mobile game subscription services has stalled. “March 2024 non-mobile video game subscription spending was up just 1% from April 2023 figures….” he said in his X post at the time.
Earlier this month, Microsoft shut down several game studios under its umbrella, including Tango Gameworks developer Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall developer Arkane Austin, to shift focus to its “priority games.” While Redfall launched to negative reception and fell short of Microsoft’s expectations, Hi-Fi Rush was, in the company’s own words, a “breakthrough hit” in “all key metrics and expectations.” However, much of the player count for the rhythm-based action-adventure title is believed to have come from Game Pass rather than direct sales. Releasing Call of Duty, the money-making mass-market franchise, on Game Pass could thus be Microsoft’s biggest bet on a subscription service.
Activision, which was acquired by Microsoft last year, confirmed last week that Black Ops 6 will be the next Call of Duty title. The publisher plans to fully reveal the game at a Direct presentation right after the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9. Activision has revealed little about the game so far, releasing a few teasers and a live-action trailer since the game was confirmed. Microsoft said it will share more details about Black Ops 6 at the Direct showcase, where players can expect “the first in-depth look at gameplay in this dark new chapter in the Black Ops series.
