Call of Duty: Back Ops 6, the next installment in Activision’s popular first-person shooter series, will be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch, Microsoft confirmed on Tuesday. All Game Pass subscribers can play the game on day one. Reports came out a few days ago that the Xbox parent company was planning to put the next Call of Duty game on its gaming subscription service.
Microsoft is betting big on Xbox Game Pass, bringing all of its first-party games to the service at launch. However, this strategy resulted in declining sales of Xbox exclusive games. Bringing Call of Duty, one of the world’s best-selling game series, to Game Pass could lead to user growth, but it could also ultimately hurt direct sales. On Game Pass, subscribers on Xbox consoles, PC, and other supported devices can play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 for free at launch.
In January of this year, Microsoft provided Game Pass subscriber numbers after more than two years, confirming that the service has 34 million subscribers. While that’s a 36% increase from the number reported two years ago, the gaming subscription service has struggled to add new paying members in recent years. Gaming industry analyst Mat Piscatella claimed earlier this month that spending on non-mobile gaming subscription services has stalled. “Non-mobile video game subscription spending increased just 1% in March 2024 compared to April 2023 data…” he said in an X post at the time.
Earlier this month, Microsoft closed several of its game studios, including Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks and Redfall developer Arkane Austin, in order to shift focus to its “priority games.” While Redfall launched to a poor reception and didn’t live up to Microsoft’s expectations, Hi-Fi Rush was, in the company’s own words, a “breakthrough success” across “all key metrics and expectations.” However, the majority of the rhythm-based action-adventure game’s player base is believed to come from Game Pass, rather than direct sales. So releasing Call of Duty, a mass-market, money-making hit, on Game Pass might be Microsoft’s biggest bet yet on the subscription service.
Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft last year, confirmed last week that “Black Ops 6” will be the next “Call of Duty” game. The publisher plans to reveal the game in full during a direct demo taking place immediately following the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9. Activision has revealed little information about the game so far, having only released a few teasers and live-action trailers since the game was confirmed. Microsoft said it will share more details about Black Ops 6 during its Direct presentation, and players can look forward to “the first in-depth look at the gameplay of this dark new chapter in the Black Ops series.”