Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in October 2023, and Xbox players were expecting that Call of Duty would finally be coming to Xbox’s Game Pass service. However, a leaker has now revealed that the franchise might never come to the service despite Microsoft Activision.
Microsoft has been in the news for a few days after reports suggested that the company is planning to release Xbox-exclusive titles on competitor platforms, and this information has shattered the hopes of the shooter franchise ever coming to Game Pass.
Leaker Claims Call of Duty Isn’t Coming to Game Pass
The leak comes via reputable Microsoft leaker Timdog from the latest episode of the Gamers Council podcast, where Timdog said that he has “heard” from his source that Call of Duty won’t be coming to Game Pass and sarcastically called this one of the “brilliant ideas” of Xbox.
Timdog didn’t reveal which titles from the franchise wouldn’t join the service, but it’s expected that new releases won’t be coming. The leaker said that this is because of Microsoft’s change in business strategy, which is also rumored to see various Xbox exclusives released on multiple platforms due to a decline in console sales.
Timdog also said that the hardware sales haven’t met expectations, and even after massive discounts, any change hasn’t been seen. Although Timdog has been accurate multiple times, it’s important to know that none of this is confirmed as of now. This change, if indeed true, will break players’ hearts who were expecting that after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard was done, the CoD games would be coming to Game Pass.
The leaker also said that the decision to keep Call of Duty from joining the subscription service was because the service was unsustainable and the current market was not enough to meet the costs. Xbox head Phil Spencer, too, has previously said that while the service is profitable, it needs a higher annual investment than what it currently has.
Call of Duty Was Previously Said to Join Game Pass in 2024
When Microsoft completed the $67.8 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard back in October 2023 after nearly two years of legal battle, it was assumed that Xbox would bring popular games from the developer like Call of Duty, Diablo, and Warcraft. However, Spencer announced later that month that the games would not be coming to the service immediately.
He further said that the company is excited about the future, and even though Spencer did not give the specifics, he added that the games would make their way to the service sometime in 2024. But now it seems like it isn’t going to happen, and players would have to pay full price for the game. This could probably be announced at the next business update event that Phil Spencer teased could be happening next week.
There are also chances that Xbox could announce its rumored plans to go multi-platform with its existing and upcoming titles at this event itself.
The games that are rumored to be on the list include Xbox exclusives like Starfield, Indiana Jones, Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, and many more.
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