The state of Microsoft’s gaming division is not the best one right now. Call of Duty might well be the solution. The company had to put a stop to its four long-hailed gaming studios as a cost-cutting measure. Also, the company recently lost a legal battle against tech incubator Acceleration Bay, resulting in a staggering $23.4 million in patent infringement.
There are also claims that even after putting the whole focus of Xbox on the Game Pass, the subscription service has been seeing flat to low single-digit growth since the middle of 2021. However, the President of Xbox has shared great news that is meant to revive this service to its past glory.
The President of Microsoft’s Gaming Division Shares Exciting News
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, the Xbox President shared some information that might light up the faces of all the Xbox fans. She has confirmed that all the first-party titles will be available on Game Pass from launch day one.
Not only that, she has indicated that Call of Duty also falls on that list. That means there are high chances that the upcoming Call of Duty 2024, aka Black Ops 6, will launch Day One on Game Pass.
This is what the President had to say about Game Pass and the potential releases on this subscription service:
And the last piece is about game passes. We know our core users love game passes. A game pass is a gaming subscription; you get a whole portfolio of games, but most importantly, you get every single one of the games we build on day one. And the quality and breadth of those games have only been going up over time. And you’re going to see some more really big games going into Game Pass later this year.
When asked if the games would be available from Activision’s portfolio, she confirmed that games across the whole state would be available. She also assured that we were going to see some really amazing things.
Can Game Pass Get Better Thanks to Call of Duty?
Recently, the company had to close four of its gaming studios: Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Studios. All of these studios were a part of ZeniMax Media, which was in turn a subsidiary company of Microsoft’s gaming division.
On the other hand, Activision Blizzard, which is now acquired by Microsoft, has paid a penalty of $23.4 million. The company allegedly used the patents of another company, Acceleration Bay, in two of its gaming titles, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty, which saw the end of nine-year-long legal battles.
Hmm..pay $70 for COD or pay $120 for Fame Pass to borrow COD from Xbox 🤔
— Andy Nelson (@acnelson93) May 10, 2024
So, all these scenes lead to one aspect: Microsoft’s gaming division is right now in a distressed situation. The strategy to launch every first-party title on Game Pass Day 1, including the highly anticipated Call of Duty title, may not be enough for the company to sustain itself. According to fans, if the upcoming Activision shooter is priced at $70, then it would not make much sense to borrow it through Game Pass after paying an additional $50.
What’s your take on this decision? Let us know in the comments.
