How Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Game Pass Will Impact Xbox and PlayStation

Microsoft has confirmed that the upcoming Call of Duty premium release will be available on its Game Pass subscription service from launch, promising to drive interest in the service and potentially disrupt Sony's full-game sales. While predicting the exact commercial impact is challenging, the move is likely to have a significant effect due to Activision's product strategy and the terms of its acquisition by Microsoft. By including Call of Duty in Game Pass, Microsoft is building on its established strategy of releasing first-party games directly to the service, which has driven consumer adoption in recent years. Following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, there was speculation about whether Call of Duty would be included in Game Pass, but excluding it would have undermined the service's positioning and appeal. Adding new Call of Duty releases to Game Pass will attract new and lapsed subscribers, mostly at the Ultimate and PC Game Pass tiers. Although this move will be expensive for Microsoft, several factors will help reduce costs while maximizing the positive impact on subscription numbers. These factors include driving upsell to Game Pass Ultimate, offering early access to premium edition buyers, and monetizing the game through in-game purchases, as Call of Duty is now primarily a live-service game. Additionally, Microsoft's agreement to allow third-party cloud gaming services access to future Call of Duty games will expose more gamers to the franchise. Sony will likely face commercial disruption, but the live-service nature of Call of Duty and its free-to-play component, Warzone, will lessen the impact. According to Ampere's data, Call of Duty has a large and active player base across PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam, with around 22-26 million monthly active users. While some gamers may switch to Xbox to play the premium campaign, cross-platform play and multi-platform accounts mean this is not necessarily a permanent decision. The move may also influence console buyers who are yet to upgrade, with Call of Duty gamers being high spenders on games, services, and accessories, which could boost Xbox's player base revenue.