On May 17, The Wall Street Journal reported that Call of Duty 2024 will be available on Xbox Game Pass from day one. Following this, a well-known leaker has claimed that Microsoft is planning to adjust the Xbox Game Pass tiers to accommodate this addition.
With reports suggesting that Call of Duty Black Ops 6 will be included in Xbox Game Pass at launch, Microsoft seems prepared to modify the service’s tiers as multiple insiders have indicated that changes are imminent due to the inclusion of Call of Duty.
Insider eXtas1stv tweeted, “We can assure you that changes are coming to the Xbox Game Pass Tiers mainly due to Call Of Duty,” adding that more details would follow soon. This statement was echoed by Shinobi602 on Reset Era, who confirmed, “There will be changes, yes.”
It’s not yet clear whether these changes will involve price adjustments or the introduction of a new premium tier. However, it appears that Xbox Game Pass will undergo further modifications in the future. Currently, Xbox Game Pass offers three plans: Xbox Game Pass Core for consoles at $9.99/month, Game Pass PC for $9.99/month, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for both console and PC at $16.99/month.
Initially, the Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft is expected to reveal the plans during its Xbox showcase event in June. The report stated, “Microsoft plans a major shakeup of its video game sales strategy by releasing the coming installment of Call of Duty to its subscription service instead of the longtime, lucrative approach of only selling it a la carte.” This aligns with recent comments from Xbox president Sarah Bond, who suggested that all Microsoft games—including those created by Activision, which was recently acquired—will debut directly into Game Pass.
Typically, new Call of Duty games sell for $70 and move around 25 million copies, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. By making this year’s Call of Duty available on Game Pass at launch, Microsoft risks undercutting these sales. However, the game will still be available for outright purchase across Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. But Microsoft is under pressure to draw in new customers as Game Pass subscriber growth is stagnating, and adding a mainline Call of Duty game at launch could help bring in more customers.
Moreover, the Verge also reported that Microsoft is considering another price increase for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and that Activision is aiming for a late October 2024 release for this year’s Call of Duty, expected to be named Black Ops 6.
Apart from the potential price hikes, Microsoft might introduce new subscription tiers. For instance, there have been long-standing rumors about an ad-supported tier for Xbox Game Pass, although nothing like that has been confirmed.
While rumors should be taken with caution, eXtas1stv has a reliable track record with Microsoft-related leaks, recently predicting the Xbox Game Pass debut of Lords of the Fallen. Thus, the potential for these changes is significant. However, we are still awaiting an official announcement from Microsoft.
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