Rumors have been circulating that the Call of Duty franchise will finally be making its way to Xbox Game Pass, and in a pretty major way. We’ve put together 5 reasons why we believe this step will be a big deal for Microsoft and the Xbox brand.
Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft plans a major shakeup of its video game sales strategy by releasing the next entry in the Call of Duty series to Xbox Game Pass at launch instead of Activision’s prior approach of having the popular first-person shooter series only being available for purchase. Xbox president Sara Bond admitted as much during an earlier interview with Bloomberg, as she said that games from across Microsoft’s whole slate will become a part of Xbox Game Pass on the day of their release. While day one releases are nothing new for Xbox Game Pass users, it’s the availability of Call of Duty that will be a pivotal moment for the subscription service.
1. Best Selling Title Each Year
Call of Duty has proven time and again to be one of the most successful franchises in gaming history. Each annual release finds its way to the top of sales charts, and it continues to sell even after the release of the next big title in the series. There’s no denying the pull Activision’s first-person shooter series has on the gaming community. Having a game of this degree of popularity and commercial worth appear day one on a subscription service can potentially change the way people choose to consume their games as well as their choice of platform.
2. GAAS Model Is Ideal For Subscription Services
It’s no secret that live service games offer long-term engagement with the community, and it’s these kind of games that have the potential to greatly benefit a game subscription service like Xbox Game Pass. A Call of Duty game will continue to drive new users with a healthy dose of content updates.
3. Battle Pass & Cosmetics Revenue
By removing the barrier of having to spend $70 on the latest Call of Duty title, Microsoft will expect a larger influx of subscribers willing to engage with the game’s live service element. There will be lost sales, but the idea is that the live service revenue will more than make up for it, and that’s not even counting the monthly subscription fee that a user will continue to pay over time.
4. Additional Revenue Via New Subscription Tier & Pricing
According to rumors, Microsoft is looking to revise Xbox Game Pass pricing and tiers with the addition of the Call of Duty franchise to its game catalog. Currently, the lower tier of the subscription service, Xbox Game Pass Core, is available for $9.99 a month, and the higher tier, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, is available for $16.99 a month. These tiers are expected to be rebranded and their prices are expected to increase. This will present an additional avenue for the company to generate revenue from each subscriber.
5. Game Pass Exclusive Seasonal Content & Perks
While Microsoft had previously stated that that the Call of Duty experience would be the same across all platforms it is available on, it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility for the company to sneak in some exclusive seasonal cosmetics, such as weapon charms, weapons skins, and character skins. Meanwhile, other seasonal content such as new maps and weapons would be made available across all platforms. Furthermore, the company may offers additional perks to Xbox Game Pass subscribers, such as a higher number of weapon loadout slots and double XP tokens.
