Microsoft made massive headline news when they unveiled their intentions to purchase Activision Blizzard a while ago. It was a long battle with the various regulators around the world. Ultimately, Microsoft won, and the company expanded quite a bit. However, the main focus for many parties was on Call of Duty. With Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 being released, it’s a wonder how well the game will keep players around for the Xbox platform.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the latest installment in the long-running FPS franchise, which continues to see new installments released yearly. However, this installment was a focal point for so many because it was the first game to be released on the Xbox Game Pass subscription service at launch. Since this is the first title under Microsoft’s control, quite a few are wondering how many players opted to subscribe to the Xbox Game Pass service.
We don’t have a number yet, but recently, BBC had the chance to speak with Miles Leslie, an associate creative director for Treyarch. Miles has been working on Call of Duty for well over a decade now, and he’s found that Xbox Game Pass actually helped get some players onto the title who were still likely on the fence. Earlier in this interview, we reported that it was already noted to be the biggest launch in the franchise, thanks to Xbox Game Pass.
However, IGN made a fantastic point that the real trick is keeping players subscribed to Xbox Game Pass. While it’s great to see that the service allowed players who were on the fence a chance to dive into this game, it won’t be worth it all that much if Microsoft can’t keep them engaged. After all, we’re still waiting to see if some numbers are revealed in terms of just how big of an impact Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 had on new subscribers to Game Pass. These subscribers might not be veteran players who have spent countless hours with previous installments. As a result there could be a good chance we might see subscribers dwindling after the initial curiosity about the latest Call of Duty. Of course, then you have December rolling in, and we’ll see an influx of subscribers simply from new console owners.
It seems that the developers are nowhere close to being done. They might have crossed the finish line with the initial game release and saw a big launch for Xbox Game Pass. Still, they need to ensure there is enough content here to keep them subscribed to Xbox Game Pass until at least next year when we see another iteration of Call of Duty emerge into the marketplace. We’ll be interested in seeing how the service does a few months into 2025 after the holiday season settles and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has been around for a little while.
