One of the most successful game series is moving into the next round. Like every year, a new Call of Duty was released in 2024, this time set in the Black Ops universe. As in all previous years, we expect record success reports in the coming days. Call of Duty is alone in the US market The best-selling game every year since 2009with only three exceptions: GTA 5 in 2013, Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018 and Hogwarts Legacy in 2023.
But this time everything is different. The current Call of Duty appeared on Xbox Game Pass on release day and is for subscribers The PC and Ultimate versions can be played at no additional cost.
Of course, that makes sense, after all, it's not without reason that Microsoft put over $70 billion on the table to buy Activision Blizzard. MS can do the shooter After a deal with Sony, it won't be exclusive to Game Passbut at least they can compete with more attractive pricing through their subscription model. A strategy with which Microsoft certainly wants to attract more players to itself and Game Pass. After all, the software giant has nothing less in mind than being the Netflix for gamers. Show that leaked slides from a 2020 presentation where MS talks about 110 million Game Pass users by 2030 wanting to win.
A different starting point
These were predictions and wishes that were expressed during the gaming boom of the pandemic. But since then the numbers have looked anything but promising when it comes to gamer Netflix. 25 million users Xbox Game Pass recorded at the beginning of 2022. It was at the beginning of 2024 then 34 million – which would be crazy if not over 11 million of them from the renaming the Xbox Gold membership would come from. A number that Microsoft did not release voluntarily, but that came to light during negotiations with the FTC regarding the Activision-Blizzard deal. However, all official sources are now blacked out.
Microsoft doesn't like to give out really tangible numbers, but… Anyone can see their financial reports. It says that while Xbox hardware sales are permanently declining, gaming division sales have skyrocketed following the purchase of Activision Blizzard. If you take out the new purchase and the numbers from Activision and Blizzard, however, the same remains only a few percent left. A clear indication that Xbox Game Pass is not growing as much as we would like.
Source: Treyarch
The fact that Activision Blizzard is driving up sales so much proves that MS is right by purchasing the developer houses. But it also shows how important the underlying brands are for the future of the company.
Integrating Call of Duty into Xbox Game Pass is not as risk-free as it seems at first glance. Because MS directly foregoes sales of the full-price title without the security of recouping the same amounts through its subscription service. With a purchase price for CoD of 80 euros and a minimum contribution of 12 euros for PC Game Pass, a player would have to subscribe for a little more than half a year to reach a similar amount; for Ultimate users it takes at least 5 months.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose
According to analysts, which is the online magazine Games Industry surveyed, Microsoft also gains fewer users than it loses sales. The subscribers they already have will eventually not sign up for another membership. The most benign forecasts speak of three to four million subscribers gained and six million fewer buyers, while other analyzes speak of only two and a half million additional monthly users.