Call of Duty will join Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has confirmed. Activision Blizzard’s game library will be available on the Xbox game subscription service once the acquisition deal is complete, according to a Microsoft blog post. The lineup will also include other quality titles like Overwatch and Diablo. That said, Call of Duty will not be considered an Xbox-exclusive title. Going forward, Call of Duty will launch on Xbox Game Pass, while still maintaining a same-day PlayStation release.
The announcement comes after the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) – the UK’s regulatory body – made the findings. Preliminary investigation Microsoft’s $68 billion (approx. Rs. 5,41,800 crore) purchase of Activision Blizzard. The approval process has entered Phase 2 and requires “thorough investigation”. As part of this new development, Spencer has announced two expansion paths for Xbox, including Call of Duty and other Activision Blizzard titles joining Game Pass. And second: bringing more games to mobile platforms.
Due to the Activision Blizzard acquisition, players were concerned about the Call of Duty franchise being hard-locked to Xbox, enabling PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. But this is new statement, Spencer has reiterated that the company is “committed” to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on launch day. While there are no definitive details yet, this could mean that any console-exclusive bonuses or cosmetic items will be shared between the two platforms.
“We know players benefit from this approach because we’ve done it with Minecraft, which is available on multiple platforms and has grown since Mojang joined Microsoft in 2014,” he added. As Xbox expands its gaming storefront to more devices, it will continue to respect developers’ choices in how they distribute games. In a tweet earlier this year, Spencer noted that Sony was an important part of the gaming industry and wanted to maintain that relationship.
Currently, there are no details on when the Call of Duty lineup will be added to the Xbox. Earlier this month, studio Infinity Ward confirmed an open beta event for the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 remake. The beta phase – starting on September 18 – grants early access to PS4 and PS5, while Xbox and PC players get access over the weekend. With future Call of Duty titles launching on the same day on both consoles, once this edit is complete, we can only expect minor bonuses like “early access” advertised on the Xbox front.
Overwatch – a 6v6 team-based FPS – is another title benefiting from the acquisition, which continues to lose its player base. Due to balancing issues and the sheer volume of hero additions, most players gravitated towards other multiplayer FPS titles like Valorant. Adding it to Game Pass as a free title would be a great way to get traffic back. With Overwatch 2 on the horizon, we could see it release on Game Pass on Day 1. Diablo is also being added to the library, as Blizzard focuses on launching more mobile games.
That said, there is no mention of World of Warcraft on Game Pass, although that may have something to do with the payment system. WoW operates on a monthly recurring subscription basis, where players are asked to pay a monthly minimum of $14.99 (around Rs. 1,193) to keep it running. Including World of Warcraft with Game Pass won’t be easy, as players may be asked to pay extra on top of their Xbox subscription.
Earlier this month, court documents from the Microsoft-CADE trial revealed that the Xbox One sold less than half the units of the PS4 during its lifetime. As of March, PlayStation 4 has sold 117.2 million units, dwarfing Xbox One sales at 58.6 million units. Microsoft stopped releasing console sales information starting in 2015, focusing instead on Xbox Live numbers.
