Tech giant, Microsoft, has announced plans to make available on its subscription service the upcoming “Call of Duty” videogame.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft plans to reveal the arrival of Call of Duty on Game Pass on June 9th during the company’s Xbox presentation.
A person acquainted with the facts noted that the new development has been characterised as a major departure from the conventional model of game sales to selling it independently.
It’s unclear from the short Wall Street Journal article whether Microsoft intends to increase the cost of its Game Pass Ultimate membership or if it will charge more for Call of Duty within Game Pass.
Newsng gathered that Microsoft has been thinking about increasing the cost of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate once more.
Following this action, Activision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft in a USD 69 billion deal that was completed last year (2023).
The “Call of Duty” series, one of the most lucrative entertainment franchises with over USD 30 billion in lifetime earnings, has been acquired by Microsoft through this deal.
Activision presently plans to release the next Call of Duty, which is said to take place during the Gulf War in the 1990s, in late October.
Commenting on the move, the Editor for DoubleJump Books, Thomas Wilde said:
“…it’s more likely that Call of Duty on Game Pass will be a final test for Xbox’s current operational strategy. If this falls through, I’d imagine the next move is a big executive shakeup, followed by a series of new initiatives.
The upcoming year will either vindicate or vilify Spencer’s time as head of Xbox, which could either take Call of Duty down a peg or lock it in place as the most valuable IP in the modern games industry.”
We earlier reported that the Microsoft-owned platform, LinkedIn, well-known for its job postings and unsolicited career advice, is entering the gaming industry.
