Microsoft may cancel day-one release of next Call of Duty title on Xbox Game Pass

Microsoft may be reconsidering its Call of Duty strategy for Xbox Game Pass. According to an Insider Gaming report, the company may not offer new Call of Duty titles on day one through Xbox Game Pass. The reported move would be a change from how the company operated after it bought Activision Blizzard in 2023, when new entries in the franchise were made available to subscribers right away. Microsoft hasn't said anything official about any changes, but people in the gaming community are discussing the possibility of revisiting the long-term effects of adding Call of Duty to Game Pass.

Why Microsoft may stop Call of Duty day one releases on Xbox Game Pass

The Call of Duty titles began appearing on Xbox Game Pass in 2024, following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Two of these titles, namely Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7, have just been released and are available on Xbox Game Pass from day one.

Earlier, industry insiders had also pointed out how important this move was. Christopher Dring of GamesIndustry.biz told the BBC in 2024 that Xbox Game Pass games like Call of Duty would be the biggest test for subscription models in gaming. He said, "If Call of Duty can't move the needle in terms of subscriber numbers, probably nothing will."

However, the report claims that Microsoft could be reconsidering this approach. During a recent livestream (seen by Insider Gaming), journalist Jez Corden said he had heard that removing day-one access for Call of Duty this year is a possibility.

“If they take Call of Duty out of Game Pass this year, which is a possibility from what I’ve heard. I think it’ll kind of reveal some of the cracks in the strategy, possibly, but I don’t know,” the report noted Corden saying.

Corden also pointed to potential financial trade-offs tied to including a major franchise like Call of Duty in a subscription model.

“Call of Duty is going to vacuum up a lot of that revenue, which kind of eats into how much money you’ve got month over month to actually get new content. And you need new content to prevent churn. Even in an off year. Call of Duty is so big that it sort of harms Game Pass, but at the same time, the idea that you don’t have to buy Call of Duty and get it for cheaper kind of also hurts Call of Duty in reverse,” he added.

The reported strategy change also comes amid leadership changes within Microsoft’s gaming division, following the appointment of Asha Sharma as CEO of Microsoft Gaming after Phil Spencer’s retirement.