No one would be surprised
The nextCall Of Dutywill arrive on Game Pass on day one, according to anonymous sources. Microsoft’s strategy has long involved releasing all their first-party games on Game Pass, but there had been doubt over whether the same would be true of the first Call Of Duty to be released since Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of publishers Activision.
According tothe Wall Street Journal(paywalled), who cite “people familiar with the matter”, the plans are due to be announced at the Xbox showcase next month. A Microsoft spokeswoman declined the WSJ’s request for comment.
Call Of Duty remains a top seller every year, and even the critically-derided Modern Warfare 3 was the second best-selling game of last year in America. Not bad considering it was released on November 10th.
Those stagnant Game Pass numbers have also been blamedfor the recent closure of the beloved Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, two studios Microsoft picked up in their earlier acquisition of publisher Bethesda.
Microsoft’s Xbox Showcase will take place on June 9th, amid the week of game announcements formerly known as E3.
