Phil Spencer announced that Call of Duty games will be part of Xbox Game Pass. Sadly though, we will have to wait quite a while for it. We have all the details.
You do remember that Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard, right? I mean, sure you do, after all, that's the biggest deal in gaming history... However, even so, the shareholders already approved it, the acquisition is not finalized yet. In a recent blog post on the official Microsoft page, CEO Phil Spencer now spoke about the future of Activision Blizzard and about the plans he has when the deal finally goes through. So what exactly did he say, and what does the buyout mean for Call of Duty?
Call of Duty Coming to Game Pass... In The Future
Yes, that's right, Phil Spencer announced that they will add Activision Blizzard games to Game Pass. His exact words were:
We intend to make Activision Blizzard’s much-loved library of games – including Overwatch, Diablo and Call of Duty – available in Game Pass and to grow those gaming communities.
This sounds pretty amazing for all the Xbox and PC gamers out there. Game Pass is already the best gaming subscription service out there, and it will only get better with Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard. But hold up, what about all the poor PlayStation kiddies? After all, Call of Duty has been especially popular on PlayStation in the past and even now, has some exclusive deals for Early Access and in-game items. But hey, don't you worry, Phil Spencer is a really nice guy. Here is what he had to say about people being concerned that CoD will be Xbox exclusive:
We’ve heard that this deal might take franchises like Call of Duty away from the places where people currently play them. That’s why, as we’ve said before, we are committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day the game launches elsewhere. We will continue to enable people to play with each other across platforms and across devices.
Also, Microsoft just confirmed, in documents filed with the UK's CMA that Activision Blizzard and Sony’s current Call of Duty agreement includes a clause blocking Call of Duty from being available on Xbox Game Pass for a number of years. This is what the document says:
The agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony includes restrictions on the ability of Activision Blizzard to place Call of Duty titles on Game Pass for a number of years.
This means that CoD will not be part of Game Pass for at least a few more years. If you ask us, this comes as no surprise. Why would Microsoft give up revenue from PlayStation players? Game Pass is already incredibly successful and will only grow stronger with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, they clearly have no need at all to make those games exclusive and thus miss out on the huge PS market.
And that's it. That's all the news: Call of Duty will come to Game Pass, so make sure you get your subscription soon.