Call Of Duty is coming to Xbox Game Pass this October

Microsoft has apparently decided that this year’s Call Of Duty will release day one on Game Pass, according to new insider information.

While Microsoft’s Phil Spencer has previously stated that Call Of Duty will eventually arrive on Xbox Game Pass, following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, there has recently been some doubt as to whether he’ll go through with that promise, especially in regards to this year’s new entry.

The next Call Of Duty, believed to be set during the Gulf War, is expected to be revealed prior to the Xbox Showcase on June 9. Although Microsoft is currently trying to pretend it’s a secret, the special presentation after the showcase is also believed to be dedicated to Call Of Duty.

There’s already a bunch of reveals expected at the Xbox Showcase, including Gears 6, but it now seems like another announcement has been leaked ahead of time.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft will announce that the next instalment of Call Of Duty is coming to Xbox Game Pass during the Xbox Showcase.

While there’s no other details, a report on The Verge suggests Microsoft is considering raising the price of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription fee again (it’s currently £12.99 a month in the UK) to potentially coincide with its release.

According to the report, Activision is ‘targeting a late October release’ for the next Call Of Duty. The past few instalments have come out in either early November or late October, so October 25 sounds like the date they’re gunning for – since Call Of Duty normally always comes out on a Friday.

Along with being set in the Gulf War, the next Call Of Duty is rumoured to have open world elements similar to Far Cry. It’s being developed by Treyarch, who last created 2020’s Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War with Raven Software.

Although Microsoft is unlikely to admit to it, it would be perfectly understandable if there had been internal debate over whether to make the new game a day one Game Pass title, given what that implies for lost revenues in terms of full price sales.

Xbox Series X/S sales have continued to drop over the last year, while Game Pass numbers are also in decline according to recent data.

If any game is going to change attitudes towards Game Pass, and game subscriptions in general, then it’s Call Of Duty. But if it doesn’t move the dial significantly that may be the last roll of the dice as far as the service being the centrepiece of Xbox’s current offerings.