Call of Duty may stop launching into Game Pass, Xbox possibly rethinking strategy

There are rumors and rumblings that Microsoft could pull Call of Duty from Game Pass, potentially nixing day-and-date releases or removing the series from the service altogether.

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Call of Duty might get pulled from Game Pass at some point, possibly in a bid to lower the price of the service. During a recent video, Windows Central reporter Jez Corden mentioned that he's heard talk of Call of Duty being removed from the high-margin service. This could theoretically hit two birds with one stone: reducing Game Pass Ultimate's price while preserving the full value of Call of Duty game sales.

"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...but I don't know," Corden, who closely monitors the goings-on within Xbox and Microsoft, said in a video on his YouTube channel.

Call of Duty's inclusion into Game Pass has affected sales. Before Microsoft acquired Activision in 2023, the Call of Duty franchise would sell tens of millions of games a year. In one year, the series sold 25 million copies, and 2019's Modern Warfare reboot alone sold 41 million copies. That's one singular Call of Duty game easily outselling franchises that have been around for decades.

As per Bloomberg, Call of Duty full game sales were down $300 million in 2024.

The info was a stark reminder of how Game Pass can cannibalize, or replace, game sales--instead of buying Black Ops 6 at the full $70 price, gamers could just buy a month of Game Pass Ultimate. Even two months of Game Pass' highest tier ($60) would be cheaper than buying a new Call of Duty at full price.

Interestingly enough, Microsoft themselves seemed to refute this with company CEO Satya Nadella saying that Black Ops 6 was the "biggest Call of Duty release ever," and also saying that full game sales on PlayStation and Steam were up 60% from 2023.

In any case, Microsoft is undoubtedly converting Call of Duty into a digital-first asset, positioning it as a leading reason to buy into Game Pass. But those days might be numbered.

Other reports said that current Xbox CEO Asha Sharma was looking at ways to lower the price of Game Pass, and even went so far as to brainstorm ideas with fellow entertainment rivals like Netflix.

An interesting side note to that interaction: Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters outright said that Microsoft may still not understand its own service, or at the very least, didn't understand how to make it work for the company's needs.

Game Pass has proven to be a disruptive behemoth of a service that has upended Microsoft's business model, but in a strategic way that's entirely self-devised.

What isn't devised, however, are some of the effects of Game Pass, as the service can create an interesting and unique competitive environment where all of Microsoft's first-party studios are vying for engagement and playtime in an attempt to capture portions of Game Pass subscription spending.

Ultimately, though, it's up to Microsoft to determine the best ways to ensure its teams aren't battling needlessly with one another while the subscription rakes in billions of dollars.

As Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has affirmed, Game Pass isn't hurting for money--the service generated nearly $5 billion in 2024.

"Frankly, I think Microsoft's still trying to figure out how to make the Game Pass bundle work for Microsoft,"Peterse said in an interview with The Information.