Could Call of Duty come to Xbox Game Pass? A new report suggests that Microsoft doesn’t even know
A bad week for Xbox gets worse
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A new report suggests that debates have been raging insideMicrosoftregarding whether newCall of Dutyreleases should be made available as part of theXbox Game Passsubscription service.
The information comes from Tom Warren ofThe Verge, who reports that the debate “has been ongoing internally for quite some time” and mainly centers around concerns that “the revenue theCall of Dutytypically generates for ActivisionBlizzardwill be undermined by [Xbox] Game Pass.”
This revelation seems to contradict previous messaging from Microsoft, which has suggested that players should expect to see more major titles likeCall of Dutycoming to the service. For example, in a special edition of the Official Xbox Podcastposted in February this year, the company expressed a desire to bring “both new releases and classic games” by Activision Blizzard toXbox Game Pass.
The potential addition ofCall of Dutygames to Xbox Game Pass was one of the biggest reasons why some expressed strong support for Microsoft’s purchase ofCall of Dutyowner Activision Blizzard, which closed in October last year following a protracted period of scrutiny from regulators including the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
While this news is unlikely to enamor many current Xbox Game Pass subscribers, it comes on top of a week of disastrous headlines for Microsoft. This began with the surprise closure ofmultiple studiosincluding Tango Gameworks - the developer behind the critically acclaimedHi-Fi Rush. Arkane Austin was shut down too, reportedlyright before the release of a major updatefor its troubled vampire first-person shooter (FPS)Redfall.
The closure of Arkane Austin came alongside the announcement that development had ceased on the game, abandoning the promised Hero Pass downloadable content (DLC) that was available to purchase as part of the game’s premium ‘Bite Back Edition’. While Microsoft has announced a compensation plan for players who were unlucky enough to have bought this content, there are very few concrete details about what this actually means right now.
TechRadar reached out to Microsoft and Bethesda with a request for comment when the studio closures were first announced, though neither party has responded at this time.
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Dash is a technology journalist who covers gaming hardware at TechRadar. Before joining the TechRadar team, he was writing gaming articles for some of the UK’s biggest magazines including PLAY, Edge, PC Gamer, and SFX. Now, when he’s not getting his greasy little mitts on the newest hardware or gaming gadget, he can be found listening to J-pop or feverishly devouring the latest Nintendo Switch otome.
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