Activision’s juggernaut FPS franchise, Call of Duty, might be arriving on Xbox Game Pass sooner than later, as a new store message has teased an imminent arrival.
Microsoft forever changed the gaming industry in 2022 with its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. While the unprecedented $70 billion deal has certainly had its setbacks in courts around the globe, the buyout is nearing completion and with that, all of the publishing giant’s IP will soon be controlled by Microsoft.
Naturally, after spending such an exorbitant amount of money, gamers have been wondering if Activision’s biggest franchise will be making its way to Microsoft’s subscription service. While earlier comments suggested it’s certainly possible, it now appears all but guaranteed.
A leaked message on the Xbox store may have just let slip CoD’s imminent arrival on the platform.
(FYI) If you try to buy Call of Duty: Black Ops II in the Store you get a very peculiar message that says:"You receive this item for free with your gaming subscription. Continue to check out and use it forever!"Looks like Activision already preparing for CoD games for… pic.twitter.com/6UfYspCcwk
— Alan Feely (@IdleSloth84_) September 24, 2023
News of this message began circulating on September 24, as Brazillian gamers noticed a new line of text appearing after trying to purchase one specific CoD game.
“You receive this item for free with your game subscription,” a translated message reads for those trying to buy Black Ops 2. “Continue to finish and be able to use it forever.”
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In another instance, fans appear to have added CoD Ghosts to their Game Pass library for no additional costs as well. All the signs seem to be indicating an imminent launch for the franchise on the subscription service.
For the time being, however, Microsoft nor Activision has commented on the news in recent weeks. The last public discussion on the topic came back in August when Phil Spencer advised fans that it takes time to port titles over to Game Pass.
“There is actually work to do to move games to Game Pass. People think the deal closes, and it’s all on Game Pass. That’s not true. It will take us time to get the games on Game Pass.”
For now, we’ll just have to continue holding our breath and wait to see when CoD might launch on Game Pass. Though if this new leak is anything to by, we might not be waiting much longer.
This year’s Modern Warfare 3 release goes live on November 10. Perhaps by then, it could very well be a day one addition on Game Pass.