Call of Duty on Game Pass expected to bring at least four million new subscribers

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has officially landed, acting as the very first COD game released under Microsoft. Naturally, the game has also been a major day-one title for Xbox Game Pass. Currently, analysts are predicting that Game Pass will gain around four million new subscribers thanks to the Black Ops 6 launch. 

Analysts speaking with GI.biz, including Wedbush Securities director, Michael Pachter, claimed that while Game Pass should net positive growth from the launch of Black Ops 6, it may come at the cost of around six million sales.

Call of Duty typically sells tens of millions of copies worldwide and is regularly a top-ten charting game in the US and Europe. The game also generates more through battle pass sales, as well as the skin store, which has received growth from a wave of high profile collaborations in recent years.

With those points in mind, I'm sure Microsoft would be fine with a trade-off in sales that minor. We also have to take into account that not all Game Pass subscribers will have access to Black Ops 6. To play the game through Game Pass on Xbox consoles, you will need a Game Pass Ultimate subscription. However, standard Game Pass for PC subscribers will get day-one access to the game, as Microsoft is seeking to grow Game Pass on the PC platform.

KitGuru Says: At some stage next week, I expect we'll hear something about the game being the biggest day-one launch on Game Pass ever, and perhaps some record setting player numbers for the COD franchise. Whether all of that will translate into strong long-term sales remains to be seen. 

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