A well-known leaker claims that the Call of Duty series could ditch Xbox Game Pass as part of Microsoft’s significant strategic shift.

A known Microsoft leaker claims that the Call of Duty series may not be coming to Xbox Game Pass. The addition of the successful shooter franchise to Game Pass was previously cited as one of the biggest consumer benefits of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

After closing the $68.7 billion deal in October, Microsoft has been inundated with fans’ questions about when exactly it plans to catalog its newest subsidiary on the subscription service.

Not long after, Activision Blizzard announced that its games would begin arriving on Game Pass some time in 2024.

Could Call of Duty be staying away as part of Microsoft’s move to third-party publishing?

Although we guessed that the Call of Duty series would not be in the first wave, now it seems that the successful franchise will finally skip the subscription service altogether. Microsoft’s well-known leaker Timdog claims this. On a recent episode of the Gamers Council podcast, he said he “heard” that Call of Duty isn’t coming to Xbox Game Pass.

The insider sarcastically called the move one of Microsoft’s “brilliant ideas” as part of the company’s rumoured shift toward third-party publishing in response to declining Xbox console sales.

The strategic shift, which Microsoft has yet to announce, is rumoured to see many of its existing and upcoming titles in multi-platform forms. Several insiders have reported that Starfield will arrive on PS5 sometime in 2024, among other things. (See our recent article on the subject!) The PlayStation release date is still unclear. But Microsoft is reportedly aiming for Bethesda’s latest title to appear on Sony’s console around the time the Shattered Space expansion arrives on PC and Xbox Series X/S. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is also considered a multi-platform form release.

Xbox Game Pass is said to be profitable, but not sustainable

As for the alleged decision to keep Call of Duty off the Xbox Game Pass, Timdog says the rumoured move is part of Microsoft’s response to realizing that its subscription service is not sustainable in its current form. According to the latest analyst estimates, Game Pass can count on 33.3 million subscribers by December 2023, six and a half years after its debut.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer was recently quoted as saying that the subscription service is profitable but requires a $1 billion annual content investment.

Timdog expects the company to announce the move multi-platformtform release at the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase. The latter is said to be full of new titles. It is not clear when exactly this event is planned. But the announcement can come even earlier. At least that’s what Phil Spencer’s X post yesterday suggests. (See our article linked above.) According to Microsoft’s previous official disclosures, Call of Duty is expected to come to Xbox Game Pass in 2025.

Source: YouTube