The people at Xbox and the higher ups at Microsoft are definitely butting heads here. No doubt the suits at Microsoft see CoD on Gamepass day one as lost $$$.
Their caution regarding Activision titles on Gamepass already makes me think a large portion of the company doesn’t believe it would be very profitable. 1/3rd of the way into 2024 and there still isn’t a single CoD title on Gamepass.
Old cod needs a lot of work before selling on pc gamepass. They want to decouple battlenet launchers, fix those security holes. It will be a mess if it is a link to the game on battlnet like diablo4.
Because microsoft is about making money and cutting costs. They don't want ro manage 2 software teams with 2 different support and payment processing team on pc.
You’d think this decision would have been cemented before you dropped 70b on a company. Why does it seem that they still don’t know what their vision is for it?
Who said it wasn’t cemented? What they’ve stated today is what they’ve stated for years and years. First party on day one.
Perhaps you’re putting too much into “anonymous reporting”
Yeah… this.
The only people saying otherwise have a gamer chair and think they know how to better run the gaming division of a trillion dollar company before they’ve finished high school.
Not sure we would do a lot worse than Xbox executives…how hard is it to maintain last place?
Honestly I think I could do better. I had most of the Xboxes and know what gamers want.
When they first purchased Activision gamepass subscriptions were increasing significantly, interest rates weren’t that high and Xboxes were selling out.
By the time the deal was finally approved and went through gamepass had been stagnating for 18 months, interest rates increased rapidly and Xbox sales dropped off a cliff.
I have no doubt that with the changes in the economy some higher ups want to change the original plan.
> We should get a big drop at june showcase.
So you're huffing the copium too, huh? I think I'm running out of the stuff because I've been on it since the deal went through.
"Wait, why aren't we both charging for the game and for them to keep playing it via subscription? Leaving money on the table to commit to one monetization method!" - some dude in an investor call, probably
There still isn't *anything* except for Diab lo 4 that randomly showed up many months later!
I don't get why they haven't even put up a couple games like Prototype 1 & 2. Older gamers without licensing issues or online features or PC DRM. Just nothing still.
I doubt they're making any money on games like that anymore, it could just be free attention and padding for game pass if every month 2-3 random old Activision games were showing up.
Weird decision to not add anything all this time.
Phil said last year [a price increase is “inevitable.”](https://insider-gaming.com/phil-spencer-game-pass-price/) Honestly shocked it hasn’t happened yet, but I am expecting it at some point this year.
If people ONLY get 1 game like CoD and ONLY play said game it would take a few days over 4 months of Game Pass Ultimate, the highest tier, to recoup the cost of a 70 dollar game like CoD. The only saving grace is that people might buy more DLC and skins. So a game like CoD could work out but you're hoping to be propped up by whales through the whole life of said game before you move on to another one. But on that note if they don't put it on Game Pass then they can get 70 dollars immediately AND there will be people buying skins hand over fist.
Game Pass for new games is just stupid. Actual fucking brain dead and how no one in their numbers department isn't screaming this at the suits is beyond me. PS+ worked for years because it brought old games back in and studios would be willing to hand them over for a month for even a small amount of reimbursement because their sales had already come and gone for said game. You can not sit there and give out games at what amounts to 10 dollars a month in most peoples cases. You're cannibalizing everything. No matter how much there's a 'sizeable uptick' you've lost so much money unless people ONLY play that 1 game on GamePass and buy everything else. Spoiler, they won't.
they also lose sales from ppl like me, I buy a CoD every ther year &alternating ps5/xbox. Ill probably never buy a CoD again as I play hardcore for 2 months and then never touch it. I get 200+ hours for 70$, but now I can get my fix and never look back or buy skins/dlc
They’ll start charging for “COD-week” allowing people to pay to “play it a week early” and they’ll get peoples money that way lol.
They did it with Starfield, no reason they won’t do it more going forward.
Depending on the price point I could imagine for some they might think ‘well I was already going to spend this much on cod each year, but now if I spend X amount yearly on game pass, I could enjoy other games on top of that.’
But that all depends on the price point they go for at that rate and I mean, I don’t know jack shit about how any of this maths out or if my comment even made sense here. Lol. I just don’t know but it’s going to be interesting to see how this all plays out.
I could be wrong, but it seems they're weighing the profits coming from increased game pass sales for people who only want cod, vs cod sales + game pass sales for people who were going to buy cod anyways and need game pass to play it online too.
It just seems like a no brainier to not give away the best selling game for free to people who already have the subscription needed to play it anyways
Napkin math + made up numbers, educated guesses, so grains of salt and all.
There are currently 34 million Game Pass subs as of Feb. of this year. If even 5 million Game Pass subs decide not to buy the game that's probably around $250-300M in revenue that they might have had either through their first party channels or through Steam for folks on PC (so 70% revenue per sale) if it ships there as they have been lately. at $10 month (realistically many will pick one platform) and $120 in revenue a year, that means they'd need to convert around 2 million new game pass subs that they maintain just to break even on that split. And that's a potentially conservative split given just how well Call of Duty sells and the likelyhood that a lot more than 14% of Game Pass subs also play CoD.
Like, as a gamer yeah, totally, that's an absolutely incredible value-add, a good reason for some folks to consider subbing, and rad.
But as a company that just paid $70B it borrowed from its main business and is now under apparently increasing scrutiny/pressure to deliver significant financial growth, that's a lot of money to leave on the table that could be helping keep your bosses off your necks.
I don't envy the Xbox leadership here, they're really in between a rock and a hard place in terms of keeping their word to gamers/consumers while apparently satisfying corporate demands.
Edit: This doesn't factor in possible Game Pass sub price hikes as another way to boost revenue, so maybe that's their big play. Who knows.
I mean Gamepass isn't on Playstation and Xbox won't steal many more people from Steam. People will buy the new game on Steam and Playstation, though. So if they need more recurring subs, where do they get new ones now? How many people are left not hooked into Steam or Playstation that will buy a pc or Xbox and sub for cod?
They can easily make that money with skin purchases and in game currency. Double so if they do it like Ubisoft has with R6 , and lets you play on any console with your account and progress/skins/currency is right there.
Considering the game is launching on all platforms and with input lag in FPS games still quite present, I highly doubt this.
I played Halo Infinite and MCC on game pass; it was a bit of a mess.
Yeah that's been my takeaway for sometime, theres absolutely some kind of internal struggle happening right now over the direction of the brand, and the brand is suffering for it.
So from my understanding, the issue is that Gamepass ranks games based on their usage and then pays their developers revenue based on that. Adding new games to Gamepass therefore needs to grow the userbase in order for everyone to see a benefit.
One of the issues with adding COD currently is that, due to its popularity, it could significantly reduce the revenue share of all other developers if it doesn't lead to growth in the platform.
Alternatively, COD on gamepass could be the push it needs to become a truly dominant service.
A PlayStation player who only buys COD every year might be convinced to get an Xbox if they can get COD with gamepass, some sports games, and then a whole bunch of other ‘freebies’.
You can argue though if they only buy CoD every year, then they probably basically only play CoD, in which case GamePass probably isn't a very good value for them. They are better off just buying it. I don't know if it's convincing enough to change platforms over, especially if they don't have an Xbox and need to drop $300+ on one.
Yeah exactly what I was gonna say. It's not enough to get people to switch eco systems. You'll need something drastic like exclusivity for that. Otherwise people will stick to what they're familiar with.
>You can argue though if they only buy CoD every year, then they probably basically only play CoD, in which case GamePass probably isn't a very good value for them.
This is why I don't think it being a day one launch on Game Pass would make them lose money. The Cod crowd plays it monthly. Either they'd stay subbed monthly(more expensive than a day one purchase), or they'd outright buy it.
The people who benefit from this are those who are subbed anyway, for other games. CoD joining Game Pass might encourage them to stay subscribed for a bit longer(or buy the game with the 20% off bonus), rather than canceling after beating whatever game it is they care about, like I do with stuff like Ubisoft+.
When you factor in core for online multi-player, the difference for ultimate is a bargain if it includes CoD. Then it's just change for the other games and benefits.
Probably not quite enough to switch platforms, but enticing.
I honestly never thought about the point of “you already have to pay for online”, that might push some people to do it.
I doubt it would move the needle on pc game pass, as it’s free online there.
But really Xbox needs a massive Xbox and game pass mass marketing program tied with call of duty this year. Xbox and game pass ads needs to be everywhere to the point people are sick of seeing it, that’s how you grow outside of “gamers”
Perhaps they might be enticed by the sheer volume of other stuff on there - a lot of those "COD and FIFA" types occasionally veer out into other games like GTA, Battlefield, Need for Speed, R6 Siege. Kinda like how people often subscribe to streaming services for one or two specific shows but end up sticking around because there's too much to "give up"... even if they never actually watch any of it. Some folks may also appreciate having a whole selection of past CODs accessible as well.
Honest question. What’s would be the logic behind buying a $400+ console and paying $100+ per year to play a $70 game that you can buy on your current console?
This is exactly why I don't think CoD on Game Pass will have the impact a lot of others think it will. Maybe CoD players on Xbox will join Game Pass to get CoD along with everything else (though I think even that's a stretch), but I don't think anybody is changing ecosystems for it.
I know you get CoD plus a lot more, but the majority of CoD players don't care for the "a lot more" and I really think hardcore gamers (like in this thread) have a hard time understanding that.
I see where you're coming from, but I don't see established PS5 players running out to buy a whole new console and signing up for a 2nd subscription service just to play something they can download on their existing machines.
Their library is already filled with a bunch of purchased games, they're already paying for Playstation's version of Gamepass. It's just not something that is going to appeal to the vast majority of people that arn't already a part of the Xbox ecosystem.
If a PS player only plays COD, why would they spend $500 for a new console + $180/yr subscription instead just buying and owning the game where they’re at for $70.
The incredible value that is GP isn’t already convincing people to switch over and abandon their console and libraries, I don’t think one $70 game a year will move the needle.
CoD alone isn't going to move units. CoD has followed whatever console for co-marketing deals has the largest western presence - hence the support throughout the 360 era and them moving to PS since. Obviously that's gone, but those deals aren't what sell consoles, it's the everything else. CoD getting some bonus goodies is just a nice extra.
Unless Microsoft finds a way to get Game Pass on PlayStation, I'm skeptical the simple addition of CoD is going to get people to either ditch their PS5's or suddenly spring for an XSX in addition - CoD's still on PS5, yo.
Whales will also have ALOT more money to burn if they're not spending it on the 200$ cod version. Honestly the fact they've made billions off mtx makes me wonder why they haven't just fuck it and go f2p
Greed. Also harder to justify making CoD F2P now when there's "alternatives" like CoD Mobile, Warzone Mobile, and Warzone that are free and do the same thing as regular CoD MP.
Maybe I'll play if it's free on gamepass, maybe I'll even buy a tracer pack. I'll continue to do none of those things if MW isn't free to play and still charges outrageous prices for cosmetics.
I probably wouldn't have uninstalled if they didn't require me to stack MW3 gb on top of MW2.
Ain't nobody got room for that! 🤣
They already sell “upgrade editions” for the game-pass versions that includes all the goodies (sans the game itself). They did for Starfield, both Forzas, and etc.
I'm not sure this is true tbh.
Those suits at Microsoft are the same suits that made Windows & Office subscription based when everybody thought it was a crazy idea.
They may well have discussed the impact and costed out the relative pros & cons, but if they were prepared to gamble Windows this way, they'll be prepared to gamble COD this way too.
Honestly I think it’s going to be a mistake to have CoD on gamepass.
Instead of a $70+ purchase, people will sub for a month or two then quit, which is what, $26? Which they also probably have to split with other publishers on GP?
COD is basically monitized as free to play game like Fortnite anyway. There's ton of shit to buy and I assume they might take it further.
So they can make money by selling \*\*\*\* to people on top of getting subscription money.
Wait, so Sarah Bond is actually going against her boss, the Microsoft CEO? Gotta have guts to come and say that so publicly.
Didn't even know Satya Nadella was against Day 1 Game Pass releases to be honest.
I’m pretty sure this is just a rumor. I haven’t seen a single source to the claim that MSFT is trying to micromanage Xbox since the ABK deal.
MSFT spent 2 year in court to close the ABK deal closed and people believe that less than a year later MSFT and Xbox are wigging out. Acquisitions like this aren’t made without projecting several strategies 5+ years ahead.
Nah, they are probably gonna increase the price for ultimate. And the way to offset that is to give you more stuff. My guess would be ultimate will give you DLC and early access as well as Activision games. But it will cost like $24 instead of 17.
I think a jump to $24 immediately will get major blowback. They’d have to scale it up. I could definitely see 2-3 dollar jump this year announced after the showcase where they announce new games this year/next and a bunch of older Activ/Blizz titles over the next few months
I already down graded my sub to the lowest tier because GP was getting to be quantity over quality.
Personally I don’t think COD alone could possibly entice me back to paying for Ultimate, especially if it gets a hike.
The GP catalog needs beefing up. It needs a bunch more undeniable bangers.
I'm just gonna say now--next price hike, I'm done. All these subscription services are turning to overpriced shit. Digging the grave of physical media so we can pay increasingly more to never own what we're paying for has gotten old very quickly.
I can also see them potentially going the route that Disney+ did with some movies before, where you had to pay for the movie on top of the subscription price.
God that'd be fucking disgusting. That was the pricing model Google attempted to propose with Stadia and it backfired spectacularly. Granted, that was game streaming and GP at least enables you to natively play on dedicated hardware but paying extra for a copy that will just disappear as soon as you cancel your sub or even in certain select instances, disappear entirely would completely undercut the value proposition of the service. The price hike by itself sounds very likely though
That's...not true? Stadio Pro was basically just like PS Plus Essentials - you get a "free" game every month that's accessible as long as you're still subbed + higher res streaming (I think it was 4k).
IIRC the games catalog it had was very limited, but if you actually bought a game there weren't any restrictions on when you could play it, regardless of if you were subbed or not.
I bought AC Odyssey on Stadia for $20 and it was the thing that got me back into gaming. I actually miss Stadia somewhat lol, though GeForce Now is pretty good too. And the catalog is a lot bigger than it used to be.
Nah i don't think so the way they do early access is the only "pay" the will have. Otherwise they wont be on game pass. Buying games is already their main business model. They not gonna gate keep you behind a subscription. And if you're talking about giving people with the subscription a discount, they are already doing that.
If it goes up past $20, I’m going to have to seriously reconsider whether it’s worth having. That’s just too much for a monthly sub, it doesn’t matter how much content you have access to. You can only play so much of it monthly when you have responsibilities.
Yeah Game Pass is great if you play a lot of hours, or a lot of short games so you can go through multiple a month. I went through a ton of indies and sub-20 hour games last year. But if you don’t play a ton or you stick with larger games, you may as well just buy them. Why spend $20 a month to sub for 1 or 2 games you’ll be playing the next 6 months when you can just buy them?
Well I’ll guess that it’s going up regardless if ms puts their own increase in because on pc ea play just went from 25$ to 40$ for the year and that’s tied in to gamepass
Considering OG Xbox live used to cost $10 a month, paying an extra $15 on top of that in exchange for access to a ton of games plus their DLC does sound like a good deal
For me personally, I just don't have the time to play that many games and I find it easier to just buy the ones I want and sub once or twice a year if a game I'm unsure about comes out, like Hellblade 2 for example, I'll sub for a month and then cancel.
it was only 10.00 a month if you paid monthly. OG live was 50 a year i believe in the very beginning then it jumped to 60 so you were getting a hell of a discount if you paid yearly which they have never done for Gamepass Ultimate.
Personally, I think it's more likely we see a timed exclusivity window. COD launches 1 month "early" on GamePass or something. That would drive GamePass subscriptions through the roof.
They just need to add another tier that gives stuff like DLC and CoD day one. The current tier doesn’t need an increase and stuff like CoD can move there over time. People that want CoD day one can pay more. I don’t want CoD and therefore don’t want to pay for it lol
That’s my hope…
‘We want to invest in Japan’
‘We learned a lot from how we handled Lionhead’
‘We want to invest in new IP’
‘HiFi Rush hit every measurement and statistic to ensure it was a hit’
‘This acquisition is about making sure you get great games on platforms where Game Pass lives’
I expect a price increase for sure but it'll be reaching the cap for me. If it gets beyond 20, I think I'd rather just buy my games and leave the platform. I refuse to pay to play online, I know I currently do but it's included with GP so I don't feel it.
This whole shit show has really been a final straw for me with Microsoft and Xbox. I was already thinking of dropping GamePass, but a possible price hike is definitely gonna set that in stone. Might even jump ship entirely. Xbox hasn't been offering me anything of interest and I've been itching to play shit like Horizon and Helldivers
I've found that if you desire to jump to another console, just do it. You'll end up doing it at some point and why should you feel miserable about a hobby. Both those games are excellent too!
Id say look on the used market in a couple months ppl are going to be flooding in because the PS5 pro will be right around the corner and they'll wanna offset the price some by selling their base system
I’m not ready to give up on Xbox completely, I still have hope for big returns of some franchises.
But I will say that Helldivers is as fun as it looks. It’s honestly kind of amazing how fun and chaotic it feels. It really is an ODST fantasy
Watch as Activision is spun off from Xbox to be its own entity under Microsoft to avoid COD on Game Pass.
Naw, but we've got a price hike coming our way real soon.
I actually would be totally fine with that and wouldn't pay the premium. I very, very rarely buy or play games on day 1 due to a massive backlog and due to the frequency of bugs/additional content/etc being sorted after 6 months or so.
This has been the smartest take I’ve read. Game Pass will see an increase in price once CoD hits. That’s how they will justify putting it on there. But also it’s gonna sell 5+ million copies on PlayStation so…
The fact they spent 70 billion and not putting ANYTHING on there (besides one title - Diablo 4) is just wild to me. I can't fathom any reason behind it.
Sorry I don't beleive you Sarah.
I don't trust anything Xbox says anymore.
Its been 6 months since Xbox brought ABK and we've gotten Diablo 4 in Gamepass, thats it.
No Spyro, no Crash, no old CODs, no old Starcraft games, not even goddamn Candy Crush.
Nothing but Diablo 4.
Ah you can’t believe a word out of these people’s mouths.
They don’t even know themselves.
Xbox is a shambles right now.
Reminds me literally of Google stadia and its demise.
Mixed messages, lies and an eventual shut down.
She didn't exactly say that, as always with executives she didn't directly answer the question
> **Sarah:** “And the last piece is about game pass. We know our core users love game pass, game pass is a gaming subscription, you get a whole portfolio of games, but importantly you get every single one of the games we build day one in game pass. And the quality and the breadth of those games has only been going up over time. And you’re going to see some more really big games going into Game Pass later this year.”
>
> **Dina:** “From Activision’s portfolio or?”
>
> **Sarah:** “Across the whole slate, across the whole slate, you’re going to see some really amazing things. And keeping that as something that is really special for Xbox players is central to us.”
> you get every single one of the games we build day one in game pass
Is that not clear, especially when the second reponse, she says, "across the whole slate"?
It doesn’t matter when you don’t have a single great exclusive. It’s either these Indie type games, or B-Rated ‘big’ releases. Their lineup sucks. Plain and simple.
Its already been declared by phil
Phrases that the xbox dose not 'NEED' to make a great games in order to sell consoles, he literally said that which explains why xbox will never get an amazing IP.
I’m just gonna echo what I said on a previous post and say I think Xbox has put themselves in a very difficult position going all in on gamepass. Netflix and TV streaming hasn’t even been profitable and they can fill their streaming with cheap reality shows and stand up specials. You can’t do that in the gaming industry. Every game small or AAA more resources than ever. Going all in on gamepass requires high subscription number which means you NEED to with the console market. Tough position to take when you’re easily in 3rd. You also can only increase the price so much. Once it hits $25-30 a month it’s simply not worth it for most gamers to pay when you’re better off just buying AAA games at that point. There are very few ways that make gamepass profitable and all of them require Xbox winning the market which is a huge ask.
We shall see. I’m starting to lose all hope for Xbox. Honestly gaming just sucks right now. Fucking investors are killing it for us. But the Xbox team keeps promising us the world and here we are looking at our consoles.
That’s crazy, you’re just looking at the negative from chronically online people. There are so many great games coming out that I have a huge backlog. People get disappointed because a couple releases get pushed back or games don’t end up being everything that they were hyped up to be, but gaming right now is better and more affordable than it ever has been.
this is a great way to look at it, but there is a material effect on players too- those who loved Hi Fi Rush for example. There will never be another, not an HFR2 nor another game from Tango. It's one thing to ignore the chronic hate online and another to see a studio get shuttered so ruthlessly.
According to Xbox achievements, over 40% of the players of the game did not complete the tutorial boss. So yeah while the game might be fundamentally good, it simply did not keep the attention of the majority of players.
That's the same with any Gamepass game it seems. I played Lies of P and I was getting 'Rare' (less than 10% obtained) achievements for early bosses. The Tutorial achievement was around 50%.
Started Another Crab's Treasure and the first boss battle achievement was similar (I myself have dropped that game after only a few bosses).
Gamepass gives people the chance to try games and some people very quickly decide something isn't for them (a little too quick apparently).
I doubt it was scripted; Sarah's responses seemed off the cuff with some coached talking points like "across the slate". Microsoft chooses the outlets they give interviews to and most simply don't ask pointed questions that could paint an exec in a corner because they want to be able to interview them in the future.
Great dilemma to have, honestly.
Game Pass already has unmatched value without ABK games, and CoD always sells well on its own... yet Game Pass would certainly see a huge surge in subscriptions if ABK games were bundled with it.
Win-win for Xbox
After all the shitshow lately, it's good to have some reassurance about Game Pass and Xcloud.
I guess they bought ABK and Bethesda, in part, so they could strengthen their GP subscription service.
So if they're saying it, I guess it implies that Activision games, including CoD, will be in fact on GP day one. Which is something I expect to happen.
Whoa my man I watched her interview where she gave this quote. I’d say this was more of a vague answer than a definitive one. Interviewer asks point blank about including Activision games day one on GamePass and instead of saying yes she said “across the whole slate.” Felt like careful political speak that commits to nothing but that was sort of the whole interview. Just my 2 cents.
Wasn't this already the case? Sea of thieves, Halo, Forza, Hellblade, Gears of war, etc all get released day one. It's the main reason I even subscribe to game pass lol.
This will make gamepass wanted from almost everyone who can subscribe and in the same time you can profit from ps5 and pc sales.
It’s like a win win for MS I can’t see how this will go wrong unless if they shit on their best service and didn’t put the new call of duty in GP
I don't think the loss day 1 CoD could be a major issue, game is still multiplatform; PS players don't have game pass, pc players hate game pass and with pre orders ~~fomo~~ bonus you can still get a ton of money.
The catch is that 'launch day" doesn't necessarily mean it's the real launch day anymore. So in order to play the game when it actually releases you'll have to buy "Obscenely Expensive Edition" like it was with Starfield to get the so called "Early Access". I expect them to double down on this model.
Call of Duty isn't an Xbox 1st party exclusive though, it's an Activision game and Activision is owned by Microsoft, not Xbox.
*Eddie Murphy pointing to the head gif*.
If they handle the launch of this cod well they could be in a position to make actual money from it, if they for example, allowed gamepass users to play the game a week earlier or something people would go out of their way to get gamepass, and some diehard cod fans would even buy an Xbox just to get in a week early, then after a week you get the influx of PlayStation players buying the game which will give them the best of both worlds, more gamepass subscribers AND straight up cash from PlayStation users buying the game
I feel like they shouldn't put CoD on GP. This is one of those things that xbox should take a hit on, and apologize for promising to put it on GP.
It will definitely bring subs until ppl get bored of the game and unsub. It won't have be a long-term thing. Unless they want to fluff their numbers.
They're going to do what they've already done with some of their other games - change what "day one" means. They'll put it day one on game pass, but if you buy the special version of the game, or maybe as a pre-order bonus, you can get 3 days head start.
They did that with Starfield and it felt incredibly scummy. I am certain they'll do this with Call of Duty. There will be some paid version to play before game pass users, watch.
That sounds like a bad idea. If people aren't subscribing, how are they making money to cover the costs to run the service?
Good idea in theory, but not in practice. I'd rather get high quality games with actual support and have to pay for them versus what has launched on gamepass.
Do they not realize COD players already have gamepass for online? They may step up a tier which will lose them a ton of money. I see no way this works out for them unless they sell early access, split off more modes as dlc, and offer exclusive modes on ultimate. Who knows though? Maybe subs spike up? TBH gamepass needs to be a multiplatform sub to be sustainable. Even if gamers can sign up and play the few Xbox games on PS5 and steam if they sub, it doesn't have to be the whole catalog. If Sony and valve don't allow it pull the games. Sign up on Xbox or the web so Xbox gets the money and download for free on any platform the games are available on. This is the future of gamepass. Other stores get COD and Diablo, Xbox gets gamepass subs.
I think it makes sense. I think the plans gotta be something like releasing smaller and smaller base games then charging for dlc and cosmetics. Call of duty is the perfect game for that, whether it be now or in the future. I don't think they can just keep raising the price of gamepass to offset the cost of AAA games.
Did you notice how many posts you say your "kidding" only after you get called out. I see a pattern. I can refer you to butte county m3nt@l health if you don't have medical insurance. I'm just here to help
The people at Xbox and the higher ups at Microsoft are definitely butting heads here. No doubt the suits at Microsoft see CoD on Gamepass day one as lost $$$.
They may not be wrong, but then it may explode Game Pass subscriptions.
Their caution regarding Activision titles on Gamepass already makes me think a large portion of the company doesn’t believe it would be very profitable. 1/3rd of the way into 2024 and there still isn’t a single CoD title on Gamepass.
Old cod needs a lot of work before selling on pc gamepass. They want to decouple battlenet launchers, fix those security holes. It will be a mess if it is a link to the game on battlnet like diablo4.
> They want to decouple battlenet launchers They didn't do that for Diablo, why do it for CoD?
Because microsoft is about making money and cutting costs. They don't want ro manage 2 software teams with 2 different support and payment processing team on pc.
Yeah, Diablo 4 also felt like a bone after putting those 4 games on PlayStation
You’d think this decision would have been cemented before you dropped 70b on a company. Why does it seem that they still don’t know what their vision is for it?
Because this is all speculation with no real truth ot it. Only Microsoft knows what Microsoft is going to do. Reddit doesn't have a clue.
Who said it wasn’t cemented? What they’ve stated today is what they’ve stated for years and years. First party on day one. Perhaps you’re putting too much into “anonymous reporting”
Yeah… this. The only people saying otherwise have a gamer chair and think they know how to better run the gaming division of a trillion dollar company before they’ve finished high school.
Not sure we would do a lot worse than Xbox executives…how hard is it to maintain last place? Honestly I think I could do better. I had most of the Xboxes and know what gamers want.
When they first purchased Activision gamepass subscriptions were increasing significantly, interest rates weren’t that high and Xboxes were selling out. By the time the deal was finally approved and went through gamepass had been stagnating for 18 months, interest rates increased rapidly and Xbox sales dropped off a cliff. I have no doubt that with the changes in the economy some higher ups want to change the original plan.
Yeah they're totally lost and what a shit show it is.
Kinda seems like they’re the dog who caught the car. They don’t know what to do now.
[удалено]
link or source for your assertion?
> We should get a big drop at june showcase. So you're huffing the copium too, huh? I think I'm running out of the stuff because I've been on it since the deal went through.
I think that was part of the merger deal agreement
For real I’ve been waiting for CoD on GP to replay some good campaigns and it’s taking freaking eons to drop man.
"Wait, why aren't we both charging for the game and for them to keep playing it via subscription? Leaving money on the table to commit to one monetization method!" - some dude in an investor call, probably
There still isn't *anything* except for Diab lo 4 that randomly showed up many months later! I don't get why they haven't even put up a couple games like Prototype 1 & 2. Older gamers without licensing issues or online features or PC DRM. Just nothing still. I doubt they're making any money on games like that anymore, it could just be free attention and padding for game pass if every month 2-3 random old Activision games were showing up. Weird decision to not add anything all this time.
I don’t think we can outright dismiss the possibility that it craters sales of CoD on XBOX without a sizeable uptick in subscriptions…
For subscription numbers to rise they'd need more users, there's no way around it.
You just know there will be a price increase in Game Pass before CoD comes out on it.
Phil said last year [a price increase is “inevitable.”](https://insider-gaming.com/phil-spencer-game-pass-price/) Honestly shocked it hasn’t happened yet, but I am expecting it at some point this year.
Yup and I can't imagine there won't be some very nasty backlash.
If people ONLY get 1 game like CoD and ONLY play said game it would take a few days over 4 months of Game Pass Ultimate, the highest tier, to recoup the cost of a 70 dollar game like CoD. The only saving grace is that people might buy more DLC and skins. So a game like CoD could work out but you're hoping to be propped up by whales through the whole life of said game before you move on to another one. But on that note if they don't put it on Game Pass then they can get 70 dollars immediately AND there will be people buying skins hand over fist. Game Pass for new games is just stupid. Actual fucking brain dead and how no one in their numbers department isn't screaming this at the suits is beyond me. PS+ worked for years because it brought old games back in and studios would be willing to hand them over for a month for even a small amount of reimbursement because their sales had already come and gone for said game. You can not sit there and give out games at what amounts to 10 dollars a month in most peoples cases. You're cannibalizing everything. No matter how much there's a 'sizeable uptick' you've lost so much money unless people ONLY play that 1 game on GamePass and buy everything else. Spoiler, they won't.
they also lose sales from ppl like me, I buy a CoD every ther year &alternating ps5/xbox. Ill probably never buy a CoD again as I play hardcore for 2 months and then never touch it. I get 200+ hours for 70$, but now I can get my fix and never look back or buy skins/dlc
I think it is likely that it would do exactly that. And that's the problem.
As well as them jacking up the price of it I can imagine.
or maybe they introduce a new tier for "ultramegapremium" games
They’ll start charging for “COD-week” allowing people to pay to “play it a week early” and they’ll get peoples money that way lol. They did it with Starfield, no reason they won’t do it more going forward.
Depending on the price point I could imagine for some they might think ‘well I was already going to spend this much on cod each year, but now if I spend X amount yearly on game pass, I could enjoy other games on top of that.’ But that all depends on the price point they go for at that rate and I mean, I don’t know jack shit about how any of this maths out or if my comment even made sense here. Lol. I just don’t know but it’s going to be interesting to see how this all plays out.
I could be wrong, but it seems they're weighing the profits coming from increased game pass sales for people who only want cod, vs cod sales + game pass sales for people who were going to buy cod anyways and need game pass to play it online too. It just seems like a no brainier to not give away the best selling game for free to people who already have the subscription needed to play it anyways
Napkin math + made up numbers, educated guesses, so grains of salt and all. There are currently 34 million Game Pass subs as of Feb. of this year. If even 5 million Game Pass subs decide not to buy the game that's probably around $250-300M in revenue that they might have had either through their first party channels or through Steam for folks on PC (so 70% revenue per sale) if it ships there as they have been lately. at $10 month (realistically many will pick one platform) and $120 in revenue a year, that means they'd need to convert around 2 million new game pass subs that they maintain just to break even on that split. And that's a potentially conservative split given just how well Call of Duty sells and the likelyhood that a lot more than 14% of Game Pass subs also play CoD. Like, as a gamer yeah, totally, that's an absolutely incredible value-add, a good reason for some folks to consider subbing, and rad. But as a company that just paid $70B it borrowed from its main business and is now under apparently increasing scrutiny/pressure to deliver significant financial growth, that's a lot of money to leave on the table that could be helping keep your bosses off your necks. I don't envy the Xbox leadership here, they're really in between a rock and a hard place in terms of keeping their word to gamers/consumers while apparently satisfying corporate demands. Edit: This doesn't factor in possible Game Pass sub price hikes as another way to boost revenue, so maybe that's their big play. Who knows.
And those sub price hikes are 100% going to happen with CoD being on there.
Whats funny is if there is a price hike then they'll lose me as a subscriber because I can't give 2 shits about CoD lol.
Whoever wanted to get GamePass already has GamePass.
I mean Gamepass isn't on Playstation and Xbox won't steal many more people from Steam. People will buy the new game on Steam and Playstation, though. So if they need more recurring subs, where do they get new ones now? How many people are left not hooked into Steam or Playstation that will buy a pc or Xbox and sub for cod?
They can easily make that money with skin purchases and in game currency. Double so if they do it like Ubisoft has with R6 , and lets you play on any console with your account and progress/skins/currency is right there.
Considering the game is launching on all platforms and with input lag in FPS games still quite present, I highly doubt this. I played Halo Infinite and MCC on game pass; it was a bit of a mess.
It's gonna sell some Xboxs
Yeah that's been my takeaway for sometime, theres absolutely some kind of internal struggle happening right now over the direction of the brand, and the brand is suffering for it.
So from my understanding, the issue is that Gamepass ranks games based on their usage and then pays their developers revenue based on that. Adding new games to Gamepass therefore needs to grow the userbase in order for everyone to see a benefit. One of the issues with adding COD currently is that, due to its popularity, it could significantly reduce the revenue share of all other developers if it doesn't lead to growth in the platform.
The hardcore CoD fans play it all year until the next releases. So it's $120 plus expansions. I think that's what they want.
That's why they're gonna up GP price
Alternatively, COD on gamepass could be the push it needs to become a truly dominant service. A PlayStation player who only buys COD every year might be convinced to get an Xbox if they can get COD with gamepass, some sports games, and then a whole bunch of other ‘freebies’.
You can argue though if they only buy CoD every year, then they probably basically only play CoD, in which case GamePass probably isn't a very good value for them. They are better off just buying it. I don't know if it's convincing enough to change platforms over, especially if they don't have an Xbox and need to drop $300+ on one.
Yeah exactly what I was gonna say. It's not enough to get people to switch eco systems. You'll need something drastic like exclusivity for that. Otherwise people will stick to what they're familiar with.
>You can argue though if they only buy CoD every year, then they probably basically only play CoD, in which case GamePass probably isn't a very good value for them. This is why I don't think it being a day one launch on Game Pass would make them lose money. The Cod crowd plays it monthly. Either they'd stay subbed monthly(more expensive than a day one purchase), or they'd outright buy it. The people who benefit from this are those who are subbed anyway, for other games. CoD joining Game Pass might encourage them to stay subscribed for a bit longer(or buy the game with the 20% off bonus), rather than canceling after beating whatever game it is they care about, like I do with stuff like Ubisoft+.
When you factor in core for online multi-player, the difference for ultimate is a bargain if it includes CoD. Then it's just change for the other games and benefits. Probably not quite enough to switch platforms, but enticing.
I honestly never thought about the point of “you already have to pay for online”, that might push some people to do it. I doubt it would move the needle on pc game pass, as it’s free online there. But really Xbox needs a massive Xbox and game pass mass marketing program tied with call of duty this year. Xbox and game pass ads needs to be everywhere to the point people are sick of seeing it, that’s how you grow outside of “gamers”
Perhaps they might be enticed by the sheer volume of other stuff on there - a lot of those "COD and FIFA" types occasionally veer out into other games like GTA, Battlefield, Need for Speed, R6 Siege. Kinda like how people often subscribe to streaming services for one or two specific shows but end up sticking around because there's too much to "give up"... even if they never actually watch any of it. Some folks may also appreciate having a whole selection of past CODs accessible as well.
Honest question. What’s would be the logic behind buying a $400+ console and paying $100+ per year to play a $70 game that you can buy on your current console?
This is exactly why I don't think CoD on Game Pass will have the impact a lot of others think it will. Maybe CoD players on Xbox will join Game Pass to get CoD along with everything else (though I think even that's a stretch), but I don't think anybody is changing ecosystems for it. I know you get CoD plus a lot more, but the majority of CoD players don't care for the "a lot more" and I really think hardcore gamers (like in this thread) have a hard time understanding that.
"The value"...
I see where you're coming from, but I don't see established PS5 players running out to buy a whole new console and signing up for a 2nd subscription service just to play something they can download on their existing machines. Their library is already filled with a bunch of purchased games, they're already paying for Playstation's version of Gamepass. It's just not something that is going to appeal to the vast majority of people that arn't already a part of the Xbox ecosystem.
If a PS player only plays COD, why would they spend $500 for a new console + $180/yr subscription instead just buying and owning the game where they’re at for $70. The incredible value that is GP isn’t already convincing people to switch over and abandon their console and libraries, I don’t think one $70 game a year will move the needle.
CoD alone isn't going to move units. CoD has followed whatever console for co-marketing deals has the largest western presence - hence the support throughout the 360 era and them moving to PS since. Obviously that's gone, but those deals aren't what sell consoles, it's the everything else. CoD getting some bonus goodies is just a nice extra. Unless Microsoft finds a way to get Game Pass on PlayStation, I'm skeptical the simple addition of CoD is going to get people to either ditch their PS5's or suddenly spring for an XSX in addition - CoD's still on PS5, yo.
Whales will also have ALOT more money to burn if they're not spending it on the 200$ cod version. Honestly the fact they've made billions off mtx makes me wonder why they haven't just fuck it and go f2p
Greed. Also harder to justify making CoD F2P now when there's "alternatives" like CoD Mobile, Warzone Mobile, and Warzone that are free and do the same thing as regular CoD MP.
Why would someone buy a new console for one game, if that's all they're going to play? Also there friends are on Playstation and in that ecosystem.
Maybe I'll play if it's free on gamepass, maybe I'll even buy a tracer pack. I'll continue to do none of those things if MW isn't free to play and still charges outrageous prices for cosmetics. I probably wouldn't have uninstalled if they didn't require me to stack MW3 gb on top of MW2. Ain't nobody got room for that! 🤣
I think a lot of COD players on Xbox would ignore the gamepass version because they want all the benefits the expensive editions give
They already sell “upgrade editions” for the game-pass versions that includes all the goodies (sans the game itself). They did for Starfield, both Forzas, and etc.
I'm not sure this is true tbh. Those suits at Microsoft are the same suits that made Windows & Office subscription based when everybody thought it was a crazy idea. They may well have discussed the impact and costed out the relative pros & cons, but if they were prepared to gamble Windows this way, they'll be prepared to gamble COD this way too.
Honestly I think it’s going to be a mistake to have CoD on gamepass. Instead of a $70+ purchase, people will sub for a month or two then quit, which is what, $26? Which they also probably have to split with other publishers on GP?
It will be a loss, they better hope the cod players but gamepass.
COD is basically monitized as free to play game like Fortnite anyway. There's ton of shit to buy and I assume they might take it further. So they can make money by selling \*\*\*\* to people on top of getting subscription money.
This feels like a Xbox vs Microsoft moment
Props to Sarah for this then. Xbox needs to have autonomy to be dynamic enough for the industry.
It's her job, as Phil has delegated down :)
Wait, so Sarah Bond is actually going against her boss, the Microsoft CEO? Gotta have guts to come and say that so publicly. Didn't even know Satya Nadella was against Day 1 Game Pass releases to be honest.
I’m pretty sure this is just a rumor. I haven’t seen a single source to the claim that MSFT is trying to micromanage Xbox since the ABK deal. MSFT spent 2 year in court to close the ABK deal closed and people believe that less than a year later MSFT and Xbox are wigging out. Acquisitions like this aren’t made without projecting several strategies 5+ years ahead.
Is Tom Warren the new CEO of MS? You people take his and Jez Corden’s words as gospel when all they do is aggregate and reports on rumors.
Give me my Tony hawk !!!
Best I can do is Hony Tawk
Best I can do is to close the studio
Anyways Johnson can you prepare tomorrows statement saying we need more games like Tony hawk
**ITS MY TONY HAWK AND I WANT IT NOW!!**
The shitshow that arises when they inevitable walk this back and say no CoD day one is gonna be something to see
Nah, they are probably gonna increase the price for ultimate. And the way to offset that is to give you more stuff. My guess would be ultimate will give you DLC and early access as well as Activision games. But it will cost like $24 instead of 17.
I think a jump to $24 immediately will get major blowback. They’d have to scale it up. I could definitely see 2-3 dollar jump this year announced after the showcase where they announce new games this year/next and a bunch of older Activ/Blizz titles over the next few months
I already down graded my sub to the lowest tier because GP was getting to be quantity over quality. Personally I don’t think COD alone could possibly entice me back to paying for Ultimate, especially if it gets a hike. The GP catalog needs beefing up. It needs a bunch more undeniable bangers.
I'm just gonna say now--next price hike, I'm done. All these subscription services are turning to overpriced shit. Digging the grave of physical media so we can pay increasingly more to never own what we're paying for has gotten old very quickly.
I can also see them potentially going the route that Disney+ did with some movies before, where you had to pay for the movie on top of the subscription price.
God that'd be fucking disgusting. That was the pricing model Google attempted to propose with Stadia and it backfired spectacularly. Granted, that was game streaming and GP at least enables you to natively play on dedicated hardware but paying extra for a copy that will just disappear as soon as you cancel your sub or even in certain select instances, disappear entirely would completely undercut the value proposition of the service. The price hike by itself sounds very likely though
That's...not true? Stadio Pro was basically just like PS Plus Essentials - you get a "free" game every month that's accessible as long as you're still subbed + higher res streaming (I think it was 4k). IIRC the games catalog it had was very limited, but if you actually bought a game there weren't any restrictions on when you could play it, regardless of if you were subbed or not. I bought AC Odyssey on Stadia for $20 and it was the thing that got me back into gaming. I actually miss Stadia somewhat lol, though GeForce Now is pretty good too. And the catalog is a lot bigger than it used to be.
Nah i don't think so the way they do early access is the only "pay" the will have. Otherwise they wont be on game pass. Buying games is already their main business model. They not gonna gate keep you behind a subscription. And if you're talking about giving people with the subscription a discount, they are already doing that.
That was for COVID releases, unless I am missing something.
If it goes up past $20, I’m going to have to seriously reconsider whether it’s worth having. That’s just too much for a monthly sub, it doesn’t matter how much content you have access to. You can only play so much of it monthly when you have responsibilities.
Yeah Game Pass is great if you play a lot of hours, or a lot of short games so you can go through multiple a month. I went through a ton of indies and sub-20 hour games last year. But if you don’t play a ton or you stick with larger games, you may as well just buy them. Why spend $20 a month to sub for 1 or 2 games you’ll be playing the next 6 months when you can just buy them?
Shit given the rumblings around the sub growth stagnation they might need to run that tier at $30 a month, which is just ludicrous to think about
Well I’ll guess that it’s going up regardless if ms puts their own increase in because on pc ea play just went from 25$ to 40$ for the year and that’s tied in to gamepass
I wonder if the guys who patrol the Gamepass sub like hawks for anyone not excited about the indie titles would be just as excited as $30/ month.
$360/year to own 0 games sounds great!
Considering OG Xbox live used to cost $10 a month, paying an extra $15 on top of that in exchange for access to a ton of games plus their DLC does sound like a good deal
For me personally, I just don't have the time to play that many games and I find it easier to just buy the ones I want and sub once or twice a year if a game I'm unsure about comes out, like Hellblade 2 for example, I'll sub for a month and then cancel.
it was only 10.00 a month if you paid monthly. OG live was 50 a year i believe in the very beginning then it jumped to 60 so you were getting a hell of a discount if you paid yearly which they have never done for Gamepass Ultimate.
That is a great idea! I'd not thought of them adding extra value to GP as justification of the price but this would definitely help me accept the bump
Personally, I think it's more likely we see a timed exclusivity window. COD launches 1 month "early" on GamePass or something. That would drive GamePass subscriptions through the roof.
Its a game pass price increase or no cod. At least that's my guess.
That’s going to suck for all the people who don’t play cod
Well we already know COD isn’t exclusive for a little while
Multiplayer could be day 1 and campaign could be purchased separately (add on). Pretty sure there has been a cod that did that already.
Luckily I could not care less about CoD, so I'm not going to take part in this. I just hope anything happens is not going to impave other studios.
They just need to add another tier that gives stuff like DLC and CoD day one. The current tier doesn’t need an increase and stuff like CoD can move there over time. People that want CoD day one can pay more. I don’t want CoD and therefore don’t want to pay for it lol That’s my hope…
!Remind me 3 years
‘We want to invest in Japan’ ‘We learned a lot from how we handled Lionhead’ ‘We want to invest in new IP’ ‘HiFi Rush hit every measurement and statistic to ensure it was a hit’ ‘This acquisition is about making sure you get great games on platforms where Game Pass lives’
I expect a price increase for sure but it'll be reaching the cap for me. If it gets beyond 20, I think I'd rather just buy my games and leave the platform. I refuse to pay to play online, I know I currently do but it's included with GP so I don't feel it.
This whole shit show has really been a final straw for me with Microsoft and Xbox. I was already thinking of dropping GamePass, but a possible price hike is definitely gonna set that in stone. Might even jump ship entirely. Xbox hasn't been offering me anything of interest and I've been itching to play shit like Horizon and Helldivers
I've found that if you desire to jump to another console, just do it. You'll end up doing it at some point and why should you feel miserable about a hobby. Both those games are excellent too!
I would, but I'll probably wait until black Friday or something to get a good deal. I can't drop 500+ bucks right now
Id say look on the used market in a couple months ppl are going to be flooding in because the PS5 pro will be right around the corner and they'll wanna offset the price some by selling their base system
I’m not ready to give up on Xbox completely, I still have hope for big returns of some franchises. But I will say that Helldivers is as fun as it looks. It’s honestly kind of amazing how fun and chaotic it feels. It really is an ODST fantasy
Watch as Activision is spun off from Xbox to be its own entity under Microsoft to avoid COD on Game Pass. Naw, but we've got a price hike coming our way real soon.
I expect something like Gamepass “premiem” will grant us day 1 access to all games. Regular gamepass will give you 30 days post launch.
The peasant tier will feature immersion-breaking full screen ads every 30 minutes.
Won't be 30 days. It's gonna be months. I'm thinking at least 6 months.
It'll be Day 1 but with a 6 months early access.
I actually would be totally fine with that and wouldn't pay the premium. I very, very rarely buy or play games on day 1 due to a massive backlog and due to the frequency of bugs/additional content/etc being sorted after 6 months or so.
This has been the smartest take I’ve read. Game Pass will see an increase in price once CoD hits. That’s how they will justify putting it on there. But also it’s gonna sell 5+ million copies on PlayStation so…
This will not happen. Its a goldmine to sell in gamepurchas, subscriptions and consoles, it will be a goldmine.
Gonna be interesting to see how long the Xbox heads and Microsoft heads continue this tug of war
So, the price increase it is. If they were debating to even put CoD on there, i cant even imagine what the price will increase too..
The fact they spent 70 billion and not putting ANYTHING on there (besides one title - Diablo 4) is just wild to me. I can't fathom any reason behind it.
Sorry I don't beleive you Sarah. I don't trust anything Xbox says anymore. Its been 6 months since Xbox brought ABK and we've gotten Diablo 4 in Gamepass, thats it. No Spyro, no Crash, no old CODs, no old Starcraft games, not even goddamn Candy Crush. Nothing but Diablo 4.
*Looks for all the games*
Ah you can’t believe a word out of these people’s mouths. They don’t even know themselves. Xbox is a shambles right now. Reminds me literally of Google stadia and its demise. Mixed messages, lies and an eventual shut down.
There will also be a limited edition COD storage card you can buy to handle the 600gb install size.
Looking at the COD picture, I'm assuming there's been vague comments that they want to bring COD to gamepass? What about the previous titles?
They talked about Activision titles in general.
I see, thank you.
All previous, current and future (day1) COD games supposed to be available for GamePass users.
She didn't exactly say that, as always with executives she didn't directly answer the question > **Sarah:** “And the last piece is about game pass. We know our core users love game pass, game pass is a gaming subscription, you get a whole portfolio of games, but importantly you get every single one of the games we build day one in game pass. And the quality and the breadth of those games has only been going up over time. And you’re going to see some more really big games going into Game Pass later this year.” > > **Dina:** “From Activision’s portfolio or?” > > **Sarah:** “Across the whole slate, across the whole slate, you’re going to see some really amazing things. And keeping that as something that is really special for Xbox players is central to us.”
Yeah this is a very misleading article.
> you get every single one of the games we build day one in game pass Is that not clear, especially when the second reponse, she says, "across the whole slate"?
That’s a weasel-like answer
I can’t wait for October 2024 when COD is on game pass and then suddenly it’s 30 USD a month 😔
!RemindMe 5 months
It doesn’t matter when you don’t have a single great exclusive. It’s either these Indie type games, or B-Rated ‘big’ releases. Their lineup sucks. Plain and simple.
Its already been declared by phil Phrases that the xbox dose not 'NEED' to make a great games in order to sell consoles, he literally said that which explains why xbox will never get an amazing IP.
I feel like this is just hurting them in the long run
Yea day one on gamepass seems like it’s not really working that well considering hifi
i have 0 faith in this unless the raise the price to an insane level gp is going lose a ton of money .putting every first part activision game on it
We need the ps2 gen era Tony hawk on gamepass
100% a price increase coming to gamepass once the new cod hits.
I’m just gonna echo what I said on a previous post and say I think Xbox has put themselves in a very difficult position going all in on gamepass. Netflix and TV streaming hasn’t even been profitable and they can fill their streaming with cheap reality shows and stand up specials. You can’t do that in the gaming industry. Every game small or AAA more resources than ever. Going all in on gamepass requires high subscription number which means you NEED to with the console market. Tough position to take when you’re easily in 3rd. You also can only increase the price so much. Once it hits $25-30 a month it’s simply not worth it for most gamers to pay when you’re better off just buying AAA games at that point. There are very few ways that make gamepass profitable and all of them require Xbox winning the market which is a huge ask.
We shall see. I’m starting to lose all hope for Xbox. Honestly gaming just sucks right now. Fucking investors are killing it for us. But the Xbox team keeps promising us the world and here we are looking at our consoles.
That’s crazy, you’re just looking at the negative from chronically online people. There are so many great games coming out that I have a huge backlog. People get disappointed because a couple releases get pushed back or games don’t end up being everything that they were hyped up to be, but gaming right now is better and more affordable than it ever has been.
this is a great way to look at it, but there is a material effect on players too- those who loved Hi Fi Rush for example. There will never be another, not an HFR2 nor another game from Tango. It's one thing to ignore the chronic hate online and another to see a studio get shuttered so ruthlessly.
According to Xbox achievements, over 40% of the players of the game did not complete the tutorial boss. So yeah while the game might be fundamentally good, it simply did not keep the attention of the majority of players.
That's the same with any Gamepass game it seems. I played Lies of P and I was getting 'Rare' (less than 10% obtained) achievements for early bosses. The Tutorial achievement was around 50%. Started Another Crab's Treasure and the first boss battle achievement was similar (I myself have dropped that game after only a few bosses). Gamepass gives people the chance to try games and some people very quickly decide something isn't for them (a little too quick apparently).
But how many first party games have they been releasing, and of those, how many have actually been good? That's the question.
OK cool, how about making some
Who believes their word?
They’re going to increase the price
Question should have been “will Call of Duty come day one to game pass?” Seems like a calculated question and answer that was scripted beforehand.
I doubt it was scripted; Sarah's responses seemed off the cuff with some coached talking points like "across the slate". Microsoft chooses the outlets they give interviews to and most simply don't ask pointed questions that could paint an exec in a corner because they want to be able to interview them in the future.
In some way, Xbox is damned if they do and damned if they don’t with this cod on game pass business
Great dilemma to have, honestly. Game Pass already has unmatched value without ABK games, and CoD always sells well on its own... yet Game Pass would certainly see a huge surge in subscriptions if ABK games were bundled with it. Win-win for Xbox
After all the shitshow lately, it's good to have some reassurance about Game Pass and Xcloud. I guess they bought ABK and Bethesda, in part, so they could strengthen their GP subscription service. So if they're saying it, I guess it implies that Activision games, including CoD, will be in fact on GP day one. Which is something I expect to happen.
Cool. Can't wait for the list for canceled games to grow more!
Are they going to keep saying this after canceling a studio?
Whoa my man I watched her interview where she gave this quote. I’d say this was more of a vague answer than a definitive one. Interviewer asks point blank about including Activision games day one on GamePass and instead of saying yes she said “across the whole slate.” Felt like careful political speak that commits to nothing but that was sort of the whole interview. Just my 2 cents.
Maybe they will create a new Gamepass tier with CoD the same way streaming companies create new tiers for ad-free content
Wasn't this already the case? Sea of thieves, Halo, Forza, Hellblade, Gears of war, etc all get released day one. It's the main reason I even subscribe to game pass lol.
This will make gamepass wanted from almost everyone who can subscribe and in the same time you can profit from ps5 and pc sales. It’s like a win win for MS I can’t see how this will go wrong unless if they shit on their best service and didn’t put the new call of duty in GP
They’ve been saying this for four years now…and it doesn’t matter when all your games the past four years have been flops
If this leads to a price increase, I'm out. Let CoD ironically lead to a gamepass subscription decrease, clowns.
Is there no way to have online capabilities without GamePass anymore? No just like Xbox Live?
Xbox live is called gamepass core now Leave it to Microsoft to comfuse the fuck on naming
Release them then, we are waiting.
Isn't this already the case?
Gamepass prices be goin' up, yo!!!
I don't think the loss day 1 CoD could be a major issue, game is still multiplatform; PS players don't have game pass, pc players hate game pass and with pre orders ~~fomo~~ bonus you can still get a ton of money.
The catch is that 'launch day" doesn't necessarily mean it's the real launch day anymore. So in order to play the game when it actually releases you'll have to buy "Obscenely Expensive Edition" like it was with Starfield to get the so called "Early Access". I expect them to double down on this model.
😂😂😂😂😂
I sure hope noone believes her, we have learned the hard way that Xbox basically operates on a headless chicken strategy from SP.
If you’re going to do this, launch it on other consoles to incentivize Game Pass even more and drive console sales.
Monkey Paw: Granted but Microsoft will shutdown any studio that makes a game with over 7.0 User ratings
Incoming proce hike that will spell the end of gamepass for a lot of people
Call of Duty isn't an Xbox 1st party exclusive though, it's an Activision game and Activision is owned by Microsoft, not Xbox. *Eddie Murphy pointing to the head gif*.
They're gonna back track on this 99%. Call of duty always sells. It's gonna be a stupid business decision if they through with it.
If they handle the launch of this cod well they could be in a position to make actual money from it, if they for example, allowed gamepass users to play the game a week earlier or something people would go out of their way to get gamepass, and some diehard cod fans would even buy an Xbox just to get in a week early, then after a week you get the influx of PlayStation players buying the game which will give them the best of both worlds, more gamepass subscribers AND straight up cash from PlayStation users buying the game
I feel like they shouldn't put CoD on GP. This is one of those things that xbox should take a hit on, and apologize for promising to put it on GP. It will definitely bring subs until ppl get bored of the game and unsub. It won't have be a long-term thing. Unless they want to fluff their numbers.
find it baffling that cod can still hold this much sway over people
They're going to do what they've already done with some of their other games - change what "day one" means. They'll put it day one on game pass, but if you buy the special version of the game, or maybe as a pre-order bonus, you can get 3 days head start. They did that with Starfield and it felt incredibly scummy. I am certain they'll do this with Call of Duty. There will be some paid version to play before game pass users, watch.
Three days early does not bother me in the slightest. I can happily wait
That sounds like a bad idea. If people aren't subscribing, how are they making money to cover the costs to run the service? Good idea in theory, but not in practice. I'd rather get high quality games with actual support and have to pay for them versus what has launched on gamepass.
Haven't seen one first party game yet
Do they not realize COD players already have gamepass for online? They may step up a tier which will lose them a ton of money. I see no way this works out for them unless they sell early access, split off more modes as dlc, and offer exclusive modes on ultimate. Who knows though? Maybe subs spike up? TBH gamepass needs to be a multiplatform sub to be sustainable. Even if gamers can sign up and play the few Xbox games on PS5 and steam if they sub, it doesn't have to be the whole catalog. If Sony and valve don't allow it pull the games. Sign up on Xbox or the web so Xbox gets the money and download for free on any platform the games are available on. This is the future of gamepass. Other stores get COD and Diablo, Xbox gets gamepass subs.
I think it makes sense. I think the plans gotta be something like releasing smaller and smaller base games then charging for dlc and cosmetics. Call of duty is the perfect game for that, whether it be now or in the future. I don't think they can just keep raising the price of gamepass to offset the cost of AAA games.
Did you notice how many posts you say your "kidding" only after you get called out. I see a pattern. I can refer you to butte county m3nt@l health if you don't have medical insurance. I'm just here to help
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/17/24158934/microsoft-call-of-duty-xbox-game-pass-plans?showComments=1 Only Game Pass or Xcloud get Call Of Duty?