Microsoft has quietly removed its $1 Xbox Game Pass trial, just days before Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 hits the shelves. The limited-time trial, once available to gamers for two weeks, is no longer an option as the company prepares for the launch of the latest Call of Duty on October 25th. Without the trial, players wanting to access the game via Game Pass will now have to sign up for the full subscription right away.
Why the Removal Matters
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has pulled this trial at a critical moment. Just last year, ahead of Starfield’s debut, the same offer disappeared, leading many to speculate that Microsoft uses this strategy to maximize revenues from major releases. Call of Duty, one of the most popular franchises globally, is no small part of this equation. With Black Ops 6 expected to be a hit, letting users play the game on a cheap trial might have put a dent in profits from traditional sales.
Although the removal might seem sudden, it’s part of a broader plan by Microsoft to prevent people from gaming the system, quite literally. For a series as big as Call of Duty, which historically sells tens of millions of copies, letting users get in on the action for only a dollar doesn’t make financial sense.
A Bigger Push Into Cloud Gaming
The absence of the $1 trial isn’t the only change coming for Xbox users this month. Microsoft has also confirmed that, for the first time, a Call of Duty game will be available at launch through Xbox Cloud Gaming. Black Ops 6, along with Modern Warfare III and Warzone, will be part of the Game Pass lineup. This move is a part of Microsoft’s broader effort to push its cloud gaming service, allowing players to stream games without the need for expensive hardware.
It’s a major milestone for Microsoft’s cloud strategy, which the company has been aggressively expanding in recent years. With the addition of Call of Duty to the cloud lineup, Xbox is making it easier for players to dive into new releases without having to upgrade their consoles or buy the game outright. The company’s ultimate goal is to make gaming more accessible, but not at the cost of cannibalizing sales from its biggest releases.
Call of Duty’s Role in Xbox’s Bigger Picture
For Microsoft, Call of Duty is more than just another title in the Game Pass library—it’s a strategic asset. When Microsoft finalized its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it wasn’t just about getting popular games like Overwatch or Diablo. The crown jewel of that acquisition is Call of Duty, a franchise that has consistently ranked among the top-selling games worldwide.
With Call of Duty now under its belt, Microsoft is positioning the franchise as a cornerstone of its Game Pass strategy. By offering Black Ops 6 on day one through Game Pass, Microsoft hopes to attract new subscribers to the service while maintaining the series’ presence on multiple platforms. This means that while Call of Duty will still be available on PlayStation and PC, the Xbox Game Pass offering gives players more flexibility in how they access the game.
Balancing Sales and Subscriptions
One of the biggest questions surrounding the inclusion of Call of Duty in Game Pass has been whether it would undermine traditional game sales. Microsoft has historically relied on massive day-one sales for big-budget titles, and there was internal debate over whether placing Call of Duty directly on Game Pass could cannibalize revenue. While some at the company feared that giving access to a top-tier game like Black Ops 6 for a relatively low monthly fee could hurt sales, others argued that the long-term subscription gains would outweigh the losses.
Now, with the $1 trial gone, it’s clear that Microsoft is taking a cautious approach. The company wants to push Game Pass without letting players exploit the system to access premium content for less. Removing the trial ensures that players who want to experience Black Ops 6 through Game Pass will have to commit to a full subscription from the start.
Last Updated on November 7, 2024 2:32 pm CET
