Earlier this year, Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard in what will amount to the largest acquisition in the history of the video game industry - assuming it goes through. There are still some hurdles that need to be cleared beforeMicrosoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzardis approved, but if it goes through as planned, Microsoft will find itself in charge of one of the industry’s biggest blockbuster franchises:Call of Duty.
Call of Dutyis consistently the top-selling game each year with very few exceptions. Even when the franchise’s overall sales are down,like what happened withCall of Duty: Vanguard, it still stands head and shoulders above over titles on the market. The chance to control theCall of Dutybrand is likely a big reason why Microsoft made the move to acquire Activision Blizzard, besides the flood of content that the purchase will provide the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
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Classic Call of Duty Games on Xbox Game Pass
As it so happens, nearlyevery main seriesCall of Dutygameis playable on the latest Xbox consoles thanks to Xbox’s backward compatibility program. This includes the very firstCall of Dutygame that released for Xbox 360, the critically-acclaimedCall of Duty 2, all the way toCall of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which also has a native Xbox One release. When Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision is complete, it’s highly likely that a flood of classicCall of Dutygames will make their way to Xbox Game Pass not long after.
Not only would this include classicCall of Dutygames, but it would also include newer games in the series as well. Here are all theCall of Dutygames likely to be added toXbox Game Passonce the Activision deal is approved, listed in release order.
The only exception isCall of Duty Classic. For the uninitiated,Call of Duty Classicis a re-release of the originalCall of Dutygame that was ported to Xbox Live Arcade and the PS3 PlayStation Store in 2009.Call of Duty Classicwas never added to Xbox’s backward compatibility list, and sinceXbox is done making games backward compatible, it seems it never will.
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It’s a shame that theCall of Dutycollection on Xbox Game Pass will be missing the first game, as it will make it impossible for fans to play through the entire franchise on the latest Xbox hardware. However, perhaps an exception will be made forCall of Duty Classicto be made a part of theXbox backward compatibility lineup, or maybe it will have a proper re-release again so that it becomes playable on modern hardware. Even withoutCall of Duty Classic, though, Xbox Game Pass is set to get a ton ofCall of Dutycontent once the Activision acquisition goes through.
And this may be more significant than some may realize. The olderCall of Dutygames remain fairly popular with the community, especially the first twoBlack Opsgames and the 2009 version ofModern Warfare 2. If the games came to Xbox Game Pass, one has to imagine that it would result in their online communities getting a boost of players. And it would make it much easier for fans to organize sessions ofclassicCall of DutyZombiesand the like with their friends.
Right now, the high price of the olderCall of Dutygames is making it very difficult for nostalgic gamers to simply hop into a game of Zombies with their friends. At the time of this writing,Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, which first released in 2012, is still selling for a whopping $49.99 on the Xbox Store. Getting the game on Xbox Game Pass would remove that expensive barrier of entry, opening the floodgates for fans to relive their favoriteCall of Dutygames.
Will Call of Duty Games Be Day One Xbox Game Pass Releases?
As previously mentioned, one of the main reasons that Microsoft acquired Bethesda was to getday one game releases for Xbox Game Pass, and one has to assume that the same holds true for its Activision acquisition. However, there may be mitigating circumstances keeping Microsoft from making the brand-newCall of Dutygames day one Xbox Game Pass releases.
As mentioned by reputable leaker Tom Henderson, it’s possible thatPlayStation’s deal withCall of Dutywill extend to Treyarch’s nextCall of Dutygame, which is believed to release in 2023. If this is true, it means that Xbox won’t be able to makeCall of Dutygames day one until after Treyarch’s nextCall of Dutyrelease. After all, Microsoft has promised to honor any existing deals between Sony and the companies it’s been acquiring. This is why Bethesda-published games likeDeathloopandGhostwire: Tokyoreleased as timed-PS5 exclusives, even after they were already under the Xbox umbrella.
Call of Dutywill be day one Xbox Game Pass games eventually, but the only question is when it will happen. It definitely won’t happen with theupcomingCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2that’s set to launch later this year, so fans shouldn’t hold their breath for that.
Exclusive Call of Duty Content for Xbox Game Pass Subscribers
For now, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has yet to go through, so fans should keep that in mind.
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