Those who hoped to snag new titles from Call of Duty, such as Modern Warfare 2, for free on PC and Xbox will likely have to wait several years. As it has now come to light, there has been a commitment from Microsoft to Sony since January 2022 that Call of Duty will not come to Game Pass for years. The reason is an existing agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony. Microsoft intends to adhere to this.
What was the hope?
- Microsoft has offered $69 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard. The deal is not finalized yet and requires approval from regulators.
- Strategically, it would be a huge advantage for Xbox over Sony if they could include the “Call of Duty” franchise in the Xbox Game Pass: The Game Pass is a subscription service for gamers. Players pay a monthly fee and can then play numerous games without additional costs on Xbox and PC.
- On September 1, 2022, Xbox chief Phil Spencer announced plans to add the “beloved game series from Activision Blizzard” such as Overwatch, Diablo, and Call of Duty to the Game Pass.
The hope was: Fans of Call of Duty would soon be able to skip buying a new installment of the shooter series. It would be enough to subscribe to the Xbox Game Pass. Then they could get every new Call of Duty for free.
Microsoft’s footnote mentions “Existing Agreement with Sony”
This is the new revelation: In a submission to the regulators in the UK, Microsoft states in a footnote now (via twitter):
An agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony includes the restriction that Activision Blizzard cannot put the titles of the “Call of Duty” series in the Game Pass for a number of years.
Activision further states that a tweet from Phil Spencer in January 2022 assured that he would “consider all existing agreements, even after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard”:
- At that time, it was thought that the tweet mainly meant that Call of Duty would continue to be released on PS4 and PS5 as long as the existing agreements were in place.
- Now we know: It also means that Call of Duty will not come to Game Pass as long as the deals are still in place.
What does this mean in plain terms? It means:
- Xbox wants to include Call of Duty in Game Pass
- But cannot do so because Activision Blizzard has assured Sony that they will not do so for several years
- With the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft would also take over this commitment and could not bring CoD to Game Pass for years
How long would this be the case? That is unknown. Because we do not know the duration of the “existing agreement” between Activision Blizzard and Sony.
The footnote only mentions “a number of years” – that could also mean just two years. Then Call of Duty could come to Game Pass as early as 2024.
In September, Sony had already complained that Microsoft’s commitments from January were not sufficient and that they expected more. After all, Call of Duty is extremely important for Sony and PlayStation.
How is this being discussed? On reddit, there is a belief that there could be a kind of middle ground: Perhaps only “new CoD titles” are excluded from the Game Pass, and older ones could be added to the Pass.
That would also align with Spencer’s assertion that Microsoft wants to bring the “beloved game series Call of Duty” to the Game Pass. This does not necessarily mean that they must be brand new games.
This is the exciting point: It is interesting that Xbox communicates differently depending on whom they are speaking to:
- to their own fans, Microsoft says: They plan to bring Call of Duty to Game Pass – but do not specify when exactly, nor to what extent. They cannot do so yet because the acquisition of Activision Blizzard is still pending. They need regulatory approval.
- to the regulators who decide on the deal, they say: They are not allowed to add Call of Duty to Game Pass for “a number of years” – as they have already assured Sony.
You can take another look at Phil Spencer’s statements from September here:
Sony’s biggest nightmare is coming true: Xbox chief wants to put Call of Duty in Game Pass
