The Future of Gaming: Microsoft's Bold Move with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

In a time where technology is evolving on an everyday basis and gamers across the globe are expecting more out of every gaming experience, one name continues to stand for innovation: MICROSOFT. For years they’ve been delivering breakthrough games, revolutionising the way we have our gaming moments, and have now taken a big jump, with the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 soon to be available on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass on day one.

Microsoft's Strategic Advantage

The Game Pass Revolution

The video games business is about to change, and MICROSOFT’s Game Passes have a primary role in the transformation. When MICROSOFT announced that ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’ would be available on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass on day one, it didn’t just announce the availability of a single title. It was an entire industry upended, as blockbuster games normally see all but the most rabid fans wait for a sale or a bundle before buying. MICROSOFT’s move means that millions of subscribers will be able to play that latest blockbuster – for no additional cost, as it’s included with their subscriptions.

A New Era for Call of Duty

Activision, which publishes the Call of Duty franchise, releases a game roughly once a year and regularly sells more than 20 million copies in the process. A release from a company with this kind of success will obviously immensely expand the service’s reach. But there’s another quality to the access here that merits attention, one symbolised by a developer of Activision’s heft choosing the new world of subscription over the old world of retail. Giving creators access to a service with millions of paying subscribers is just one way in which video games can contribute to a broader strategy of egalitarianism.

Gaming Community's Response

The reaction from gamers on social media and game forums has been largely favourable, with eager fans celebrating the new-found ease of obtaining ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’. Forums and social feeds are abuzz with speculation about how it’ll be played, and what features will be included. Many are calling Game Pass a model that’s ‘consumer-friendly’, and that puts AAA gaming in the hands of more people.

The Impact on the Gaming Industry

Setting New Standards

MICROSOFT also chose to make the new Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 available in the Game Pass lineup on its launch day. That’s also significant, as rivals and other game developers watch to see if they can do the same. If MICROSOFT’s gamble pays off, it might open the floodgates and industry-wide strategies steer away from the upfront sale of games and towards access-based subscription models that entice players to keep subscribed and engaging with content for months and years.

Benefit to Developers and Creators

Sure, the tried-and-true model of just selling the game outright has its charms – big revenue on day one, for one – but as MICROSOFT is now proving with Game Pass, it provides developers with a steady funnel of attention. This new route to success means a proper chance for games to reach a large audience immediately, develop a community, and who knows? Maybe even gain some longevity as part of the package. Update: adding content to games over time, and selling it in-game to subscribers.

Looking to the Future

With ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’ poised to be released, you can’t help but feel that MICROSOFT isn’t just gaming the present but trying to game the future. By cancelling the unpopular DRM, Game Pass, a subscription service included with Xbox Game Pass, is essentially smashing down barriers between gamers by making gaming more affordable, and gamers more connected. The rabid anticipation for release builds up anticipation and builds trust in what MICROSOFT is doing.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, MICROSOFT has been a catalyst for change in the way we engage with digital worlds, from its beginnings developing software, to its growth into hardware and gaming. MICROSOFT’s Xbox division has played an integral role in adding gaming and virtual experiences to the living room, enabling content discovery via service offerings like Xbox Live, and now with the introduction of Xbox Game Pass, MICROSOFT is paving the way for the gaming future to be one that is open, inclusive, and limitless. MICROSOFT’s partnership with Activision on ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’ is centered around delivering value to our users, driving the future of entertainment, and playing a role in defining what it means to be a gamer.