Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has been a resounding success for Xbox, and it’s set quite the high bar for the rest of Xbox Game Pass’ 2024 line-up.
Xbox Game Pass has a huge library of well over 100 titles, and each month, a new handful joins the ever-growing collection. But while these monthly offerings often contain at least one or two worthy additions, the main draw for many Game Pass subscribers is the promise that any first-party Microsoft games will be added to the service on day one. For years, this has been a fairly mutually beneficial system for Xbox Game Pass, with subscribers getting AAA blockbuster experiences for a fraction of the retail price, and first-party franchises managing to draw in a wider audience.
Of course, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 probably didn’t need the boost in audience numbers, but its appearance on Xbox Game Pass is a huge win for subscribers. And while Black Ops 6’s success on Game Pass is also undoubtedly a big win for Microsoft after the almost $70 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, the company might have just shot itself in the foot, setting expectations that can’t be easily matched again. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Has Raised Expectations for Xbox Game Pass
For the last few years, Call of Duty has been experiencing another steady decline, with the poorer quality of each entry impacting both critical and commercial success.
