I think he was just highlighting Game Pass policy or agreement which doesn’t I think promise day one first party games. Meaning Xbox is not obligated to put COD Day one in there. I do feel though that there will be serious backlash.
1 Like
I think the question will be what happens if COD is removed will people keep subbing and will the service be able to grow. Day one games is what distinguishes game Pass from other services and why would or should third party support with their day one games if Xbox is pulling one of theirs. I don’t even think any gaming similar sub service has reached 10 million. Sony combines theirs but when it wasn’t it struggled to reach a million. For me if none of the tiers has COD Day one, I’d probably drop it and stick to Steam.
See it’s less lawsuits and more advertising regulations I think they might get slapped for it they do this - which is why I’d be surprised if there isn’t some Game Pass level that still includes CoD after this rethink.
Advertising watchdogs are stricter in the EU and UK (potentially meaning Xbox would have ads rejected if they didn’t make clear CoD wasn’t Day 1), and the below Game Pass site for Ireland for example clearly states all Day 1 games from Activision, meaning someone could complain to Trading Standards or similar that they’ve been missold if that changes (particularly given people can stack or pay for longer periods than a month).
Unlike the USA, the EU actually has consumer rights - and that’s before the PR nightmare of removing CoD, as regardless if it’s by far the biggest who’s to say it Forza Horizon grows much more that won’t come under scrutiny too?
One way to avoid the PR and false advertising issues would be to keep Ultimate (or rebrand it Ultimate Plus or something dumb) as is but introduce a cheaper tier - or make Premium better when they eventually have to drop the online multiplayer paywall for Helix…
1 Like
Personally, I don’t care about CoD, but removing CoD means they will look into removing other games once other studios look at this and ask why their biggest games need to be on day one.
Like why put Forza Horizon 6 or Fable be on game pass? why put TES6 and Fallout 5 on game pass? If these games have the potential to sell so much that being on game pass hurts their sells potential.
Basically, I see removing CoD is a slippery slope that could lead to the biggest games from each studio not being included.
Edit: Wanted to add, I get CoD makes more money than all those games combined, but the money that those games make isn’t anything to dismiss.
2 Likes
Agreed. I would imagine people would want them to clearly state what Game pass will be offering, if possible, under oath or put down in a binding agreement.
2 Likes
Do we know the MTX vs sales split for CoD, and how many of the sales are PS5?
As the only revenue lost is CoD sales on Xbox and PC, to gamers who choose to use Ultimate rather than buy, and who usually buy CoD every year (as many of us GP subs might give it a go but wouldn’t ever buy it) - and you still get MTX from those gamers if they buy any.
Only Xbox will have those figures but I’d be surprised if it’s really that big - or if they’re mistaken and think those of us who gave it a try on GP would actually waste 80 quid a year on it.
As far as I was aware, most CoD sales were on PS5 anyway…
I’m not even sure COD will do as well as it used to outside Game Pass. I also thought what mattered was the MTX. Fortnite is FTP and is among the best earning game in the world. I think it would be better if COD was bi-annually and something like Halo or another shooter could fill its place.
Maybe they separate the campaign and multi-player because let’s be honest, few people play through the campaign. I’m one of the few who cares about the campaign and that’s it.
I believe that if COD leaves Game Pass, then it’s just a matter of time before other games don’t hit day one and for sure, The Elder Scrolls VI wouldn’t be day one because they know that it will be one of their few games that will sell. But that will hurt those like me who have GPU for years like I do as im good through July 2028.
2 Likes
I agree. I like the COD campaigns especially the Modern Warfare series but did not play the last COD. If Game Pass is affecting COD, then won’t those playing COD on Game Pass leave Game Pass and if that happens Game Pass revenue will fall and might then struggle to pay other big first party games. If the revenue falls, then they will just repeat saying Game Pass can’t support this and when the next game is removed another set of gamers will leave Game Pass until it becomes a shadow of itself and ends up being shut down.
The obvious solution is they have to grow Game Pass, not shrink it. I’m stacked for a while but if I was not, I would drop the service if this were to happen and only sub once or twice a year when the games have accumulated.
I don’t even believe they will do this, but Jez has said it’s happening but just how will it go down at the June showcase. If it’s affecting game Pass that means a huge majority are playing in Game Pass or are just not playing or buying. I hope they know what they are doing, I can imagine the biased media is planning how they will spin this into 2013 levels of bad should it happen.
1 Like
I don’t think making it cheaper at the expense of chopping COD from the library is a good precedent to thee service. However, UBI classics and and fortinite crap, could go. I still have the ultimate, however I also pay UBI+, so classics is useless to me, also I don’t play Fortunite. Imo, the tiers were not well designed and could be reorganized to keep the core value of gamepass intact making it cheaper.
2 Likes
I agree completely. I’m done buying new COD releases. Funny thing is that since I got Black Ops 6 on Game Pass, I did buy a bunch of older COD games so I could play through the campaigns. I wouldn’t have done that otherwise. I tried playing the Black Ops 7 campaign and there’s no difficulty levels so right off the bat, it wasn’t going good and I died twice in 15 minutes as im not good at them at all so I always play on easy.
We’ll see what Microsoft does. One thing is certain. They keep pivoting or changing the messaging continues to do more damage to the brand, the platform and eco-system than anything else because after a while, you’re like fuck this shit, who knows what they’ll do next so why bother with them at all.
4 Likes
This is what Sharma really needs to avoid. To me Phil leaving ahead of the anniversary signified that Xbox acknowledged it needed a refresh (a soft reboot) in perception. Things had gotten to the point where everything Xbox did was a controversy. People were treating Phil either like he was their messiah or the devil with no in between. It really a breakdown in trust, and it can’t be replicated. Above all else Xbox needs clear consistent marketing and messaging. That’s so important for any consumer product. Like Apple gets away with screwing over their customers with high prices. So does Sony and Nintendo. It’s the rapid change (probably due to their rapid growth and all the economic problems) that cost Xbox people’s trust.
Ideally, Sharma understands this especially with her marketing background. Maybe she just introduces yearly plans for every tier that nets you two montbs free. Or something. I certainly hope she doesn’t immediately go back down the rabbit hole of trying to please everyone (gamers, shareholders, Microsoft execs) at the cost of consistent clear messaging. Really she and Microsoft oughta put some resources plugging those leaks. It’s kinda really bad for everyday consumers to be discussing major plans that Xbox themselves haven’t even finalized a strategy for.
3 Likes
Yes, they need to stick to a lane. I think Game Pass needs to grow to be comfortably able to run the entire Xbox gamut. I personally don’t think selling games only is sustainable for Xbox. While they do well on Steam the competition there has gone up and Game Pass at this time seems to be generating either close to or more revenue than PlayStation’s yearly software sales which makes it matter a lot more to not be fumbled.
I think COD being on Game Pass could even do so much better than this year if Xbox markets it well as a part of Game Pass, certainly spotlighting it with GTA and highlighting Series X/S as the cheapest most affordable place to play with the best features.
1 Like
I agree I think Phil knew all they planned with this anniversary maybe to hit a reset or refresh would only work with a new face. I also think he’s there till August as an adviser.
I think Sharma’s presentation has been good so far, but it’s still based on what the original plan was.
2 Likes
All monopolies can screw their customers with high prices & not the best product, just look at Windows 11
Xbox does need to sort out its PR & stop this mixed message & just double down & focus on the Console & PC side of Xbox gaming & maybe start to look at sponsorship of sporting events like F1 or Darts & a TV spot push when a big game is released
I’m all for just having one tier of Game Pass, so everyone knows where they are. COD has added little to Game Pass & just meant it’s raised up in price. I’ll be for removing COD as a Day One game & for the games to join Gamepass a year after launch & get the Gamepass price down
Also, we need to see some console price cuts for a little time this year, not just for black friday, but maybe for the weekend Gears E Day launches. Just to get some buzz back in the brand
Would you be down with Game Pass if it becomes relegated to PlayStation plus service level? COD is a first party IP so what’s stopping other first party triple A games from falling into the same situation. It has been said that Fable was pretty expensive and that was what pushed the day and date for PlayStation. I just think once COD is taken out it could lead to others following suit, certainly the developers and publishers under Microsoft might complain and push for their games to be out of Game pass for the opportunity to sell. This is something we know Pete Hines complained about when COD was not made exclusive, but Starfield was. If COD is taken out that is a promise broken that begins to sound like “Just 4 games” and in my opinion feels like a walk back.
I want Gamepass to be just the way it was before COD. I don’t get whats so hard about that?It’s not like every Activision game is on GamePass, anyway unlike with Bethesda
I would imagine Fable is expensive given its been in development for so long, but that’s the case for most 1st Party Xbox games. They’re all in development for 5 years & more.
Make COD separate & get Game Pass price Ulimate down the sensible level
Because none of them are near the cost of COD nor yearly releases. There is only one Call of Duty
I agree with both of you. In my opinion, Microsoft’s biggest negative since the Xbox One reveal in 2013 has been by far their messaging. Someone like me or you guys or others who are online and follow Microsoft/Xbox know what’s going on but a casual who doesn’t and just sees the constant changing/shifting is going to get turned off plain and simple because they won’t be certain of what they’re getting.
Microsoft needs to go in one single direction (regardless of what that direction is) and stay with it consistently so their messaging can then be consistent.
2 Likes