Today is surely a day that Microsoft had marked in red on the 2024 calendar because it represents, without a doubt, the moment in which its long-term strategy in this matter of video games can be confirmed or fall like a tower of cards, because giving away with your monthly subscription is nothing more and nothing less than the last Call of Duty Black Ops 6 It is, to say the least, a small recklessness. Do you think things could turn out well for Phil Spencer’s team?
And after the purchase of Activision and Blizzard on behalf Microsoftfew believed that those from Redmond would have the courage to take one of these games that sell millions of units around the world and put it for free within Xbox Game Pass. More than anything because, on paper, the direct income of tens of millions of copies is no longer received. Although it is also true that within the ecosystem Xboxthe amounts were not as large as on PlayStation or PC. Or maybe yes?
Call of Duty calculations on Game Pass
So with this panorama, it is normal that there are analysts who, seeking a certain notoriety, have wanted to play fortune tellers by letting their imagination run wild about what the impact could be. Microsoft can wait for Call of Duty Black Ops 6 comes to Xbox Game Pass (along with other greats). And we already have a more or less approximate figure: around four million new subscribers will land on the service thanks to the latest installment of the Activision saga.
Although there are many who have started to predict what will happen, what they all agree on is that the number of subscribers of Xbox Game Pass will grow, but that will not necessarily mean gaining economically what they lose by not selling those units to what is called full price. Which are 70 or more euros for the launch. That is to say, there will be a significant movement of players who have decided to acquire it anyway and others who, because they have Black Ops 6 in your subscription, they will improve your Game Pass type to have it.
What there is no doubt is that the movement of Microsoft It is really risky because it means giving up practically guaranteed income from the game, which year after year repeats (with some fluctuations) sales figures that are around 20 or 25 million units on average. Yes in Xbox We can think that it is simply five, it is true that the number of players would now increase thanks to Xbox Game Pass, but it would have little impact on the game’s business volume as far as Phil Spencer’s is concerned.
Experiments, better with soda
It is true that Microsoft has taken a lot of risks with this strategy of putting Call of Duty Black Ops 6 free and at no additional cost (beyond the increases we have seen in recent times) but only the passage of the next few months will tell Microsoft if you are on the right path. For now, today those who are rubbing their hands are the players who have Xbox Game Pass, who were not planning to buy the game and have it ready within the service.
We will see if Microsoft You’ll come to grips with this strategy one day, right?
