The Ultimate tier for Xbox Game Pass is getting a big change. Call of Duty will officially no longer be a day one launch for the platform, backpedaling one of Microsoft Gaming’s biggest decisions of the past few years. I, and plenty of other gamers, have used Xbox Game Pass as a way to try a lot of games that I might not check out otherwise. New Call of Duty games becoming day one launches was a bold move from Microsoft Gaming, but it was ultimately a misstep.
When looking back at what a huge story Microsoft buying Activision in 2023 was, it wasn’t too surprising that the company would eventually decide to bring Call of Duty to Game Pass. Other Xbox exclusive games like Starfield and Forza Horizon 5 were day one launches. Call of Duty wasn’t fully exclusive, but being put under the Xbox umbrella meant it was natural to assume that bringing the franchise to Game Pass would give the subscription service a bump. Granted, that guess wasn’t wrong. When Black Ops 6 was the first Call of Duty game to come to Game Pass, it resulted in a huge increase in new subscribers. As the Xbox ecosystem has seen some major shake-ups in the past few months. Call of Duty losing its day one status marks a turning point. It isn’t as big of a deal as it seems, though.
Best Xbox Game Studio Titles On PlayStation, Ranked
Xbox may have some incredible exclusives under its belt, but it’s been kind enough to let PlayStation users join in on the fun, too.
Why are Call of Duty’s Day One Releases Leaving Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in the First Place?
This all goes back to the recent change in Xbox management. After Phil Spencer left Xbox, many assumed that Sarah Bond would be next in line to take his place. On the same day that Spencer’s retirement was revealed, Bond shocked the industry by also announcing her departure from the company. It’s hard to say what exactly went down with Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and their fellow Xbox execs. After Bond spearheaded the failed “This is an Xbox” campaign and longtime fans were frustrated with the company moving away from exclusivity, gamers were eager to find out who would step in to lead.
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Asha Sharma was introduced as the new Microsoft Gaming CEO in February, and she’s hit the ground running. Since she has only held the title for a few months, it’s too early to tell if she will be a good leader for Xbox’s future. However, she’s been making some interesting moves, with one of the biggest so far being lowering the price of Game Pass Ultimate.
The Xbox Game Pass price cut changes the Ultimate tier from $29.99 to $22.99 a month. Game Pass’ 2025 price increase was one of last year’s biggest controversies, but it looks like Asha Sharma is trying to smooth things over with the Xbox audience. The one downside to this price cut is that it means Call of Duty‘s day one status had to be scrapped for the sake of cost.
Playing Call of Duty Long-Term on Game Pass Doesn’t Make Much Sense Anyway
When Ultimate was $30 a month, gamers would be spending the amount of what a Call of Duty game costs in a little over two months. If Call of Duty is the only game you play, spending more than two months playing it on Game Pass means that you’re actually just paying way more for it than you should be. With Game Pass’ price cut, that also leaves extra money at the end of the month to ultimately save for an actual physical or digital copy instead of just subscribing. Having Call of Duty on Game Pass only makes sense for gamers who are curious about trying the franchise for the first time or just want to dip their feet in every now and then.
Call of Duty Will Still Come to Game Pass Ultimate Eventually
Just because Call of Duty is no longer day one doesn’t mean that it’s off the platform for good. Asha Sharma’s announcement assured gamers that new Call of Duty games would come to Ultimate about a year after their initial launch. That’s really not that long of a wait for someone who really wants to play Call of Duty exclusively on that platform. It still gets to be part of the Xbox Game Pass lineup, but it just requires a little extra patience.
Last year, a report revealed that Call of Duty being on Game Pass cost Xbox and Microsoft an estimated $300 million in sales.
More Xbox Game Pass Changes Are Probably on the Way
This is likely just one of many future changes to Xbox Game Pass. Just recently, ex-PlayStation exec Shawn Layden made some negative comments about Xbox’s subscription service. He left a LinkedIn comment that stated Xbox is trying too hard to save a dying platform. This led Asha Sharma to reply, “I would love to chat sometime.” Asha Sharma and Shawn Layden potentially meeting about Xbox Game Pass would be an unexpected turn of events, but it also shows that Sharma is interested in listening to feedback, whether good or bad.
As the Xbox ecosystem has seen some major shake-ups in the past few months. Call of Duty losing its day one status marks a turning point.
It was already known that Asha Sharma thought Game Pass was too expensive after an Xbox memo was leaked, but some gamers probably didn’t expect a cheaper Ultimate tier would mean losing a day one game as big as Call of Duty. If losing day one Call of Duty launches means cheaper Game Pass prices, though, then so be it. The service has so much more to offer than Call of Duty, and the franchise’s sales are going to be fine whether it’s on Game Pass or not.
The Xbox Game Pass games that aren’t major AAA titles are what make the service really worth the money. Games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, South of Midnight, The Alters, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Hades 2 are the titles that benefit the most from a day one release. It gets smaller titles in front of a lot more players, and Call of Duty simply doesn’t have that kind of visibility problem. Yes, it would be great if Game Pass could be cheaper while also letting the FPS series stay on the day one list, but it’s worth the sacrifice to make way for cheaper subscription prices.
