The launch of a new Call of Duty game typically ranks among the top-selling titles each year. However, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 being available on Game Pass from its release day, concerns arose about whether this would affect its performance and sales on Xbox Series X|S and other platforms. While it's still early to draw definitive conclusions, an analyst suggests that Black Ops 6 has not suffered from its Game Pass inclusion.
"Call of Duty engagement following the release of Black Ops 6 can only be described as 'bonkers,'" noted Circana analyst Mat Piscatella on Bluesky. "Our engagement tracking data hasn't seen anything like it... There's been a continuous debate about Game Pass and its influence on sales, which remains unresolved because... it varies. Sometimes it boosts sales (especially through virality), and other times it diminishes them. After two weeks, my view is that it might not have helped, but it certainly didn't hinder."
Activision reports that Black Ops 6 achieved the highest opening weekend figures for any game in the franchise in terms of total players, hours played, and matches. Miles Leslie, Treyarch's associate creative director, attributes the renewed interest in the long-standing franchise among former players to Game Pass.
"We've reached a point where Black Ops and Call of Duty have been around for so long—I've been working on it for 16 years," Leslie said. "The real challenge for us is how to keep the fans who love Call of Duty engaged, and how to create a space that welcomes new fans."
One of the conditions Microsoft had to meet to finalize its acquisition of Activision Blizzard was a commitment to keep Call of Duty games on PlayStation consoles for at least a decade. Although Activision has yet to release sales figures for Black Ops 6, making it available on Game Pass appears to have met the company's objectives for the franchise, at least for now.
Source link: https://www.gamespot.com
