For the first time in a decade, Call of Duty has surpassed its popularity on other platforms, with Xbox leading the charge, largely thanks to the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Game Pass.
"It's about making the game accessible in more places, and there isn't really any other platform today, other than what we're doing with Xbox [Game Pass], that isn't tied to a specific device," Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer explained in a recent interview with Game File. "Most gaming platforms are designed around, 'This device runs this [game],' but we're trying to create a more horizontal platform that connects creators and players in a broader way, and that's the feedback we're receiving."
Xbox last held the top spot for a Call of Duty title in 2014, shortly after the release of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, according to CharlieIntel. So, what led to Xbox's resurgence in popularity for Call of Duty? According to Spencer, the answer lies in Game Pass.
Spencer credits the collaboration between Microsoft and Activision's marketing teams, which effectively communicated the availability of Black Ops 6 on Game Pass. "I'm really proud of Black Ops 6," Spencer said. "I saw the [Microsoft and Activision] teams come together seamlessly as they built the [Game Pass marketing] campaign," he added.
Microsoft's promotional efforts continued post-launch, with the introduction of a chilling new Easter egg in the Nuketown map during the launch of Black Ops 6 Season 1, set in a Fallout-inspired nuclear test site featuring model homes inhabited by mannequins.
Before Microsoft's acquisition of Activision in 2022, Call of Duty's popularity on Xbox was partly due to Microsoft securing exclusive rights to some of the franchise's DLC and marketing campaigns.
Source link: https://www.gamespot.com
