Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will not be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch, a departure from the series' inclusion on the subscription service for the past two years. Activision is now proactively addressing potential player assumptions with new pre-order advertisements that explicitly state the game's absence from Game Pass this year.
One such advertisement, shared on social media, highlights early access bonuses for pre-ordering while simultaneously clarifying that the title will "Not on Xbox Game Pass this year." This direct approach aims to prevent confusion among players who may have come to expect new Call of Duty installments to be available day-one on Game Pass.
This messaging shift follows Microsoft's April announcement regarding the exclusion of new annual Call of Duty releases from the subscription service. Reports suggest that offering Call of Duty titles on Game Pass at launch significantly increased its cost, potentially impacting subscriber retention. Bloomberg noted that including last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Game Pass resulted in an estimated $300 million in lost revenue for Microsoft.
The return to a traditional release model for Modern Warfare 4 appears to be an effort to re-stabilize sales and revenue for the franchise. However, the need for explicit advertising to counter Game Pass expectations underscores the conflicting strategies within Microsoft's gaming division. The company aims to bolster its console ecosystem with exclusive benefits while simultaneously relying on broad platform availability and direct sales for its major titles to support its extensive publishing operations.
The era of Xbox's rallying cry "play it on Game Pass" has seemingly concluded for the Call of Duty franchise, at least for its upcoming installment.