Black Ops 6 On Game Pass Helped Bring Back Lapsed Players, Activision Boss Says

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s creative director has commented on how Game Pass positively affected the game’s launch, saying it helped improve player numbers in multiple ways.

Speaking to the BBC, Miles Leslie said Game Pass helped convince people who were “on the fence” or “had some of that friction” to consider playing the game. He added that some people who might not have played a Call of Duty game in some time might have been convinced to “come back and try the game” thanks to Game Pass.

“We’ve gotten to the point now where Black Ops and Call of Duty have been around so long–I’ve been working on it for 16 years,” Leslie said. “And really the challenge for us is how do you bring along the fans that love Call of Duty, but how do you create an environment where you can welcome new fans in?”

Black Ops 6 launched on October 25 and set a number of records for number of players, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella specifically mentioned Black Ops 6 helping to drive Game Pass subscribers at launch. Anyone who has Game Pass Ultimate ($20/month) or PC Game Pass ($12/month) can play Black Ops 6 as part of their subscription for as long as their membership remains active. The game is also available for direct purchase on Xbox, as well as PlayStation and PC.

Before this, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick said he anticipated Call of Duty helping to drive Game Pass subscribers for Microsoft, but only for a period of time. As Zelnick sees it, releasing a major new game into a subscription service makes little sense and is a “lost opportunity” for sales. Zelnick, of course, runs a third-party publisher and has his own set of unique opinions for his business that might not compare directly to Microsoft’s own business objectives.

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter told GI.biz that Microsoft putting Black Ops 6 could lead to up to six million in lost sales; he estimated that 25% of existing Game Pass subscribers would have bought it anyway. Pachter said Microsoft could see as many as four million new Game Pass subscribers thanks to Black Ops 6.

Microsoft has not yet provided any specifics on Black Ops 6 unit sales. The game is also available on PlayStation and PC, where it’s enjoying strong year-over-year sales compared to 2023’s Modern Warfare III.

Black Ops 6 welcomes its first major update, the Season 1 launch, on November 14. It adds new multiplayer maps and modes, along with more guns and even a power drill melee weapon. November 14 is also the day when Black Ops 6 gets integrated into Call of Duty: Warzone, and when the new Warzone map, Area 99, arrives.