Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass isnt necessarily a win for gamers

Date:
Fri, 02 Sep 2022 04:00:09 +0000

Description:
Phil Spencer says Call of Duty will come to Game Pass if the Activision deal passes, but that might not be a good thing.

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Microsoft has confirmed its plan to bring Call of Duty to Xbox Game Pass should it successfully acquire Activision Blizzard, but UK regulators think
it could do more harm than good.

Speaking about Microsofts proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard in a blog post , Xbox boss Phil Spencer clarified the tech giants ambitions. He said Microsoft wants to put Activisons major gaming series on Xbox Game Pass
, pitching the move as a win for players.

We intend to make Activision Blizzards much-loved library of games including Overwatch, Diablo and Call of Duty available in Game Pass and to grow those gaming communities, said Spencer. By delivering even more value to players,
we hope to continue growing Game Pass, extending its appeal to mobile phones and any connected device.

Microsoft had committed to bringing as many Activision Blizzard games as [it could] to Game Pass in its initial acquisition announcement . Spencers statement confirms the scope of that idea, and goes further to suggest that bringing Activision's games into the Game Pass ecosystem will improve player choice.

Subscription services like Game Pass make gaming more affordable and help players from all over the world find their next favorite game," said Spencer. "Game Pass empowers developers to bring more games to more players, not
fewer.

He also reiterated Microsofts commitment to making the same version of Call
of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day the game launches elsewhere. Fans have worried that Microsoft will make the series exclusive to Xbox consoles, as it did with Starfield after acquiring Bethesda last year.

But Spencer doesnt specify whether other, less commercially important Activation games will receive the same cross-platform treatment. While
Diablo, Overwatch , and other IPs could be made available on Xbox Game Pass, that doesnt preclude the possibility theyll be kept off PlayStation consoles. A hard sell (Image credit: Activision )

Call of Dutys potential move to Game Pass has stirred much excitement among fans of the FPS series. Should it go ahead, subscribers would be able to dip into the mammoth franchise at their leisure, and possibly play each new entry in the series at launch, on Game Pass, at no extra cost.

But Spencers comments about improving player choice follow a report by the
UKs Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) a state body responsible for regulating markets that raises serious concerns. It suggests the buyout
could be detrimental to the industry and consumers.

The CMA is concerned that having full control over this powerful catalog, especially in light of Microsofts already strong position in gaming consoles, operating systems, and cloud infrastructure, could result in Microsoft
harming consumers by impairing Sonys Microsofts closest gaming rival
ability to compete.

The merger is particularly worrying, it said, in light of Microsofts impressive reach across the gaming and tech industries. The company already has a major stake in the console gaming market with the Xbox Series X |S and Xbox One , a firm grip of the nascent gaming streaming field through Xbox Cloud Gaming , and dominates PC operating systems with Windows 10 and 11.

That combination of assets gives Microsoft a major advantage over potential rivals especially in the streaming space. It can stream games to Windows PCs without having to pay expensive licensing fees, design new games and services using its existing heavyweight studios, and take advantage of the huge playerbase already locked into the Xbox console ecosystem. It reckons Microsoft has an unparalleled advantage over current and potential cloud gaming service providers.

This could result in increased concentration in cloud gaming services or the market tipping to Microsoft, and ultimately deny consumers the benefits of competition between new and emerging providers vying to succeed in cloud gaming, the CMA said. (Image credit: Blizzard)

Despite Microsofts assurances, the regulator also raised concerns over Call
of Dutys Xbox exclusivity. While Microsoft might choose to keep the series cross-platform, it could impose other, more subtle access restrictions on other systems. Microsoft could well delay the release of Call of Duty content on PlayStation consoles, or impose higher pricing structures for games sold
on Sonys systems. Thatll hurt Sonys profit margins, but is also bad news for PlayStation players who don't want to buy into the Xbox ecosystem.

Thats to say nothing of the other major Activision Blizzard games Microsoft stands to acquire. Overwatch 2 will be free to play, and is set to launch on October 4 across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5 , PS4 , Nintendo Switch , and PC. While Spencer says it would move over to Game Pass, its unclear what that would really mean for an existing multi-platform game.

It could be a while yet before the deal is finalized and those kinks are worked out. The CMA will begin a fresh in-depth Phase 2 investigation off the back of its findings, while regulators in the US and other countries are yet to release any assessment, let alone give the deal their approval. Games with Gold's Xbox 360 support is ending with a bona fide classic



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/call-of-duty-on-xbox-game-pass-isnt-necessarily -a-win-for-gamers/


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