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‘Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III’ Joining Xbox Game Pass After Subscription’s Price Hike

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‘Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III’ Joining Xbox Game Pass After Subscription’s Price Hike

Topline

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III,” the latest installment of the powerhouse gaming franchise, is coming to Xbox Game Pass on Wednesday after Microsoft announced incoming price hikes to the service, potentially creating a sweetener for users disappointed with the increasing subscription costs slated for September.

Key Facts

The addition of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III” to Xbox Game Pass makes it the first “Call of Duty” game on the subscription service, which gives users access to a library of video games, deals and discounts for varying monthly or yearly costs.

Xbox announced the development fewer than two weeks after it also informed Game Pass users of price hikes that will bring the monthly cost of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (the most premium Game Pass tier) from $16.99 a month to $19.99 a month and send PC Game Pass’ monthly cost from $9.99 to $11.99.

A new “standard” Game Pass tier will also be introduced in September for $14.99 a month.

Some users on X, formerly known as Twitter, did not take kindly to the news of the price hike earlier this month, citing frustration with the fact the change in costs will be implemented before the October release of the next “Call of Duty” game, “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which will also be on Xbox Game Pass and could serve as an incentive for users to maintain or purchase the increasingly pricey Game Pass subscription so they do not have to pay full price for the $70 video game.

It is unclear how much swaying power the addition of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III” to Xbox Game Pass will generate, as the video game has been out for more than eight months and was one of the best-selling video games of 2023.

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Big Number

34 million. That is how many Game Pass subscribers there were as of February, according to The Verge.

Key Background

Having “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III” on Game Pass marks one of the more direct gamer benefits from Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the publishers behind the “Call of Duty” franchise. The subscription service already features popular sports games like “Madden” and “MLB The Show,” as well as popular shooter “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” and action-adventure pirate game “Sea of Thieves,” so the inclusion of “Call of Duty” bolsters an already strong roster of video games. However, Game Pass subscribers will have to fork over more money to have access to the titles soon—something the Federal Trade Commission has taken issue with. The FTC in a recent filing accused Microsoft of “product degradation” with the addition of its new standard Game Pass tier, which does not include access to day-one titles—video games that can be pre-installed and played on release day without having to purchase them (“Call of Duty: Black Ops 6” is a day-one title). The FTC also said the price jumps for existing users are “exactly the sort of consumer harm” it was concerned with before Microsoft and Activision’s merger.

Further Reading

Xbox Game Pass Price Hikes Coming Soon—Here’s How Xbox Subscription Costs Compare To PlayStation’s (Forbes)

The FTC And Microsoft Argue Over Whether Xbox Game Pass Is Now Worse (Forbes)

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