COD Black Ops 6 will presumably bring around 4 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers

Microsoft’s decision to bring Call of Duty Black Ops 6 on Xbox Games Pass Day 1 was a very surprising move. While it is beneficial for those who want to play the game, the main intention was to bring more Game Pass subscribers. Black Ops 6 will undoubtedly bring a lot of new users, but the estimate for how much was not available until now.

The estimate on new Xbox Game Pass subscribers comes from gamesindustry who talked to various leading analysts. Each one of them had almost the same conclusion that the sales for the game will drop significantly. Managing director of Wedbush, Michael Pachter believes COD Black Ops 6 can miss out on six million sales.

However, there is also no doubt that game pass will see a surge in subscriber count. Initial estimation believes that the new subscribers can reach up to 4 million. The base price for Black Ops 6 is $70 and since regional pricing is almost non-existent, most players will like to go with the alternative of Xbox Game Pass at $19.99 on the console or $11.99 on the PC.

“There is no doubt that adding the latest Call of Duty will be expensive, at least initially, for Microsoft. However, Call of Duty is increasingly a live-service game first and foremost that monetises strongly in-game. Microsoft will be trading premium full-game sales in exchange for a bigger audience that can be monetised in-game instead,” said Piers Harding, Ampere's chief games analyst.

Also Read: COD Black Ops 6 under fire for ‘pay-to-win’ audio subscription

Will Xbox Game Pass retain the new subscribers

Out of all the new subscribers, there is no doubt that many are there for the campaign and may stay for the long run. The success of Microsoft’s gamble ultimately depends on how well they are able to retain the players. COD Black Ops 6 is already shaping up to be a highly successful game, despite some controversies.

“Call of Duty players generally play for much longer because of multiplayer and frequent map drops. I think the average is closer to six months, and a lot play year-round. The year-round players will sign up and stay,” Michael Pachter told gamesindustry.