Microsoft’s major Game Pass changes have users furious, and many are pointing fingers at Call of Duty ahead of Black Ops 6’s announced release on the service.
In addition to raising prices on all tiers, it was announced that Standard tier subscribers will no longer be able toaccess first-party Xbox releases on day one, removing what has long been one of the major selling points of Game Pass.
This has led many to blame Call of Duty and Activision for the decision, which comes just months beforeBlack Ops 6is set to release on the service.
Xbox users and Game Pass subscribers were quick to slam the changes, with Twitter/X user SynthPotatodubbingit “the ‘Call of Duty Day 1 tax'” and questioning the value of the continued value of a service that many previously called the best deal in gaming.
One user shared the news along with a video of Xbox President Sarah Bond calling the previous Game Pass strategy “special for Xbox players [and] essential for us” and headline promising that Black Ops 6 wouldn’t be paywalled behind a new tier, which Microsoft toldEurogamerin May.
All this has subscribers furious, especially those who aren’t CoD players. As a Reddit user sarcasticallysaid, “Love that everyone has to pay more to fund COD being on there instead of just continuing to release them like normal and let the people that want to buy purchase it.”
Another comment on the thread reads, “Day one cod doesn’t sound so good now.”
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Noelle Corbett was a Senior Writer on Dexerto’s US team. She is a Gaming expert, covering Pokemon, Baldur’s Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, and RPGs. She also has bylines at CBR.
