Call Of Duty On Game Pass Reportedly Cost Microsoft $300m In Lost Sales

"That's according to Cecilia D'Anastasio of Bloomberg, who talked to seven current and former employees of Microsoft. One of them informed Bloomberg that Microsoft estimated it had lost more than $300m in sales across console and PC by putting Call of Duty on to Game Pass last year. For those wondering, that's around 4.2 million copies, assuming each was sold for $70, and you don't count any special editions and such."

"However, we don't know how many people subscribed to Game Pass in order to play the newest CoD or upgraded to the highest tier, making it hard to judge whether Microsoft deems those lost sales worthwhile or not. All we know is that they are sticking with the strategy, because CoD is scheduled to release on Game Pass Ultimate again this year."

"The purchase of Activision-Blizzard and subsequent move to put Call of Duty on to Game Pass was widely seen as a way to significantly boost subscriber numbers, which had been slowing down for years. Microsoft don't provide any official subscriber numbers or reveal copies of games sold these days, so we cannot know for sure, but the massive price hike of Ultimate seems like another tacit admission that Game Pass is still bleeding money."

Microsoft estimated more than $300 million in lost console and PC sales from placing Call of Duty on Game Pass, roughly equivalent to 4.2 million $70 copies. Seven current and former Microsoft employees provided the estimate. The number of people who subscribed or upgraded specifically to access the newest CoD remains unknown, complicating evaluation of the move's value. Microsoft will include Call of Duty on Game Pass Ultimate again this year. The Activision-Blizzard acquisition and the decision to put flagship titles on Game Pass aimed to increase subscriber growth. Microsoft no longer publishes detailed sales or subscriber figures, and the recent Game Pass Ultimate price increase signals ongoing financial strain.

Read at WGB