For the first time in a decade, Call of Duty is more popular on Xbox than it is on any other platform, due in no small part to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, launching on Game Pass.
“It’s about being accessible in more places, and there’s no real platform out there today, other than what we’re doing with Xbox [Game Pass] that isn’t really per-device,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a recent interview with Game File. “Most of the gaming platforms are, ‘This device runs this [game],’ and trying to think about a platform that looks more horizontally and connects creators and players in that way, that’s what we’re trying to do, and that’s the feedback we’re getting.”
The last time Xbox was the most-used platform for a Call of Duty title was in 2014, shortly after the launch of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, according to CharlieIntel. So what’s the reason behind Xbox’s sudden reclamation of the Call of Duty crown? According to Spencer, the answer is Game Pass.
Spencer says Microsoft and Activision’s marketing teams worked well together and ultimately did an excellent job of getting the word out that Black Ops 6 would be available on Game Pass.
“I’m really proud of Black Ops 6,” Spencer said. “I really saw the [Microsoft and Activision] teams gel together as they both built [the Game Pass marketing] promotion,” he said.
Microsoft’s promotional efforts didn’t end after the game’s release, of course. The launch of Black Ops 6 Season 1 saw the introduction of a creepy new Easter egg for the game’s iconic Nuketown map, which is set in a Fallout-esque nuclear test site complete with model homes inhabited by mannequins.
Prior to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision in 2022, Call of Duty maintained popularity on Xbox partially due to Microsoft paying Activision for exclusive rights to some of the franchise’s DLC and marketing campaigns.
