Call of Duty continues to top the sales charts year after year, even if the latest game in the series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, was something of a disappointment by most accounts. But given that the series is now under Microsoft’s wing, a new game this year is a sure thing. This will be Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which will be hitting shelves on October 25.
It’s clear that many are looking forward to playing this upcoming instalment of the Call of Duty series, which will be the first one to be released on Microsoft’s Game Pass.
However, not all Game Pass subscribers will be able to play the latest Call of Duty game on launch day this fall.
You see, Microsoft’s Game Pass service offers a series of tiers with different privileges. There’s the most basic of these, Xbox Game Pass Core, which offers a selection of 25 games and multiplayer for Xbox Series X/S owners. This is priced at $9.99 per month, or $75 US dollars for an entire year. It doesn’t offer day one releases, so those on this tier won’t be able to play the next Call of Duty via Game Pass this October (unless they upgrade to another tier or buy the game separately, that is).
Microsoft recently hiked prices for Game Pass, and also introduced a new tier called Xbox Game Pass Standard, which gives access to the entire Game Pass catalog, but crucially not to day one releases at launch, meaning Call of Duty won’t be available either for those who subscribe to this Game Pass tier, which is priced at $14.99 US dollars per month (there’s no yearly bundle).
However, Microsoft has said “day one” games will be coming to the Game Pass catalog (and hence the standard tier) at some point in the future, so Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 should be available for Game Pass Standard subscribers someday, just not on launch day.
Quick and dirty chart by me to display the new Xbox Game Pass structure (subject to correction).
I hope this helps. pic.twitter.com/Qj6CX7i4kG
— Klobrille (@klobrille) July 10, 2024
There’s also Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the top tier for console gamers, the price of which will be increasing from $16.99 US dollars to $19.99 US dollars in September for current subscribers. This tier does offer day one releases like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, meaning those who subscribe to the Ultimate tier will be able to play the game on its launch date (October 25 as stated earlier).
So is the case for PC gamers who subscribe to PC Game Pass. The game will be available for them to download and play on release. PC Game Pass has also seen a price increase from $9.99 to $11.99 US dollars (this is for new subscribers, existing members won’t get the price rise until September 12 though).
See the chart above for a summary of what’s included in each tier (via Forbes).
Microsoft has removed the old Game Pass for Console tier for new subscribers, but current members won’t get access to Call of Duty on launch day either.
What to expect from this year’s Call of Duty
This next Call of Duty game will have a campaign taking place at an interesting moment in recent history: just after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, when the US became the only superpower in the world. As is typical in the Black Ops games, there’s an enemy within, and players will have to go rogue in order to fight a corrupt force inside the US government.
Also, the campaign brings back characters like Frank Woods, the former US marine and CIA operative who has featured in all the Black Ops games so far. There will also be interesting locations such as a casino in southern Europe, and multiple ways to play through missions in what could be a cracking single player campaign.
Of course, and no matter how good this year’s campaign might be, it’s the multiplayer many gamers flock to Call of Duty for, and Activision will be delivering 16 new multiplayer maps at launch according to the Black Ops 6 website. New gameplay innovations include “omnimovement” which will let you perform complex maneuvers as you battle other players on the game’s arenas.
How good will this year’s Call of Duty be?
There will also be more “hit zones” for enemies and more realistic death animations depending on where player shots hit opponents, and also a big variety of 90s era and other arms, making both multiplayer and the campaign more realistic.
Also, Zombies sees the return of the “round-based zombies” mode of old, plus a continuation of the story which began in Call of Duty: Cold War. It remains to be seen, though, whether this will offer the fast-paced and intense fun of earlier Call of Duty’s Zombies.
Nonetheless, after the disappointment that was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, people will be expecting something special from Black Ops 6. Also, Microsoft will be looking to deliver an above average Call of Duty game taking into account this is the first one to land on their Game Pass service, so hopefully this will turn out to be one of the top games in the series when it arrives this fall.