Sarah Bond ensures that “very big games” are coming to Game Pass in 2024. She also lets it be known that the promise of first party games arriving day one on the subscription service still stands.
Xbox is the target of discontent from players, the press and its own employees following the announcement of the closure of four studios: Arkane Austin (Prey, Redfall), Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush, The Evil Within, Ghostwire Tokyo), Roundhouse Games (support studio) and Alpha Dog Games (Mighty Doom, an Android and iOS mobile game based on the Doom license).
Above all, the communication from Microsoft’s gaming branch on this subject has only fueled the anger of players in the video game industry. Add to this the difficulty for Xbox to attract new subscribers to Game Pass, at the heart of Microsoft’s strategy, but which has stagnated for years. Not to mention the end of exclusives with first party games which will now be released on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation. In short, here we are in an explosive situation.
Call of Duty in Game Pass on release day?
To try to put out the fire, Xbox president Sarah Bond gave an interview to Bloomberg Tech. During this interview, Xbox number 2, behind Phil Spencer, reiterated that games developed by its own studios will continue to be made available from on the day of their release on Game Pass.
This would mean that the next Call of Duty, which would be a new Black Ops according to rumors, would be well integrated into Game Pass day one. As a reminder, the title is expected for this fall 2024. Some sources suggested that Microsoft was hesitant to launch Call of Duty on Game Pass, fearing that this would represent too significant a financial loss in terms of game sales.
“You’re going to see some other really big games coming to Game Pass later this year.”, said Sarah Bond. Raised on this subject by her interlocutor, who asks her if Activision games are properly included in this statement, she responds evasively that the titles in question come from the entire extent of the Xbox portfolio. We should find out more during the Xbox Showcase on June 9, 2024. In the meantime, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is released quietly on May 21, 2024, without a physical release or big marketing campaign.
Source: Bloomberg Tech