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[Topher]

I thought that was Starfield?

Who said that?

 

[GHG]

I thought that was Starfield?

That failing led to them releasing their games across multiple console platforms.

There's clearly something else they have in mind if this fails in their eyes as well.

 

[clarky]

They own COD regardless. The question is whether COD has any impact on Game Pass. If Game Pass numbers rise, what is the result in ABK revenue? Think this would have been a "win/win" for Microsoft if they had just left ABK's already successful model alone.

Going to be interesting to watch this play out.

With the amount of MTX they sell this could be a win/win for MS or it could be a total disaster. If there are a lot of Gamepass players, largely new or returning that wouldn't have bought the game at all then it could work out really nicely.

 

[GHG]

Who said that?

Starfield Has to Be Xbox Game Pass' Saving Grace for 2023

It's no secret that Redfall wasn't quite the hit that Xbox Game Pass needed for 2023, and now it's all down to Bethesda's Starfield to save the day.

gamerant.com

 

[Sanepar]

I hope it breaks and goes away. Same for ps subscription.

 

[Topher]

Going to be interesting to watch this play out.

With the amount of MTX they sell this could be a win/win for MS or it could be a total disaster. If there are a lot of Gamepass players, largely new or returning that wouldn't have bought the game at all the it could work out really nicely.

If Game Pass numbers rise and doesn't negatively impact ABK's bottom line then that's going to be a nice feather in Phil Spencer's hat. If Game Pass continues to stagnate in spite of COD then I think Spencer will be forced to approach things differently going forward. Worst possible scenario, in my mind, is COD doesn't meet revenue expectations. Pretty huge risk/reward gambit at play here. Lots of folks are going to be eyeing those Xbox financials closely come January.

 

[mayham2199]

Yeah....maybe they will see some rise in subscriptionс for next 3 or 4 months....after that will be same shit.

Taketwo CEO pretty much said as much.

 

[Topher]

Starfield Has to Be Xbox Game Pass' Saving Grace for 2023

It's no secret that Redfall wasn't quite the hit that Xbox Game Pass needed for 2023, and now it's all down to Bethesda's Starfield to save the day.

gamerant.com

 

[Shubh_C63]

I bet people will STILL end up playing on the things they used to play on instead of getting cheap "free" Gamepass.

Especially the CoD crowd.

 

[Sanepar]

Yeah because game pass is only COD right?

People who play cod, play cod. People have jobs, family, life. Regular consumers doesn't care about a catalog of old games. Elden ring is there? No. New fifa? No. New ac will be there? No. New monster hunter? No. New nba2k is there? No. New madden? No. Regular consumers will never embrace this shit.

 

[clarky]

People who play cod, play cod. People have jobs, family, life. Regular consumers doesn't care about a catalog of old games. Elden ring is there? No. New fifa? No. New ac will be there? No. New monster hunter? No. New nba2k is there? No. New madden? No. Regular consumers will never embrace this shit.

If you say so. In the next 4 months Indy, COD, Stalker 2 and Avowed all release on Gamepass all old games right?


Untwist your knickers not every consumer is just like you.

 

[Insanemaelstrom]

Was going to subscribe to gp for a month or two in order to play flight simulator 2024, but will now delay. Don't want ms to think I subscribed for cod.

As for the article and the test, yeah, cod is bigger than anything that doesn't have the rockstar logo. If that doesn't move the needle, I doubt anything will.

Personally( as someone who has never bought a cod game, only played 1 cod campaign (was free with plus) and doesn't know anyone who plays cod in real life), I don't think it will have any significant impact. Numbers will tick upwards sure but not as much as most people expect it will.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

I wrote this a while ago.

And honestly? MS is doing a terrible job at marketing this as a Gamepass release tbh.

Imagine if this fails to reach Xbox expectations...and they did a 70 billion dollar acquisition that ends up killing not only Gamepass but making that acquisition basically worthless with Sony still getting all the sales lmao.

 

[asdasdasdbb]

Microsoft is going to kill COD, aren't they.

 

[diffusionx]

Call of Duty games are extremely expensive AAA games with high production values, I don't see how the math works with Game Pass under any circumstances. Maybe it makes sense for BO6 when you picked up the game when it was 80% done but that's not going to be the case going forward.

 

[clarky]

Microsoft is going to kill COD, aren't they.

I think they'd sell it before that happens, but they fuck up most things, so i'd say its a possibility.

 

[diffusionx]

I think they'd sell it before that happens, but they fuck up most things, so i'd say its a possibility.

COD has been the top franchise in vidya for 17 years at this point. In spite of the fact that this series really is not consistent at all and hasn't been since Xbox 360. I figure at some point people will start to move on but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[clarky]

COD has been the top franchise in vidya for 17 years at this point. In spite of the fact that this series really is not consistent at all and hasn't been since Xbox 360. I figure at some point people will start to move on but it hasn't happened yet.

I thought it would have died ages ago as well. I think its too big to fail at this point, even really poor entries sell gang busters.

 

[Punished Miku]

Call of Duty games are extremely expensive AAA games with high production values, I don't see how the math works with Game Pass under any circumstances. Maybe it makes sense for BO6 when you picked up the game when it was 80% done but that's not going to be the case going forward.

Most of the other biggest games are now free.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

oh... reminds me of a thread made by a handsome and spicy chorizo.

 

[diffusionx]

I thought it would have died ages ago as well. I think its too big to fail at this point, even really poor entries sell gang busters.

Last three games have been horrible but yea they sold great. Although last year Harry Potter was the #1 selling game.

Most of the other biggest games are now free.

those games don't cost $200M+ to make and are these massive enterprises with thousands of devs every year. They have ongoing costs to maintain which are not cheap... but COD has that too.

 

[clarky]

Last three games have been horrible but yea they sold great. Although last year Harry Potter was the #1 selling game.


those games don't cost $200M+ to make and are these massive enterprises with thousands of devs every year. They have ongoing costs to maintain which are not cheap... but COD has that too.

Disagree on the last 3 games being horrible but thats just opinions. Each to there own and all that.

Its not just the price of entry, the MTX $$ these games make is insane. I thought they were going to go fully free to play at one point, but they seem to get away with both pricing models at the same time so not anytime soon i guess.

 

[Sanepar]

If you say so. In the next 4 months Indy, COD, Stalker 2 and Avowed all release on Gamepass all old games right?


Untwist your knickers not every consumer is just like you.

Yeah man, Indy, stalker 2 and avowed will put the game market on fire and you already believe not released games will be good like always with Xbox is a infinitum loop of hype.

 

[clarky]

Yeah man, Indy, stalker 2 and avowed will put the game market on fire and you already believe not released games will be good like always with Xbox is a ininitum loop of hype.

What are you trying to argue with me about?

Fuck off

 

[SmurfMustard]

I wrote this a while ago.

And honestly? MS is doing a terrible job at marketing this as a Gamepass release tbh.

Imagine if this fails to reach Xbox expectations...and they did a 70 billion dollar acquisition that ends up killing not only Gamepass but making that acquisition basically worthless with Sony still getting all the sales lmao.

You do know that MS is still getting their share from every sale on PS? So get on it and buy the game.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Absolutely. If COD can't move the needle for Game Pass, nothing will.

We'll see what happens.

What’s GP penetration among Xbox users base? Because Microsoft is sure as hell not selling more consoles because of CoD.

 

[clarky]

I wrote this a while ago.

And honestly? MS is doing a terrible job at marketing this as a Gamepass release tbh.

Imagine if this fails to reach Xbox expectations...and they did a 70 billion dollar acquisition that ends up killing not only Gamepass but making that acquisition basically worthless with Sony still getting all the sales lmao.

I agree with the bolded. MS is terrible at alot of things, but the whole marketing department is the worst and needs firing.

 

[rm082e]

I was thinking about this the other day after hearing some people speculating about the COD impact on GamePass numbers. Please fact check me on this:

Assuming someone buys an Xbox and uses the menus on the console to sign up for Game Pass, there is no 12 month bundle at a cheaper price, right? The only option for GPU at this point is a $20 a month subscription? If so, then that's $240 a year.

You can get 12 months of PS Plus Extra (the middle tier that includes access to the game library) for $135, buy COD for $70, and spend $205 to get access to online multiplayer service + COD + lots of other games.

Is that right? It's cheaper to get COD + game library subscription on PlayStation at this point?

I know there are sites where you can buy discount codes on the cheap, but I'm just thinking of the typical user who buys the console, hooks it up and follows the instructions on screen.

 

[Karak]

I will quote myself from a month or so ago

This is interesting as myself and other folks had heard that they couldn't express that COD was ON gamepass. Which I believe got pretty confirmed by others(could be wrong as I don't track that stuff much anymore)
BUT then we also heard that it DID need to move the needle.

That's like being expected to win a race when the team doesn't supply an engine. Either a translation of some sort has been lost between the 2 rumors, or they are in one hell of a Kobayashi Maru.

Edit removed the Maru link lol. I was just checking spelling. Us nerds KNOW what it means

 

[ap_puff]

Gamepass strategy is already broken. They didn't achieve any of their goals with the program. CoD won't change anything about it, the momentum from 2020 is already gone.

 

[XXL]

What’s GP penetration among Xbox users base? Because Microsoft is sure as hell not selling more consoles because of CoD.

Its safe to say they have their own internal metrics and that most likely includes console sales spike on Xbox.

 

[Esparadrapo]

Imagine if this fails to reach Xbox expectations...and they did a 70 billion dollar acquisition that ends up killing not only Gamepass but making that acquisition basically worthless with Sony still getting all the sales lmao.

The ABK deal wasn't that much about consoles. ABK was making as much money from Apple and Google than Sony and Microsoft.

On top of that, Microsoft was only 10% of ABK revenue. If Xbox as a platform or Game Pass go belly up ABK will still be making tons of cash elsewhere.

 

[StueyDuck]

I'm not gonna resub to gamepass for a month for it but I will eventually get to it.

Stack up like 3 or 4 games on gp I'm keen on, hit a month, beat campaigns then unsub.

Many monies were saved

 

[clarky]

This is interesting as myself and other folks had heard that they couldn't express that COD was ON gamepass. Which I believe got pretty confirmed by others(could be wrong as I don't track that stuff much anymore)
BUT then we also heard that it DID need to move the needle.

That's like being expected to win a race when the team doesn't supply an engine. Either a translation of some sort has been lost between the 2 rumors, or they are in one hell of a Kobayashi Maru.

Edit removed the Maru link lol. I was just checking spelling. Us nerds KNOW what it means

Its so odd, they spend 70 billion to get the game on gamepass then the marketing is AWOL in the UK aside from the odd BLOPS6 advertisement.

I'd be pushing this like a motherfucker if i was them, looks like they really have given up.

 

[diffusionx]

Disagree on the last 3 games being horrible but thats just opinions. Each to there own and all that.

Its not just the price of entry, the MTX $$ these games make is insane. I thought they were going to go fully free to play at one point, but they seem to get away with both pricing models at the same time so not anytime soon i guess.

I guess my point is that MS just has to walk this tightrope here where they don't hurt revenue by offering this game on GP. That was the point of adding that new tier, clearly. I think, all things considered, they still want people on Xbox to spend $70.

 

[clarky]

I guess my point is that MS just has to walk this tightrope here where they don't hurt revenue by offering this game on GP. That was the point of adding that new tier, clearly. I think, all things considered, they still want people on Xbox to spend $70.

Xbox COD sales are going to absolutely crater. PC and Playstation will be largely the same i think.

Not much long term effect on gamepass subs.

Thats my prediction.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

You do know that MS is still getting their share from every sale on PS? So get on it and buy the game.

You do know they...still have to recoup those 70 billion right?

 

[Not_A-Cop_Maybe]

What’s GP penetration among Xbox users base? Because Microsoft is sure as hell not selling more consoles because of CoD.

Seeing as they've merged what was Xbox Live with Gamepass, then everyone who plays online on a Xbox console, is on gamepass.
Idk what that attachment rate is for Live, but that alone would have shifted the needle.

If someone wants to go drop 100 (canadian) on a new game or pay 23bucks (price of ultimate in canada for a month) to try the COD game and the rest of the other games in the catalogue, at least if you want to just buy cod, you get someting like 10% of by being on gamepass, then imo, its a no brainer.

And yes, like every other subscription service that exists you dont own the game, but neither do you on netflix and prime.

 

[SmurfMustard]

You do know they...still have to recoup those 70 billion right?

That's not how assets work.

 

[Kvally]

For me, as an owner of both Xbox and PS, the arrival of the PS5 Pro to almost coincide with Black Ops 6 has made it an easy choice.

I'd rather play all future multi-plat titles on the more powerful system.

I am going to play where all my friends and family are playing, so the choice was easy for me. If performance was the priority, I would get a PC.

 

[Kvally]

You do know they...still have to recoup those 70 billion right?

But they don't, they still have it.

 

[rm082e]

Also, Game Pass Core is $10 a month, so $120 a year if you're on a monthly sub. Like Ultimate, I'm guessing there is no option in the console menu to get 12 months at a cheaper rate? I tried looking at the website and it doesn't mention anything about a yearly discounted price.

 

[DaleinCalgary]

For me, as an owner of both Xbox and PS, the arrival of the PS5 Pro to almost coincide with Black Ops 6 has made it an easy choice.

I'd rather play all future multi-plat titles on the more powerful system.

We shall see if they make the Pro version much better, or barely better.

 

[TehGoomba7s]

Question - will MS allow their flagship title to run better on PS5 Pro?

I'm thinking back to that 'parity' shit from a few years ago - can the PS5 Pro version run better than the Xbox version or do they have to run equal?

They let Diablo IV, that now runs better on Pro than SX.

 

[Karak]

Its so odd, they spend 70 billion to get the game on gamepass then the marketing is AWOL in the UK aside from the odd BLOPS6 advertisement.

I'd be pushing this like a motherfucker if i was them, looks like they really have given up.

Its an odd thing for sure. Though, as hinted and I think the numbers bare out, much of that future is in mobile. OR at least a shoring up of financials. Not a ignorant move but confusing to a core gamer lets say.
That being said directly to what you were saying about COD.

YES. We discussed this a couple weeks ago I think on my podcast where we tried to figure out. Why you would be a bad coach.
Meaning have a demand but pull the starting team off the field like this.

I would say "oh its just MS" but thats solidly not just MS doing this stuff.
Tangentially this is also reflected in all these games coming out with no PR lately. None, 0. Just ignoring PR. I mean even code has been weird lately for some games. It is a mixture of market contraction for sure, but god damn if it doesn't feel like these companies know an asteroid is going to hit. It started before Embracers failed deal but the number of oddities is insane. We could say the asteroid is just a total dropout and resetting of the market or a massive fracturing of it. I believe the second. Things have a tendency to NOT condense and with so many makers of differing hardware even failures in many places you still have a wild ass offering.

 

[Not_A-Cop_Maybe]

Also, Game Pass Core is $10 a month, so $120 a year if you're on a monthly sub. Like Ultimate, I'm guessing there is no option in the console menu to get 12 months at a cheaper rate? I tried looking at the website and it doesn't mention anything about a yearly discounted price.

Thats why you go to the other websites and get them for cheaper.
Albeit they have been cracking down- and by cracking down i mean they are equating sales in those regions to match the exchange rate correctly, so that other regions stop getting fucked over.

On an related note to the topic, everyone here arguing whether or not this helps gamepass, has not realized that regardless of the game getting played on gamepass or bought outright, Microsoft is going to make bank regardless. Like, you buy it on any platform, Microsoft makes money. They can choose to spread that where ever they see fit.

 

[Topher]

Also, Game Pass Core is $10 a month, so $120 a year if you're on a monthly sub. Like Ultimate, I'm guessing there is no option in the console menu to get 12 months at a cheaper rate? I tried looking at the website and it doesn't mention anything about a yearly discounted price.

$60 a year on Amazon

 

[pudel]

MS has the superior lineup for this holiday. If you're into FPS games you could play Call of Duty, Stalker 2, Indiana Jones and Avowed, plus 2 dozen other games for $68. No one has ever competed that hard, ever. It's embarrassing how much better value it is, but it will still not move the needle. That tells you market forces no longer matter when assessing performance. Price cuts by a factor of 4 not moving the needle is something we never saw in previous gens, and I called that years ago.

I mean it might sound a bit crazy...but maybe people think that paying 68 bucks for all these big games isnt just healthy (in the long run). I do at least. If you want good games also in the future, you simply have to pay a reasonable amount and i am happy to pay these amounts. That what MS is doing here isnt healthy at all imho.

 

[BennyBlanco]

maybe this is me being ignorant, but I feel like the average CoD player just plays CoD and Apex/Fortnite/whatever. They arent gonna be interested in playing Hellblade 2 and Slay the Spire if it means another monthly sub.

 

[Karak]

maybe this is me being ignorant, but I feel like the average CoD player just plays CoD and Apex/Fortnite/whatever. They arent gonna be interested in playing Hellblade 2 and Slay the Spire if it means another monthly sub.

It could be true but the AVERAGE Call of Duty player has also changed, and seen huge adjustments in typical systems.
Hopefully that makes sense