Xbox fans who are waiting for Call of Duty to hit Game Pass shouldn’t hold their breath, as a recent submission made by Microsoft in response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) decision to review the Windows maker’s proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard includes new information that suggests it could be some time before the shooter franchise is available on the game subscription service. As noted in a footnote that can be found on page 22, the pre-existing agreement made between Activision Blizzard and Sony includes a restriction that prevents Call of Duty games from being released on Game Pass “for a number of years.” A bullet point at the top of the page, as well as a tweet that Xbox head Phil Spencer shared in January 2022, can confirm that Microsoft intends to honor this prior agreement.
It appears Sony is blocking Call of Duty titles being on Xbox Game Pass for “a number of years”.
— Klobrille (@klobrille) October 18, 2022
“The agreement between Activision Blizzard & Sony includes restrictions on the ability to place Call of Duty titles on Game Pass for a number of years”.https://t.co/FiAR9kquE7 pic.twitter.com/8ygTAOmEJz
From the CMA:
Tweet from Phil Spencer, January 20, 2022 (link available here) which refers to the “intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard.” The agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony includes restrictions on the ability of Activision Blizzard to place Call of Duty titles on Game Pass for a number of years.