Mr Viral
This is the same tactic employed during Starfield’s launch window last year
Oct 16, 20245:56 PM EDT
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Microsoft has quietly stopped offering its $1 Xbox Game Pass trial mere days before the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
As spotted by The Verge, the company’s low-cost 14-day Game Pass membership is no longer available on its website. According to the publication, the trial was removed on October 8th.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time Xbox has done this. In March 2023, the company suddenly stopped offering the $1 trial after it had been a key marketing point for the service for years. Then, in August, the tech giant brought the trial back but shortened the window to 14 days, only to remove it again right before Starfield dropped later that month.
Of course, it makes sense why Xbox would at least temporarily stop offering the trial right before such massive game launches. After all, it wants you to subscribe at full price for PC Game Pass/Game Pass Ultimate ($14.99/month and $22.99/month, respectively) to play these games or even just buy them outright.
Black Ops 6 is also a particularly big deal for Xbox as it will be the first time a Call of Duty game will debut day one on Game Pass. It’s clearly a big gamble to see how much one of the biggest games of the year will drive subscribers. It’s arguably the biggest move the company has taken with Call of Duty parent company Activision Blizzard since it acquired the publishing giant last year.
It remains to be seen how this will pay off when Black Ops 6 launches on October 25th, especially since it’s also coming to PS5. Of course, Black Ops 6 isn’t the only notable approaching Xbox Game Pass release, as the likes of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (November 19th) and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (December 6th) are also coming to the service day one by year’s end.
Image credit: Activision
Via: The Verge
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