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Gaming revenue tanked 9% in January. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 flopped. And now insiders say Microsoft may pull its biggest franchise from Game Pass entirely.
Let that sink in. After spending a record-breaking $69 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard, Microsoft is watching its golden goose lay eggs of… well, disappointment. The numbers are ugly, the subscriber growth is stagnant, and a growing pile of evidence suggests that putting AAA blockbusters on Game Pass day one isn’t a perk—it’s a profit incinerator.
Here’s what’s happening behind the scenes, why Black Ops 7 became a cautionary tale, and why you might need to pay full price for the next Call of Duty.
The Insider Bombshell: “A Possibility” Call of Duty Leaves Game Pass
Jez Corden of Windows Central, a journalist with deep Xbox connections, dropped the revelation on a new podcast. His words were careful but explosive: removing Call of Duty games from Game Pass is a “possibility from what I’ve heard.”
Earlier in the broadcast, Corden discussed how day-one availability on Game Pass Ultimate (and lower tiers) has cannibalized sales for major first-party Xbox titles. The logic is brutal: why spend $70 on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 when you can pay a monthly fee, play it for “free,” and then cancel?
Microsoft won’t admit this publicly. But the math doesn’t lie.
The Game Pass Effect: 80% of Sales Just… Vanish
Microsoft hasn’t shared internal data on how Game Pass impacts premium sales. But other industry sources have filled the gap.
In early 2025, The Game Business lead Christopher Dring said titles on the service “lose around 80 percent of expected premium sales on Xbox.” Let’s repeat that: eighty percent. He specifically pointed to Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle as high-profile casualties. You can read his full analysis here.
Think about that for a moment. A game that would have sold 1 million copies on Xbox might only move 200,000. The rest of the “audience” is just renting it through a subscription that pays Microsoft a fraction of what a full-price sale would generate.
That math works fine for smaller indie titles or older catalog games. But for a $300+ million AAA behemoth like Call of Duty? It’s a disaster waiting to happen.
Black Ops 6 Already Lost $300 Million – Then Black Ops 7 Collapsed
Even before Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s release date was announced, the warning signs were flashing red. The first Call of Duty to debut day one on Game Pass was Black Ops 6 in 2024. Bloomberg estimated that single decision cost the franchise up to $300 million in lost revenue due to subscription cannibalization. You can check Bloomberg’s deep dive here.
Now fast-forward to Black Ops 7. The overall performance is even grimmer. According to documents leaked from a lawsuit involving former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick – detailed by IGN – Call of Duty sales fell by 60% in 2025.
That’s not a dip. That’s a cliff dive.
Steam player counts for the series hit historic lows. Meanwhile, EA’s Battlefield 6 – long considered the also-ran in the shooter wars – actually succeeded in stealing attention and sales. For the first time in years, the annual Call of Duty refresh wasn’t an automatic event. Players had options. And many chose to walk.
Microsoft’s Stagnant Growth Problem
Here’s the real nightmare for Redmond. Even with Call of Duty on Game Pass, content and services growth is effectively flat. Microsoft’s latest fiscal statement revealed that quarterly revenue dropped 5% year over year.
Think about the logic: you spend $69 billion to acquire the biggest franchise in gaming. You put that franchise on your subscription service to drive sign-ups. And then… nothing. No growth. Meanwhile, standalone game sales are evaporating.
So what’s the point?
What Comes Next? Two Possible Roads
Critics have long blamed Activision’s Call of Duty for the latest Xbox Game Pass price increase. Microsoft needs to cover the massive licensing and development costs somehow, and subscribers are footing the bill.
If Microsoft pulls Call of Duty from Game Pass entirely – or even delays its arrival by several months – two things happen:
- Launch-day sales return. Fans who want to play immediately will pay $70. That’s pure, high-margin revenue.
- Game Pass becomes cheaper again. Without the burden of day-one Call of Duty costs, Microsoft could offer more affordable tiers or slow down price hikes.
Another suggested compromise: keep the game on Game Pass Ultimate, but only after a 6-to-12-month delay. That preserves the initial sales spike while still offering long-term value to subscribers.
Either way, the era of “every Microsoft first-party game on Game Pass day one” may be ending. And Call of Duty – the crown jewel of the entire acquisition – looks like the first domino to fall.
The Bottom Line
Microsoft has a choice. Keep chasing subscription numbers that aren’t growing, or admit that Game Pass cannibalization is real and pivot back to a model that rewards premium sales.
If Jez Corden’s sources are right, the pivot is already being discussed behind closed doors. The next Call of Duty might not be “included with your membership.” And for millions of gamers who got used to that perk, that’s going to sting.
For Microsoft? It might be the only way to stop the bleeding.
Sources: Jez Corden podcast (Windows Central), TheGamer, Bloomberg, IGN