The Future of CoD: Phil Spencer Confirms Xbox Plans for 2024

The upcoming 2024 installment of Call of Duty is rapidly approaching, but will Game Pass subscribers have access to this year’s new iteration? Although it is not yet official, Xbox lead Phil Spencer has stated that the studio does have plans in place.

Despite facing numerous challenges and obstacles over the course of three years, Microsoft was ultimately able to finalize their acquisition of Activision Blizzard in late 2023, making it a monumental transaction with a total cost of $68.7 billion.

Similarly to the previous acquisition of ZeniMax, the majority of the publishing giant’s intellectual property was immediately available on Game Pass. However, the rollout of Activision Blizzard’s titles on the subscription service has been slightly delayed. Only now are the first titles starting to become available, with Diablo 4 being added on March 28.

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the future of Activision’s flagship game, Call of Duty. Fans are wondering if the series will become available on Game Pass, if new titles will be released on their launch day, and if the next installment will be CoD 2024. Here is everything you need to know.

An image of Xbox Game Pass Core promotional art. — Xbox

Activision Blizzard’s biggest titles are yet to release on Game Pass.

Is Call of Duty 2024 Coming to Game Pass?

With Microsoft closing down multiple studios, the possibility of CoD 2024 being included in Game Pass seems less and less likely.

According to a report by The Verge, Microsoft was deliberating internally about whether to include new Call of Duty games in Game Pass, following the closure of several game studios by the company.

It has been reported by Tom Warren of Verge that there are worries among Activision Blizzard employees that releasing CoD 2024 may negatively impact the company’s revenue.

Additionally, Phil Spencer reassured fans of Call of Duty that the Xbox team is committed to their ambitions and intends to make all Activision titles available on Game Pass in the future.

In an interview with Stephen Totilo, Spencer stated that our goal is for Game Pass to include the complete range of games from ZeniMax, Activision Blizzard, and Xbox Game Studios.

Even though it won’t be revealed for a few more months, there was no specific mention of this year’s CoD release. Therefore, the possibilities for this one are still wide open.

If Microsoft successfully finalizes its plans, CoD 2024 could potentially be available on Game Pass upon its initial release. However, if the company is unable to meet its objectives, it may be released at a later date.

Will the 2024 release of Call of Duty be available on Game Pass on its release day?

If Microsoft follows through with its plans, CoD 2024 will be released as a “day one”title on Game Pass, allowing subscribers to access it immediately.

Similarly to popular titles like Starfield and Forza Motorsport, Xbox has made many of its major releases available on the subscription service from launch, allowing players to experience the complete games without paying the full price of a brand new release.

Spencer has confirmed that the company’s goal is to achieve the same trend with CoD.

Our goal is to have all the games from ZeniMax, Activision Blizzard, and Xbox Game Studios included in the Game Pass on the first day of release.

CoD 2024 could make history as the first annual release to not break sales records, should it be available on Game Pass.

At the moment, words are simply words and as history has shown, they should be approached with caution. However, if plans do come to fruition, Game Pass subscribers can anticipate having access to CoD 2024 on the first day. We will continue to provide you with any future updates on this matter.