Microsoft Reportedly Lost $300 Million Bringing Call of Duty to Game Pass

Microsoft’s bold move to include Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass may not be paying off as expected. A new Bloomberg report claims the decision cost the company an estimated $300 million in lost game sales, even as the subscription service continues to grow.

Earlier this week, Xbox announced a significant price increase across Game Pass tiers, raising Game Pass Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99 per month. While the company justified the hike as a necessary step to “maintain service quality,” it didn’t take long for players to connect the dots, especially since this change comes just before the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

As reported by Bloomberg’s Cecilia D’Anastasio, several current and former Xbox employees said Microsoft’s heavy reliance on Game Pass is beginning to backfire. One insider told the outlet that in 2024 alone, Xbox gave up more than $300 million in Call of Duty sales across console and PC.

Now, this shouldn’t come as a total surprise. When you give players access to a blockbuster like Call of Duty as part of their subscription, of course, you’ll lose out on traditional sales revenue. The question is whether Game Pass can make up that shortfall through long-term growth, microtransactions, or subscriber retention, and right now, that’s not entirely clear.

To be fair, Microsoft’s bet did deliver some short-term wins. According to CEO Satya Nadella, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 had the “largest launch of any Call of Duty ever,” largely thanks to its inclusion on Game Pass. That translated into record subscriber growth on launch day, with Nadella calling it the platform’s “most successful day-one performance ever.”

Yet, as Bloomberg points out, the growth didn’t come cheap. Even if Black Ops 6 set records in terms of player count, Xbox’s profit margins took a hit. IGN previously reported that 86% of Black Ops 6’s physical and digital sales came from PlayStation players, meaning Microsoft’s own ecosystem didn’t benefit as much from its billion-dollar acquisition of Activision Blizzard as it hoped.

There’s another layer to this story. Microsoft has now quietly removed a long-standing perk for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers: the 10% discount on Call of Duty add-ons, including COD Points and BlackCell bundles. According to reports from IGN, the discount was pulled as part of a broader overhaul of Game Pass benefits. Instead of upfront savings, Microsoft is now pushing its upgraded Rewards program, which offers cashback in the form of points. So rather than getting 10% off directly, Ultimate subscribers earn 10% back in points on select purchases. Points can be redeemed later for gift cards or other store credit.

PureXbox noted that the removal isn’t limited to Call of Duty; most Game Pass DLCs have lost their 10% discount, with EA Play titles being the exception. Microsoft hasn’t issued an official statement yet, but the move seems intentional, aligning with its strategy to keep spending within the Xbox ecosystem.