If you were hoping to take advantage of the $1 two-week trial of Xbox Game Pass to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, you’ve already missed your chance.
An undeniable truth about modern gaming is that this hobby just keeps on getting more and more expensive.
Even without investing in the likes of the $700 PS5 Pro (Stand and Disc Drive not included), AAA games now cost around $70 a pop.
And for many fans looking to upgrade to the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Vault Edition, they’ll be laying down $100 before even getting their hands on the game.
So it’s no surprise that many fans were looking to take advantage of the $1 Xbox Game Pass trial in order to play Black Ops 6 on launch day. But it seems that Microsoft was one step ahead of us.
Xbox Game Pass Removes $1 Trial Ahead of Black Ops 6
Fans will not be able to use the $1 for 14-days trial of Xbox Game Pass to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at launch, as Microsoft has sneakily removed the deal at the last minute.
It appears that the 14-day Xbox Game Pass trial was removed on October 8, meaning that it won’t be possible to play Black Ops 6 even if you signed up on the final day before the $1 deal was taken offline.
We shouldn’t be too surprised by this, as the $1 trial was also briefly removed just days before Starfield launched in September 2023.
After all, after Microsoft paid $68.7 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard, and Call of Duty along with it, the publisher likely wants to capitalize fully on the new release’s hype.
And with Call of Duty titles routinely being one of the best-selling games of the year without fail, it appears that Xbox doesn’t want you to get away with playing the game for a single dollar.
Playing Black Ops 6 for $1
Prior to its removal, players on Xbox or PC could play Black Ops 6 for just $1 by activating the Xbox Game Pass 14-day trial period.
If you’re a new Game Pass user, Microsoft used to offer a trial of Game Pass that lasted for two weeks and could be obtained for only a dollar.
Since Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is arriving on Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass PC on day one, that would have allowed thousands of players to drop into Treyarch’s upcoming shooter, for practically no upfront cost.
What’s more, 14 days is more than enough time to complete the Black Ops 6 Campaign, judging by Treyarch’s comments about the story mode’s length.
Will the $1 Deal Return?
The $1 introductory Xbox Game Pass deal will likely return at some point in the future. After all, the deal did make a welcome return after the hype for Starfield died down.
However, it’s worth noting that the $1 deal used to be for a full month of Xbox Game Pass – before Microsoft altered the trial length to be just two weeks, back in March 2023.
If and when the $1 trial returns, we may see it adjusted slightly once again.
The good news is, if you never feel like you want to shell out the full $70, you’ll be able to pick up a full-price Xbox Game Pass subscription and maintain access to the game until you’re completely done with it.
Here’s a breakdown of all Game Pass tiers, what they include, and their current pricing:
Alternatively, wait long enough for the deal to return and you may get to play Black Ops 6 for just a single dollar after all.
Unfortunately, this offer will only ever be for platforms where Xbox Game Pass is available. Therefore, PlayStation users will not be able to take advantage of it, unless they have a gaming PC on standby.