Activision’s latest shooter isn’t currently on the service, but is Modern Warfare 2 ever set to come to Xbox Game Pass?
On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for a staggering $68.7 billion.
This is by far the largest gaming acquisition the industry has ever seen, and as such there has been a lot of debate in the year since, regarding whether or not the purchase should be allowed to be completed.
However, even assuming that Microsoft successfully acquires Activision, the publisher of the Call of Duty franchise, it may not be able to add titles such as MW2 to its Game Pass subscription service.
Is MW2 Going to Be On Xbox Game Pass?
Assuming that the Activision Blizzard acquisition does go through as planned, Microsoft will likely add Modern Warfare 2 to Xbox Game Pass eventually. However, even after the purchase is settled, it appears that Game Pass will not be host to Call of Duty titles for a few more years.
In October 2022, Microsoft reported to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that Sony currently has an ongoing deal with Activision Blizzard that blocks Call of Duty from appearing on Game Pass:
“The agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony includes restrictions on the ability of Activision Blizzard to place Call of Duty title on Game Pass for a number of years.”
Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, has also confirmed that Microsoft intends to “honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard.”
And with that in mind, even if the deal is successful, we can’t expect MW2 or indeed COD in general to come to Game Pass anytime soon. Until then, Sony fans can continue to enjoy all these PlayStation-exclusive benefits in MW2.
Is Call of Duty Coming to Xbox Game Pass?
Yes, provided the Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft is successful (something that Sony is passionately lobbying against), Call of Duty titles will most likely appear on Xbox Game Pass.
In the acquisition announcement blog on Microsoft‘s website, the company states that it plans to bolster the Game Pass portfolio with Activision Blizzard games when the deal is complete.
We imagine that a number of titles, including the likes of Crash Bandicoot, Diablo, Overwatch 2, and World of Warcraft will appear within weeks of the deal being complete.
But it seems that Call of Duty will take a little longer to become available on the service, if it arrives at all.
If they’re lucky, Xbox fans will soon be the ones able to take advantage of exclusive COD offers, like extended beta periods and free skins. But this time round it was PlayStation users that got their hands on an exclusive free MW2 Operator!