Call of Duty’s Game Pass future confirmed in Microsoft trial

Here we go, confirmed. Call of Duty is packing its bags amid a transfer to Microsoft as the $69 billion fee for its service has been given the green light by the US courts alongside Overwatch, Candy Crush, and the rest of the Activision Blizzard King portfolio.

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision has now been approved by the United States legal system, which blocked the FTC's injunction, meaning only the United Kingdom's CMA stand in its way of having the deal approved worldwide.

Even then, negotiations have just opened between the tech giants and the government to finally get the merger over the line. With that, Call of Duty will be officially owned by the Xbox creators, leaving Microsoft with the option to spin out the series on Game Pass.

Microsoft confirm Call of Duty's Game Pass fate in court case files

Although Microsoft has been actively signing deals to make sure its player base will be at an all-time high in the Call of Duty community, the new owners of the franchise will likely want to squeeze every penny out of the series to earn back that $69 billion and utilise all of Xbox's arsenal.

But, Game Pass has been ruled out of its plans for Call of Duty. At least for a few years, as its UK CMA files confirm that the series won't be a part of the subscription until 2025.

The statement claimed that this is a "reasonable period" of time to have elapsed after the deal is closed, which shouldn't make a negative impact on the competitive market.

Could Call of Duty come to game pass sooner than 2025?

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Although the court filings indicate that Call of Duty won't come to Game Pass, if at all, until 2025, it's understood that this is in reference to the premium annual releases - such as the upcoming Modern Warfare 3 and Treyarch's Gulf War title.

This does leave the door open to older games being added, especially those titles which have been given backward compatibility, such as Advanced Warfare and Black Ops 2.

These games are currently listed at £39.99 on the respective console stores, dissuading players from playing them again, making them a perfect target for Game Pass.

Nothing has been confirmed yet, but Game Pass owners can be forgiven for getting a little bit excited about landing some huge Call of Duty titles in the coming years.