Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass Could Be Coming With a Special Feature

Highlights

• The recent discovery of Black Ops 3 on Xbox Cloud Gaming hints at the Call of Duty library coming to Game Pass.
• Microsoft aims to make Xbox the top platform for Call of Duty titles, potentially adding them to Game Pass.
• Speculation suggests an announcement may come at the June Showcase.

A Reddit user recently spotted a Call of Duty title in the catalog of the Xbox Cloud Gaming mobile app. The discovery adds further fuel to the recent rumors of Xbox gearing up to add the Call of Duty library to Game Pass, further hinting that it may be available to stream over the cloud as well.

Ever since Microsoft closed its merger with Activision Blizzard King back in October 2023, speculation has run rampant about when the iconic first-person shooter franchise will land on Xbox Game Pass. The Netflix-esque service, boasting a collection of hundreds of games, reached 34 million subscribers back in February, according to Microsoft. Diablo 4 was the first Activision Blizzard game to grace the service, and quickly made Xbox the number one platform for the title. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has stated that they’re working on getting Call of Duty on Game Pass, but didn’t specify a time frame.

It seems we may be close, though, as an eagle-eyed user recently stumbled upon an intriguing find in the Xbox Cloud Gaming app. In a Reddit post, they revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 appeared listed among the titles compatible with Xbox Cloud Gaming, a service bundled with Game Pass Ultimate that allows players to stream games directly to their devices from a server.

The user did attempt to launch Black Ops 3 through Cloud Gaming, but ended up with the app freezing and reverting to the home screen, further indicating that it isn’t supposed to be listed at this time. They also clarified that they don’t own the game. This unexpected discovery may hint at Microsoft making the Call of Duty library available via both Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Call of Duty On Game Pass May Just Be Months Away

With how huge the Call of Duty fanbase is, adding the entire back-catalog of the series to Game Pass seems like a no-brainer for Microsoft, especially now that it owns the IP. It’s believed that Xbox will announce Call of Duty titles for Game Pass at its rumored June Showcase. While there’s no concrete evidence that suggests cloud gaming functionality will be included, it would explain why it’s taken so long. Moreover, the prospect is also enticing, as newer Call of Duty games have huge download sizes, and being able to jump in without dealing with lengthy downloads and storage space issues is highly convenient.