$1 Game Pass trial ends ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Microsoft ended its permanent $1/£1 trial offer for new Xbox Game Pass subscribers last year. This change took place ahead of Starfield, the latest RPG from Bethesda and the first Bethesda title to launch day-one on Game Pass. The offer came back for a while in 2024, but now ahead of Black Ops 6, it has been taken down once again. 

The 14-day Game Pass trial ended on the 8th of October to avoid allowing people to sign up for cheap in order to play the latest Call of Duty campaign. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is due to launch on the 25th of October and will be the first game in the franchise to launch as a day-one Game Pass title.

None of this should be particularly surprising to those who saw Microsoft's similar handling of the Game Pass trial ahead of Starfield last year. Given that Microsoft has another big game on the way soon, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the 14-day trial offer for Game Pass may not return until next year.

Microsoft made a few other changes to Game Pass after acquiring Activision Blizzard and opting to bring all future COD games to the service. This includes a big shake-up of Game Pass tiers, ensuring that new day-one games, like Black Ops 6, are only made available to those on PC Game Pass, or the Game Pass Ultimate tier.

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KitGuru Says: Microsoft seems particularly worried about the possibility of hampering Call of Duty sales with its inclusion in Game Pass, leading to a number of changes to the service. Typically, COD titles are best-sellers every year, but a future where millions are playing via Game Pass instead could lead to lower sales overall. 

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