Microsoft Pulls $1 Xbox Game Pass Trial Just Days Before Black Ops 6 Release Date

Microsoft has pulled the $1 trial option for Xbox Game Pass just days before the highly anticipated release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

[S2Killinit]

Hahaha 😆 oh MS

[Walalon]

They know everyone gonna get that deal just to test Bops6 and then leave hahaha.

[Einhander1972]

That's funny, when I read the title I actually assumed they restarted the $1 game pass deal to boost numbers... HAHA they actually removed it, so Microsoft... So dumb and backwards.

[Einhander1972]

Ya know, after thinking about it more.

This shows, they think there is more value in the money than the subscriber numbers.

It really just highlights how much they must worry about losing sales. And how little confidence they have in retaining customers.

[Mr_cheese]

Only bad news if you play it

[andy85]

In fairness a lot of COD players play just that for the vast majority of their gaming time. Most of my friends are like that. 98% of their time is split between COD and 'Fifa'. If someone's buying GP just for that it's costing 3x what it does on PS for the full year, and you can't sell it after. Also, do you not get deals in the US? It's £70 regular price in the UK but I picked it up for £45 on preorder a few weeks ago. You can still get it for £53 though even now. I'll actually be able to play the campaign, sell it and make more than the 45 I paid 🤣

[DodoDojo]

We have known for awhile now that they were going to try and bank on COD to try increase profit on the service and im not sure why anyone would be surprised by this move, they didn't spend 70 billion to give away the service ever time they release a big game on it. It's going to be a big test for subscription, if COD doesnt grow the profitability of the service nothing will.

[Einhander1972]

DodoDojo

Of course they are going to try to make as much profit as possible.

I guess people are missing the nuance of what i am saying.

They can either maximize profit by charging more or they can maximize profit by gaining subs by offering cheap subscriptions, and hoping that people stay suscribed.

They chose to forgo subscription numbers in exchange for higher prices.

[crazyCoconuts]

On what grounds would you call it dumb and backwards? Seems like a calculated move to me.

[Strange99]

How is that dumb and backwards? People had ample time to hop on the bandwagon. Its one week away from one of the biggest reason to get Game Pass. But, no, let’s keep the $1 fee and need literally 15x more people to make up for each person who’s gonna use it and cancel after they finish the campaign. Quit pandering.

[Michiel1989]

I honestly feel like reading your comments make me more stupid by the second, OF COURSE A COMPANY IS WORRIED ABOUT SALES, ITS A COMPANY, THEY WANT TO MAKE MONEY.

-If they had low confidence to retain subs they wouldn't increase the price, they would lower it, anyone could think of that (it's not even an increase because 1 is not the standard price).
-Subscriber numbers are also money, if they didn't care about subscriber numbers they wouldn't put more games on there or buy actiblizz for 70bil to put some of their most popular games on there.
-So you wanted them to reduce the price to 1 to artificially increase their numbers for a month or 2 and when they don't do that it's backwards and dumb?

not having a permanent 94% off sale highlights how much they worry about losing sales? so sony must be extremely worried about their sales of ps+ because they never do those kinda sales or does it only apply to ms?

Also do you really think they're worried about anything with a new COD releasing? it's gonna be a cashcow either way

[Einhander1972]

Perhaps you feel dumb because you can't understand what I am saying.

First you say this...
"-If they had low confidence to retain subs they wouldn't increase the price, they would lower it, anyone could think of that."

Then you say this.
"-So you wanted them to reduce the price to 1 to artificially increase their numbers for a month or 2 and when they don't do that it's backwards and dumb?"

Do you not see the contradiction in your own arguments?

"not having a permanent 94% off sale highlights how much they worry about losing sales? so sony must be extremely worried about their sales of ps+ because they never do those kinda sales or does it only apply to ms?"

Sony has been very clear on where they stand when it comes to game sales versus subscriptions, so when you make this argument its irrelevant to Sony because Sony is not putting its games on any service day one.

So the answer to your basic premise is: Yes, Sony is worried about subscriptions lowering the profit from traditional sales.

"Also do you really think they're worried about anything with a new COD releasing? it's gonna be a cashcow either way"

Maybe, but recently CoD games haven't been making as much as they used to. But that aside, I believe you're ignoring the basic point here. That Microsoft stands to lower the income of CoD by putting it on a subscription (at any price) IF THEY CAN"T RETAIN users for at least 3 months(60$ worth).

But of course it's much more complicated than that because they also need to add games to the service, so while in the past if they sold CoD for $60 they got the $60 to pay for development now that $60 has to pay for CoD's development as well as the upkeep of the service. And on top of that we have seen data that shows that when a game is on a subscription users are less likely to buy DLC/MTX.

Which leads back to my entire point, Microsoft chose to increase their profits via removing the discount against the potential to gain long term subscribers. Which isn't exactly the look your going for when you big goal is the subscription versus traditional sale through a digital marketplace or retail.

Which again is why they are putting their games on Nintendo and PlayStation... to retain some value from game sales.

[OptimusDK]

How can you get downvoted for stating facts lol

[PhillyDonJawn]

Just not smart. Oh I read it wrong. I was gonna say lol. Giving $1 gp out when CoD finna drop is insane.

[ocelot07]

They will bring it back in a few weeks. They did it with Starfield.

[franwex]

Yep. It seems to be the MO once a highly anticipated game is about to release.

[Dandizzle]

It's because they want to hook users so they play concurrently and spend money on micro transactions for skins. COD makes all their real money from that

[cthulhucultist]

scummy practices as always. I feel like each generation gaming companies become more greedy by testing the waters with numerous greedy practices on numerous fronts (price hikes, incomplete games to sell DLC just few months later, micro transactions, lazy remasters, removal of perks and benefits etc)

[pwnmaster3000]

“ I feel like each generation gaming companies become more greedy by testing the waters“

Didn’t know a company was offering $1 services to play brand new games last gen.
When was this?

[Profchaos]

They were never under any obligation to give a $1 trial for new members and it's proven that people exploit it repeatedly.

[cthulhucultist]

@Profchaos: Yes you are correct that they were never under obligation. But that does not mean that features and benefits arent being removed by companies as the generations proceed while other things such as game prices, console prices and online services fees are increase.

Which was my point.

@pwnmaster3000:Gamepass trial for 1$ has been offered long before Xbox Series X/S release in November 2020.

https://www.engadget.com/20...

https://www.facebook.com/xb...

In 2018 Gamepass offered a trial for 30 days for 1$. There were even promos for ultimate in 2019 for 3 months for 1$ As we know this generation we have seen plenty of downgrades already such as:

Xbox Live Gold to Game Pass conversion ratio
game pass price hike
removal of game pass day 1 games for certain game pass tiers
trail reduced from 30 days to 14 days

So I am not sure what your point is.

[Armyofdarkness]

Honestly pretty nice, 1 dollar when COD drops would have been beyond crazy. Its worth one month right?

[anast]

Just get rid of the trial. No one is going to pay $1 for this service and decided to sub for a year.

[franwex]

Umm… 😅

[Hereandthere]

There should be no trial, they know what game pass is and what it offers.

[Deathdeliverer]

Ok so the bait has been laid, like I always said it would be. It’s what several of people have done without realizing it. “Wow, I can play the new call of duty for just $1! Sign me up!” That month ends and now what? Still want to play call of duty? Just pay that $20. Month after and you have bought some dlc? Well guess what? That month is over and there’s no discounted year bundles so… hand over that monthly payment… or you know… do what you should have done from the beginning… buy the game…

[dveio]

While I can understand it ... man, what a decoy it would have been if they'd let it stay up.

Even if it would have been used to get people to subscribe ... and to possibly stay.

I think they should have gone that route at least with one new CoD.

You gotta commit to the drawing power of one of the top 5 biggest IPs in the gaming world at some point at least once.

You've spent 80bn already, so what's another 1bn you'd waive to get possibly millions of people to sign up.

[gold_drake]

of course the did ha

[The Wood]

bit naughty but they need it

[Elda]

A smart move....lol.

[Profchaos]

It'll be back they always pull that trial before a major launch did the same for starfield

[Ninver]

Was only a matter if time.