Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 made waves as the first game in the series to be available on Xbox Game Pass from day one. Naturally, this has sparked debate about whether such a strategy might impact sales. Interestingly, while Xbox sales took a hit, the numbers on PC and PS5 have more than compensated for this shortfall.
Mat Piscatella, an analyst who broke down the latest Circana statistics, noted that having Black Ops 6 on Xbox Game Pass didn’t seem to drastically harm sales, at least in the U.S., where this data was sourced. Piscatella did highlight that sales leaned more towards PlayStation, indicating that a greater portion of sales were on the PS4 and PS5 platforms.
What did Game Pass do for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in the U.S.? According to Piscatella, it caused a boost in subscription spending. More sales shifted to PlayStation, it didn’t hugely cut into overall sales, and notably, it also didn’t lead to a significant uptick in Xbox Series hardware sales.
Given that, it’s not shocking that Black Ops 6 didn’t seem to spur a surge in Xbox console purchases. Even with this major release opening on Game Pass, the analyst mentions the launch didn’t notably enhance Xbox Series hardware sales. It seems Microsoft is broadening its approach, portraying “everything as an Xbox” in its latest marketing push.
This latest batch of U.S. sales data aligns with recent updates from Xbox HQ. Apparently, Black Ops 6 marked the biggest release ever in the franchise’s history, remaining a powerhouse across virtually all gaming platforms.
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