Microsoft pulls $1 Xbox Game Pass trial just before new Call of Duty release

Microsoft has pulled its $1 Xbox Game Pass trial, just days before Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 releases on October 25th. The 14-day Game Pass trial was removed on October 8th, preventing people from signing up for a trial and playing through the Black Ops 6 campaign without paying for a full month of Game Pass.

Microsoft first stopped its $1 trial for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass in March last year, before bringing it back and nerfing it down to just 14 days instead of a full month. The Xbox maker then briefly removed the $1 trial just days before Starfield’s debut in September.

It’s not surprising to see the $1 Xbox Game Pass trial quietly removed once again, especially as Microsoft looks to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 to boost its Game Pass subscriber numbers. I reported earlier this year that Microsoft had been debating whether to put new releases of Call of Duty into Game Pass, with concerns from some at the company that the revenue generated from typical Call of Duty sales would be undermined by Game Pass. A $1 trial would certainly undermine sales and subscriptions, especially when Activision traditionally sells more than 20 million copies of Call of Duty on average, at around $70 each.

Microsoft is also planning to bring Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Modern Warfare III, and Warzone to Xbox Cloud Gaming later this month. This is the first time a Call of Duty game has been available at launch on Xbox Cloud Gaming, following Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year.