Shortly before Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launches, Microsoft took away an option from Xbox Game Pass that would have been helpful. It's possible that the Xbox Game Pass membership option allowed players on a tight budget to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 for a significant discount off of the suggested retail price.

Xbox Game Pass is still one of the finest values in gaming, even with some unpopular modifications in recent months, such as a price increase that drew criticism from government regulators. Players may access a vast library of premium games on a number of platforms, including Xbox consoles, PCs, and mobile devices through Xbox Cloud Gaming, for a comparatively cheap monthly charge. Many of those games are the biggest hits of the year, such as the Call of Duty series, because Microsoft bought Activision and other prominent names in the game publishing industry.

Regretfully, it seems like Microsoft is making the agreement even less desirable. In a post, the Call of Duty news account CharlieIntel claimed that Microsoft has silently removed the option for console owners to buy a single $1 for a 14-day Xbox Game Pass subscription. This implies that there is no free or heavily discounted trial option, and that the only Xbox Game Pass subscription tiers available to both new and returning users are Core, Standard, and Ultimate.

Microsoft Removes $1 Xbox Game Pass Subscription Offer Before Black Ops 6

For those hoping to have a quick taste of the year's hottest new shooter, the $1 Xbox Game Pass membership option would have been an amazing bargain. The Black Ops 6 campaign could theoretically be completed, as well as some multiplayer gameplay, by purchasing the 14-day membership and using it before it ended. In order to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at launch on Xbox systems, a player must now pay the game's full $70 USD retail price or pay $20 USD a month to subscribe to the Ultimate tier.

The move was met with swift disapproval online, as fans who were already unhappy with Xbox Game Pass price hikes and changes to their entitlements saw it as another "cash grab" from Microsoft. Other fans were more pragmatic, saying that the move made business sense for Microsoft, which likely wants to maximize revenue from Black Ops 6's launch period. A few others pointed out that the $1 subscription removal might not have affected things either way, as only Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers get access to day one releases. A $1 subscription period would likely have been only for the Standard tier, which would not have had access to Black Ops 6 on launch day.