“When Will Call of Duty Be Added to Game Pass? UK Competition Authority Suggests Not Until 2025 Despite Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard”

If the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard acquisition goes through, Game Pass subscribers will still have to wait years for the current Call of Duty to be added to the catalog, according to a report from the UK’s competition authority.

The CMA hit the headlines last week for blocking Activision Blizzard’s takeover in the UK, mainly citing cloud gaming as its rationale. This is certainly a serious but not hopeless obstacle for Microsoft. The latest news is also about Game Pass, according to the latest report of the competition office, even if the deal is concluded, the Call of Duty series will not be able to move to the catalog of the service until 2025.

A in leaked documents the agency expects Game Pass “benefits to begin accruing to them over a reasonable period of time, although in practice there is likely to be some delay between the completion of the merger and the launch of Call of Duty on Game Pass in 2025.”

It is not known exactly where CMA got hold of the said date, and it is also unclear whether the 2025 debut is true. It is certain that even if the acquisition is completed, Game Pass subscribers will not be able to play the game for a few years.