Black Ops 6 launches with an eye on the Game Pass plan

It's been highly anticipated, but this year's Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is finally out for gamers to get started.

The Call of Duty (CoD) series is one of the best-selling in history, with more than 425 million copies sold and has grossed billions of dollars.

However, this latest edition has one small difference: it's immediately available to subscribers to Microsoft's Game Pass service – a first for a game of this size.

This means those who have an existing Netflix-style subscription won't have to pay anything extra to play.

Game Pass, like Sony's rival PlayStation Plus service, lets Xbox and PC gamers play hundreds of video games for a monthly fee.

Earlier this year, Microsoft increased prices for all subscribers and added a tiered system.

Since it is the first mainline CoD game to be released since Microsoft acquired manufacturer Activision Blizzard in the largest deal ever in the gaming industry, this approach is of course very much in focus.

Some experts I have a feeling it could do something more subscribers to the Game Pass service, but at the expense of actual game sales, the true impact of which will only be seen in the coming months.

CoD content creator BennyCentral believes Game Pass is “one of the biggest elements of this year.”

“The fact that it gives people so much access, whether they're playing on Xbox or PC, will allow them to play the full game as part of that subscription,” he says.

Benny, who owns Game Pass, tells BBC Newsbeat that it will “expand the player base” of people who may not have played Black Ops in the past.

“Maybe they’ll be more likely to jump in and try it for the first time.”

Co-developer OllMS, which uses the Battlenet platform instead, agrees and believes this approach from Microsoft can make the game “more accessible to a wider audience.”

“Especially younger people who might not be able to buy the game right away, who might wait until Christmas to get the game as a gift from their parents.”

CoD regularly tops the PlayStation charts for its best-selling game, and Microsoft has signed a 10-year deal to keep the game on the Sony and Nintendo gaming platforms.

But while there have been some concerns about what this could mean for PlayStation users who will still have to pay full price, OllMS believes it is also a boost from a content creator perspective.

“It will be really exciting to be able to create content for even more people from launch.”

The CoD Black Ops spin-offs are generally appreciated by fans for their single-player campaigns and the developers are hoping that this game will do well after the poor reception of last year's Modern Warfare 3.

Benny and OllMS, who both had access to the beta, are excited about the game because of some of the newer features.

For Black Ops 6, Benny points to Omnimovement as a feature he's excited about, saying it could “revolutionize the way CoD is played.”

“The fact that you have this full 360-degree movement is going to give players a huge opportunity to shoulder opponents, draw people in and create some incredible plays,” he says.

“We’ve already seen some in the beta where people have done incredible things with sniper rifles.”

OllMS is also a fan of some of the weapons he says were in previous versions and brought back, such as the AS VAL – a type of assault rifle.

“Which will be fun in combination with the omni movement,” he says.

“There will be opportunities to create content and make plays that people have never seen before.”

The story mode is set in the 1990s and is part of the Gulf War reportedly banned in Kuwait as a result.

Bennie is a fan of going back in time several decades, especially because he likes Black Ops games where things happen “behind the curtain,” and he wants to see how that fits into this setting.

“It will be nice to see what kind of elements they use because it's not an era where we have smartphone technology.”

“It’s the way this world is built and the way they built the missions.

“Every single mission should be a unique experience that you take away and give you a ‘wow’ feeling.”

But with regular annual releases, is there such a thing as too much Call of Duty that can dull the excitement?

Not for OllMS.

“I don’t think there will be too many CoD games coming out because it’s something completely new,” he says.

“It’s something that a lot of people young and older can invest in, whether they’re playing with friends or playing alone.”

And both believe the game will continue to generate excitement because of its importance to players.

Benny says he loves Black Ops “especially because of the fast-paced nature of the game.”

“There are incredible score streaks and kill streaks.”

Now OllMS loves collaborating with people online.

“And I think, especially in Warzone, being part of a group of four and making memorable plays with your friends that you absolutely love is just one of the best things.”

“And you can easily create content from it because you’re doing something you enjoy,” he says.

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