With the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, Microsoft has been able to deliver huge, hugely popular titles to its Game Pass subscription service. The first major game to join the catalog was Diablo IV last March, and it was a success.
During the podcast strictly business published by VariationXbox Studios head Matt Booty announced that Diablo IV is the biggest first-party game launch in Game Pass history. 10 million hours played was surpassed in just 10 days, making hack ‘n’ slash the game that attracted the most unique players at launch since the platform’s inception.
Diablo IV skyrocketed scores in Game Pass
The previous record was held by Starfield, but Bethesda’s production was available on Game Pass on launch day and not on PS5, which partially explains its excellent stats. Diablo IV, on the other hand, was released in June 2023, giving players nine months to enjoy the game before it comes to Game Pass. Blizzard’s production is also available on PS5. Considering these elements, we can say that the performance of Diablo IV is remarkable.
Some reports claimed that Xbox was hesitant to make future Call of Duty games available on the first day of Game Pass. Since then, Microsoft has made it official that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be integrated into Game Pass from the day it is released. It is possible that the good performance of Diablo IV contributed to the tipping of the scales in this direction.
Matt Booty also admitted that between the massive acquisitions of Zenimax and Activision-Blizzard, which required organizational changes at Xbox, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Microsoft’s gaming division took time to adapt, which affected the release of games. But he assures me that Xbox is starting to reach target speed. He also confirmed that despite Halo and Forza not being featured at this month’s Xbox Games Showcase, plans for those licenses are ongoing.
Source : Variation
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