Xbox ads carry blunt 'NOT ON XBOX GAME PASS THIS YEAR' disclaimer

Xbox's recent moves under CEO Asha Sharma have done little to shake a persistent strategic malaise. The division has spent the decade acquiring studios only to cut them, running a games subscription that became a costly drain, and briefly insisting everything be an Xbox before recognizing that strategy discouraged console purchases; new leadership now appears poised for further layoffs and studio closures.

That dysfunction landed in plain sight when Microsoft's gaming division ran a series of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 ads that include the blunt disclaimer "NOT ON XBOX GAME PASS THIS YEAR." Resetera user CloseTalker first noted the ads, and the Meta ad library shows they began running across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads on June 27.

Xbox announced in April that Call of Duty titles would no longer appear on Game Pass at launch after reporting in October that the service had generated an estimated $300 million loss in sales of Black Ops 6.

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