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Call of Duty 2025 Could Cost $80 Thanks to New Microsoft Pricing

Is Call of Duty the newest 'recession indicator'? The next COD game could cost gamers over $80. Let's explore everything we know about the situation.

Gabby DeSena

Call of Duty 2025 will reportedly have a hefty price tag upon release.
Call of Duty 2025 will reportedly have a hefty price tag upon release. / Treyarch

The Call of Duty (COD) franchise has long served as an entry point to competitive gaming. With over two decades of history, it has spawned a sizable esports sphere and influenced successors in the FPS genre. Whether players remember 2 AM game nights with friends or watching their favorite team claim victory on a world stage, it's undeniable that COD elicits a nostalgic reaction in many.

A new Xbox statement has placed Call of Duty's traditionally accessible nature in jeapordy: upcoming price increases will raise first-party title prices to nearly $80, with Call of Duty 2025 potentially among them. Let's explore everything we know about the decision, its rationale, and how it may impact Call of Duty esports.

Call of Duty 2025 Has an $80 Price Tag

On May 1 2025, gamers received unexpected news from Xbox. The company released a statement on Xbox's support page regarding price increases, and one piece of information in particular caught the community's attention. In addition to immediate console and controller price hikes, Xbox's first-party titles will reportedly see a sizable price increase after the holiday season, now costing over $79.99. This has another key implication: while we won't know for certain which games will be affected until a later Games Showcase in June, Call of Duty 2025 could likely be among them.

For comparison, most Call of Duty games cost anywhere from $20 to $50. Deluxe editions with DLC can hit the $80 mark, but an $80 COD title would be at least $20 higher than others.

The holiday season is prime time for game purchases, so Xbox could be timing the decision to capitalize on profit opportunity. However, it also seems to be responding to unstable market conditions and rising production costs, which have rapidly affected the technology industry as a whole. Xbox comments:

"We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development. Looking ahead, we continue to focus on offering more ways to play more games across any screen and ensuring value for Xbox players."

Related Article: Leaks Suggest Call of Duty 2025 is a Sequel to Black Ops 2

Community Reaction

The Call of Duty player base is in uproar over the news. The franchise has already attracted negative press in the past few years due to its controversial development decisions, with players criticizing its poor infrastructure, frequent glitches and ineffective measures against cheaters. Community members, content creators and pros have abandoned the title in waves throughout the past two years, with legendary COD esports personality and 100 Thieves founder Matt 'Nadeshot' Haag even making a video titled "Call of Duty is FORCING me to quit" in December 2024. In the video, Haag explained that he no longer found enjoyment in playing Call of Duty, primarily due to Activision's poor upkeep. It spawned a massive exodus among players, and earned over 320,000 views since its release. Users flocked to the comments to share their own experiences, usually agreeing with Haag's take.

The recent price increase may be the last straw for many more frustrated COD players. Though it may simply be a necessary reaction to volatile markets, it is difficult for the community to separate the business decision from the Call of Duty team's history of preventable neglect. The move also stings since rising US prices overall leave individuals with less discretionary income, making it hard to spend on non-essential purchases like games. Many gamers remember COD as an accessible, nostalgic franchise, and it frustrates them to see Xbox perceivably prioritize money over the fanbase.

One X.com user, @izzgames818, encourages fellow gamers to boycott COD in response: "If anyone was still looking for a reason to give up on cod despite all the times they’ve let us down, I think $80 for a unfinished broken game full of cheaters, SBMM, and recycled content looks like a great motive to say goodbye to the franchise."

Players are also noting that it will be more affordable to purchase the next COD on Xbox's Game Pass feature, which lets players pay a monthly subscription fee for access to Xbox game content. The Game Pass is available in multiple tiers, ranging from $10 basic options to about $20. The Game Pass is efficient, but it also revives a key talking point in the gaming community: players want to actually own and download the games they play, lest servers shut down in the future and they are unable to access their content.

Esports Impact

Call of Duty has a massive esports presence, and is one of the oldest franchises in the industry. Alongside Nadeshot, it has spawned household-name influencers and pros including Scump, Crimsix, Shotzzy, Formal and Nickmercs. The Call of Duty League (CDL) is its main circuit since its founding in 2020, and it includes well-known international orgs like Faze, 100 Thieves, Cloud9, OpTic Gaming, G2 Esports and Team Falcons.

Related Article: G2 Esports Gets Big Investment to Fully Acquire Call of Duty League Spot

Call of Duty began 2025 on solid ground. G2 esports received a seven-figure investment for Call of Duty League expansion in late March, proving that investors remain unfazed by the franchise's recent poor publicity. Two COD titles (Warzone and Black Ops 6) will also appear at the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) this summer, which has the largest prize pool in esports history at over $70 million. It's entirely possible Call of Duty is simply too big to fail. However, the industry will be watching to see if the possible $80 price tag comes to fruition, and if the player base's discontent snowballs further into a major boycott.

The COD price hikes may push players towards free-to-play alternatives like VALORANT and Counter-Strike. Splitgate 2, a movement-heavy FPS, is also launching sometime in late 2025.

While pros make or break their teams' tournament results, the industry relies on fans to survive. Players who love the game and seek inspiration from the greats provide crucial revenue through stream views, merch and ticket purchases and in-game cosmetics. Plus, community attention attracts investors and sponsors.

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Gabby DeSena
GABBY DESENA

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