It's Call of Duty weekend and it is the cheapest it can get - but at what cost?

Subscribers to PC Game Pass and Game Pass Premium win, but what's at stake for Xbox?

-  MATTHEW ARCILLA

This weekend sees the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the latest installment in the venerable military action franchise. And while this is usually just business as usual for Call of Duty publisher Activision, it may be a turning point for the future of Xbox.

Activision was acquired by Microsoft for $68 billion, a ginormous figure that doesn't even count the legal fees Microsoft likely spent doing battle with antitrust regulators. It's a deal that transformed the publisher into one of many jewels that adorn the tarnished crown of Xbox Game Studios. I say tarnished because of several shifts in messaging and strategy that have left players and analysts confused if not insecure about the future of Xbox.