Now is the perfect time to release Black Ops 2 on Game Pass

Black Ops 6 is the first Call of Duty to be released on Xbox Game Pass Day One following Microsoft’s Activision buyout, and this quiet period is the perfect time to drop Black Ops 2 on Game Pass. 

Call of Duty is deep in its post-summer lull ahead of BO6’s October 25 release date. The excitement from CoD Next is over, the beta has been and gone, and for some reason, Warzone has severely limited its playlist sizes, giving less incentive to play.

The off-season is a great time to revisit old favorites but it’d be much easier if Microsoft started bringing more of Activision’s backlog to Game Pass – namely, Black Ops 2. 

Any old Call of Duty game would be welcome but Black Ops 2 is the perfect choice ahead of Black Ops 6. Not only is it considered among the best Call of Duty games of all time, but its campaign directly ties in with the new game. 

A big chunk is set between 1986 and 1989, and the devs have confirmed that BO6’s 1991-set story acts as a direct sequel. I won’t get into too many spoilers here, but the characters we last saw in Cold War will be in very different circumstances during the Gulf War, and it’s all because of what happened in BO2.

If you enjoy the narrative, it’s well worth going back to refamiliarize yourself or find out what happened to Woods and Mason. And even if you don’t care about the campaign, everyone deserves the chance to experience Call of Duty multiplayer at its best. 

Considering the game was released in 2012, much of Call of Duty’s current player base would have been too young to play it at launch, so missed out on the franchise’s golden age. Expertly designed maps and incredible weapon balance only scratch the surface of why it’s so praised.

So, if you need a game to get you through the wait, whether for a healthy dose of nostalgia or to see what all the hype’s about, hopping into BO2 private matches with friends would be the perfect pastime. 

The problem (that Game Pass would solve) is that old Call of Duty games are still full-price to buy digitally. On Steam, this 12-year-old game is an outrageous $59.99 to buy, and it’s the same on the Microsoft Store – and that’s not to mention the $50 season pass for the DLCs.

I can’t recommend paying that, but if Microsoft were to drop it on Game Pass, it’d be the perfect opportunity to experience the story and multiplayer of one of the best Call of Duty games ever made. 

Whether we see these old Call of Duty games on Microsoft’s subscription is another matter entirely. I think everyone, myself included, expected at least some of these older CoDs to be on Game Pass by now. The acquisition was finalized in October last year, but in that year, only Modern Warfare 3 was added. 

Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer himself said they “intend to make Activision Blizzard’s much-loved library of games – including Overwatch, Diablo and Call of Duty – available in Game Pass.” 

If they intend to bring older Call of Duty games like Black Ops 2 to Game Pass then, come on, now is the time.