Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Did you know a new “Call of Duty” game is launching this week? If not, Microsoft would probably pay to find out where you’ve been hiding, because the tech giant has shelled out a marketing budget comparable to any “major motion picture blockbuster that would be launching this year,” according to Tyler Bahl, the chief marketing officer at “Call of Duty” studio Activision, to get “Black Ops 6” on every consumer’s radar, from taking over People Magazine’s iconic “Sexiest Man Alive” cover to infiltrating “Monday Night Football.” The launch of “Black Ops 6” marks the first mainline “Call of Duty” game to be released since Microsoft closed its $76 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, the largest video game acquisition ever made, in October 2023. With the choice to offer the title to Xbox’s Game Pass customers when it goes live on Friday, Microsoft is driving home the importance of its subscription service to its overall revenue strategy and putting a lot of faith in Activision’s biggest franchise’s ability to boost the product.
