Microsoft spent $69 billion to turn your Xbox into a Black Ops 6 ad

While many still just want to see classic Call of Duty titles on Game Pass, Microsoft instead decided to bring the newest game cosmetically into your home.

A Black Ops 6 squad with the game's logo in the foreground.
Image via Activision

The fruits of Microsoft’s labor to purchase Activision Blizzard last year are finally coming to fruition. And it’s all about Call of Duty, baby.

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The company’s $69 billion acquisition of the makers of games like CoD, Overwatch, Diablo, World of Warcraft, and more is now taking shape in an all-new way: by customizing every facet of your gaming setup to sport Black Ops 6’s orangey color scheme.

Black Ops 6-themed Xbox Series X wrap and controllers
The truth lies. Image via Xbox

Need a new controller? Get ready to Black Ops your life with the customizable Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 or the default Xbox Wireless Controller, both with the “redacted” white, orange, and black color scheme used in BO6’s imagery and marketing.

But that’s not all. For $55, you can get an Xbox Series X console wrap to turn your existing console into one that sports the same colors and the admittedly awesome Cerberus head logo from the game.

Obviously, Microsoft’s big Activision purchase was meant to bring the entire catalog of games into the fold. But there’s no doubt that CoD is the big fish of the group, so it will be very interesting to keep an eye on BO6 sales to see if bringing Game Day One to Game Pass on both console and PC will affect revenue.

Oh, and there’s also a CoD-ified hoodie ($60) and sweatpants ($55), too, sporting the Xbox logo just so everyone knows which mega-corporation now owns the IP. Merchandising like this is also a side effect of the purchase and could continue to bring in money for the franchise. And I’m sure it will.

Xbox Call of Duty hoodie and pants
Xbox Gear is CoD gear, too. Image via Xbox

As for the sales of the game itself, we should hopefully know more not long after Black Ops 6 launches next week on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam and Battle.net.

Author
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Scott Duwe
Senior Staff Writer & Call of Duty lead. Professional writer for over 10 years. Lover of all things Marvel, Destiny 2, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and more. Previous bylines include PC Gamer, Red Bull Esports, Fanbyte, and Esports Nation. DogDad to corgis Yogi and Mickey, sports fan (NY Yankees, NY Jets, NY Rangers, NY Knicks), Paramore fanatic, cardio enthusiast.