Activision has revealed a number of new details for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and among them is an interesting data point for what next-generation games might cost. A standard copy of Black Ops Cold War for Xbox One and PS4 will still cost $59.99, but a “cross-gen bundle” will cost $69.99.
That number illustrates the fluidity of what’s going on with next-gen game pricing. Some developers like CD Projekt Red have promised that players who purchase a current-generation version of Cyberpunk 2077 will be able to upgrade to a next-gen copy for free. Others have indicated that they’d like to stamp a higher price tag on games released on the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.
Activision’s $69.99 price point effectively represents a $10 “conversion cost” for players who want to use current-generation consoles to play the new Call of Duty, but might be an indicator for how much a standalone version of the game will cost once it launches on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
It’s admittedly a thorny situation from a business perspective. Players purchasing a current version of a game, then asking for a next-gen upgrade for free, COULD be viewed as asking for a second free copy of a game.
At the same time, if other publishers are willing to meet that request (using Microsoft’s Smart Delivery system, for instance), it’s a tough prospect for developers trying to manage the costs of developing for two console versions at the same time.