The reason is financial. Adding Call of Duty to the subscription attracted an audience, but it hurt sales. According to unofficial data, Microsoft lost up to $300 million in potential revenue from copies that could have been sold at full price.
It seems that the model with expensive AAA games in a relatively cheap subscription has reached its limit and is no longer paying off.
The news caused a stir. Players fear that Microsoft is trying to "squeeze the toothpaste back into the tube." Many note that at an Ultimate price of $30 per month, removing such a bonus without reducing the cost would be "extremely unfair."
Fans have warned of a strong negative response – for many, "day one releases" were the main reason to stay in the Xbox ecosystem.
If Corden's information is confirmed, Microsoft will break the promise made when purchasing Activision.