If you wanted to pre-order the digital version of Call of Duty Black Ops III for the Xbox One, your choices are now limited. Those pre-orders have been removed for the past several days from both the both the Xbox Store and Amazon.
This odd occurrence was first reported by ICXM. People who have already purchased the digital version of the game from the Xbox Store and Amazon should have no problems downloading it when the game launches on November 6. Kotaku has contacted both Microsoft and Call of Duty Black Ops III's published Activision for comment, but at the moment, neither are offering an explanation for this move.
Activision's statement says:
"Activision did not remove the digital version of Call of Duty: Black Ops III from the Xbox Games Store. Black Ops III is ready for launch on November 6th and is the most anticipated game of the year. Black Ops III is available for pre-order or pre-purchase through our other retail partners worldwide."
Microsoft's response to Activision's statement is even more vague:
"We do not comment on the specific terms of our arrangements with any of our publishing partners, however we are actively engaged with Activision to return 'Call of Duty: Black Ops III' to the Xbox Store."
It's worth noting that this is the first Call of Duty game in several years that doesn't have a Xbox timed exclusive on its post-release DLC content; Black Ops III's expansion packs will be released on Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 consoles first. If you really want the game on the Xbox One digitally, you can still get the "digital deluxe" version, which includes the base game, the Season Pass of post-release content, and more from GameStop for $100. Otherwise, you will have to get the game via an old-fashioned disc from Amazon and many different retailers
