Modern Warfare 4 launches October 23 as a standalone release, not on Game Pass
Activision has made it clear eight days before launch: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 arrives on October 23 as a standalone release. Anyone who wants to play from day one will have to buy it, because it won't be included with Game Pass until Holiday 2027.
What changes from the last two Call of Duty games
The official Call of Duty blog and Xbox Wire published the same message on October 15: Modern Warfare 4 will be sold separately and won't be part of the Game Pass library at launch. According to Activision, it will join the service in Holiday 2027, roughly a year after release. The game's Xbox store page also states that it won't be available with Game Pass at launch.
That is a change from the previous two years. Black Ops 6 (2024) and Black Ops 7 (2025) both arrived on Game Pass on launch day, as GameSpot notes. Microsoft had already announced earlier this year that new entries in the series would stop debuting on the service; this confirms how that applies to Modern Warfare 4.
What an Xbox pre-order includes
On Xbox, pre-orders are open through the console store, the Xbox app on PC and the Microsoft Store. A digital pre-order includes Campaign Early Access, which starts on October 16, and DMZ Early Access from October 20, plus the Hunter Killer Operator Skin and the Gilded Pearl Camo Pack.
Pre-ordering any digital edition also adds the Inner Circuit M4 Weapon Blueprint. On Xbox consoles, that blueprint gets a translucent green finish to mark 25 years of Xbox. Activision notes that early access timing may vary by time zone or because of outages.
What stays on Game Pass and where the game launches
Game Pass Ultimate members will keep access to the older entries already on the service: Black Ops 7, Black Ops 6 and Modern Warfare III. The Xbox store page adds that Modern Warfare 4 will be playable through the cloud with Game Pass Essential, Premium or Ultimate, but only if you own the game.
Modern Warfare 4, developed by Infinity Ward, launches on Friday, October 23 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Battle.net, Xbox on PC and Steam) and Nintendo Switch 2. It is not coming to PS4 or Xbox One.
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