Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) is now live on Xbox Game Pass. Confirmed on April 17, Infinity Ward's reboot is available across the Premium, Ultimate, and PC Game Pass tiers, making it the third Call of Duty game released before Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition to land on the subscription service.
Why this one stands out
The 2019 Modern Warfare was a genuine reset for the franchise. After years of jetpack-fueled, future-war entries, Infinity Ward stripped things back to a grounded, gritty tone that a lot of CoD fans had been waiting for. The campaign brought back Captain John Price (recast with a new actor) and introduced Commander Farah Karim, voiced by Claudia Doumit of Prime Video's The Boys. Farah's missions were widely considered some of the most memorable the series had delivered in years.
The multiplayer was equally significant. Ground War returned at a 32v32 scale, now with tanks, and the mode gave the game a scope that felt genuinely different from the standard 6v6 playlist. That same multiplayer foundation became the backbone of Call of Duty: Warzone when it launched in 2020, a battle royale that pulled in massive player numbers at release.
By any commercial measure, the game was a hit. According to Activision court filings uncovered by Game File, Modern Warfare sold more than 41 million copies and the publisher spent over $640 million in production expenses across its lifetime.
The third pre-buyout CoD on Game Pass
Here's the thing: when Microsoft completed its Activision Blizzard acquisition, many assumed Game Pass would quickly fill up with back-catalog Call of Duty titles. That hasn't really happened. Modern Warfare (2019) is only the third pre-buyout entry to arrive on the service, following Modern Warfare 2 (2022) and Modern Warfare 3 (2023). The newer releases, Black Ops 6 (2024) and Black Ops 7 (2025), came to Game Pass at launch as part of the post-acquisition approach.
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Modern Warfare (2019) is available on Game Pass Premium, Ultimate, and PC Game Pass tiers. It is not included in the standard Game Pass Core tier.
What's shifting around Game Pass itself
The timing of this addition lands alongside some uncertainty about the service's future direction. Reports have surfaced that Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma is weighing significant structural changes to Game Pass, including a potential new tier limited to first-party titles only. There's also a possibility that future Call of Duty games may not automatically come to Game Pass at launch, which would be a notable shift from how Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 were handled.
Meanwhile, the 2026 Call of Duty game is rumored to be Modern Warfare 4, also from Infinity Ward. A Call of Duty film is also in development at Paramount, with writer Taylor Sheridan and director Peter Berg attached.
For Game Pass subscribers who missed the 2019 reboot the first time around, this is a straightforward pickup. For anyone curious about where the franchise goes next, browse our latest gaming news to stay across every development as the Modern Warfare 4 reveal window approaches.
