Report — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is coming to Xbox Game Pass soon

What you need to know

• Microsoft finalized its acquisition of Activision Blizzard King in October 2023, adding the  teams behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft to Xbox. 
• According to Insider Gaming, Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which first launched in November 2023, is joining the Xbox Game Pass lineup later in July. 
• This information lines up with details previously heard by Windows Central.
• The next mainline game in the franchise, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, is coming day one to Xbox Game Pass when it launches on Oct. 25, 2024.

If you haven't played the latest Call of Duty game yet, I've got great news. 

Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) is coming to Xbox Game Pass later this month, according to a report from Insider Gaming. The outlet claims that "several sources" indicate Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is being added to Xbox Game Pass at some point in July 2024, though they couldn't nail down an exact date. This information is corroborated by Windows Central's sources.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 first launched back in November 2023, where it quickly became the second best-selling game of the year, just behind Hogwarts Legacy. As the direct sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022), Modern Warfare 3 continues the rebooted story of Task Force 141 hunting down the terrorist Makarov across the world. 

Activision Blizzard titles are gearing up to roll out on Xbox Game Pass

This report comes just after a report that indicated the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is headed to Xbox Game Pass in August, which Windows Central was also able to verify is accurate. 

The move appears to indicate that Xbox is getting ready to launch several Activision Blizzard titles across its subscription service several months after Microsoft's massive acquisition of Activision Blizzard King finalized. The first game to join the service was Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo 4, which was added to Xbox Game Pass back in March 2024. 

This also comes just as Microsoft is reworking the Xbox Game Pass tiers, raising the prices of tiers Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass and phasing out Xbox Game Pass Console with a new "Standard" tier that doesn't include day-one games, though existing Console subscribers are being allowed to keep their membership. 

Analysis: Good to see, but let's get more

I'm glad that there's more and more movement happening for Activision Blizzard games joining Xbox Game Pass. It's taken longer than I (or indeed, anyone I know) really expected, but things are now in motion.

I do have to point out that saying something is coming to Xbox Game Pass now feels like it warrants a bevy of asterisk marks. Is this game coming to every tier? Almost certainly. But a game that comes day one to Xbox Game Pass, like this year's upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, will be included in Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, but not Standard. It's an amusing and frustrating point of clarification that's now needed every time.