Modern Warfare 2: Is it available with Xbox Game Pass?

A sequel to the popular Modern Warfare reboot from 2019, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 marked the beginning of a new era for the series, bringing numerous enhancements and changes. The developers left no stone unturned and introduced several graphical upgrades, improved movement, better combat mechanisms, and more.

The Xbox Game Pass was launched as a service back in 2017. It provides gamers with a library of amazing titles to play with in exchange for a subscription fee. This created a revolution in the gaming industry, and numerous other publishers followed suit. The news of Activision Blizzard's acquisition by Microsoft has left fans wondering if the popular first-person shooter franchise is available on the Xbox Game Pass yet, especially Modern Warfare 2.

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Is Modern Warfare 2 included with Xbox Game Pass?

Considering the hype surrounding Microsoft's acquisition of Blizzard, it's only normal for fans to wonder if COD MW2 is available on Xbox Game Pass. Unfortunately, Modern Warfare 2 isn't part of the subscription service at the moment.

This is due to the fact that Activision Blizzard and PlayStation have exclusive marketing deals in place, which is preventing the title from being included in the Game Pass. This was confirmed by Microsoft when the company interacted with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, where the American company stated:

"The agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony includes restrictions on the ability of Activision Blizzard to place Call of Duty title on Game Pass for a number of years."

This verifies the fact that Modern Warfare 2 isn't and won't be included with the Xbox Game Pass in the near future. Sony had previously described the franchise as "essential" and stated that the games in the series being exclusive to Xbox systems would be anti-competitive.

It isn't uncommon to see special in-game items from the franchise being rewarded to PlayStation players. For instance, gamers received the Oni Operator pack as a bonus for pre-ordering MW2. Furthermore, individuals who bought the title's Season 1 Combat pack through PlayStation Plus got numerous cosmetics such as Operator skin, Weapon Blueprints, Emblems, Calling Cards, Stickers, and more.

PlayStation owners are also given special privileges in the form of Early Access, which was seen during the title's beta stage. It took place in two phases, and its entire first weekend was reserved exclusively for gamers on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

The only way to play the game at the moment is by purchasing the title from the various platforms it is available on. However, if fans of the series wish to give the latest title a shot without spending money, they might be interested in the free-to-play weekend that is rumored to take place this December.

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Despite the deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, Modern Warfare 2 won't be coming to Xbox Game Pass anytime soon. Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is expected to close in mid-2023.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2, along with the latter's DMZ mode, are now live for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.