Activision has unshackled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 from the main Call of Duty HQ launcher.
In a brief message posted to social media, publisher Activision confirmed players with either Modern Warfare 2 or 3 will be able to “access them directly” and without going into HQ first once they’ve redownloaded fresh installs of the shooter games.
Any legacy content relating to either game “within the main Call of Duty install” will be automagically removed come August 7 to “free up storage space,” although a later tweet clarifies “Call of Duty: Warzone content such as MW2/MW3 operators and weapons will not be impacted by this change.”
Call of Duty HQ is the platform from which Call of Duty games are launched, previously making it impossible to jump straight into Modern Warfare 3, Modern Warfare 2, or battle royale Warzone via their own dedicated apps. Instead, players must log into Call of Duty HQ, find their game of choice via a Netflix-style launcher, then load the app. At the time, Call of Duty HQ was required to play either Modern Warfare 3, 2, or Warzone, and unlike parts of those games, Call of Duty HQ itself cannot be deleted if you want to play.
At the time, Activision said Call of Duty HQ “was developed to bring players benefits like Carry Forward, easier file size management, and more seamless switching between Call of Duty: Warzone and the latest annual releases,” but that wasn’t the reality many players reported, as getting to a selected game or mode could be really time-consuming, particularly with endless prompts to “update to restart.” It also takes up a tremendous amount of space on console.
Activision didn’t give a reason for the change, and it doesn’t seem HQ haters are going to be relinquished of the launcher any time soon, but it’s fair to suggest this is just a way of tidying up HQ ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7‘s release later this year.
As for the next Call of Duty game? Developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 — which was announced at the Xbox Games Showcase 2025 last month — is the first ever consecutive release within the Black Ops sub-series. Matt Cox, General Manager of Call of Duty, insisted that “as a team, our vision from the start was to create a back-to-back series experience for our players that embraced the uniqueness of the Black Ops sub-franchise.” It’s set to star Milo Ventimiglia, Kiernan Shipka, and Michael Rooker, with Ventimiglia portraying David Mason, Shipka as new character Emma Kagen, and Rooker reprising his Black Ops 2 role of Mike Harper.
We know it’ll feature the Skirmish and Overload multiplayer modes as well a 20v20 wingsuit option as details of a developer-only Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 playtest were accidentally released to all fans on the Call of Duty app. Whoops.
Last month, Activision pulled controversial adverts placed inside Black Ops 6 and Warzone loadouts, insisting they were a “feature test” published “in error.” It’s worth remembering that Black Ops 6 is a premium, $70 game, and this year’s Black Ops 7 is expected to jump to $80 after Microsoft said that gamers will see Xbox charging $79.99 for new, first-party games around the holiday season.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
