When will Modern Warfare 2 and 3 become standalone downloads?

Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3 (MW2 and MW3) are being separated from the Call of Duty HQ umbrella and will become standalone titles. While earlier leaks hinted at their possible removal, it’s now official: Call of Duty has confirmed via its X handle that both games will receive standalone downloads starting July 29, 2025, at 9 am PT.

This article outlines the exact date and time when MW2 and MW3 will be separated from Call of Duty HQ across all regions, and explores a few possible reasons behind this move.

When will Modern Warfare 2 and 3 become standalone downloads across all regions?

As mentioned above, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3 (MW2 and MW3) will be removed from the Call of Duty HQ on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, at 9 am PT. This change will take effect simultaneously worldwide. Below are the dates and times for all major regions:

Time zones	Date and time
Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)	July 29, 2025, at 9 AM
Mountain Daylight Time (MDT)	July 29, 2025, at 10 AM
Central Daylight Time (CDT)	July 29, 2025, at 11 AM
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)	July 29, 2025, at 12 PM
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT/UTC)	July 29, 2025, at 4 PM
Central European Summer Time (CEST)	July 29, 2025, at 6 PM
Eastern European Summer Time (EEST)	July 29, 2025, at 7 PM
Moscow Standard Time (MSK)	July 29, 2025, at 7 PM
Indian Standard Time (IST)	July 29, 2025, at 9:30 PM
China Standard Time (CST)	July 30, 2025, at 12 AM
Japan Standard Time (JST)	July 30, 2025, at 1 AM
Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)	July 30, 2025, at 2 AM

Once both titles are separated and converted into standalone downloads, players must re-download them as separate applications from their respective platforms’ stores.

Additionally, it has been confirmed that on August 7, 2025, any legacy content related to Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3 within Call of Duty HQ will be removed to free up storage space.

However, this announcement has caused some confusion among fans, particularly regarding whether Warzone content would be affected. The developers have since clarified that Warzone content, including MW2/MW3 operators and weapons, will not be impacted by this change.

Also read: Black Ops 6 Zombies final chapter revealed

Possible reasons

The exact reason for this change hasn’t been officially confirmed, but there are a few possibilities. One reason could be to enhance user experience by allowing players to launch Modern Warfare 2 and 3 directly, without navigating through Call of Duty HQ.

It may also help with better storage management, as separating the titles allows users to download only what they need.

Another likely reason could be the upcoming release of Black Ops 7. The developers may be cleaning up HQ to streamline the interface and ensure a smoother experience ahead of the next major Call of Duty title.

Aside from these, there may be other internal factors that prompted the decision. Since no official explanation has been provided, we can only speculate based on these possibilities.

Also read: Black Ops 7 x Monster Energy: Everything we know

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About the author

Animesh has been a Call of Duty writer at Sportskeeda for close to two years. A fervent enthusiast of the iconic Mario Bros. franchise and several first-person shooter games, his love for gaming pushed him to merge his passion and profession, and eventually land a writing job in the genre. When creating content, he prioritizes quality and accuracy over speed, verifying multiple official sources. This has helped his meticulous first-person shooter guides garner over two million reads.

Although Animesh holds a Master’s degree in Commerce, he would willingly go back to school; just as long as the school is Hogwarts, so he can jump into the world of spell-casting and fly on broomsticks. He admires gamers Shroud and Beaulo, and would recommend story-driven games like Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, and Far Cry 3 for their captivating narratives and deep player engagement.

Animesh also enjoys multiplayer games such as Valorant, Apex Legends, and Warzone. When he keeps his controller aside, he plays football and badminton, reads books, and cooks.

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Edited by Adarsh J Kumar