You have to buy Infinite Warfare to get it
Here’s a bit of bad news for anyone hoping to shirk this year’s Call of Duty game in favor of just picking up the remaster of Modern Warfare: You can’t. The absolute only place it’s available is bundled with an extra-expensive copy of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
Activision lays this out bare in a recently-created FAQ page for the Modern Warfare remaster. One of the questions reads “Can I play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered without buying Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare?” to which the answer is “No, you must own Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in order to get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.”
What’s more, Modern Warfare only comes with certain editions of Infinite Warfare — the Legacy, Legacy Pro, and Digital Deluxe editions. The cheapest of those looks to be $79.99. That ostensibly means that the Modern Warfare remaster is valued at $20.
There are a few other details mentioned in the FAQ. For instance, Raven Software is developing the remaster, while Infinity Ward is simply the executive producer. Also, it’ll release on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. However, no stats will be transferred over from legacy systems.
It’s a slick and completely expected ploy by Activision. Not only will this move some additional units of Infinite Warfare, but it’ll tack an extra $20 onto the revenue for a whole bunch of the sales. It’ll probably give the franchise the temporary shot in the arm that investors want to see. And, when all that settles down, it’ll likely be released standalone next spring to bolster the publisher’s first or second quarter’s bottom line.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered FAQ [Activision Support]