You’re looking for a Call of Duty download for free, and honestly, I get it. Nobody wants to drop $70 on a game every single year just to keep up with the meta. But here’s the thing: "free" in the world of CoD is a bit of a minefield. You’ve probably seen those weird websites promising a full copy of the latest Modern Warfare or Black Ops for zero dollars. Spoilers: they’re almost always fake.
Modern gaming has shifted. Activision realized they make way more money selling $20 "Tracer Packs" and anime-themed weapon skins than they do selling the base game. Because of that, they’ve actually made huge chunks of the franchise legitimately free. You just have to know which door to walk through.
If you try to pirate the single-player campaigns, you’re basically inviting malware to have a party on your hard drive. Don't do that. Instead, let's talk about the legitimate ways to get into the action without spending a dime.
Warzone is the biggest free door
When most people talk about a Call of Duty download for free, they’re usually talking about Warzone. This isn't just a "demo." It is a massive, standalone battle royale experience that uses the same engine, same guns, and same movement mechanics as the premium titles.
You can find it on Battle.net (for PC), the PlayStation Store, or the Xbox Marketplace. It’s huge. Like, "delete half your other games" huge. Depending on your platform and whether you've got high-res textures enabled, you're looking at a download anywhere from 80GB to over 150GB.
The cool part? You don't need to own Modern Warfare III or the upcoming Black Ops 6 to play it. It’s a separate client. You jump into Urzikstan or whatever the current seasonal map is, loot up, and try to be the last one standing. It’s sweaty. It’s chaotic. It’s free.
The Catch with Warzone
There is always a catch, right? While the game costs zero dollars, the "grind" is real. If you don't own the main multiplayer game, leveling up your weapons takes significantly longer. In the paid games, you can hop into a small map like Shipment and max out a rifle in an hour. In Warzone, you're stuck doing contracts and hunting players, which is a much slower process.
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Also, the "Call of Duty HQ" launcher is a bit of a mess. When you go to start your Call of Duty download for free, the launcher might try to make you download files for games you don't even own. You have to be careful in the "Manage Files" menu to make sure you're only ticking the boxes for Warzone and not the 50GB campaign files for a game you haven't bought.
Call of Duty: Mobile is actually good (really)
If you have a decent phone or a tablet, Call of Duty: Mobile (CoDM) is arguably the most "complete" free experience the franchise offers. It’s weird to say, but the mobile version feels more like a "Greatest Hits" of the entire series than the console games do.
It has maps from the original Modern Warfare trilogy, characters from Black Ops, and a mix of classic multiplayer and battle royale.
- Platform: iOS and Android.
- Controls: It supports Xbox and PlayStation controllers via Bluetooth.
- Cost: Completely free-to-play.
I’ve spent hours on this while traveling. The microtransactions are there, sure, and they are aggressive with the pop-ups, but the actual gameplay? It’s solid. You’re getting Nuketown, Standoff, and Firing Range all in one package. If you’re looking for a Call of Duty download for free that feels like the old-school games we grew up with, this is actually your best bet.
Warzone Mobile and the cross-progression trick
There is a second mobile game now, Warzone Mobile. This one is different from CoDM because it actually links to your PC or console account.
If you play Warzone on your PC and then download Warzone Mobile on your phone, your progress carries over. Your weapon levels, your battle pass, and your skins are the same on both. This is a massive win for the "free" player. You can grind out some weapon levels on your lunch break at work and then have those attachments ready when you get home to your PC.
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The hardware requirements are steep, though. If you're running an older iPhone or a budget Android, it's going to run like a slideshow. But on a newer device, seeing Verdansk (the legendary original map) back in action is a nostalgia trip that's worth the download.
The Free Access Weekends
This is the "secret" way to play the paid multiplayer for free. Activision runs these events about once a month, usually shortly after a new season launches.
During a Free Access weekend, they open up a specific playlist in the premium game—like Modern Warfare III—to everyone. You get access to a handful of maps and modes for three or four days.
This is the best time to do a Call of Duty download for free because it allows you to level up your guns incredibly fast. You get the full "small map" experience. Keep an eye on the official Call of Duty blog or their Twitter (X) account. They usually announce these a few days before they go live.
Pro Tip: If you already have Warzone installed, the Free Access content is usually just a small update rather than a whole new massive download, because the assets are already on your drive.
What to avoid: The "Free Download" Scams
I cannot stress this enough. If you see a YouTube video titled "How to get Black Ops 6 full game for free" and it tells you to download a .zip file from a Mediafire link or some random "generator" site, close the tab.
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These are designed to steal your accounts. They use "stealer logs" that grab your saved passwords from Chrome or Firefox, and before you know it, your Discord and Steam accounts are being sold on a forum for three dollars.
There is no "crack" for modern Call of Duty games. They are "always-online" titles. The game has to handshake with Activision's servers every time you boot it up. No server handshake, no game. Period.
How to optimize your free experience
Once you’ve got your Call of Duty download for free finished, the real work starts. The game is tuned to make you want to buy things. Here is how you stay a "Free-to-Play" (F2P) god:
- Prioritize the Meta: Use sites like WZStats or TrueGameData to see which guns are actually good. Since you can't easily level up every gun, pick the one "broken" gun of the season and focus entirely on that.
- Daily Challenges: These are your best friend for unlocking "Armory Unlocks." In the newer games, some perks and attachments are locked behind these challenges rather than just player level.
- Twitch Drops: Link your Activision account to Twitch. When big tournaments are on, you can earn "Double XP" tokens just by leaving a stream muted in the background. These tokens are gold for F2P players.
Step-by-Step: Getting Started
If you’re ready to jump in right now, here is the most efficient path to get on the battlefield:
- On PC: Download the Battle.net launcher or Steam. Search for "Warzone." It will be listed as a free game. Start the download and, if the launcher asks, go into "Modify Install" to uncheck anything related to "Campaign" or "Special Ops" to save space.
- On Console: Go to the store and search "Warzone." Look for the one that says "Free." You do not need PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass Core to play Warzone in most regions, which is a huge bonus.
- On Mobile: Hit the App Store or Play Store. Get Call of Duty: Mobile for the classic feel, or Warzone Mobile if you want to sync with your console/PC progress.
The reality of a Call of Duty download for free in 2026 is that the days of "demo discs" are gone. The game is now a platform. You get the "World Cup" of shooters for free, and Activision just hopes you’ll think a Snoop Dogg skin is worth twenty bucks later. You don't have to buy it. Just download, drop in, and start shooting.
The most important thing to remember is your storage space. Before you even click that download button, make sure you have at least 200GB free. These games are notorious for growing in size every time a new patch drops, and there is nothing worse than being 99% done with a download only to have it fail because of a "Disk Full" error. Clear out those old captures and games you haven't played in a year. You're going to need the room. Once that's sorted, you're good to go. No credit card required. No shady surveys. Just the game.