There once was a time when the Call of Duty brand was linked to Xbox consoles, with Call of Duty 2 being an Xbox 360 console exclusive and all CoD DLC hitting Xbox first. Since the PlayStation 4, however, Call of Duty has aligned itself with PlayStation instead, resulting in various Call of Duty PlayStation exclusivity deals, including PS-exclusive game modes, cosmetic content, and more.
The strong relationship between Call of Duty and PlayStation has been made apparent with the PlayStation Plus program as well. Not only have there been some free Call of Duty items for players to claim through PS Plus, but subscribers have been able to snag entire CoD games for free as well. Since 2018, there have been five Call of Duty games made available for free through PlayStation Plus, with the latest set to join the lineup on Tuesday, July 6.
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Here is a complete list of all of the Call of Duty games that have been available as free downloads through the PlayStation Plus subscription service to date. In future, it's quite possible that more Call of Duty games will join PS Plus, so fans should keep that in mind.
The first Call of Duty game to join the PlayStation Plus lineup was Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, hitting the service three years after its launch. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is one of the most feature-rich games in the entire series, offering fans a 4-player co-op campaign, more Zombies, and of course, the standard Call of Duty multiplayer experience. Its story wasn't the most well-received and some Call of Duty fans never warmed up to the advanced traversal options that the later games provided, but it still has a dedicated group of players to this day.
What's notable about Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is that it has been made available through PS Plus on two separate occasions. Besides being added to the PS Plus lineup in 2018, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is also part of the PS Plus Collection on PS5. For those who may not be aware, the PS Plus Collection on PS5 gives players instant access to some of the most critically-acclaimed PS4 games, and they aren't cycled out like most PS Plus games.
Infinity Ward and Activision made a controversial decision when they decided to release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered as a bundle that required one to also purchase Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Eventually, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered got the standalone release it deserved, and then in 2019, PlayStation Plus subscribers were able to add it to their collection at no additional cost.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, as its name suggests, is a remastered version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It features improved graphics and some tweaks to the multiplayer, but it otherwise has the same campaign and maps that fans will remember from the original release.
Sledgehammer Games innovated the controversial advanced movement systems in the Call of Duty games with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which added exo-suits to the mix. For its next game, Sledgehammer decided to return Call of Duty to its roots, putting out Call of Duty: WW2 instead. Call of Duty: WW2 earned mostly positive reviews at the time of its release, and so it's no surprise that Sledgehammer seems to be leveraging that success by returning to World War 2 with Call of Duty 2021, rumored to be titled Call of Duty: Vanguard or Call of Duty: Slipstream.
Call of Duty: WW2's addition to the PS Plus lineup is notable because Sony revealed the game as a free PS Plus title ahead of time. Typically Sony waits until the last Wednesday of every month to announce the next batch of free PS Plus games, but for whatever reason, it let the cat out of the bag early with Call of Duty: WW2.
Following the success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, Activision moved forward with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered. Perhaps to avoid splitting up the Call of Duty community too much, Activision only remastered Modern Warfare 2's campaign, giving the acclaimed story mode a significant visual upgrade and making it playable on modern platforms.
The latest Call of Duty game to join the PlayStation Plus lineup is Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, as part of the free PS Plus games for July 2021. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is notable for ditching the campaign entirely, focusing exclusively on the multiplayer experience and the Zombies mode. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 also features the Blackout battle royale mode, so those on PS4 and PS5 can try out a different flavor of Call of Duty battle royale besides Warzone.