Call of Duty: Modern Warfare launches overnight for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 when the clock strikes midnight. But you probably don’t have to wait until October 25 to start playing the military shooter. If you purchase it digitally, Activision plans to unlock the game at 6 p.m. Pacific time (9 p.m. Eastern). But if you preordered the physical edition from GameStop, do you have to wait until midnight while others get a headstart? Turns out you probably don’t.
Activision has told GameStop that it will look the other way if stores begin selling Call of Duty: Modern Warfare beginning at 6 p.m. Pacific time, according to a source familiar with the companies.
This is more of a wink-and-a-nudge agreement than an official policy, so don’t expect GameStop to confirm the early release on social media. Instead, in-store associates are only allowed to give a word-of-mouth notice.
Can you really get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare from GameStop early?
I called my local GameStop and asked when is the earliest on Thursday that I could pick up my copy. After asking about preordering, the associate told me that I could probably pick it up around 7 p.m. Mountain time.
Of course, this could vary by store or at the discretion of the individual employee. If a manager spent weeks planning a midnight launch, it may want everyone to show up for that. But chances are that if you are cool (read: nice), you can probably get home and start playing the latest Infinity Ward adventure before bedtime.
So be cool, and enjoy some Call of Duty.