Activision has announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered will be getting a standalone release next week, almost 10 years after the original installment hit consoles. Activision's Call of Duty franchise was originally set during World War II (where it will be returning later this year), as was the case with most first-person-shooter titles at the time. There was a shift in the mid-2000s, though, with many shooter games moving to the present day, and that's what prompted the video game publisher to commission Infinity Ward to develop Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Modern Warfare has been widely considered to be not only one of the best installments in the long-running franchise but also one of the best shooter games ever to release. It contained an immersive campaign mode that people still talk about today, and it's multiplayer component arguably helped revolutionize console shooters. Longtime fans have been clamoring for Modern Warfare to be remastered for years, and those hopes were finally answered last year with an official release, though many people were disappointed to learn that the remastered version would only be available along with Infinite Warfare; that's no longer the case.

It was first reported a few days ago that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered would be getting a standalone release this week, though those reports weren't immediately confirmed. Activision has now announced that Modern Warfare Remastered is officially going to release as a standalone title next week, on Tuesday, June 27, for $40, and it will be available both digitally and at retail stores. You can watch the game's official launch trailer in the section above.

Since Activision maintains an exclusive marketing partnership with Sony PlayStation (which accounts for past releases as well as the newest installment, Call of Duty: WWII), PS4 owners will be the first people able to purchase the standalone version of the game next week, with "other platforms" -- presumably PC and Xbox One -- following sometime thereafter, though a specific release date has not yet been confirmed. Furthermore, it's worth noting that the $40 price tag only accounts for the base standalone game. The "Variety Pack" -- which includes maps Killhouse, Creek, Chinatown, and Broadcast -- that released earlier this year will be available separately, for $15.

It isn't too surprising that Activision would eventually choose to release a standalone version of Modern Warfare Remastered, which is precisely what people had been asking for since the beginning. What's surprising is that the "Variety Pack" won't be included with the upcoming release, not only because the game has already been out for several months (and is a remaster of a decade-old game), but also because the original "Variety Pack" (from the original Modern Warfare game) cost only $10, whereas the new pack costs $15. We'll just have to wait and see if the publisher plans on bundling the map pack with the base game in the future.

Next: Here’s What Call of Duty: WWII’s Multiplayer Looks Like

Source: Activision Publishing