Modern Warfare 3 Standard vs Vault Edition – What’s the difference?

There are two primary editions that you can purchase for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the Standard Edition and Vault Edition. One is the base edition for the game while the other is a more expensive version that offers additional in-game content.

If you’re thinking about purchasing either edition or perhaps even pre-ordering one of them, then you are likely wondering if one is more worth it than the other. After all, you’re spending a solid amount of money regardless of which edition you buy.

Wondering if it’s worth the splurge? I’ll go over the differences between the Standard and Vault Edition of Modern Warfare 3 so you can make a decision on which is better for you.

Standard Edition vs Vault Edition in Modern Warfare 3

First and foremost, let’s lay out what you receive if you decide to pre-order or simply purchase the Standard Edition of MW3. You can see the full contents of the edition below:

Standard Edition of MW3 ($69.99)

• Base game of Modern Warfare 3
• Campaign Early Access (Pre-Order)
• Zombie Ghost Operator Skin (Pre-Order)

As you can see, you get the most out of the Standard Edition if you pre-order it. You receive up to a week of early access for the Campaign mode (releases on Nov. 2) along with an Operator skin to use in either MW2 or MW3.

Now let’s see what’s included with the more expensive Vault Edition:

Vault Edition of MW3 ($99.99)

• Base game of Modern Warfare 3
• Campaign Early Access (Pre-Order)
• Zombie Ghost Operator Skin (Pre-Order)
• Soul Harvester Tracer Weapon Blueprint (Pre-Order) (Only for the MW2 M4)
• Soap Operator Pack (Includes a new Soap Operator skin)
• Nemesis Operator Pack (Includes 4 Operator skins that change colors and animations throughout a match)
• 2 Weapon Vaults (This includes blueprints for a variety of weapons, including the SVA 545, Longbow, AMR9, Riveter, and more. You automatically have all of the attachments for each of these guns unlocked by default with the Vault Edition. You also don’t have to go through the Armory Unlock Challenges system for the weapons in MW3)
• One season of the BlackCell Battle Pass + 30 additional Tier Skips of your choosing (You can use those Tier Skips and the BlackCell Battle Pass in any season of MW3, it doesn’t have to be Season 1)

The biggest attraction of purchasing the Vault Edition is the BlackCell Battle Pass along with the 30 Tier Skips. This means you don’t have to purchase one season’s Battle Pass and you unlock a plethora of content right off the bat. If you were planning to buy all of the Battle Passes in MW3 anyway, there’s really no reason to not buy the Vault Edition unless you don’t want to spend $100 at the time of your purchase.

However, if you’re on the fence when it comes to playing MW3, the Standard Edition is more than enough. You can also always upgrade to the Vault Edition if you wish.

Related: How to access the Modern Warfare 3 Campaign in COD HQ

If you want to earn any of the pre-order rewards of either edition in MW3, you need to purchase the edition before Nov. 10. After that, the pre-order rewards expire.