Table of Contents Show
2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was something of a reset for the series. After a couple of years of less popular instalments, Modern Warfare brought things back to the setting and milieu that made the series the juggernaut it is today. Alongside the core experience, Activision also launched Call of Duty: Warzone, a battle royale title that still stands head and shoulders above its competitors for many.
Yes, it’s fair to say that Modern Warfare and Warzone are both excellent titles and that they have huge fanbases, but they still suffer from their fair share of problems. Warzone continues to be plagued with cheaters, and Modern Warfare suffers from the typical Call of Duty problem of being superseded by subsequent core instalments. One problem they both share, however, is the “Copying Add-On” issue.
If you haven’t experienced this problem, here’s what happens. You download Call of Duty: Warzone or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and sit down to play a session. However, when you start the game up, you’re prompted with a message that reads “installing and copying add-ons” or something similar. You wait patiently for the game to finish doing so, but it never does; it’s stuck in a loop.
This can be an immensely frustrating issue to encounter, because it effectively stops you from playing the games completely. We’re not entirely sure what causes this problem; it could be something to do with the PlayStation Store (or other consoles) attempting to acquire licences for add-on content you haven’t installed, or it could be a connectivity issue. Either way, it’s frustrating. Here are some of the things you can try in order to fix “copying add-on” in Warzone and Modern Warfare.
Restart your console
One of the first things you should try if you notice your console looping and getting stuck on “copying add-on” is simply to restart the console. Press the restart button on the front of the console, and if you don’t notice anything happening, press and hold it for a few seconds until you hear two beeps. This will completely shut off the console. After doing so, power the console back on and try to go through the process of launching Warzone or Modern Warfare again. Hopefully, this will fix the problem.
Try downloading extra content
Here’s one thing you can try to fix this annoying Warzone and Modern Warfare error. From the main menu in the game, head to Options, then go to General, then Game Installs. You should see a list of content for Warzone and Modern Warfare. From there, find the “Campaign Pack 1”, “Campaign Pack 2”, and “Special Ops” downloadable content packs and make sure they are downloaded. You’re also looking for the “Survival Pack” and the “Multiplayer Pack” add-ons. The “copying add-on” error is often caused by the game improperly detecting partially-installed add-on content or trying to detect it when it isn’t there, so hopefully, installing this content will fix the issue for you.
If you’re on Xbox
Are you experiencing this issue on Xbox? If so, here’s something you can try. Press the “start” button (that’s the button with the three lines on it in the middle of the controller) when hovering over the Warzone or Modern Warfare icons in your Xbox’s main menu. You should then see “Manage game and add-ons” as an option. Head into that menu and make sure all of the content it shows has been installed onto your system (if you’ve bought it, of course).
If you’re on PlayStation
PlayStation users can follow a similar procedure to Xbox users when it comes to checking for add-on content. Press the Options button over the game icon in your PlayStation home menu. Hit “Information” and you should see the add-ons you have installed. Make sure that all of the game’s add-on content has been installed (again, assuming you’ve bought it all), as this can often be what causes the “installing and copying add-ons” error message.
Rebuild your PlayStation database
Whenever you encounter a major issue with a game on PlayStation consoles, one of the best things you can do is rebuild the database. This won’t mess with your save files or installed content, so it’s a low-risk method that has potentially high rewards. Here’s how to do it. First, press and hold the power button until you hear two beeps. Then, press and hold it again for a few more seconds until you enter the PlayStation’s boot menu. Use a micro USB (or USB-C on PS5) cable to connect your controller, then select “Rebuild Database”. This might take a little while, so grab a cup of tea or take a walk. Once it’s done, try to boot your game up again and see if that has fixed the issue. If not, you may need to fully delete Modern Warfare or Warzone and try rebuilding the database again, then reinstall your game and try once more.
Try using a physical copy of the game
If all else fails, you should try to use a physical copy of Modern Warfare in order to fully reinstall your game from scratch. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to do this in Warzone, as the game doesn’t have a physical version. First, delete the game from your console. Grab your physical copy of Modern Warfare and install it onto your system, then see if you’re able to launch the game from the disc. If you have the digital license for Modern Warfare, you should still be able to launch the game, even with the physical version installed. This might help your console to find the add-ons it’s struggling to install.
