All Call of Duty games in order of release

It’s not all Warzone and Modern Warfare, the first-person military shooter has a long and storied history across multiple console generations, all iterating somehow as the Call of Duty series. Subsets like Black Ops have left their mark in more permanent ways, growing just as, if not more, popular than their originators.

Now, over twenty years since the first game came out, there’s dozens of entries under the Call of Duty umbrella, and the timeline grows understandably murky. To break all of that down, chronicling an era that began long before zombies and spacefaring firefights — here’s every Call of Duty game in order of release

Call of Duty (2003)

After making the incredible Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault, some devs at 2015, Inc. decided that they wanted more, and so went on to form Infinity Ward and give us the original Call Of Duty. The result was an even more faithful and grittier redo of some of WWII‘s most important battles.

• Call of Duty: United Offensive (2004)
• Call of Duty: Finest Hour (2004)
• Call of Duty: Classic (PS3, Xbox 360) (2009)

Call of Duty 2 (2005)

The PC sequel to the original Call Of Duty. It featured improved graphics, gameplay, and even better WWII set pieces. It spawned:

• Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (2005)
• Call of Duty 2 (Mobile) (2006)

Call of Duty 3 (2006)

The sequel to Call Of Duty 2 that surprisingly only came out for consoles. It spawned:

• Call of Duty: Roads to Victory (PSP) (2007)

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)

The series breaks away from the constraints of the WWII scenario to create its own original war epic set in the near future. We play as, among other characters, John “Soap” Mactavish, a soldier of Task Force 141 of the SAS as we uncover a conspiracy meant to start a new world war.

Modern Warfare is the game that finally beat Halo and cemented the COD series as the most successful FPS in the world, and naturally spawned various ports.

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Nintendo DS) (2007)
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Mobile) (2007)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (2016)

Call of Duty: World at War (2008)

Treyarch brings COD back to WWII but keeps things fresh by focusing on the Pacific front. While not as beloved as Modern Warfare, World at War introduced Zombies, one of the staples of the series.

• Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts (PS2) (2008)
• Call of Duty: World at War Mobile (2008)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

The sequel to the original Modern Warfare continues the story of Soap and Captain Price as they face off against Makarov, an emerging threat, as well as an internal conspiracy. Modern Warfare 2 became the fastest-selling game in the series and remains one of the most beloved in the franchise.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Force Recon (Mobile) (2009)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized (DS) (2009)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Reflex Edition (Wii) (2009)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered (2020)

Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)

Black Ops is the spiritual follow-up to Treyarch’s World At War. It tells an original story set in the days of the Cold War and brings the Zombies game mode to new heights.

• Call of Duty: Black Ops Mobile (2010)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)

The conclusion of the Modern Warfare 3 trilogy, which was the first entry in the mainline COD series finished after the firing of the original Infinity Ward team. The team swap dramatically hurt the game and resulted in an inferior campaign and online mode.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance (DS) (2011)

Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)

The continuation of the original Black Ops features a more ambitious campaign set in both the ’80s and the 2020s. Though not as popular as the original MW and its sequel, many fans claim it’s their favorite in the entire series.

• Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified (Vita) (2012)
• Call of Duty: Strike Team (mobile) (2013)

Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)

The first attempt at a new subseries since Black Ops was Ghosts. Despite being technically competent, Ghosts failed to break new ground and awe fans and newcomers.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)

The COD series tries to go beyond Modern Warfare with the tale of a soldier who gets to replace his lost limb with an awesome prosthetic as he enlists in a private army. Though Advanced Warfare introduces a bunch of cool new mechanics in a decent campaign, it failed to capture the hearts of fans as MW once had.

• Call of Duty: Heroes (2014)

Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015)

The culmination of the Black Ops trilogy and the game with the best Zombies mode to date.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016)

Another future warfare-based entry in the COD franchise, this time one where space warfare was the main draw. It had some impressive blockbuster-worthy moments but it just was no Modern Warfare. I believe it proved that the sweet spot for fans of the series was not in the past, nor in the future, but in the modern combat theater.

Call of Duty: WWII (2017)

The series goes back to WWII, this time with an original narrative instead of the usual re-living of the famous battles that WWII COD games had gotten us used to.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018)

Though it features Black Ops in its title, BOIV doesn’t feature a campaign, opting instead to focus on the then-emerging Battle Royale genre with the Blackout game mode.

• Call of Duty: Mobile (2019)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)

The Remake of the original Modern Warfare that tells a mostly new story featuring the most popular characters from the original.

• Call of Duty: Warzone (2020)

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)

The Black Ops series goes back to its Cold War roots and once again has a campaign that intertwines with real-world events. Cold War‘s campaign is not as well received as the golden age of Black Ops games, and neither is its Zombies mode.

Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021)

Vanguard marks the series’ latest incursion into WW2’s European theater. It failed to meet the expectations of fans and the sales targets of Activision, but it’s the one where you have no other option than to kill the main nazi villain in the end, so it’s not that bad.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)

The continuation of the plot of the new Modern Warfare series. It garnered a lot less fan favor than the original Modern Warfare sequel because its campaign constantly fails to be as memorable and exciting than what had come prior.

• Call of Duty: Warzone 2 (2022)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023)

MW3 might be the third entry in the Nu-Modern Warfare trilogy, but it actually doesn’t conclude the overarching story. This game suffered from a highly rushed development which resulted in the weakest campaign in the history of the series. Here’s hoping the series gets back on its feet on the next entry.

---