A vast period of conflict has been covered in Call of Duty, ranging from World War II to space battles.
It would be an understatement to say that Call of Duty has had a significant influence on video game history. This series, which revolutionized single-player campaigns and online combat to become one of the most profitable franchises ever, is hard to think of first-person shooters (or action games in general) without mentioning.
CoD has ruled the multiplayer game industry for decades. In addition to producing well-known characters like Alex Mason and Captain Price, the series has added surprising members to its cast like Spawn, Snoop Dogg, and Lionel Messi.
This is a list of every Call of Duty game released thus far, arranged chronologically, with entries covering wars from both the past and the future.
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How to proceed with a game in chronological order
How to play by the date of release
Every Review for IGN Call of Duty
What Is the Number of Call of Duty Games?
Determining the number of Call of Duty games that have been released might be a bit challenging because of the several subseries, reboot, and numerous studios that have worked on the series.
There are 19 video games in the franchise if we just count the main entries featuring single-player campaigns, which include all of the World War II games, the Modern Warfare subseries (including its reboot), and the Black Ops subseries.
But when you factor in all the add-ons, mobile games, internet experiences, and spin-offs, things start to get tricky. For instance, Call of Duty: United Offensive is an add-on for the original game, and Call of Duty 2: Big Red One and Call of Duty: Finest Hour are its side tales.
A few of the spin-offs are the 2014 release of Call of Duty: Heroes, the 2016 release of Call of Duty: Siege, a strategic game based on the world of Infinite Warfare, and the Call of Duty: Black Ops mobile game. As a matter of fact, a lot of the flagship titles have considerably different mobile/handheld editions than the major console releases. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance on the Nintendo DS and Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified on the PS Vita are two examples of this.
Next is Call of Duty Online, a free-to-play game available only in China that was launched in 2015 and shut down in 2021. It was replaced by Call of Duty Mobile in 2019 and is still operational today.
Since their debut in 2008’s World at War, the distinct Zombies modes have been a mainstay of the series, appearing in several more games.
With the 2020 launch of Warzone, the brand finally ventured into the battle royale and live service genres, and it proved to be a big hit. It was superseded by Warzone 2.0, a totally redesigned game’s map and experience, two years later. Early in 2024, Warzone Mobile introduced the battle royale experience on iOS and Android devices.
It’s important to note that the Modern Warfare series revival will use Roman numerals in order to prevent confusion. Additionally, because Black Ops 4 is solely a multiplayer game and lacks a campaign, it is not included in the list below.
Call of Duty Video Games arranged chronologically
There are small plot, character, and pertinent event spoilers for every game on the list below.
- The 2003 video game Call of Duty
The first game in the series was created by Infinity Ward and released in 2003. Following in the footsteps of other well-known titles like Medal of Honor, this is the first of several entries in the series dedicated to World War II.
As various soldiers from the US, UK, and USSR, you can participate in three distinct campaigns in the original Call of Duty game.
In 1944, British Sergeant Evans battles in Operation Tonga, while Private Martin, a North American soldier, begins training in 1942 and takes part in the Normandy invasion. A recurring character in the series, Captain Price, will later assist Evans. However, the campaign led by Soviet Alexander Ivanovich Voronin is fought in the Battle of stalingard
- In 2005, Call of Duty 2
The nations and locales are repeated in the original title’s sequel, but from a few other angles. You experience four campaigns instead of just three: two from Britain, one from the Soviet Union, and one from the standpoint of a North American soldier.
You play as Private Vasili Koslov, defending Moscow from Nazi German forces, while Bill Taylor, a North American, enlists in the army to fight the famed D-Day assault on La Pointe du Hoc. Sergeant John Davis and David Welsh, two British soldiers, took part in the fighting in North Africa. Captain Price is in charge of Davis.
- The 2008 film Call of Duty: World at War
The Treyarch crew returned a few years after Call of Duty 3 and produced their final game, which was built around the conflict that the franchise has been breathing since its inception. But this time, only North American and Soviet forces were involved in the campaign.
You accompany U.S. Marine Private C. Miller during the 1942 Makin Island attack and the U.S. forces’ engagement with the Japanese army at the Battle of Peleliu. As Private Dimitri Petrenko, the Soviet segment takes place on the Eastern Front during the Battle of Stalingrad.
- In 2005, Call of Duty 3
Treyarch’s initial attempt to recreate World War II events was in Call of Duty 3, the first main game in the series not produced by Infinity Ward.
During the Battle of Normandy in 1944, armies from the United States, Canada, France, Poland, and Britain engage Germany’s Nazi forces at the French village of Chambois.
The only primary entry that isn’t PC-compatible is this one.
- (2017) Call of Duty: WWII
The franchise was brought back to World War II by developer Sledgehammer Games, nearly fifteen years after the original game. For the first time in the main series, Ronald “Red” Daniels and his devoted team were the sole protagonists in the campaign. From Normandy to Germany, you battle Nazi German armies throughout the European theater as Red.
Although WWII contains a few short flashback scenes set in 1940, making it the series’ first game chronologically, the main action of the game takes place in 1944.
- Vanguard, in Call of Duty (2021)
Developer Sledgehammer Games attempted once more to return Call of Duty to its origins and examine this historical event from a new angle in its most recent release, which is set in World War II.
Unlike WWII in 2017, you are presented with several characters on various fronts. Finding out more about Phoenix, a top-secret Nazi project that has the potential to turn the course of the war in Nazi Germany’s favor, is the major goal.
Although the bulk of Vanguard takes place in 1945, close to the conclusion of the war, there are flashback scenes for several of the protagonists that begin in 1941.
- 2010’s Call of Duty: Black Ops
With Black Ops, developer Treyarch altered entire eras. You will witness the events of the Cold War and a portion of the Vietnam War for the first time in the series, which spans 1961 to 1968.
Alex Mason, the primary character, is a CIA operative entrusted with recalling incidents that could lead to the discovery of Soviet sleeper spies. These agents are dispersed throughout the United States with the intention of unleashing Nova 6, a lethal chemical weapon.
- Black Ops Cold War in Call of Duty (2020)
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, created by Treyarch and Raven Software, serves as a bridge between Black Ops 2 and the original Black Ops. This time, the primary character goes by “Bell,” but you get to pick your name, gender, and other specifics like language.
You join forces with characters from earlier games, such as Frank Woods, Jason Hudson, and Alex Mason, in this 1981-set story. Your elite squad, led by CIA’s Russell Adler, is tasked with apprehending a Soviet individual known as “Perseus” who is plotting an attack on the United States.
- The 2012 game Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
There are two timeframes in the follow-up to the first Black Ops game. In the first, you take on Alex Mason’s role a few years after he and his group were able to halt Nova 6. In 1986, Mason receives a request from Jason Hudson to assist in the hunt for Frank Woods, who vanished in Cuando Cubango, Angola.
In the second timeline, Alex Mason’s son David is searching for Raul Menendez in 2025. Menendez is the head of the terrorist group Cordis Die, which started the Second Cold War.
- The 2007 game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Modern Warfare, the final game with a number after “Call of Duty,” marks the first instance in which the series has strayed from the traditional Allies vs. Axis war in favor of a more contemporary one.
In 2011, Khaled Al-Asad, the head of a revolutionary party, put Yasir Al-Fulani, the president of a made-up Middle Eastern nation, to death. In the meanwhile, arms trader Imran Zakhaev is to blame for the civil war that is raging in Russia.
John “Soap” MacTavish, the main character, assembles a group under Captain Price’s command to avert an international disaster.
- The 2009 game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
In Modern Warfare 2, which takes place five years after the events of the first game, Vladimir Makarov, an ultranationalist, carries on Imran Zakhaev’s work. It appears that this radical group took over Russia, giving Makarov the authority to begin carrying out terrorist attacks against the US.
To foil Makarov’s covert scheme, well-known figures like Captain Soap and Captain Price team up with Sergeant Gary “Roach” Sanderson, Lieutenant Simon “Ghost” Riley, “Nikolai,” and other operatives.
- (2011) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
The hunt for terrorist Vladimir Makarov reaches its peak at the conclusion of the first Modern Warfare trilogy. Captain Price’s group reorganizes itself with Nikolai’s acquaintance, Yuri, an ex-Spetsnaz. For the last mission, Captain John “Soap” MacTavish is also present.
Russia’s president, Boris Vorshevsky, who was supposed to bring about peace with the United States, is captured by Makarov. Makarov became a global menace once more after obtaining nuclear launch codes and endangering the president’s daughter.
- The 2019 game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Using several beloved characters from the original Modern Warfare series, Infinity Ward revived the popular franchise in 2019. There are well-known characters such as Captain Price in this new war with Russia.
A Russian army invades a fictional republic named Urzikstan in the same year that the film was released. While this attack is underway, Al-Qatala, a terrorist group originating in Kazakhstan, starts conducting operations against several nations across the globe. Captain Price attempts to defuse the situation with the assistance of Task Force 141 and the Urzikstan Liberation Force.
- Modern Warfare II: Call of Duty (2022)
With characters from Task Force 141 making a comeback and Farah Karim, the leader of the Urzikstan Liberation Force, leading the charge, Modern Warfare II, set in 2022, continues the tale of the MW revival.
Although Hassan Zyani’s Quds Force, an Iranian revolutionary organization, is the focus of attention, Al-Qatala remains a menace. Zyani plots terrorist attacks against the United States following the murder of General Ghorbrani, the commander of the Iranian soldiers. He is aided and abetted by Al-Qatala and a Mexican gang based in the made-up city of Las Almas.
- Modern Warfare III: Call of Duty (2023)
Reuniting Task Force 141, along with recurrent characters John Price, Simon “Ghost” Riley, Kyle “Gaz” Garrick, and John “Soap” MacTavish, MWIII picks up after the events of 2022’s Modern Warfare II. The enemy is none other than Vladimir Makarov, the ultranationalist terrorist and antagonist from Modern Warfare 3.
- (2013) Call of Duty: Ghosts
Created in 2013, Call of Duty Ghosts was a stand-alone game with minimal ties to other releases by Infinity Ward. As its name suggests, it concentrated on the Ghosts special operation force, an American unit assigned to covert operations.
In 2027, a South American group known as the Federation of the Americas declared war on the United States following ten years of Middle East hostilities and an oil crisis. You must stop Gabriel T. Rorke, the previous Ghosts leader, by working with your new team.
- The 2014 game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
The first game to be released several decades after its original release date was Advanced Warfare. It was also the first game that Sledgehammer Games worked on exclusively.
In this 2054 game, you take control of Jack Mitchell, a former US Marine Corps man who, following an injury, battles for the private military company Atlas. This time, Joseph “Hades” Chkheidze’s KVA, a Chechen separatist organization, is the adversary.
Because of its premise, it was one of the first games to incorporate futuristic gameplay elements, such as soldiers now donning exoskeletons that give them special skills.
- (2015) Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
The end of the initial Black Ops trilogy was also set in the future. More specifically, in the year 2065, when a Third Cold War between the Common Defense Pact and the Winslow Accord is happening. Robotic drones, cyborg supersoldiers, unpiloted air forces, and other technological advancements take center stage.
A black ops team composed of you (simply referred to as “The Player”), Jacob Hendricks, and your cybernetics division will be tasked with preventing the conflict from reaching a more dangerous state. You investigate a strange event in Singapore and look out for the 54 Immortals, a crime organization.
- The 2016 game Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
No Call of Duty game went further into the future than Infinite Warfare. Around the 2080s, the United Nations Space Alliance was created after humans had spent all the natural resources available on Earth. Beginning the colonization and exploitation of resources on other planets, this alliance is defended by the Solar Associated Treaty Organization, a military force that battles the totalitarian regime Settlement Defense Front from Mars.
How to Play Call of Duty Games According to Their Release Date
Duty Call (2003)
In Call of Duty 2 (2005)
Call of Duty III (2006)
2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
World at War: Call of Duty (2008)
The 2009 game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Black Ops: Call of Duty (2010)
(2011) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
(2012) Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
(2013) Call of Duty: Ghosts
2014’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
(2015) Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
(2016) Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
(2017) Call of Duty: WWII
2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2020’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Vanguard in Call of Duty (2021)
Modern Warfare II: Call of Duty (2022)
Modern Warfare: Call of Duty III (2023)
Black Ops 6: Call of Duty (2024)