Dylan Chaundy
Release Order of All Call of Duty Games
Call of Duty
Release Year: 2003Lead Developer: Infinity WardPlatforms: PC, Mac, N-Gage, PS3, Xbox 360PC Metacritic Score: 91
The OG first-person shooter that started it all. Not exactly visually impressive looking back at it now, but this was undoubtedly a hugely influential title that kickstarted an entire, annualized franchise.
Call of Duty 2
Release Year: 2004Lead Developer: Infinity WardPlatforms: PC, Mac, Xbox 360PC Metacritic Score: 86
Infinity Ward’s sophomore effort continued the World War II narrative of the studio’s debut, while introducing new features like regenerating health and improved enemy AI. Overall, a solid sequel that built upon and refined its predecessor’s formula.
Call of Duty 3
Release Year: 2006Lead Developer: TreyarchPlatforms: PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360Xbox 360 Metacritic Score: 82
Oddly enough, Treyarch’s debut skipped PCs for some mysterious reason, and was obviously the first ever CoD game to be developed by a different studio. While it was not quite as well received as the previous duo of titles, it’s still a solid WWII shooter experience.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Release Year: 2007Lead Developer: Infinity WardPlatforms: PC, Mac, Nintendo DS, PS3, PS4 (Remastered), Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox One (Remastered)PC Metacritic Score: 92
If Infinity Ward’s first Call of Duty title was the earthquake, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was the earth-shattering aftershock. Yes, this is often touted as the best game in the series for a few reasons: Its newly revamped multiplayer suite was addictive, its modern setting was novel, its clever story was super interesting, and its introduction of killstreaks was a stroke of genius. A must-play for any discerning CoD fan!
Call of Duty: World at War
Release Year: 2008Lead Developer: TreyarchPlatforms: PC, Nintendo DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360PC Metacritic Score: 83
Treyarch’s WWII shooter may have had a pretty mediocre campaign, but it thankfully introduced a little mode that would go on to prove to be super popular with the CoD community: Zombies. Yes, the iconic, round-based survive-’em-up began right here, folks!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Release Year: 2009 Lead Developer: Infinity Ward Platforms: PC, Nintendo DS, PS3, Xbox 360 PC Metacritic Score: 86 Building upon the foundations laid down by 2007’s Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward’s follow-up enhanced almost every aspect of the game. From a more varied multiplayer offering to a campaign that brimmed with plot twists aplenty, Modern Warfare 2 is easily one of the franchise’s more beloved entries. And that’s all without mentioning that No Russian level which was equally memorable as it was controversial.
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Release Year: 2010Lead Developer: TreyarchPlatforms: PC, Mac, PS3, Xbox 360, WiiPC Metacritic Score: 81
Fleshing out the Zombies mode introduced in 2008’s World At War, Treyarch’s debut Black Ops title — a game that would kickstart an entire sub-franchise — was all about refining and tweaking the CoD formula. Easily one of the most beloved games on this list.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Release Year: 2011Lead Developer: Infinity WardPlatforms: PC, Mac, PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, WiiPC Metacritic Score: 78
Largely just a shinier version of the first duo of titles in Infinity Ward’s sub-franchise, this is arguably when diminishing returns for the series began to set in. Not a terrible game by any means, but definitely one of the black sheep of the franchise.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Release Year: 2012Lead Developer: TreyarchPlatforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii UPC Metacritic Score: 74
Another title that largely coasted off its predecessor’s success, Black Ops 2 is a pretty messy sequel both narratively and multiplayer-wise. Though the newly-implemented Pick 10 system was pretty cool and is still used to this day, Zombies’ Tranzit map, on the other hand, is still considered one of the worst Zombies maps the series has offered so far.
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Release Year: 2012Lead Developer: Infinity WardPlatforms: PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox OnePC Metacritic Score: 68
The punching bag of the entire series, Ghosts was the first PS4 and Xbox One CoD offering that was set to usher in a new generation. Instead, its multiplayer was a laggy mess, its campaign was so short you could blink and miss it, and Zombies had been replaced with rather bland-looking aliens. Sadly, one of the worst games in the series by quite a wide margin.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Release Year: 2013Lead Developer: Sledgehammer GamesPlatforms: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox OnePC Metacritic Score: 78
Heading even further into futuristic territory, Advanced Warfare boasted exoskeletons, cybernetically enhanced soldiers, and double jumps. Thankfully, the multiplayer was super fun to play and the single-player component was pretty memorable with Kevin Spacey and Troy Baker headlining a star-studded cast.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Release Year: 2015Lead Developer: TreyarchPlatforms: PC, Mac, PS3, PS4, Xbox OnePC Metacritic Score: 73
With its introduction of wall-running and a more decked-out exo-suit, Black ops III was fairly well received and is widely considered as a sequel that largely redeemed itself following the weaker entry in the series’ sub-franchise.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Release Year: 2016Lead Developer: Infinity WardPlatforms: PC, PS4, Xbox OnePC Metacritic Score: 73
Boasting one of the strongest stories CoD has seen in years and a bonkers Zombies mode that featured the shuffling undead wreaking havoc on a sci-fi amusement park, Infinite Warfare was only let down by a middling multiplayer offering that failed to tread any new ground.
Call of Duty: WWII
Release Year: 2017Lead Developer: Sledgehammer GamesPlatforms: PC, PS4, Xbox OnePC Metacritic Score: 73
Returning to its World War II roots after a nine-year hiatus, WWII felt like a long time coming for the Call of Duty community. Specifically, it was its gritty and realistic “boots on the ground” gameplay that helped elevate this entry largely thanks to the preceding glut of futuristic CoD games before it.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Release Year: 2018Lead Developer: TreyarchPlatforms: PC, PS4, Xbox OnePC Metacritic Score: 83
The first ever Call of Duty title to not feature a proper single-player campaign, Black Ops 4 had its work cut out for it to make a good first impression. Despite this fact, it still went on to become one of the best-selling games in the series, which is no small feat, indeed.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Release Year: 2019Lead Developer: Infinity WardPlatforms: PC, PS4, Xbox OnePC Metacritic Score: 81
Infinity Ward’s confusingly named 2019 reboot, Modern Warfare, was a gritty take on the action-packed blockbuster franchise. While some detractors criticized the game’s balancing in multiplayer; overall, Modern Warfare is well-regarded by the fanbase and is undoubtedly one of the best modern entries in Activision’s first-person shooter series.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Release Year: 2020Lead Developer: TreyarchPlatforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|SPC Metacritic Score: 76
CoD’s debut on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S was sadly mired with dodgy online net code, technical issues, and just a general feeling of been-there-done-that. Despite these issues, the game still went on to become the biggest-selling title of 2020.
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Release Year: 2021Lead Developer: Sledgehammer GamesPlatforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|SPC Metacritic Score: 72
After four years away, it was time for the popular military first-person shooter series to return to the muddy trenches of World War II. Yes, it’s safe to say that Vanguard is yet another installment that isn’t particularly fondly remembered by the fanbase thanks to a weak Zombies offering, a middling campaign, and an overall feeling of déjà vu. So, there you have it. We hope this helped to clue you in on the release order for all Call of Duty games. For more, go ahead and check out our ranking of all Call of Duty games. Alternatively, feel free to peruse the relevant links down below.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Ends 2022 as Biggest Seller in U.S; Full December NPD Report Top 5 Hijacked Moments in Call of Duty Esports History Top 5 Solo Plays in Call of Duty Esports History FTC Lawsuit Could Stop Call of Duty Games From Ever Coming to Game Pass Microsoft Pledges to Bring Call of Duty to Nintendo Platforms for the Next 10 Years
