All Call of Duty Games – The Franchise In Order by Release Date
Call of Duty is more than 20 years old and is widely regarded as the most popular first-person shooter series ever. It’s a franchise that spans more than fifty major and minor releases, and at this point, it’s a household name. With Call of Duty being an annual release, there’s a new game every year, with the setting, style, and mechanics changing all the time. In this quick guide, we’re breaking down all Call of Duty games in order of release date, just to make it a little easier to understand how it all works.
To find out which Call of Duty game was the most popular or when the first one hit the market, read on. We’ve got stacks of information packed into this guide that’ll give you the best idea possible of the history of all Call of Duty games. There’s plenty to learn, so buckle up and let’s get started.
All Call of Duty Games In Order By Release Date
There are many games like Call of Duty out there, but few hold a candle to this two-decade-old franchise. Here’s the full list of Call of Duty games ranked by release date, with plenty more information thrown in to satisfy your curiosity
Title | Release Date | Platforms | Sales | Spin-offs and Expansions | Active Status | Developer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Call of Duty | 2003 | Windows, macOS, N-Gage, PS3, Xbox 360 | 4.5m | Call of Duty: United Offensive, Call of Duty: Finest Hour | Inactive | Infinity Ward |
Call of Duty 2 | 2005 | Windows macOS, Xbox 360, J2ME | 5.9m | Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, Call of Duty 2 (Mobile) | Inactive | Infinity Ward |
Call of Duty 3 | 2006 | PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360, J2ME | 7.2m | Call of Duty 2 (Windows Mobile) | Inactive | Treyarch |
Call of Duty: Roads to Victory | 2007 | PlayStation Portable | - | Inactive | Amaze Entertainment | |
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare | 2007 | Windows, macOS, NDS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, J2ME | 15.7m | Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (DS), Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Mobile) | Active | Infinity Ward |
Call of Duty: World at War | 2008 | Windows, NDS, PS3, Wii, X360, Windows Mobile, J2ME | 15.6m | Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts, Call of Duty: World at War (DS), Call of Duty: World at War (Mobile), Call of Duty: Zombies | Active | Treyarch |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | 2009 | Windows, macOS, NDS, PS3, X360 | 25.2m | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Force Recon, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Reflex Edition, Call of Duty: Classic | Active | Infinity Ward |
Call of Duty: Black Ops | 2010 | Windows, macOS, NDS, PS3, Wii, X360, J2ME | 30.7m | Call of Duty: Black Ops (DS), Call of Duty: Black Ops Mobile, Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies | Active | Treyarch |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 | 2011 | Windows, macOS, NDS, PS3, Wii, X360 | 31m | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance | Active | Infinity Ward |
Call of Duty: Black Ops II | 2012 | Windows, PS3, Wii U, X360 | 32m | Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified | Active | Treyarch |
Call of Duty: Ghosts | 2013 | Windows, PS3, PS4, Wii U, X360, XONE | 28.9m | Active | Infinity Ward | |
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | 2014 | Windows, PS3, PS4, X360, XONE | 21.6m | Active | Sledgehammer Games | |
Call of Duty: Heroes | 2014 | iOS, Android, Windows | - | Inactive | Faceroll Games | |
Call of Duty: Black Ops III | 2015 | Windows, macOS, PS3, PS4, X360, XONE | 26.7m | Active | Treyarch | |
Call of Duty: Siege | 2016 | iOS, Android | - | Inactive | Faceroll Games | |
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare | 2016 | Windows, PS4, XONE | 13.6m | Active | Infinity Ward | |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered | 2016 | Windows, PS4, XONE | - | Active | Raven Software | |
Call of Duty: WWII | 2017 | Windows, PS4, XONE | 19.8m | Active | Sledgehammer Games | |
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 | 2018 | Windows, PS4, XONE | 14.3m | Blackout | Active | Treyarch |
Call of Duty: Mobile | 2019 | iOS, Android | 500m | Active | TiMi Studio Group | |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 2019 | Windows, PS4, XONE | 30m | Active | Infinity Ward | |
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War | 2020 | Windows, PS4, PS5, XONE, XSXS | 30m | Active | Treyarch | |
Call of Duty Warzone | 2020 | Windows, PS4, PS5, XONE, XSXS | 100m | Active | Raven Software | |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered | 2020 | XONE, PS4, PS5, XSXS | - | Active | Beenox | |
Call of Duty: Vanguard | 2021 | Windows, PS4, PS5, XONE, XSXS | 30m | Active | Sledgehammer Games | |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II | 2022 | Windows, PS4, PS5, XONE, XSXS | 30m | Active | Infinity Ward | |
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 | 2022 | Windows, PS4, PS5, XONE, XSXS | 50m | DMZ | Active | Raven Software |
Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile | 2023 | iOS, Android | 50m | Active | Beenox | |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III | 2023 | Windows, PS4, PS5, XONE, XSXS | 20m | Active | Sledgehammer Games | |
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 | 2024 | Windows, PS4, PS5, XONE, XSX | - | Zombies | Inactive | Treyarch |
History of All Call of Duty Games
We’ve taken a look at all Call of Duty games in order by release date, and now let’s dive deep into that history.
Call of Duty’s lifecycle has been nothing short of spectacular. In the last two decades, it has grown from a relatively unknown franchise to a titan of the gaming industry. It’s one of the best-selling first-person shooter franchises to ever emerge, and it boasts a staggering value, with the ecosystem today being worth billions of dollars. It had humble beginnings as a niche World War II-based shooter, but within a few years, it would grow to become a benchmark for all first-person shooters to aspire to.
In the earliest days of the franchise, the series was finding its fight, and it wasn’t until the launch of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare that things exploded. Today, that title is still considered to be the best Call of Duty game by so many fans, and it was a step in the right direction for the developers. It became the best-selling game in the series, and it offered up unparalleled multiplayer action – and it’s also where competitive Call of Duty started to emerge, birthing some of the best Call of Duty players in the world.
From there, things only got better – all Call of Duty games now had a bar that they needed to reach, thanks to Modern Warfare. Fortunately, in 2008, World at War was released to follow Modern Warfare, and that too was a smash hit, introducing Call of Duty: Zombies to the world. It was a bizarre concept, fusing first-person shooter action with survival against unending waves of Nazi zombies, but it was a phenomenal success.
Today, World at War arguably remains one of the best Call of Duty Zombies games.
Becoming Modern
As time went on and more Call of Duty games in order by release date kept pouring out of studios around the world, technology became more advanced. Following a string of titles that popularised the franchise on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 – such as the Modern Warfare series and Black Ops – things started to get even better. In 2012, the last game to be exclusive to that generation – Black Ops II – was released.
It was a monumental game, and many older fans today will say it was the best multiplayer Call of Duty game in history. It helped to spawn the Call of Duty esports scene as we know it today, with the first-ever Call of Duty World Championship tournament taking place on the platform. However, within one more year, a whole new generation of Call of Duty would launch with Call of Duty: Ghosts, which was the first game to be released on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 platforms.
From there, the Call of Duty franchise became something of an experimental ground for all the developers that were now involved:
- Infinity Ward
- Sledgehammer Games
- Treyarch
- Raven Software
Within a few short years, we saw futuristic combat in Advanced Warfare, space-faring adventures in Infinite Warfare, and a return to the Second World War with Call of Duty: WWII. In 2018, Call of Duty’s first-ever battle royale game was released – Blackout.
And Then, Today
In 2020, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms were released, and it was time for Call of Duty to move on once again. This shift took place with Black Ops Cold War, a somewhat bizarre game that took just months to build. It was a rushed title, but for some, it offered up the most balanced and enjoyable multiplayer ever experienced in the Call of Duty franchise. It was also a banner year for Call of Duty esports, with the Call of Duty League enjoying top-tier viewership numbers.
One year later, in 2021, Call of Duty: Vanguard was released. It was a return to Call of Duty’s World War II roots that hadn’t been seen since 2017’s WWII, but it was a hugely disappointing title. It fractured the community and even the esports scene took a hit, with viewership dwindling and fewer people tuning in compared to previous years.
In 2022, Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0 were released, ushering in a new generation of the popular battle royale platform. Modern Warfare II wasn’t too well received, but it was solid enough that it saw viewership for the Call of Duty League grow. That brings us to today, with the most recent game being 2023’s Modern Warfare 3. This title was somewhat strange, boasting the shortest campaign in franchise history and feeling much more like a DLC to 2022’s Modern Warfare II than anything more substantial.
In October 2024, Black Ops 6 will be released, marking the emergence of the most highly anticipated Call of Duty game in years.