When it comes to first-person shooters, there’s no more significant video game franchise in the world than the iconic Call of Duty.
As of June 2022, CoD games have sold more than 425 million copies since the series’ inception in 2003, standing third all-time behind the Mario and Tetris franchises. That’s especially impressive considering those series began in the 1980s. Financially, the franchise has generated more than $30 billion in revenue.
There have been several spin-offs and re-releases in the FPS franchise, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered and Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified. But we have compiled a list of the primary games, the mainline entries, and the ones that have had massive success in the entertainment world; sometimes changing its landscape forever.
Here are all of the Call of Duty games in the order they were released.
2003: Call of Duty
- Release date: Oct. 29, 2003
- Developer: Infinity Ward
- Sales: 4.5 million
The first CoD started the series in World War II and featured a story campaign and multiplayer modes. It was first released on PC, Mac, and even the N-Gage handheld device.
2005: Call of Duty 2
- Release date: Oct. 25, 2003
- Developer: Infinity Ward
- Sales: 5.9 million
CoD 2 brought the series to consoles for the first time, releasing on Xbox 360 alongside PC and Mac.
2006: Call of Duty 3
- Release date: Nov. 7, 2006
- Developer: Treyarch
- Sales: 7.2 million
CoD 3 was Treyarch’s first foray into the series, keeping the fight in the 1940s, albeit without a PC release. Things were about to change forever.
2007: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Release date: Nov. 6, 2007
- Developer: Infinity Ward
- Sales: 15.7 million
Call of Duty catapulted into the mainstream with CoD 4 when Infinity Ward brought the fight to the present day. Its excellent campaign and addictive multiplayer formula with the first prestige system which likely changed gaming and FPS titles forever.
2008: Call of Duty: World at War
- Release date: Nov. 11, 2008
- Developer: Treyarch
- Sales: 15.7 million
Treyarch upped its game in 2008 with World at War, introducing the highly successful Nazi Zombies mode to the series for the first time.
2009: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Release date: Nov. 10, 2009
- Developer: Infinity Ward
- Sales: 25.02 million
If CoD 4 was the series’ entry into the mainstream, then MW2 turned the franchise into an entertainment juggernaut. It sold a whopping 25 million copies, which was unheard of then. That number would only grow.
2010: Call of Duty: Black Ops
- Release date: Nov. 9, 2010
- Developer: Treyarch
- Sales: 30.72 million
The success continued in 2010 with the first entry in the classic Black Ops series. The Zombies mode was expanded, and the campaign introduced franchise favorite characters such as Frank Woods and Alex Mason.
2011: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
- Release date: Nov. 8, 2011
- Developer: Infinity Ward
- Sales: 30.71 million
The finale of the original Modern Warfare trilogy featured yet another epic campaign and addictive multiplayer.
2012: Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- Release date: Nov. 12, 2012
- Developer: Treyarch
- Sales: 31 million
The highest-selling CoD to date is often regarded by many as one of the best in the series thanks to its competitive multiplayer, fun campaign, and further expansion of the Zombies universe.
2013: Call of Duty: Ghosts
- Release date: Nov. 5, 2013
- Developer: Infinity Ward, Neversoft, Raven Software
- Sales: 28.98 million
The thus far standalone Ghosts title brought a dog named Riley to the fight.
2014: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- Release date: Nov. 3, 2014
- Developer: Sledgehammer Games, High Moon Studios
- Sales: 21.76 million
The first “jetpack” CoD game turned the focus of the franchise from “boots on the ground” to “flying in the air” for a few years. Exosuits allowed players to boost jump in all directions and jump high in the air, changing the gameplay significantly. It was also Sledgehammer Games’ first work in the series.
2015: Call of Duty: Black Ops III
- Release date: Nov. 6, 2015
- Developer: Treyarch, Beenox, Mercenary Technology
- Sales: 26.72 million
BO3 introduced specialists to the series for the first time. Each character had their own unique set of abilities and personalities.
2016: Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
- Release date: Nov. 4, 2016
- Developer: Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Treyarch, High Moon Studios, Beenox, Vicarious Visions
- Sales: 13.6 million
Infinity Ward brought the fight to space in 2016, and many gamers felt the “jetpack” gameplay style was wearing thin. Activision heard the cries, and the next CoD brought the fight back to Earth again.
2017: Call of Duty: WWII
- Release date: Nov. 3, 2017
- Developer: Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software
- Sales: 19.82 million
WWII returned the franchise to its roots with a grounded campaign and multiplayer experience.
2018: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Blackout
- Release date: Oct. 12, 2018
- Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox
- Sales: 14.3 million
CoD’s first foray into battle royale launched alongside BO4. Blackout showed Activision the world’s thirst for the last-man-standing mode, and it began a massive turnaround for the series. This was also the first entry in the series to avoid having a campaign.
2019: Call of Duty: Mobile
- Release date: Oct. 1, 2019
- Developer: TiMi Studio Group
- Sales: 500 million-plus downloads, over $1 billion in revenue
Smartphone gamers everywhere have loved CoD: Mobile and its “greatest hits” theme. The game features modes, maps, characters, and weapons across the franchise.
2019: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Release date: Oct. 25, 2019
- Developer: Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Beenox, High Moon Studios
- Sales: 30 million
Infinity Ward rebooted the MW storyline with some new characters while returning ones like Captain Price and more. The gritty campaign was supplemented by addictive multiplayer, but the big kid on the block was just around the corner.
2020: Call of Duty: Warzone
- Release date: March 10, 2020
- Developer: Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Treyarch, Sledgehammer Games, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Toys For Bob
- Sales: Over 100 million downloads
Warzone shook up the battle royale landscape and gaming everywhere when it was released at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, giving players worldwide an escape into Verdansk with one of the most successful BR games released thus far. It’s become a flagship in the series, with future games tied into it, with live events and constant content updates to follow.
2020: Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Release date: Nov. 13, 2020
- Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Demonware
- Sales: 30 million
A direct sequel to Black Ops 1, Black Ops Cold War saw the return of characters like Frank Woods, Alex Mason, and Jason Hudson in the 1980s.
2021: Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Release date: Nov. 5, 2021
- Developer: Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Demonware
- Sales: Unknown, but lower than expected
The franchise returned to World War II once more in 2021. Activision Blizzard has not released the sales numbers for Vanguard, but the company publicly acknowledged that the game did not meet expectations for sales. It attributed this to the WWII setting and a need for more innovation in the premium release.
2022: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- Release date: Oct. 28, 2022
- Developer: Infinity Ward
- Sales: $1 billion within 10 days
MW2 is a direct sequel to the rebooted Modern Warfare from 2019, and it is Infinity Ward’s first main series release since, not including Warzone. The campaign sees the return of Captain John Price, Sergeant Kyle “Gaz” Garrick, Simon “Ghost” Riley, and John “Soap” MacTavish. Infinity Ward also introduced a revamped Gunsmith and AI systems for its co-op mode, Special Ops, and extensive seasonal updates.
2022: Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and DMZ
- Release date: Nov. 16, 2022
- Developers: Infinity Ward, Raven Software, others
- Sales: Unknown
The first substantial update in MW2 introduced the new battle royale experience, Warzone 2.0, and the Escape from Tarkov-like extraction mode DMZ. The unique experience added a new map, Al Mazrah, and changes to the Warzone formula.
2023: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
- Release date: Nov. 10, 2023
- Developers: Sledgehammer Games, more
- Sales: TBD
What comes after two? Three, of course. (Somebody tell Valve.) The second MW3 on this list was announced and confirmed on Aug. 7, 2023, with a Nov. 10, 2023 release. It’s a direct sequel to MW2 and features Task Force 141 against the famous villain from the original game, Vladimir Makarov.
It also contains all of the maps and weapons from MW2 the year prior, making it one of the largest multiplayer offerings in CoD history. Couple that with zombies mode and a new Warzone experience after launch, and MW3 had some of the most robust content offerings in the series.
2024: Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile
- Release date: March 21, 2024
- Developers: Activision Shanghai, Beenox, Digital Legends Entertainment, Solid State Studios
- Sales: TBD
Warzone for phones and tablets dropped in March 2024, offering the classic Verdansk map and integration between other CoD titles such as player level and battle pass progress, along with classic maps for quick multiplayer games while on the go.
2024: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Release date: Oct. 25, 2024
- Developers: Treyarch, Raven Software
- Sales: TBD
Black Ops 6 was officially confirmed in May 2024 and will be coming out on Oct. 25, 2024. The game features a 1990s setting and real world figures like Saddam Hussein and others, with returning characters like Frank Woods.
The 2024 Call of Duty game will also feature the return of round-based Zombies gameplay, along with new “omnimovement” in multiplayer that will let players sprint or dive in any direction in an attempt to revolutionize how the game feels to play.
