All the Call of Duty Games in Order: How a WWII Mod Became a $30 Billion Empire

It started with a mutiny. In 2002, a group of developers at 2015, Inc. finished Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and realized they wanted more control, more grit, and a better paycheck. They jumped ship, formed Infinity Ward, and birthed a franchise that would eventually out-earn the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you’re trying to track all the Call of Duty games in order, you aren't just looking at a list of release dates; you’re looking at the evolution of the modern first-person shooter.

COD has changed. A lot. It went from "Saving Private Ryan" simulator to gritty Cold War conspiracy theories, then took a weird detour into jetpacks and space lasers, before finally circling back to the "boots on the ground" realism we see today.

The Early Years (2003–2006): The Greatest Hits of WWII

Back in 2003, the original Call of Duty was a revelation. While Medal of Honor was about being a lone wolf hero, COD was about being a small part of a massive machine. You played as American, British, and Soviet soldiers. That Soviet campaign? It was brutal. The "Stalingrad" level where you’re handed five bullets but no rifle? It’s still one of the most stressful experiences in gaming history.

Then came Call of Duty 2 in 2005. This was the "killer app" for the Xbox 360. It introduced regenerating health, a mechanic that literally every other shooter copied for the next decade. No more hunting for health packs while bleeding out in a ditch. Honestly, it changed everything. Call of Duty 3 (2006) followed quickly, developed by Treyarch. It was fine, but it felt a bit like a placeholder. People were starting to get tired of the M1 Garand "ping" sound. They wanted something new.

The Modern Warfare Revolution (2007–2012)

In 2007, everything exploded. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare didn't just move the series to the present day; it redefined multiplayer gaming. The "All Ghillied Up" sniper mission in Chernobyl remains a masterclass in tension and level design. This era was the golden age. You had the high-octane Hollywood energy of Modern Warfare 2 (2009), featuring that controversial "No Russian" mission that had news anchors screaming on TV for weeks.

Meanwhile, Treyarch was carving out its own niche. World at War (2008) brought us back to WWII but with a darker, more visceral tone. It also gave us "Zombies." What started as a hidden Easter egg became a cultural phenomenon. Then came Black Ops (2010). If Modern Warfare was an action movie, Black Ops was a psychological thriller. CIA brainwashing, numbers stations, and the "What do the numbers mean, Mason?" meme that still won't die.

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The Era of Jetpacks and Wall-Running (2013–2018)

Things got weird around 2013. Call of Duty: Ghosts was a bit of a stumble. Everyone remember the "fish AI" and the dog, Riley? Yeah, it didn't quite land. This led to the "Advanced Movement" era. Advanced Warfare (2014) gave us exoskeletons and Kevin Spacey. Black Ops III (2015) and Infinite Warfare (2016) went full sci-fi.

Fans were split. Some loved the fast-paced, vertical gameplay. Others just wanted to hide behind a sandbag and shoot a regular gun. Infinite Warfare actually holds the record for one of the most disliked trailers in YouTube history. It was a rough patch. To fix the vibe, Sledgehammer Games released Call of Duty: WWII in 2017, stripping away the double jumps and returning to the muddy trenches of Europe.

The Warzone Shift and the Reboot Era (2019–Present)

In 2019, Activision hit the reset button. Modern Warfare (2019) was a "soft reboot" that brought back Captain Price but with a much grittier, more realistic engine. The gunplay felt heavy and tactile. But the real game-changer was Warzone (2020). It launched right as the world went into lockdown, and suddenly, 100 million people were dropping into Verdansk.

Looking at all the Call of Duty games in order since then reveals a pattern of integration. Black Ops Cold War (2020) and Vanguard (2021) were basically bolt-ons for Warzone. Then came Modern Warfare II (2022) and Modern Warfare III (2023). Let’s be real: MWIII was basically an oversized DLC that got turned into a full-priced game because of development hurdles. It was the first time the community truly felt "COD fatigue."

The Full Timeline of Mainline Releases

1. Call of Duty (2003)
2. Call of Duty 2 (2005)
3. Call of Duty 3 (2006)
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
5. Call of Duty: World at War (2008)
6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)
10. Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)
11. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)
12. Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015)
13. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016)
14. Call of Duty: WWII (2017)
15. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018)
16. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
17. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)
18. Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021)
19. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)
20. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023)
21. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (2024)

Why Black Ops 6 Changed the Momentum

By the time Black Ops 6 arrived in late 2024, the franchise needed a win. Treyarch delivered. They spent four years on this one, which is an eternity in the "annual release" world of COD. They introduced "Omnimovement," allowing players to dive and slide in any direction. It made the game feel fluid again. Plus, the 90s setting—complete with Clinton-era politics and grunge vibes—was a refreshing break from the generic "modern" aesthetic.

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The game also marked a massive shift in the business model. It was the first COD to launch day-one on Xbox Game Pass. This effectively killed the "barrier to entry" for millions of players. Whether this is sustainable for a multibillion-dollar franchise is still a hot debate among industry analysts like Mat Piscatella.

The Tricky Part: Which Games Actually Matter?

If you're a newcomer wanting to play all the Call of Duty games in order, don't feel like you have to play them all. Honestly. Some haven't aged well.

If you want the best narrative experience, start with the Modern Warfare reboot (2019) or the original Black Ops. If you want the best "old school" feel, Call of Duty 2 still holds up surprisingly well. The "Black Ops" storyline is famously convoluted, involving sleeper agents, mind control, and time jumps, but it's easily the most creative writing in the series.

On the flip side, you can probably skip Black Ops 4. Why? It doesn't even have a single-player campaign. It was purely a multiplayer and "Blackout" (the precursor to Warzone) experiment.

Common Misconceptions About the Timeline

People often think Warzone is its own separate game. It technically is, but it’s more like a hub. When you look at the release schedule, Warzone evolves every time a new mainline game drops. This creates a weird situation where weapons from WWII, the 1980s, and the future all exist in the same inventory. It’s a mess, but it’s a lucrative mess.

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Another mistake? Thinking the Nintendo DS or mobile versions are part of the "main" list. While Call of Duty: Mobile is arguably more popular than the console games in terms of pure player count, it's a "greatest hits" compilation rather than a chronological entry in the story.

Real Talk: Is COD Still Worth It?

There’s a lot of cynicism around the franchise. "It's the same game every year," people say. And yeah, sometimes it is. But the "feel" of COD—the way the gun kicks, the sound of the hit marker, the speed of the movement—is something no other developer has quite mastered. Even Battlefield and Halo have struggled to match that specific "snappiness."

To get the most out of the franchise today, focus on the "Black Ops" sub-series for story and Warzone for the social experience. Avoid the "remastered" versions if you want the authentic, slightly janky feel of the originals. Instead, look for the backwards-compatible versions on Xbox, which often have populated servers thanks to the recent Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

How to Experience the Story Today

If you want a coherent narrative journey, follow these two distinct paths:

• The Price Path: Play Modern Warfare (2019), Modern Warfare II (2022), and Modern Warfare III (2023). It’s a tight, cinematic trilogy that feels like a modern TV show.
• The Mason/Woods Path: Start with World at War, then Black Ops, Black Ops Cold War, and Black Ops 6. This path covers the 1940s through the 1990s and is much more "weird" and experimental.

Check your storage space before you start. These games are massive. Modern Warfare III alone can take up over 200GB depending on your high-res texture packs. Clear out your old captures and unused apps before hitting the download button.

Next Steps for Players: Before buying the older titles, check if they are currently on Xbox Game Pass, as Microsoft has been slowly integrating the back catalog. For the best performance on PC, ensure your "Shader Compilation" is finished in the main menu before jumping into a match to avoid the stuttering issues that have plagued the recent "COD HQ" launcher.