You remember that first time you stormed the beaches of Normandy in the original Call of Duty? It was 2003. The gaming world felt different then. We didn't have battle passes or "The Butcher" skins running around with neon-pink tracers. It was just a gritty, semi-clunky shooter that changed how we looked at digital warfare. Since that first release, Activision has turned this franchise into an absolute juggernaut, pumping out a new title basically every single year without fail. It's a massive list. Keeping track of the Call of Duty games released in order is honestly a bit of a headache because the series jumps through time like a broken VCR—one year you’re in the 1940s, the next you’re jumping off a spaceship in the far future.
The World War II Roots and the Modern Warfare Pivot
The beginning was simple. Call of Duty (2003) was the "Medal of Honor killer." Then came Call of Duty 2 in 2005, which was basically the reason everyone wanted an Xbox 360. It looked incredible for its time. Call of Duty 3 followed in 2006, though it was the only mainline entry not to hit PC, which still feels weird to think about.
Everything changed in 2007.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare didn't just move the series to the present day; it redefined the entire FPS genre. We got the "All Ghillied Up" mission. We got the first taste of a progression-based multiplayer system that actually felt addictive. Infinity Ward caught lightning in a bottle. While Treyarch took us back to the Pacific and Eastern Fronts in 2008 with World at War—introducing the world to the chaos of Nazi Zombies—the "Modern Warfare" train was already moving too fast to stop.
The Golden Era and the Rise of Black Ops
If you ask any long-time fan, they’ll tell you the period between 2009 and 2012 was the peak. Modern Warfare 2 (2009) was a cultural event. People were lining up outside GameStops at midnight for blocks. It was loud, it was controversial (looking at you, "No Russian"), and the multiplayer was gloriously unbalanced.
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Then came the mind-bending stuff. Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) swapped the straightforward heroism of previous games for Cold War paranoia and "The Numbers, Mason!" It was weird. It was dark. And it gave us Nuketown.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011) wrapped up the original Soap and Price trilogy.
- Black Ops II (2012) took a massive risk by jumping into the near future of 2025. It had branching storylines. It had Pick-10. Most people still consider it the best multiplayer experience the franchise ever produced.
The Experimental Years: Jetpacks and Ghosts
Then things got a little divisive. Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013) tried to bridge the gap between console generations and... it was fine. But people wanted something new. Sledgehammer Games stepped in with Advanced Warfare (2014), and suddenly, we were all flying. The "Exo-suit" era began. Black Ops III (2015) refined the movement, but by the time Infinite Warfare (2016) took us to literal outer space, the community was exhausted. The trailer for Infinite Warfare became one of the most disliked videos on YouTube. People just wanted their feet back on the ground.
Bringing It Back Home: Reboots and Warzone
Activision listened, mostly. They gave us Call of Duty: WWII in 2017 to reset the palate. Then came the big experiment: Black Ops 4 (2018). It was the first one with no single-player campaign. Instead, we got Blackout, which was their first real stab at the Battle Royale craze.
It worked, but 2019 was the real homecoming. The Modern Warfare reboot wasn't just a nostalgic cash grab; it introduced the new engine that made the guns feel heavy and dangerous again. It also launched Warzone in early 2020, right when the world went into lockdown. The timing was impeccable. Millions of people who hadn't played a video game in a decade were suddenly dropping into Verdansk.
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The Recent Cycle and the Black Ops 6 Era
The last few years have been a whirlwind of interconnected titles. Black Ops Cold War (2020) brought back the 80s vibes, while Vanguard (2021) took us back to WWII yet again, though with a much faster, "Warzone-ified" pace. Modern Warfare II (2022) and Modern Warfare III (2023) continued the rebooted story of Task Force 141.
Now, we're looking at Black Ops 6 (2024). This one is a big deal because it’s the first CoD developed with a four-year cycle, moving back to the early 90s and the Gulf War era. The focus on "Omnimovement"—letting you dive and slide in any direction—is the newest attempt to keep the movement feeling fresh without going back to full-blown jetpacks.
Every Mainline Call of Duty Game in Release Order
To keep it simple, here is how the timeline actually looks from start to finish. I'm leaving out the mobile-only spinoffs or the weird handheld ports from the 2000s, focusing on the heavy hitters:
- Call of Duty (2003)
- Call of Duty 2 (2005)
- Call of Duty 3 (2006)
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
- Call of Duty: World at War (2008)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)
- Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015)
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016)
- Call of Duty: WWII (2017)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)
- Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (2024)
Why the Order Actually Matters for Your Storage Space
Honestly, the biggest challenge with the Call of Duty games released in order today isn't the gameplay—it’s the file size. Back in 2003, you could fit the whole game on a couple of CDs. Now? Modern Warfare III and the Warzone ecosystem can easily eat up 200GB+ of your SSD.
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Activision has tried to fix this with the "Call of Duty HQ" launcher, which basically treats the recent games as DLC for one giant app. It's a bit of a mess, truthfully. Users often complain about having to download 50GB updates just to play a different game entirely. If you're planning a marathon of the older titles, you'll find them much more manageable, though the older servers on PC are notoriously riddled with security flaws—so be careful out there if you're jumping into 2009-era lobbies.
Insights for the Modern Player
If you're looking to dive back into the series or you're a newcomer trying to make sense of the chaos, don't feel like you have to play every single one. The series is broken into mini-universes. You can play the Modern Warfare (2019-2023) games as one continuous story. Or, you can stick to the Black Ops timeline, which is arguably more interesting because it weaves real historical events with "shadow government" fiction.
For the best experience today:
- Focus on the Reboots: Start with Modern Warfare (2019) if you want the best cinematic campaign experience.
- Zombies Enthusiasts: Black Ops 3 is still the gold standard because of the Steam Workshop support and the "Zombies Chronicles" DLC.
- Check the Year: Since these games are yearly, the player base for multiplayer usually migrates to the newest title every November. If you buy an older CoD for multiplayer, expect longer queue times and more "sweaty" lobbies.
The franchise has its flaws, and it's easy to be cynical about the yearly release schedule. But there's a reason it stays at the top of the charts. The gunplay is consistently the most responsive in the industry. Whether you're a fan of the classic WWII roots or the high-octane movement of the new Black Ops, the sheer volume of content released over the last two decades ensures there's usually a version of CoD for everyone.