Call of Duty list of games: How a World War II shooter became a $30 billion monster

Twenty-three years. Honestly, that is a lifetime in the gaming world. Most franchises flame out after three or four entries, but somehow, we are still talking about the call of duty list of games as if it were the only thing that mattered every October. It started as a "Medal of Honor killer" back in 2003, developed by a bunch of Infinity Ward devs who basically wanted to show that war wasn't just about being a lone wolf superhero. It was about the squad.

The series has moved from the muddy trenches of France to the literal vacuum of space. It’s been a wild ride. Some years we get a masterpiece that changes the industry. Other years? We get Vanguard. But you can't deny the impact.

The era that started it all

The original Call of Duty (2003) was a revelation because of the "Shellshock" effect. If a grenade went off near you, your ears rang and your vision blurred. It sounds standard now, but back then, it was terrifying. Then came Call of Duty 2, which was the "must-have" launch title for the Xbox 360. I remember people buying 360s just to see the smoke grenades. It was the first time a console game really felt "next-gen."

Call of Duty 3 was the weird middle child. It was Treyarch’s first big go at the mainline series, and you could tell they were rushing. It was fine, but it didn't have that Infinity Ward "magic" yet. That changed everything in 2007.

Why the call of duty list of games changed forever in 2007

If you weren't there for the launch of Modern Warfare, it’s hard to describe the shift. The industry went from "WWII is the only way to make a shooter" to "we need red dot sights and AC-130s" overnight. Captain Price and Soap MacTavish became household names. This wasn't just a game; it was a cultural event.

The multiplayer changed everything. Killstreaks. Perks. Leveling up to prestige. It created a dopamine loop that literally every other developer has been trying to copy for two decades.

Then came World at War. People thought it would be a step back because it returned to WWII, but Treyarch did something sneaky. They added a little Easter egg called "Nacht der Untoten." They didn't even tell the marketing team. They just put a zombie mode in the end credits. That single decision basically gave the call of duty list of games a second life force that still carries it today.

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The Golden Age (2009–2012)

This was the peak. No debate.

1. Modern Warfare 2 (2009): The most "extra" game ever. Akimbo 1887 shotguns, the tactical nuke, and a story so controversial it made the evening news.
2. Black Ops (2010): The "Numbers" Mason! A psychological thriller set in the Cold War that proved Treyarch could tell a better story than Infinity Ward.
3. Modern Warfare 3 (2011): It broke sales records, even if it felt like more of the same.
4. Black Ops II (2012): This was the first time the series jumped into the future. Pick-10 system? Revolutionary. League Play? The birth of the modern CoD pro scene.

The "Jetpack" years and the identity crisis

Between 2013 and 2017, things got... weird. Ghosts was the first stumble. The dog, Riley, was a meme before memes were even a thing. Then we got Advanced Warfare. Sledgehammer Games decided we all needed to double-jump and dash. "Exo-suits" became the new meta.

Some people loved it. The "pro" players loved the high skill ceiling. The casual fans? They hated it. They just wanted to sit on a head-glitch with an assault rifle, not play Quake in a military skin.

Black Ops III was actually pretty great, mostly because the colors were vibrant and the Specialist characters had personality. But then Infinite Warfare happened. The trailer became one of the most disliked videos in YouTube history. People were done with the future. They wanted boots on the ground.

The modern reboot and the Warzone explosion

In 2019, Activision hit the reset button. They brought back Modern Warfare, but on a brand-new engine. It looked and sounded heavy. Real. Gritty. It also introduced Warzone.

Warzone changed the business model. Suddenly, the call of duty list of games wasn't just about a $70 annual purchase. It was about a free-to-play ecosystem that lived forever. It saved the franchise during the pandemic. Everyone was dropping into Verdansk. It was the "water cooler" moment for gaming.

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But this created a problem. The "annual" games started feeling like DLC for Warzone. Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard had to be integrated into the battle royale, which led to massive file sizes—sometimes over 200GB. It’s a mess, honestly. Your hard drive literally can’t handle more than two of these games at once.

Every Call of Duty game in order (Main Series)

Since the list is long, let's look at how these titles actually stack up chronologically by release year:

• Call of Duty (2003) - The PC original.
• Call of Duty 2 (2005) - The Xbox 360's big moment.
• Call of Duty 3 (2006) - The one people usually forget.
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) - The GOAT.
• Call of Duty: World at War (2008) - Gritty, dark, and introduced Zombies.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) - Peak multiplayer chaos.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) - Best campaign twist.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011) - The end of the original trilogy.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012) - The birth of competitive CoD.
• Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013) - The "fish AI" and the dog.
• Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014) - Kevin Spacey and jetpacks.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015) - Hero shooter elements arrive.
• Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016) - Space battles and Jon Snow.
• Call of Duty: WWII (2017) - Back to basics.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018) - The one with no campaign.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) - The reboot that changed the engine.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020) - 80s vibes and spycraft.
• Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021) - WWII, again, but with destructible walls.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) - Not to be confused with the 2009 one.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) - Basically a massive expansion pack.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (2024) - Omnimovement and the return of round-based zombies.

What most people get wrong about the development cycle

You’ll hear people say "CoD is just copy-paste." It’s actually the opposite. It’s a logistical nightmare.

There are now over a dozen studios working on this. Treyarch, Infinity Ward, and Sledgehammer are the "leads," but Raven Software, High Moon, Beenox, and others are basically the support beams. When you see a new game come out, it has been in development for three or four years. The reason they feel similar sometimes is because Activision forces them to use a "shared engine" now so that Warzone doesn't break every time a new gun is added.

This leads to "feature creep." They try to pack so much into one game—Campaign, Multiplayer, Zombies, Warzone, DMZ, Raids—that the polish often takes a hit.

The Microsoft acquisition: What happens now?

Now that Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard for a cool $69 billion, the future of the call of duty list of games is going to look different. The biggest change? Game Pass.

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In the past, you had to drop $70 every year. Now, if you’re a subscriber, you just get it. This might actually be the best thing to happen to the player base in a decade. It lowers the barrier to entry. We’ve already seen Black Ops 6 explode because of this.

There’s also the question of exclusivity. Microsoft promised to keep CoD on PlayStation for at least a decade. Why? Because they’d be leaving billions of dollars on the table if they didn’t. But don't be surprised if the "marketing rights"—those early beta accesses and exclusive skins—all move to Xbox.

How to actually play through the series today

If you’re looking to dive into the call of duty list of games, don’t try to play them all. You’ll burn out. Instead, follow these "paths":

The Modern Warfare Path: Play the 2019 reboot, then MWII (2022), then MWIII (2023). It’s a continuous story. It’s cinematic. It feels like a big-budget action movie.

The Black Ops Path: This is for the lore nerds. Start with World at War, then Black Ops, then Black Ops Cold War, and finally Black Ops 6. Skip Black Ops 4 unless you really want to play a battle royale that isn't Warzone.

The Zombies Path: Just buy Black Ops III on PC or console. It has the "Zombies Chronicles" DLC which remasters almost all the classic maps. It’s the definitive way to play that mode.

Actionable Insights for Fans

If you're still playing, or thinking about jumping back in, keep these things in mind:

• Manage your storage: These games are bloated. Use the "Modify Install" option in the Battle.net or Xbox app to delete the parts you don't play (like the Campaign or Spec Ops) to save 100GB.
• Cross-progression is real: Your skins and level usually carry over within the same "ecosystem." If you buy a bundle in Warzone, it usually works in the current mainline game. Check the icons before you buy.
• Sensitivity settings matter: Stop playing on default settings. Most pros use a sensitivity between 5 and 7. Higher isn't always better; it just makes you miss more shots.
• Audio is key: Use the "Home Theater" or "Headphones" audio preset. Turn off the music. You need to hear footsteps, not a dramatic orchestra, when you're in a 1v1.

The call of duty list of games isn't slowing down. Whether we like the annual release cycle or not, it’s the heartbeat of the gaming industry. It’s the game people buy even if they don’t consider themselves "gamers." It’s familiar. It’s loud. And despite all the complaints about SBMM (Skill-Based Matchmaking) or microtransactions, we keep coming back because, at its core, no other game gets the "feel" of a gunfight quite as right as this one.