All Call of Duty games in order, plus which are the best

Call of Duty is one of the most recognizable video game franchises in existence, but with a history dating back to 2003, it can be hard to keep track of what order the games came out in, and which are the best and still worth playing today.

Now over 20 years old, Call of Duty’s history would be considered unwieldy at the best of times. The fact that there are various brands within the overall Call of Duty franchise, some of which have been rebooted and refreshed, doesn’t help to make things any more clear.

There isn’t really any easy way to track the order of the Call of Duty games, but players who want to see the franchise’s progression can approach it with a handy list that we’ve put together. Then you can ask the real question: Which COD games are actually worth returning to and playing today?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 | Gameplay Reveal Trailer

All Call of Duty games in order of release

Call of Duty first arrived in 2003 and since 2005, and new Call of Duty games has been released each year. Alongside these have been a variety of spin-offs for older consoles, handhelds, and even mobile devices.

Here are all the Call of Duty games in order. Note that the main franchise games are highlighted:

• Read also: Everything we know about the CoD Black Ops 7 release

For a long while, Call of Duty released multiple versions of its games for different platforms. While mainline installments were originally exclusive to the most recent and up-to-date consoles, handheld devices and mobile devices would receive different versions of the games with subtitles to distinguish them.

These titles varied in terms of quality. Games like Call of Duty 2: Big Red One for the PS2, GameCube, and Xbox were generally well received, while others like Call of Duty: Black Ops – Declassified for the PS Vita were some of the worst-reviewed games of their respective platforms.

In almost all cases, however, these titles have been regarded as downgrades compared to their mainline alternatives.

Image credit: Activision

Call of Duty rolls out live-service spin-offs

Similar to the long-running Madden or NBA 2K franchises, Call of Duty is an annually released video game franchise. But the series has also released multiple live-service spin-off titles that are free-to-play. Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Mobile are the most notable among this lot.

Call of Duty: Mobile wasn’t developed by Activision and was instead created by TiMi Studio Group, a network of mobile gaming developers based in China. The game is built around its multiplayer game modes, featuring everything from Zombies to TDM and even a battle royale mode. The game was received positively by fans and was a major commercial success, generating over $1.5 billion within 18 months of its release.

Warzone launched in 2020 as a direct competitor to Fortnite and became highly popular in its own right. The game combines Call of Duty’s look and feel with the battle royale gameplay seen in PUBG: Battlegrounds and Fortnite. COD Warzone Mobile was released to the public in 2024.

Do I have to play the Call of Duty games in order?

Fans of Call of Duty’s campaigns should play the different sub-series in order for the best possible experience.

There is an overarching narrative to some of the Call of Duty games, though there isn’t a consistent through-line across all COD games. While players can jump into something like Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare as their first game, the story of Modern Warfare 3 is directly tied to the previous Modern Warfare titles. This means that it’s generally better to play Call of Duty games from the same series in the correct order if you’re interested in the single-player campaigns.

That said, players who only play Call of Duty for the multiplayer don’t need to worry about the story. For those who just want to hop into some online lobbies, there’s no reason not to play whichever game you prefer, typically the latest game as that will be the most active among players.

What are the best Call of Duty games?

The original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare titles and the early Black Ops games are the top-rated games in Call of Duty’s long history.

Early on in its existence, the mainline Call of Duty titles were consistent game of the year award contenders. The first Call of Duty was highly acclaimed upon its release and was popular enough to see publisher Activision throw its full weight behind the series. From there, Call of Duty 2, the first three Modern Warfare games, and the original Black Ops games all enjoyed review averages that were around or above 90% positive according to major aggregators.

Official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – Launch Trailer

Starting with Black Ops 2 in 2012, the games slipped down to consistently receiving reviews in the 80% range. Starting with Black Ops Cold War in 2020, the average review scores slid further down into the 70% to 75% range. This eventually saw 2023’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 receive decidedly negative reviews, with criticism directed at its limited content offering relative to Modern Warfare 2.

Generally speaking, COD fans agree with the assessment that the early games in the series are better than more recent releases. But because Call of Duty games feature different mechanics, campaigns, and multiplayer maps, there’s a degree of subjectivity when it comes to deciding the best game in the series overall.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is regarded by many as the best recent Call of Duty game. The game was also the first title of the 2020s to have a review average above 80%. Check back for more gaming news and guides.

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