Wondering what the release order for all Call of Duty games is? Well, you’re in the right place. In this guide, we’ll clue you in on the order of release for Activision’s best-selling military first-person shooter series. So, without further delay, let’s dive in!
Release Order of All Call of Duty Games
Call of Duty
- Release Year: 2003
- Lead Developer: Infinity Ward
- Platforms: PC, Mac, N-Gage, PS3, Xbox 360
- PC Metacritic Score: 91
The OG first-person shooter that started it all. Not exactly visually impressive looking back at it now, but this was undoubtedly a hugely influential title that kickstarted an entire, annualized franchise.
Call of Duty 2
- Release Year: 2004
- Lead Developer: Infinity Ward
- Platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox 360
- PC Metacritic Score: 86
Infinity Ward’s sophomore effort continued the World War II narrative of the studio’s debut, while introducing new features like regenerating health and improved enemy AI. Overall, a solid sequel that built upon and refined its predecessor’s formula.
Call of Duty 3
- Release Year: 2006
- Lead Developer: Treyarch
- Platforms: PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360
- Xbox 360 Metacritic Score: 82
Oddly enough, Treyarch’s debut skipped PCs for some mysterious reason, and was obviously the first ever CoD game to be developed by a different studio. While it was not quite as well received as the previous duo of titles, it’s still a solid WWII shooter experience.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Release Year: 2007
- Lead Developer: Infinity Ward
- Platforms: PC, Mac, Nintendo DS, PS3, PS4 (Remastered), Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox One (Remastered)
- PC Metacritic Score: 92
If Infinity Ward’s first Call of Duty title was the earthquake, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was the earth-shattering aftershock. Yes, this is often touted as the best game in the series for a few reasons: Its newly revamped multiplayer suite was addictive, its modern setting was novel, its clever story was super interesting, and its introduction of killstreaks was a stroke of genius. A must-play for any discerning CoD fan!
Call of Duty: World at War
- Release Year: 2008
- Lead Developer: Treyarch
- Platforms: PC, Nintendo DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
- PC Metacritic Score: 83
Treyarch’s WWII shooter may have had a pretty mediocre campaign, but it thankfully introduced a little mode that would go on to prove to be super popular with the CoD community: Zombies. Yes, the iconic, round-based survive-’em-up began right here, folks!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Release Year: 2009
Lead Developer: Infinity Ward
Platforms: PC, Nintendo DS, PS3, Xbox 360
PC Metacritic Score: 86
Building upon the foundations laid down by 2007’s Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward’s follow-up enhanced almost every aspect of the game. From a more varied multiplayer offering to a campaign that brimmed with plot twists aplenty, Modern Warfare 2 is easily one of the franchise’s more beloved entries. And that’s all without mentioning that No Russian level which was equally memorable as it was controversial.