It may be hard to believe, but Call of Duty has been around for nearly two decades and has released over 40 different titles. Over the course of its 17-year run, this iconic first person shooter franchise has experienced both incredible highs and devastating lows. Sales peaked in 2010 with the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops, having shipped over 30 million units.
While not every game in the series has been a success, Call of Duty remains one of the industries most popular and profitable franchises. However, it can be difficult to distinguish the good from the bad -- so here are the five best games in Call of Duty history.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
The successor to 2007's massively successful Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Modern Warfare 2 ups the ante in every way possible. Not only is its campaign packed to the brim with unforgettable action -- such as the infamous "No Russian" mission -- as well as iconic plot twists, but its multiplayer brought with it a level of polish, depth and customization that has since set the standard for every Call of Duty release.
While Modern Warfare introduced a revolutionary groundwork for what has become the modern first person shooter, Modern Warfare 2 perfected the formula, having evolved the core gameplay loop for its multiplayer. Even in 2020, there is still something so innately enjoyable about its multiplayer progression system and the structure of its level design.
Call of Duty: Black Ops
The most financially successful game in the entire Call of Duty franchise, even today Black Ops remains one of the most beloved in series and continues to be imminently playable.
Developed by Treyarch and released in late 2010, Call of Duty: Black Ops is a Cold War era, globetrotting military adventure following the actions of CIA agent Alex Mason as he attempts to find a Soviet numbers station and prevent a secret chemical attack on the United States. Despite not being developed by series creators, Infinity Ward, Black Ops maintains a consistent quality in line with previous titles, while also providing a wholly unique experience separate from other games in the franchise.
The Black Ops campaign tackle a period in history often avoided in gaming, making for a fun and memorable campaign. It also included a new and fully fleshed out multiplayer "Zombie mode," which took the world by storm and solidified its inclusion in all future titles.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4 reached unprecedented levels of success when it was released in November 2007. Thanks to its revolutionary multiplayer and contemporary setting, Modern Warfare provided console gamers with their first taste of modern FPS multiplayer game design and an unforgettable, blockbuster campaign. More than a decade after it initial release, its impact on the industry can still be felt and its legacy continues to define the direction of modern Call of Duty titles.
Call of Duty: World at War
Following in the footsteps of Call of Duty 4, Call of Duty: World at War brings the contemporary gameplay and level design of Modern Warfare back to the ever-popular World War II time period. While audiences were beginning to feel sick of playing the through the same iconic WW2 battlefields, the addition of modern design influences and addictive multiplayer -- characteristic of Modern Warfare -- made World at War a critical success, if not a financial one.
World at War also marks the first time the iconic "zombies mode" was include in a Call of Duty game. The runaway success of this experiment by Treyarch employees would also help define all future releases in the franchise.
Call of Duty 2
Though it is the second game in the franchise, Call of Duty 2 was a game of many firsts and helped solidify the importance of the series, as well as its impact on the future of gaming.
Much like the first game, Call of Duty 2 takes place during World War II and follows experiences of three Allied soldiers in their own separate campaigns: Soviet, British and American. These campaigns not only set a certain standard of AAA quality for the series, but also introduced many of the features commonly associated with modern Call of Duty titles -- like regenerating health and flashing enemy grenade icons.
Call of Duty 2 was also the first time many gamers experienced the humble beginnings of the franchise's iconic multiplayer. While an expansion pack brought multiplayer to the first game, Call of Duty 2 was the first in the series to include multiplayer as a standard; it was also the first to bring multiplayer to consoles, specifically the Xbox 360.