TheCall of Dutytitle is a name that should require no introduction – known for its legions of fans, an enormous selection of weapons, military campaigns, competitive multiplayer and being among thetop best-selling franchises in gaming, the twenty-year-old series is still ongoing with no sign of slowing down.
All Weapons in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Rocket launchers, assault rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, and more await you in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
With how many there have been, it can get chronologically confusing trying to decide the best order to play them in. Well, sometimes the most complicated question has the simplest answer. What better way is there than by the year they’re set in? So prepare to see how the gadgets and weapons of the Call of Duty world evolve in the ten most recent games arranged by timeline.
Mobile and free-to-play games like Warzone will not be counted, nor is Black Ops 4 as it features no campaign.
10Call of Duty: WWII
Call of Duty: WWII
The series returns to its roots of the Allies versus the Axis inCall of Duty: WWII. Some tend to forget that before it became the modern military shooter it is today, the series used to be centered around the events of World War II.
The campaign puts players into the role of a United States soldier of the 1st Infantry Division as they battle through the muddy trenches of Normandy to the frozen fields of Belgium. While Call of Duty: WWII shows some guts in attempting to tell a story featuring the infamous concentration camps, one of its major flaws is that the game only focuses on the American perspective, with no missions around the British or Russian factions. Still, it’s an enjoyable ride getting to play around with the archaic gear and weapons of the 40s.
9Call of Duty: Vanguard
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Those Nazis are still up to no good.Call of Duty: Vanguardfollows the perspectives of several misfit characters, each from different factions of the Allies, as their stories all lead to them forming the Taskforce Vanguard.
While the characters’ stories take place at diverse points in the war, and in non-chronological order, as the Vanguard special forces, the bulk of the game focuses around them attempting to thwart a top-secret project the Nazis are working on during Germany’s final days at the end of World War II. Though the game offers little innovation, it’s still fun having another chance to fight the Nazis again.
8Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
It’s the era of conspiracy and espionage, it’sCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. With the threat of neutron bombs ending up in the hands of rogue Soviet forces, a covert team of CIA and MI6 soldiers is tasked with putting a stop to them.
While the game has its share of awesome battles, it attempts to throw in some stealth missions to shake up the gameplay. Plus, Black Ops Cold War was also the first to feature the option to customize the main character. Besides the codename Bell, their appearance, nationality and gender are all yours to decide. The game even includes the option to have dialogue with your other teammates and features branching paths that can lead to three different endings.
7Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
The era of unwritten history continues in Black Ops 6. While America is in the midst of the Gulf War, you, Russell Adler and your team of CIA operatives are tasked with putting a stop to a shadow organization known as the Pantheon.
Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Does Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 right the ship and deliver one of the best Call of Duty experiences in years or does it crumble under pressure?
Another campaign of espionage and mystery, with new guns and choices to make across the adventure. Black Ops 6, however, includes a complete revamp to the movement controls known as omni-movement. The new feature allows players to move in any direction while dashing, diving, or sliding – meaning gamers can now enact their John Woo fantasies of divebombing while shooting.
6Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
A reboot to the title that forever changed the franchise,Call of Duty: Modern Warfaretakes players into a brand-new timeline that shares the same history as the Black Op games. With updated graphics and modern weapons, it should come as no surprise why this became one of thehighest-grossing releasesin the series.
Captain Price is back as the British SAS forces and their allies are fending off a Russian invasion while attempting to stop a terrorist organization’s insidious plans. This is the game for players hoping for a more realistic experience, as not every mission will be about running and gunning. The game features covert missions where tactical decisions are required, like properly using equipment and not shooting unarmed NPCs, so check those corners and think tactically.
5Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
The rebooted Modern Warfare storyline resumes inCall of Duty: Modern Warfare II, with General Herschel Shepherd overseeing the missions of Task Force 141. CoD seems to be going back to its more eccentric stories in this one with stolen American missiles on the line and Russian Ultranationalists being funded by the Mexican Cartels.
What separates the Modern Warfare II reboot from the original, however, is that it features scenes focusing more on the characters. So, for the fans who have been dying to see Gaz, Ghost and Soap return, you’ll get a kick out of playing as them through the main campaign.
4Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)
The infamous Vladimir Makarov is back to his old deeds. After working behind the scenes for the first two Modern Warfares, he and his extremist militia are out of the shadows and commence a campaign of terrorism, implementing a series of attacks to escalate tensions between the East and West powers and instigate World War III.
If you’re a hardcore fan who absolutely needs to see a story from beginning to end, then Modern Warfare III has to be on your timeline playlist. Despite its lukewarm reception, the battles still feel big as you and your team are trying to stop the biggest antagonist in the franchise.
3Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
While it works as a one-off story,Call of Duty: Advanced Warfarewas the first game in the franchise to bring the battles into the future and introduce new mechanics such as the exoskeletons and jetpacks. After losing his arm, Jack Mitchell is given a new artificial prosthetic upon joining the private military corporation Atlas.
With the world becoming more dependent on the PMC after rampant terrorist attacks by a group called KVA, Mitchell (featuring voice acting legend Troy Baker in the leading role) will come to discover that the company he serves might have ulterior motives.
2Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Because two Cold Wars weren’t enough,Call of Duty: Black Ops 3takes players into a third one centered around robotic warfare. Set forty years after the events of the second Black Ops story, warfare has changed as battles are waged through combat machines and covert operations.
Definitely one of the strangest Call of Duty stories, as the antagonist of this game is not some crooked leader or insidious terrorist, but a mad artificial intelligence. It makes for a unique story, filled with twists and turns in what many consider to be one of thelongest campaignsin the franchise.
1Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
In the installment that went for complete science fiction,Call of Duty: Infinite Warfarebrings fans into the final frontier. Jason Voorhees went into space. Godzilla went into space. So why not CoD? Stop laughing, those movies actually exist and are not silly.
It’s the biggest war in the series, as the warring factions of the United Nations Space Alliance and the Settlement Defense Front battle it out for dominance of the solar system. All packaged in a campaign with gun fights in zero gravity, spaceship battles, Kit Harington as the lead villain and even comes with your own robot sidekick.
This franchise may have jumped the shark more than once.
10 Best Call of Duty Campaigns, Ranked
These Call of Duty campaigns brought all the heart, the heat, and the heavy firepower.
