''Call of Duty'' is a

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...

video game franchise published by Activision. Starting out in 2003, it first focused on games set in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Over time, the series has seen games set in the midst of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

, futuristic worlds, and the modern day. The games were first developed by

Infinity Ward Infinity Ward, Inc. is an American video game developer. They developed the video game ''Call of Duty'', along with seven other installments in the ''Call of Duty'' series. Vince Zampella, Grant Collier, and Jason West established Infinity War ...

, then also by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. Several spin-off and handheld games were made by other developers. The most recent title, '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II'', was released on October 28, 2022. The series originally focused on the World War II setting, with Infinity Ward developing the first (2003) and

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...

(2005) titles in the series and Treyarch developing the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hi ...

(2006). '' Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' (2007) introduced a new, modern setting, and proved to be the breakthrough title for the series, creating the ''Modern Warfare'' sub-series. The game's legacy also influenced the creation of a remastered version, released in 2016. Two other entries, ''

Modern Warfare 2 ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' is a 2009 first-person shooter game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is the sixth installment in the ''Call of Duty'' series and the direct sequel to '' Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfa ...

'' (2009) and '' Modern Warfare 3'' (2011), were made. The sub-series received a reboot with '' Modern Warfare'' in 2019, with a sequel released in 2022. Infinity Ward have also developed two games outside of the ''Modern Warfare'' sub-series, ''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...

'' (2013) and '' Infinite Warfare'' (2016). Treyarch made one last World War II-based game, '' World at War'' (2008), before releasing '' Black Ops'' (2010) and subsequently creating the ''Black Ops'' sub-series. Four other entries, '' Black Ops II'' (2012), ''

III III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * ...

'' (2015), '' 4'' (2018), and ''

'' (2020) were made, the latter in conjunction with Raven Software. Sledgehammer Games, who were co-developers for ''Modern Warfare 3'', have also developed three titles, '' Advanced Warfare'' (2014), ''

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

'' (2017), and ''

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...

'' (2021). , the series has sold over 400 million copies. Meanwhile, the games in the series have consistently released annually to blockbuster-level sales, the series is verified by the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the best-selling first-person shooter game series. It is also the most successful video game franchise created in the United States and the fourth best-selling video game franchise of all time. Other products in the franchise include a line of

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually mar ...

s designed by

Plan B Toys A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. ...

, a card game created by Upper Deck Company, Mega Bloks sets by

Mega Brands Mega Brands Inc. (formerly Mega Bloks Inc. and Ritvik Holdings) is a Canadian children's toy company currently owned by Mattel. Mega Bloks, a line of construction set toys, is its most popular product. Its other brands include Mega Construx, Me ...

, and a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

miniseries published by WildStorm Productions.

Main series

World War II games

''Call of Duty''

''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter video game based on id Tech 3, and was released on October 29, 2003. The game was developed by

and published by Activision. The game simulates the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

and combined arms warfare of

. An expansion pack, '' Call of Duty: United Offensive'', was developed by

Gray Matter Studios Gray Matter Interactive Studios, Inc. (Gray Matter Studios; formerly Xatrix Entertainment, Inc.) was an American video game developer based in Los Angeles. History Drew Markham and his business partner Barry Dempsey founded Xatrix Entertain ...

with contributions from Pi Studios and produced by Activision. The game follows American and British paratroopers and the Red Army. The

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lap ...

version of the game was ported by Aspyr Media. In late 2004, the N-Gage version was developed by

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...

and published by Activision. Other versions were released for PC, including Collector's Edition (with soundtrack and strategy guide), Game of the Year Edition (includes game updates), and the Deluxe Edition (which contains the ''United Offensive'' expansion and soundtrack; in Europe the soundtrack was not included). On September 22, 2006, ''Call of Duty'', ''United Offensive'', and ''Call of Duty 2'' were released together as ''Call of Duty: War Chest'' for PC. Since November 12, 2007, ''Call of Duty'' games have been available for purchase via

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...

's content delivery platform

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizatio ...

''Call of Duty 2''

''Call of Duty 2'' is a first-person shooter video game and the sequel to ''Call of Duty''. It was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. The game is set during World War II and is experienced through the perspectives of soldiers in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

, and

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

. It was released on October 25, 2005, for

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for se ...

, November 15, 2005, for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

, and June 13, 2006, for Mac OS X. Other versions were made for

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...

Pocket PC A Pocket PC (P/PC, PPC) is a class of personal digital assistant (PDA) that runs the Windows Mobile or Windows Embedded Compact operating system that has some of the abilities of modern desktop PCs. The name was introduced by Microsoft in 200 ...

s, and

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whi ...

''Call of Duty 3''

''Call of Duty 3'' is a first-person shooter and the third installment in the ''Call of Duty'' video game series. Released on November 7, 2006, the game was developed by Treyarch, and was the first major installment in the ''Call of Duty'' series not to be developed by Infinity Ward. It was also the first not to be released on the PC platform. It was released on the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

, Xbox, and Xbox 360.

''Call of Duty: WWII''

''Call of Duty: WWII'' is the fourteenth game in the series and was developed by Sledgehammer Games. It was released worldwide on November 3, 2017, for Windows,

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 i ...

and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

. The game is set in the European theatre, and is centered around a squad in the 1st Infantry Division, following their battles on the Western Front, and set mainly in the historical events of

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

''Call of Duty: Vanguard''

''Call of Duty: Vanguard'' is the eighteenth game in the series and is developed by Sledgehammer Games, with Treyarch developing the game's Zombies mode. It was released on November 5, 2021, for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The story depicts the birth of special forces to face an emerging threat at the end of the war during various theaters of World War II.

''Modern Warfare'' series

''Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare''

''Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' is the fourth installment of the main series, and was the first game in the Modern Warfare timeline. Developed by Infinity Ward, it is the first game in the series not to be set during World War II. The game was released for Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 7, 2007. Download and retail versions for Mac OS X were released by Aspyr in September 2008. As of May 2009, ''Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' has sold over 13 million copies.

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered''

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered'' is a remastered version of '' Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' that was released alongside the Legacy Edition, Legacy Pro Edition and Digital Deluxe Edition of '' Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare'' on November 4, 2016, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. It was later released standalone on June 27, 2017, for PS4, and July 27, 2017, for Xbox One and PC. The game was developed by Raven Software and executive produced by Infinity Ward.

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2''

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' is the sixth installment of the main series, and the second game in the Modern Warfare timeline. It was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. Activision Blizzard announced ''Modern Warfare 2'' on February 11, 2009. The game was released worldwide on November 10, 2009, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows. A Nintendo DS iteration of the game, titled '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized'', was released alongside the game and the Wii port of ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare''. ''Modern Warfare 2'' is the direct sequel to ''Call of Duty 4'' and continues the same storyline, taking place five years after the first game and featuring several returning characters including

Captain Price Captain John Price is a fictional character in the ''Call of Duty'' series. He is the main protagonist of the original ''Modern Warfare'' sub-series. In the trilogy, Price first ranked as a lieutenant, before being promoted to Captain and taki ...

and "Soap" MacTavish.

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered''

A visually-updated version of the original, it was released for PlayStation 4 on March 31, 2020, and for Xbox One and Windows on April 30, 2020. It only includes the campaign mode with no multiplayer and Spec Ops components. When purchased players can unlock various cosmetic items in 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and 2020's Call of Duty: Warzone.

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3''

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3'' is a first-person shooter video game. It is the eighth installment of the ''Call of Duty'' series and the third installment of the ''Modern Warfare'' arc. Due to a legal dispute between the game's publisher Activision and the former co-executives of Infinity Ward – which caused several lay-offs and departures within the company – Sledgehammer Games assisted in the development of the game, while Raven Software was brought in to make cosmetic changes to the menus of the game. The game was said to have been in development since only two weeks after the release of ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2''. Sledgehammer was aiming for a "bug free" first outing in the ''Call of Duty'' franchise, and had also set a goal for

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

review scores above 95 percent. The game continues the story from the point at which it ended in the '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' and continues the fictional battle story between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, which evolves into the Third World War between

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

allied nations and ultra-nationalist Russia.

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare''

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare'' is the sixteenth entry in the ''Call of Duty'' series and is also a reboot of the ''Modern Warfare'' series. The story has been described to be darker and more realistic than previous ''Call of Duty'' games. It is set in the ''Black Ops'' timeline, separate from the other ''Modern Warfare'' games (however, characters such as Captain Price and other fan favorites from the series make a return). The game was officially revealed on May 30, 2019, and released on October 25, 2019. The second main battle royale installment in the ''Call of Duty'' franchise, titled '' Call of Duty: Warzone,'' was released in March 2020, as a part of the ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare'' video game but does not require purchase of it. The title exceeded 50 million players in the first month after release.

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II''

Activision confirmed a sequel to the 2019 ''Modern Warfare'' game on February 11, 2022, to be developed by Infinity Ward. The game's logo and title was revealed on April 28, 2022. During Activision's 'Call Of Duty NEXT' broadcast on September 15, 2022, the game's multiplayer was fully revealed, along with details on the next version of Warzone and a mobile version of Warzone, both set to launch slightly after MWII's launch. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II was released on October 28, with Campaign Early Access for pre-orders on October 20.

''Black Ops'' story arc

''Call of Duty: World at War''

''Call of Duty: World at War'', developed by Treyarch, is the fifth installment of the main series. Released after ''Modern Warfare'', it returns to the World War II setting of earlier titles, featuring the Pacific theater and Eastern front. The game uses the same proprietary game engine as ''Call of Duty 4'' and was released for the PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 consoles and the

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in t ...

handheld in North America on November 11, 2008, and November 14, 2008, in Europe. As of June 2009, ''Call of Duty: World at War'' has sold over 11 million copies. It acts as a prologue for Treyarch's next game, ''Black Ops'', which is in the same universe, sharing characters and story references.

''Call of Duty: Black Ops''

''Call of Duty: Black Ops'' is the seventh installment in the series, the third developed by Treyarch, and was published by Activision for release on November 9, 2010. It is the first game in the series to take place during the

and also takes place partially in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. It was initially available for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 and was later released for the

as well as the Nintendo DS.

''Call of Duty: Black Ops II''

''Call of Duty: Black Ops II'' is the ninth main installment in the series, developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. The game was revealed on May 1, 2012. It was the first game in the series to feature future warfare technology, and the campaign features multiple branching storylines driven by player choice and multiple endings. It was later released on November 12, 2012.

''Call of Duty: Black Ops III''

''Call of Duty: Black Ops III'' is the twelfth main installment in the series, developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. The game was released on November 6, 2015.

''Call of Duty: Black Ops 4''

''Call of Duty: Black Ops 4'' is the fifteenth main installment in the series. It was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. The game was released on October 12, 2018. It was the first featured ''Call of Duty'' game to forgo a

single-player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. A single-player game is usually a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" is usually ...

campaign game mode, focusing only at the multiplayer aspect of the game. The game also introduced an entirely new battle royale game mode, called ''Blackout'', in addition to multiplayer and zombies co-op mode.

''Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War''

''Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War'' is the seventeenth main installment in the series. It was developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, and published by Activision. The game was released on November 13, 2020. Set during the 1980s and focusing on Soviet and American espionage during the Cold War, the game is chronologically set between Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops II.

Standalone games

''Call of Duty: Ghosts''

''Call of Duty: Ghosts'' is the tenth main installment in the series, and was developed by Infinity Ward. The game was released on November 5, 2013. It was the first game to be developed for eighth-gen consoles such as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

''Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare''

''Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare'' is the eleventh main installment in the series, developed by Sledgehammer Games with assistance from Raven Software and High Moon Studios. It was released in November 2014. The game was the first game in the series to feature advanced movements, such as

double jump Double jump may refer to: * Double jump (cheerleading), performing the same jump twice in a row in cheerleading * Double jump (figure skating), two revolutions in a figure skating jump Figure skating jumps are an element of three competitive ...

and boost slide.

''Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare''

''Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare'' is the thirteenth main installment in the series, developed by Infinity Ward, and was published by Activision. The game was released on November 4, 2016.

Primary developer rotation

In 2006, Treyarch released ''Call of Duty 3'', their first ''Call of Duty'' game of the main series. Treyarch and Infinity Ward signed a contract stating that the producer of each upcoming title in the series would alternate between the two companies. In 2010, Sledgehammer Games announced they were working on a main series title for the franchise. This game was postponed in order to help Infinity Ward produce ''Modern Warfare 3''. In 2014, it was confirmed that Sledgehammer Games would produce the 2014 title, ''Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare'', and the studios would begin a three-year rotation. After Sledgehammer developed ''Call of Duty: WWII'' (2017), they began developing a new ''Call of Duty'' entry alongside Raven Software due for release in 2020. However, there were conflicts of interest between the two, which resulted in Treyarch taking over control of the project in order to speed up the development process.

Other games

Console titles

''Call of Duty: Finest Hour''

'' Call of Duty: Finest Hour'' is the first console installment of ''Call of Duty'', and was released on the

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...

, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game include an online multiplayer mode which supports up to 32 players. It also includes new game modes.

''Call of Duty 2: Big Red One''

'' Call of Duty 2: Big Red One'' is a spin-off of '' Call of Duty 2'' developed by Treyarch, and based on the American 1st Infantry Division's exploits during World War II. The game was released on GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.

''Call of Duty: World at War – Final Fronts''

'' Call of Duty: World at War – Final Fronts'' is the PlayStation 2 adaptation of ''Call of Duty: World at War''. Developed by

Rebellion Developments Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford, England. Founded by Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for its ''Sniper Elite'' series and multiple games in the ''Alien vs. P ...

, ''Final Fronts'' features three campaigns involving the U.S. fighting in the Pacific theater, the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

, and the British advancing on the Rhine River into Germany.

''Call of Duty: The War Collection''

''Call of Duty: The War Collection'' is a boxed set compilation of ''Call of Duty 2'', ''Call of Duty 3'' and ''Call of Duty: World at War''. It was released for the Xbox 360 on June 1, 2010.

Handheld titles

''Call of Duty: Roads to Victory''

'' Call of Duty: Roads to Victory'' is a PSP game which is a portable spin-off of ''Call of Duty 3''.

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized''

'' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized'' is the Nintendo DS companion game for ''Modern Warfare 2''. Developed by

n-Space n-Space Inc. was an American video game developer founded in 1994 by Erick S. Dyke, Dan O'Leary, and Sean Purcell. It developed games on nearly a dozen different platforms, but was mostly focused on Nintendo consoles and handhelds in particul ...

, the game takes place in the same setting as the main console game, but follows a different storyline and cast of characters. Playing as the S.A.S. and the Marines in campaign mode, both forces are trying to find a nuclear bomb.

''Call of Duty: Black Ops DS''

''Call of Duty: Black Ops DS'' is the Nintendo DS companion game for '' Black Ops''. Developed by

, the game takes place in the same setting as the main console game, but follows a different storyline and cast of characters.

''Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified''

'' Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified'' is a

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international terri ...

''Call of Duty'' game.

PC titles

''Call of Duty Online''

''Call of Duty Online'' was announced by Activision when the company first stated their interest in a Massively multiplayer online game (MMO) in early 2011. By then, it had been in development for two years. ''Call of Duty Online'' is free-to-play for mainland China and is hosted by

Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the wo ...

, since Activision had lost the publishing rights to ''Call of Duty'' and several other franchises in China due to a legal dispute on most of the gaming consoles (

, and

''Call of Duty: Warzone''

''Call of Duty Warzone'' is an online battle royale game announced by Raven Software and released by Activision. The game was released on March 10, 2020, as part of ''Modern Warfare (2019)'' and later, Black Ops Cold War following the latter's release in November 2020. ''Warzone'' became a standalone battle royale title later in 2020 and is continually updated with seasonal and unique feature updates . Activision has announced that this game will have a mobile version sometime in the future.

Mobile titles

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Force Recon''

''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Force Recon'' is the J2ME mobile version of ''Modern Warfare 2''. Developed by Glu Mobile, the game takes place after 5 years ''Modern Warfare'' in Mexico.

''Call of Duty: Zombies'' and ''Zombies 2''

'' Call of Duty: World at War – Zombies'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Ideaworks Game Studio, and published by Activision for iOS. It is a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

of the ''Call of Duty'' series, and based on the "Nazi Zombies" mode of '' Call of Duty: World at War''.

''Call of Duty: Strike Team''

''Call of Duty: Strike Team'' is a first and third-person shooter game developed by The Blast Furnace, and published by Activision for iOS and Android. The game is set in 2020 with players tasked with leading a U.S. Joint Special Operations Team after the country "finds themselves in a war with an unknown enemy".

''Call of Duty: Heroes''

''Call of Duty: Heroes'' was a real-time strategy game developed by Faceroll Games, and published by Activision for Android and iOS.

''Call of Duty: Mobile''

''Call of Duty: Mobile'' is the franchise's mobile title for iOS and Android developed by

Games'

TiMi Studios TiMi Studio Group (), a subsidiary of Tencent Games, is a video game development studio group headquartered in Shenzhen, China and offices in Singapore, Montréal, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chengdu, and Shanghai. TiMi generated an estimated revenue ...

. It was released on October 1, 2019. Previously, it was first announced on March 18, 2019, at the year's Game Developers Conference. As of October 4, 2019, the game has surpassed over 35 million downloads worldwide.

Canceled titles

''Call of Duty: Combined Forces''

''Call of Duty: Combined Forces'' was a proposed concept draft originally intended to be a sequel to '' Call of Duty: Finest Hour''. However, due to multiple legal issues that arose between

Spark Unlimited Spark Unlimited, based in Sherman Oaks, California, was a video game developer founded by former developers from the ''Medal of Honor'' video game franchise. The studio's first game was '' Call of Duty: Finest Hour'' in 2004. Its last game was ...

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...

, and Activision as well as other production problems, the game's draft and scripts never came to be. The game was projected to cost $10.5 million to produce after ''Finest Hour'' was complete. Eventually, Activision deemed the pitch as more of an expansion than something entirely new, causing the company to reject the proposal and end their contract with Spark Unlimited shortly after.

''Call of Duty: Devil's Brigade''

''Call of Duty: Devil's Brigade'' was a canceled first-person shooter for the

developed by Underground Entertainment. The game was set in World War II, mainly focusing on the Italian Campaign.

''Call of Duty: Vietnam''

''Call of Duty: Vietnam'' was a

third-person shooter Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot 'e ...

set during the

. It was in development for at least six to eight months at Sledgehammer Games. The development was stopped because Infinity Ward needed help finishing '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3'' due to the employee firings and departures in 2010.

''Call of Duty: Roman Wars''

''Call of Duty: Roman Wars'' was a canceled third and first-person video game in the ''Call of Duty'' franchise. The game was set in

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

, and allowed players to take control of famous historical figure

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

, along with "low grunts", and officers of the Tenth Legion. It was eventually canceled, as Activision had uncertainties about branding it as a ''Call of Duty'' title.

Other media

Comic books

'' Modern Warfare 2: Ghost'' is a six-part comic book mini-series based on ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2''. The storyline focuses on the backstory of the character Simon "Ghost" Riley. The series is published by

WildStorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wild ...

and the first issue was released on November 10, 2009, alongside the game. ''Call of Duty: Zombies'' is a six-part comic book series published by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

. The series ties in with the Zombies game mode of the ''Black Ops'' subseries developed by Treyarch. The series is co-written by

Justin Jordan Justin Jordan (born 1978) is an American comics writer. He is known for co-creating (with artist Tradd Moore) '' The Strange Talent of Luther Strode'' and its two sequels (published by Image Comics), and for writing 22 issues of '' Green Lante ...

, Treyarch's Jason Blundell and Craig Houston. The series is illustrated by artist Jonathan Wayshak and colorist Dan Jackson. The cover arts are handled by artist

Simon Bisley Simon Bisley is a British comic book artist best known for his 1990s work on ''ABC Warriors'', '' Lobo'' and ''Sláine''. Early life Simon Bisley began drawing when he was six years old. He is self-taught, with only a short one-year stay at an ...

. The series was announced by Treyarch in July 2016, with the first issue slated for release in October. After a slight delay, the first issue was released on October 26, 2016. The five other issues were released in the months of 2017: issue #2 released on January 11, 2017; issue #3 released on March 1, 2017; issue #4 released on April 19, 2017; issue #5 released on June 21, 2017; and issue #6 released on August 23, 2017. A paperback edition containing all six issues was released on November 15, 2017.

Merchandise

The ''Call of Duty Real-Time Card Game'' was announced by card manufacturer

Upper Deck The Upper Deck Company, LLC (colloquially as Upper Deck and Upper Deck Authenticated, Ltd. in the UK), founded in 1988, is a private company primarily known for producing trading cards. Its headquarters are in Carlsbad, California, United State ...

. In 2004, Activision, in cooperation with the companies Plan-B Toys and Radioactive Clown, released the "Call of Duty: Series 1" line of action figures, which included three American soldiers and three German soldiers from the World War II era. While the American G.I. action figure was made in 2004, Plan-B Toys later discontinued a controversial Nazi SS Guard action figure based on the Nazi Totenkopf officer seen in ''Call of Duty''. In 2008,

McFarlane Toys McFarlane Toys is an American company founded by comic book creator Todd McFarlane which makes highly detailed model action figures of characters from films, comics, popular music, video games and various sporting genres. The company, a subsid ...

announced their partnership with Activision to produce action figures for the ''Call of Duty'' series. McFarlane Toys' first series of action figures were released in October 2008 and consists of four different figures: Marine with Flamethrower, Marine Infantry, British Special Ops, and Marine with Machine Gun.

Short films

''Find Makarov'' is a fan-made film that was well received by ''Call of Duty'' publishers, Activision, who contacted We Can Pretend and subsequently produced a second short film, ''Operation Kingfish''. '' Find Makarov: Operation Kingfish'' is a fan-made prequel to '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' and was first shown at Call of Duty XP. The video was produced by We Can Pretend, with visual effects by The Junction, and was endorsed by Activision. The video tells the story of how

ended up in a Russian

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...

set before the events of ''Modern Warfare 2''.

Films

On November 6, 2015, upon the release of ''Black Ops III'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'' reported that Activision Blizzard launched a production studio called

Activision Blizzard Studios Activision Blizzard Studios, LLC is a motion picture production company and a subsidiary of American video game company Activision Blizzard based in Beverly Hills, California. It was created to utilize its parent company's popular game franchis ...

and are planning a live action ''Call of Duty'' cinematic universe in 2019. On February 16, 2018, it was announced that Stefano Sollima will direct the film. Days later, he told Metro UK that he is considering having both Tom Hardy and Chris Pine as the leads for the film. In an interview with FilmSlash, Sollima stated that the film will be a real soldier movie, not a war movie. On November 27, 2018, it was announced that

Joe Robert Cole Joe Robert Cole (born January 1, 1980) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for his Emmy Award-nominated and Writers Guild of America Award-winning work on the first season of the true crime anthology television series ''American ...

will be writing the sequel. Filming on the first film was supposed to start filming in Spring 2019 for a 2020 or 2021 release. In February 2020, Sollima revealed in an interview that the film is put on hold saying that it's not Activision's priority.

Esports

The ''Call of Duty'' games were used in

esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional sports, professional players, individually or as ...

, starting in 2006, alongside the game released at the time, '' Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare''. Over the years, the series has extended with releases such as '' Call of Duty: World at War'', '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'', '' Call of Duty: Black Ops'', '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3'', '' Call of Duty: Black Ops II'', and '' Call of Duty: Ghosts''. Games are played in leagues like Major League Gaming. Players can compete in ladders or tournaments. The ladders are divided into several sub ladders such as the singles ladder, doubles ladder, team ladder (3v3 – 6v6) and hardcore team ladder (3v3 – 6v6). The difference between the regular team ladder and the hardcore team ladder is the in-game settings and thus a rule differentiation. Winning ladder matches on a competitive website rewards the user with experience points which add up to give them an overall rank. The tournaments offered on these websites provide players with the opportunity to win cash prizes and trophies. The trophies are registered and saved on the player's profile if/when they win a tournament and the prize money is deposited into his or her bank account. ''Call of Duty: Ghosts'' was the most competitively played game in 2014, with an average of 15,000 teams participating every season. For the past 6 seasons in competitive ''Call of Duty'', Full Sail University has hosted a prize giveaway, giving $2,500 to the top team each season. The other ladders give out credits and medals registered on players' profiles. Tournaments hosted on the ''Call of Duty: Ghosts''s Arena give cost from 15 to 30 credits, thus averaging at a cost of about $18.75 per tournament. If the player competes with a team, the prize money is divided and an equal cut is given to each player. Other tournaments with substantial prizes are hosted in specific cities and countries for

LAN Lan or LAN may also refer to: Science and technology * Local asymptotic normality, a fundamental property of regular models in statistics * Longitude of the ascending node, one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in spa ...

teams. The biggest ''Call of Duty'' tournament hosted was Call of Duty: Experience 2011, a tournament that began when ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3'' was released. Playing ''Call of Duty'' competitively is most popular in Europe and North America, with users who participate in tournaments and ladder matches daily. Activision launched a 12 team Call of Duty League, following a similar city-based franchise structure as the Overwatch League, in January 2020. The league's teams include those from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

, New York,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, and with two teams from Los Angeles,

OpTic Gaming Los Angeles OpTic Gaming is an American professional esports and entertainment organization headquartered in Frisco, Texas. The organization currently operates a ''Call of Duty'' team in the Call of Duty League, OpTic Texas, they also operate a ''Overwatch ...

(now

Los Angeles Thieves The Los Angeles Thieves or LA Thieves is an American professional Call of Duty League (CDL) team based in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by 100 Thieves. History On November 6, 2020, 100 Thieves announced their expansion in Call of Duty ...

) and

Los Angeles Guerrillas The Los Angeles Guerrillas are an American professional Call of Duty League (CDL) esports team based in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Guerrillas is owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. History On August 20, 2019, Activision Blizzard announced t ...

Call of Duty Endowment

The

Call of Duty Endowment (CODE) The Call of Duty Endowment (CODE) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation co-created by Bobby Kotick, CEO of gaming company Activision Blizzard, to help U.S., and later, UK military veterans find high quality careers. The Endowment funds non-profit ...

is a nonprofit foundation created by Activision Blizzard to help find employment for U.S. military veterans. The first donation, consisting of $125,000, was presented to the

Paralyzed Veterans of America The Paralyzed Veterans of America is a veterans' service organization in the United States of America, founded in 1946. The organization holds 33 chapters and 70 National Service Offices in the United States and Puerto Rico. It is based in Washi ...

. Co-chairman General James L. Jones is a former

U.S. National Security Advisor The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor (NSA),The National Security Advisor and Staff: p. 1. is a senior aide in the Executive Office of the President, based at t ...

. Founder Robert Kotick is the CEO of Activision Blizzard. Upon its founding in 2009, the organization announced a commitment to create thousands of career opportunities for veterans, including those returning from the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Annual awards given by the endowment include the "Seal of Distinction", a $30,000 initial grant given to selected veteran's service organizations. In November 2014, the endowment launched the "Race to 1,000 Jobs" campaign to encourage gamers to donate money to and get involved in organizations that provide veterans with services. , the Call of Duty Endowment had provided around $12 million in grants to veterans' organizations in the United States, which has helped find jobs for 14,700 veterans. On March 30, 2010, CODE presented 3,000 copies of ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'', approximately $180,000 in value, to the U.S. Navy. The copies were delivered to over 300 ships and submarines as well as Navy Morale, Welfare, and Recreation facilities worldwide.

Controversies and legal matters

''Modern Warfare 2'' controversies

''Modern Warfare 2'' on release had a number of controversial matters. Most significantly, the level "

No Russian "No Russian" is a controversial mission in the 2009 video game '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' and its remastered version, '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered''. In the level, the player participates in a mass shooting at a ...

" had the player experience a massacre of civilians at a Russian airport.

Fallout with Infinity Ward leadership

As Infinity Ward's founders Jason West and Vince Zampella started new contract negotiations to continue developing the ''Call of Duty'' Activision around 2007, a number of legal issues arose between Infinity Ward and Activision. Ultimately, West and Zampella were forced out of Infinity Ward, later forming

Respawn Entertainment Respawn Entertainment, LLC is an American video game development studio founded by Jason West and Vince Zampella. West and Zampella previously co-founded Infinity Ward and created the ''Call of Duty'' franchise, where they were responsible for i ...

within

. West and Zampella, as well as several Infinity Ward staff that departed the studio alongside them to join Respawn, filed lawsuits against Activision related to unpaid royalties and bonuses.

Trademark infringement claims by AM General

AM General, the manufacturer of the

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the or ...

, sued Activision in 2017 for using the Humvee in multiple ''Call of Duty'' games. A federal district judge gave Activision a summary motion in its favor to dismiss the case in April 2020, stating that the purpose of the use of the Humvee in the games, to provide military realism, was quite different from the trademark purpose that AM General had established, for selling to the military.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Call Of Duty Activision Blizzard franchises Activision games Esports games First-person shooters Multiplayer online games Tencent Third-person shooters Video game franchises introduced in 2003 Video game franchises Video games adapted into comics Windows games World War II video games