''Call of Duty'' is a 2003 first-person shooter game 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 W ...

and published by

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

. It is the first installment in the ''

Call of Duty ''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter military video game series and media franchise published by Activision, starting in 2003. The games were first developed by Infinity Ward, then by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. Several spin-of ...

'' franchise, released on October 29, 2003, for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. The game simulates

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

and

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects—for example, using infantry and armoured warfare, armour in an Urban warfare, urban environment in ...

warfare of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

using a modified version of the

id Tech 3 id Tech 3, popularly known as the ''Quake III Arena'' engine, is a game engine developed by id Software for its 1999 game ''Quake III Arena''. It has subsequently been used in numerous games. Commercially, id Tech 3 competed with early version ...

engine. Much of its theme and gameplay is similar to the ''Medal of Honor'' series; however, ''Call of Duty'' showcases multiple viewpoints staged in the American,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

campaigns of

World War II in Europe The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and Franc ...

. The game introduced a new take on AI-controlled allies who support the player during missions and react to situational changes during gameplay. This led to a greater emphasis on squad-based play as opposed to the "lone wolf" approach often portrayed in earlier first-person shooter games. Much of Infinity Ward's development team consisted of members who helped develop '' Medal of Honor: Allied Assault''. On release, the game received universal acclaim and won several Game of the Year awards. Retrospective assessments have been more negative, with many critics saying the game aged poorly; it has placed low in lists ranking the series' games. In September 2004, an expansion pack called '' Call of Duty: United Offensive'', which was produced by Activision and 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 ...

and

Pi Studios Pi Studios was a video game developer 2002 in video gaming, founded in 2002 by Robert Erwin, John Faulkenbury, Rob Heironimus, Dan Kramer and Peter Mack whose first commercial work can be found in Activision's ''Call of Duty: United Offensive''. ...

, was released. At the same time the N-Gage Version got an Arena Pack with 3 new Levels. An enhanced port of ''Call of Duty'' for the

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

and

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

, titled ''Call of Duty: Classic'', developed by

Aspyr Aspyr Media, Inc. (pronounced " aspire") is an American video game developer and publisher founded by Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch in Austin, Texas. Originally founded to port gaming titles to macOS, the company, since 2005, has become a publi ...

, was released worldwide in November 2009 with the release of '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'', being available via redemption codes included with the "Hardened" and "Prestige" editions of the game.

Gameplay

As a

first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...

, ''Call of Duty'' places the player in control of an infantry soldier who makes use of various authentic World War II firearms in combat. Each mission features a series of objectives that are marked on the

heads-up display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD () or head-up guidance system (HGS), is any see-through display, transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of t ...

's compass; the player must complete all objectives to advance to the next mission. The player can save and load at any time, rather than the checkpoint system utilized in later ''Call of Duty'' games. The player has two primary weapon slots, a handgun slot, and can carry up to ten grenades. Weapons may be exchanged with those found on the battlefield dropped by dead soldiers. Unlike later ''Call of Duty'' games, the first allows the player to toggle between different firing modes (single shot or automatic fire). ''Call of Duty'' was one of the early first-person shooters to feature

iron sights Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons such as firearms, airguns, crossbows, and bows, or less commonly as a primitive finder sight for optical telescop ...

in game play; by pressing the corresponding key the player aims down the gun's actual sights for increased accuracy. In addition to weapons carried by the player, mounted machine guns and other fixed weapon emplacements are controllable by the player. The game uses a standard

health points Health is a video game or tabletop game quality that determines the maximum amount of damage or fatigue something takes before leaving the main game. In role-playing games, this typically takes the form of hit points (HP), a numerical attribute ...

system, with a limited amount of health reflected by a health bar. Medkits scattered throughout the levels or dropped by some foes are used to restore health when the player is injured. ''Call of Duty'' also featured "shellshock" (not to be confused with the psychological condition of the same name): when there is an explosion near the player, he momentarily experiences simulated

tinnitus Tinnitus is a condition when a person hears a ringing sound or a different variety of sound when no corresponding external sound is present and other people cannot hear it. Nearly everyone experiences faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely ...

, appropriate sound "muffling" effects, blurred vision, and also results in the player slowing down, unable to sprint. As the focus of the game is on simulation of the actual battlefield, the gameplay differed from many single-player shooters of the time. The player moves in conjunction with allied soldiers rather than alone; allied soldiers will assist the player in defeating enemy soldiers and advancing; however, the player is given charge of completing certain objectives. The game places heavy emphasis on usage of cover,

suppressive fire In military science, suppressive fire is "fire that degrades the performance of an enemy force below the level needed to fulfill its mission". When used to protect exposed friendly troops advancing on the battlefield, it is commonly called cover ...

, and grenades. AI-controlled soldiers will take cover behind walls, barricades, and other obstacles when available.

Campaign

American campaign

The American campaign begins in August 1942 with

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Martin, a newly enlisted member of the

506th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 506th Infantry Regiment, originally designated the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (506th PIR) during World War II, is an Airborne forces, airborne light infantry regiment of the United States Army. Currently a parent regiment under the U. ...

in Baker Company, completing basic training at Camp Toccoa under the supervision of Cpt. Foley and Sgt. Moody. In June 1944, Martin establishes a landing zone for soldiers participating in

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

. The paratroopers are scattered, leaving Martin in a mixed unit formed from various

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

led by his CO Foley, who seize a nearby town from Germans. Martin and his unit are sent to force the remaining Germans from

Sainte-Mère-Église Sainte-Mère-Église () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern French Departments of France, department of Manche, in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy. On 1 January 2016, the former communes of Beuzeville-au-Plain, Chef-d ...

and disable several Flakpanzer IVs as

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

begins. Martin, with Sgt. Moody and

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

paratrooper Pvt. Elder, break through German lines to contact company HQ for reinforcements. Martin's unit then destroys German artillery positions attacking the landing force at Utah Beach. Afterwards, Martin and his unit have been reassigned to participate in an attack on a

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n manor in August 1944 to rescue two British officers,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Price and

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Ingram. He learns from Price that Ingram had already been moved to a more secure POW camp for interrogation; Martin and his unit infiltrate the camp and rescue Ingram. The last mission happens during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

where Martin and his company take out panzers while defending a captured bunker system.

British campaign

The British campaign starts with Sergeant Jack Evans and a unit from 2nd Ox and Bucks of the

6th Airborne Division The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who m ...

taking part in

Operation Tonga Operation Tonga was the codename given to the airborne operation undertaken by the British 6th Airborne Division between 5 June and 7 June 1944 as a part of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings during the Second World War. The paratro ...

. The unit is dropped in Horsa gliders near

Pegasus Bridge Pegasus Bridge, originally called the Bénouville Bridge after the neighbouring village, is a road crossing over the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham in Normandy. The original bridge, built in 1934, is now a war memorial and is the c ...

, Bénouville. Led by Captain Price, Evans and his troops clear the bridge of German soldiers. The unit holds out against an attempt by a German battalion to retake the bridge with the help of the 7th Parachute Battalion. By September, Evans and Price have been transferred to the SAS working with Sgt. Waters. He takes part in a mission to sabotage the Eder Dam, restored after being destroyed by the No. 617 Squadron RAF during

Operation Chastise Operation Chastise, commonly known as the Dambusters Raid, was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using spe ...

, destroying the

Flakvierling The Flak 30 (''Flugzeugabwehrkanone 30'') and improved Flak 38 were 20 mm anti-aircraft guns used by various German forces throughout World War II. It was not only the primary German light anti-aircraft gun but by far the most numerously pr ...

anti-aircraft guns protecting it. Following extraction, Evans helps to cut off pursuing German troops. Reaching a German airport to escape, Evans uses an anti-air gun to cover Price and Waters from German

Stuka The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...

dive-bombers as they procure and flee in a Fw.200. Evans, Price and Waters then pose as German naval officers and sailors to infiltrate the battleship

Tirpitz Tirpitz may refer to: People * Alfred von Tirpitz (1849–1930), German admiral ** Tirpitz Plan, a plan for Germany to achieve world power status through naval power Ships * German battleship ''Tirpitz'', a World War II-era Bismarck-class ...

, disable its defenses, and steals information for the RAF to attack the ship. Price sacrifices himself to buy time for Evans, who escapes with Waters by boat. Later, Evans, Waters and their squad arrive near

Burgsteinfurt Steinfurt (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Steinfurt (district), district of Steinfurt. From –1806, it was the capital of the County of Steinfurt. Geography Steinfurt is situated north-west of Münst ...

, Germany, to assist the impending Allied assault on the city. Discovering plans to launch

V-2 rocket The V2 (), with the technical name ''Aggregat (rocket family), Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range missile guidance, guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the S ...

s at the Allied forces, the unit destroys them before joining the rest of the army.

Soviet campaign

The Soviet campaign begins during the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

in September 1942.

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

Alexei Ivanovich Voronin and his fellow recruits are sent across the

Volga River The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

, many of whom are killed when the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

launch an attack. Once across, they call in an artillery strike that forces the Germans back. At Red Square with Soviet officers killing soldiers who retreat, Voronin kills several German officer and soldiers, disrupting the German offense long enough for Soviet artillery to destroy their tanks. Voronin links up with surviving allies in a train station and guides them to Major Zubov of the

13th Guards Rifle Division The 13th Guards Poltava Order of Lenin Twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Red Army that was highly decorated during World War II. Formed in January 1942 from the 87th Rifle Divisio ...

; Voronin is promoted to Junior Sergeant. In November, Voronin rendezvous with a unit led by

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

Pavlov Pavlov (or its variant Pavliv) may refer to: People *Pavlov (surname) (fem. ''Pavlova''), a common Bulgarian and Russian last name *Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist famous for his experiments in classical conditioning Places Czech Republic *Pavlo ...

, tasked with retaking an apartment building in German hands. The unit assaults and clears the building, and defends it from a German counterattack. In January 1945, Voronin, now a full Sergeant, serves with the

150th Rifle Division The 150th Guards Motor Rifle Berlin-Idritsa Order of Kutuzov Division () of the Russian Ground Forces is a motorized rifle division that was re-instituted in 2016. It is part of the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army, which was reformed in 2017, in ...

of the

3rd Shock Army The 3rd Shock Army () was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The "Shock" armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces, and were reinforced with more armoured and ar ...

. The unit secures a makeshift German tank repair facility in Warsaw during the Vistula–Oder Offensive, and regroup with the 4th Guards Tank Army. Due to shortages in experienced soldiers, Voronin commands a

T-34-85 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

tank for the 2nd Guards Tank Army, and helps the Soviets capture a town near the

Oder River The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through west ...

. In April, Sergeant Voronin is returned to his old unit, the 150th Rifle Division. He and a small group of soldiers storm the

Reichstag building The Reichstag (; ) is a historic legislative government building on Platz der Republik in Berlin that is the seat of the German Bundestag. It is also the meeting place of the Federal Convention, which elects the President of Germany. The Ne ...

and raise the Victory Banner atop the roof, ending the European war.

Development

''Call of Duty'' was developed by

, a new studio formed in 2002 originally consisting of 21 employees, many of whom were project lead developers of the successful '' Medal of Honor: Allied Assault'' released the same year. Led by Chief Creative Officer Vince Zampella, development began in April 2002, and the team grew to 27 members by May 2003. At its beginning, the project was nicknamed "Medal of Honor Killer". Using an enhanced version of the

game engine developed for ''

Quake III Arena ''Quake III Arena'' is a 1999 first-person shooter game developed by id Software. The third installment of the ''Quake'' series, ''Arena'' differs from previous games by excluding a story-based single-player mode and focusing primarily on mult ...

'' and an in-house skeletal animation system called "Ares", Infinity Ward set out to develop a new World War II-era video game that, unlike many of its predecessors, placed more emphasis on squad-based play with intelligent assistance from teammates during large-scale battles. The team also extensively researched

weapons A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

, and vehicles from World War II to enhance the authenticity of animation and sounds used throughout the game. The game's budget was $4.5 million. Another area the development team focused on was their

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

(AI) pathfinding component dubbed "Conduit". The ability to suppress the enemy with cover fire and clear obstacles, such as fences and windows, was tightly integrated into the squad-based aspect of the single-player campaigns. The AI in the game was designed to flank the opponent, bank grenades, and move from one cover point to another. Lead animation director Michael Boon explained that actions which would have normally been scripted in past games were moved to a dynamic AI environment, in order to help create a different experience each time levels are replayed. While the campaigns were the primary focus, development of the multiplayer modes were tailored to please modders. Zied Rieke, a lead designer, clarified that gameplay and modes were written in script making it "extremely easy for players to make their own modifications to Call of Duty multiplayer".

Music

The music for the game was created by

Michael Giacchino Michael Giacchino ( , ; born October 10, 1967) is an American film, television, and video game score composer. He has received many accolades for his work, including an Academy Award for ''Up (2009 film), Up'' (2009), an Emmy Award, Emmy for Lo ...

and was originally released in 2003 as the ''Call Of Duty Official Soundtrack Sampler'' CD, part of the game's pre-order from

EB Games EB Games (formerly known as Electronics Boutique, EBX, and EB World) was an American computer and video games retailer. First established as an American company in 1977 by James Kim with a single electronics-focused location in the King of Prus ...

in Europe. The music was later released in the United States in 2005 as part of the ''Deluxe Edition'', which included '' Call of Duty: United Offensive''. An additional composition, "Age Of War" by Justin Skomarovsky, was commissioned for the intro cinematic leading into the "Call Of Duty" main title.

Reception

Critical reception

''Call of Duty'' received "universal acclaim", according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

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

. It won several "

Game of the Year Game of the Year (GotY) is an award given to a video game by various award events and media publications that they feel represented the pinnacle of gaming that year. Events and ceremonies British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA Games Awards) ...

" awards for 2003 from several reviewers. During the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (now known as the

D.I.C.E. Awards The D.I.C.E. Awards (formerly the Interactive Achievement Awards) is an annual awards show in the video game industry, and commonly referred to as the video game equivalent of the Academy Awards. The awards are arranged by the Academy of Inter ...

), ''Call of Duty'' was honored "

" of 2003 by the

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...

; it also won awards for "Computer Game of the Year" and " Computer First-Person Action Game of the Year", along with nominations for "Outstanding Innovation in Computer Gaming", " Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition", and " Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design". ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' named it the best computer game of October 2003. ''

Computer Games Magazine ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

'' named ''Call of Duty'' the sixth-best computer game of 2003, and the editors wrote, "This game ups the ante in the WWII shooter arena, and makes everything that has come before it seem as outdated as France's army." The editors of ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'' presented ''Call of Duty'' with their 2003 "Shooter of the Year" award. They remarked, "''Call of Duty'' won this category without a shot fired—there simply was no debate." It was also nominated for "Best Game" at the 2004

Game Developers Choice Awards The Game Developers Choice Awards are awards annually presented at the Game Developers Conference for outstanding video game developer, game developers and video game, games. Introduced in 2001, the Game Developers Choice Awards were preceded by ...

. While it did not receive that award, it did win Infinity Ward the "Rookie Studio of the Year". Chuck Russom was also presented with the "Excellence in Audio" award for his work on the game. ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' rated the game 9.3/10, with reviewer Dan Adams saying "You have to love a game that glues you to your seat and keeps you interested... A thrilling piece of software that action fans should grab a hold of and love fiercely." His only negative critique was on the short length of the game, which many reviewers pointed out. The N-Gage version got "mixed or average reviews" on the site Metacritic.

Sales

The NPD Group Circana, Inc., formerly known as Information Resources, Inc. and the NPD Group (previously National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. and NPD Research Inc.), is an American market research and technology company headquartered in Chicago. In 2017, NPD ra ...

named ''Call of Duty'' the eighth-best-selling computer game of 2003. It maintained this position on NPD's computer game sales rankings for the following year. In the United States alone, ''Call of Duty'' sold 790,000 copies and earned $29.6 million (~$ in ) by August 2006. At the time, this led ''

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

'' to declare it the country's 13th-best-selling computer game released since January 2000. In the United Kingdom, ''Call of Duty'' sold 95,000 copies by the end of 2003, which made it 88th-biggest seller across all platforms that year. Discussing this performance, Kristan Reed of GamesIndustry.biz wrote that "Activision will be pleased that it managed to interrupt the ''

Sims Sims, sims or SIMS may refer to: Games * ''The Sims'', a life simulation video game series ** ''The Sims'' (video game), the first installment, released in 2000 ** ''The Sims 2'', the second installment, released in 2004 ** ''The Sims 3'', the ...

'' party" with the game's release. ''Call of Duty'' ultimately received a "Silver" sales award from the

Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (Ukie) is a non-profit trade association for the video game industry in the United Kingdom (UK). Ukie was founded in 1989 as the European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), then chang ...

(ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. ''Call of Duty'' ultimately sold 4.5 million copies worldwide by 2013.

Legacy

Franchise

''Call of Duty'' spawned numerous spin-offs and sequels, as part of the ''

'' series. Its expansion pack - '' Call of Duty: United Offensive'' was developed by

and released September 14, 2004. ''

Call of Duty 2 ''Call of Duty 2'' is a 2005 first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in most regions of the world. It is the second installment of the Call of Duty, ''Call of Duty'' series. Announc ...

'' was also developed by Infinity Ward and was released in October 2005. Some ''Call of Duty'' spinoffs were developed for consoles, such as '' Call of Duty: Finest Hour'' by Spark Unlimited and '' Call of Duty 2: Big Red One'' by Gray Matter Studios (merged into

Treyarch Treyarch Corporation ( ; formerly Treyarch Invention LLC) is an American video game developer based in Los Angeles with Additional studio locations in Vancouver, Canada; and Austin, Texas. Founded in 1996 by Peter Akemann and Doğan Köslü, it ...

). The franchise eventually had over fifteen more sequels and spin offs.

Ports

''Call of Duty Classic'' is a downloadable version of ''Call of Duty'' for

and

, featuring HD resolutions. Tokens to download the game ahead of its release were sold along with special "Hardened" and "Prestige" editions of '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'', and the game was publicly released on December 2, 2009.

rated this version 7.5, citing it as not well adapted to the consoles, as well as criticizing the multiplayer for only supporting up to eight players.

Retrospective reception

In the decades following its release, retrospective assessments of ''Call of Duty'' acknowledge the game's legacy of creating one of the biggest and iconic gaming franchises ever and laying the groundwork for every subsequent game in the series, as well as its impact on the first-person shooter (FPS) genre as a whole. Keith Arem, the game's performance director, said of its legacy: "It has really changed the industry from the inside. It pays off in what you're seeing in the production ways that we do things in the video game industry, the way that our scripts are defined, the way that our pipelines are defined, the way actors work. ... ''Call of Duty'' was one of the most important titles to showcase why we do what we do." Nevertheless, reception to the game itself has been less favorable over time, with many critics agreeing that the game aged poorly; it has generally placed low in lists ranking the series' games. More positively, the staff of IGN ranked the game number six in their 2024 list of the ten best ''Call of Duty'' games, writing: "While it's obviously a little out of date 20 years on, the campaign is still fun to play and it's impossible to understate the foundation it built for the future of not just the ''Call of Duty'' series but first-person shooters as a whole."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Call Of Duty 2003 video games Activision games Call of Duty games MacOS games Multiplayer online games N-Gage games PlayStation Network games Video games about the Special Air Service Video games scored by Michael Giacchino Video games set in Georgia (U.S. state) Video games set in Austria Video games set in Belgium Video games set in Berlin Video games set in France Video games set in Norway Video games set in Poland Video games set in the Soviet Union Windows games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Id Tech 3 games War video games set in the British Empire War video games set in the United States British Academy Games Award for Best Game winners Infinity Ward games Aspyr games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in the United States Video games about the Battle of Stalingrad Operation Overlord video games Video games set in 1944