The Call of Duty series has provided some excellent games over the years and has been extremely successful in the process. A franchise that has been regularly releasing games since the 2000s should've lost a lot more appeal by now, but Activision's FPS juggernaut keeps going. It's the constant change in characters and time periods that keeps the games fresh.
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Sign up to the Black Ops, be a soldier in World War 2, or drop into the Warzone with the best Call of Duty games on PS4!By this point, Call of Duty has told stories in the 1940s, 1980s, 2010s, and even in the future. If you want to know exactly when each game is set, then here are them all in chronological order.
Updated on November 6, 2023, By Jason Wojnar: All popular trends go away as the next big thing enters the mainstream. Cowboy films were destroyed by science fiction in the 1960s, the grunge genre made hair metal a joke, and streaming platforms severely hurt network television's relevance. Call of Duty, however, seems to march on and dominate sales charts year after year even as newer genres and franchises pique gamers' interest.
Its enduring popularity makes it necessary to revisit this list and touch it up with some finer details, including the developer and release date for each title. If you're wondering why Warzone is not on the list, its amorphous nature means constant changes in setting that shoot across the timeline, making it impossible to place.
21 Call Of Duty: WW2 (1940 - 1945)
Despite being one of the more recent entries into the shooter franchise, WW2 is set before all of the others. It was also an attempt to go back to the series' roots in a way. Earlier games in the franchise took place during the global conflict before the developers looked to the modern day, the more recent past, and the future.
The earliest year the game goes back to is 1940, yet most of the story occurs between 1944 and 1945. The tale follows Private Ronald "Red" Daniels and his Infantry squad as they try to end the Nazis towards the conclusion of World War 2.
20 Call Of Duty 2 (1941 - 1945)
While most of the early Call Of Duty titles begin in 1942, the second game is a little different as it starts at the end of '41. The 2005 Xbox 360 launch title by Infinity Ward proved the multiplayer potential for the series and was a great time sink for early adopters of the console.
During the campaign, you control soldiers from three of the Allied powers in America, Britain, and Russia. Each of their adventures takes place separately, and they all have difficult obstacles to overcome.
19 Call Of Duty: Vanguard (1941 - 1945)
Call of Duty Vanguard
- Platform(s)
- PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One X , Xbox One S , Xbox One , PC
- Released
- November 5, 2021
- Developer(s)
- Sledgehammer Games
Vanguard provides another foray into World War 2. This one, taking place in 1945, is all about a special task force made up of a few skilled soldiers from different allied countries. Their mission is to stop a secret Nazi project.
Along the way, you're treated to plenty of playable flashbacks showing what each character was doing earlier in the war.
18 Call Of Duty: World at War (1942 - 1945)
Call of Duty: World at War
- Platform(s)
- PS3 , Xbox 360 , PC , Nintendo Wii , Nintendo DS
- Released
- November 11, 2008
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch
At the beginning of World At War, you participate in the Makin Island raid, which occurs in 1942 like its real-life counterpart.
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17 Call Of Duty (1942 - 1945)
The debut entry in the series, developed by Infinity Ward and released in 2003 on the PC, started in World War 2, more specifically, 1942. However, most of the first game is set in 1944 and 1945 as the Allied powers push back against the Nazi forces.
In classic COD fashion, the campaign lets you see three different perspectives on the war as there are multiple protagonists. The main characters belong to separate nations, but they all have the same goal of tipping the war in favor of the Allied powers.
16 Call Of Duty 3 (1944)
Call of Duty's World War 2 games usually try to cover several years of the conflict. However, Call of Duty 3, released in 2006, focuses solely on 1944 with most of the attention being on the Battle of Normandy.
Another interesting aspect of the story is that Polish, French, and Canadian forces have big roles in it, alongside the customary American and British soldiers. This was the first mainline entry developed by Treyarch and not by Infinity Ward, who were busy working on the seminal Modern Warfare.
15 Call Of Duty: Black Ops (1961 - 1968)
More than most Call Of Duty games, Black Ops puts a heavy focus on its narrative. Much of the story is told from the perspective of a man named Alex Mason, who's being interrogated in 1968.
During those scenes, he recounts important moments from the past several years, which are shown through playable flashbacks. The first memory occurs in 1961 at the time of the Bay of Pigs invasion.
14 Call Of Duty: Black Op: Declassified (1975-1979)
This often-forgotten PS Vita game received a cold critical reception, especially when compared to the glowing reviews most entries in the franchise receive. The Vita had two analog sticks for normal controls in an FPS, but the game lacked the polish for which the series is known.
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These Call of Duty maps are all about close quarters combat.All the same, it is Canon, taking place between the first two Black Ops entries. The campaign is extremely short but covers four years in the timeline, with a prologue also taking place in 1992. It was developed by nStigate Games and was released in 2012.
13 Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (1981)
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Platform(s)
- PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PC
- Released
- November 13, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Raven Software , Treyarch
As the name suggests, the events of COD: Black Ops Cold War take place during the Cold War. More specifically, the entire campaign occurs in 1981 and sees the return of some characters from the first Black Ops.
They all are part of a team led by a CIA operative named Russell Adler, who's hunting down a Soviet agent called Perseus. It's up to you to influence how the vital operation plays out over a set of missions that vary in quality.
12 Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 (1986 - 1989) - Alex Mason Missions
In Black Ops 2, you control both Alex Mason and his son David at different points of the campaign. When you swap characters, you switch time periods too. Alex's missions occur in the 1980s, while David's sections are in the future.
During the past missions, the older Mason teams up with the likes of Hudson and Woods once again to track down a dangerous man named Raul Menendez.
11 Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (1996 - 2011)
COD4 was the first entry to take the series away from a WW2 setting, and developer Infinity Ward was absolutely genius for doing so as they revolutionized the FPS genre in the process. Instead, the game's main events take place during one week in 2011, just a few years after its 2007 release date.
You play as Soap from the SAS and Jackson of the USMC, who are separately trying to stop a dangerous terrorist threat. Plus, for two missions, you flashback to 1996 to learn more about the main antagonist.
10 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (1999 - 2019)
The latest entry in the Modern Warfare sub-series isn't a part of the same continuity as the others. However, some classic Modern Warfare characters still return in this one, namely Price.
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9 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2016)
Five years on from the events of the first Modern Warfare, Soap MacTavish has become a Captain, and he's leading a special forces unit called Task Force 141.
His group spends the game hunting Vladimir Makarov, who is the leader of the Russian Ultranationalist party. Yet, it turns out that there is another villain in the mix that's closer to home.
8 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2016 - 2017)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
- Released
- November 8, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Infinity Ward , Sledgehammer Games
Modern Warfare 3 continues right where its predecessor left off with Price and Nikolai getting an injured Soap to safety.
Like the previous game, the story is all about tracking down and stopping Makarov. Task Force 141, Delta Force, and the SAS are all on hand to end the Ultranationalist threat.
7 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
Seemingly to confuse everyone, Activision has released two games called Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The one released in 2022 takes place in the same year it was released. And it's a continuation of 2019's Modern Warfare.
It follows the adventures of Task Force 141, who are attempting to stop a serious Iranian terrorist threat. They also tackle the Las Almas Cartel in the process.
6 Call Of Duty: Ghosts (2015 - 2027)
In Ghosts' opening prologue, a group known as the Federation launched an ODIN strike on the United States in 2017.
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The best moments in Price, Soap, Ghost, and the others' stories.Then the story jumps ahead ten years where the country is still suffering the effects of the blast, and a spec ops team called Ghosts is at war with the Federation. Most of the adventure occurs in 2027, but there is a flashback to 2015 at one point.
5 Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2025) - David Mason Missions
The Black Ops 2 missions that follow David Mason (aka "Section") happen in 2025.
As his father did many years before, Section spends his portion of the campaign trying to track down one of the series best villains in Raul Menendez to stop him once and for all.
4 Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2043)
There is no traditional campaign for Black Ops 4 as the title is all about its multiplayer modes. The big introduction to the series here was a battle royale mode, which would be heavily expanded upon a couple of years later with Warzone.
However, there are still some cutscenes in the game that focus on telling the personal tales of the multiplayer characters. All of the training missions seem to take place in 2043.
3 Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2054 - 2061)
In Advanced Warfare, you control Jack Mitchell and face off against several different enemy factions, first as a Marine and then as a member of Atlas. Yet, you don't discover the true villain until partway through the game.
The entire adventure happens in the 2050s and early 2060s. As a result, you're able to make use of some futuristic and high-tech equipment throughout the campaign.
2 Call Of Duty: Black Ops 3 (2065 - 2070)
Raul Menendez's drone attacks at the end of Black Ops 2 caused the world to refocus its efforts back on ground combat with some futuristic weapons.
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Would you play these CoD games on the go?During Black Ops 3, you experience this renewed interest in ground assaults as you participate in the third Cold War, which is fought between factions known as the Winslow Accord and the Common Defense Pact. The ability to go through the campaign with three friends cooperatively is a huge bonus and makes the game unique among its peers.