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Scott Duwe

Every Call of Duty game in release order and timeline explained

Activision Call of Duty Treyarch Infinity Ward Raven Software Beenox Sledgehammer Games Alex Mason COD World War II

When it comes to first-person shooters, there’s no video game franchise more significant than the iconic Call of Duty series.

It stands among the biggest in the industry despite only starting in 2003. Call of Duty has earned billions in revenue and sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide. Alongside a new game every year, the FPS franchise has had several spin-offs and re-releases, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered and Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified.

Call of Duty franchise details

Latest CoD : Black Ops 7
Call of Duty games in total: 24 (only mainline titles), 40 (including spin-offs)
CoD Black Ops games in order: Black Ops (2010), Black Ops 2 (2012), Black Ops 3 (2015), Black Ops 4 (2018), Black Ops Cold War (2020), Black Ops 6 (2024), Black Ops 7 (2025)
CoD Modern Warfare games in order: Original trilogy includes Modern Warfare (2007), Modern Warfare 2 (2009), and Modern Warfare 3 (2011). Then the reboot comes with Modern Warfare (2019), Modern Warfare II (2022), and Modern Warfare III (2023).

Updated for Black Ops 7 and 2026 CoD rumors.

Call of Duty games in release order

A soldier in Call of Duty: Black Ops aiming around a corner at two enemy soldiers — The numbers, Mason. Image via Activision

Here are all the Call of Duty games in the order they were released.

All Black Ops games in release order

Year	Title	Release date	Developer(s)	Platforms	Story era	Sales	Why it mattered
2010	Call of Duty: Black Ops	Nov. 9, 2010	Treyarch	PC, macOS, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One	Vietnam War, 1980s	30.72 million	First classic Black Ops entry Expands Zombies mode Introduces Frank Woods and Alex Mason
2012	Call of Duty: Black Ops II	Nov. 12, 2012	Treyarch	PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360	Near future	31 million	Often praised as an esports‑friendly CoD with strong MP, fun campaign, and expanded Zombies
2015	Call of Duty: Black Ops III	Nov. 6, 2015	Treyarch, Beenox, Mercenary Technology	PC, macOS, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One	Future	26.72 million	First “specialists” in the series Each operator has unique abilities and personalities
2018	Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Blackout	Oct. 12, 2018	Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox	PC, PS4, Xbox One	Future	14.3 million	First COD battle royale (Blackout) No campaign in the main game
2020	Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War	Nov. 13, 2020	Treyarch, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Demonware	PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X\|S	1980s and 1990s	30 million	Direct sequel to Black Ops 1 Brings back Frank Woods, Alex Mason, and Jason Hudson
2024	Call of Duty: Black Ops 6	Oct. 25, 2024	Treyarch, Raven Software	PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X\|S	1990s, Gulf War era	TBA	1990s‑set with Saddam‑era real‑world figures Returns round‑based Zombies, new maps, and classic Prestige Integrates into Warzone with Area 99
2025	Call of Duty: Black Ops 7	Nov.14, 2025	Treyarch, Raven Software	PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X\|S	Future (set in 2035)	TBA	Sequel to BO2 and BO6 David Mason returns to fight a new faction, The Guild, led by Emma Kagan Planned co‑op campaign and new Multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone features

David Mason holding a gun in Black Ops 7 key image. — Back-to-back Black Ops. Image via Activision

All Modern Warfare games in release order

Year	Title	Release date	Developer(s)	Platforms	Story era	Sales	Why it mattered
2007	Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Nov. 6, 2007	Infinity Ward	PC, macOS, PS3, PS4, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox One	Modern	15.7 million	First mainline move into the modern era Iconic campaign, addictive multiplayer, and introduced the original Prestige system
2009	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2	Nov. 10, 2009	Infinity Ward	PC, macOS, PS3, PS4 (campaign remaster), Xbox 360, Xbox One (remaster)	Modern	25.02 million	Turned the franchise into an entertainment juggernaut Huge sales, a highly memorable campaign, and multiplayer
2011	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	Nov. 8, 2011	Infinity Ward	PC, macOS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360	Modern	30.71 million	Finale to the original trilogy Big‑scale war story and deep multiplayer progression
2019	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	Oct. 25, 2019	Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Beenox, High Moon Studios	PC, PS4, Xbox One	Modern	30 million	Reboot of the MW series with new characters and a grittier story Brings back Captain Price and sets up the new universe
2022	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II	Oct. 28, 2022	Infinity Ward	PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X\|S	Modern	$1 billion within 10 days	Direct sequel to the 2019 reboot Task Force 141 returns with Price, Ghost, Gaz, and Soap Revamps Gunsmith and Special Ops
2023	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III	Nov. 10, 2023	Sledgehammer Games and others	PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X\|S	Modern	TBD	Direct sequel to MW2 Task Force 141 battles Vladimir Makarov Reuses MW2 maps and weapons, and adds Zombies and new Warzone integration
2026	Modern Warfare 4 (rumored)	Rumored / TBA	Expected: Infinity Ward or similar	TBA	Modern (expected)	TBA	Heavily speculated 2026 return to the MW brand Presumed continuation of the reboot timeline, potentially with classic‑style mechanics mixed with modern systems

All WWII games in release order

soldiers and tanks in a battlefield charging in as it rains — Treyarch’s first. Image via Activision

Year	Title	Release date	Developer(s)	Platforms	Story era	Sales	Why it mattered
2003	Call of Duty	Oct. 29, 2003	Infinity Ward	PC, macOS, PS3, Xbox 360	World War II	4.5 million	The first CoD game Launched the franchise with a single‑player campaign and six multiplayer modes
2005	Call of Duty 2	Oct. 25, 2005	Infinity Ward	PC, macOS, Xbox 360	World War II	5.9 million	First CoD on console (Xbox 360) Expanded scope and polish over the original
2006	Call of Duty 3	Nov. 7, 2006	Treyarch	PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360	World War II	7.2 million	Treyarch’s first CoD entry Continues the WWII line on multiple consoles
2008	Call of Duty: World at War	Nov. 11, 2008	Treyarch	PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360	World War II	15.7 million	Introduced the long‑running Nazi Zombies mode to the franchise
2017	Call of Duty: WWII	Nov. 3, 2017	Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software	PC, PS4, Xbox One	World War II	19.82 million	Returns to grounded WWII warfare with a classic‑style campaign and multiplayer
2021	Call of Duty: Vanguard	Nov. 5, 2021	Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Demonware	PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X\|S	World War II	Unknown (lower than expected)	Third major WWII return Sold under target, with some criticism of innovation despite a strong setting

Call of Duty: WWII promo image of two soldiers hunkered down behind cover readying to fire — Another WWII return. Image via Activision

All Call of Duty future era games in release order

first person in-game view of Call of Duty: Ghosts and aiming an automatic weapon. — A solid entry. Image via Infinity Ward

Year	Title	Release date	Developer(s)	Platforms	Story era	Sales	Why it mattered
2013	Call of Duty: Ghosts	Nov. 5, 2013	Infinity Ward, Neversoft, Raven Software	PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One	Modern	28.98 million	Standalone modern‑era entry that brought in the soldier’s dog, Riley, as a gameplay element
2014	Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare	Nov. 3, 2014	Sledgehammer Games, High Moon Studios	PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One	Future	21.76 million	First “jetpack” CoD Exosuits enabled high‑flying boosts and vertical movement, changing gunplay pacing
2016	Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare	Nov. 4, 2016	Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Treyarch, High Moon Studios, Beenox, Vicarious Visions	PC, PS4, Xbox One	Future	13.6 million	Takes the franchise into space warfare Features ship‑to‑ship combat and zero‑G environments

All Call of Duty Battle Royale games in release order

Call of Duty: Warzone promo image of a man aiming his scoped assault rifle — The big one. Image via Activision

Year	Title	Release date	Developer(s)	Platforms	Story era	Sales or Downloads	Why it mattered
2018	Call of Duty: Blackout	Oct. 12, 2018	Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox	PC, PS4, Xbox One	Future	14.3 million	First COD battle royale (Blackout)
2020	Call of Duty: Warzone	March 10, 2020	Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Treyarch, Sledgehammer Games, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Toys For Bob	PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X\|S	Various	Over 100 million downloads	First major CoD BR; launched at the start of the pandemic, using Verdansk; became a live‑service flagship for the franchise.
2022	Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and DMZ	Nov. 16, 2022	Infinity Ward, Raven Software, others	PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X\|S	Modern Various	Unknown	Rebuilt BR platform with Al Mazrah map and DMZ, an extraction‑style mode inspired by games like Escape from Tarkov.

All Call of Duty mobile games in release order

Call of Duty: Mobile promo image with helicopters flying in the background and a squad of five members charging into battle — You guys have phones, don’t you? Image via Activision

Year	Title	Release date	Developer(s)	Platforms	Story era	Sales or Downloads	Why it mattered
2019	Call of Duty: Mobile	Oct. 1, 2019	TiMi Studio Group	Android, iOS	Various	500 million+ downloads Over $1 billion in revenue	Mobile “greatest‑hits” package Includes classic maps, modes, and characters from across the franchise
2024	Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile	March 21, 2024	Activision Shanghai, Beenox, Digital Legends Entertainment, Solid State Studios	Android, iOS	Modern	TBD	Mobile version of Warzone Brought the battle‑royale formula to phones with cross‑platform links to other CoD titles

Original CoD Modern Warfare trilogy vs 2019 reboot timeline explained

The original Modern Warfare trilogy and the 2019 reboot are two separate timelines in the Call of Duty story.

The first trilogy, including Modern Warfare (2007), Modern Warfare 2 (2009), and Modern Warfare 3 (2011), follows Captain Price, Soap, and Task Force 141 through a global war between the United States and Russia. Its events are dark and end with a full-scale world war.

The 2019 reboot, on the other hand, reuses the same names but tells a new story in its own timeline. Modern Warfare (2019), Modern Warfare II (2022), and Modern Warfare III (2023) focus on a more modern, morally complex war in the Middle East, with new origins for Task Force 141 and updated versions of characters like Price and Ghost.

Several names and roles are also shared between the two sets, but they are treated as different versions in separate timelines. Price, Soap, Ghost, Makarov, and a few Russian elites, such as General Shepherd and Zakhaev, appear in both the original and the reboot. Yet their life events, relationships, and even deaths are reworked. The two timelines are not directly connected, so you can enjoy either set without mixing up the plots.

Call of Duty timeline explained

close up shot of ghost in modern warfare 2 remastered — It’s a confusing one. Image via Activision

CoD’s overarching story timeline has gotten to be a bit of a mess over the years, with several different timelines, reboots, canon and non-canon events, and more. Warzone, for example, has taken place across different series and eras, so it’s hard to pinpoint everything in there.

But here’s when all of the campaign and relevant story information takes place in every mainline entry.