10 Greatest Call of Duty Video Games

Image via Activision Published Jul 22, 2026, 12:14 AM EDT Sign in to your Collider account Call of Duty is a massively popular first-person shooter franchise that began way back in 2003. The games are developed by three different studios: Sledgehammer, Infinity Ward, and Treyarch, who pump them out once a year. This strategy has had varying results: some games, especially in recent years, have been atrocious and clearly rushed, and it doesn't help that each one feels exactly the same, either. However, once upon a time, the Call of Duty franchise was actually respected and was doing pretty well for itself, producing not just great games, but great stories, too, which few people expect from the series, at this point. Since there are over 20 installments, one might be curious to know how they stack up against each other. Here we have the definitive ranking of the 10 best Call of Duty games. 10 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare' (2019) Image via Activision The 2019 iteration of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was a complete and total overhaul of the franchise, one that ultimately worked out at first. Let's start with the campaign: the missions were more grounded and realistic, although it did have a few ridiculous moments. Overall, though, it presented a conflict in a fictional Middle Eastern country that felt pretty real. There's also the "Clean House" mission, which was lauded for its tight quarters and true-to-life depiction of a raid on a terrorist safehouse. The multiplayer was also reworked, coming out along with the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone, a battle royale game accessible either on its own or across any of the newer games. Warzone has gotten a bit old now, but at its inception, it was really fun. This 2019 reboot also brought Spec Ops back, which was very challenging and encouraged co-op play across six classic missions and eight new missions. Overall, it was a step in the right direction, so it's kind of a shame that it didn't last. 9 'Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare' (2016) Image via Activision Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is an entry that kind of gets overlooked due to the abysmal reception of its announcement trailer, which garnered an enormous amount of dislikes. Actually give the game a try, though, and it might surprise you. The zombies and the multiplayer aren't really anything special or new to write home about, true — where this game really shines is in its campaign. The conflict is an interplanetary war between Earth and Mars, but there are no aliens. It's got a lot of spaceships and stuff, but all the enemies are either robots or humans. This campaign is actually one of the best the series has to offer, surprisingly emotional in all the right ways and insanely fun to play. Not only can players customize their weapons, but they can also customize their starfighter. The game seamlessly switches between flight combat sequences and ground combat pretty often, and even offers side missions. The flight controls are tight, responsive, and satisfying, and there's a ton of cool weapons to play around with. Plus, you get to see the surface of numerous planets and moons, including Titan, Europa, Mars, and the Moon. The campaign even offers hardcore modes that add new mechanics and permadeath, if you're gutsy enough. If the Call of Duty name weren't slapped onto it, this would actually be a solid space shooter that would have gotten a lot more love. 8 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3' (2011) Image via Activision Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was really blasted upon release, with many feeling that it wasn't a complete game and didn't add anything to the franchise. Looking back, however, maybe people were a little too harsh. The campaign is about World War III, and has a lot of interesting, although heavily overdramatized missions. The Spec Ops was a vast improvement over the previous iteration, and even added Survival mode in lieu of zombies. Multiplayer was about the same as ever, just with more impressive visuals. It was easy to hate this game at the time, but considering the games have been less than stellar in recent years, going back to this one is actually kind of a nostalgic treat. The story wrapped up the trilogy in a really satisfying way, and had some surprisingly emotional moments, too. The game was lacking in some aspects, but it remains fun to play and revisit to this day. 7 'Call of Duty: Black Ops II' (2012) Image via Activision Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the first game in the series to offer a futuristic setting, the far-away year of... 2025. Though it was noticeably more advanced than real life — much of the technology presented in the game still has yet to be invented. The campaign flashed back and forth between the 1980s and 2025, exploring the story of Alex Mason and his son, David, respectively, as they seek to tear down a vengeful terrorist. This game came with some really special zombies maps, some of which maintain their legendary status. Multiplayer, as usual, was nothing new, but people still play it even now, owing to its popularity. The campaign was actually very experimental, too, adding strategy-based side missions known as "Strike Force," and was the first in the series to have a story with multiple endings and variants, which would differ based on a player's personal choices. It loses some points in some departments, but overall, it was a pretty great effort. 6 'Call of Duty' (2003) Image via Activision The original Call of Duty was very different in a lot of ways from the rest of the franchise; yet there's a hokey charm to it that's impossible to hate. Unlike later entries, this game does not have regenerating health, which is kind of a turn-off for a lot of people, since the game can be pretty hard. However, it makes up for this with the ability to save pretty much wherever you want rather than relying solely on checkpoints. This game established the basic formula of having three main protagonists in different areas of World War II. There's the American campaign on the Western Front, the British campaign behind enemy lines, and the Soviet campaign on the Eastern Front, each with a unique vibe. Though the campaign and the multiplayer were the only modes, they are both simple and easy to get into. This one was made even better with the release of its stand-alone expansion pack, Call of Duty: United Offensive, which also deserves some love. Mostly, it just added some extra weapons and maps to multiplayer, plus 13 new campaign missions, but it was just as good as the base game. 5 'Call of Duty: World at War' (2008) Image via Activision Publishing, Inc. Call of Duty: World at War is the darkest and grittiest entry in the series and the final installment set during World War II until 2017. The campaign took players to the Eastern Front and the Pacific Theatre, featuring both American and Soviet protagonists. The violence in this game is absolutely brutal: gore is cranked way up, and many characters die in gruesome and horrific ways, owing to the true nature of the conflict. It was actually the first game in the series to introduce the Zombies mode, although only one map was offered at the start. Players could also download three other, more fleshed-out maps, which have gone down in history to be among the series' finest. Verrückt, Der Riese, and Shi No Numa represent the very best Zombies has to offer, and established what made the mode so popular to begin with. The multiplayer was dark and debilitating as well, feeling noticeably more mature than the previous installment. World at War is an absolute classic that deserves every bit of love it received. 4 'Call of Duty 2' (2005) Image via Activision Call of Duty 2 is often ignored by the modern community, but words can't really explain how awesome it actually is. The campaign is much like the first game, following three British, American, and Soviet protagonists in different battles of the Second World War. The game wasn't limited to Europe this time, though, as the British campaign is fought primarily in North Africa, which was a nice change of scenery. The visuals are much better than the previous game, and it also added regenerating health to the franchise, which is great. Multiplayer was even more fun than it was in the original, with a pool of interesting weapons to use and some really interesting maps. This game is still alive and well thanks to an active modding community, many of them offering custom campaigns, but it isn't just a modder's paradise, as pretty much everything is absolutely spot on. 3 'Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare' (2007) Image via Activision Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was the first entry into what many consider to be the Golden Age of the franchise. As the title implies, it was the first game in the series that wasn't set during World War II, instead focusing on a fictitious, modernized conflict in the Middle East. The campaign brought some classic and iconic characters, as well as some unforgettable missions. Everyone who played remembers how they felt when they first saw the nuke go off in the early mission "Shock and Awe." In regards to multiplayer, it was the first game in the series to actually have the "Create a Class" system, allowing players to customize their loadouts and equipment. It also had an Arcade mode, which took the player through the campaign, but had a score system that allowed you to compete with other players. This game was so good that it was even remastered with the release of Infinite Warfare, and many players still insist that this one is the best. They're not necessarily wrong, either. 2 'Call of Duty: Black Ops' (2010) Image via Treyarch Call of Duty: Black Ops was set up as a sort of sequel to World at War, only this time, it was set during the Cold War. The campaign missions in this game are all about espionage and daring operations behind enemy lines rather than frontline combat, so it made for a nice change of pace. This game also had one of the best storylines in the franchise, if not the very best, with one heck of a plot twist, too. The Zombies mode was refined and perfected for this game, introducing some interesting maps and concepts. Multiplayer felt distinctly different from the others, even though, conceptually, it wasn't that different at all. The game was also the first to feature the fan-favourite map "Nuketown," which gets reworked, remastered, and re-released in pretty much every Treyarch-helmed Call of Duty game even 16 years later. There's just no way Treyarch can ever top this game, to be frank, as it wouldn't be wrong to call it a masterpiece. 1 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' (2009) Image via Activision Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is one of the best FPS games ever made. Why? Because it's so simple. The multiplayer doesn't do anything fancy other than elaborating and expanding the Create a Class system, and the campaign doesn't try anything too experimental, either. This game was the first to feature the Spec Ops mode, but these missions were extremely simple, often short, and effectively challenging. There's a lot to be said for the campaign though, as it made a bold move by being about a fictional Russian invasion of the United States. It was cinematic and incredibly fun to play, and even offered some pretty surprising twists. More iconic characters came into play, as well as some beloved maps like Terminal, which also gets reworked and rereleased in other games every now and then. Modern Warfare 2 is definitely one of the best games in the franchise and a favorite for many. In fact, it wouldn't be wrong to call it the very best.