Call of Duty is an American online video game that was published by Activision, and developed by Infinity Ward. The first game of the Call of Duty franchise was released on October 29, 2003, for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and N-Gage. Since then, the franchise has expanded, creating many different Call of Duty games.
History[]
Call of Duty[]
The first installment of the main series, Call of Duty, was developed by Infinity Ward and released for the PC with Microsoft Windows operating systems on October 29, 2003. Since Infinity Ward was first founded in 2002, it began development for the game shortly after its establishment, and continued on with future Call of Duty games. The game received genuinely positive reviews, especially being given 5/5 reviews by various media outlets, including X-Play. The first-person shooter was well-received due to its free-roaming open world environments.
Call of Duty: Finest Hour[]
Call of Duty: Finest Hour was developed by Spark Unlimited and released for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 on November 16, 2004. It was the first home console installment of the Call of Duty series. Spark Unlimited and Kuju Entertainment were responsible for the development of the game, which received average reviews. Reviews by various media outlets, including IGN, drew criticism due to the game's ordinary mechanics and its sound deeming to be out of sync in certain areas of the game. By July 2006, sales combined between both console versions sold about 1.5 million copies worldwide.
Call of Duty 2[]
Call of Duty 2 was developed by Infinity Ward and released for Microsoft Windows PC on October 25, 2005 and for the Xbox 360 on November 22, 2005. The game received highly positive reviews, just like its predecessor. Many reviewed that the open world environments and overall graphics looked great and the war mechanics seemed like a true war game by all means. By November 2013, the game sold 5.9 million copies worldwide combined with all systems.
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One[]
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One was developed by Treyarch and released for the GameCube and Playstation 2 on November 1, 2005. Despite its title, its storyline was far different than the original Call of Duty 2, meaning that the game was somewhat considered a spin-off rather than a legit port by all accounts. Nevertheless, reviews were somewhat good, especially after various media outlets deemed that the overall world maps that weren't the same as the real Call of Duty 2 were just right.
Call of Duty 3[]
Call of Duty 3 was developed by Treyarch and released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 8, 2006. It was also released for the Nintendo Wii on November 11, 2006. The reception was fairly great, especially with the Xbox 360 version having quality online play via Xbox Live with up to 24 players in one session on an open world battlefield. However, the reception for the Wii version was below average as the controls were far too complex to get used to, even if inexperienced players were to look into a whole new way to play a war game for the Wii that just launched most recently in the same month the game released, it still wouldn't be right for all. By November 2013, sales reached 7.2 million copies worldwide combined for all platforms.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare[]
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was developed by Infinity Ward and released for Microsoft Windows PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on November 5, 2007. It was also released in September 26, 2008 for the Mac OS X. On November 10, 2009, it was released for the Wii known as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Reflex Edition. The game allowed up to 12 players on Xbox live and PlayStation. It made the series big and added standard features of Call of Duty today like Create-A-Class, Perks, Prestige, and Killstreaks. It released to critical acclaim, some saying it's one of the best video games of all time. This was the first Call of Duty to take place outside of World War 2 and in the Modern day. It was the 3rd best-selling game of 2007, behind Halo 3 and Wii Play. In November 4, 2016, a remaster was released for PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows PC, and Xbox One.
Call of Duty: World at War[]
Call of Duty: World at War was developed by Treyarch and released for Microsoft Windows PC, Mac OS X, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii on November 11, 2008. It had a gritty war atmosphere in the campaign. The multiplayer was basically the same as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, just with bigger maps, different killstreaks, tanks, and earning custom class slots after prestiging. It also was the first game to introduce zombies as a mode, unlocked after beating the campaign. There was no advertising or showing off of zombies until Verruckt was released. It was the 6th best-selling game of 2008.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2[]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was developed by Infinity Ward and released in November 10, 2009 for Microsoft Windows PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It was also released on May 20, 2014 for Mac OS X. It improved on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare introducing customizable killstreaks and Pro Perks. There was also rising popularity of Quickscoping. It also introduced Special Ops, a mission type mode to rival Zombies. There was a controversy due to a campaign mission, known as No Russian, having the players be involved in a terrorist attack, even though you don't have to kill the civilians. In Germany and Japan, the mission was made so that you failed if you killed a civilian. In Russia, the mission was removed entirely. Despite the controversy, it was the best-selling game of 2009. The multiplayer had a few balancing issues, such as Akimbo Model 1887s and One-Man Army Danger Close Noob Tubes. The Akimbo Model 1887s were nerfed but due to a dispute between Infinity Ward employees and Activision, Noob Tubes were never nerfed. A remaster for the campaign came out on March 30, 2020 for the PlayStation 4, and April 30, 2020 for the Xbox One and Microsoft Windows PC.
Call of Duty: Black Ops[]
Call of Duty: Black Ops was developed by Treyarch and released on November 9, 2010 for Microsoft Windows PC, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, and Mac OS X. It takes place in the Cold War, a first for the series. It introduced Zombies as a full mode, rather than an easter egg mode. Multiplayer also improved on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 introducing CODPoints that are unlocked by playing and unlock items. To earn CODPoints, players have to level up, earn XP, or play against other players in Wager Matches like Gun Game and One in the Chamber. It was the best-selling game of 2010.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3[]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games and released on November 8, 2011 for Microsoft Windows PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. It was also released on May 20, 2014 for the Mac OS X. It finished the saga started in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and improved Special Ops by introducing survival mode. It also introduced face off for the multiplayer. It was the best-selling game of 2011
Call of Duty: Black Ops II[]
Call of Duty: Black Ops II was developed by Treyarch and released on November 13, 2012 for Microsoft Windows PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. It also released on November 18, 2012 for the Wii U. It feautres a non-linear campaign with multiple endings, with choices depending on what missions you play and what decisions you make. It also introduces the Pick 10 System of Create-a-Class and replaces Killstreaks with Scorestreaks. It also introduces a storyline in zombies with easter eggs.