First-person shooter games have always been popular. There have been all kinds of games released on different platforms, but one has completely taken over the genre, and that’s Call of Duty (COD).
CoD is one of the biggest games today. It’s so popular that even non-gamers have heard of it. Even if first-person shooter games aren’t your thing, you can’t deny that CoD is one of the most successful games of its kind. If you want to join the CoD bandwagon, you may decide to dedicate a lot of time mastering the game or use hacks and cheats. If you want to opt for the latter, Battlelog may be a good choice.
With CoD set to release a new installment this 2021, fans are getting impatient. Rumors about what the game will be about are spreading. But since the title hasn’t been released yet, there’s a lot of room for speculation. So, this is the perfect opportunity to take a look back at CoD’s history.
First CoD
The first CoD game was released on October 29, 2003. It took inspiration from the Medal of Honor games, especially Allied Assault (2002), which is a first-shooter game developed by 2015, Inc. Later on, many of its developers moved on to create Infinity Ward, and they began developing ‘Medal of Honor Killer.”
Developers wanted it to be more realistic, making the mortality of the main character more believable. Moreover, they wanted to exhibit more reliance on allies instead of the unrealistic main character that does everything himself. Activision saw promise in this and agreed to publish it. By 2003, it was released under the new title “Call of Duty” for PC. Just like other shooting games based on history, CoD was set during World War II and players could play three campaigns: American, British, and Soviet.
This game was such a great hit that it won Game of the Year awards from reviewers and several other awards and nominations. It made USD$26.9 million by August 2006, landing the 8th spot for bestselling computer games. But this was only the start of a lucrative franchise. From 2005 onwards, CoD has never missed a release every year.
WWII
The series wasn’t done with delving into WWII. CoD 2 and 3 were sequels to the first game, while CoD: WWII was the 14th of the whole series.
Here are all the titles that are set in various but specific periods in WWII history:
- 2003 Call of Duty – by Infinity Ward
- 2005 Call of Duty 2 – by Infinity Ward
- 2006 Call of Duty 3 – by Treyarch
- 2017 Call of Duty: WWII – by Sledgehammer Games
Modern Warfare
CoD wasn’t afraid to take over other timelines as they set up for modern-day settings in the Modern Warfare series. As of today, there are five titles in the series, which were excellently received overall:
- 2007 Modern Warfare – Infinity Ward
- 2009 Modern Warfare 2 – Infinity Ward
- 2011 Modern Warfare 3 – Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games
- 2016 Modern Warfare Remastered – remastered by Raven Software
- 2019 Modern Warfare – by Infinity Ward
Other Warfare Games
There were other games released in the Warfare series but were separate from Modern Warfare. Both of the games below have a more futuristic setting.
- 2014 Advanced Warfare – by Sledgehammer Games
- 2016 Infinite Warfare – by Infinity Ward
Advanced Warfare featured voice acting from Kevin Spacey and Troy Baker. Overall, it was received positively, in comparison to Infinite Warfare, which was heavily criticized.
Black Ops
Black Ops goes back to WWII and covering other parts of history such as the Cold War and the Vietnam War. A fun addition to this series is the ‘zombies mode,’ which makes it possible to shoot up some zombie Nazis. So far, all the games in the Black Ops series were developed by Treyarch, except for Black Ops Cold War, which was developed with Raven Software.
- 2008 World at War
- 2010 Black Ops
- 2012 Black Ops 2
- 2015 Black Ops 3
- 2018 Black Ops 4
- 2020 Black Ops Cold War
Other Games
There are still other titles in the CoD series like the tenth game, Call of Duty: Ghosts, released in 2013 and developed by Infinity Ward. This was the very first CoD game released for the PS4 and XONE.
CoD also stormed mobile gaming with titles like Modern Warfare 2: Force Recon, Zombies, and Zombies 2, Strike Team, and Heroes. But the best mobile release so far is Call of Duty: Mobile, released in 2019. By October 2019, it’s been downloaded more than 35 million times all over the world!
Warzone
Released in March 2020, this game was developed by Infinity Ward and Raven Software. This game is so popular that it has accumulated over 85 million gamers worldwide in just ten months! Through Warzone, 150 players can play against each other online and it also allows cross-platform gaming.
Conclusion
When it comes to first-person shooting games, CoD’s achievements and fame are well–deserved. Covering history, futuristic settings, and even zombies, there’s not much you can ask for when it comes to shoot ‘em ups.