Call of Duty ain't just a video game series anymore—it's a cultural bulldozer that's been flattening the FPS landscape for over two decades. Whether you're a diehard fanatic or a cynical hater, you can't deny these shooters have mastered the art of stuffing adrenaline straight into your controller. But let's be real: not every CoD hits the bullseye. With three studios playing musical chairs with development duties, we've seen triumphs that aged like fine wine and flops that should've been buried in a concrete vault. And honey, in 2025? The drama's juicier than ever since Black Ops 6 crashed the party.
21. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
| Developer | Publisher | Released | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinity Ward | Activision | October 14, 2016 | PS4, Xbox One, PC |
Oh boy, where do we start? This space odyssey felt like your grandma trying to dab—awkward and painfully out of touch. The only silver lining? Bundling Modern Warfare Remastered, which then got violated by loot boxes. Honestly, playing this made us wanna yeet our consoles into the sun. Total vibe killer.
20. Call of Duty: WWII
| Developer | Publisher | Released | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sledgehammer Games | Activision | August 25, 2017 | PS4, Xbox One, PC |
Sledgehammer swung for the fences but tripped over their own ambition. That "Headquarters" hub? More like Headache-quarters. And the campaign? Flatter than day-old soda. Sure, nostalgic WW2 pew-pews were fun... until you realized the multiplayer maps had less personality than a cardboard cutout. Oof.
19. Call of Duty: Ghosts
| Developer | Publisher | Released | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinity Ward | Activision | November 5, 2013 | PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PC |
Launched alongside next-gen consoles like a nervous kid at prom. The multiplayer felt like chewing stale gum—initially sweet but quickly blah. And that Extinction mode? A sad zombie wannabe trying too hard to impress. Ghosts didn't just fade away; it evaporated.
Mid-Tier Mayhem
Let's chat about the "meh" middle children who aren't terrible but won't win any trophies:
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Vanguard (2021): Felt like microwaved leftovers—technically edible but emotionally empty. Zombies mode? More like zombies bore.
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Black Ops 6 (2024): Treyarch's latest baby stumbled out the gate with more bugs than a rainforest. That AI-generated artwork? Tackier than a dollar-store painting. Fixes helped, but it's still wearing training wheels.
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Modern Warfare 3 (2023): Oof, that campaign. Felt like watching paint dry while someone screams plot twists at you. Rehashing old maps? Lazy much?
Top Dogs: The Cream of the Crop
Now for the juicy stuff—the titles that make our trigger fingers tingle:
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
| Developer | Publisher | Released | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinity Ward | Activision | October 25, 2019 | PS4, Xbox One, PC |
This reboot didn't just knock on the door—it kicked it down wearing combat boots. That hyper-realistic campaign? Chef's kiss. And Warzone? Absolute game-changer. We still mourn its potential, cut short by Activision's relentless churn. A modern masterpiece that got robbed blind.
4. Call of Duty: World at War
| Developer | Publisher | Released | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treyarch | Activision | November 11, 2008 | PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PC |
The granddaddy of gory campaigns and Zombies mode's glorious birth. Playing this felt like wrestling a bear—brutal, terrifying, and weirdly exhilarating. That moment when you first heard "Richtofen, fetch me another test subject!"? Chills. Absolute. Chills.
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops
| Developer | Publisher | Released | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treyarch | Activision | November 9, 2010 | PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PC |
Treyarch flexed so hard with this one. That mind-bending campaign? Pure chaos cocaine. And multiplayer? Nuketown mayhem, dolphin dives, and custom emblems—we lost months to this beauty. It was like your favorite action movie... but playable.
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
| Developer | Publisher | Released | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treyarch | Activision | November 12, 2012 | PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC |
The undisputed GOAT. Separating sweaty ranked warriors from casual players? Genius. The branching campaign? chef's kiss. And those maps—Hijacked, Standoff—still live rent-free in our brains. Treyarch didn't just raise the bar; they launched it into orbit.
So here we are in 2025, still bickering about which CoD deserves the crown. We've screamed at broken spawns, danced in zombie blood, and memorized every nook of Nuketown. But after two decades of bullets and beefs... does any installment truly capture lightning in a bottle like those early-2010s gems? Or are we all just chasing that first high?
What's your hill to die on—which Call of Duty lives in your heart forever?