How to Play the Call of Duty Games in Order

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How to Play the Call of Duty Games in Order

The Call of Duty franchise has been around for decades now, releasing well over a dozen games since the series’ initial title in 2003. As such, it can be a bit confusing as to how the game goes about being played when it comes to their chronological order vs their release order. No worries, though, as we’ve got everything you need to know about how to play the Call of Duty games in order.

Playing the Call of Duty Games in Chronological Order

Unsurprisingly to anyone who has played the franchise, Call of Duty is a bit sporadic when it comes to its chronological order. Sometimes, the series goes into the future, and a lot of the times, they are obsessed with the past. So far, this is the chronological order of things:

  1. Call of Duty: WWII (1940s)
  2. Call of Duty: Finest Hour (1940s)
  3. Call of Duty 1 (1940s)
  4. Call of Duty 2 (1940s)
  5. Call of Duty 3 (1940s)
  6. Call of Duty: World at War (1940s)
  7. Call of Duty: Big Red One (1940s)
  8. Call of Duty: Vanguard (1940s)
  9. Call of Duty: Black Ops (1960s)
  10. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (1980s)
  11. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (1980s & 2025)
  12. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2010s)
  13. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2010s)
  14. Call of Duty: Ghosts (2020s)
  15. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2020s)
  16. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2020s)
  17. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2020s)
  18. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2040s)
  19. Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2060s)
  20. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2000s)
  21. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2050s)
  22. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2100s)

The reboots mess with the timeline a bit, given that the originals were set during a different period. However, the newest installments are now set in our present timeline (in the real world, of course) to go with a more modernized approach.

Playing the Call of Duty Games in Release Order

Now, if you want to play the games in release order, you’ll need to follow along this timeline:

  1. Call of Duty (2003)
  2. Call of Duty: Finest Hour (2004)
  3. Call of Duty 2 (2005)
  4. Call of Duty: Big Red One (2005)
  5. Call of Duty 3 (2006)
  6. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
  7. Call of Duty: World at War (2008)
  8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
  9. Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
  10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
  11. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)
  12. Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)
  13. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)
  14. Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015)
  15. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016)
  16. Call of Duty: WWII (2017)
  17. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018)
  18. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
  19. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)
  20. Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021)
  21. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
  22. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)

Those who play the games in release order can see how much Call of Duty has evolved throughout the years, especially with the next-gen graphics of the 2023 Modern Warfare 3. You can also see how much the gameplay has changed, as the previous titles are relatively stiffer in movement, differing from the fluidity of the latest installments.

Since the CoD franchise continues to thrive, the list will continue to grow, and maybe we will finally see a new original game that changes up the classic dynamics we know now.

That’s all you need to know about how to play the Call of Duty games in order. Be sure to search Twinfinite for more news and information on the series.

About the author

Andrew McMahon

Andrew was Twinfinite’s Features Editor from 2020 through until March 2023 and wrote for the site from 2018. He has wandered around with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications sitting in his back pocket for a while now, all the while wondering what he is going to do for a career. Luckily, video games have always been there, especially as his writing career progresses.