Ranking every Call of Duty game from worst to best

Activision’s Call of Duty is one of the biggest franchises in gaming, with millions of fans across the globe. Call of Duty games have inspired several first-person shooter games and laid down a blueprint for making successful shooters. Activision launches a new Call of Duty game every year, which are developed by Infinity Ward, Treyarch, or Sledgehammer Games. Besides these, the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone has become a fan-favourite in no time. While we wait for the upcoming Modern Warfare 2, we have ranked all Call of Duty games from worst to best.

Call of Duty games ranked from worst to best

Honourable mention: Call of Duty Warzone

While Call of Duty: Warzone isn’t a mainline entry in the franchise, it is too popular to ignore. Warzone is Call of Duty’s standalone free-to-play multiplayer experience played by millions of players. The game has become so successful that Activision is now set to release Warzone Mobile and Warzone 2.0. The main attraction of Warzone is its highly competitive battle royale mode. The mode periodically gets huge new maps that have several key spots for gunfights and finding loot. Besides these, Warzone has other modes like Plunder, Resurgence, and Mini Royale.

Pros

• Competitive multiplayer
• Great graphics and modes

Cons

• Difficult for new players

18. Call of Duty

The original Call of Duty kicked off a successful franchise that has lasted almost 20 years. The game is ranked lowest on this list not because it’s a bad game, but because its successors offer a much better experience. The game had three fun campaigns, a decent multiplayer experience, and great gameplay for its time. However, the original title doesn’t hold up well according to today’s standards, when it comes to graphics and gunplay. That being said, it started a series of Call of Duty titles that came out every year to introduce a new and improved experience.

Pros

• Fun campaign
• Robust multiplayer experience

Cons

• Graphics and gunplay don’t hold up well

17. Call of Duty 2

Call of Duty 2 improved upon what was introduced in the original title. The game introduced elements like automatically regenerating health and more focused multiplayer modes with a smaller lobby. While these additions were somewhat criticised by players at the time, they became a major part of the series going forward. That being said, the graphics and gunplay have not aged well and don’t hold up to today’s standards.

Pros

Cons

• Gunplay and graphics haven’t aged well

16. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is considered one of the worst games in the series so far. The game had a decent campaign, but besides that everything felt like a mess. The new weapons and gadgets in the game killed what made the series so popular among veterans. For many players, a major reason to buy this game was a bundle with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.

Pros

Cons

15. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

When Black Ops 4 was released, many long-time series fans and critics were disappointed to find out that the game does not have a single-player campaign. However, Black Ops 4 still became incredibly popular among COD players. The game introduced Call of Duty’s first battle royale experience called Blackout, and a really fun Zombies mode. Black Ops 4 had an iconic multiplayer experience with its battle royale mode as well as other modes that you typically find in Call of Duty games.

Pros

• Great multiplayer experience
• Fun gunplay

Cons

14. Call of Duty: Ghosts

Call of Duty: Ghosts was the first title from the series to launch on the brand-new PS4 and Xbox One consoles at the time. While players were eager to see how the game would perform on new consoles, Ghosts felt like an underwhelming experience overall. Players had high expectations from the game after playing previous Modern Warfare games. However, the campaign as well as the multiplayer experience were pretty uninteresting. Besides these, the newly introduced Extinction mode couldn’t hold a candle to Zombies, which made the overall experience even worse.

Pros

Cons

• Underwhelming campaign and multiplayer

13. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 was a remarkable game overall, with fast movement, new game modes, great maps, a fun campaign, an exciting Zombies experience, and amazing multiplayer. However, the game was still not well received among fans. The weapon balance and addition of Specialists made the gameplay experience much more complex than it needed to be. These changes especially affected the multiplayer component of Black Ops 3 as many players complained about getting one shot killed from across the map.

Pros

• Great campaign
• Fantastic Zombies mode

Cons

• Poor weapon balancing
• Confusing for new players

12. Call of Duty: WWII

As the name suggests, Call of Duty: WWII takes the game back to its roots with a World War 2 setting. The campaign feels a bit underwhelming and the newly added War game mode was also pretty disappointing. Besides these, WWII had a space called Headquarters, where players can open supply drops, accept Contracts, and interact with other players. However, Headquarters didn’t really work as intended, as it was barely a social space for players.

Pros

• Great multiplayer
• Throwback COD gunplay experience

Cons

11. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

Black Ops Cold War is one of the more over-the-top entries in the COD series, where historical events are presented with an action-packed narrative. The game has a fun campaign and a decent multiplayer experience. The game’s campaign ties together Black Ops and Black Ops 2 and makes sense of the events that led to the story’s conclusion. On the multiplayer side of things, Cold War had introduced new maps and modes, but players weren’t too happy with it and shifted to Vanguard as soon as it was released.

Pros

Cons

• Multiplayer could have been better

10. Call of Duty: Vanguard

Call of Duty: Vanguard is currently the latest game in the series, with the new Modern Warfare 2 coming out soon. Vanguard wasn’t really well received by fans as its campaign and Zombies experience feel uninspired and boring. This puts a lot of pressure on the multiplayer component to be great, but that isn’t the case either. Some of the map design in multiplayer and the return of the Ranked playlist are welcome additions. Besides these, there isn’t anything exciting about Call of Duty: Vanguard.

Pros

Cons

• Weapon balance and campaign need to be improved

9. Call of Duty 3

Call of Duty 3 was Treyarch’s first COD title and it took place on the Western Front of World War 2. The game had four campaigns with multiple playable protagonists, which was considered an impressive feat at the time. Call of Duty 3 introduced several mechanics that are still present in the series including arming as well as disarming explosives, combat events in the campaign, and others. The multiplayer experience was expanded upon the previous game, giving a glimpse at what you can expect from future games.

Pros

• Great campaign
• Improved multiplayer experience

Cons

• Graphics and gunplay don’t hold up according to current standards

8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Modern Warfare 3 concludes the iconic Modern Warfare trilogy. While Modern Warfare 3 isn’t the best game in the trilogy, it’s much better than many other games in the franchise. The game’s campaign offers a great farewell to the Modern Warfare story and its multiplayer element comes with new modes. Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer experience could have been better though as it could not compete with the likes of Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops 2.

Pros

• Decent campaign
• A lot of great co-op content

Cons

• Multiplayer could have been improved
• Lack of new gameplay mechanics

7. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

After helping Infinity Ward in Modern Warfare 3 development, Sledgehammer Games got its first shot at making its own Call of Duty game with Advanced Warfare. Advanced Warfare has fast-paced movement and action, thanks to the new Exo Suit movement. The campaign was pretty exciting and the multiplayer element had great map design as well as weapons. The only thing holding Advanced Warfare back was its loot boxes, which as you know have been terrible in general when it comes to gaming.

Pros

• Great campaign
• Amazing gunplay

Cons

• Dialogues in the campaign have too much exposition

6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)

2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare rebooted the iconic game and allowed players to revisit characters like Captain Price and Gaz. The game’s campaign was easily one of the best in recent years with a lot of intense and action-packed moments. That being said, the multiplayer experience was quite lacklustre. The multiplayer component felt limited due to overpowered perks and weapons that forced you to use them if you want any chance at winning.

Pros

Cons

• Lack of balancing in weapons and perks

5. Call of Duty: World at War

Although World at War is set in World War 2 like many other Call of Duty games, it manages to be a unique entry in the series. The game has an over-the-top and gory campaign with an exciting story and the multiplayer component had several great maps. Besides these, World at War had a fantastic Zombies mode with a dedicated storyline and fun objectives that made it replayable. Overall, World at War is one of the best Call of Duty games out there.

Pros

• Great campaign
• Exciting Zombies experience

Cons

• Lack of new gameplay mechanics

4. Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops is yet another fantastic entry in the series, which builds upon the foundation of World at War. The campaign was incredible and it kept you hooked until the end. The return of Zombies mode had players excited for the game, while the multiplayer experience was fantastic. Black Ops introduced the fan-favourite multiplayer map, Nuke Town, alongside dolphin dives, custom emblems, tomahawks, and many amazing game modes. Black Ops holds a special place in the hearts of veteran COD players.

Pros

• Fantastic campaign and graphics
• Amazing multiplayer and Zombies experience

Cons

• The main story seems a bit short

3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2016)

2007’s Modern Warfare became a fan-favourite among Call of Duty fans quite quickly and got a remaster in 2016. The game’s graphics had improved significantly over its predecessor and its campaign felt much more realistic and modern. The game revolutionized its multiplayer experience, which even brought non-FPS players on board. Modern Warfare introduced killstreaks and a deep customization system, which drastically changed the shooting experience. These changes made multiplayer modes even more intense and action-packed.

Pros

• Great multiplayer experience
• Fantastic graphics
• Amazing campaign

Cons

• Campaign could have been a bit longer

2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Black Ops 2 is a phenomenal game built on what Treyarch learned from World at War and the original Black Ops. The main campaign was spectacular with many breathtaking moments. Every great element from Black Ops was significantly improved in the sequel. The overall gameplay experience was fast-paced, well-balanced, and fun. The multiplayer map design is phenomenal, and Black Ops 2 maps are considered some of the most fun maps to play on even today.

Pros

• Great campaign story
• Awesome multiplayer modes

Cons

• Zombies mode could have been better

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Modern Warfare 2 is considered the best Call of Duty game of all time. It came with a great campaign and Special Ops modes, but what really made the game special was its multiplayer experience. Some of the weapons and perks were pretty broken, but it became part of the experience. Spamming noob tubes and quick scoping became a major part of the multiplayer meta, which made the multiplayer unbalanced but still quite fun. Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer is one of the best-designed experiences in the series.

Pros

• Fun multiplayer
• Great campaign

Cons

• Campaign could have been longer