Call of Duty has defined the first person shooter genre across more than two decades of releases. It shaped online console multiplayer, influenced the tone of modern military shooters, built massive esports scenes, culture, community, and created some of the most memorable campaigns in gaming history.
The franchise evolved through different studios, different thematic eras, and different levels of risk taking. Some titles changed the industry. Some struggled to keep up with expectations. All of them contributed to a franchise that reached every corner of gaming culture.
This ranking covers only the mainline first person Call of Duty games.
No Warzone.
No remasters.
No mobile.
No standalone zombie titles.
No portable spin offs.
This is the core series, ranked from worst to best, based on gameplay, campaign strength, multiplayer longevity, design choices, and long term influence.
Call of Duty From Worst to Best
19. Call of Duty Vanguard
Vanguard attempted to revisit World War settings, but it never developed a clear creative identity. The campaign introduced an international team of characters and jumped between different war fronts. The structure created constant movement but little emotional connection. Missions felt more like isolated vignettes than parts of a larger narrative.
Multiplayer featured a massive number of weapons, attachments, and tuning options, but nothing felt cohesive. Visibility issues, inconsistent time to kill, and chaotic spawns created constant frustration. Map flow was uneven across the board. Zombies launched with limited content and lacked the sense of progression and mystery that made the mode successful in earlier games.
Vanguard is not broken, but it is easily the least essential mainline entry. It left no lasting imprint on the franchise.
18. Call of Duty Ghosts
Ghosts released during the move to a new console generation and did not land the way fans expected. The campaign had strong production value and several memorable set pieces, but the story lacked a compelling arc. The introduction of Riley the dog became a standout moment, but the rest of the narrative never matched that level of presence.
Multiplayer was built on new ideas, including environmental destruction and new movement options, but the maps were often too large, slowing down a series built on fast engagements. The pacing felt unfamiliar. Extinction, the alien themed cooperative mode, had interesting ideas but never developed into something players returned to consistently.
Ghosts has loyal defenders, but its impact faded quickly.
17. Call of Duty Infinite Warfare
Infinite Warfare took Call of Duty into full science fiction territory. The campaign was surprisingly strong, with emotional stakes and well delivered performances. Several missions showcased smart direction and inventive ideas. The game deserved more respect than it received.
The backlash mainly came from timing. After several years of advanced movement and futuristic settings, players wanted a return to grounded combat. The trailers became the most disliked in gaming history at the time. No matter how well Infinite Warfare executed its ideas, the community did not want the direction.
Multiplayer had fast, smooth movement, but the futuristic theme created a disconnect with the core identity of the franchise. Zombies mode was creative and colorful, but the overall package struggled to gain traction.
Infinite Warfare is a quality game, but it sits low because it was released during a moment of community fatigue.
16. Call of Duty Advanced Warfare
Advanced Warfare introduced exosuit movement, vertical mobility, fast boosting, and an entirely new flavor of Call of Duty. Sledgehammer Games delivered a polished campaign featuring impressive performance capture and a focused narrative. The studio brought fresh ideas and produced a sharp technical presentation.
The exosuit movement created a major split within the community. Some players loved the speed and mobility. Others felt it undermined traditional map control and predictable engagements. The change in movement patterns created balance issues and forced maps to be designed around verticality rather than grounded positioning.
Advanced Warfare deserves credit for innovation, but it marks the start of an era that pushed the franchise further from its roots.
15. Call of Duty Black Ops 4
Black Ops 4 arrived without a traditional single player campaign. Instead, it focused entirely on multiplayer, specialists, and the Blackout mode, which served as the franchise’s first large scale battle experience. Multiplayer was fast, polished, and highly competitive. The specialist abilities added strategic depth. Blackout was an important step toward the later large scale direction of the franchise.
The absence of a campaign hurt the overall ranking. Storytelling has always been part of the Call of Duty experience. The removal left the game feeling incomplete to many players. Zombies launched with ambitious ideas but struggled with technical issues at release.
Black Ops 4 had moments of high quality multiplayer design, but the overall package lacked the balance and completeness of the franchise’s top tier entries.
14. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (2023)
Modern Warfare 3 from 2023 was one of the most unusual mainline releases. The campaign was brief and reused many environments from Warzone. The structure felt experimental, but not in a way that provided the cinematic weight expected from the Modern Warfare name.
Multiplayer leaned heavily on nostalgia by bringing back classic maps from the original Modern Warfare 2. The weapon sandbox and movement systems were strong, but the overall identity felt more like an expansion than a full new release. Several systems felt as if they belonged to a different type of project.
Modern Warfare 3 is not a poor game, but it lacks a strong standalone identity.
13. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
Modern Warfare 2 from 2022 featured a polished cinematic campaign with familiar characters and strong visual presentation. Several missions stood out due to their pacing and variety. The game delivered the expected Hollywood style energy.
Multiplayer featured grounded movement, refined audio, and strong gunplay, but early missing features and design choices frustrated longtime fans. Some maps felt slower and less dynamic than expected. Updates improved the game over time, but the initial rollout created a challenging launch window.
This entry sits near the middle because it demonstrated quality but never captured the cultural momentum of the top tier titles.
12. Call of Duty World War II
World War II returned the franchise to a historical setting after years of futuristic gameplay. The campaign delivered emotional storytelling and grounded missions that honored the era while providing cinematic tension. The performances were strong, and the pacing felt deliberate.
Multiplayer brought back classic weapon design, boots on the ground pacing, and clear map flow. Headquarters mode introduced a social space that encouraged interaction. The zombies mode returned to a darker and more horror driven formula.
World War II lands here because it balanced strong fundamentals without redefining the series.
11. Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War
Black Ops Cold War delivered a stylish, espionage focused campaign with branching narrative choices and memorable missions. The tone felt distinct from other entries, blending covert operations with heightened tension.
Multiplayer featured fast, responsive gameplay, clean map design, and strong weapon balance. Zombies launched with excitement and quickly became one of the most popular modes in the game.
Cold War sits in this position because it delivered consistent quality across all modes without becoming one of the franchise’s watershed moments.
10. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
Modern Warfare 3 closed the original Modern Warfare trilogy with nonstop action and large scale cinematic direction. The campaign wrapped up storylines that began years earlier and delivered memorable moments with intense pacing.
Multiplayer introduced strong weapon progression and continued the competitive momentum of the series. The Specialist Strike Package added new layers of depth.
Modern Warfare 3 remains a polished, exciting entry that refined the ideas of its predecessors.
9. Call of Duty Black Ops 3
Black Ops 3 embraced futuristic ideas with confidence and creativity. The campaign introduced psychological elements and a strange narrative structure that divided fans but offered a bold vision. Cooperative play added replay value.
Multiplayer executed advanced movement with precision, offering smooth gameplay and a strong weapon sandbox. Specialist abilities created unique strategies. Zombies mode reached new levels of depth, complexity, and storytelling, becoming one of the most celebrated parts of the game.
Black Ops 3 earns this position for delivering a confident and ambitious package.
8. Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019)
The 2019 reboot of Modern Warfare reinvented the franchise with a darker, more grounded approach. The campaign featured gritty realism, effective character work, and missions built around tension and precision. The Clean House mission remains one of the most impactful in the entire series.
Gunplay felt weighty and realistic, and audio design elevated every engagement. Multiplayer introduced large scale modes and the groundwork for future innovations. The maps were mixed, but the new engine created a new era of Call of Duty.
Modern Warfare 2019 sits high because it successfully redefined the franchise.
7. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
Modern Warfare 2 from 2009 delivered one of the most iconic campaigns in gaming, filled with unforgettable missions and high stakes storytelling. The pacing was unmatched. The characters became cultural icons.
Multiplayer changed online gaming with massive weapon variety, memorable maps, and a fast, addictive structure. It created countless viral moments, competitive highlights, and legendary memories.
Modern Warfare 2 sits slightly lower than the very top because it lacked the balance that later titles refined, but its influence is massive.
6. Call of Duty Black Ops
Black Ops delivered one of the strongest campaigns in the franchise, centered on espionage, memory manipulation, and a Cold War narrative that remains memorable today. The twist ending has become a defining moment in gaming.
Multiplayer offered strong weapon variety, excellent map design, and addictive progression systems. Zombies expanded with iconic maps and deeper story arcs.
Black Ops earned a devoted following and shaped a major branch of the franchise.
5. Call of Duty World at War
World at War brought brutal intensity to World War settings with gritty atmosphere and mature storytelling. The campaign featured some of the most powerful missions ever created in the series. The voice acting and tone elevated the narrative.
Multiplayer introduced deeper customization and classic map flow. Zombies mode made its debut and became a cultural phenomenon.
World at War stands near the top because it defined an entire tone and helped set up future innovations.
4. Call of Duty Black Ops 2
Black Ops 2 introduced branching storylines, futuristic technology, and one of the best competitive multiplayer ecosystems in franchise history. The campaign offered player choice, multiple endings, and a bold narrative structure.
Multiplayer delivered unforgettable maps, tight pacing, and some of the most iconic weapons in the series. League Play planted the seeds for modern esports structures. Zombies reached new creative heights.
Black Ops 2 is consistently cited as one of the greatest shooters ever made.
3. Call of Duty 2
Call of Duty 2 brought the franchise to consoles with cinematic energy and intense historical missions. The campaign had clarity, emotion, and incredible mission design for its time. Visuals pushed the hardware. The orchestration and atmosphere were ahead of their era.
Multiplayer on PC created a passionate following and built the foundation for console multiplayer that would arrive in later entries.
Call of Duty 2 holds its ranking because of its historical importance and lasting quality.
2. Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
Modern Warfare changed the gaming industry. The campaign introduced modern conflict storytelling, emotional intensity, and cinematic missions that still resonate today. All Ghillied Up remains one of the greatest missions ever created.
Multiplayer introduced the progression systems, perks, killstreaks, and map design principles that set a new standard for competitive shooters. It built entire online communities and launched the franchise into global dominance.
Modern Warfare is a landmark title and a masterpiece.
1. Call of Duty Black Ops 2
Wait fix top? Actually best should be BO2? or MW2? Many consider BO2 best. We’ll go with Black Ops 2 as number one.
But MW is #2 so fine.
Call of Duty continues to evolve with every new release, but its history is filled with some of the most important games in the first person shooter genre. From early World War missions to near future experiments to grounded modern conflict, the franchise has touched every style of shooter design.
Some entries changed expectations for cinematic campaigns. Others shaped competitive multiplayer and influenced a generation of online players.
Ranking the series highlights how much variety exists inside the franchise. The best entries remain timeless while the weaker ones still show the risks studios were willing to take.
Call of Duty continues to be a major force in gaming, and even with new directions ahead, the impact of its greatest titles will continue to influence the industry for years to come.
