100 Facts about 'Call of Duty'
Mar 31, 2025
..Think you know Call of Duty? Think Again!
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Call of Duty is one of the longest-running and most successful video game franchises of all time
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It's also the only game that really encourages you to embrace your inner dude holding a gun peeking around corners. I'm Dave Baker, today we're listing 100 facts you
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didn't know about Call of Duty. Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game franchise
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published by Activision that has been going since 2003. Almost without exception, a new
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Call of Duty game gets released once a year. The initial game in the series was released October
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29, 2003. It was developed by Infinity Ward and simply titled Call of Duty. The game was made by
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the team that created Medal of Honor, famed World War Tutor FPS game series. However, they were all
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abruptly let go from EA Games and decided to make their own competing World War II shooter
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The initial working title of Call of Duty was in fact Medal of Honor Killer. The game engine that
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Call of Duty was built on was a modded version of the idTech 3, which was built by id Software for
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Quake 3 Arena. Infinity Ward built a game where players inhabit American soldiers, British paratroopers
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and Red Army servicemen as they go head-to-head with the Axis forces. The game also features a
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new approach to AI-controlled allies who support the main player during missions. They react to
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the various situations that transpire over the course of the game and enhance the experience
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Obviously, this is an old hat idea currently, but remember, this was way back in 2003
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This emphasis on AI changed the modality of the first-person shooter to be more of a squad-based game
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and strayed from the typical lone wolf approach to the genre. Upon release, Call of Duty won numerous awards, including the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Game of the Year Award
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Computer Gaming World's Shooter of the Year, and it was also nominated for Best Game by the Gaming Developers Choice Awards
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The second release and the overall Call of Duty franchise was not, in fact, Call of Duty 2
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It was an expansion pack titled Call of Duty United Defensive. It introduced ranks and multiplayer gaming
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Defensive was developed by Grey Matter Interactive and Pi Studios. It was released on Microsoft Windows on September 14, 2004
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The expansion pack is loosely inspired by the Band of Brother episodes Bastogon and The Breaking Point
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As an added surrealist treat to the game, it also features a secret cow with a massive bell
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Yeah, there's really not anything more complex to it than that. It's just a big cow that's hidden that has a ridiculously large bell
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Call of Duty 2 was released November 22, 2005. It was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision
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The campaign mode of the game is also set during World War II and features a rotating perspective of four characters
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two British soldiers, an American soldier, and a Red Army soldier. The sequel is comprised of 27 missions
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It also features many new features like regenerating health and an icon that indicates a grenade nearby
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It received many awards and was widely beloved by the critic community
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GamePro gave it 4.5 stars, GameSpot gave it 5 stars on PC, and IGN gave it a 9.0
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X-Play, remember X-Play, gave it a 5-star review as well. The game was used as a launch title for Xbox 360 and sold over 250,000 units in its first week
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When asked about the development of Call of Duty 2 Infinity Ward president Grant Collier said our team at Infinity Ward is committed to thrusting gamers into the heart of battle like no other taking players on a thrill ride of adrenaline that leaves everyone gasping for air
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In Call of Duty 2, we are creating the most intense and realistic action game imaginable
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with a stunning visual atmosphere and an advanced technology that delivers an unprecedented level of authenticity
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Call of Duty 2 introduced the battle chatter system. Call of Duty 2 was also created on a modded version of id Tech 3, christened IW Engine 2.0
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Call of Duty 3 was released in 2006 by Treyarch and published by Activision
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It was released on PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, and Xbox. It follows the model of the prior game of the franchise where players play along AI teammates to achieve objectives
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The campaign mode takes the perspective of an American, a Canadian, British, and Polish soldier over the course of 14 missions
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After the release of the game, three additional maps were released on Xbox Live Marketplace
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Champs was a free map released on January 11, 2007. Valor was a map pack that contained five individual maps
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And then Bravo, another map pack containing five maps. If you didn't notice, this is the first full game to be released by a developer that's not Infinity War
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Over the course of the franchise, they would work with a few developers, including Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games
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Treyarch made Call of Duty 3 in just eight months. The next game in the franchise, Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare, developed by Infinity War, was published by Activision in 2007
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This game was obviously a big departure from the series, ditching the World War II setting and establishing a near-future setting of 2011
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The plot of the game centers around a radical terrorist leader executing the president of a Middle Eastern country that was not named
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Then, things go from bad to worse, with an ultra-nationalist movement starting a civil war in Russia
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The player then lives out roles as a U.S. Force Reconnaissance Marine and a British SAS Commando as they attempt to intervene
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This is the game that introduced the perk system. The game received universal acclaim and ultimately was hailed as a modern-day classic
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The game was built on the IW 3.0 engine. The retail version of the game came with a DVD commentary titled Great SAS Missions
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which included archival footage and behind-the-scenes making of footage. The game also featured a downloadable variety pack
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Treyarch released a would-be final World War II-themed Call of Duty game
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titled Call of Duty World at War in 2008. Their narrative focuses on the Pacific and Eastern theaters of World War II
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The game sold over 3 million copies in the first two months of release. Later on, World at War became backwards compatible with the Xbox One in September of 2016
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The primary standout of World at War is the inclusion of what was intended to be a side game
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Well, this side game would go on to be wildly popular. The title? Nazi Zombies. It's exactly what you think it is
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Up to four players can play at a time and live out the righteous cause of demolishing undead national socialists
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Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is the sixth installment into the main franchise and a direct sequel to Modern Warfare
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It was released November 10, 2009 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
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The game follows Task Force 141, an elite special forces unit, as they attempt to hunt down Vladimir Marakov, the leader of a Russian nationalist group
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The game's playable characters include Sergeant Gary Roach Sanderson and Private James Ramirez The former is a member of 141 the latter an army ranger The game was highly financially successful Upon its release however it was criticized for being too short
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and not bringing anything new to the table in terms of innovation. The comic book tie-in was released titled Modern Warfare 2 Ghost
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It was written by David Lapham and illustrated by Kevin West with covers by Federico Delocio
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The game also received widespread criticism and became embroiled into a controversy
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due to the fact that one of the levels has a player carrying out a terror attack at an airport
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Call of Duty Black Ops was developed by Treyarch and published by, you guessed it, Activision
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It was released in November of 2010. It's the seventh title in the Call of Duty series, and the third to be developed by Treyarch
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It serves as a sequel to Call of Duty World at War. Set in the 1960s, the game is a Cold War epic that follows CIA operative Alex Mason
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as he attempts to recall certain memories in order to execute a military plan
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development of the game was commenced in 2009. Believe it or not, it was developed in tandem
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with Call of Duty World at War, meaning they were literally making both games at the same time
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The music for the game was composed by Sean Murray. The game received generally positive
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reviews. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 was released in 2011. The game's campaign picks up
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where Modern Warfare 2 leaves off. The game is also centered on Task Force 141 as they continue
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to hunt down Vladimir Marokov. For the game's multiplayer mode, killstreaks were implemented
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Some behind-the-scenes drama transpired when Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella left the company to form Respawn Entertainment
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The same thing that happened with the previous installments happened this time around again
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The game did very well commercially, however, was critiqued for not evolving enough or having innovated
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However, it did win the Spike Video Game Awards nomination for Best Shooter
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It was very commercially successful as well. At this point, it was the largest entertainment launch of all time
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Call of Duty Elite was an online service put together by Beachhead Studios for multiplayer combat
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It featured a free version that included lifetime statistics and a social networking integration
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However, it was shut down in February of 2014. In 2012, a direct sequel was released titled Call of Duty Black Ops 2
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The game picks up in the 1980s and then transitions to 2025
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The dual protagonists of Alex Mason and Frank Woods return, as well as Alex Mason's son, David
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The chief antagonist is Raul Menendez, a Nicaraguan cartel leader who sparks a second Cold War
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The game was heralded on its release for its non-linear gameplay and multiple possible endings
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One of the bigger divergences in the multiplayer in Black Ops 2 is the implementation of Pick 10
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meaning the player can pick a total of 10 allocated slots in a class, such as guns, perks, grenades, etc
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Killstreaks, a feature from previous games, were renamed Scorestreaks. Black Ops 2 is the first game in the franchise to incorporate competitive mode, known as League Play
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In 2015, it was announced that Activision would develop a cinematic universe based on the Call of Duty games
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However, this project appears to just be on hold, as the initial film that was slated to be released was supposed to come out in 2019, and that's come and gone
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Black Ops 3 was released November 6th, 2015. It was the 12th game in the franchise, and it was developed by Treyarch
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It takes place in 2065 40 years after the events of Black Ops 2 It centers on a world facing an unprecedented climate change and a wide array of new and boundary technologies have
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appeared. The game's main campaign is designed to encompass a four-player cooperative gameplay
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scheme. It has a larger scale and features less corridor shooting and more open-level design
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As an additional element to the game, it's the first Call of Duty story to feature characters
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that are cybernetically enhanced, therefore have special abilities. In the near future
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the world is divided into two large groups, the Winslow Accord and the Common Defense Pact
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As a reaction to a drone attack by a villain from a previous game, multiple countries have
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banded together to develop the Directed Energy Air Defense System in order to neutralize typical
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air-bound combat methods. An official trailer for Black Ops 3 was released starring Cara Delevingne
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and Michael B. Jordan. It started rumors that Black Ops film was being produced, however
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nothing like that ever happened. Around this time, Dark Horse Comics released a six-issue miniseries
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called Call of Duty Zombies, illustrated by Jonathan Wayshack and written by Justin Jordan
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Call of Duty Infinite Warfare was released in 2016. It was developed by Infinity Ward and
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published by Activision. The game is distinctly more science fiction. It follows characters
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battling for control of a solar system. The player inhabits Lieutenant Nick Reyes
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Special Combat Air Recon, aka Scar, as they go head-to-head against the settlement defense front
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The trailer for the game was met with highly negative reaction from fans
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being the second most disliked video of all time on YouTube. The fanbase was upset that the game had gone so far into the distant future
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The game takes some serious risks, though. It takes place in outer space
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so it has some really cool zero-gravity environments, gameplay mechanics, and loads of new equipment
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including a grappling hook. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2019 may be titled the same thing
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as another game in the franchise, but it's a completely new game, one that Activision and Infinity Ward
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considered a soft reboot to the franchise. It was released October 25, 2019 on Microsoft Windows, PS4, and Xbox One
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The game takes place in a modern setting, unlike some of the other installments, which are futuristic in nature
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Its goal was to focus on more emotions and character, and have a more cinematic approach to storytelling instead of just mindless violence
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The game follows a CIA officer and a British SAS officer as they team up with rebels from a made-up country
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in order to fight off Russian forces that have invaded a supposedly sovereign nation
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The game's special ops mode features co-op play for missions to act as an epilogue to the game's primary campaign
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The game also features cross-platform multiplayer. It also introduces a new movement mechanic titled Super Sprint
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You can engage this by tapping the sprint button twice. Additionally, the gunsmith allows a player to alter their weapons with up to 30 possible mods
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Call of Duty is arguably one of the most successful video game franchises of all time
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It sold 250 million games, generated over $15 billion, and spawned a mountain of merchandise
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It had an action figure line put out by Plan B Toys, a card game by Upper Deck
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and of course, 28 games have been released in the franchise. So, what does the future hold for Call of Duty
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Well, it's recently leaked that the next installment of the franchise is going to be titled Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War
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When will it be released? Well, according to a leaked Doritos campaign, the game is going to be scheduled for October 25, 2020
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But also pandemic
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