Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

 

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a 2007 first-person shooter developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment in the Call of Duty series. The game breaks away from the World War II setting of previous entries and is instead set in modern times. Developed for over two years, Modern Warfare was released in November 2007 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows, and was ported to the Wii as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Reflex Edition in 2009.

The story takes place in the year 2011, where a radical leader has executed the president of an unnamed country in the Middle East, and an ultranationalist movement ignites a civil war in Russia. The conflicts are seen from the perspectives of a U.S. Marine Force Recon sergeant and a British SAS commando and are set in various locales, such as the United Kingdom, the Middle East, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Ukraine. The multiplayer portion of the game features various game modes and contains a leveling system that allows the player to unlock additional weapons, weapon attachments, and camouflage schemes as they advance.

The game received universal acclaim from critics, with the gameplay and story receiving particular praise, while criticism targeted the failure of the game to substantially innovate the first-person shooter genre. The game won numerous awards from gaming websites, including IGN's "Best Xbox 360 Game". It was the top-selling game worldwide for 2007, selling around seven million copies by January 2008 and almost sixteen million by November 2013. It was followed by two sequels that continue the storyline: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011).

A remastered version of the game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, was released as part of special edition bundles of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in November 2016, and as a standalone game in June 2017. A reboot of the Modern Warfare games, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, was released in October 2019.

Gameplay

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a first person shooter. A character can be positioned in one of three stances: standing, crouching, or prone, each affecting the character's rate of movement, accuracy, and stealth. Using cover helps the player avoid enemy fire or recover health after taking significant damage. As such, there are no armor or health power-ups. When the character has taken damage, the edges of the screen glow red and the character's heartbeat increases. If the character stays out of fire, the character can recover. When the character is within the blast radius of a live grenade, a marker indicates the direction of the grenade, helping the player to either flee or toss it back to the enemy.

The game is the first in the Call of Duty series to feature modern equipment. The game also introduces new features, particularly multiplayer mechanics such as "killstreaks" where the player gains access to special abilities for killing enemies without dying.

Campaign

The player takes on the role of various characters during a single-player campaign. The characters' involvement in the plot occurs simultaneously and overlaps the events in the game. As such, the player's perspective changes from one character to another between missions. Each mission features a series of objectives; the player is led to each objective with the heads up display, which marks its direction and distance. Some objectives require that the player arrives at a checkpoint, while other objectives require the player to eliminate enemies in a specified location, stand their ground to defend an objective, or plant explosive charges on an enemy installation. After completing the campaign, a special epilogue mission is unlocked for play. The mission itself has no bearing on the campaign plot, and focuses on an SAS squad fighting terrorists that have hijacked an airplane and taken a VIP hostage. The main campaign features 30 collectible pieces of intel that award the player with game cheats and visual filters such as infinite ammunition, cluster grenades, and increased contrast.

Multiplayer

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare features team-based and deathmatch-based multiplayer modes on various maps. Each mode has an objective that requires unique strategies to complete. Players can call in UAV reconnaissance scans, airstrikes, and attack helicopters, when they achieve three-, five-, and seven-enemy kill streaks respectively. A game ends when either a team or player has reached a predefined number of points, or the allotted time expires in which case the team or player with the most points wins. If the points are even when the time expires, Sudden Death mode is activated in which there is no re-spawning and the team who either has the last man standing, or achieves the objective first are the winners. If the player is in either of the two matches, then there is an Overtime match, in which the next team to win is rewarded the victory.

The player's performance in the multiplayer mode is tracked with experience points, which can be earned by killing opposing players, completing challenges, completing objectives, or by completing a round or match. As the player gains experience, they advance in level, unlocking new weapons, perks, challenges, and gameplay modes. The highest obtainable level is 55, but on the console versions of the game, the player has the option to enter "Prestige" mode, which returns their level to one and removes all accumulated unlockables. This process can be repeated up to 10 times with a different insignia being given each time.

As the player advances in levels and goes up higher in prestige, they earn the ability to customize their classes; this includes selecting their main weapon, sidearm and special grenade type. Additionally, the player can select 3 perks, one from each of the three "Tiers", that can customize their character further. Perk effects include, but are not limited to, extra ammunition, increasing bullet damage by the player, or dropping a live grenade when the player is killed. The player is also given the choice to complete challenges in order to receive even more experience points; challenges include achieving a certain number of kills with a specific weapon, shooting down a helicopter or performing a number of headshots. Additionally, when the player attains a certain number of headshots with a specific weapon, excluding sidearms, the player unlocks extra weapon "camos", or camouflage, to use for that specific weapon.

Campaign

Characters

During the single-player campaign, the player controls six different characters from a first-person perspective. The player assumes the role of recent recruit to the British Special Air Service (SAS), Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish for most of the game, starting with his induction into the 22nd SAS Regiment.[4] Sergeant Paul Jackson is a member of the U.S. Marine Corps 1st Force Recon Company deployed to the Middle East, who the player controls during five levels of Act 1. Captain John Price (voiced by actor Billy Murray) is an SAS officer who is playable in two flashback missions from 1996 in which he is a Lieutenant. The player also assumes the role of an American thermal-imaging TV operator aboard a Lockheed AC-130 gunship during one level, and a British SAS operative infiltrating a hijacked airliner to save a VIP in a secret level titled "Mile High Club". Finally, the player may control Yasir Al-Fulani, the president of an unnamed Middle Eastern country in the game before he is executed, although he has no freedom of action beyond turning his head.

The game's non-playable characters (NPCs) feature prominently in the story: Captain Price and his right-hand man, Gaz (voiced by Craig Fairbrass), serve as mentors to Soap. Jackson's platoon is led by Lieutenant Vasquez (voiced by David Sobolov) and Staff Sergeant Griggs (voiced by and modeled after Infinity Ward lead animator Mark Grigsby); Griggs later accompanies Soap in Russia. Sergeant Kamarov (voiced by Mark Ivanir) leads the Russian loyalists that aid the SAS and USMC forces. "Nikolai" (voiced by Sven Holmberg) is a Russian informant who helps the SAS. Captain MacMillan (voiced by Zach Hanks) is Price's mentor and commanding officer during a flashback.

The antagonists in the story include Imran Zakhaev (voiced by Yevgeni Lazarev), the leader of the Russian ultranationalist party and the main antagonist of the game; Khaled Al-Asad, the commander of the revolutionary forces in the Middle East and an ally of Imran Zakhaev; and Victor Zakhaev, the son of Imran Zakhaev and a priority figure in the ultranationalist party.

Plot

In 2011, a civil war breaks out in Russia between its government and Ultranationalists who seek to restore Russia to its Soviet-era glamor. Meanwhile, a separatist group led by Khaled Al-Asad seizes power in a "small but oil-rich" country in the Middle East through a coup d'état, executing its president, Al-Fulani. Al-Asad has extreme anti-Western views, which prompts the United States to invade the country. Shortly into the invasion, a platoon of U.S. Marines from 1st Force Recon Co, led by Lieutenant Vasquez, is sent to capture Al-Asad, but fail to locate him. They later engage in urban combat in an unnamed city south of the capital, and help support and repair an M1 Abrams tank to assist them.

In the meantime, new British Special Air Service operator Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish is recruited into Captain Price's team. The team conducts two operations; the first leads them to infiltrate a cargo ship in the Bering Strait. Neutralizing the armed Russians on board, the team discovers a nuclear device labeled in Arabic and retrieve its manifest. Enemy MiGs scuttle the ship, but the SAS escapes by helicopter.

The second operation takes them to Russia in order to rescue one of their allies, a Russian informant named Nikolai working within the Ultranationalist party. Assisted by Russian loyalist forces, Price's team succeeds in rescuing Nikolai. However, their helicopter is brought down, forcing the team to make their way through enemy territory with support from an AC-130 gunship before they can be extracted. Intelligence gathered from these two missions indicates that Al-Asad may be in possession of a Russian nuclear device.

The following day, the U.S. launches a full-scale assault on Al-Asad's presidential palace, aware of the SAS warning about the possible nuclear device. As SEAL Team 6 raids the palace, the Marines engage Al-Asad's ground forces. The assault, however, ends in catastrophe when the nuclear device suddenly detonates, wiping out most of the city along with everyone in it.

Refusing to assume Al-Asad dead, Price's strike team supported by Russian loyalists raids a safe house in a village in Azerbaijan to eradicate the occupying Russian forces and capture Al-Asad. Shortly into the interrogation, Al-Asad's phone rings. After hearing the voice of the caller, Price executes Al-Asad and reveals that the caller was the leader of the ultranationalists: Imran Zakhaev. Price tells of his assassination mission against Zakhaev in Pripyat, Ukraine in 1996. In the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Zakhaev took advantage of the turmoil to profit from nuclear proliferation and used his new wealth to lure soldiers from the Soviet Army to form his ultranationalist party. Price, then a lieutenant, and his superior, Captain MacMillan, were sent on a black operation to eliminate him. In Pripyat, the two reached their vantage point in a hotel, with Price firing upon Zakhaev with a Barrett M82 sniper rifle; however, the shot only severed Zakhaev's arm. Price and MacMillan barely escaped Zakhaev's henchmen.

Following the death of Al-Asad, Price's team hold off against Ultranationalist forces who arrive to avenge him. Later, a joint task force, composed of the SAS, Force Recon, and the loyalists, attempt to capture Zakhaev's son, Victor, to learn Zakhaev's whereabouts. After ambushing him in an enemy convoy, Victor flees but is soon cornered on the roof of an apartment building. Refusing to surrender, he commits suicide. Enraged, Zakhaev retaliates by taking control of a nuclear launch facility.

An operation is launched by the task force to take back the site from Zakhaev's forces via halo jump. However, Zakhaev promptly launches nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles at the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, with the potential of causing 41 million casualties. The SAS and Force Recon, however, manage to breach the facility, seize the command room and remotely destroy the missiles over the Atlantic Ocean. They escape in military trucks with Zakhaev's forces in pursuit.

An ultranationalist Mi-24 Hind helicopter destroys a bridge and traps the joint force. In the ensuing fight, a tanker explodes, and many of the group are either killed or injured. Zakhaev himself arrives and begins killing wounded soldiers when arriving loyalists in a Mi-28 Havoc destroy his Mi-24 Hind. Distracted, Zakhaev turns to the loyalist forces and Price gives Soap an M1911; the latter kills Zakhaev and his escort. Loyalist forces start tending to the wounded immediately.

In the epilogue, the missile incident and the ultranationalists' support of Al-Asad are covered up, thus causing the events of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Development

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was developed by a team of a hundred people, over the course of two years. After Call of Duty 2, the Infinity Ward team decided to move away from the World War II environment of previous games in the series. This resulted in three game concepts: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. While developing the story for Call of Duty 4, Infinity Ward chose to avoid referencing current, real-life wars, and keep the series' common theme of two opposing forces of similar strength. To enhance the realistic feel of the game, the development team attended a live-fire exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, a training facility in the California desert. This helped the developers to simulate the effects of being near an Abrams tank when it fires. The team also talked with U.S. Marines who were recently in combat to get a feel for the background, emotions, and attitude of Marines in combat. Veterans were also recruited to supervise motion capture sessions and the artificial intelligence design of the game.

The development team designed the online multiplayer component to be balanced and rewarding for new players while still offering something for experienced players. An early idea to implement air support (air strikes and attack helicopters) involved players fighting over special zones to access a trigger for air support against enemies. This idea was discarded because it discouraged the type of deathmatch gameplay they intended. The killstreak reward system was put in its place to encourage the improvement of player skills. Players were allowed to select weapons before matches to get accustomed to weapons more easily and minimize weapon hunting. Maps were designed primarily for deathmatch games—the developers felt such designs suited other types of gameplay as well. Map layouts were designed to minimize locations players could hide from enemy gunfire.

Most of the music for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was written by British composer Stephen Barton, who had also contributed to film scores by Harry Gregson-Williams, to whom, composed the main theme of the game. Several music tracks from the game are available on Infinity Ward's "7 Days of Modern Warfare" website, and some are available at Barton's own web site. The rap song played during the end credits is performed by Call of Duty 4's lead animator, Mark Grigsby.

Game engine

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare runs on the IW engine, specifically IW 3.0, featuring true world-dynamic lighting, HDR lighting effects, dynamic shadows and depth of field. Bullet penetration is calculated by the engine, taking into account factors such as surface type and entity thickness. The game runs in a native resolution of 600p on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Certain objects, such as cars and some buildings, are destructible. This makes distinguishing cover from concealment important, as the protection provided by objects such as wooden fences and thin walls do not completely protect players from harm. Bullet stopping power is decreased after penetrating an object, and the decrease is dependent on the thickness and surface type of the object. The game makes use of a dynamic physics engine, not implemented in previous Call of Duty titles. Death animations are a combination of pre-set animations and ragdoll physics. Console versions of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare run at a consistent 60 frames per second, and the Wii version runs at 30 frames per second. Code was included to determine spawning points based on the nearby weapons and the relationship between enemy positions and line of sight to the points. The various criteria are meant to minimize players dying immediately after rejoining a match, or being "spawn-killed" due to players simply waiting for others to "respawn". However, enemies may still respawn infinitely, a notable feature in Call of Duty game engines.

The game engine has also been used for the development of two other Activision games. An enhanced version of the original engine was used in Call of Duty: World at War, the fifth installment in the Call of Duty series after Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, while a slightly altered version has been used for the James Bond video game Quantum of Solace, as well as GoldenEye 007 using a heavily modified version.

Marketing and release

On April 27, 2007, the day before the release of the game's trailer, Infinity Ward launched a website called "Charlie Oscar Delta" to provide information on the game. Charlie Oscar Delta features a ranking system that allows users to complete missions to increase their rank and compete for prizes. Charlie Oscar Delta is derived from the NATO phonetic alphabet and the initials of Call of Duty. The first Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare trailer featuring game footage was released on April 28. An Xbox 360 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare public beta test was announced on August 30. The beta test was designed to test the servers, find glitches, and help balance out the weapons. It was originally only for residents of the U.S., but was later available to other countries. The beta concluded on September 30. The maximum rank for the beta was initially level 16, but was increased to level 25 towards the end of the beta. Three multiplayer maps were available for play: "Crash", "Vacant", and "Overgrown". A single-player demo for the PC was released on October 11 as a Yahoo! download. The demo includes one level, "The Bog", which showcases the advanced night vision and associated graphics capabilities.

Retail versions

The game was released as a standard version and a collector's edition. The Collector's Edition contains the standard retail game and a DVD containing a documentary film entitled "Great SAS Missions", which consists of archive footage of the SAS in action and accounts from former SAS members. The DVD contains a "making-of" featurette and a level walkthrough by the developers. Also included is a limited edition poster and a hardcover art book featuring never-before-seen concept, development, and final artwork. These elements were packaged in a larger cardboard version of the standard retail box. The collector's edition was originally only available in the U.S., but was later released in other countries. A "Game of the Year" edition was later released on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 3 version included the Variety map pack on the disc, and while the Xbox 360 Game of the Year edition initially included an insert in the packaging which could be redeemed on Xbox Live Marketplace to download the Variety map pack, later releases did not contain the inserts, and so were no different from the original release of the game.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was released for consoles and Windows in North America on November 5, 2007, in Australia on November 7, 2007, and in Europe on November 9, 2007. The Mac OS X version of the game was developed by Aspyr and released on September 26, 2008. It was released on the Mac App Store on January 16, 2011. It was rated 15 by the BBFC, M for Mature by the ESRB, MA 15+ by the OFLC, 16+ by the PEGI, and 18 by the USK. The Wii port of the game, titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Reflex Edition, was developed by Treyarch and released on November 10, 2009, alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized.

Downloadable content

As part of an exclusivity deal between Microsoft and Activision, multiplayer map packs for the Call of Duty franchise, beginning with Modern Warfare, were released first on Xbox 360. The deal would ultimately last until Black Ops III in 2015, which introduces a new deal with Sony and PlayStation platforms.

Infinity Ward released the Variety Map Pack for the Xbox 360 on April 4, 2008. It includes the multiplayer maps "Killhouse", "Creek", "Chinatown", and "Broadcast". The same map pack was released for the PlayStation 3 on April 24, 2008. The Variety Map Pack was downloaded by over one million people in its first nine days of release, a record for paid Xbox Live downloadable content, valued at US$10 million. It was released as a free download for Windows on June 5, 2008, sponsored by Nvidia, along with patch 1.6. A further patch for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game was announced over a year later in August 2009; the patch primarily addressed online multiplayer exploits. Patch 1.7 was released in June 2008. This patch can be applied to the Game of the Year edition directly with no prior patches. Earlier versions must have patch 1.6 applied first.

Reception

Critical response

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare received "universal acclaim" on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC versions, and "generally favorable reviews" for the Wii version, according to review aggregator Metacritic. The gameplay has been cited by reviewers to have brought the genre to "a new level of immersion and intensity that we had never seen before." GameSpot gave a favorable review for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, saying that the "high quality of that campaign and its terrific multiplayer options make Call of Duty 4 a fantastic package." Official Xbox Magazine praised the single player campaign, with even greater praise for the multiplayer mode which makes the game an "instant-classic". X-Play commented that "It may not revolutionize the shooter genre, but it comes damn close to perfecting it." GamePro claims that "the amazingly deep multiplayer rivals Halo 3's in terms of reach and scope."

The game's story has received a considerable amount of acclaim from reviewers. GamePro notes that "the intense single-player campaign offers up an action packed experience that features a tremendously compelling narrative; there are moments in the game that will send chills down your spine." GameSpot mentioned that the fact the "single-player campaign is over in a flash" as the only major flaw. While IGN described the campaign as "still very linear" like that of its predecessors, "eschewing the concept of sandbox gameplay," it noted that this resulted in "a much richer, more focused experience" with "beautifully scripted set pieces." IGN's Voodoo Extreme similarly remarked that it "virtually plays on a rail, but that's part of its charm." In contrast to later entries in the Call of Duty franchise, Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of Zero Punctuation gave the game a positive review, praising how it "never sacrifices gameplay for story, or vice versa" and that it featured "less of the smarmy, black-and-white, 'My Country, 'Tis of Thee' jingoism that turns me off most war games".[

Nevertheless, the game has also received criticism. Xbox World 360 stated "It's smoke and mirrors and a host of cheap tricks," commenting on the notion that the game did not revolutionize the genre. Pelit also remarked that "the structure of the single player game should ... have been updated" and that "barging from one invisible checkpoint to the next throughout the whole campaign just isn't good enough anymore."

Wii version

Modern Warfare – Reflex Edition was ported by Treyarch. The Wii version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has fewer features than the other console versions. It does not support split-screen multiplayer, and the graphics are not as developed. However, it supports co-operative gameplay in the campaign on a single screen. At any moment, a second Wii remote can be activated giving the second player their own aiming crosshairs. The game received an aggregated score of 76% on Metacritic. IGN gave the Wii version of the game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Reflex Edition, a score of 7.0, saying the visuals and pointer controls are not as polished as the Wii version of World at War, though they did mention the customization options and multiplayer are impressive. Official Nintendo Magazine gave it 80%, praising it for packing everything from its next-gen counterpart, but again criticizing the visuals. GameTrailers gave the game an 8.8, saying that despite some sacrifices, it retains everything good from its original version. Game Informer scored the game at a 6.5, stating that while the game was rather poor graphically, even by Wii standards, the bigger problem was the Wii remote, stating that it did not have enough buttons to support Modern Warfare's control scheme, and also that it was quite imprecise, contrasting it with the dual analog system used by the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, and the mouse and keyboard system on the Windows version of the game. GameSpot gave the game an 8.5, stating that the online was as addictive as the other versions, they also said that the controls "are precise and customizable enough to let you be all you can be".

Legacy

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare spawned two sequels: Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3, which were released in 2009 and 2011, respectively. A remastered version of Modern Warfare, titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, was developed by Raven Software. The remaster was first released as part of several special editions of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare when that game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, followed by a standalone release for PlayStation 4 in June 2017, and for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One in July 2017. A reboot of all three Modern Warfare installments, developed by Infinity Ward and simply titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, was released in October 2019.

Sales

Before Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was released, it was predicted to sell even more copies than the highly successful Halo 3; it had received reviews as high as Halo 3's, it was launching on three systems as opposed to one for Halo 3, and demand for the game led to a wide range of retailers only having enough available to satisfy pre-orders. It fulfilled the prediction and the Xbox 360 version became the best-selling video game in the United States from November 2007 to January 2008 according to the NPD Group. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions would go on to sell 1.57 million and 444,000 units, respectively, in the United States in November 2007. 1.47 million units of the Xbox 360 version were sold in December 2007; the game sold 331,000 copies for the Xbox 360 and 140,000 copies for the PlayStation 3 in January 2008. The Xbox 360 version was the third best-selling video game of 2007 in the U.S. with 3.04 million units sold, behind Halo 3, which sold 4.82 million units, according to the NPD Group. By January 2008, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare had sold more than 7 million copies worldwide, and was the best-selling game of 2007. On June 3, 2008, Infinity Ward reported that the game had sold over 10 million units. During a May 2009 conference call, Activision announced that the game has sold 13 million copies, surpassing Super Mario Galaxy as the best selling game released that week of November 2007. By November 2013, the game had sold 15.7 million copies.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was widely distributed online in the form of infringing copies. Robert Bowling, Community Manager at Infinity Ward stated, "We pulled some disturbing numbers this past week about the amount of PC players currently playing Multiplayer... What wasn't fantastic was the percentage of those numbers who were playing on stolen copies of the game on stolen/cracked CD keys of pirated copies."

Awards

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare received awards from various gaming sites and publications. Both GameSpot and GameTrailers gave the game the Best Graphics of E3 2007 award, and the Best PlayStation 3 Game of 2007 award, and later ranked it as the third best first-person shooter on its "Top 10 FPS Games Ever!" list. It gained high praise from both video game magazine GamePro and GameSpy, having been named the Best Overall Game of 2007 by the former, and Game of the Year by the latter. Game Critics also named the game "Best Action Game." From other authorities such as IGN and X-play, and the Spike Video Game Awards, the game won awards for areas such as Best Sound Design, Best Shooter of 2007, and Best Military Game. From the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the game won Console Game of the Year, Action game of the Year, and Overall Game of the Year. From the British Academy Video Games Awards, The game also won Best Gameplay of the Year, Best Story and Character of the Year, and People's Choice Game of the Year.The game was awarded with the Academy of Video Games Awards Game of the Year 2007 Award. The readers of PlayStation Official Magazine voted it the 7th greatest PlayStation title ever released.

Call of Duty 3

 

Call of Duty 3 is a 2006 first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It is the third major installment in the Call of Duty series. It was released for PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It was a launch title for the PlayStation 3 and Wii in North America, Europe and Australia.

Gameplay

Call of Duty 3 is a historical first-person shooter game that has a single-player campaign mode and multiplayer mode. It is open-ended, giving the player multiple paths to complete objectives, but plays similarly to the series' previous installment. Players fight alongside AI-controlled teammates against enemies who use various attack patterns, hide behind cover, and regroup to improved defensive positions.

A character can be positioned in one of three stances: standing, crouching, or prone, each affecting the player's rate of movement and accuracy. Two firearms can be carried, and both fragmentation and smoke grenades can also be equipped; unlike previous installments in the series, players have the ability to toss live grenades back at the enemy. Weapons and ammo from fallen foes or friendlies can be picked up to replace weapons in a player's inventory. A player may fire from the hip or aim down the gun's iron sights for increased accuracy. The compass on the heads-up display (HUD) helps the player navigate to the location of each objective.

Using cover helps the player avoid enemy fire or recover health after taking significant damage. Similar to Call of Duty 2, the edges of the screen turn red and the character's heartbeat will increase in volume, indicating that the player's health is low; it can be replenished through an automatic recovery system when the character is not taking fire.

Campaign

The player takes the perspective of either an American, British, Canadian, or Polish soldier during the single-player campaign, for a total of 14 missions. Set in the Western Front of World War II, Call of Duty 3 takes place in the year 1944 and contains missions specific to four major Allied campaigns in the Battle of Normandy. The player takes part in a series of objectives marked by their HUD; these include having the character arrive at a checkpoint, eliminate enemies in a specified location, manning a tank, and marking targets for air strikes. Call of Duty 3 introduces to the series scripted close-combat sequences and multiple actions to arming explosives, both of which require the player to press buttons in sequences to progress.

Multiplayer

In addition to the single-player campaign, Call of Duty 3 features a wide range of multiplayer modes for players to participate in – each team allowing up to 24 on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, and 16 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in a single match. This is only in the online mode. All team game modes feature the soldiers of the Allied nations versus those of the Axis. Multiplayer features are absent from the Wii edition.

It is the first game in the Call of Duty series to introduce two different game modes. The "Normalized" mode was added to allow console players a way to adjust to the smaller kill box of Call of Duty, its expansion United Offensive, and Call of Duty 2.

On the Xbox 360, Call of Duty 3 divides its multiplayer aspect into Player and Ranked matches. Player matches allow players to invite other players into their games, but do not contribute points toward the leader board or unlock Achievements. Ranked matches put the player with and against teams of random players, and contribute towards player points and allow players to unlock Achievements.

Plot

American Campaign

In the American campaign, the player controls Private Nichols, a replacement for the 29th Infantry Division. After arriving in a staging area outside Saint-Lô, he is assigned to his new squad consisting of veterans Corporal Mike Dixon, Private Leroy Huxley (voiced by Benjamin Diskin), and the squad's CO, Sergeant Frank McCullin. Shortly after Nichols' arrival, the squad participates in the final offensive in the capture of Saint-Lô. Upon arriving at the outskirts of the town, McCullin enlists radio operator Private First Class Salvatore Guzzo, who had become separated from his unit, to assist the squad in the attack, despite the latter's objections. During the street to street fighting, the squad takes shelter from a German artillery barrage, during which Guzzo demands that the squad should fall back. As the shelling intensifies, Guzzo loses patience and tries to leave but is stopped by McCullin, who threatens to shoot him for desertion. After the squad fights off a German counterattack, Saint-Lô is declared secure. Shortly after the battle, the squad is folded in with the 90th Infantry Division as reinforcements to help secure Saint-Germain-sur-Sèves.

Later, the squad takes part in the assault on Mayenne in order to capture its heavily fortified bridge. After the squad fights through a German garrison, Huxley is tasked with disarming several German bombs rigged to the bridge, but is wounded before he can begin. McCullin, a former combat engineer, takes Huxley's place to disarm the bombs. McCullin is mortally wounded by a German mortar round but manages to disarm the final bomb. Dixon is promoted to Sergeant and assumes command of the squad.

Shortly after, the squad is sent to clear out Forêt d'Écouves in order to aid the 2nd Battalion's advance and to locate a company of combat engineers that had gone missing. They eventually locate a surviving engineer, who explains that their convoy was ambushed and supply depots overrun. Nichols and the squad are able to recapture the supply depot and destroy a German roadblock, effectively clearing the remaining Germans out of the forest. The squad is then sent to aid in the liberation of a vital crossroads at Le Bourg St. Leonard, effectively trapping the remaining German forces between the US forces to the south and the British, Canadian, and Polish forces to the north, all but closing the Falaise Pocket, but are displeased when they are then ordered to defend the town of Chambois, the last escape route for the Germans trapped in the Pocket.

Shortly after occupying the town, Nichols' squad and the other defending American units come under attack from a massive force of retreating Germans. After much fighting, Guzzo attempts to call for air support to destroy enemy positions, but his radio is destroyed by enemy fire. Resorting to using signal flares and braving heavy German fire, Guzzo is able to successfully mark the targets, but is wounded. Nichols and Dixon are able to rescue him just as air support attacks the enemy targets, but Dixon is shot and killed just as they reach Allied lines. Enraged by Dixon's death, Guzzo takes command of the squad and leads them to aid the remaining American defenders to retake and defend the town just as air support and American reinforcements arrive, forcing the remaining German forces to surrender. Two days later, the squad members receive promotions, with Guzzo officially promoted to Sergeant and Nichols and Huxley being promoted to Corporal, and begin their march to liberate Paris.

British Campaign

In the British campaign, the player controls Sergeant James Doyle, a member of the Special Air Service (SAS), who alongside squad mates Corporal Duncan Keith, Wilkins, and Major Gerald Ingram, are parachuted into France in order to assist the Maquis Resistance in several operations to reduce the fighting capability of the German forces fighting in Normandy. Shortly before reaching their drop point near Toucy, France, the group's Handley Page Halifax is shot down, with Doyle and Wilkins being separated from the rest of their squad. Wilkins is executed shortly after landing and Doyle is rescued by Pierre LaRoche, the Maquis leader, before regrouping with Keith, Ingram, and resistance member Isabelle DuFontaine. After retrieving their two heavily armed jeeps, Doyle and the group assault a manor house that is serving as a German HQ in order to free a captured Maquis member, a man known only as Marcel. After escaping the area and regrouping, it is revealed that Marcel managed to steal the plans of a German held fuel plant before he was captured. Keith, who already holds great disdain for the resistance fighters and the French in general, immediately begins to butt heads with LaRoche, citing his lack of confidence in the Maquis and distrust of Marcel in particular.

Using the captured plans, the SAS and Maquis launch a raid on the plant in order to destroy its fuel storage tanks and production facilities. The raid is a success and destroys the facility; Doyle, Keith, and Marcel manage to escape the area, but the vehicle carrying Ingram is hit by German fire and Ingram is seemingly killed. Regrouping with LaRoche and DuFontaine sometime later, Keith berates LaRoche, who had left early during the raid, calling the Maquis leader a coward and accusing Marcel of being a German collaborator.

Following the destruction of the fuel plant, the group receives information that Ingram is still alive and being held captive in a nearby village. Despite LaRoche's objections, Doyle and Keith lead a rescue mission and manage to rescue Ingram and several captured Maquis fighters from interrogation and execution, before fending off a German counterattack, during which Isabelle is killed when a satchel charge she is planting on an armored car detonates prematurely. Marcel, visibly saddened by her death, is comforted by Keith, who has finally learned to respect the Maquis and their bravery.

Canadian Campaign

In the Canadian campaign the player controls Private Cole of the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division, led by World War I veteran Lieutenant Jean-Guy Robichaud. Robichaud commands a platoon in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, aided by Sergeant Jonathan Callard, squad member Private Kyle Peterson, and the squad's radio operator, Private Leslie Baron, who is continuously harassed by Robichaud for his lack of experience and habit of being seemingly absent during fighting. After their convoy is ambushed during a nighttime attack on a German-held industrial complex near Tilly-la-Campagne, the platoon proceeds to attack a German artillery battery on a nearby ridge, before moving on to capture the industrial complex and holding off an enemy counter-attack, destroying several German tanks in the process. The platoon later proceeds to clear a forested area near the Laison River of several anti-tank positions and a motor pool in order to clear the way for Allied convoys to move through the area. While advancing alongside other Canadian units to relieve Polish forces defending Hill 262, Baron is volunteered by Robichaud to be transferred to the Polish 1st Armored Division after the Polish unit's radio operator is killed. Fed up with Robichaud's abuse, Baron initially objects, stating that he is not a coward as Robichaud seems to believe, before storming off, much to Callard's concern.

Cole's squad is then tasked to lead a rescue mission to free a captured Canadian tank crew in St. Lambert-sur-Dives, and with their help eventually capture the whole town. Shortly after freeing the tank crew, the squad comes under attack from a King Tiger tank. While attempting to flank the tank, the squad discovers a German munition stockpile in a cellar directly beneath the tank, and plant explosives to take out both the munitions and the tank. When the charges fail to detonate, Callard returns to the cellar and detonates the charges manually, destroying the King Tiger and dying in the process, with Cole and Robichaud being knocked out by the blast. Waking up sometime later, Cole learns from Robichaud that Callard is being recommended for the Victoria Cross and that he is being promoted to Corporal. Shortly afterwards the unit moves out to join Canadian reinforcements advancing to aid the Poles struggling to defend Hill 262.

Polish Campaign

The Polish campaign revolves around Corporal "Bohater" Wojciech, a Sherman Firefly tank driver in the Polish 1st Armored Division and his crew members, including Major Stan "Papa Jack" Jachowicz, Corporal Joakim "Lucky Rudd" Rudinski, Sergeant Łukasz "Bang Boom" Kowalski, and Private Marek "Beksa" Ulan. While aiding the Canadian and British forces in the area, Jachowicz's crew participates in a sweep across the French countryside, engaging German armored units while advancing to capture and occupy Hill 262, known as "The Mace" by the Polish. Bohater and his crew eventually track down and destroy an infamous Tiger II tank ace known as Richter "The Black Barron" (a reference to real life Tiger ace Michael Wittmann).

Bohater and his crew then join in the defense of Hill 262 and endure a heavy assault by the remnants of the German 7th Army in their desperate attempt to escape the Falaise Pocket. Bohater's tank is destroyed shortly after the attack begins, forcing the crew to fight on foot alongside the Polish infantry. With their position overrun, Bohater and his crew continue to fight the Germans as they retreat towards the summit of Hill 262. They are eventually joined by Baron, who along with Bohater provides artillery support in order to destroy several German tanks. As the crew continues to climb the hill, Baron refuses to retreat any further, having been deeply affected by Lieutenant Robichaud's constant teasing, and demands to stay and fight instead. However, he is killed by German fire while arguing with Ulan, who salvages the radio in order to continue providing artillery support. Upon reaching the top of the hill, the crew spots what they believe to be the Canadian reinforcements, only to realize it is instead a massive German counterattack, during which Rudinski is killed. After much fighting, the Royal Canadian Air Force appears and repels the German forces as the Canadian reinforcements arrive at last, leaving Hill 262 firmly in Allied hands. Major Jachowicz meets with Lieutenant Robichaud after the battle and expresses his desire to collect the bodies of his men and return them to Poland, as well as stating his belief that the Germans will soon be defeated. However, Robichaud is quick to remind him that the Germans still have an escape route through Chambois should the Americans fail to stop them.

Downloadable content

Three map packs were released for the Xbox 360 multiplayer game on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The first, "Champs", was released as a free download on January 11, 2007 and contained a single self-titled map. The "Valor" map pack contained five new maps: Crossing, Ironclad, La Bourgade, Stalag 23, and Wildwood. The pack was released on January 27, 2007 for 800 MP ($10). The final map pack, "Bravo", contained five new maps of which two were remade from Call of Duty: United Offensive: Gare Centrale, Marseilles, Aller Haut, Seine River, and Rimling. The pack was released on May 31, 2007 for 800 MP. The price of the map packs was later reduced to 400 MP ($5) each.

Development

Call of Duty 3 was unveiled by Activision shortly before E3 2006. It was revealed that Treyarch would be developing the title (their second in the series after Call of Duty 2: Big Red One) which was set to release later that year. The game would be running on Treyarch's own internal engine, NGL. This game served as a launch title for the PlayStation 3 and Wii in North America, Europe and Australia. It was also the only major Call of Duty installment not to be released for personal computer platforms (though ports were planned yet cancelled) and the only numerical sequel to date to have been a console-exclusive game alongside Big Red One and Call of Duty: Finest Hour.

In an interview with Video Gamer, Call of Duty: World at War senior producer, Noah Heller, revealed the team had eight months to develop Call of Duty 3.

Reception

Call of Duty 3 received "generally positive" and "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. IGN gave a score of 8.8, while GameSpot gave an 8.2. The game won various awards from publications for best shooter and sound design. Institutes such as The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awarded the game for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design in 2007.

Sales

Upon release, Call of Duty 3 was one of the best selling titles of November 2006 in the United States. The game debuted at #3 on UK charts and dropped off the top 10 list by February 2007. By the end of 2006, the game had sold approximately 1.1 million units in the US according to NPD Group. By February 3, 2007 total sales in the United States were 2 million units. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 releases of Call of Duty 3 each received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies per version in the United Kingdom. By November 2013, the game had sold 7.2 million copies worldwide.

Call of Duty 2

Call of Duty 2 is a 2005 first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in most regions of the world. It is the second installment of the Call of Duty series. Announced by Activision on April 7, 2005, the game was released on October 25, 2005 for Microsoft Windows, and on November 22, 2005 as a launch title for the Xbox 360. Other versions were eventually released for OS X, mobile phones, and Pocket PCs.

The game is set during World War II and the campaign mode is experienced through the perspectives of four soldiers: one in the Red Army, one in the United States Army, and two in the British Army. It contains four individual campaigns, split into three stories, with a total of 27 missions. Many features were added and changed from the original Call of Duty, notably regenerating health and an icon that indicates a nearby grenade about to explode.

The game drew critical praise, particularly for the graphics, sound and the regenerating health system. As a launch game, the Xbox 360 version sold over 250,000 copies in its first week, and had sold over 2 million copies by January 2008. By November 2013, the game had sold nearly 6 million copies.

Call of Duty 2 is a first-person shooter that has a single-player story mode and a multiplayer mode. The player takes on the roles of several Allied protagonists in specific missions during World War II. The player can crouch and lie prone, and is able to scale low walls and other obstacles. Two firearms can be carried, which can be swapped with those left on the battlefield, and both fragmentation and smoke grenades can also be carried. A gun's iron sights can be used to aim more accurately. A compass on the heads-up display (HUD) shows both allies and enemies, and objective markers to indicate locations the player must reach, areas to defend, or enemy cannons or tanks that the player must plant explosives on to disable. Emplaced weapons such as machine guns and flak cannons are available in some locations to take out enemy troops. In addition, some missions place the player in control of a tank.

The player has a set of binoculars. While it is generally ignored during infantry-limited gameplay, it is vital to the long-range use of the Crusader tanks and one of the missions in which the player must direct artillery fire to defend a town. It is also important for scouting, though most of the game takes place in personal, close combat situations reducing the importance of this tactic

Should the player take severe damage, the screen will turn red and the sound of the character's heartbeat will increase in volume; this indicates the player's health is low. The player must find a way to stay out of fire to recover before entering battle again or else will die and restart from the last checkpoint. Health is only restored through automatic recharging when the player is not taking fire. Some attacks, such as explosions from grenades or shells, will kill the player instantly if the player is too close.

In April 2006, Infinity Ward released the Call of Duty 2 Radiant, which allows a player to create their own multiplayer or single-player maps. Along with Radiant, the mapmaker includes Maya plug-in support, an effects editor, and an asset manager which allows custom models to be made and imported into the game, as well as custom effects.

Campaign

Call of Duty 2 contains three individual campaigns, fought in the roles of four World War II soldiers, for a total of 27 missions. The game has four difficulty levels: Easy, Regular, Hardened, and Veteran.

Call of Duty 2 features several game types: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Search & Destroy, Capture the Flag and Headquarters. The maps include Normandy, Africa, and Russia. Each team can choose a variety of weapons, depending on the map. Players can choose between American soldiers, Soviet soldiers, and British soldiers for the Allied forces, while the Axis forces must play as German soldiers.

Each PC multiplayer server can hold a maximum of sixty-four players, while the limit is eight players on Xbox. In the Xbox 360 version, players can play on Xbox Live and get new map packs. There are a total of thirteen official maps, and three of these are remakes from the original Call of Duty. There are also three extra map packs named Bonus Pack, Skirmish Pack, and Invasion Pack, adding a total of eight maps.

Plot

Soviet campaign

The player controls Private Vasili Koslov of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, initially involved in the defense of Moscow from the advancing German forces. The next level involves the destruction of a German stronghold in Stalingrad during September 1942. The next objective involves battling for strongholds throughout Stalingrad throughout December 1942, including re-connecting cut telephone wires and re-capturing the rail-yard and train-station. The final mission takes place during the final Soviet offensive in Stalingrad in January 1943, which involves the re-capture and defense of city blocks and Stalingrad city hall.

British campaign

The player controls a British soldier, Sergeant John Davis of the 7th Armoured Division in North Africa, led by Captain Price. The first level has the player taking part in a sneak attack on German Afrika Korps troops, ending with the destruction of a German supply station. The next level has the player defending a town from overwhelming numbers of Germans sending counter attacks from North, West, South and East; finally achieving victory by destroying much of the German tank force using artillery. This is followed by the Second Battle of El Alamein, during which the player has to fight through several trenches, machine gun nests, 88mm Flak 36 guns and finally taking the German field headquarters. The assault on El Dabaa to intercept the remaining Germans in Egypt and destroy several 88mm guns soon follows, ending the first British campaign. An addendum to the second set of missions has the player taking on the role of a British tank commander, David Welsh, while engaging German forces in Libya. The first mission of the third campaign in Toujane, Tunisia, has the player immediately under fire, holding a house until they break out and rendezvous with the second squad. They then retake Toujane with reinforcements the next day all before assaulting Matmata. The final British campaign takes place during the Battle for Caen as part of Operation Overlord.

American campaign

As Corporal Bill Taylor of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the player starts off by playing a part in D-Day, at the assault of Pointe du Hoc, to destroy a German artillery battery, and hold it against a massive German counter-offensive in the following mission. Soon after, the player captures a nearby town and serves as a sniper against mortar crews until reinforcements arrive. The second objective is focused on Hill 400, involving the capture of Bergstein, a disastrous charge at Hill 400's bunkers and the defense against the German counterattack, with the player again performing sniper work against German mortar teams, destroying enemy armor, and generally holding the hill against a massive counter-attack, all the while burdened by artillery and overwhelming numbers of German soldiers. The final mission is set amongst the Americans in the Rhine River crossing into Germany. It begins as one of the few missions with the player immediately under fire, providing cover fire against the Germans until reaching the river banks and then fighting through most of the town. The final fight has the player defeat two German Tiger Is.

Ending

The end credits depict the dramatic rescue of Captain Price from the Germans by a group of American soldiers. After the credits end, the words "No cows were harmed in the making of this game" appear, as in the original Call of Duty. This is a reference to the dead cattle visible in the Normandy missions.

Development

On April 7, 2005, Activision announced that Infinity Ward was developing Call of Duty 2, set for release in fall 2005 for PC. It had been speculated that Infinity Ward was developing the sequel at the same time as Gray Matter Interactive developed Call of Duty: United Offensive. Infinity Ward president Grant Collier said:

"Our team at Infinity Ward is committed to thrusting gamers into the heat of battle like no other, taking players on a thrill-ride of adrenaline that leaves everyone gasping for air. In Call of Duty 2, we are creating the most intense and realistic action game imaginable with a stunning visual atmosphere and an advanced technology that delivers an unprecedented level of authenticity".

The press release said players would engage enemies in a less linear battlefield, tackle the major battles chronologically, and use squad tactics not available in previous Call of Duty games. Infinity Ward also confirmed making a "Battle Chatter System", similar to Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault, where squad members converse to create situational awareness.

The game engine—proprietary IW engine 2.0—is a modified version of id Tech 3, which was used in the first Call of Duty game. With the new game engine, Infinity Ward expanded the scope of combat to deliver a realistic battlefield experience and improved the visuals. The developers were able to cloud visibility with smoke from smoke grenades and create weather effects like dusty sandstorms and whiteout blizzard.

The game was known to "let players experience four individual soldier stories as they overcome insurmountable odds in multiple campaigns. Players have the freedom to follow each of the four storylines through for the ultimate character-driven experience, or they can engage in the historic battles chronologically for quick hitting action. Squads now have the freedom to take on a variety of mission objectives, on expansive battlefields that allow for multiple paths and the ability to utilize actual combat tactics like outflanking and fire and maneuver capabilities".

Call of Duty 2 was going to be more immersive than the original Call of Duty. Vince Zampella, creative director of Infinity Ward, said, "We didn't want to take any of the parts out that made Call of Duty so good. But there were a couple of things that we admit could have been done better". A demo of the game showed a more open gameplay style and a better AI for the enemies, who would actively go after the player. There are a set number of enemies set on the map that will begin reacting to the player's presence once the first shot has been fired. Groups of enemies farther away send units up to see what is happening and add to the combat while enemies directly in front of the player will join in and take cover quickly.

Infinity Ward spent a lot of time on WWII battlefields, which led them to scrap whole levels for parts of the game that took place in France, since they found the location a lot different than what they imagined.

One of the details the team added are post-war effects that continue on the battlefield throughout the game, where dust and smoke continue to roll through the streets, clouding up vision, and junk and debris scattered everywhere. The game has sound attenuation, with a 5.1 surround sound system, and context sensitive dialog, with a total of twenty-thousand lines of dialog. Each of the soldiers fighting alongside the player will call out the position of enemy soldiers, warn of flank attacks, and help out in ways that were not possible in the first game of the series. Zampella said, "We really wanted realistic battle chatter going that's not only entertaining, but actually adds to the gaming experience. So now you'll hear your guys telling you that there's [sic] two guys hiding behind that rusty car in the street or that there are people on the second floor of a building".

A small grayed-out grenade icon appears in the center of the screen when the player is near a grenade, with an arrow pointing in the direction of the grenade. Enemies can sometimes seem to be dead when they are not, where the enemy can still wield his side arm and fire at the player, known as Last Stand, which would later become a perk available to players in the multiplayer of subsequent games.

The game was showcased in E3 in 2005 and was announced as a launch title for the upcoming Xbox 360.

Reception

Call of Duty 2 received "generally positive" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. The graphics and sound were widely praised and the reactions to the regenerating health system were mostly positive, with reviewers from GameSpot and GamePro calling it an improvement over the previous health bar system.

For the Xbox 360 version, IGN's Douglass C. Perry described the presentation as "classy and well-produced", and said the graphics were some of the best on the Xbox 360 at its launch. He called the sound effects "unbelievable", whilst the gameplay was described as containing an "enormous amount of action". GameSpot reviewer Bob Colayco summarized his review by stating that Call of Duty 2 has "smooth, detailed graphics and great sound", as well as praising the artificial intelligence, realism, and variety in the campaign. GamePro called the game "breathtaking", and commended the game for its "strikingly realistic detail on weapons and walls, emphasized by normal mapping, exceptional shading and lighting, specular highlights, and some absolutely phenomenal particle effects". GameSpy editor Will Tuttle called it "One of the finest FPSs ever created. Thanks to a combination of sharp visuals, teeth-rattling sound effects, and tricky enemy AI, you'll be on the edge of your seat from the moment you're dropped into combat until your dying breath".

For the PC version, IGN editor Tom McNamara was impressed with the presentation and graphics, describing them as "Excellent" and "smooth" respectively. He also said the graphics did not suffer "from also being developed for the 360". McNamara also praised the sound, describing it as "sad music, encompassing battle noise, and excellent voice work". Bob Colayco of GameSpot also reviewed the PC version of the game, as he did its Xbox 360 counterpart. Colayco again commended the sound, calling the presentation of the game "excellent", as well as praising the aggression of the artificial intelligence. Unlike in his review of the Xbox 360 version, Colayco felt the multiplayer aspect was "fun". His main critique was for performance, stating "performance can chug at times". GameSpy's Sal Accardo noted "Instead of feeling like a stale retread [of the original Call of Duty] or losing steam halfway through, it manages to be a blast from start to finish". GamesRadar Joshua Latendresse called the single-player campaign "stunning" and cited that the multiplayer was even better.

Despite this praise, McNamara of IGN commented that he finds implementing regenerating health to be "a little troublesome", and that it allows players to "experience a kind of combat only a mythical super-soldier could withstand" which, therefore, "propels the game from gritty authenticity to John Woo fantasy". GameSpot's Colayco was critical of the game's pricing, stating it had a "higher pricepoint than its PC counterpart". He also complained that the multiplayer aspect could only support eight players. For the PC version, his main critique was for performance, stating "performance can chug at times". The PC version multiplayer was criticized as being a step back from that of Call of Duty: United Offensive.

Call of Duty 2 was the most popular launch title on the Xbox 360, with 200,000 units sold in its first week of availability. 77% of people who purchased an Xbox 360 also purchased the game, which contributed to its high sales. As of July 2006, 1.4 million copies of the game had been sold on the Xbox 360. By January 2008, the game had sold 2 million copies. By November 2013, the game had sold 5.9 million copies.

Advertisement controversy

A television advertisement for Call of Duty 2 was the subject of some controversy in 2006. The commercial, created by a Los Angeles animation studio Rhythm and Hues Studios, depicted a first-person view of events that were supposed to transpire during the game, rather than scenes from the game itself. Some consumers felt that the advertisements were misleading, and in February 2006 the United Kingdom's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) demanded that networks remove the advertisements after three consumers filed complaints of false advertising. According to ASA spokesperson Donna Mitchell, "Viewers felt that the ad was misleading because the quality of graphics was superior to that of the game's". Activision denies that the scenes were meant to give an impression of gameplay, stating in a press release shortly after the ASA banning that "The footage was intended purely to communicate the subject matter of the game rather than to represent actual gameplay".

Other versions

A collector's edition of the game was released for Windows on October 25, 2005 and for the Xbox 360 labeled as the "Special Edition". It features the game and a bonus disc, which includes interviews, a making of the movie and two mission walkthroughs. On May 17, 2006, Activision announced a Game of the Year Edition for the Xbox 360, which includes material from the Special Edition, plus a token to download the Skirmish Map Pack. In January 2006, MFORMA (now Hands-On Mobile) released Call of Duty 2 for mobile phones. The mobile version is a 2D top-down shooter. It received a favorable review from IGN, praising its length and storytelling.

Call of Duty

Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game franchise published by Activision. Starting out in 2003, it first focused on games set in World War II. Over time, the series has seen games set in the midst of the Cold War, futuristic worlds, and outer space. The games were first developed by Infinity Ward, then also by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. Several spin-off and handheld games were made by other developers. The most recent title, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, was released on November 13, 2020.

The series originally focused on the World War II setting, with Infinity Ward developing the first (2003) and second (2005) titles in the series and Treyarch developing the third (2006). Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) introduced a new, modern setting, and proved to be the breakthrough title for the series, creating the Modern Warfare sub-series. The game's legacy also influenced the creation of a remastered version, released in 2016. Two other entries, Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and 3 (2011), were made. The sub-series received a reboot with Modern Warfare in 2019. Infinity Ward have also developed two games outside of the Modern Warfare sub-series, Ghosts (2013) and Infinite Warfare (2016). Treyarch made one last World War II-based game, World at War (2008), before releasing Black Ops (2010) and subsequently creating the Black Ops sub-series. Four other entries, Black Ops II (2012), III (2015), 4 (2018), and Cold War (2020) were made, the latter in conjunction with Raven Software. Sledgehammer Games, who were co-developers for Modern Warfare 3, have also developed two titles, Advanced Warfare (2014) and WWII (2017).

As of April 2021, the series has sold over 400 million copies. With new games in the series released annually to blockbuster-level sales, the series is verified by the Guinness World Records as the best-selling first-person shooter game series. It is also the most successful video game franchise created in the United States and the third highest-grossing video game franchise of all time. Other products in the franchise include a line of action figures designed by Plan B Toys, a card game created by Upper Deck Company, Mega Bloks sets by Mega Brands, and a comic book miniseries published by WildStorm Productions.

World War II games

Call of Duty

Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game based on id Tech 3, and was released on October 29, 2003. The game was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II. An expansion pack, Call of Duty: United Offensive, was developed by Gray Matter Interactive with contributions from Pi Studios and produced by Activision. The game follows American and British paratroopers and the Red Army. The Mac OS X version of the game was ported by Aspyr Media. In late 2004, the N-Gage version was developed by Nokia and published by Activision. Other versions were released for PC, including Collector's Edition (with soundtrack and strategy guide), Game of the Year Edition (includes game updates), and the Deluxe Edition (which contains the United Offensive expansion and soundtrack; in Europe the soundtrack was not included). On September 22, 2006, Call of Duty, United Offensive, and Call of Duty 2 were released together as Call of Duty: War Chest for PC. Since November 12, 2007, Call of Duty games have been available for purchase via Valve's content delivery platform Steam.

Call of Duty 2

Call of Duty 2 is a first-person shooter video game and the sequel to Call of Duty. It was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. The game is set during World War II and is experienced through the perspectives of soldiers in the Red Army, British Army, and United States Army. It was released on October 25, 2005 for Microsoft Windows, November 15, 2005 for the Xbox 360, and June 13, 2006, for Mac OS X. Other versions were made for mobile phones, Pocket PCs, and smartphones.

Call of Duty 3

Call of Duty 3 is a first-person shooter and the third installment in the Call of Duty video game series. Released on November 7, 2006, the game was developed by Treyarch, and was the first major installment in the Call of Duty series not to be developed by Infinity Ward. It was also the first not to be released on the PC platform. It was released on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360. Call of Duty 3 follows the American, Canadian, British, and Polish armies as well as the French Resistance after D-Day in the Falaise Gap.

Call of Duty: WWII

Call of Duty: WWII is the fourteenth game in the series and was developed by Sledgehammer Games. It was released worldwide on November 3, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game is set in the European theatre, and is centered around a squad in the 1st Infantry Division, following their battles on the Western Front, and set mainly in the historical events of Operation Overlord.

Modern Warfare series

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the fourth installment of the main series, and was developed by Infinity Ward. It is the first game in the series not to be set during World War II, but set in the modern day. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 7, 2007. Download and retail versions for Mac OS X were released by Aspyr in September 2008. As of May 2009, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has sold over 13 million copies.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is a remastered version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare that was released alongside the Legacy Edition, Legacy Pro Edition and Digital Deluxe Edition of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare on November 4, 2016, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. It was later released standalone on June 27, 2017, for PS4, and July 27, 2017, for Xbox One and PC. The game was developed by Raven Software and executive produced by Infinity Ward.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the sixth installment of the main series. It was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. Activision Blizzard announced Modern Warfare 2 on February 11, 2009. The game was released worldwide on November 10, 2009, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows.A Nintendo DS iteration of the game, titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized, was released alongside the game and the Wii port of Call of Duty : Modern Warfare. Modern Warfare 2 is the direct sequel to Call of Duty 4 and continues the same storyline, taking place five years after the first game and featuring several returning characters including Captain Price and "Soap" MacTavish.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a first-person shooter video game. It is the eighth installment of the Call of Duty series and the third installment of the Modern Warfare arc. Due to a legal dispute between the game's publisher Activision and the former co-executives of Infinity Ward – which caused several lay-offs and departures within the company – Sledgehammer Games assisted in the development of the game, while Raven Software was brought in to make cosmetic changes to the menus of the game. The game was said to have been in development since only two weeks after the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Sledgehammer was aiming for a "bug free" first outing in the Call of Duty franchise, and had also set a goal for Metacritic review scores above 95 percent.

The game continues the story from the point at which it ended in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and continues the fictional battle story between the United States and Russia, which evolves into the Third World War between NATO allied nations and ultra-nationalist Russia.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the sixteenth entry in the Call of Duty series and is also a reboot of the Modern Warfare series. The story has been described to be darker and more realistic than previous Call of Duty games. It is set in the Black Ops timeline, separate from the other Modern Warfare games (however, characters such as Captain Price and other fan favorites from the series make a return). The game was officially revealed on May 30, 2019, and released on October 25, 2019.

The second main battle royale installment in the Call of Duty franchise, titled Call of Duty: Warzone, was released in March 2020, as a part of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare video game but does not require purchase of it. The title exceeded 50 million players in the first month after release.

Black Ops story arc

Call of Duty: World at War

Call of Duty: World at War, developed by Treyarch, is the fifth installment of the main series. Released after Modern Warfare, it returns to the World War II setting of earlier titles, featuring the Pacific theater and Eastern front. The game uses the same proprietary game engine as Call of Duty 4 and was released for the PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 consoles and the Nintendo DS handheld in North America on November 11, 2008, and November 14, 2008 in Europe. As of June 2009, Call of Duty: World at War has sold over 11 million copies. It acts as a prologue for Treyarch's next game, Black Ops, which is in the same universe, sharing characters and story references.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops is the seventh installment in the series, the third developed by Treyarch, and was published by Activision for release on November 9, 2010. It is the first game in the series to take place during the Cold War and also takes place partially in the Vietnam War. It was initially available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 and was later released for the Wii as well as the Nintendo DS.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is the ninth main installment in the series, developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. The game was revealed on May 1, 2012. It was the first game in the series to feature future warfare technology, and the campaign features multiple branching storylines driven by player choice and multiple endings. It was later released on November 12, 2012.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III

Call of Duty: Black Ops III is the twelfth main installment in the series, developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. The game was released on November 6, 2015.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is the fifteenth main installment in the series. It was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. The game was released on October 12, 2018. It was the first featured Call of Duty game to forgo a single-player campaign game mode, focusing only at the multiplayer aspect of the game. The game also introduced an entirely new battle royale game mode, called Blackout, in addition to multiplayer and zombies co-op mode.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the seventeenth main installment in the series. It was developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, and published by Activision. The worldwide release trailer of Black Ops Cold War was released on August 26, 2020.[107][108] The release date was November 13, 2020.

Other games

Call of Duty: Ghosts

Call of Duty: Ghosts is the tenth main installment in the series, and was developed by Infinity Ward. The game was released on November 5, 2013. It was the first game to be developed for eighth-gen consoles such as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is the eleventh main installment in the series, developed by Sledgehammer Games with assistance from Raven Software and High Moon Studios. It was released in November 2014. The game was the first game in the series to feature advanced movements, such as double jump and boost slide.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is the thirteenth main installment in the series, developed by Infinity Ward, and was published by Activision. The game was released on November 4, 2016.

Primary developer rotation

In 2006, Treyarch released Call of Duty 3, their first Call of Duty game of the main series. Treyarch and Infinity Ward signed a contract stating that the producer of each upcoming title in the series would alternate between the two companies. In 2010, Sledgehammer Games announced they were working on a main series title for the franchise. This game was postponed in order to help Infinity Ward produce Modern Warfare 3. In 2014, it was confirmed that Sledgehammer Games would produce the 2014 title, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and the studios would begin a three-year rotation. After Sledgehammer developed Call of Duty: WWII (2017), they began developing a new Call of Duty entry alongside Raven Software due for release in 2020. However, there were conflicts of interest between the two, which resulted in Treyarch taking over control of the project in order to speed up the development process.

Other games

Console titles

Call of Duty: Finest Hour

Call of Duty: Finest Hour is the first console installment of Call of Duty, and was released on the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game include an online multiplayer mode which supports up to 32 players. It also includes new game modes.

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One is a spin-off of Call of Duty 2 developed by Treyarch, and based on the American 1st Infantry Division's exploits during World War II. The game was released on GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.

Call of Duty: World at War – Final Fronts

Call of Duty: World at War – Final Fronts is the PlayStation 2 adaptation of Call of Duty: World at War. Developed by Rebellion Developments, Final Fronts features three campaigns involving the U.S. fighting in the Pacific theater, the Battle of the Bulge, and the British advancing on the Rhine River into Germany.

Call of Duty: The War Collection

Call of Duty: The War Collection is a boxed set compilation of Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3 and Call of Duty: World at War. It was released for the Xbox 360 on June 1, 2010.

Handheld titles

Call of Duty: Roads to Victory

Call of Duty: Roads to Victory is a PSP game which is a portable spin-off of Call of Duty 3.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized is the Nintendo DS companion game for Modern Warfare 2. Developed by n-Space, the game takes place in the same setting as the main console game, but follows a different storyline and cast of characters. Playing as the S.A.S. and the Marines in campaign mode, both forces are trying to find a nuclear bomb.

Call of Duty: Black Ops DS

Call of Duty: Black Ops is the Nintendo DS companion game for Black Ops. Developed by n-Space, the game takes place in the same setting as the main console game, but follows a different storyline and cast of characters.

Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified

Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified is a PlayStation Vita Call of Duty game.

PC titles

Call of Duty Online

Call of Duty Online was announced by Activision when the company first stated their interest in a Massively multiplayer online game (MMO) in early 2011. By then, it had been in development for two years. Call of Duty Online is free-to-play for mainland China and is hosted by Tencent. Since Activision had lost the publishing rights to Call of Duty and several other franchises in China due to a legal dispute on most of the gaming consoles (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii), it had been rumored that it would be Microsoft Windows-exclusive, since PC gamers accounts for the dominant share of gamers in mainland China.

Call of Duty Warzone

Call of Duty Warzone is an online battle royale game announced by Raven Software and released by Activision. The game was released on March 10, 2020 as part of Modern Warfare (2019) and later, Black Ops Cold War following the latter's release in November 2020. Warzone became standalone battle royale title later in 2020 and continually updated with seasonal and unique update's feature. Activision has announced that this game will have a mobile version sometime in the future.

Mobile titles

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Force Recon

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Force Recon is the J2ME mobile game for Modern Warfare 2. Developed by Glu Mobile, the game takes place after 5 years Modern Warfare in Mexico.

Call of Duty: Zombies and Zombies 2

Call of Duty: Zombies is a first-person shooter video game developed by Ideaworks Game Studio, and published by Activision for iOS. It is a spin-off of the Call of Duty series, and based on the "Nazi Zombies" mode of Call of Duty: World at War. A sequel for the iPhone and iPod Touch includes Shi No Numa that was originally released on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Call of Duty: Strike Team

Call of Duty: Strike Team is a first and third-person shooter game developed by The Blast Furnace, and published by Activision for iOS. The game is set in 2020 with players tasked with leading a U.S. Joint Special Operations Team after the country "finds themselves in a war with an unknown enemy". The game was released on September 5, 2013.

Call of Duty: Heroes

Call of Duty: Heroes was a real-time strategy game developed by Faceroll Games, and published by Activision for Android and iOS. The game takes a resemblance to Clash of Clans and was released on November 26, 2014.

Call of Duty: Mobile

Call of Duty: Mobile is the franchise's mobile title for iOS and Android developed by Tencent Games' TiMi Studios. It was released on October 1, 2019. Previously, it was first announced on March 18, 2019 at the year's Game Developers Conference. As of October 4, 2019, the game has surpassed over 35 million downloads worldwide.

Canceled titles

Call of Duty: Combined Forces

Call of Duty: Combined Forces was a proposed concept draft originally intended to be a sequel to Call of Duty: Finest Hour. However, due to multiple legal issues that arose between Spark Unlimited, Electronic Arts, and Activision as well as other production problems, the game's draft and scripts never came to be. The game was projected to cost $10.5 million to produce after Finest Hour was complete. Eventually, Activision deemed the pitch as more of an expansion than something entirely new, causing the company to reject the proposal and end their contract with Spark Unlimited shortly after.

Call of Duty: Devil's Brigade

Call of Duty: Devil's Brigade was a canceled first-person shooter for the Xbox 360 developed by Underground Entertainment. The game was set in World War II, mainly focusing on the Italian Campaign.

Call of Duty: Vietnam

Call of Duty: Vietnam was a third-person shooter set during the Vietnam War. It was in development for at least six to eight months at Sledgehammer Games. The development was stopped because Infinity Ward needed help finishing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 due to the employee firings and departures in 2010.

Call of Duty: Roman Wars

Call of Duty: Roman Wars was a canceled third and first-person video game in the Call of Duty franchise. The game was set in ancient Rome, and allowed players to take control of famous historical figure Julius Caesar, along with "low grunts", and officers of the Tenth Legion. It was eventually canceled, as Activision had uncertainties about branding it as a Call of Duty title.

Other media

Comic books

Modern Warfare 2: Ghost is a six-part comic book mini-series based on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The storyline focuses on the backstory of the character Simon "Ghost" Riley. The series is published by WildStorm and the first issue was released on November 10, 2009, alongside the game.

Call of Duty: Zombies is a six-part comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series ties in with the Zombies game mode of the Black Ops subseries developed by Treyarch. The series is co-written by Justin Jordan, Treyarch's Jason Blundell and Craig Houston. The series is illustrated by artist Jonathan Wayshak and colorist Dan Jackson. The cover arts are handled by artist Simon Bisley. The series was announced by Treyarch in July 2016, with the first issue slated for release in October. After a slight delay, the first issue was released on October 26, 2016. The five other issues were released in the months of 2017: issue #2 released on January 11, 2017; issue #3 released on March 1, 2017; issue #4 released on April 19, 2017; issue #5 released on June 21, 2017; and issue #6 released on August 23, 2017. A paperback edition containing all six issues was released on November 15, 2017.

Merchandise

The Call of Duty Real-Time Card Game was announced by card manufacturer Upper Deck.

In 2004, Activision, in cooperation with the companies Plan-B Toys and Radioactive Clown, released the "Call of Duty: Series 1" line of action figures, which included three American soldiers and three German soldiers from the World War II era. While the American G.I. action figure was made in 2004, Plan-B Toys later discontinued a controversial Nazi SS Guard action figure based on the Nazi Totenkopf officer seen in Call of Duty.

In 2008, McFarlane Toys announced their partnership with Activision to produce action figures for the Call of Duty series. McFarlane Toys' first series of action figures were released in October 2008 and consists of four different figures: Marine with Flamethrower, Marine Infantry, British Special Ops, and Marine with Machine Gun.

Short films

Find Makarov is a fan-made film that was well received by Call of Duty publishers, Activision, who contacted We Can Pretend and subsequently produced a second short film, Operation Kingfish.

Find Makarov: Operation Kingfish is a fan-made prequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and was first shown at Call of Duty XP. The video was produced by We Can Pretend, with visual effects by The Junction, and was endorsed by Activision. The video tells the story of how Captain Price ended up in a Russian Gulag set before the events of Modern Warfare 2.

Films

On November 6, 2015, upon the release of Black Ops III, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Activision Blizzard launched a production studio called Activision Blizzard Studios and are planning a live action Call of Duty cinematic universe in 2019. On February 16, 2018, it was announced that Stefano Sollima will direct the film. Days later, he told Metro UK that he is considering having both Tom Hardy and Chris Pine as the leads for the film. In an interview with FilmSlash, Sollima stated that the film will be a real soldier movie, not a war movie. On November 27, 2018, it was announced that Joe Robert Cole will be writing the sequel. Filming on the first film was supposed to start filming in Spring 2019 for a 2020 or 2021 release. In February 2020, Sollima revealed in an interview that the film is put on hold saying that it's not Activision's priority.

Esports

The Call of Duty games were used in esports, starting in 2006, alongside the game released at the time, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Over the years, the series has extended with releases such as Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and Call of Duty: Ghosts. Games are played in leagues like Major League Gaming.

Players can compete in ladders or tournaments. The ladders are divided into several sub ladders such as the singles ladder, doubles ladder, team ladder (3v3 – 6v6) and hardcore team ladder (3v3 – 6v6). The difference between the regular team ladder and the hardcore team ladder is the in-game settings and thus a rule differentiation. Winning ladder matches on a competitive website rewards the user with experience points which add up to give them an overall rank.

The tournaments offered on these websites provide players with the opportunity to win cash prizes and trophies. The trophies are registered and saved on the player's profile if/when they win a tournament and the prize money is deposited into his or her bank account. Call of Duty: Ghosts was the most competitively played game in 2014, with an average of 15,000 teams participating every season.

For the past 6 seasons in competitive Call of Duty, Full Sail University has hosted a prize giveaway, giving $2,500 to the top team each season. The other ladders give out credits and medals registered on players' profiles. Tournaments hosted on the Call of Duty: Ghosts's Arena give cost from 15 to 30 credits, thus averaging at a cost of about $18.75 per tournament. If the player competes with a team, the prize money is divided and an equal cut is given to each player. Other tournaments with substantial prizes are hosted in specific cities and countries for LAN teams.

The biggest Call of Duty tournament hosted was Call of Duty: Experience 2011, a tournament that began when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was released.

Playing Call of Duty competitively is most popular in Europe and North America, with users who participate in tournaments and ladder matches daily. Competitive players have an average of 500,000 followers on social media.

Activision launched a 12 team Call of Duty League, following a similar city-based franchise structure as the Overwatch League, in January 2020. The league's teams include those from Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Florida, London, Minnesota, New York, Paris, Seattle and Toronto, and with two teams from Los Angeles, OpTic Gaming Los Angeles (now Los Angeles Thieves) and Los Angeles Guerrillas.

Call of Duty Endowment

The Call of Duty Endowment (CODE) is a nonprofit foundation created by Activision Blizzard to help find employment for U.S. military veterans. The first donation, consisting of $125,000, was presented to the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

Co-chairman General James L. Jones is a former U.S. National Security Advisor. Founder Robert Kotick is the CEO of Activision Blizzard. Upon its founding in 2009, the organization announced a commitment to create thousands of career opportunities for veterans, including those returning from the Middle East. Annual awards given by the endowment include the “Seal of Distinction,” a $30,000 initial grant given to selected veteran's service organizations. In November 2014, the endowment launched the “Race to 1,000 Jobs” campaign to encourage gamers to donate money to and get involved in organizations that provide veterans with services. As of 2015, the Call of Duty Endowment had provided around $12 million in grants to veterans' organizations in the United States, which has helped find jobs for 14,700 veterans.

On March 30, 2010, CODE presented 3,000 copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, approximately $180,000 in value, to the U.S. Navy. The copies were delivered to over 300 ships and submarines as well as Navy Morale, Welfare, and Recreation facilities worldwide.

Controversies and legal matters

Modern Warfare 2 controversies

Modern Warfare 2 on release had a number of controversial matters. Most significantly, one level "No Russian" had the player experience a massacre of civilians at a Russian airport.

Fallout with Infinity Ward leadership

As Infinity Ward's founders Jason West and Vince Zampella started new contract negotiations to continue developing the Call of Duty Activision around 2007, a number of legal issues arose between Infinity Ward and Activision. Ultimately, West and Zampella were forced out of Infinity Ward, later forming Respawn Entertainment within Electronic Arts. West and Zampella, as well as several Infinity Ward staff that departed the studio alongside them to join Respawn, filed lawsuits against Activision related to unpaid royalties and bonuses. These lawsuits were ultimately settled by 2012.

Trademark infringement claims by AM General

AM General, the manufacturer of the Humvee, sued Activision in 2017 for using the Humvee in multiple Call of Duty games. A federal district judge gave Activision a summary motion in its favor to dismiss the case in April 2020, stating that the purpose of the use of the Humvee in the games, to provide military realism, was far different than the trademark purpose that AM General had established, for selling to the military.