Call of Duty is a cultural phenomenon. Although many players now download the game digitally, back in the days of physical sales, there were queues outside game shops waiting for the latest title to hit shelves.
And, while it certainly wasn’t the first game with online multiplayer it was one of the first to make the format accessible and enjoyable. The first Call of Duty launched in 2003. It has outlasted its main rival at the time, Medal of Honor, and it consistently outsells the likes of Battlefield and other shooters.
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Call Of Duty Today
Including COD: Mobile and Warzone, there are 23 main entries in the Call of Duty franchise. More than 3,000 designers across 3 studios work on Call of Duty games to ensure an annual release, as well as ongoing support.
As well as casual players, it has also become a massive eSports title, popular with players and bettors alike. A Call of Duty comparison of betting sites shows the game has become especially popular for live betting and has helped lead to a major boom in eSports betting. According to online betting expert Brett Curtis
Evolution
Although it often faces criticism of formulaic releases, with very few differences from one annual release to the next, Call of Duty gameplay has advanced and evolved. What started as a fairly simple historical shooter now includes Battle Royale and the ever-popular Zombies game modes.
The original Call of Duty launched in 2003. The first few titles were historical shooters but, in 2007, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare brought the title to modern-day conflicts. It also advanced the series’ multiplayer options, which would become critical to the franchise’s success.
2010 saw further advances, most notably, the introduction of the Zombies game style.
Although the modern, and even futuristic, setting of the new Call of Duty games helped make it so popular, the franchise returned to its World War II beginnings with the launch of 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII. It was praised for its historical accuracy as well as its gameplay.
The launch of another game type came in 2020, with the free-to-play Warzone. The battle royale allows up to 150 players to compete at once and has become incredibly popular.
Call of Duty’s ability to evolve and reinvent itself has kept gameplay fresh, while some iterations attract new players to give the game a go.
More Accessible Than Some
Games like Counter-Strike are praised for their realism and also their need for intricate planning and strategy. This makes the games highly appealing to developed squads and advanced players. But, it can also make tactical shooters feel inaccessible.
New players struggle to pick up a mouse or controller and jump into a game. While it isn’t an arcade shooter, Call of Duty does simplify the shooter genre, and even novice players can get online and enjoy a game within a few minutes of installing.
More Realistic Than Some
Although it is approachable, Call of Duty is praised for its realism. This is true in its story mode missions, as well as in its multiplayer games. Maps look realistic, with some of them based on very real places and set in historically accurate battles and fights.
The game retains playability through features like score streaks and kill streaks but dispenses with multipliers and other arcade-style features. This realism gives players the feeling that they could potentially compete with anybody else: it is a level playing field.
Platform Availability
The original Call of Duty launched on the PC platform in 2003. A console wasn’t originally available, but it did launch, under the name Call of Duty: Finest Hour, in 2004. Since then, every title has launched on both platforms.
A mobile game was launched in 2019. There isn’t a VR version available yet, although it’s easy to imagine Activision developing one in the future. Since Microsoft has bought Activision, we have seen several of the franchise’s titles hit Game Pass and can expect future releases to launch on the platform on day one. Game Pass is available for PC and console players.
A Host Of Multiplayer Game Modes
Other than Black Ops 4, Call of Duty titles do include campaign or story modes, although some have been criticized for their brevity and others for their lack of originality. Activision came in for some criticism when it launched Black Ops 4 without a campaign, but the game still became very popular.
Such is the importance of multiplayer to the game’s success that it would be utterly unthinkable to launch a game without team deathmatch or other multiplayer modes. A lot of players have Call of Duty installed and play regular online matches, but have never even set foot inside the single-player campaign.
Multiplayer games encourage players to return, so they can enjoy the game with friends and squadmates, and this has helped the series retain its popularity.
Compelling Campaign Storylines
When there are campaigns, they largely tend towards realism and some of the storylines have enjoyed serious critical success. Most players have their own favorite campaign.
Some will opt for Modern Warfare 2, but others will balk at the fact it only takes around 6 hours to complete. Black Ops’ 15 missions are also short, coming in at around 7 hours of total gameplay, but it s another popular option. Black Ops 2, Modern Warfare, and Black Ops 6 are some of the other most popular campaigns.
Annual Releases
It can be difficult to keep players’ attention, and some games with annual releases get slammed for their lack of originality. FIFA was especially prone to this criticism, launching games with no real changes other than the introduction of new player and team data.
Call of Duty has come under similar criticism but most of its players wait eagerly for the annual release and preinstall it ready for day one gaming.