Call of Duty MW4 vs Every Other COD, Ranked
Modern Warfare IV just dropped, and the second it hit shelves, the arguments started. Where does it slot in against the series' heavy hitters? We've ranked all 15 mainline entries from the two Modern Warfare trilogies plus the Black Ops and other side branches, based on what fans and critics have been saying for years (and what they're saying about the new one right now).
This isn't a popularity contest decided by launch week sales. It's campaign quality, multiplayer longevity, map design, and whether the game is still talked about years later. Disagree with where we put MW4 or your favorite Black Ops? That's half the fun. Argue it out below.
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SS Tier: The gold standard
Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
The one that changed everything. Perks, killstreaks, a campaign with the nuke scene that still gets brought up 15+ years later. Every COD since has been chasing this game's shadow, and most of them never catch it.
About Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
Released in 2007, this entry moved the series away from WWII and into modern combat, setting the template most shooters still follow. Widely considered one of the most influential first-person shooters ever made.
- Released
- 2007
- Developer
- Infinity Ward
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
Favela, Terminal, No Russian, the gulag knife fight. This is the one people still install for old time's sake. The multiplayer balance was messy in spots but nobody cared because the moment-to-moment fun was off the charts.
About Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
The 2009 sequel to COD4, known for its controversial 'No Russian' mission and massively popular multiplayer. One of the best selling games of its generation.
- Released
- 2009
- Developer
- Infinity Ward
Call of Duty Black Ops II
Branching campaign paths, a villain in Menendez that actually mattered, and a multiplayer mode that aged better than almost anything else on this list. Treyarch took risks here that the series rarely takes anymore.
About Call of Duty Black Ops II
A 2012 sequel notable for branching campaign storylines and a near-future setting, alongside a long-running competitive multiplayer scene.
- Released
- 2012
- Developer
- Treyarch
AA Tier: Excellent, no real complaints
Call of Duty Black Ops
Zombies hit a new level with Kino Der Toten, the campaign went full Cold War paranoia, and the multiplayer had that perfect mix of chaos and skill. Nuketown alone earns this a permanent spot in COD conversations.
About Call of Duty Black Ops
Treyarch's 2010 Cold War era entry, introducing the Black Ops sub-series and popularizing the Zombies mode with maps like Kino Der Toten.
- Released
- 2010
- Developer
- Treyarch
Call of Duty Modern Warfare II
The 2022 reboot sequel split opinion on gunsmith and slower TTK, but the campaign set pieces (that border crossing mission) and DMZ experiment showed Infinity Ward still had ideas. Strong, just not beloved the way the originals are.
About Call of Duty Modern Warfare II
The 2022 sequel to the Modern Warfare reboot, introducing DMZ, a large extraction mode, alongside its campaign and multiplayer.
- Released
- 2022
- Developer
- Infinity Ward
Call of Duty: World at War
Treyarch's first real masterpiece, nailing the brutal Pacific and Eastern Front tone with a Nazi Zombies mode that basically created an entire side genre. The campaign is grim, loud, and relentless in the best way. Lands in A tier, right below the Black Ops run it helped set up.
About Call of Duty: World at War
A first-person shooter developed by Treyarch and released in 2008, set during World War II with a focus on the Pacific and Eastern Front theaters. It introduced the Nazi Zombies co-op mode, which became a long-running and beloved staple of the Call of Duty franchise.
- Developer
- Treyarch
- Released
- 2008
- Setting
- World War II
- Notable feature
- Introduced Nazi Zombies mode
Call of Duty 2
A WWII classic that still holds up because of tight gun feel and brutal AI that actually flanks you. It never gets the love the Modern Warfare games do, but it was the game that made the Xbox 360 launch lineup look legit. Sits comfortably below the S tier legends but above the Black Ops / WWII / Cold War crowd.
About Call of Duty 2
A World War II first-person shooter developed by Infinity Ward and released in 2005 as the second main installment in the series. It served as a launch title for the Xbox 360 and was praised for its improved AI and visuals.
- Developer
- Infinity Ward
- Released
- 2005
- Setting
- World War II
- Notable
- Xbox 360 launch title
BB Tier: Solid and well liked
Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War
A fun callback to the original Black Ops era with Perseus as a solid conspiracy plot, and Nuketown '84 scratched the nostalgia itch. Multiplayer felt a little floaty compared to Modern Warfare 2019, but the zombies mode had its fans.
About Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War
A 2020 entry set during the Cold War, connecting narratively to the original Black Ops and featuring the Perseus storyline.
- Released
- 2020
- Developer
- Treyarch / Raven Software
Call of Duty Black Ops III
Wall-running and thrust jumps were divisive, but the movement tech made multiplayer genuinely fast and fun once you adjusted. Zombies fans consider this one of the deepest entries in that mode's history.
About Call of Duty Black Ops III
A 2015 entry with advanced movement mechanics like wall-running, plus a heavily expanded Zombies mode.
- Released
- 2015
- Developer
- Treyarch
Call of Duty WWII
A back-to-basics move after years of boost-jumping that a lot of fans had been begging for. The campaign's D-Day opening is one of the better COD intros ever, even if the back half sags a bit.
About Call of Duty WWII
A 2017 return to the series' WWII roots, featuring a D-Day-focused campaign and traditional ground combat multiplayer.
- Released
- 2017
- Developer
- Sledgehammer Games
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
No campaign at all, which still stings, but the Blackout battle royale and the tightened up multiplayer gunplay made this one a surprisingly solid time. Specialists felt a bit gimmicky but didn't break the core shooting, which stayed crisp. Sits in B tier, above the mid pack but well short of the Black Ops II and OG Black Ops peaks.
About Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
A first-person shooter developed by Treyarch and released in 2018, notable for dropping the traditional single-player campaign in favor of multiplayer, Zombies, and the series' first battle royale mode, Blackout.
- Developer
- Treyarch
- Released
- 2018
- Notable feature
- First mainline COD without a traditional campaign
- Battle royale mode
- Blackout
CC Tier: Fine, but flawed
Call of Duty Modern Warfare III
The 2023 entry came in for criticism over its short campaign and the decision to rebuild old MW2 maps instead of making new ones. Open-world missions split the fanbase, and this is the one most people point to when they say the series got lazy.
About Call of Duty Modern Warfare III
A 2023 entry continuing the rebooted Modern Warfare story, notable for reusing remastered multiplayer maps from Modern Warfare 2 (2009).
- Released
- 2023
- Developer
- Sledgehammer Games
Call of Duty Advanced Warfare
Kevin Spacey chewing scenery and exo-suits gave this one a unique identity, but the jetpack era of COD never fully won over the traditionalists who just wanted boots on the ground.
About Call of Duty Advanced Warfare
Released in 2014, this entry introduced exoskeleton suits for enhanced mobility and starred Kevin Spacey in a prominent campaign role.
- Released
- 2014
- Developer
- Sledgehammer Games
Call of Duty Vanguard
A WWII game that felt rushed out the door to set up Warzone's Caldera map. The campaign had an interesting multi-perspective structure, but multiplayer maps leaned too vertical and chaotic for a lot of fans' taste.
About Call of Duty Vanguard
A 2021 WWII-set entry that also served to introduce the Caldera map for Warzone, with a campaign told across multiple character perspectives.
- Released
- 2021
- Developer
- Sledgehammer Games
Call of Duty: United Offensive
An expansion pack, not a full game, but it deserves a mention since it basically built the blueprint for what COD multiplayer and campaign pacing would become. Gravity Games' work here added vehicles and new modes that later Treyarch and Infinity Ward titles leaned on heavily. It is a relic at this point, clunky to go back to, but respected for its influence rather than its current playability.
About Call of Duty: United Offensive
An expansion pack for the original Call of Duty, released in 2004. It was developed by Gray Matter Interactive in collaboration with Infinity Ward and added new campaigns, weapons, and vehicles to the base game.
- Developer
- Gray Matter Interactive
- Released
- 2004
- Type
- Expansion pack for Call of Duty
- Setting
- World War II
Call of Duty 3
The console only black sheep, skipping PC and skipping Infinity Ward's touch entirely. It played fine but brought nothing new to the table, just more trench warfare and vehicle sections that felt tacked on. A forgettable placeholder between two eras that actually mattered.
About Call of Duty 3
A World War II first-person shooter released in 2006, developed by Treyarch as the first main entry in the series not made by Infinity Ward. It was also the first Call of Duty title not released on PC.
- Developer
- Treyarch
- Released
- 2006
- Setting
- World War II
- Platforms
- Consoles only (no PC release)
DD Tier: Disappointing for a lot of fans
Call of Duty Ghosts
A new setting and a dog companion weren't enough to cover for maps that felt sprawling and empty compared to what came before. Even the reveal of a dog on the cover became more memorable than most of the missions.
About Call of Duty Ghosts
A 2013 entry that moved away from previous storylines to introduce a new cast and setting, including a playable dog companion named Riley.
- Released
- 2013
- Developer
- Infinity Ward
FF Tier: The low point
Call of Duty Infinite Warfare
Space combat and a sci-fi setting landed at exactly the wrong time, right when fans were loudly begging for the series to come back down to earth. The campaign had surprisingly good writing, but almost nobody stuck around long enough to notice, and the backlash around its reveal trailer getting dislike-bombed became bigger news than the game itself.
About Call of Duty Infinite Warfare
A 2016 entry set in space, which drew significant backlash at reveal but included a campaign with notable voice performances.
- Released
- 2016
- Developer
- Infinity Ward
How we ranked them
We weighed multiplayer map quality and longevity, campaign strength, innovation at the time of release, and how the game is remembered by the community now rather than just launch reviews. Sales numbers mattered less than staying power, because plenty of COD games sold huge and still get dunked on today. Where the fanbase is genuinely split, we picked a side and explained why.
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Rank these yourselfFAQ
Where does Modern Warfare IV rank among all Call of Duty games?
MW4 lands in our A tier. It's one of the stronger entries of the modern era, with tighter campaign pacing and solid multiplayer maps, though it hasn't reached the legendary status of COD4 or MW2 yet.
What is the best Call of Duty game of all time?
By fan and critic consensus, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2 (2009) are usually cited as the best, thanks to their campaigns and genre-defining multiplayer.
What is considered the worst mainline Call of Duty game?
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is the most commonly cited low point, mostly due to its sci-fi setting landing badly with fans who wanted a return to grounded combat.
Is Modern Warfare IV better than Modern Warfare III?
Most fans and reviewers say yes. MW4 is seen as a clear improvement over MW3's short campaign and recycled multiplayer maps.
Is Black Ops 6 better than Modern Warfare IV?
Opinion is split and both are recent releases still being evaluated. Black Ops 6's Omnimovement system won praise, but MW4's map design has its own strong following.
From the blog
More rankings
Image credits
- Call of Duty 4 Modern WarfareCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty Black Ops IICover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty Black OpsCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare IICover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty: World at WarCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty 2Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty Black Ops Cold WarCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty Black Ops IIICover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty WWIICover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare IIICover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty Advanced WarfareCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty VanguardCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty: United OffensiveCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty 3Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty GhostsCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Call of Duty Infinite WarfareCover: Wikipedia · Source