Originally set in World War II, the Call of Duty franchise evolved into a completely different beast over the last two decades. Today we’ll take a peek at the time periods and themes it tackled throughout the years. Please note that this is NOT a detailed look at the series, just a general lore overview. We won’t discuss the history of the series here.
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And now, without further ado… Cue 2003. Gamers laud the release of Call of Duty, a game that further redefined the FPS genre, as well as killing the Medal of Honor franchise a couple of years later. Ironically, a major portion of its development team were folks who had also worked on Allied Assault.
The first in the series, Call of Duty, showed World War II like no other shooter at the time. You were no longer a lone wolf winning the war single-handedly. Instead, you had to work with AI-controlled teammates to complete objectives, take cover, and suppress enemies with heavy fire.
And so, the series stuck with the World War II theme for the next couple of years, covering fronts such as Europe, Soviet Russia, and North Africa. Most of the games featured several different campaigns, each focusing on a different character and part of WW2. This lasted until 2007 when Call of Duty went through an earthquake of a change.
Modern warfare is where it’s at
The 2007 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare dropped historical conflicts in favor of a fictional, near-future one (well, at least at the time of the release). You got to control six different soldiers across a campaign spanning various countries and locations, ranging from Russia through the UK to the Middle East. It was the first in a trilogy, establishing a new plotline and introducing a whole new set of characters, a true ensemble cast.
Modern Warfare 2 (2009) continued the tale of the hunt for the leader of Russian Ultranationalists, Vladimir Makarov. Aside from East Europe and West Asia, the game also took you to the United States, in a Red Dawn-esque scenario, among other places. Interestingly enough, there’s also a bit set in outer space, foreshadowing some pretty interesting additions to the franchise (we’ll talk about these in a bit).
The final installment in the trilogy, Modern Warfare 3 (2011) presented a vision of a full-blown World War III going on, taking you to various locations in Europe, Russia, Africa, and Asia. It concluded the story of Task Force 141, but the Modern Warfare sub-series got rebooted in 2019 with another trilogy, this time set in the Black Ops timeline and with more realistic settings and characters. Some of the fan favorites have also returned.
Cold War shenanigans
While a World War II-themed title at heart, Call of Duty: World at War (2008) started the Black Ops sub-series, introducing certain characters and plotlines that were continued later on in future installments.
And so, the first Black Ops game (2010) took us to the 1960s, putting you in the shoes of a CIA operative, Alex Mason, on a mission to stop Soviet sleeper agents from releasing deadly chemicals that would deal a huge blow to the United States.
The sequel, Black Ops II (2012), time jumped to the 1980s. Once again, a global venture, the game pits you against an arms dealer/terrorist by the name of Raul Menendez. Interestingly enough, a section of the campaign takes place in the future (the year 2025, to be exact) where a Second Cold War has been sparked.It’s also the first non-linear Call of Duty game, coupled with multiple endings that depended both on your choices and your performance during the so-called Strike Missions.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War stuck to the Cold War theme (duh), offering the player a campaign set in the 1980s. Interestingly enough, the game lets you create your own character and features non-linear missions plus a safe house where you plan new missions and interact with NPCs.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 continues that trend, with the single-player campaign set in the early 90s.
The tales of advanced warfare: futuristic and sci-fi installments
Modern Warfare games and a standalone title, Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013), were for the most part set in the near future. Black Ops II took us to 2025 and featured some futuristic weaponry and gear, robots, and UAVs. Black Ops III (2015) and Black Ops 4 (2018) took things even further and presented a vision of a more distant future: the 2040s (the latter) and the 2060s (the former).
The series went crazy with futuristic stuff in two more standalone installments. Set between 2054 and 2061, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014) is centered around private military corporations, advanced tech, powerful and upgradeable Exo Suits to make soldiers even more deadly, etc.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016) is so far the boldest foray into the realm of science fiction in the franchise. Set in a distant future, the game is a full-blown sci-fi adventure in outer space. You’ll get to explore different planets of the Solar System, fight in zero-gravity environments, and even pilot a starfighter named the Jackal. Pretty neat, huh? OK, the initial reaction was super negative. Fans hated the announcement trailer, making it the second most disliked video on YouTube at the time. The game turned out OK but Call of Duty aficionados grew frustrated with the futuristic direction the series took.
Zombies
Strangely enough, this wasn’t the case in the case of Zombies, a separate mode introduced in Call of Duty: World at War. What began as a set of bonus missions where you had to hold out against unlimited waves of zombies for as long as possible, either solo or with friends, quickly evolved into its own separate storyline or even a universe of sorts.
The whole plot behind this is too complicated to explain briefly, so we won’t delve into any of that here, but there were attempts to sum up the whole thing in, like, 60 seconds or so. More robust videos on that are usually around an hour long or even longer. This is how complex the Zombies’ backstory has become. You can also find some pretty curious fan summaries and theories on Reddit and the like, if you’re interested. And it’s not going to end anytime soon, as Black Ops 6 will introduce a brand-new chapter in the Zombies epic tale.
Overall, if you love pulp stories of the 30s and such, you’ll be in for quite a wild ride here.
Periods which ultimately weren’t tackled
Did you know that there was a Call of Duty game set in ancient Rome being made? Call of Duty: Roman Wars, as it was called, was to put you in the shoes of Julius Ceasar himself, as well as his officers and grunts. Unfortunately, the project met its demise, as Activision felt weird about branding this one as a Call of Duty game. Weird, that they didn’t have such qualms about the futuristic installments of the series…
There was also a Vietnam War-themed Call of Duty in the works, but it was scrapped as well. Interestingly enough, it was supposed to be a third-person shooter instead. Unfortunately, it never saw the light of day, as Infinity Ward needed a hand in finishing Modern Warfare 3. Still, Black Ops and Black Ops Cold War feature some missions set in that period, so there’s that.
Heed the Call of Duty
Modern warfare seems on the rise again, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 being set in the 90s, but the series has seen the revival of World War II themes in Call of Duty: WWII (2017) and Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021). There’s also quite a backstory for the free-to-play titles, Warzone and Warzone 2.0 (now known as just Warzone, as the previous game has been retired in favor of the sequel).
As you can see, it’s quite a universe, with plenty of lore to dive into. Whether you love World War II and other historical conflicts or are a modern military aficionado, you should find something for yourself here, as Call of Duty seems to cater to a wide range of tastes. If you want to give this franchise a shot, head over to G2A.COM for some great deals on various games in the series. Have fun!