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The newest entry to the Call of Duty franchise, Call of Duty: Vanguard, takes players back into World War 2 combat for the first time since 2017's Call of Duty: World War II. Vanguard features a brand-new campaign story, classic Call of Duty multiplayer with new and retro maps at launch, and a zombies mode made separately by Treyarch which continues the Dark Aether story that began in Black Ops Cold War. With all of this, plus full integration with Call of Duty's battle-royale Warzone including a brand-new map, Vanguard looks set to be one of the most ambitious Call of Duty titles in recent years.

Sledgehammer Games' choice to return to a WW2 setting continues the trend of Call of Duty developers sticking to what is familiar to them. Infinity Ward in 2019 did a soft reboot of their Modern Warfare series with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Treyarch continued their Black Ops series with Black Ops Cold War. Call of Duty has its roots firmly placed in WW2 combat, with the first three games set in WW2.

Related: Battlefield 2042 Classes Reportedly Cut Because Of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Now with the addition of Vanguard, there are six different WW2 Call of Duty games. While some of these Call of Duty titles have become timeless classics, others were not as successful and did not have as much lasting power in the public conciousness. Below are all of the Call of Duty World War 2 games, ranked from worst to best.

The Worst - Call of Duty: WWII

Cover for Call of Duty WW2

Sledgehammer's last Call of Duty game was the first to bet set during WW2 since 2008. There was excitement about the return to the classic setting, and the campaign delivered with big action set pieces and interesting characters. The multiplayer, however, was frustrating and problematic. WWII's multiplayer added microtransactions to the game for the first time, and the loot crates included blueprints of weapons that led to pay-to-win accusations from players. Fortunately, Call of Duty has shifted its monetization to a battle-pass system and purely-cosmetic bundles now. The rest of WWII's multiplayer was okay, and the Zombies mode was underwhelming and suffered from lag issues.

Call of Duty 3

Call of Duty 3 was the first Call of Duty not developed by Infinity Ward and was instead developed by Treyarch. While the game was visually impressive as developers continued to push the limits of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, it felt rushed and incomplete. The campaign was not very good, a real disappointment after the success of the previous two games, but it did further improve on the multiplayer experience, adding maps that supported 12v12 combat. Overall, however, Call of Duty 3 failed to build upon the success of the previous two entries.

Call of Duty

Title card for the first entry in Call of Duty

The original Call of Duty game was released in 2003 by Infinity Ward and revolutionized the shooter genre. The game had no multiplayer, but the campaign was groundbreaking in its use of AI-controlled squads, something very different from the "lone wolf" style action that was popular in games at the time. The campaign was big too, featuring separate American, British, and Soviet storylines across Europe. While the graphics do not hold up by today's standards, Call of Duty's first entry is still a classic in the genre.

Call of Duty: Vanguard

How Long To Beat Call of Duty Vanguard

Despite Vanguard being recently released, it is already promising to be one of the best WW2-based Call of Duty games in the series. The game is built on an updated version of the IW 8.0 engine which powered Modern Warfare and Warzone, and as a result, it looks fantastic. The campaign is fun to play through, being told in a non-chronological order through the viewpoints of five main characters.

Related: Every Call of Duty Game, Ranked Worst To Best

The multiplayer is similar to Modern Warfare, and the upgrades to the weaponsmith system gives players lots to experiment with. With the game likely to have six seasons of battle-pass content, Vanguard should earn its place at the top of WW2 Call of Duties.

Call of Duty 2

Call of Duty 2 is a classic of the series and the genre. The campaign built on the success of the first game, improving the sound and graphics and adding mechanics like grenade indicators and regenerating health. The game was impressively realistic at the time, with impactful set-pieces such as the D-day landings. What took Call of Duty 2 to the next level was the introduction of online multiplayer - without it Call of Duty would not be what it is today. Players could choose different weapons depending on the maps and play against each other in five different game modes. As a defining moment in FPS history, Call of Duty 2 is one of the best Call of Duty games to date.

The Best - Call of Duty: World at War

Treyarch's second attempt at Call of Duty went back to WW2 after Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and quickly became a fan favorite. World at War had a legendary campaign, featuring brutal moments and explosive set-pieces, as well as introducing some legendary characters that would appear in future Call of Duty campaigns. The graphics continued to improve, and the multiplayer contained fantastic game modes with the create-a-class system and killstreaks. World at War also introduced the iconic Call of Duty Zombies game mode, which players could face solo or with up to 3 friends across 4 maps.

Some of Call of Duty's best entries have been set in World War Two, and Call of Duty Vanguard has fans excited to return to the setting for another year. However, there are now six Call of Duty games set in WW2, and some fans are likely getting tired of the same guns and settings. With the next Call of Duty rumored to be Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, it could be that the series once again starts to look to the future and makes games similar to Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare to bring new ideas to the table and keep things fresh.

Related: Call of Duty: Warzone's Ghosts of Verdansk Mode Explained