Summary

• The Call of Duty franchise is the best-selling first-person shooter video game series, with over 400 million games sold.
• The most successful games in the franchise include Black Ops, Modern Warfare, and Black Ops Cold War, each selling over 30 million copies.
• The popularity of the Call of Duty series is attributed to its diverse gameplay modes, compelling storylines, and iconic moments that resonate with fans.

The Call of Duty franchise has been ingrained in popular discourse since its inception in 2003, and it has produced one of the most devoted and diehard fan bases in the entire gaming community. The Call of Duty franchise earned a place in the Guinness World Records in April 2021 as the best-selling first-person shooter video game series, with over 400 million games sold at that time. In the years since that achievement, sales numbers have continued to grow, and the enjoyment that players have for the series remains.

The series as a whole has enjoyed quite a bit of success, with each separate title seeing its own varying levels of triumph. COD currently has 20 games in its main series lineup, with an astonishing 51 titles when all DLC and mobile games are added to that list, as of November 2023. Each game with COD in its title has sold many copies for various platforms. Here are the top-selling games in the franchise, with the most recent data available at the time of writing.

10 Call Of Duty: WWII (2017)

Over 19 Million Copies Sold

Call of Duty: WWII was released on Nov. 3, 2017, and is the second title to be set in World War II, following World at War in 2008. This game had all the standard game modes that fans usually enjoy, like a campaign and multiplayer online. It also had a rendition of Nazi zombies with an intricate plot that was more than just surviving as many rounds as possible. As of October 2019, the game had sold 19.82 million copies (per Statista); a number which has most certainly risen in the last few years.

9 Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)

Over 21 Million Copies Sold

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was released on Nov. 4, 2014, as the 11th major installment in the video game franchise. As of October 2019, the game had sold 21.78 million copies. One difference about this game was its campaign only had one playable character, as opposed to previous games that would weave their story around multiple playable characters. This appealed to some players who wanted a more linear story.

8 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

Over 25 Million Copies Sold

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from 2009 is one of the most popular first-person shooter games ever. It was officially released on Nov. 10, 2009, and gave fans some of the most iconic moments in the franchise. The campaign was loved, as Ghost's death is still one of the most heart-wrenching movements in gaming history. The thought and effort that went into the story of the campaign was appreciated by fans, which was shown in the sale numbers.

It also gave fans iconic maps like Terminal and Rust. It is still up for debate whether the 2022 remake is as good as the original, but both are unconditionally loved by the fan base. As of October 2019, 25.02 copies of the 2009 game have been sold.

7 Call Of Duty: Black Ops III (2015)

Over 26 Million Copies Sold

Call of Duty: Black Ops III was released on Nov. 5, 2015, as the 12th major release in the history of the franchise. One of the biggest draws to this game was the fact that the campaign was able to be played as a co-op. So, friends can complete the campaign missions together, which helped contribute to its sales.

There is a mode that players can unlock that replaces all the enemies in the campaign with zombies, which is the first time this was ever done. Although certain achievements are difficult to unlock, fans of the previous Black Ops installments were overall pleased with this game. In 2019, a reported 26.72 copies of CoD: Black Ops 3 had been sold.

6 Call Of Duty: Ghosts (2013)

Over 28 Million Copies Sold

Call of Duty: Ghosts is the 10th major installment in the series and was officially released on Nov. 5, 2013. Ghosts came right after the very popular Black Ops II, so fans were primed to buy anything Call of Duty released at the time of Ghosts launch. That game introduced some new concepts, like being able to play as a German Shepherd in the campaign, but fans were also slightly disappointed with its recycled use of the campaign's format and structure.

Ghosts did advertise a new game mode called Extinction, which saw the player fight alien creatures and most likely helped drive up sales. By 2019, CoD: Ghosts had reported 28.8 million sales, only slightly less than Black Ops 2.

5 Call Of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)

Over 29 Million Copies Sold

Call of Duty: Black Ops II serves as one of the most successful sequels in the series. It was released on Nov. 12, 2012, and was nearly as successful as the first Black Ops game. Fans got to play the same two protagonists as had appeared in the first Black Ops, as well as the son of one of the playable characters. Black Ops 2 was the first Call of Duty game for the Nintendo Wii U, which helped sales a bit, but the game was primarily played on PlayStation and Xbox platforms. As of 2019, CoD: Black Ops II had seen 29.59 million copies sold.

4 Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)

Over 30 Million Copies Sold

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was released on Nov. 13, 2020, as the 17th major installment of the franchise. Black Ops is the most popular series in Call of Duty, so anything under that title had a good start simply due to its heritage. The setting of the game took place between Black Ops and Black Ops II, which prompted excitement about discovering what went on between two of the franchise's most popular games.

It is also interesting that perhaps the pandemic, and the fact that people were spending more time at home, could have increased sales. The biggest attribute to this game's sales, however, was the fact that Warzone was attached to it, so players could launch the battle royale from Cold War.

3 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)

Over 30 Million Copies Sold

The franchise decided to remaster one of its series as it re-released Modern Warfare on Oct. 25, 2019. It is the 16th overall installment, and a remaster of the original game of the same name from 2007. Call of Duty remastered the game in 2016 but officially released a new v

ersion in 2019. The game featured the same cast of beloved characters from the original game, like Captain John Price, and a tease at the end of the campaign revealing Soap and Ghost, signifying that there was going to be a sequel, which helped drive up sales.

2 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)

Over 30 Million Copies Sold

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 rounded out the Modern Warfare trilogy when it was released on Nov. 8, 2011. The main sales pitch for this game was to draw up excitement for how the story ended. Makarov was one of the biggest villains in the whole franchise, which helped stir up anticipation for the rest of the story. The game also includes the Special Ops game mode, which had been introduced in Modern Warfare 2. This was a big draw as players could now complete missions solo or with a friend.

1 Call Of Duty: Black Ops (2010)

Over 31 Million Copies Sold

Call of Duty: Black Ops is the best-selling game in the franchise and was released on Nov. 10, 2010. The game technically serves as a sequel to World at War, which can help explain why it sold so well. It also had the zombies game mode for the first time since its originator. Black Ops was the first time fans were introduced to the map Nuketown, which has had several versions since its inception and is one of the most popular in the franchise. Black Ops went on to spark one of the most beloved series in the Call of Duty franchise and Activision gained unwavering support from the fan base after the success of this game.

Source: Guinness World Records, Statista