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The worst Call of Duty games of all time, ranked

Call of duty is one of the most successful entertainment franchises in history. But it’s not all sunshine, rainbows and explosive action scenes.

If you release a new song every year for almost twenty years, you will undoubtedly encounter some misses in addition to the hits. Titles like BlackOps2, Call of Duty 4, Modern Warfare 2, BlackOps3and others are fondly remembered by most. Others, not so much.

There have been several unfortunate releases Cod‘s history, including some recent titles and others that came out in the early days of the series. Sometimes it takes a while to realize whether a game was good or not, but sometimes it’s clear right away.

Here’s the worst of the worst when it comes to the long-running and wildly successful Cod franchise. Hey, they can’t all be winners, right?

Call of Duty3

Box art of Call of Duty 3
Forgettable in almost every way. Image via Activision

The first Cod title not developed by Infinity Ward, Call of Duty3 was jankier than the first two titles and one of the least memorable of the entire franchise. It has since been surpassed several times in the ‘bad’ department Cod‘ list, but it remains one of the franchise’s big misses.

Luckily, Treyarch went on to develop some of the best games in the series CoD 3‘s misfire.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)

Call of Duty MW3 screenshot in Paris
A favorite for some, but an unbalanced mess for most. Image via Activision

Rose-tinted glasses will have many gamers remembering the good times from the original Modern Warfare 3. But the title was terribly unbalanced, just like its predecessor MW2featuring some of the worst cards in the franchise to boot.

And who remembers Death Streaks? Who thought it was a good idea to reward players for being really, really bad at the game? Nothing made it more fun than killing an enemy only to have him crash and immediately blow up himself and the surrounding area with C4. Just brutal.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare soldier fires a laser
Please come back to Earth. Image via Activision

Infinite Warfare was the final nail in the coffin for the jetpack entries in the franchise. Call of duty in space just didn’t work, and it’s a place the series never had to go and never should visit again.

Jetpack fatigue hit hard in 2016, and thankfully the series quickly returned to its roots a few years later. The campaign was pretty cool though.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)

A masked Call of Duty operator moves with his weapon drawn.
Missed the target. Image via Activision

Featuring some of the worst multiplayer offerings in the series, the second MW2 is considered a disaster by many. In search of ‘realistic movement’, Infinity Ward produced a sluggish multiplayer and an equally lackluster campaign with some of the most unfortunate weapon balancing in the franchise.

Even the “Warzone 2.0‘reworking that came with it MW2 it was a mess. On the plus side, some of the seasonal events were fun, and many players enjoyed the extraction mode DMZalthough I was definitely NOT one of those players.

Call of Duty: Vanguard

Call of Duty Vanguard Operator
Nobody remembers you anymore, man. Image via Activision

This Cod title is seemingly always the “worst” or most hated by fans, but Forefront was truly a dud, including a half-baked Zombies mode, a lackluster campaign, and a multiplayer mode that didn’t hold players’ attention for long for various reasons.

However, that is more important Forefront was a commercial and critical failure in the eyes of Activision. The company blamed the World War II setting for the “disappointing” sales figures, so many fans will be curious about where Sledgehammer will appear next. Cod company goes.


Did any of our choices offend you? Please let us know and make your own list of what you think is the worst. Because that’s the nice thing about opinions. My favorite might be your most hated, and that’s okay, soldier.


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