History VideoGame / CallOfDuty

* ColdFlames: Fire is often present in small amounts (think burning wreckage) but entirely cosmetic. A player can stand next to or even ''in'' it and suffer no damage.

* ArbitraryMinimumRange: Players can use grenade launchers starting from the fourth game. In most cases, the grenades have to travel a minimum distance before they'll explode, meaning that if someone is too close to you, the grenade will simply bounce harmlessly off the ground or wall next to them. Fortunately, you can usually still get a kill with a direct impact.

* BoringButPractical: The WWII games have plenty of gun options to choose from, from both Allies and Axis origins. But in all games, the [=Kar98k=] + [=MP40=] combo is second to none, as they're both very reliable guns that cover both short- and long-ranged combat and, since nearly all the Jerries carry one of these two, they're super easy to obtain and ammo is a non-issue.

* KillEmAll:
** None of your allies in ''Call of Duty 2: Big Red One'' survive except [[spoiler:Sgt. Kelly, Cpl. Smith and Cpt. Delaney]].
** [[spoiler:In ''Black Ops'', both Woods and Bowman die near the end of the game. And, well... Reznov was DeadAllAlong. Hudson survives, though, as do Mason and Weaver.]]
** [[spoiler:It is, however, stated in an email that Woods was actually taken prisoner and sent to Hanoi's prison camp, where a rescue force was sent to help him.]]
** [[spoiler:Woods is alive in Black Ops 2, at the ripe old age of 95. He serves as the game's segue between the 1980s missions and the futuristic 2025 missions.]]
** [[spoiler:Even Reznov seems to be alive as well in Black Ops 2, but it is left open as to whether it's actually him or simply Mason hallucinating again.]]

The series' publisher Activision uses a development cycle for the series to ensure that one game can come out each year while still giving enough time to developers to make the game good. There are three developer companies: Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games. Other studios such as Raven Software also helped with the series.

* ''Call of Duty 2: Big Red One'' (2005): A sixth generation consoles' exclusive released in 2005 as a spin-off of Infinity Ward's ''Call of Duty 2''.

** Series-wide, almost each installement has at least one level in which you go through a ruined city, witness the result of a battle or, more generally, are just shown that WarIsHell.

* SturgeonsLaw: For a decent period of the series' life, between each of the "main" installments Activision tried to make some quick cash with a side-game (initially console-exclusive before the series shifted focus to them, later handheld- or last-gen-exclusive) made by another developer not normally associated with the series. Quality-wise, this worked well with the first one, the ''United Offensive'' expansion pack (the developer, Gray Matter, was eventually bought by Treyarch to work on the series more often). [[FlameWar The rest?]]

** Mixed with some UnfortunateImplications. In ''World at War'', it can be a little unnerving playing co-op with friends in the Pacific Front missions who aren't shy about saying how much the like killing "the Japs."

** Taken [[UpToEleven up to eleven]] with Black Ops III's Realistic difficulty. Hell, the name of the achievement for beating the campaign on Realistic is [[spoiler:"No One Will Believe You"!]]

* DifficultySpike: ''Roads to Victory'''s Hunner Park level is ''very hard'' when compared to other levels in the American campaign. The enemy AI is considerably tougher too; they will either [[GangUpOnTheHuman gang up on you]] or spam lots of grenades as soon as they see you.

* ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare]]'' (2019)
** ''Call of Duty: Warzone'' (2020)

*** One mission in Paris has a task force close in on some Russian terrorists and try to stop them from moving chemical bombs. The fight goes from a construction area to on wheels through a subway transit system, with our heroes just ''barely'' avoiding crashing into oncoming trains.

* NooseCatch: In ''3'', Makarov be killed by Captain Price in this manner after [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beating Makarov's face and head in with Price's fists and the glass floor they're on]] while Price ties a crashed helicopter's winch cable around his neck. Makarov gets to let out a BigNo before Price drives them both through the weakened glass with a final effort and the cable snaps his neck to quickly ending his flailing. It's probably worth noting there was Makarov's dropped Desert Eagle pistol nearby that Price could have grabbed instead to finish him off with, but the hastily-prepared hanging [[DeathIsDramatic was definitely the funner option]].

Though the series earned early fame as one of the finest WWII shooters on the PC, it didn't really take off on consoles until the fourth installment, when it switched to a modern setting. Games following it have diverged into multiple sub-series. Most [[https://callofdutymaps.com/ Games]] in the series since then have consistently set their own record for the largest launch in entertainment history.

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare'': The game end in one whee after the protagonists managed to stop a missile strike, they have to escape the compound in a stolen truck with enemy forces hot on their tail.

** On mission
** A mission in Paris has the protagonists have to track down a client for the main villain. He bolts just as you reach his hideout, forcing the heroes to jump into a van and chase him down. Enemy forces right on their tail.

Though the series earned early fame as one of the finest WWII shooters on the PC, it didn't really take off on consoles until the fourth installment, when it switched to a modern setting. Games following it have diverged into multiple sub-series. Most games in the series since then have consistently set their own record for the largest launch in entertainment history.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyFinestHour'' (Console-exclusive spinoff released in 2003 for all three major systems, developed by the now-defunct Sparks Unlimited)

* ''Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts'' (developed by Rebellion and released in 2008 as a reimagining of Treyarch's ''World at War'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2)

*** Immediately after, you begin re-enacting ''Film/{{Rambo}}'' - and right before that, the Russian Operator's presence commanding the Viet Cong is reminiscent of ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII''.

* ReverseGrip:
** The only way a knife may be used in ''World at War'', unless it's [[BayonetYa attached to a gun]].
** If you die during the American Marine campaign by a Banzai charger, you'll see yourself holding your knife in a normal grip. Since succeeding to [[PressXToNotDie press the knife button]] before they stab you has your character push away their bayonet and stab the charger in the neck in a ReverseGrip, it can be interpreted that your character attempting to draw the knife in a normal grip to fight the charger was an incorrect action that cost him his life.
** Occurs in every game past ''Call of Duty 3''. Though Mason holds a prison knife normally in "Vorkuta".

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2'' (2009): A continuation to the modern setting introduced in ''[=CoD4=]'', the campaign focuses on a new conflict between the U.S and Russia triggered by a Russian terrorist, and the efforts of Task Force 141 to uncover the truth.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps4'' (October 12, 2018): The first entry in the series to not feature a single-player campaign. Setting-wise, [=BO4=] is [[{{Interquel}} set between]] ''[=BO2=]'' and ''[=BO3=]''. [=BO4=] introduces the "Blackout" multiplayer mode, a Battle Royale mode similar to other popular games at the time such as ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' and ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattlegrounds''.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' (2008) Returning to World War II, the game features a more brutal take on the conflict. The singleplayer includes an American campaign set in the Pacific, and a Russian campaign set in the Eastern Front. It would be the last World War II game in the series for almost a decade until 2017's ''WWII''.

** Oddly played straight due to a possible bug in ''Call of Duty 2'': the Gewehr 43 with a scope is referred to as the Springfield in singleplayer.
** ''Black Ops'' has odd examples with the handheld minigun and the M202 FLASH launcher. In multiplayer where they're KillStreak rewards, the game is insistent they are the "Death Machine" and "Grim Reaper". In singleplayer where they're regular weapons, however, the HUD still calls them such but characters will refer to them by their real names.

* EmergencyWeapon: ''Call of Duty'' 1 and 2 allow you to club enemies with the butt of your rifle. ''World at War'', in addition to keeping ''[=CoD4=]'''s [[QuickMelee one-button knife]], added one step to this with the bayonet attachment, extending your melee attack reach when holding a rifle equipped with it. Banzai chargers are a regular source for these in singleplayer, although they're usually Arisaka bolt action rifles.

* AmericaWonWorldWarII: Averted for a change. One of the campaign strands features Americans, but the others are an SAS team aiding the Maquis, the Argyll And Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, and the tankies of the Polish 1st Armoured Division.

* ActionGirl: The Communists have female combat infantry.