This year, the Call of Duty series turns 20. Few video game franchises are as popular or successful as Activision’s yearly war shooter series. Even if you don’t like the games or stopped playing them years ago, millions of people around the world continue to buy and play each new entry—and it’s not just because of its iconic multiplayer experiences. The games are so often good at creating memorable moments and pulling wild plot twists that stick with you long after you stop playing.
So to celebrate 20 years of Call of Duty—and as Modern Warfare III is dropping November 10 (see on Amazon) —let’s take a look back at some of the biggest (though not also best) moments from the franchise’s history.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) – “No Russian”
Let’s get this one out of the way. Any list of Call of Duty moments, controversies, or memorable events will undoubtedly include “No Russian.” The opening mission of the original Modern Warfare II.
In the mission, players take part in a mass shooting at an airport. It was hard to play in 2009 and since then—as mass shootings have become more common in the United States—it’s even harder to revisit. Regardless of how you feel about “No Russian,” the mission is one of the most well-known moments in video game history.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – “All Ghillied Up”
“All Ghillied Up” is easily one of the best missions in all of Call of Duty. Players take on the role of a sniper working alongside a veteran soldier as they sneak through the misty wilderness outside Chernobyl.
Many, many words have been written about it already, and it’s easy to see why. This mission changes up the formula of the franchise, letting players sneak around and choose when to kill and when to avoid combat. It also boasted a wonderful, haunting atmosphere and perfect pacing. There’s a reason nearly every Call of Duty after this entry included similarly sneaky missions. But none of them came close to All Ghillied Up’s greatness.
Call of Duty: Black Ops – The Reznov twist
The original Black Ops contains one of the best campaigns in the franchise’s history. It featured iconic missions and a batshit story with brainwashing, conspiracies, and spies.
It also had a wild final twist, where it’s revealed that main character Mason’s partner throughout the game, WW2 vet Reznov, was actually not there and was just a hallucination that controlled him and his actions. And while the final twist isn’t the only reason Black Ops is so beloved, it does make replaying the game a blast as you pick up on details that foreshadow it.
Call of Duty: World At War – The first time Zombies showed up
There was a time before every Call of Duty game included a Zombies mode, which didn’t join the series until 2008’s World at War. And it wasn’t a mode that you played right out of the gate. Instead, it was unlocked after you beat the main campaign and watched a post-credits scene featuring zombies shambling out of the mist.
All these years later, I’ll never forget the moment my friends and I beat WaW and encountered this secret finale. We were all so confused about what was happening—nobody expected zombies in a Call of Duty game. Now, zombie modes are a key part of the franchise, but in 2008 it was a wonderful and creepy surprise.
Call of Duty 2 – Beach landing in the Battle of Pointe du Hoc
There have been a lot of beach landing missions in Call of Duty games, especially in the earlier WW2-era installments. And a lot of them are intense and memorable, capturing the chaotic feeling of invading a hostile beach alongside thousands of other soldiers.
But for many fans, the cliff-scaling action and intense combat of Pointe du Hoc’s beach assault stands above the others. It was a different kind of beach landing, with large cliff walls that needed to be scaled before any progress could be made. I’ll remember that climb for a long time.
Call of Duty: Ghosts — That awesome space intro
Ghosts is one of the few Call of Duty games that I didn’t finish when it launched, though I eventually returned to the game to complete it because I’m a glutton for pain. Ghosts was a mostly boring slog with a cool dog and some bland action.
However, the game’s intro mission was incredible. It features a space station attack, zero-G combat, and a bombastic ending. It’s just a shame that the rest of the game couldn’t come close to matching such an iconic opening.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011) – The final mission
The original Modern Warfare trilogy is fondly remembered by many Call of Duty fans, but the third game is easily the weakest installment. This is where the story goes off the rails, featuring multiple flashbacks and retcons. Many of the missions also feel padded and thrown together, likely a result of the behind-the-scenes issues involving Infinity Ward’s founders and key staff leaving during development. But whatever, the final mission is great.
Our two surviving heroes don bulky bulletproof “Juggernaut” armor and large machine guns. Their goal? Kill the main villain of the trilogy Vladimir Makarov and get some revenge, too. The final 15 minutes of MW3 are just you and your partner fighting off an army of goons while making your way up a hotel toward your target. Now that’s how you end a Call of Duty game.
Call of Duty – Crossing the Volga
The original Call of Duty might not be visually impressive in 2023, but its gameplay and design still hold up. And a standout mission in that first game is the “Stalingrad.”
The mission recreates an infamous real-life battle in WW2, except you’re only handed a few bullets and told to follow the other soldiers marching along with their rifles. When one dies, you pick up their gun. This, according to most historians, probably didn’t happen during the Battle of Stalingrad, but it’s still a memorable moment in a franchise that almost always hands you a gun before a battle. Not here. Good luck!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) – General Shepard’s betrayal
CoD games often treat soldiers and generals as heroes beyond reproach. So players didn’t expect Lieutenant General Shepard, the leader of the US’s armed forces, was secretly the bad guy behind the war between Russia and the USA. So when, at the end of a tough mission, Shepard shoots and kills Ghost and Roach, I wasn’t the only person who was shocked.
As we later learn, Shepard was upset that the US was no longer the top power in the world and hoped a war with Russia would change that, forcing politicians and civilians to support throwing more resources at the military to protect the country. Wait a minute… that sounds a lot like politics in my video game!
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – Getting nuked
So why did Shepard get all political and turn against his commanders and orchestrate a massive war? Well, it was because he lost 30,000 men in a nuclear attack, something we first see in Call of Duty 4.
In that game, after a grueling mission to save a downed pilot during a large-scale attack, a nuclear bomb is detonated and kills thousands of people. We get to experience that from the perspective of a soldier caught in the blast. In a franchise famous for letting players live out the power fantasy of being an indestructible badass, this is a moment where you can’t do anything but slowly explore the aftermath of a devastating nuclear blast and then die.
It’s a bit hamfisted, sure, but it stands out in a series that more often than not paints soldiers as superheroes unable to fail or die.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) – Alex returns
The rebooted Modern Warfare series brought back some iconic characters (mainly, the bros of Task Force 141), but it also introduced some new ones for us to get attached to—Commander Farah Karim and Officer Alex Keller.
At the very end of Modern Warfare, Alex seemingly sacrifices himself, offering to detonate explosives at an enemy weapons factory after the detonator is damaged in a firefight. Brilliantly, Modern Warfare’s post-campaign content (like Spec Ops and themed multiplayer seasons) continued the story in the main game, and it’s in Season 3 that we find out Alex survived the blast, losing a leg in the process.
That’s our list, but there are plenty of other cool, weird, and awesome moments from Call of Duty’s past 20 years. Share any of your personal favorites in the comments below.
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