With 22 games in its mainline series and a 23rd inbound, Call of Duty is a well-oiled machine, arriving every year like a tactically placed care package to offer multiple modes for every type of player. Modern Warfare 4 refuses to break that trend, with a dedicated campaign, DMZ extraction mode, and the ever-present multiplayer. But how will Modern Warfare 4’s multiplayer stack up against what came before? What king does it need to topple to be declared the best in class? Let’s find out.
These are the 10 best Call of Duty Multiplayer Games.
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)
Infinity Ward’s second game in its Modern Warfare reboot series proved divisive. A year later, Sledgehammer Games was given the difficult task of taking the bones of Modern Warfare 2 and reworking it to address fan feedback. It achieved that goal in spades. Unlike the campaign, which was universally disliked, Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer stood tall as the entry’s defining mode.
Modern Warfare 2’s worst additions were removed. The snappy movement of 2019’s Modern Warfare returned, and the recharging perks were scrapped in favour of a gear system that mirrored the classic perk structure. Tac-Stance was introduced, a midpoint between ADS and hipfire that offered better accuracy than the latter but faster movement than the former. And in a series first, all of the previous year's content was carried over into this new release, resulting in a staggering 105 weapons on launch day.
Having great core mechanics would be largely useless without fun maps, though. Rather than start anew, Sledgehammer brought back all 16 original Modern Warfare 2 maps, the 2009 classics given a new coat of glossy paint. It was a lethal combo: modern gameplay design in classic and familiar playgrounds.
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Despite suffering a troubled, COVID-impacted development, Black Ops Cold War beat the odds and delivered a multiplayer mode that delighted fans in 2020. Taking us back to the 1980s for the first time in almost a decade, Cold War brought back Black Ops’ original spy-espionage tone and buffed it with all the modern flair and enhancements we saw in Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare reboot.
The new Gunsmith and create-a-class structure of Modern Warfare 2019 was melded with Treyarch’s signature free-form customisation from Black Ops 2 and 3. Wildcards became a selectable class item, letting you equip three additional weapon attachments or an extra perk without sacrificing any of your class options. These smart adjustments ensured Black Ops Cold War had the core feel of classic Call of Duty, even if that core had been augmented with Modern Warfare’s modern enhancements. Everything worked in tandem, delivering a sleek, respectable package of old and new.
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Treyarch was permitted four years to develop Black Ops 6, a previously unheard of luxury in Activision’s Call of Duty factory. During that extended production period, it took the leap to set Call of Duty in the glorious 1990s for the first time in the series’ history, unlocking with it a whole host of period-specific weapons and equipment. More importantly, though, the long development cycle also gave the studio room to take big swings with COD’s core gameplay mechanics.
Arguably the best addition Treyarch blessed Black Ops 6 with was a brand new movement system. Omnimovement turned the basics on their head, letting you sprint, slide, and dive in any direction. This significantly increased the pace of combat and heightened the skill ceiling. If you were good at COD, other players could literally see that in the way you moved.
From Omnimovement to the addition of human shields, which let you roast an enemy via voice chat while using them to block incoming bullets, Black Ops 6 certainly got a lot right. With 16 maps, a variety of modes, and a healthy selection of brand-new weaponry, it delivered an experience many fans still remember fondly.
7. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
After the wild success of Infinity Ward’s original Modern Warfare 2, tackling the next game in Call of Duty’s flagship sub-series was naturally going to be a huge challenge, especially considering a good chunk of the original team had left to make Titanfall. The solution was for three studios – Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Raven Software – to combine their efforts. Together, they not only built on MW2's success, but also pushed the series forward with Modern Warfare 3.
Using the customisable killstreaks introduced in Modern Warfare 2 as a base, the team created the all-new Strike Packages system, which complemented your chosen playstyle with rewards tailored to your chosen class. You could now take a standard approach with the Assault package, be a team player with support (which limited lethal streaks but prevented the streak from ending on death), or go all-in with Specialist, which removed all streak choices in favour of perks, turning you a bonafide supersoldier.
Modern Warfare 3 retained MW 2’s brisk pace, but significantly dialled back the frustrating chaos of One-Man Army Pro explosives spam and Commando melee attacks. The exploitable playstyles were gone, and a renewed focus on your gun through weapon perks combined with the new Strike Packages to bring attention back to the gun-on-gun combat the series is best known for.
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
While Call of Duty had visited the future before, it had only dipped its toe. With Black Ops 3, it jumped in with both feet. Set in 2065, Treyarch’s sub-series traded Cold War espionage and “the numbers” for jet-packs and “train go boom”.
While not the first game to rethink player movement, Black Ops 3 introduced a feel that would define this short-lived era of COD, significantly improving the clunky and limited thrust jumps of Advanced Warfare. The new approach gave you greater control when jumping and sliding, but also allowed for wall running. Maps took full advantage of the new movement, letting you string techniques together to get the drop on unsuspecting opponents.
More significantly, Black Ops 3 was, for better or for worse, the first game to introduce Specialists. These were individual hero characters, akin to those found in Overwatch or Marvel Rivals, that could bring a special ability into battle. Typically, you’d choose between a weapon and a special gadget, like active camo.
The combination of advanced movement and Specialists created a Black Ops that felt unique, while also retaining the smooth gunplay the series was known for. It’s generally considered the best entry of the advanced-movement era.
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops
Following a very safe retreat back to the 1940s for World at War, Treyarch decided to take a 20-year step forward with Black Ops, giving us our first taste of the era defined by (very explosive) espionage.
The dusty streets of Modern Warfare’s urban battlegrounds and the dark, oppressive theaters of World at War were gone. In their place was everything from the thick jungles of Vietnam to a hidden military facility atop a snow-covered mountain. Multiplayer was defined by a huge leap forward for customisation. Additions ranged from small details like clan tags etched into guns to a plethora of operator skins tied to Tier-1 Perks, face paints, and, of course, the infamous emblem editor.
Black Ops was instantly beloved, in no small part thanks to its iconic map pool and unique feel. Treyarch quickly carved out a dedicated fanbase and started a sub-series that remains strong today.
4. Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019)
After 14 straight annual releases, Call of Duty began to lose its identity as it tried to imitate popular competitors to stay relevant. After taking the series into space with the distinctly unpopular Infinite Warfare, Infinity Ward decided to reinvigorate Call of Duty by going back to the drawing board.
Simply titled Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward stripped out the bells and whistles the series had gained over the years, returning to a traditional class structure and gun-on-gun combat. Everything from Specialists to recharging super weapons was a casualty of this back-to-basics approach.
Doubling down on classic combat led to one of the series' biggest revolutions, led by the Gunsmith: an all-new weapon customisation suite for modifying weapons. The system was an instant hit, letting players tailor their arsenal with multiple attachments to match their playstyle. The system also benefited from the new IW9 engine, a significantly upgraded tech platform that gave weapons a more grounded look and weighty, realistic animations.
Modern Warfare was a massive success, and that momentum carried into Warzone, Call of Duty’s signature Battle Royale mode that introduced the world to Verdansk. Using Modern Warfare's strong foundation for a last-man standing mode proved an immediate success – it built on the popularity of games like PUBG and Fortnite by adding new elements such as the Gulag grudge match which gave players a chance to return to the fight. Released when we were all stuck indoors, Modern Warfare and Warzone arrived at exactly the right time when we were all looking for digital worlds to enjoy.
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Set in the technologically advanced future of… erm… 2025, Black Ops 2 was the first game in the series to push into the future. Released in 2012, it was just a short decade-sized leap into tomorrow, and so it didn’t radically change the toolset – there’s no wall-running here.
Create-A-Class, which had gone largely unchanged since COD4, changed dramatically with the new Pick-10 system. Everything cost points, and you had 10 to play with. Want to forgo grenades and go for extra weapon attachments? You can do that. Or, if you felt extra confident, you could drop in with simply a combat knife and double the perks, source a weapon in the field, and get to work.
Create-A-Class wasn’t the only innovation. Black Ops 2 completely removed Killstreaks, replacing kill-based rewards with the more attainable Scorestreak, for which everything you did in a match contributed to the total. It was a positive change that finally encouraged and rewarded players for getting on the objectives rather than just chasing frags.
With arguably one of the most iconic map sets of all time, Black Ops 2 remains popular, and the recent PlayStation 5 port has sparked a serious resurgence!
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Modern Warfare 2 was an event. A video game that had fans champing at the bit to get their hands on it, a fever of excitement usually exclusively reserved for a Rockstar game. In terms of anticipation, Modern Warfare 2 was arguably the biggest Call of Duty ever.
Building on the foundations of COD4, Modern Warfare 2 took a kitchen-sink approach to development, and it was a sink loaded with explosives. Players could build their classes with more firepower, more equipment, and all-new upgradeable perks. Killstreaks, previously a simple UAV, Airstrike, and Attack Chopper combo, could now be customised to include Predator missiles, a Harrier Jet, the legendary AC-130 gunship, and the biggest flex ever included in a multiplayer game: the Tactical Nuke, a 25 killstreak reward that ended the game in devastating fashion.
Modern Warfare 2 is still widely regarded as the peak of the series, with fond memories held by many fans of lobby trash talk, cross-map throwing knife kills, and 1v1-ing people on Rust.
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
What else could claim this spot? Call of Duty 4 is one of the most influential games of all time, creating gameplay and progression systems that work in tandem to form a perfect formula that has served as the franchise's core since 2007.
Call of Duty 4 threw the series’ original WW2 setting out the window, swapping semi-auto rifles for sleek, iconic modern weaponry and moving the action to contemporary locales inspired by war movies like Black Hawk Down. A complete reinvention of the setting was only the start though. Infinity Ward also introduced the series’ first Create-A-Class system, letting players mix and match weapons, equipment, and perks for the first time in Call of Duty history. Modern Warfare had an unprecedented degree of player expression, as you stacked kills to earn your powerful killstreaks.
No matter how much is added to the Call of Duty multiplayer formula, and how often new ideas cycle in and out, the core of the fast-paced arcade shooting that Call of Duty 4 perfected remains ingrained in its DNA. Whether you’re sliding into cover or wall-running while laying down fire, that tactile feel of twitch shooting can always be traced back to Modern Warfare.
So there you have it, the 10 best Call of Duty games for multiplayer! How did we do? Did your favourite make the list? Let us know in the comments what your list looks like.