All 18 Call of Duty Campaigns Ranked From Worst to Best, From Black Ops 7 to World at War

I have ranked all 18 Call of Duty campaigns from the absolute worst to the best, from COD 4 all the way to Black Ops 7, and Black Ops 7 sits dead last while World at War takes the top spot. There has been a lot of talk in the COD community about campaigns, mainly because the Black Ops 7 campaign has been a huge disappointment for a lot of people, and it gives us a lot of flashbacks to Black Ops 3.

I recently ranked all the COD games based on the overall package, meaning the campaign, the multiplayer, the zombies and everything else. That got me thinking about where I would rank the campaigns on their own, and it has been a much requested topic as well. Here is how it shakes out, starting at number 18.

18. Black Ops 7 has the worst campaign by a landslide

Dead last on the list, and no shocker. Certain aspects of Black Ops 7 seemed to be getting positive reviews, and the zombies mode was apparently really good that year, but the campaign was universally hated by both longtime COD fans and newer players who had never played a Black Ops campaign before. It actually got the COD community to agree on something.

The story makes absolutely no sense. The gameplay is repetitive, the boss fights are terrible, and the characters come and go without any real ceremony or impact on the plot. The whole thing feels like it should be in a Resident Evil spinoff or a Destiny 2 raid. This franchise used to be about real world conspiracies, consequences and black ops operations, and now it is about shooting 5,000 bullets at a giant humanoid monster in a nightmare world. How did we get here? And why can I not pause the campaign?

I thought people were exaggerating about how bad the campaign was until I tried it myself. "Nobody was exaggerating. It's that bad."

17. Modern Warfare 3 (2023) was one of the worst trilogy enders I have ever seen

The rebooted Modern Warfare trilogy started out on such a high note when it comes to the campaigns, but the fumbling was almost impressive to watch. The first two campaigns were clearly written with some care and the characters were well established. Modern Warfare 3 threw all of that out the window.

For starters, Makarov is the main villain, and he is one of the dumbest characters in COD history in this game, which does his original version no justice. None of what he does makes any sense, and yet everybody still somehow works for him, I guess because everyone else in the game is even dumber. That makes the story feel pointless.

On the gameplay side, Modern Warfare 3 has some of the laziest level design ever. This is where COD really started to experiment with open world missions, and put simply, it did not work. Those missions were horrendously balanced and terribly paced. The whole campaign could be finished in a few hours, which seems to be the new norm; Black Ops 7, I think, is around four hours. That brevity was almost merciful, because nobody wanted to keep playing this for more than an hour or two. It is sad how far the Modern Warfare sub series has fallen over the last 15 years, because even though Modern Warfare 3 redeemed itself on the multiplayer side, its campaign is one of the worst in COD history.

16. Black Ops 3 is not underrated just because Black Ops 7 was worse

I have seen some people, myself included, looking back at the Black Ops 3 campaign and saying something along the lines of "Man, we didn't know how good we had it back then." That is mainly because the Black Ops 7 campaign is that bad. But there is no way to paint this picture any differently. It is not as bad as Black Ops 7, but it is terrible.

The story made no sense, the characters had no real motivations, and there are no interesting enemies despite this being one of the most futuristic and far out campaigns in the series. The whole thing is a meme worthy mess. Train go boom. I can forgive a story that makes no sense if the gameplay is fun, but Black Ops 3 does not really have any memorable combat sections or fun levels.

The only things people will remember about this campaign are the terrible lines and the way it undermined the ending of Black Ops 2. And that last level that combined World at War into it was bad. You are not going to convince me this campaign was underrated just because the latest Black Ops campaign was somehow even worse.

15. Vanguard's campaign felt lazy and rushed

I like the campaign for Vanguard more than the multiplayer, but since Vanguard's multiplayer is the worst in COD history, at least in my opinion, that is not saying a lot. The campaign is a bunch of bite sized stories set in World War II, and none of them really stuck with me. The level design was not great either.

Honestly, every World War II themed COD game is going to be compared to World at War for me, and it is never going to be a good comparison. You will see what I mean once you see how high World at War lands on this list. Vanguard's campaign felt lazy and rushed. It is bland and boring, none of the characters are memorable and none of the fights were unique, and it just made me think about how much better World at War was back in 2008. Call me a Vanguard hater, but I think even the biggest Vanguard defenders can agree the campaign was not very good.

14. Modern Warfare 2 (2022) tried too hard to be two games at once

What an insane letdown after Modern Warfare 2019. This one had some interesting ideas, but I cannot help but feel it was trying too hard to be both Modern Warfare 2019 and classic Modern Warfare 2 at the same time. You had the super dark, gritty atmosphere of Modern Warfare 2019, but then major plot points from classic Modern Warfare 2 came back to life, like Shepherd, and that was not done nearly as well.

The thing about classic MW2 is that it was fully aware it was ridiculous, an over the top action movie plot in the vein of Michael Bay. Modern Warfare 2 2022 was trying to be super ridiculous while also being super dark, visceral and gritty. It does not help that the level design just was not as good as Modern Warfare 2019, and as I said above, I can forgive an underwhelming story if the levels are fun.

I do not think it is a bad campaign, but it is not getting a higher spot from me. I was let down when it came out, and even after revisiting it not too long ago, I did not find any part of it memorable. It is probably one of the most mid Call of Duty campaigns to date, which is disappointing because the Modern Warfare 2019 campaign set a really high bar for the trilogy.

13. Ghosts is not nearly as bad as people say, cliffhanger aside

There is a lot of hate around the Ghosts campaign even to this day, and I think that is mainly because of how it ended. The cliffhanger frustrated all of us, because I think we all know it is never actually going to be resolved. But up until that point, it was a fun game.

It was a little nonsensical compared to the Modern Warfare trilogy. Infinity Ward is usually pretty good at keeping its stories grounded and mostly realistic within the confines of the world the game is set in, but Ghosts was, I think, the one and only time I can think of several plot points that did not make a lot of sense even in the context of its own world. It was the first time Infinity Ward did not seem to bring its A game with the writing, but it did bring its A game with cool locations to fight in. It felt like an action movie, and lots of levels stand out in my memory, like the space station section and the sections with Riley.

I think the marketing was a little dishonest, because the trailers made the game seem like a full fledged stealth action experience when in reality it was a COD campaign through and through. At the end of the day, it was a solid few hours. I do not blame anyone for still being bitter about that cliffhanger, because I am too.

12. COD World War II was well crafted but too safe

Some people really love this campaign, and I get it. It was not as much for me, but I appreciate how much care Sledgehammer put into the presentation. For me, the story was too safe. It did not really go all out when it came to showing the horrors of war, and it felt very PG-13 for a World War II game.

The gameplay was fun. Sledgehammer went back to health packs for this game, which meant no regenerating health, so you had to play a little smarter in how you approached certain scenarios. There were some pretty memorable segments too, like going undercover in the German army and having to fight your way out once your cover is blown, plus D-Day. It was a well crafted World War II game. I just wish it had a little more nerve when it came to portraying the history of war.

11. Black Ops 6 had one of the most varied campaigns in COD history

Black Ops 6 had one of the most varied campaigns in COD history, and I am confused about what happened between it and Black Ops 7. Black Ops 7 has the "lamest, safest, worst campaign" in COD history, yet one year prior, Black Ops 6 was honestly really good. Maybe Treyarch put all its campaign energy into this game, and that is why the Black Ops 7 campaign was so bad.

Even though it is nowhere near the overall quality of the first couple of Black Ops games, I do think it is one of the best campaigns of the post Warzone era. It is also one of the longest campaigns in COD history, which is commendable because there is a lot of content to work through. It is probably the most unique campaign in terms of what you are doing mission to mission, it was fun, and you do not get bored. It is worth going back to if you have not played it.

My main criticism is that because it is doing so many things, it never really does one particular thing the best. It does a lot of different things well, but it does not do one thing really well.

10. Modern Warfare 2019 was a hit, even if the story gets flimsy

The story of Modern Warfare 2019 gets a little flimsy if you think hard about it, but there is no denying this is an extremely memorable experience with incredible presentation and some really well made missions. These missions look better than games today. Not every mission is a banger, but the ones that are rank among the best in COD history.

It was a bold move by Activision and Infinity Ward to totally redo the Modern Warfare concept to better reflect the politics and global state of warfare in the late 2010s, while also reinventing what Call of Duty was for a new generation. We could talk for hours about whether the game actually brought Call of Duty back to life on the multiplayer side, but the campaign was a hit.

Certain aspects of the story start to fall apart once you think too hard about some of the character decisions, but the overall package is strong, and there are some really good characters here, both older Modern Warfare figures remade for a new generation and brand new characters who became fan favorites. I hate the COD multiplayer experience, but I am not going to deny the campaign.

9. Black Ops Cold War crams great moments into a short campaign

This is another game whose multiplayer I just could not get into, but I am not going to deny the campaign was good. It is one of the shortest campaigns in COD history, but it crams a lot of great moments into just a few hours. Right out of the gate you are thrown into incredible set pieces and super engaging scenarios, and there are some all time great Black Ops characters along the way, both brand new and returning from the first couple of titles.

The game had a super troubled development cycle, and there are moments in the campaign where you can really tell corners were being cut. Overall, though, it is a good campaign and a must play for fans of the Black Ops sub series. I think it did the original games justice.

From this point on, every campaign on the list is a must play to me, and this was a hard ranking to do once I got here, because we have had some really good COD campaigns. Every campaign from here on is, I would say, a nine out of 10.

8. Black Ops 2 is still the best example of branching storylines

I may get a little heat for putting Black Ops 2 at number eight, because a lot of people probably have it in their top three, but as I said, it is a nine out of 10 campaign. Black Ops 2 is still the best example of a COD campaign with branching storylines that made your decisions matter, and it did not sacrifice any of the signature COD moments to make that happen.

The story spans decades, banking on the nostalgia of the original Black Ops while also showing what happened immediately after its credits rolled and a couple of decades into the future. I will admit I do not think the level design is Treyarch's best here, but the storytelling is great. There are so many awesome ideas on display, the voice acting is a chef's kiss, and the post credit Easter eggs are some of the best in the entire series.

7. COD 4 established the modern formula

This is where the modern COD formula was first established, and I think Call of Duty 4 has some of the best campaign action sequences to offer. Compared to later Modern Warfare games, COD 4 is extremely grounded, with only a handful of characters and a relatively straightforward plot, but that is what made it so effective.

You are fighting on two fronts. The British SAS are carrying out covert ops and trying to bring in major targets, while American frontline soldiers fight through the consequences of various failed missions, which escalate with horrific results. Price, Gaz and Soap were all introduced right here, and they laid the foundation for what Call of Duty would become. It is an extremely well written story, and the level design is still really fun and super replayable, even if it is a tad unfair on veteran difficulty.

6. Advanced Warfare went all in on the fun factor, and it paid off

Advanced Warfare really felt like Call of Duty getting self aware, and that is kind of why I loved it. It seemed to know how ridiculous it was and leaned into it, which gave Sledgehammer the ability to get insane with the level design and the crazy gadgets at your disposal.

The story really is not anything special. Some plot points are pretty obviously the writers coming up with reasons for you to go have fun with jetpacks and grapple hooks, but I was not complaining. It was a pure action movie and everybody knew it. It did not really make sense why Kevin Spacey's character thinks he can get away with declaring war on the entire world about halfway through the game. But the level design was fun, and the weapons and gear were awesome. Other COD games focus more on story and characters, but Advanced Warfare went all in on the fun factor, and for me, it totally paid off.

5. Infinite Warfare does not deserve the hate it gets

I will just say it: "This game does not deserve the hate that it gets." Say what you want about the multiplayer, the campaign for Infinite Warfare is amazing. It is a full fledged science fiction story with a brand new cast of characters and a conflict that takes you to various planets and even lets you engage in space battles.

The story is very well written and extremely well presented. The gadgets and weapons were fun to use, the villain was intimidating, and the heroes were fun to learn more about. The level design is some of Infinity Ward's best. I know they are never going to make Infinite Warfare 2 after all the hate the game got, but sometimes I wish they would. I do not want Infinite Warfare 2's multiplayer, but I do want its campaign. After how good this campaign turned out, it is a shame Infinity Ward never got to follow it up.

I actually got to be involved in this campaign, with mocap and everything, and I saw what this team put into it over years. It was great.

4. Modern Warfare 3 (2011) was the perfect way to end the original trilogy

This might be the hottest take on the entire list, because a lot of people now seem to think Modern Warfare 3's campaign is not the best, and I am going to disagree. Maybe that is just because I was there when the game came out and remember all the crazy hype, but I consider this one of the most memorable stories and campaigns in the entire history of the series.

Granted, a lot of that is simply because it was following one of the best FPS campaigns of all time, but I still think the team did a great job wrapping up all the loose ends and making sure every character got a satisfying sendoff. On top of that, the level design and presentation were amazing. Fighting through that war and seeing what the United States would look like if it was properly invaded was haunting at times.

I think Infinity Ward did a really good job showing the devastation of that potential conflict without ever feeling like it was just trying to shock for no reason. It walked the line between crazy action movie and serious modern war story, and it was the perfect way to conclude the original trilogy.

3. Modern Warfare 2 (2009) does not have a single bad mission

I think some modern critics like to write off MW2 as a giant explosion fest, the gaming equivalent of a Michael Bay movie. But when I went back and replayed it, I was honestly blown away by how well the story was written and how incredible the level design was. There is not a single bad mission in the entire campaign.

There are almost too many great moments to count: the Burger Town defense, the final showdown, the estate holdout, the snowmobile chase, the missile silo, the Washington DC firefight. When people get super critical of modern Call of Duty campaigns, it is because this is the kind of thing we were used to getting every single year. Modern Warfare 2 is an incredible experience from front to back. The writing, the characters and the level design were all great. It is a top tier campaign. "Nobody will ever convince me otherwise."

2. Black Ops mixed war with a mind bending conspiracy story

This was a hard one. With Black Ops, Treyarch went crazy in all the best ways. It took everyone by surprise when it came out in 2010, not only giving us a war torn campaign like the Modern Warfare games but also a mind bending story full of conspiracies, brainwashing, flashbacks, and a surprise tie into World at War that brought everything full circle.

For me, I loved how the Black Ops campaign tied into real world history, and how Treyarch made some crazy Call of Duty missions tie perfectly into the more thoughtful and trippy aspects of the government conspiracy plot. It is one of the best rated COD campaigns ever and it deserved this spot. And if you were paying attention earlier in this piece, you already know what comes next.

1. World at War is the best campaign in COD history

To me, this is as good as campaigns get for Call of Duty. World at War told a great story about very well written characters in a horrific conflict, and Treyarch did not shy away from showing the brutality of the real world conflict and the effect that brutality had on the people in it.

Even after writing one of the best World War II stories in gaming history, Treyarch also designed one of the most fun and engaging World War II games. It is fun top to bottom and incredibly well written, with some of the most haunting atmosphere you will find in a World War II game.

If you ever wonder why games like COD World War II are so heavily criticized by old school COD fans like me, it is because this is the insanely high bar we are comparing them to. When we say COD World War II lacked nerve in portraying the conflict, World at War is what happens when a game has it. The game was incredible, and if you ask me, it is the best campaign in COD history.

Where do you disagree with this ranking, and which campaign would you put at the top?