"It’s that time of year again - a new Call of Duty is almost upon us, and so we must look back at the more recent entries in the series to see which are worth playing, and which are better left in the past."
Over the last 22 years, the Call of Duty franchise has continued to enthral and occasionally enrage its massive community, but time moves ever forward, and many older multiplayer-centric titles struggle to retain active communities as they grow older, especially those without robust cross-play support.
So with that in mind, unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as older titles being added to a subscription service such as Game Pass or PS Plus, our yearly check-ups will focus on Call of Duty releases starting with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), the first title in the series to offer cross-platform multiplayer and progression.
While Call of Duty: WWII has been doing very well on PlayStation due to it having been given away as a PS Plus game back in June 2020, on Xbox and PC that was not the case.
That is, until its release onto Xbox Game Pass, which has resulted in the Xbox and Xbox PC App versions doing incredibly well, with players being able to find full lobbies at most times of the day.
Unfortunately, the Steam community does not benefit from this surge in activity and for the most part remains as dead as always, with a daily peak of just over 300 players.
Click to view our full review of Call of Duty: WWII (2017) ↪
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is essentially as active as it ever was, with players being able to find lobbies within seconds even outside of peak playtimes.
It has been something special since its launch. As the first cross-play supported Call of Duty title, it has seemed to benefit the most from this technology.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare feels as active in 2025 as it did in 2019. While I know that is not truly the case, when I can find full lobbies within seconds for all PvP modes (including Ground War) during off-peak hours, it is easy to forget that it is over six years old and has been succeeded by soon-to-be six Call of Duty titles since its release.
Click to view our full review of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) ↪
While it is doing a fair bit better than Vanguard, it is nowhere near as active as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), and players in less populated regions may have to wait around a minute or more to find full lobbies during off-peak times.
I loved Black Ops Cold War when it first came out, and while my total hours played pale in comparison to more recently released titles, it is still a game that I enjoy revisiting.
While I am glad I can still find full lobbies, the overall level of activity is well below that of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), which is evident from partially populated lobbies and occasional long waits to find matches at all.
Of course, once you find a mostly full lobby, matchmaking is pretty much instantaneous between rounds, and you can easily play for hours without interruption.
Click to view our full review of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020) ↪
Call of Duty: Vanguard is without doubt one of the worst-performing Call of Duty titles these days, and things have only grown worse since the resurgence of Call of Duty: WWII.
While full lobbies can still be found during peak times, many pacing modes such as Blitz are entirely dead, while others like Champion Hill have been removed altogether.
I will be the first to admit that Call of Duty: Vanguard is not the greatest entry in the series, but I loved almost everything about it, aside from the latter seasons, which grew increasingly less grounded following the reveal of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and the announcement that the first unified Call of Duty launcher was being phased out. This change made Vanguard and the other titles that were part of that initial unified launcher feel somewhat obsolete.
While the biggest issues Vanguard faced were racism and sexism, the WWII-era Call of Duty titles in general have struggled for a long time, with players tending to prefer Modern Warfare and Black Ops settings over those based in the past or far future.
Ultimately, it remains a great game, but not one that will stand the test of time. Already in 2025, its community is as close to collapse as any title could be in the cross-progression era, which is unfortunate.
Click to view our full review of Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021) ↪
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is doing very well in 2025.
The vast majority of standard multiplayer playlists are very active, and full lobbies can often be found in less than a minute even during off-peak hours.
Unfortunately, the PvE and large team PvP modes are much less active, and finding full lobbies outside of peak NA/EU hours may prove difficult or even impossible.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is one of the best Call of Duty games released in the last decade, and its inclusion in Xbox Game Pass for PC ensures it is made widely available to a large audience.
While I personally feel (despite its shaky start) that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is a better option in 2025, there is no reason not to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. While it is less complete than the combined strength of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II + Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, it is still one of the best Call of Duty titles ever made, and thanks to its large and passionate community, is likely to remain active for many years to come.
Click to view our full review of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) ↪
Like its predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is doing very well in 2025.
The vast majority of standard multiplayer playlists are very active, and full lobbies can often be found in less than a minute even during off-peak hours. Unfortunately, the PvE and large team PvP modes are much less active, and finding full lobbies outside of peak NA/EU hours may prove difficult or even impossible.
I must admit to having a soft spot for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. Hopping on for the purposes of this update, I enjoyed every second of playing it.
While it is not as active as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and soon-to-be Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, it is still incredibly active, and I was able to find a full lobby in around 45 seconds, which is pretty decent for about 9 a.m. on a Wednesday!
While the large team modes and PvE offerings are basically dead at this time, I feel it is still worth playing for its more traditional 6v6 content alone, and for that reason, I still heartily recommend it in 2025 and beyond.
Click to view full review of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) ↪
And that brings us to the end of the 2025 edition of the Call of Duty Health Check. Join us next year to see how the above games are doing, and how well Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 fares when it is no longer the most recent entry in the series.
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