Top 5 Call of Duty Facts

It’s hard to imagine a world where Activision’s Call of Duty series isn’t the top dog in wartime first person shooters. But before 2003 it was EA’s Medal of Honor series that stood atop the proverbial video game hill. It was also around this time that a rivalry was beginning to develop between the two companies. Activision was looking for a game that could compete with Medal of Honor and began development on the first Call of Duty. It’s clear that the designers weren’t trying to mask their intentions, giving their game the less than discreet codename “Medal of Honor Killer.” In retrospect, their cheeky confidence appears to have been well founded.

#4: The Series Has Sold over 250 Million Copies

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To put this number in perspective, if you were to hand out a copy of every single Call of Duty game ever sold to each person in Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico you’d still have roughly 28 million copies left over. Since 2003 the COD franchise has been one of the video game industry’s most consistent properties, selling more than 250 million copies worldwide. That number is good enough to put the series in some pretty elite company, rubbing shoulders with Grand Theft Auto and The Sims. And with a new game always on the horizon, sales only have one place to go: up.

#3: Create-A-Class Was Inspired by a Board Game

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This feature has been synonymous with the COD series since it was first introduced in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, but the system has changed drastically since then. According to Treyarch Game Designer Director David Vonderhaar, the big changes to the create-a-class system in Black Ops 2 were influenced by an obscure German board game called Carcassonne, in which players slowly build the board by flipping over landscape tiles and connecting them appropriately. Through the slow evolution and adaptation of these mechanics, Vonderhaar and his team were able to develop the unique and lasting “Pick 10” create-a-class system.

#2: Game Footage Has Been Used as Propaganda

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Pop in the most recent Call of Duty game and you’ll be amazed at how realistic the game footage is. Gone are the days of clunky pixelated images, replaced by immaculate shots of action, character design and landscapes that look and feel cinematic. Perhaps this is why a North Korean propaganda agency decided to use footage from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III in this strange video. The footage is of New York City under attack, a scene that takes place during the game’s campaign in which the Russians invade the Big Apple. They even used an instrumental version of “We Are the World” as the accompanying music, so they were just pulling from everywhere.

#1: Activision Takes Care of Real Heroes

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It can be easy to forget that the COD franchise wouldn’t exist if not for the real soldiers who have fought and died in countless conflicts over the years. These are real men and women, and some of them still need our help. Thankfully, Activision is doing their part. They started the Call of Duty Endowment Group in 2009, an organization that is devoted to helping veterans find new jobs. The company has donated millions of dollars to the group that, as of 2015, has helped over 20,000 vets find steady employment. As always, it’s refreshing to see a huge company like Activision doing their part to help the people who risked their lives.