(NewsNation) — “Call of Duty,” the first-person shooter game that launched a gaming franchise across multiple platforms, is 20 now years old.
First released on Oct. 29, 2003, the warfare simulator was available on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. It was also released on the N-Gage, Nokia’s shortlived hybrid of a smartphone and portable gaming console.
Set during World War II, the game allows players to participate in American, British and Soviet-era campaigns. Its immersive gameplay was exhilarating but also jarring to some. The game’s “shellshock” feature temporarily gave players a sensation of simulated tinnitus, muted sounds and blurred vision.
“Call of Duty” was met with critical acclaim upon its release. It won Game of the Year of 2003 by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, along with numerous other awards. It currently holds a 91/100 on Metacritic, a site that aggregates ratings of various commercial media.
Since the original, the franchise has released 18 more games in the series, the latest being Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, set to be released in November 2023.
“Expect a world-class Multiplayer experience celebrating the Modern Warfare series’ greatest legacies; all 16 launch maps from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) have been modernized with new modes and gameplay features and will be available at launch to get everyone started, while over 12 all-new core 6v6 maps will fuel post-launch live seasons,” according to a press release from franchise owner Activision Blizzard.
With nearly 450 million units sold globally, the “Call of Duty” franchise is worth approximately $31 billion.