Call of Duty®: Black Ops III

38 Games with a historical setting like Call of Duty®: Black Ops III that you should try

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We filtered the 50 games similar to Call of Duty®: Black Ops III down to the 38 that fit the “Historical” category. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: Vanguard and NecroVision top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to Call of Duty®: Black Ops III.

iRank87/ 100

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GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

Tags

DarkNarrativeMultiplayerSolo

Year 2010Dev Raven Software

Stores

Steam ↗Xbox ↗Nintendo ↗

Quick answer

Within the “Historical” category, the closest game to Call of Duty®: Black Ops III is Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War — scoring 95/100 on our similarity scale. Call of Duty: Vanguard and NecroVision follow close behind.

#1Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War95 #2Call of Duty: Vanguard95 #3NecroVision94 #4Call of Duty: Black Ops II92 #5Return to Castle Wolfenstein92

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The best games with a historical setting like Call of Duty®: Black Ops III

38 similar games foundUpdated July 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Call of Duty®: Black Ops III. Each one has been evaluated across 14 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

#1Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

95

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlineMeleeTacticalRangedDarkNarrativeHorrorHistoricalFirst Person

Steam👍 80%· 22KIGDB77· 9OC75· 161

Year 2020Dev Treyarch · ActivisionOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Fits the tactical first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with offline and PvP competition

#2Call of Duty: Vanguard

95

Call of Duty: Vanguard

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlineMeleeTacticalRangedDarkNarrativeHorrorHistoricalFirst Person

Steam👍 67%· 4.1KIGDB75· 8OC72· 153

Year 2021Dev Sledgehammer Games · ActivisionOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Both are tactical first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Where it differs: brings horror tension, offline and PvP competition

94

NecroVision

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerMeleeRangedTacticalDarkNarrativeHorrorHistoricalFirst Person

Steam👍 68%· 1.9KRAWG👍 44%· 89MC63IGDB60· 1

Year 2009Dev The Farm 51 · 1C-SoftClubPlaytime ~1hOn PC

✓ Same family of tactical first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: horror tension, fantasy world and setting scifi, while skipping co op

#4Call of Duty: Black Ops II

92

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

MultiplayerSoloCo-opOnlineMeleeTacticalNarrativeDarkHorrorHistoricalFirst Person

Steam👍 86%· 49KIGDB79· 17

Year 2012Dev Treyarch · ActivisionOn PlayStation 3 · PC

✓ Fits the tactical first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and strong narrative focus

≠ Where it differs: brings survival mechanics, horror tension and adventure storytelling, while skipping ranged combat

#5Return to Castle Wolfenstein

92

Return to Castle Wolfenstein

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeTacticalDarkNarrativeHistoricalHorrorFirst Person

Steam👍 93%· 9.1KRAWG👍 90%· 467MC88IGDB68· 5

Year 2001Dev Nerve Software · Bethesda SoftworksPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Apple Macintosh

✓ Fits the tactical first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with horror tension, adventure storytelling and stealth mechanics, while skipping co op

#6Call of Duty: WWII

92

Call of Duty: WWII

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opTacticalMeleeDarkNarrativeHistoricalHorrorFirst Person

Steam👍 70%· 46KIGDB75· 18OC78· 155

Year 2017Dev Sledgehammer Games · ActivisionOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Both are tactical first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with offline, while skipping ranged combat

#7Call of Duty: World at War

91

Call of Duty: World at War

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlineTacticalMeleeDarkHorrorHistoricalFirst Person

Steam👍 92%· 53KIGDB80· 7

Year 2008Dev Treyarch · ActivisionOn PlayStation 3 · PC

✓ Same family of tactical first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with adventure storytelling, survival mechanics and horror tension, while skipping strong narrative focus

#8Spec Ops: The Line

89

Spec Ops: The Line

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerMeleeTacticalNarrativeDarkHistoricalHorror

Steam👍 93%· 56KIGDB77· 9

Year 2012Dev Yager Development · 2K GamesOn PlayStation 3 · Linux · PC

✓ Both are tactical first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and strong narrative focus

≠ Its own twist: third-person shooting, adventure storytelling and horror tension, while skipping ranged combat

#9Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

89

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeTacticalDarkNarrativeHorrorHistoricalFirst Person

Steam👍 61%· 30KIGDB77· 25OC75· 111

Year 2016Dev Infinity Ward · ActivisionOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Same family of tactical first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: adventure storytelling, setting space and setting scifi, while skipping ranged combat

#10Call of Duty: Black Ops

89

Call of Duty: Black Ops

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

MultiplayerSoloCo-opMeleeTacticalDarkHorrorHistoricalFirst Person

Steam👍 62%· 294IGDB81· 13

Year 2010Dev Treyarch · ActivisionOn PlayStation 3 · PC · Mac

✓ Fits the tactical first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Where it differs: brings survival mechanics, stealth mechanics and offline, while skipping strong narrative focus

#11Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

88

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerMeleeTacticalDarkNarrativeHistoricalHorrorFirst Person

Steam👍 90%· 23KIGDB76· 15OC78· 84

Year 2015Dev MachineGames · Bethesda SoftworksOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Fits the tactical first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with adventure storytelling, horror tension and stealth mechanics, while skipping ranged combat

#12Heroes & Generals

97

Heroes & Generals

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

MultiplayerCo-opOnlineTacticalRangedMeleeHistoricalFirst Person

Steam👍 68%· 142KRAWG👍 27%· 474

Year 2016Dev Reto-MotoPlaytime ~2hOn PC

✓ Both are tactical first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and combat tactical

≠ Stands apart with open world exploration, exploration and discovery and visual third person, while skipping dark, oppressive atmosphere

95

Black Squad

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

MultiplayerOnlineSoloCo-opRangedMeleeTacticalDarkHistoricalFirst Person

Steam👍 76%· 81KRAWG👍 23%· 240

Year 2017Dev NS STUDIO · NEOWIZPlaytime ~1hOn PC

✓ Same family of tactical first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: PvP competition, free to play and early access, while skipping strong narrative focus

94

War Thunder

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

MultiplayerSoloCo-opOnlineTacticalMeleeRangedHistoricalFirst Person

Steam👍 72%· 747KRAWG👍 47%· 1.0KMC81IGDB65· 3OC75· 13

Year 2013Dev Gaijin EntertainmentPlaytime ~6hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the tactical first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and combat tactical

≠ Where it differs: brings deep simulation, third-person shooting and setting modern, while skipping dark, oppressive atmosphere

93

Insurgency

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

MultiplayerCo-opRangedTacticalMeleeHistoricalFirst Person

Steam👍 92%· 125KRAWG👍 59%· 969MC74IGDB70· 1

Year 2014Dev New World InteractivePlaytime ~4hOn PC · Apple Macintosh · Linux

✓ Nearly identical: shooter, first-person shooting and ranged combat.

≠ Missing: dark, oppressive atmosphere.

Complete list of games with a historical setting like Call of Duty®: Black Ops III

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