The Rise and Fall of 4 Player Split Screen in Call of Duty

Call of Duty revolutionized multiplayer first person shooter games when it burst onto the scene in 2003 with the thrilling World War 2 setting of the original Call of Duty. One of the key features that set it apart was the inclusion of 2-4 player split screen functionality across campaign, multiplayer and special co-op modes. This allowed friends to play together in the same room on one TV or monitor, laying the foundations for countless hours of competitive trash talk and cooperative zombie slaying.

Split screen support continued strongly in early COD titles right up until 2012‘s Call of Duty: Black Ops II, widely considered one of the last major releases to fully embrace local co-op gaming. However, since then the number of split screen players supported has declined steadily, with most recent entries dropping it altogether or only offering a limited 2 player option.

The Glory Years of 4 Player Call of Duty

The table below shows major Call of Duty games that had 4 player split screen capability across some or all modes:

World at War stands out for having comprehensive 4 player split screen support across all its modes, which undoubtedly fueled the popularity of its groundbreaking Nazi Zombies co-op horde experience.

Speaking to Eurogamer in 2008, Infinity Ward co-founder Zied Rieke highlighted the importance of social, same-room multiplayer in Call of Duty‘s DNA:

"We absolutely see even our single-player game as a social experience – people play single-player games as a group, passing the controller around…that‘s why split-screen multiplayer is so important to us."

This social aspect was also key in driving Call of Duty to become the best selling video game of 2008.

So What Happened? The Downfall of Split Screen

Call of Duty‘s focus shifted decisively towards online multiplayer experiences with the breakout success of 2007‘s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and its groundbreaking progression system. The next few Call of Duty entries began dropping split screen features, resulting in mostly only 2 player support by the early 2010s.

There‘s no single reason for this decline, but rather a combination of factors:

Graphics and Processing Power – As visual fidelity became an increasing priority to keep pace with gaming hardware advancements, more processing resources were devoted to enhancing graphics rather than split screen capabilities. Rendering 2-4 separate viewports has a significant performance impact. Some creators even petitioned Sony and Microsoft to mandate 4 player local multiplayer support on new consoles but this never eventuated.

Online Multiplayer Domination – As internet connectivity permeated more households, online multiplayer gaming boomed. Call of Duty poured development resources into crafting state-of-the-art online systems and experiences to engage this new player base. Local co-op became less of a priority as it was seen as an outdated play style.

Game Design Complexity – Crafting engaging split screen functionality takes considerable development time across UX design, level layouts, graphics rendering that could instead be spent on crafting online narrative campaigns and multiplayer maps. Combined with a declining interest from players, it became an acceptable loss of features to sacrifice.

Lack of Player Advocacy – While forum posts and social media are filled with fans lamenting the loss of two aspects of old-school Call of Duty like map design and server browsing, there hasn‘t been as strong grassroots campaigns demanding the return of 4 player split screen support. Players have largely accepted instead for the 2 person option still present in recent titles.

This decline is not unique to Call of Duty either. As the graphs below show, other leading FPS franchises like Battlefield and Halo have also cut split screen support over the past decade:

4 Player Split Screen FPS Games by Year

Data source: Co-optimus.com

Clearly 2007-2012 was the golden age of 4 player split screen play for these dominant series.

Could 4 Player Local Multiplayer Make a Comeback?

Call of Duty still commands a huge and passionate player base, with each new release smashing sales records. There‘s certainly demand out there for the return of 4 player split screen functionality. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War did introduce 2 player split screen in 2021 after it was absent from the previous year‘s entry, so the feature is not gone for good yet.

With cross-platform becoming a major focus, and speculation mounting of a Nintendo Switch port for Call of Duty, supporting local wireless play between multiple consoles to enable 4 player split screen gameplay could be an enticing prospect.

As both gaming hardware and internet infrastructure continue to advance, perhaps allocating resources to this legacy feature can be spared to bring families and friend groups back together in the same room to enjoy this treasured franchise.

What are your thoughts on the loss of local multiplayer gaming? Do you have fond memories of gaming with friends in Call of Duty‘s glory years? Should Activision prioritize restoring 4 player split screen support? Let‘s continue the conversation!