World Recon is a first-person shooter computer/video game franchise published by Activision. The series began on the PC, and later expanded to consoles and handhelds. World Recon is a crossover of various Warner Bros. and DreamWorks settings based in a universe made specifically for the series. The series centers on a elite combat operations military code-named World-Peace Dreams. The first two installments take place during World War II, while the more recent games focus on modern warfare.
As of October 2013, the World Recon series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide. A wide variety of related merchandise has been released along with the games, including soundtracks, figurines, companion books, novels, and manga series.
Titles
Games
- World Recon is the first game in the series, released in North America on September 19, 1999 for PC and PlayStation. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War I.
- World Recon 2: Legend Legacy is the second game in the fanchise and a direct sequel to the first game. It was released on PlayStation 2 and PC on November 19, 2001.
- World Recon Metal is the third installment in the series developed by Blizzard Entertainment, making it the first not to be developed by Neversoft. It was released on the PlayStation 2, and Xbox on July 19, 2003
- World Recon 3: Ice Cube Drinker is a cold-war era set first-person shooter and the fourth installment in the series. Released on January 25, 2005, the game was developed by Neversoft.
- World Recon Metal 2: Liberty of Dreams is the fifth installment of the main series. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube on November 22, 2006.
- World Recon: Desert Storm developed by is the sixth installment of the main series developed by Neversoft. It was released on November 15, 2007 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii.
- World Recon Metal 3: Sons of Patriots is the seventh installment of the main series. It was developed by Blizzard Entertainment and published by Activision. The game was released worldwide on May 13, 2008, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows.
- World Recon (2011) was announced on May 13, 2010. It was a reboot of the series and was developed by Deadlock Interactive, with the multiplayer developed by Infinity Ward. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on January 18, 2011. It is the first game in the series not to receive a Mature rating from the ESRB.
- World Recon Tactical developed by Beenox and published by Activision for release on January 23, 2012. Officially announced on November 8, 2011, the game is the eighth entry of the World Recon series, the first game in the series to be developed by Beenox.
- World Recon: In'Sync is the sequel to the 2011 reboot and the ninth main installment in the series, and was developed at Deadlock Interactive. The game was released on January 15, 2013.
Characters
Reception
The World Recon series has been critically and commercially successful, though each title has seen different levels of success. As of March 2011, the series has sold over 97 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the highest selling video game franchises of all time. The three main games in the series all met with positive sales at the time of their releases. In the first two months since the North American release of World Recon, it was one of the top three highest-selling first-person shooter video games until 2007's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.