- Call of Duty Mobile found success by adapting proven ideas, learning from past mobile shooter trends.
- Matt Lewis admitted early COD mobile attempts didn't work.
Call of Duty Mobile has been one of the biggest action titles available right now, and a lot of things have clicked for it. Replicating the success of COD Mobile for new arrivals isn’t easy for sure, but Matthew Lewis, Vice President of Product, Mobile at Activision has a winning approach to share, “copy what works”.
Speaking at GDC 2025, Matt Lewis shared how Call of Duty: Mobile became a massive success, highlighting the strategy of learning from what works in the “Gaming Reimagined: Mobile’s Impact on Play Today” session, as covered by mobilegamer.biz.
Partnering with Tencent’s Timi Studio, Activision fine-tuned the game for mobile
Lewis acknowledged that the first attempts to bring Call of Duty to mobile didn’t quite hit the mark. The initial effort was a premium game, followed by Call of Duty: Heroes, a free-to-play builder-battler that, as he put it, “largely copied” the 4X strategy games popular at the time.
The development of COD Mobile started in 2017 before industry hits such as PUBG Mobile and Free Fire took off. Still, Activision had already spotted the potential for mobile shooters after seeing Crossfire Mobile succeed in China.
To bring the game to life, they partnered with Tencent Games‘ Timi Studio, with the game focusing on a 5v5 mode. But when PUBG Mobile and Free Fire proved the demand for full-fledged mobile shooters, Activision adjusted its approach, sticking closer to the core Call of Duty experience while optimizing it for mobile.
Well, after that, you know the story, COD Mobile became one of the biggest hits in the genre, where it reported crossing 500 million downloads and $1 billion in revenue just a couple of years after its launch.
Throughout this process, Lewis had his takeaways, which he shared: “I say this proudly, copy what works.” He believes game development isn’t just about original ideas, it’s about studying successful trends and adapting them. He says, “Just be humble and look around and see what’s working.”
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