🎮 Hanging Up My Digital Dog Tags: Why I Finally Quit Call of Duty

BY: Knux456

It’s official — I’ve retired from active duty. After nearly 20 years of running, gunning, raging, and respawning, I’ve finally hung up my Call of Duty dog tags.

I’ve been there since the early days — when the franchise was still trying to figure out how to move past World War II and reinvent itself for the modern era. From COD3 to Modern Warfare 2 and everything in between, I’ve seen it all. I’ve heard it all. And trust me, I’ve said a few things I probably shouldn’t have said back in those Xbox 360 and PS3 lobbies (we all did — that was the wild west).

Over the years, I probably logged 15,000 hours on Call of Duty since getting my PS5. Fifteen. Thousand. Hours. That’s enough time to earn a pilot’s license, build a business, or start a new language — and I spent it in digital warzones fighting twelve-year-olds with mics louder than grenades.

But honestly, I loved it. I met real comrades there — people who became like family. And I also lost a few who made the game more special than the kills or the K/D ratios ever did. Those memories, the teamwork, the chaos… it built a certain kind of discipline and resilience. COD gave us thick skin before the world got sensitive.

Then came the turning point.

Somewhere along the way, the game stopped feeling like a battleground and started feeling like a cash register. The microtransactions got out of hand. The $30 battle passes every season. The weapon blueprints that practically force you to buy if you want to compete. The hackers. The glitches. The broken promises from developers who seemed more focused on monetization than maintaining the heart of the game.

It started to feel like Call of Duty was the one taking shots — at our wallets.

So I made one of the hardest digital decisions of my gaming life…

I deleted Call of Duty — the entire 300GB save file.

Just like that, I freed up space — not only on my console, but in my mind.

Since deleting it, I’ve slept better. I swear less. I can hear silence again. My poor ears have finally stopped ringing from flashbangs and UAVs. And I’ve rediscovered a whole library of games that I’d been neglecting because COD had me trapped in its loop.

And you know what? It feels good.

There’s talk about Battlefield 6 making a comeback — people jumping ship, praising its visuals, its teamwork, its balance. And maybe it really is that good. But me? I think I’m done enlisting.

No medals, no honorable discharge — just a veteran of the world’s longest virtual war, walking away with memories, reflexes, and a few controller calluses.

At this point, I’ve traded in my loadouts for peace of mind.

I’ve officially left the foxhole — and it feels good to breathe again.

What about you? Are you still in the trenches, or have you finally hung up your dog tags too? Drop a comment below or jump into The Gamerhood Chat — let’s talk war stories.