Whether it’s a cup of tea on a rainy day, re-watching your favourite sitcom, or pulling on those old pyjamas you really should’ve replaced by now, we all have our own homely comforts. But for a generation of children of the 1990s and 2000s, nothing says “this is living” like unloading assault rifles and lobbing grenades during online bouts of Call Of Duty (COD). “It’s like putting on a cosy old jumper,” says long-time fan Sam Jones, who started playing in 2007, aged 11. “And as I grew older, it became a comfort. You’ve less time, people drop off, find different interests, but I’ve still got a core group of four or five mates who’ve been playing for 15 years.” Shelby Carleton holds a similar fondness for the franchise, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary. “I started playing COD, actually the original Modern Warfare, when I was a kid,” she recalls, with a belated apology to her parents for ignoring the game’s age rating. “I’d have friends over and I have really fond memories of playing those games and making those friendships.”