The original game takes place in Texas and Mexico in 1884 and tells the story of Reverend Ray McCall as he hunts down his nephew Billy, who has been wrongly accused of murdering his parents.

Taking place from 1880 to 1910, and spread across Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico Territory, Wyoming, and Mexico, it tells the story of bounty hunter Silas Greaves and his encounters with many of the legends of the Wild West, including Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and the Dalton Gang.

In the original game, the player controls alternating protagonists level-by-level - Billy 'Candle' and Ray McCall, each of whom has a different style of gameplay.

[28] Guerra gets a damage bonus when using light machine guns and shotguns, whilst his speciality skill is the ability to dual wield SMGs.

[36] During combat, when he draws either handgun, concentration mode is automatically activated, and the game goes into slow motion, with two targeting reticles appearing on either side of the screen, each moving towards the centre.

[43][44] Other forms of concentration mode include falls, door breaches, Quick Time Events (QTEs), and "Sense of Death".

To draw Ray's gun, the player must move the mouse/analog stick downwards and then snap it upwards, at which point a reticule appears on screen which can be controlled as normal.

[36][37] In Bound in Blood, duels switch the game to third-person, with the player needing to keep the character's hand as close to his gun as possible without touching it.

We treat the project with the highest priority and we want the game to be seen as a serious player in the FPP shooter market, despite the Wild West themed action.

[61]The designers were especially keen to make a specifically Western-themed first-person shooter, as they felt the FPS genre had become overly dominated by World War II and science fiction games.

[62] The engine also facilitated wind effects, alterations to object properties when interacting with liquids, Shader Model 3.0-based simulation and animation of vegetation, fumes and smoke, and changes in daytime and the position of global lighting.

[68][69] The developers had taken on board the most common criticisms of the first game (mainly concerning the platforming and stealth sections), whilst enhancing the mechanics of the original that received the most praise, namely Ray's gameplay.

"[71] Specific influences included Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), James Mangold's 3:10 to Yuma (2007), and Ed Harris's Appaloosa (2008).

[8] The team also drew inspiration from real life, with Orkin stating, "many of the actual outlaws of the time were former confederate soldiers; Jesse James and his brothers, the Youngers.

"[71] Bound in Blood sold considerably better than the original game (over 1 million units) and The Cartel was announced in February 2011.

After a non-playable demo was shown at PAX in March, IGN's Martin Robinson wrote, "it looks like Call of Juarez has ditched its one point of distinction, exposing an insipid shooter that's lost a fistful of charm in the process.

"[42] Similarly, GameSpot's Jane Douglas wrote, "as unlikely decisions go, setting a Wild West franchise's third installment in 21st-century Los Angeles and Mexico ranks on par with a disco-era Prince of Persia reboot.

"[26] Techland's project coordinator, Błażej Krakowiak, explained the relocation; "we moved the franchise to a modern setting because we felt the Wild West values and experience are universal.

"[10] Ubisoft further explained, during the development of Bound in Blood people kept asking us whether the traditional Western was still relevant in modern times.

[74]The game was built using Chrome Engine 5, and according to the developers, several individual levels, such as one set in a packed nightclub, feature more assets than the entirety of Bound in Blood.

[76][77][78] Gunslinger was announced in September 2012, with Ubisoft emphasising that the game would feature legendary Wild West figures such as Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, Wyatt Earp, Butch Cassidy, and Jesse James, and that for the first time in the series, an experience point-based skill progression system would be utilised.

[79][80][81] Addressing why the team had returned to the Wild West after setting The Cartel in the modern-day, Krakowiak stated, "we did so for a number of reasons, but basically because of what we've heard from fans and the fact that we're ready to believe that this is where the series belongs.

"[83] Indeed, Techland knew another subpar game would kill the franchise, with design expert Xavier Penin, who also contributed to the script, stating, "we were on a mission to save the Call of Juarez brand, literally.

Many critics were impressed with how the game recreated an authentic Western tone, and Marc Alaimo's voice acting as Ray was generally lauded.

"[17] IGN's Dan Adams was more critical, arguing that "solid basic shooting mechanics aren't enough to make a passable game good.

Criticism tended to focus on poor enemy AI, repetitive level design, and, the lack of any kind of co-op.

"[107] IGN's Anthony Gallegos argued, "it's not the worst shooter I've played, but it's got all the problems of a budget title and few redeeming qualities.

"[109] PC Gamer's Tom Senior called it "a steaming turd", "bland, repetitive, and dull," and "brainless, generic and devoid of personality.

[119] By the end of September, the game had sold 900,000 units across all systems, making it one of Ubisoft's best selling titles for the first half of the fiscal year.

[121] In July, Ubisoft released its first quarterly financial report, in which they revealed that digital downloads were up 27% from the same time period the previous year.