Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is Sledgehammer Games' first Call of Duty game where they were the primary developer, and Activision was the publisher. The game is a first-person shooter that was developed for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One by Sledgehammer Games, while High Moon Studios developed the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. The multiplayer and the Exo-Zombies modes were developed by Raven Software.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is a first-person shooter just like every other Call of Duty game, but there are some important changes that make it different from the previous games. There's no traditional HUD (heads-up display) in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, as all information is given to the player through holographic projections from the weapon that the player has currently equipped. The shooting mechanics have remained unchanged, but the movement has been changed thanks to the "Exo" movement system. The Exoskeleton that the players equip can use things like boosts, dashes, and sky jumps to move around the map.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is also the first Call of Duty game where the player has the option of choosing a different type of weaponry. You can pick your normal, conventional firearms to use in battle, but you also have the option of picking laser or directed energy weapons, all of which have different attributes that can be used for different playstyles. Alongside these new weapon types and the Exo movements, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare also has these so-called Exo abilities. These abilities are used to give players more combat options and picking your abilities will determine the way you approach combat situations. An example of this is the Exo Cloak, an Exo ability that allows the player to become invisible for a certain period of time.