Ever since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare changed FPS multiplayer, every Call of Duty title afterward has introduced new mechanics, maps, and modes to keep things fresh. Out of everything each CoD game has added, game modes have seen the most interesting iterations.
Hardcore variants, third-person playlists, Modern Warfare 3's Kill Confirmed, Black Ops 4's Heist, and now Modern Warfare's Ground War are excellent examples of this iteration. The newest Modern Warfare entry has taken heavy inspiration from past entries, resulting in some incredible game modes for players to experience. Ranging from Gun Game to Battle Royale, here are the 10 best game modes in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
10 Gun Game
The number of weapons and attachment options in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare can make it intimidating to break away from using one or two load-outs.
Gun Game is a great excuse to get out of your comfort zone. You spawn with a pistol and progress to different weapons by killing others. After you work through most of Modern Warfare's roster, you must finish a target with a Combat Knife to win. Matches are quick and frantic with players trying to knife each other to derank top players. If you want to familiarize yourself with MW's sandbox, this is a great way to do so.
9 Free-For-All
Frantic gunfights are the soul of Free-For-All matches. You stand against 7 other players and must make it to the top 3 to claim victory. You are solely responsible for winning or losing.
Not having teammates to rely on is a blessing and a curse. You can use your strategies and rely on your wits, but that also means any mistake can lead to you losing the game. This tension helps players learn key chokepoints and camping spots on most of Modern Warfare's maps. You'll be a pro at navigating maps if you play this mode enough.
8 Team Deathmatch
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare wouldn't be a proper Call of Duty entry if Team Deathmatch wasn't included. Two teams of six go head-to-head in a variety of maps to score the most amount of kills.
Modern Warfare allows for 6v6 and 10v10 matches, each playlist incorporating different maps. Smaller maps fair well in TDM, allowing for great flanking opportunities and a display of true gun skills. Larger maps sour this mode somewhat, with most of MW's launch, maps being too large, and lacking flow for fun engagements. If you get Shoot House or Vacant, though, you're in for a good time.
7 Ground War
Battlefield players will feel right at home playing Modern Warfare's Ground War. Two teams of 32 fight over 5 objectives with guns, tanks, and helicopters.
It's a model that seems paradoxical to CoD's fast-paced nature on paper, but it works surprisingly well in practice. Fast time-to-kill keeps Ground War much more distinct than Battlefield and makes the long spawn times all-the-more punishing. As long as you don't mind the occasional death out of your control, Ground War is a fantastic way to level up Modern Warfare's more niche weapons like sniper rifles or launchers.
6 Hardpoint
Introduced in Black Ops 2, Hardpoint is Call of Duty's take on King of the Hill modes from other shooters. Teams must fight over a section of the map and defend it against the enemy team to earn points.
This zone will rotate periodically, keeping matches fresh and to prevent an overreliance on camping. Modern Warfare's more strategic elements like Deployable Cover and mounting guns play a larger role than most modes. Map control and team coordination matter a lot more than kills in Hardpoint.
5 Gunfight
Face-Off was an underrated game mode for Modern Warfare 3 that seems forgotten. Solos, duos, or trios would queue to fight against another team in small maps with limited lives.
Gunfight is a great rendition of MW3's Face-Off mode. Two squads of duos fight in a small map with one life over multiple rounds to see who's best. Listening for footsteps and callouts are critical to succeeding in this intense game mode. Friendships and gun skills alike are tested to great effect in Gunfight.
4 Warzone
Battle Royale has taken the gaming industry by storm. Every major shooter has some form of BR mode now, so it's no surprise that Modern Warfare took a crack at the formula.
What is surprising is how good it is. Titled Call of Duty: Warzone, 150 players fight in a massive map while scavenging weapons, armor, and killstreaks. Warzone's sandbox is so robust yet balanced (mostly) that it scratches a certain FPS itch that no other BR game and few FPS games can. If Infinity Ward can reduce the number of cheaters in this mode, Warzone might be one of the best things added to Modern Warfare. Best of all, it's free! You don't need a copy of Modern Warfare to play this.
3 Cranked
Team Deathmatch with a twist, Cranked is about rewarding aggressive players with speed boosts on kills. If you can't kill someone in 30 seconds after your last, you die.
The score you earn is doubled while Cranked on top of receiving most of Modern Warfare's speed perks, which results in far fewer campers and more players running-and-gunning. Any mode that discourages camping is a plus, which is why Cranked is so common in most playlists. For those who think Cranked is too fast-paced for their liking, Team Deathmatch is always an alternative.
2 Kill Confirmed
Alternatively, you can play Kill Confirmed instead of Team Deathmatch or Cranked. Introduced in Modern Warfare 3, Kill Confirmed requires players to walk over dead bodies to score kills.
Dog Tags drop from any dead player, allies or enemies. Grabbing friendly Tags will deny the enemy a point while grabbing an enemy's Dog Tag grants a point. On good maps, Kill Confirmed is a blast to play since it encourages players to frequently move around the map. Kill Confirmed is Call of Duty firing on all of its cylinders in the best possible way.
1 Plunder
If Kill Confirmed is Call of Duty firing on all cylinders, Plunder is Call of Duty cranked up to 11. Plunder is a variant of Warzone that is about collecting as much cash as possible.
It brilliantly combines the frantic engagements of Warzone, the sandbox of Ground War, and ties it together with a simple mechanic like Kill Confirmed. Having unlimited lives and spawning with loadouts makes deaths less punishing but enough of a risk to keep matches tense. When your team becomes marked on the map for having so much cash, chaos ensues. Killstreaks, explosives, and vehicles all enter the picture to keep Plunder matches engaging. Anyone who wants a more casual and chaotic experience from Warzone's traditional Battle Royale mode should give Plunder a try.