The Call of Duty franchise is rapidly approaching a new era, with both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 sitting on the horizon. The developers at Activision and Infinity Ward promise an enhanced Gunsmith, improved water graphics, and better enemy AI in MWII, and an evolved version of Warzone that will feature new tech, new content, and new features.
For the next premier Call of Duty release, Modern Warfare 2, there will be a plethora of modes for players to participate in, either by themselves, with allies, or against enemy players. Here’s a breakdown of all the modes that should be coming to MW2 when it officially releases on Friday, Oct. 28.
Campaign
In the MW2 story, Task Force 141 will face off against its most mysterious and daunting threat yet. The player will play alongside some of the iconic characters from the Call of Duty series: Captain John Price, Sergeant Kyle “Gaz” Garrick, Simon “Ghost” Riley, and John “Soap” MacTavish. The campaign will also introduce Colonel Alejandro Vargas of the Mexican Special Forces.
The story will feature “offshore sieges with underwater combat, all-out explosive assaults from 30,000 feet above enemy strongholds, and high-stakes, low-profile stealth missions” taking place around the world from Europe to Asia to the Americas.
Spec Ops
At the conclusion of the campaign, players will be able to work alongside a teammate in Special Ops missions. These narrative-driven missions challenge you and your duo to work together and will “set the stage” for your entry into the multiplayer mode.
Multiplayer
The driving force of any new Call of Duty release, the mode that’s meant to bring you back over and over is, of course, multiplayer. The first bit of unreleased footage shows a handful of new details and features, including the ability to swim through, dive into, and play around water. Lots of new equipment is set to be introduced as well.
Core (six-vs-six) game modes
Two new game modes are set to be introduced to core multiplayer. One of these is Knockout, described as a “Gunfight meets Core multiplayer” experience, where two teams fight over a bag of money that spawns in one of three areas on the map. Another new mode is Prisoner Rescue, where one team fights to free a group of prisoners held hostage by the other team, a la core game modes in titles like CS:GO or Rainbow Six: Siege.
Some of the traditional CoD game modes in multiplayer are returning as well in MW2:
- Free-for-All: Eliminate everyone. First player to reach 30 eliminations wins.
- Team Deathmatch: First team to reach 75 eliminations wins.
- Domination: Complete for control of three zone marked by flags. Control over zones awards points. First team to 200 points wins.
- Hardpoint: Capture a location that rotates every minute. Control over the hardpoint awards points. First team to 250 points wins.
- Headquarters: Capture the HQ, then defend it. Respawns are disabled for the team that holds the HQ. Holding the HQ awards points. First team to 200 points wins.
- Control: Take turns attacking and defending two objectives. Each team shares a pool of 30 lives. First team to win three rounds wins the match.
- Search and Destroy: Take turns attacking and defending an objective. No respawns. Attackers win by planting and detonating a bomb, or by defeating all defenders. Defenders win by eliminating all attackers, preventing a bomb plant, or defusing a bomb. First team to win four rounds wins the match.
Kill Confirmed will not be a playable mode, at least at launch.
Big Battle Map modes (up to 32-vs-32)
- Ground War: Two teams of 32 players fight to capture an odd number of objectives, like a “supersized” version of Domination. First team to 250 points wins.
- Ground War Invasion: A massive battle pitting mixes of players and AI against each other. First team to reach 2,000 points wins.
Warzone
Very little has surfaced about the next version of Warzone, which is tentatively being referred to as Warzone 2 by the developers. They’ve said that they’ve “taken a wide range of community feedback to heart,” and that there will be plenty of new content, systems, and features coming when it arrives in late 2022.
