What is Cutthroat in Modern Warfare 3?

Call of Duty as a yearly entry always needs to add new content to keep things fresh and entice players to join in on the new game as opposed to chilling on the old one. And in Modern Warfare 3, one of the new modes is called Cutthroat.

CoD started out with a handful of base game modes but added more and more over time. Who can forget modes like Hardpoint joining in Black Ops 2, Uplink in Advanced Warfare, or Blitz in Ghosts? The list is long, and many game modes have stood the test of time. Even party modes come back around every now and then, like All For One or Gun Game.

CoD fans hopping online for some matches in this year’s game, Modern Warfare 3, who find something called “Cutthroat” in their menus are likely confused. Just what exactly is Cutthroat, and how do you play it?

Here’s everything to know about Cutthroat in MW3.

What is Cutthroat in MW3?

Cutthroat is a new game mode in MW3 multiplayer, much like Invasion was a new mode to Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer the year prior.

CoD’s devs are always looking at ways to innovate and add to the already-existing listen of classic modes like Search and Destroy, Domination, Kill Confirmed, and more, and this year’s new entry by Sledgehammer Games is Cutthroat.

In Cutthroat, three teams of three face off against each other on “core multiplayer” six-vs-six maps. And that’s where the fun begins.

“Operators have only one life per round; eliminate the enemy teams or capture the overtime flag to win the round,” Activision said after debuting the mode at CoD Next. “Will you charge in gunning for everyone, or let the other two teams whittle each other down first? The opportunities are endless in this new chaotic mode arriving at launch.”

It almost sounds like Cutthroat is a sort of three-team variation on the Gulag of Warzone. But while the Gulag is one-vs-one, this one is for nine players spread across three times. Wins can be secured by killing the enemy, or by capturing the overtime flag, just like in Warzone’s Gulag.

If you were scrolling through MW3’s multiplayer mode menus and wondering what Cutthroat is before jumping in, now we hope you know what you’re getting into first. It’s your team against two others in a match of skills and strategy.

Just make sure to bring a couple of buddies and dominate.