Activision has announced several new maps and three new game modes for the upcoming first-person shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. In addition to introducing new movement features, raids, and environment interaction, Modern Warfare 2 will come with a selection of new maps for both smaller team-based and larger Ground War multiplayer games. In terms of game modes, new and exciting additions are making it to the game to compliment the fan favorites.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the reboot of one of the most popular Calls of Duty titles ever, the 2009 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. It is also a direct sequel to 2019's reboot of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and continues where the game left off. The reboot brings a host of improvements over the original, and not only in terms of visuals and renewed experience. The gameplay is updated with new Battle Maps that are designed for up to 32 players per side, and Core gameplay puts teams of six against each other in specialized, custom-made multiplayer maps.
New Maps in Modern Warfare 2
Modern Warfare 2 will launch with two types of maps, Battle Maps and Core Maps. The Battle Maps are built upon Infinity Ward's experiences from its free-to-play battle royale title Call of Duty: Warzone, and what it learned from the game's launch map Verdansk. These maps are designed for 32 vs 32 gameplay. Each team consists of multiple squads that are working together to defeat their enemies.
These maps are built within the world of the upcoming Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, which is under development at the same time as Modern Warfare 2. Infinity Ward is testing the areas simultaneously as a part of Warzone 2.0's battle royale gameplay and Ground War in Modern Warfare 2. The team didn't reveal specifics of the maps, but clarified that every building will be explorable, and each vehicle can be driven.
Core Maps, on the other hand, are Modern Warfare 2's smaller team-based multiplayer maps. On these custom-made maps, players join a six-player Task Forces that fights opposing factions in specialized environments. Compared to Ground War's Battle Maps, these are more straightforward and action-oriented but offer unique settings and challenges. So far, Infinity Ward has announced the following three 6v6 maps, with more to come at launch and in each season of Modern Warfare 2.
- Valderas Museum is set in Spain, with very clean sightlines, easy-to-read thoroughfares, and modern architecture.
- Farm 18, a training facility in an undisclosed location within an old, abandoned cement factory and a “Shoothouse” in the middle of it.
- Mercado Las Almas is a small bustling marketplace with fast-paced routes and lanes that blend together that lead to pure, frenetic fun.
New Game Modes in Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will also be adding new game modes in addition to the favorites from the original title. While the 2009 Modern Warfare 2 only had a few modes when it launched, the reboot will have a myriad of modes and adds several unique ones, too. The returning fan favorites include the likes of Team Deathmatch and Domination, while the following are new ones introduced during the Open Beta.
First is Knockout, a team-based game mode where the players try to either eliminate the opposing team or hold the package to win a round. There are no respawns and no way for teammates to revive their fallen comrades. The last one standing is the winner unless someone holds the money bag for 60 seconds. Picking up the cash package is as simple as running over it, but gamers must remember that the position of the package holder is known to other players via the minimap. The players can voluntarily drop the bag, but it is also dropped automatically when downed. Knockout is a fast-paced mode with elements from Modern Warfare or Black Ops' 2v2 Gunfight mode as well as the final circle of Warzone.
On the surface, Prisoner Rescue is as simple as it sounds; lead the team and secure the hostages, or make sure the prisoners aren't freed. In this game mode, teammates can revive the players, but respawns are not allowed. Hostages can't be killed, and they need to be carried back to the team's extraction point. Also, similarly to previous hostage modes Operators carrying the hostages are slowed down, can't prone or climb, and can only use their sidearms. The winner is determined by awarding points to attackers for every prisoner extracted or to the defender for preventing the taking of hostages.
Lastly, Ground War gets a new game mode called Invasion. In this large-scale Team Deathmatch, the players fight against other human enemies and AI combatants, and they collect points by eliminating enemies with loadout items, vehicles, and UAVs. Each team starts from its headquarters with human players and AIs entering the battlefield. The battlefield is divided by a front line, determined by player locations. Each team's respawn depends on the current stage of the battlefield, so advancing is important to maintain control over the enemy. Killstreaks make a comeback in Modern Warfare 2, and in Invasion, killstreak packages are dropped periodically on the map for the first one there to grab. All that aside, there's only one, simple objective: kill the enemy. The team with the most kills at the end of the match wins the game.
In addition to these new multiplayer modes, Modern Warfare 2 is going to feature raids. These are co-operative missions made popular by shooters by Destiny, which brought a popular MMORPG feature from games like World of Warcraft successfully to modern multiplayer shooters. While Infinity Ward didn't reveal all the details about raids, it confirmed that these are three-player co-op endeavors that take a few hours to complete - not too dissimilar from Destiny's raids. Raids are released periodically throughout the seasons of Modern Warfare 2's planned two-year tenure.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launches on October 28 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.