Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare's New Gunfight Mode Looks Like Insanely Fast Fun

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is getting a brand new multiplayer mode called Gunfight when it arrives later this year. After watching it in action, we think Infinity Ward might be onto something.

The studio announced Gunfight via Twitter today, describing it as a 2v2 mode "with fast-paced, close quarters, multi-round cage matches." Infinity Ward then linked to four streamers currently playing the mode live: CouRageJD, TylerTeeP, ProSyndicate, and LEGIQN. Naturally, we tuned in, hoping to get a glimpse of what Gunfight offered over the many other types of Call of Duty modes currently available. And what we saw was something that'll likely be very popular with the streaming crowd, which in turn could make it just as popular with everyone else.

Gunfight rounds are quick. You're encouraged to move fast to try and eliminate the other team, because at the 40-second mark, a flag appears in the center of the map that can be captured by whoever defends it for three seconds. Most of the rounds we watched, however, didn't even make it to that point. Once one player is eliminated from a team, the other is usually overwhelmed by the two-on-one they're facing, thanks in part to the small map size. So a typical round might last twenty or thirty seconds, and a full match — first team to six rounds wins — might wrap up in seven or eight minutes.

It's get in, get out gameplay, which is nice. And Gunfight seems to be more about pure shooting and movement than other Call of Duty modes. Both enemies start out in front of you on the other side of the map, so everyone is on even ground from the get-go. And once you're out, you're out for the remainder of the round, so you won't respawn into a poor situation and get gunned down by someone behind you; something that's incredibly frustrating to experience.

Infinity Ward has plans to expand on what else Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's multiplayer will contain on Aug. 1. Gunfight looks like a solid addition, though. We'll be looking forward to jumping in ourselves (and likely getting eliminated immediately) when Modern Warfare arrives on Oct. 25, 2019.