Top 10 Best Call of Duty Multiplayer Modes, Ranked

Call of Duty multiplayer has seen a lot of innovation since its inception. There have been game mechanics that have come and gone as well as dozens of differing game modes. These game modes would shift from title to title aside from a couple of series mainstays like Team Deathmatch and Hardpoint. But whether classics, fan favorites, or the underappreciated, there are tons of choices to look at when choosing what modes are the best. Today though, we’re going to rank our top 10 Call of Duty multiplayer modes and tell you why they’re the best.

Top 10 Best Call of Duty Multiplayer Modes, Ranked

Our list is extremely varied. From franchise mainstays to some of the forgotten gems, we have it all for both legacy players and newbies. Call of Duty has been hitting its stride over the last few years with iconic modes that seem to stick with every incarnation, so most of these may be very familiar to you overall.

10. Infected

A great game mode to turn to when you want a break from going sweaty in the main lobbies, Infected is the perfect game of zombie tag. Over the last few titles, it seems that the developers behind newer CoD titles are finally making their maps even more Infected friendly with perfect places to hide out as zombies scan the map for survivors.

9. Prop Hunt

Another great game mode to play for an easy-breezy time is Prop Hunt. Borrowed from the original source of its idea, Garry’s Mod, this mode allows players to take the form of inanimate objects as the opposing players hunt them and try to figure out what’s real and what isn’t. This is a new spin on the classic kid game, hide and seek.

8. Gun Fight

If the standard multiplayer lobbies weren’t sweaty enough for you, Gun Fight should get the job done. This mode brings a certain MLG feel to it. Two teams of players spawn with a select set of weapons every few rounds chosen by the game and have to dual to the death. It’s both parts Gun Game and S&D as you can’t respawn and the weapons are a mystery.

7. Sticks and Stones

Serving as yet another departure from regular CoD multiplayer modes, Sticks and Stones sees players in a free-for-all match where your loadout is strictly a Crossbow, Ballistic Knife, and a Tomahawk/Combat Axe. This mode is fun as it’s very skills-based to an unprecedented level. Most folks don’t use these weapons in standard game modes so it really is a test of who’s the most versed player.

6. One in the Chamber

Perhaps the sweatiest multiplayer mode on this list, Gun Game allows players to take the chance of showing off how good they really are. Players spawn with a simple pistol and a single bullet in it. Hitting an enemy typically kills them but in the off-chance that you miss or just get a hit marker, you’re going to need to get a knife kill in order to get yet another bullet. This is a fun one that never gets old.

5. Kill Confirmed

Kill Confirmed is a game that plays similar to TDM but with a spin, you have to pick up the tags of killed enemies for them to count towards your team’s score. This mode is fun because there’s a little more recklessness that can be found as opposed to TDM which has more strategy behind it. Players can play a bit looser without worrying about losing the match for the team as players can pick up their fallen teammates’ tags as well to keep the points from the enemy team.

4. Gun Game

The original inspiration for Gun Fight, Gun Game is a free-for-all unlike any other. Players start off with a simple pistol and work their way up to a better gun with every kill, ending with some of the more abstract weapons in the game. Players can be taken back a gun by being knifed which levels the playing field when the better scoring players are nearing the end. This one has stood the test of time for a reason.

3. 24/7

This mode is perfect to choose if you’re looking to play the same map over and over. Often, you’ll see 24/7 matched up with maps like Modern Warfare (2019)’s Shoot House and Shipment. It’s technically a Moshpit game mode as there are usually multiple types of game modes that come up in rotation but this one beats that out as this allows you to specifically play some of the best maps the games have to offer.

2. Search and Destroy

A gold standard in CoD multiplayer, Search and Destroy is a perfect game mode. Everyone knows it, everyone plays it, and there’s a reason for that. It’s finely crafted and quite possibly the most competitive game mode and is used in CoD gaming tournaments because of its structure of 6v6 with the added element of bombs being planted by one team and the chance to defuse them by the other. There is no other mode like this one.

1. Team Deathmatch

Of course, while S&D is S-tier, TDM just can’t be beaten. Whether you’re a strategic player holding down an important sniping point on the map or you’re a trick-shotting showboat, this game mode allows every kind of player to shine. There’s less strategy needed in it compared to S&D, yet more attention is required than in Kill Confirmed. It’s also the perfect way for all of CoD’s mechanics to be felt. This is always the first game mode I play with a new CoD as it really allows you to get a good sense of the game’s feel.

That’s our list of the top 10 best Call of Duty multiplayer modes, ranked. There are so many modes to choose from but these ones are just so great that they had to make the list.

Related: Top 5 Call of Duty Campaigns Ranked