WATCH – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer reveal

Activision has given us our first look at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer in a fresh trailer.

Revealed during the Call of Duty Next livestream, the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 clip gives us our first look at several of the game’s new features in action. The game’s Gunsmith weapon customizer has been revamped, water is now a focus of the game, and even player movement has been spruced up with new toys – like ledge hanging.

Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer design director Geoff Smith said the team looked closely at the different “player behaviors” to push forward the multiplayer experience of the next Call of Duty. They’ve added a whole bunch of new mechanics off the back of that, building off previous Call of Duty games, as well as adding totally fresh ideas.

You can watch the trailer below to see it all for yourself. You can also sign up for the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta now. 

Map

Multiplayer design director Geoff Smith said Modern Warfare 2’s 6v6 maps have been refined to make for a tighter experience. In comparison to Modern Warfare 2019, they’re a little more “straightforward” and “refined”, but will also play very quickly.

We got a look at two of them. Sarrif Bay is a fishing town filled with boats and water – which should allow for a lot of swimming. Expect lots of ledge hanging on the rooftops, too. They’ll provide a natural home for snipers

Mercado Las Almas is a Mexican street market that makes for a tight urban environment. The map will play super fast with a lot of action funneled into its main street. Flanking will be extra important on this one.

Game modes

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will introduce a new Invasion game mode. Although a 20v20 player game mode, each side will get an extra 20 AI to help them. It’s described as a “high action mode” but also “chill” that lets you play to your style. The Ai is reactive, too. They’ll hunt you down if you stay put, camping on a roof.

A new 6v6 mode is also coming. Prisoner Rescue is an attack-defend mode. The defenders have two prisoners that must be protected. The Attackers must get both prisoners, pick up and exfiltrate the from the map. Attackers get a radar sweep when they have the prisoner, given them an advantage. The defenders will also lose their objective marker on the prisoners, so have to find them before the attackers leave.

(Image credit: Activision)

Water

Joseph Cicot, Modern Warfare 2's co-design director of multiplayer Joseph Cicot, said water is more important than ever in Call of Duty. While some environmental design has come into previous games – like frozen lakes in Warzone – the “aquatic experience” will be essential to Modern Warfare 2.

You’ll have to use bodies of water for cover to escape enemy fire, jump into lakes to escape enemies, and be careful to avoid boats and floating mines. Only certain weapons function underwater, so you’ll have to rely on your sidearm rather than your primary weapon. But even they’ll feel different underwater.

Movement

Modern Warfare 2 is offering a lot of new ways to move about the maps. Rather than just walking or running about corridors, you’ll be nipping about the place to evade enemy fire.

“Fluid movement is super important to us,” said Cicot. You’ll be able to slide and mount obstacles, but will now also be able to hang from a ledge while unloading your sidearm. The idea is to give yourself more protection from incoming fire.

That should make for some pretty cinematic moments. Activision says you’ll be able to dive out of windows to escape grenades, or peek around corners to nip enemies in tactical firefights. 

(Image credit: Activision)

Gunsmith 2.0

Call of Duty’s weapon customization system has received a major overhaul. Attachments will now be shared across all weapons, meaning you swap around paraphernalia more quickly, without having to grind each gun. The idea is to make guns more personal to you, as you outfit them with exactly the attachments you want.

As you’d expect, there’s a bunch of attachments to choose from. You’ll be able to swap around muzzles, sights, rear grip, magazine, grips, receiver, and more. It should make for a deeper Gunsmith system that caters to a bigger variety of players.

• Modern Warfare 2 scraps decades of tradition with new third-person mode