"Each player starts with the same basic pistol. Every time you kill an enemy with your gun, you're upgraded to the next weapon. Anyone killed with a melee attack is demoted to the previous weapon, so watch your flank. Suicides also set you back to the previous tier, most often occurring when using explosive weapons. The match ends when someone cycles through all twenty weapons. Success in Gun Game requires aggressive tactics and familiarity with each weapon in the rotation. Don't worry about dying - just go for a lot of successive kills. "
Derivations of Gun Game also existed in Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, Call of Duty: WWII, Call of Duty: Mobile, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, referred to as Blackjack's Gun Game[2], Epic Gun Game[3], Gun Game - Launchers[4], Wintery Gun Game, Resistance Gun Game, Gun Game: Team Fight, Blueprint Gun Game and Rambo's Gun Game respectively.
The game consists of six players competing in a free-for-all-style game. As players get more kills, the player will receive different weapons. However, melee kills do not advance the killer to a new weapon, but demote players to their previous weapon tier instead (The exception to this rule being Vanguard's Blueprint Gun Game which advances players normally on melee kills). The first person to achieve a kill with all twenty (or 18 in MW3, Ghosts, IW and WWII; 24 in Advanced Warfare) weapon tiers wins. However, if the match ends without anyone getting a kill with all the weapons, the player on the highest weapon tier wins the match. Due to the fact that only 20, 24 or 18 kills are needed to win, and the game is a Free For All, games are usually fairly short.
Direct suicides with a weapon will result in a demotion, except in Call of Duty: Mobile. By definition, this means being caught in the blast of an explosive weapon's splash damage. Suicides by car bombs or red barrels will also demote the player, but suicide by fall damage will not except in Black Ops II.
Also, getting double kills will not advanced the player by two weapon tiers; only one (except in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare).
In Call of Duty: WWII, the Minimap will always scan for players similar to a Recon Aircraft. Melee attacks are also an instant kill regardless of the direction hit. In Call of Duty: Mobile the Minimap scans for players but not constantly like the UAV, but instead at intervals.
This is the default setup for Gun Game on private matches. The weapons and order they are used can be changed, but the attachments are randomly assigned in a fashion similar to how the defaults are.
"You ready for something a little more... Extreme? I got clients who'll double down to see you duke it out using my state-of-the-art Black Market weapons. To the death of course... I'll even double the Crypto-keys as long as you put on a good show... No parties."
Added in the January 13th, 2017 update[3]and removed in the January 20th, 2017 update[5]. Rules are the same as standard Gun Game but this time all weapons are now using an Epic Prototype Weapon variant of their weapon. Kendall 44 is also no longer the default second to last weapon.
All Gun Game playlists end with the RPG-7 and Gravedigger by default. This option is modifiable however, and can be changed to reverse or exclude both or either of these weapons. It is also possible to reverse and randomize the attachments and order of the weapons shown. The lists below are the defaults.
This setup revolves around the use of Grenade Launchers. The base weapon is spawned with no ammo and is therefore unusable. The weapon list is similar to the Tubes variant in Private Match. The list is repeated three times, thus the repetition.
"Eliminate enemies using some of Rambo's weapons of choice. The first player to eliminate a player with each weapon will achieve victory. Become war."
— Playlist description
Rambo's Gun Game was a derivation of Gun Game that was available during the 80s Action Heroes event. Along with weapons, Scorestreaks were available. Players would also spawn with a Stimshot that regenerated automatically.
Advanced Warfare playlist icon (shared with Team Deathmatch).
Black Ops III playlist icon.
Special "Blackjack's Gun Game" playlist icon as seen in Black Ops III.
Infinite Warfare playlist icon.
Modern Warfare Remastered playlist icon.
WWII playlist icon.
Wintery Gun Game playlist icon.
Resistance Gun Game playlist icon.
Vanguard playlist icon.
Modern Warfare III playlist icon.
Videos[]
Call of Duty Black Ops - Multiplayer - Gun Game - Mitts - Nuketown - Stabby Stabby
Gameplay in Call of Duty: Black Ops.
MW3 Gun Game epic win Xbox 360 gameplay
Gameplay in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Call Of Duty Black Ops 2 - Gun Game 1 (Nuketown 2025) *No Commentary*
Gameplay in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
Gun Game 1 Back in action (no commentary) CoD Ghost
Gameplay in Call of Duty: Ghosts.
Gun Game AW PC Gameplay (No Commentary)
Gameplay in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
Trivia[]
General[]
If the player kills someone else by blowing up a car with a launcher, they don't advance to the next tier.
If the player kills someone with a launcher and then kills themselves, they will go back one tier. However, if the enemy damaged the player before they killed themselves, the other player will get an "Assisted Suicide" kill, but will not advance.
Kills from the grave (afterlife kills) will advance the player a tier.
David Vonderhaar, the design director for Treyarch, states that the idea for this game mode came "straight from the community," which was a thread created on their own Community Forums. Gun Game had an overwhelming demand from the majority of the community.
Call of Duty: Black Ops[]
Even though the icon for Gun Game is a Commando, it is not featured in the game mode.
In Ghosts, the first sixteen weapons are randomized within their class, with random attachments. The player can view their current weapon and attachments by selecting Change Class in the menu. However, the assault rifle at thirteen will always have no attachments and the shotgun at fourteen will always have the Slug Rounds attachment in conjunction with a Red Dot Sight.
In Ghosts, the player has two perks, Marathon and Reflex.
However, Reflex is almost useless in this game mode, as weapon swaps are not faster when players advance to the next gun. It is only useful when in the final tier, as it affects the Throwing Knife.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare[]
Gun Game seemed to have been planned to be released as a game mode in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, as in one issue of Newsweek Magazine, it was included with a list of game modes in Advanced Warfare[6]; in addition, audio files for the initial start-up exist. Gun Game was later added to the game on February 13th, 2015.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III[]
When being set back a weapon, Blackjack can be heard faintly laughing.
Despite its description, Wintery Gun Game was not exclusively played on winter maps.
The Resistance Gun Game icon has the Cross of Lorraine scrawled in black paint featured in the corner.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War[]
The song played towards the end of a game of Rambo's Gun Game was "Berlin" by Joseph William Morgan from the album "80's Action".
Call of Duty: Vanguard[]
Gun Game was teased during Season One through the Combat Record. It showed the logo as well as the description of the mode however was removed from the combat record.
