Gun Game

A kill-based weapon progression mode in first-person shooters.

Gun Game is a multiplayer video game mode that originated as a Counter-Strike mod and was later adopted as an official mode in several first-person shooter series, including Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (as Arms Race), and Valorant (as Escalation). In this deathmatch variant, each kill immediately upgrades the player's weapon through the game's arsenal from weakest to strongest, with the winner being the first to score a kill with the final weapon, typically a combat knife. Critics have praised the mode for its fast-paced, brief rounds that increase a game's appeal, though it is noted to be particularly vulnerable to players who go AFK.

Quick Facts

Field: Multiplayer video game mode

Facts from the source article.

Description

At the start of a Gun Game round, all players share an equally weak weapon. Each kill advances the player's gun to a higher tier, while killed players have their progress reset upon respawn. Later weapons are generally stronger but may be more difficult to use, such as sniper rifles. Reaching the highest tier replaces the gun with a combat knife; a kill with the knife wins the round and restarts the game. Arenas are typically small and symmetrical to avoid giving either side an advantage.

Reception

Ben Kidson of PCGamesN praised Arms Race in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, contrasting the mode's near-immediate respawn with the typical permadeath of Counter-Strike, and called the lack of gun purchasing oddly liberating. Craig Pearson of Rock Paper Shotgun described Arms Race as if someone accidentally tumble-dried Counter-Strike. Wesley Yin-Poole of Eurogamer called Call of Duty: WWII's Gun Game especially awesome but noted a major problem with AFK players, who were encouraged to play through rounds as part of Special Order incentives and found Gun Game the quickest method, calling for developer punishment.

Imogen Beckhelling of Rock Paper Shotgun called Valorant's Escalation mode exactly the sort of game she craves between usual tense shoot-outs, noting it randomized special abilities for various agents and describing the result as brilliant chaos and fab, though wanting even more chaos. Jeremy Peel of PC Gamer described Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's Gun Game as a mode that might be older than some of its players, with a challenging curve due to later sniper rifles, but resulting in one of the finest highs when winning. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell of Rock Paper Shotgun called Gun Game the bestest-best game mode.