Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Cutthroat Mode is Round-Based, 3v3v3 Action

Most Call of Duty games try to innovate on what came before. They try to separate themselves from the rest of the series. One of the ways Modern Warfare 3 tries to accomplish that is with a brand-new mode. And it’s something the series hasn’t had in a long time. Called Cutthroat, the mode is a neat twist on Team Deathmatch and Domination. It also asks players to think about map flow in a new way, as it changes up both spawn points and objective play. Hopefully, it’s for the better.

What We Know About Cutthroat So Far

Cutthroat is a 3v3v3 mode, pitting three teams against one another on any of the 16 classic maps. To win, only one team must be left standing. But unlike a traditional Team Deathmatch game, there are some new updates to consider.

• You only have one life.
• If you’re killed during a round, you’re out.
• You don’t immediately die when brought to 0 health. First, you’ll go into a downed state. If your teammates can get to you in time, you can be revived.
• Spawn points and objectives rotate each round.

Spawn Points

One of the key concepts for Cutthroat was triangles. Spawn points will switch each round to always keep the map flowing differently. The objective flag will also shift from round to round, meaning different parts of the map will be the focus depending on the moment.

Round Lengths and Objectives

Rounds are apparently meant to go quickly in Cutthroat. So, while I’d expect there to be plenty of players and teams who want to slow things down, the round timer is probably fairly short. What’s unclear is whether each round will use the whole map or a smaller portion of it. Some of the classic Modern Warfare (2009) maps were pretty big, and if an objective isn’t placed intelligently, or there’s little punishment for sitting and waiting for a round to end, Cutthroat could have problems.

Despite these concerns, I think Cutthroat could be a solid addition to Modern Warfare 3, at least in the near term. It’s bound to have a fanbase, though whether that group is large or small remains to be seen. Stay tuned for more as we get closer to the release of MW3 on November 10 for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms.