Modern Warfare 2 Gun Game mode has classic Call of Duty mini-map, unlike the rest of the game

Modern Warfare 2 got the much-loved Gun Game mode this week – and players have discovered it uses the classic Call of Duty mini-map that’s absent from the rest of the game.

Call of Duty’s mini-map is always a talking point, but Modern Warfare 2’s iteration proved particularly divisive.

Unlike some previous Call of Duty games, Modern Warfare 2’s mini-map only shows enemy player dots when a UAV is active. This means it does not display red dots when enemy players sprint or fire their unsuppressed weapons.

In September, ahead of the release of the game, Infinity Ward explained the decision:

“The design reason for this is that we do not want to punish players for firing their weapons. We also want players to actively search out the origin of a gunshot versus just traveling directly to where the dot is on the mini-map. We continue to gather feedback on how the game is playing in regards to this topic.”

Modern Warfare 2 then launched as expected – with this new, divisive mini-map. And so it comes as some surprise to find Gun Game features the classic Call of Duty mini-map many fans had called for before launch.

As spotted by Call of Duty YouTuber JGOD, the mini-map in Gun Game shows enemy players who fire their unsurprised weapons as red dots:

What’s unclear at this stage is whether this change is intended or a bug of some kind. Its addition was not mentioned in patch notes, and Infinity Ward has yet to reference it on its socials.

Whatever the case, Gun Game’s mini-map has sparked renewed discussion around Modern Warfare 2’s mini-map, and reinforced the feeling the classic mini-map should be applied to the entire multiplayer portion of the game.