Call of Duty Adds Collateral Mode, a Tactical Buy-System Game Type Similar to CS2 and VALORANT

Call of Duty is introducing Collateral, a new competitive game mode built on the Search and Destroy framework but structured around an economy system long central to Counter-Strike and VALORANT. In Collateral, teams begin each round equipped with pistols and earn in-game cash through actions during play, which they use to purchase weapons, equipment, armor, and perks before subsequent rounds.

According to a Call of Duty blog post, Collateral strips away several series staples. Players lose their loadout when eliminated, there are no custom configurations, no killstreaks, no automatic health regeneration, and no respawns. Teams alternate between attacking and defending two bomb sites.

The available loadout options include an Armor Vest and perks such as Battle Hardened, Lethal Reach, Fast Hands, and Ghost. Equipment choices span Flash Grenade, Molotov Cocktail, Frag Grenade, Stim, Smoke Wall, and Riot Shield. Pistol options include the Silenced Pistol, Revolver, Akimbo Pistols, and Power Pistol. Beyond pistols, players can purchase from a Standard Issue tier featuring Shotgun, Light Machine Gun, Marksman Rifle, and Silenced SMG, and a Tier 1 tier containing Semi-Auto Rifle, High Damage Rifle, Burst Rifle, Silenced Rifle, and Sniper Rifle.

Collateral arrives as Modern Warfare 4 enters an esports landscape where Call of Duty competitive play has cycled through multiple game modes in recent years. Search and Destroy has anchored competitive Call of Duty for over fifteen years, but last season the Call of Duty League adopted Overload, a mode suited to vertically designed maps. Modern Warfare 4 returns to a boots-on-the-ground design, potentially making Overload incompatible with the title.

The introduction of a buy-system mode raises questions about whether Collateral could eventually replace Search and Destroy in professional play, addressing long-standing concerns about the stagnation of competitive Call of Duty formats and the barriers facing new players entering the league.

A notable limitation accompanies the launch: Activision has designated Collateral as PC-only, making it unavailable to players on PlayStation 5 and Xbox platforms. The reasoning behind this restriction remains unclear. Modern Warfare 4 releases October 23.