While most modes in Call of Duty are variants of traditional Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and King of the Hill gameplay styles, Prop Hunt is quite a bit different.  Think of it as a virtual game of Hide and Seek.  The game features two different teams; Props and Hunters.  The Props are the players who do the hiding, while the Hunters set out to track them down.  The two teams will swap sides after a set amount of rounds, and the team with the most points takes home the win in the end.  Just the idea of Hide and Seek alone is a unique approach for Call of Duty, but there’s another wild twist that makes this gameplay feature even more off-the-wall. As you might have guessed, Prop Hunt doesn’t have players hiding from players.  When you’re on the Prop side of things, you’re actually playing as an inanimate object.  A box, a ladder, and other everyday items are your options when it comes to Props, and you have a set amount of times you can change between them.  Wander around the environment, find a nice place to settle in, and camouflage yourself as one of the Props.  For example, you could become a box and nestle into the back of a truck that’s filled with other packages.  It’s all about blending into your surroundings to hide from Hunters.  Props can also send out decoys to fool Hunters.  Litter the environment with a few fakes, and the Hunters will no doubt have a tough time discovering you.  

On the flip side, Hunters will be able to hone in on your location thanks to a whistle feature.  Props will let out a whistling noise every 30 seconds no matter what.  Hunters can listen in to hear these whistles, and then inch ever closer to where the Props are hiding.  A whistle at the right time can instantly blow a Prop’s cover, and then the Hunters can light them up with some firepower.  Either Props remain hidden for the time limit and score some points, or Hunters destroy every Prop and win the round.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War isn’t the first Call of Duty game to feature Prop Hunt, but this iteration of the mode seems to be the most popular yet.  The recent success of non-traditional multiplayer games like Among Us and Fall Guys has led to players yearning for something different when it comes to online gaming.  Prop Hunt is extremely far removed from what most Call of Duty players would expect, and yet it’s really striking a chord with fans.  Streamers have been playing the mode non-stop, social media channels have been flooded with praise, and comments keep pouring in to try and convince Activision that Prop Hunt needs to be an everyday option.


There’s no doubt that modes like Prop Hunt help get Black Ops Cold War in front of eyes that would never otherwise see the game.  It also makes the game a bit more enticing to audiences that would never consider purchasing a Call of Duty game.  Now the real question is if Prop Hunt  is enjoyable because it’s only around for a limited time, or if it has a gameplay hook that justifies it becoming a standard mode.  Fans are doing their best to try and convince Activision of the latter, but only time will tell if they agree.