FPS Game Modes Explained: Kill Confirmed, Hardcore, Gun Game and 11 More

Most shooters share the same family of fps game modes, but the names hide big differences in how you should play. A Team Deathmatch habit that wins rounds can lose you a Kill Confirmed match, and the aim that carries you in Hardcore is wasted in Gun Game. This guide explains 14 modes and rules in plain terms: what each one asks of you, how to win it, and where to try it free in your browser.

All of them are in ZeroFront, a free browser FPS with 21 real-world guns and 8 maps. ZeroFront splits them in two: modes decide who you fight, and match rules change how the fight works.

Core FPS game modes

Campaign

A run of missions against AI on a fixed path, each with its own objective, a par time and up to 3 stars, ending in a boss fight. Good for learning the maps and weapons before playing other people.

Solo Survival

Endless waves of AI soldiers that get tougher each wave, with rotating field directives for bonus score, plus grenades and pickups on the map. It is the best warm-up mode, and most match rules work here too.

Free-for-All (FFA)

Every player for themselves, up to 8 per room. The first to 20 kills wins. FFA rewards map knowledge and fast target switching, since threats come from every direction.

Team Deathmatch (TDM)

Blue against Red with automatic team balancing and no friendly fire. The first team to 40 kills wins. TDM is about trading: stay near teammates so that if you go down, someone gets the kill back.

What is Kill Confirmed, and how is it different from TDM?

Kill Confirmed made its debut in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and became a standard mode across shooters. It plays like Team Deathmatch with one twist: a kill does not count until someone picks up the dog tag it drops.

In ZeroFront:

• A downed player drops a dog tag, ringed in their team's colour, where they fell.
• Grab an enemy's tag and your team scores a point: the kill is confirmed.
• Grab a teammate's tag and you deny the other team that point.
• Tags vanish after 30 seconds if nobody collects them.
• The first team to 30 tags wins.

What changes in practice: camping a sniper spot stops working, because every kill you make leaves a tag out in the open for the enemy to deny. The strongest Kill Confirmed players fight where they can collect, and treat a pile of tags as bait.

Weapon rules: Pistols, Snipers and Shotguns Only

These rules lock everyone to one class of weapon, which puts players on an even footing:

• Pistols Only: sidearms only, with no primary, launcher or frags. Pure aim duels.
• Snipers Only: bolt-action rifles only. Your primary if it is a sniper, otherwise the AWM.
• Shotguns Only: the M870 or S12K and nothing else. Every fight is up close, so learn the corners.

Weapon-restricted rounds are great for training. A Pistols Only session does more for your tracking than an hour of normal play.

Skill rules: Headshots Only and Hardcore

Headshots Only

You keep your full loadout, but only rounds to the head do damage. Body shots and explosions do nothing at all. It is the fastest way to fix lazy crosshair placement: keep your aim at head height around every corner.

Hardcore

Hardcore strips away the safety net:

• 30 health instead of 100, so two or three rifle rounds kill.
• No crosshair, health bar, ammo counter or radar. Just the kill feed.
• No med kits on the map.
• Friendly fire on in Team Deathmatch.

Hardcore rewards patience and positioning over reflexes. Count your shots, check your targets, and never sprint across open ground.

Party modes: Gun Game, One in the Chamber, Infected and Juggernaut

Party modes break the usual rules on purpose:

• Gun Game: every kill hands you the next of 15 guns, from the Vector to the Desert Eagle, and the first through the ladder wins. See our Gun Game guide.
• One in the Chamber: a pistol with one round that kills on any hit, and three lives. A kill earns a round back; last player standing wins.
• Infected: one player turns, and everyone they kill joins them. Survivors must last 2:30. Our Infected guide covers tactics for both sides.
• Juggernaut: one player wears a 400-health suit with an M249. Killing them scores a point and takes the suit; every kill made in it scores too. First to 15.

Which FPS game modes should you play?

How to pick a mode and rule in ZeroFront

1. Open zerofront.pro/play. No download or account needed.
2. Choose a mode: Campaign, Solo Survival, Online FFA or Team Deathmatch.
3. Pick one of the Match Rules buttons. Kill Confirmed, Infected and Juggernaut need real players, so they are dimmed in Solo.
4. For online play, press Multiplayer, then Create Room, and share the room code.

Some rules fix the team setting for you: Gun Game, One in the Chamber and Juggernaut always play free-for-all, while Kill Confirmed and Infected always play in teams. Whatever you choose, the room server checks every shot against the rule, so nobody can get around it with a modified client.

What are the most common FPS game modes?

Free-for-All and Team Deathmatch are the core modes in almost every shooter. Popular variants include Kill Confirmed, Gun Game, Infected, Juggernaut and One in the Chamber, plus rule changes such as Hardcore and Headshots Only.

What is the difference between Kill Confirmed and Team Deathmatch?

In Team Deathmatch every kill scores. In Kill Confirmed a kill only scores once a teammate picks up the dog tag it drops, and the enemy can grab their own tags to deny the point. In ZeroFront the first team to 30 tags wins.

What does Hardcore mode change?

In ZeroFront, Hardcore gives every player 30 health, hides the crosshair, health and ammo readouts, removes med kits and turns friendly fire on in Team Deathmatch.

Can I play these FPS game modes for free?

Yes. All 14 are free in ZeroFront, which runs in a browser on desktop and mobile with no download or account.