Call of Duty: Ghosts has been a big hit for developer Infinity Ward and publisher Activision, and now fans of the game will have a new multiplayer mode to check out just in time for a double XP weekend.

The new multiplayer mode is called Heavy Duty, and it is free for players to download right now. Heavy Duty seeks to change the way that players playthrough multiplayer matches, making the game more about strategy rather than who has the fastest reaction time or who manages to fire first in a fight. Player's will have more health in Heavy Duty matches, thus negating the advantage of players defeating other's through quick draw situations or by blowing them away as soon as they appear. Instead, players will have more prolonged fights that will require gamers to concentrate their fire and score multiple hits. While this mode is available for most platforms, the Wii U version of the game has not yet received Heavy Duty, and there is no word on if it will ever come to the console.

There are also several other features that are brought to Call of Duty: Ghosts through this new update. Specifically, new loadouts for Infection mode are added with five squad points coming to each soldier in the first five levels of progression in the game. Some weapons have been rebalanced with the new patch, focusing specifically on sniper rifles and perks for the weapons. There is a reduction in the flinch benefit of the Focus perk for sniper rifles as well as ADS speed reductions for the weapons. The patch also has several bug fixes that should help streamline the game, all of which can be found on the Call of Duty: Ghosts forums.

This new content comes right before the double XP weekend for the game which will last from Dec. 27 at 10 AM Pacific Standard Time and ends on Dec. 30 at 10 AM Pacific Standard Time. New players for the game will quickly be able to level up and get to the more advance perks far more quickly than they would normally.
It will be interesting to see how fans respond to the new Heavy Duty multiplayer mode as well as the other changes brought forward due to this new update. Infinity Ward is seeking user feedback about the new content as well as on the game in general.