In 2008, Activision and Treyarch releasedCall of Duty: World at War, and it featured a unique mini-game that players could unlock by beating the campaign.Call of Duty: World at War’s unlockable Nazi Zombies mode became a surprise success, prompting Treyarch and Activision to release DLC maps for it and later expand on the experience in the Treyarch-developedCall of Duty: Black OpsandCall of Duty: Black Ops 2.
Nazi Zombies later became known simply as “Zombies,” and remained one of theCall of Dutyfranchise’s most popular game modes whenever Treyarch was at the helm. OtherCall of Dutystudios took swings at Zombies, with varying degrees of success. For example, theExo Zombies fromCall of Duty: Advanced Warfareproved somewhat polarizing, with some fans enjoying the game’s increased mobility, while others felt it was too much of a departure from the established Zombies formula.
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As moreCall of Dutygames released, the more they strayed from Zombies' roots, taking the concept into fantastical directions and having an over-focus on “special” zombie types and gimmicks.Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s take on Zombieswas noted for having a completely busted split-screen co-op feature, whileCall of Duty: Vanguard’s Zombies represents a low point for the fan favorite game mode.
Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Zombies has not been well-received by the community. It moves away from the round-based structure of previous Zombies game modes, and like other recent iterations of Zombies, bogs itself down with goofy gimmicks. Not only that, butCall of Duty: VanguardZombies is incredibly easy, offering little to no challenge for longtime Zombies fans, giving them little reason to return after trying it once.
The upcomingCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2is not expected to have a Zombies mode.Modern Warfare 2developer Infinity Ward has experimented with Zombies in the past, as seen inCall of Duty: Infinite Warfare, but has otherwise stuck with its own extra modes, like Spec Ops in the original version ofMW2from 2009 and the alien-based co-op mode Extinction fromCall of Duty: Ghosts. The extra game mode this year is rumored to be anEscape from Tarkov-inspired mode called DMZ, though it has yet to be revealed in an official capacity.
Regardless of what new game mode the upcoming 2022 version ofCall of Duty: Modern Warfarehas on offer, it seems safe to say that Zombies is taking a break this year. It’s expected that a Treyarch-developedCall of Dutygame will be releasing in 2023, and if so, one has to imagine that Zombies will be making a comeback. However, if Zombies does come back in the2023Call of Dutygame, it should return to its roots.
There’s a reason why the old-schoolCall of DutyZombies experience remains popular to this day. The concept was simple and easy to understand: kill zombies, rebuild structures, spend points to unlock new areas. Some maps played with this set-up, likeBlack Ops 2’s TranZit map, but they did so without piling on a slew of other gameplay mechanics that over-complicated matters. There are ways to make the classic Zombies experience feel new again, and that’s something the 2023Call of Dutygame should strive for.
Instead of trying to create a brand-new Zombies experience, it may be more beneficial in the long run for Treyarch to instead release the 2023Call of Dutygame with a collection of remastered Zombies maps. It could take the most popular Zombies maps from past games and recreate them for modern audiences, improving the graphics and making other tweaks as necessary, while still maintaining what made the maps popular with fans in the first place.
There are manyCall of Dutyfans who would gladly take the opportunity to relive classic maps like Ascension,Kino der Toten, TranZit, and more with their friends on modern consoles instead of taking a gamble on a brand-new Zombies map that may not really hit the mark.
Then again, there isMicrosoft’s pending acquisition of Activisionto keep in mind. For those who may not be aware, Microsoft is in the process of acquiring Activision Blizzard in the largest video game acquisition deal of all-time. If the deal goes through, Microsoft will have control of all of Activision’s franchises, includingCall of Duty. This means thatCall of Dutygames would come to Xbox Game Pass as day one releases, plus olderCall of Dutygames would be added to the lineup as well. This would make classic Zombies maps much more accessible to fans, as they wouldn’t have to pay $50 for ancient games to access them like they’re being asked to do now. This could fill the void for classic Zombies maps, and then perhaps fans would be more perceptive to Treyarch experimenting with a new Zombies map - as long as it sticks to its roots and doesn’t go overboard with the gimmicks.
There also rumors astandaloneCall of DutyZombies game, but that has yet to be proven. For now,Call of Dutyfans can keep their eyes on the upcomingModern Warfare 2while they speculate about what Treyarch may have in store for them in 2023.
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