The game could've featured a Mad Max-style arena where players faced waves of zombies.
Image credit: Activision, Call of Duty
In early 2024, former Raven Software employee Michael Gummelt spoke about the scrapped Call of Duty Zombies service game, developed between Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, which was focused solely on battling the undead.
Months later, YouTuber Glitching Queen interviewed Gummelt, revealing more insights into the canceled project. Originally planned as an experimental endeavor from 2011 to 2012, the game was abandoned in favor of traditional zombie modes.
Call of Duty Zombies was designed for one to four players, starting as a Mad Max-style gladiator arena where players faced waves of zombies. Players could eventually explore an open world, earn rewards for kills, and experience battles with enemy waves in certain locations. Gummelt also shared that the game had technology from Call of Duty Online to incorporate microtransactions, customization, and character personalization.
Raven Software had plans to support the project with new content seasons, creating a distinct zombie experience rather than a typical port from previous Call of Duty games. The envisioned mode resembling a battle royale concept predated PUBG: Battlegrounds and was later integrated into DMZ for Call of Duty: Warzone 2.
The development of Call of Duty Zombies was halted because of Treyarch, which viewed the zombie mode as their proprietary content, so they opted not to compete with a separate game focused on zombies.
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