The Evolution Of Call Of Duty Zombies

The release of next-generation consoles and Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War is right around the corner. With consoles receiving a huge performance upgrade and the Zombies mode returning once again in the latest Treyarch title, it’s about time we took a trip down memory lane. Let’s take a dive into the world of Call of Duty Zombies, and see how the game mode has progressed and grown over several years. 

Understanding Call of Duty Zombies

Believe it or not, the Zombies game mode wasn’t planned to become a feature game mode; it was simply a secret game and mini-mode in Call of Duty: World at War. This was the first introduction to Zombies, and it stemmed from the development team playing around with the features of burning soldiers; for reference, they introduced the flamethrower for the first time in the same game. 

Who could have predicted it would turn into a global success and become the forefront for Call of Duty games to this day. Please note, this is purely focusing on the Zombies mode featured in Treyarch titles (World at War, Black Ops, Black Ops 2, Black Ops 3, and Black Ops 4). Zombies mode was included in titles such as Advanced Warfare, World War II, and Infinite Warfare. However, they aren’t relevant to the main Zombies storyline. 

Zombies Introduced In World At War

As mentioned above, Zombies started back in 2008 with the release of World at War. There were four maps in total, but at the beginning, they only expected to feature the one mini-game map; Nacht der Untoten. At this point, there were no dedicated characters or storylines. 

Following the success of Nacht der Untoten, Treyarch included a new Zombies map as part of the DLC pack, called “Verruckt”. There was the first introduction to one of our core characters throughout the deep tangling storyline; Tank Dempsey. He was joined by three fellow Marines, who play a short part in the grand scheme of things. The map was based on the multiplayer map Asylum and brought us the introduction of Perk-a-Colas. 

There were two additional maps brought into World at War. The first was Shi No Numa, and you could tell Treyarch was starting to test the waters. We went from two inside only maps that were relatively small to a larger map featuring five buildings and a few swampy areas. It wasn’t a fan favourite initially, due to the change of map location, but it did grow on people. Here we saw the introduction of our three other main characters alongside Tank Dempsey; Nikolai Belinski, Takeo Masaki, and Edward Richtofen. 

Der Riese was the final World at War Zombies map, coming with the final DLC. It is quite possibly the most iconic Zombies map. Whilst better and more detailed maps have been released since, Der Riese really set the tone for how the game mode was going to advance. As many of the maps did, it took elements from the multiplayer map Nightfire.

The Zombies became more advanced, with abilities to climb objects and jump down towards the player. It also introduced several key features; Pack-a-Punch Machine, Teleporters, Monkey Bombs, Bowie Knife, and the Fly Trap. The storyline started to build here, and no one knew quite how complex Treyarch would eventually make it. 

Black Ops Kicks Things Up A Notch

At this point, the Zombies mode was largely successful, and fans were anticipating new adventures with the release of Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops. The developers didn’t disappoint. At this point, there are too many maps to fully breakdown and detail, as things start to accelerate. Below is a list of all the Black Ops Zombies maps. 

• Kino der Toten
• “Five”
• Dead Ops Arcade
• Ascension
• Call of the Dead
• Shangri-La
• Moon

At the beginning of Black Ops, it was clear the developers were still experimenting with how to take the storyline forward. Whilst Kino der Toten didn’t bring us much extra in regards to the storyline; it introduced new wonder weapons and types of zombies. 

Five was a fun map, where you got the opportunity to play as either John F. Kennedy, Robert McNamara, Richard Nixon, or Fidel Castro. The map itself didn’t add much to the storyline at the time, but the voices of these four characters could be heard on the map Ascension. 

Speaking of Ascension, it is the map that started to drive the storyline forward as we know it to be today. It brings in more radios similar to those in Der Riese and previous Easter Eggs. The map introduced two new perks, two new wonder weapons, and a Lunar Lander which is similar to the Teleporter feature.

Most importantly, it advances the story of Samatha Maxis as a demonic being. She is a vital character in the Zombies storyline, stemming back to the Der Riese map where we get glimpses of stories about her; Samantha Maxis is returning in Black Ops Cold War as well, so things could get interesting. 

Call of the Dead featured a full celebrity cast including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert Englund, Michael Rooker, Danny Trejo, and George A. Romero. In the grand scheme of things, it seemed to play a crucial role in the development of the storyline. 

When it comes to Moon, it was the finale to the Black Ops Zombies experience. To begin with, you’re battling zombies in space, with new wonder weapons, astronaut zombies, and much more. The most important part is that the Easter Egg about Richtofen’s Grand Scheme and master plan is crucial to the map, which allows Rictofen to gain control of the Zombies. 

Black Ops 2 Gets Confusing

Now, this is where things start to get a bit mind-bending, and out of control, which is why explaining the storyline in a wall of text is much too difficult. There is too much information, including multiverses, to keep track of. Here is a recommended video to help you understand the entire Call of Duty Zombies storyline. It’s a long one, and heads up, if you still haven’t completed some maps and easter eggs, there will be spoilers. 

Here is a list of all the Black Ops 2 Zombies maps:

• Green Run (Tranzit)
• Nuketown Zombies
• Die Rise
• Mob of the Dead
• Buried
• Origins

This was without a doubt one of the best collections of Zombies maps players got to experience in one game. Die Rise is possibly the underlier here, as it was actually a more vertically inclined map, which created issues for some players that struggled to adapt to the change. 

Mob of the Dead will go down in history as a fan favourite. Who knew creating a Zombies experience in Alcatraz would go down so well? We got four new characters; Finn O’Leary, Albert Arlington, Salvator DeLuca, and Billy Handsome, all voiced by a celebrity cast. The characters are mobsters who are inmates in the prison. The map is so popular it was remastered in Black Ops 4 and Alcatraz is rumoured to return in Black Ops Cold War.

The Origins map takes us back to the early days of our core four characters; Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, Takeo Masaki, and Edward Richthofen. It was the finale to the Black Ops 2 Zombies experience and really set things up for a fantastic future. 

Black Ops 3 Zombies Go One Step Further

Well if things got confusing in Black Ops 2, then Black Ops 3 was a completely another story. Just to point out, confusing isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Treyarch and the Zombies development team clearly put in a tremendous amount of work into every iteration of the Zombies game mode. Things just really kicked up a notch when it came to the Black Ops 3 Zombies maps. 

This likely accelerated to heavy thanks to a new game engine and the game being released on the upgraded consoles of the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. You could now spend hours battling against the undead in ever higher quality, with seven impressive maps being released. 

• Shadows of Evil
• The Giant
• Dead Ops Arcade 2: Cyber’s Avenging
• Der Eisendrache
• Zetsubou No Shima
• Gorod Krovi
• Revelations

In regards to detail and Easter Eggs, these maps are without a doubt the best. There are arguments to be made about the new gameplay engine that was introduced in Black Ops 3 as many didn’t like it. However, when it comes down to map design, features, and storylines, the main maps were all truly immersive. 

If the last video was too long, maybe a Call of Duty Zombies Oversimplified 12-minute video will help you get to grips with the deep tangling storyline. Trying to explain the storyline that takes place throughout Black Ops 3 Zombies would require an insanely long essay, but you will not be disappointed with these maps and the stories they feature if you are yet to play them. 

Everything Ends With Black Ops 4

Well, at least we all thought so. At this point, the Call of Duty Zombies storyline was getting to the borderline of just getting much too complex and was putting the fan favourite mode at risk. Black Ops 4 is also slightly different, as it features eight different maps, but they were split across different storylines. 

• Voyage of Despair
• IX
• Blood of the Dead
• Classified
• Dead of the Night
• Ancient Evil
• Alpha Omega
• Tag der Toten

With Black Ops 4 the Aether storyline was brought to an end. After 32 Zombies maps in total, our beloved main characters' stories were all brought to an end. The original characters of Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, Takeo Masaki, and Edward Rictofen featured throughout the game in both the Primis and Ultimis versions, with things finally tying together. The Victus cast of Samuel J. Stuhlinger, Marlton Johnson, Abigail “Misty” Briarton, and Russman all played a vital role in finalising the Aether storyline. 

It seems like the nostalgia aspect of the World at War, Black Ops and Black Ops 2 maps do win fans over in comparison to the more recent maps. With that being said, the quality of the maps featured in Black Ops 4 is still impressive and definitely worth playing at least once. 

Looking Ahead To Black Ops Cold War Zombies

Up until a few weeks ago, there was a lot of uncertainty in regards to what Black Ops Cold War Zombies would bring us. However, the first look at Cold War Zombies was provided, confirming the first map would be called Die Maschine.

There was also confirmation on Zombies Onslaught, which appears to be a two-player fast-paced Zombies mode. The most exciting and anticipated part of the new Cold War Zombies experience is surely going to be the return of Samatha Maxis.

She was pivotal to the Aether storyline, and with the new game being based in the Cold War time period, where Samatha will now be an adult, means we could be in for a fantastic new Zombies adventure with some familiar faces. There were already hints about German and Russians being friends in the Die Maschine Intro Cinematic Intro. 

Well, that should be you up to speed with everything Call of Duty Zombies related ahead of the new game being released in the coming weeks. Hopefully Black Ops Cold War Zombies will bring us some amazing experiences, similar to the ones we experienced as a community throughout the span of the Aether storyline.

You can now sit back and enjoy the Call of Duty Zombies movie if you will. Featuring every single cutscene from the Aether storyline, helping to piece everything together and truly immerse yourself ahead of the new Zombies experience. 

Images via Activision | Call of Duty Fandom | Reddit | Neoseeker | Imgur