Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Set to Unleash Zombies Mode, While Infinite Warfare's Undead Legacy Resurfaces

It has come to light that the Zombies mode from Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was originally intended to make a return in the 2019 reboot of Modern Warfare. With the highly anticipated release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 just around the corner, the game is set to launch with a staggering 16 remade multiplayer maps from Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and introduce Zombies to the Modern Warfare subseries for the very first time.

Infinity Ward, the Call of Duty studio renowned for the original Modern Warfare trilogy, made a significant departure from the popular sub-series in 2013 to explore fresh concepts. Prior to this, Infinity Ward's co-op offerings were exclusively Special Ops missions. However, with the release of Call of Duty: Ghosts, the revered FPS studio took a daring leap with the introduction of Extinction, a co-op mode centered around battling aliens. While the reception was mixed, it marked a pivotal moment for the veteran studio eager to shake things up. In 2016's Infinite Warfare, Infinity Ward ventured into Zombies for the first time, unveiling a total of five Zombies maps, one of which brought back the aliens from Ghosts' Extinction mode.

The upcoming release of Modern Warfare 3 next month has generated considerable excitement, primarily due to its impending Zombies debut. On Twitter, former Infinity Ward developer Lee Ross shed light on the studio's relationship with Zombies, revealing that the 2019 Modern Warfare reboot was initially slated to continue the storyline of Infinite Warfare's Zombies mode. Ross explained that the emphasis on realism in Modern Warfare (2019) ultimately led to the exclusion of the Zombies mode in favor of a return to Special Ops.

In retrospect, Infinite Warfare's playful 80s-themed Zombies mode with maps like "Zombies in Spaceland" and "Rave in the Redwoods" was a departure from the norm. However, it's understandable why its continuation in the hyper-realistic Modern Warfare (2019) was abandoned. Nevertheless, four years later, players can now assume the roles of Skeletor and Evil Dead's Ash Williams in Modern Warfare 2, signaling a shift in Infinity Ward's approach to realism beyond its core campaigns. This raises the possibility of seeing the continuation of Infinite Warfare's Zombies, perhaps not in a Modern Warfare title, but in some future creation from Infinity Ward.

Notably, despite Zombies making its debut in Modern Warfare, it isn't being developed by Infinity Ward. Treyarch, the studio responsible for the Black Ops subseries, is taking the reins of this mode. While Treyarch is renowned for creating beloved Zombies maps, the open-world style of Zombies in Modern Warfare 3 draws inspiration from Call of Duty's Warzone template. Although this development has caused some concerns among Call of Duty Zombies enthusiasts, many are eagerly anticipating the debut of Modern Warfare's inaugural Zombies mode on November 10.