Yes, Modern Warfare 3 is getting Zombies. In fact, it’s getting a very good version of Zombies (if you liked Outbreak from BOCW). You can find everything publically released, or currently rumored, about MW3 Zombies below.
“Zombies in the Modern Warfare universe? Never!” We can already hear the naysayers, but yes, Zombies are coming to Modern Warfare 3, a present-day setting. This isn’t even as wild as you might think. The Black Ops universe was actually connected to the rebooted Modern Warfare universe via Warzone and the events that occurred in Verdansk in 1984. But that’s a different story, and frankly, it was an absolute kludge from the CoD writers. All you need to know is: MW3 Zombies will happen.
In this article, we have collected all the officially released information about MW3 Zombies, as well as everything we’ve heard from leakers. We have a surprising amount of info, and we think the Zombies mode in Modern Warfare 3 sounds promising. Activision are calling it the “largest Zombies offering to date”, in fact.
MW3 Zombies Release Date: Launch or Season 1?
Modern Warfare 3 Zombies was initially expected to launch with the new Warzone map, which won’t be released until MW3 Season 1. But Activision has now confirmed a release date of November 10, 2023, for Modern Warfare 3 Zombies. In other words, at launch.
Modern Warfare III – PS5
Modern Warfare III – PS5
MW3 Zombies Gameplay
We haven’t seen any gameplay for Zombies, but they have given an official description which makes it sound like a mix between Outbreak and DMZ:
For the first time, team up with other squads to survive and fight massive hordes of the undead in the largest Call of Duty Zombies map ever. Modern Warfare® Zombies (MWZ) tells an involved and unearthly Dark Aether Zombies story set in the Modern Warfare universe. Expect to undertake missions across different regions that escalate in difficulty, with core Zombies features and a cavalcade of secrets to discover. Ready up for an open-world player versus enemy (PvE) extraction survival experience against some of the biggest enemies in Call of Duty history.
In practice, we think this means that Zombies will take place on the Battle Royale map, with eight teams of three doing objectives and then fighting to a single, shared extraction. But we also know that alongside Zombies we will face human enemies, a PMC group called “Terminus Outcomes”. Which, to us at least, sounds like a very fun evolution of the mode. However, some fans will understandably desire a classic round-based style of Zombies.
Although we don’t have gameplay yet, we do at least have this cool cinematic to keep us going:
Breaking: Modern Warfare 3 | Zombies Cinematic Trailer pic.twitter.com/kt0KLHZx0i
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) September 19, 2023
To think, the MW gang will be teaming up with the Black Ops protagonists soon, what a time to be alive.
MW3 Zombies Lore
Modern Warfare 3 Zombies will be a continuation of the Dark Aether story started by Black Ops Cold War, with the BOCW crew teaming up with Task Force 141. It’s silly, it’s convoluted, but here is a rough timeline (spoiler alert, obviously):
- Viktor Zakhaev, a Russian arms dealer and Ultranationalist, also the son of Imran Zakhaev (CoD 4’s main villain) wants to commit terrorist acts to goad the world’s superpowers into a war with each other.
- To do this he captures a vial of Element 115 from an undisclosed location with a group of soldiers (the stuff that creates Zombies in CoD).
- As he escapes with the vial of Element 115 Zakhaev is confronted by the local police and a gunfight ensues.
- Zakhaev throws a vial of Element 115 at the police to create a distraction before getting into his armored car and leaving.
- Dead humans instantly turn into Zombies where the vial was thrown.
- Task Force 141 are sent in to deal with the outbreak. But the CIA also put them in contact with Requiem operatives who faced zombies during the Cold War (the BO team).
- TF141 try to deal with the Zombies but they also face a human threat: Terminus Outcomes, a private military company hired by Zakhaev as muscle.
And that’s all we know so far about the opening events of the Modern Warfare 3 Zombies outbreak.
MW3 Zombies Beta
We also want to mention the possibility of Zombies getting its own beta, which only one leaker is currently claiming, but we still thought interesting enough to include:
v
— Alaix (@HeyImAlaix) September 8, 2023
If you don’t get the symbology, he’s using the Greek sign for “beta” next to an emoji of a zombie, which implies the existence of an MW3 Zombies beta. We don’t think it’s likely we get a Zombies beta in the exact same way we get a multiplayer beta for MW3, but there could be something to this.
What do you think of MW3 Zombies so far, does it sound fun to you?
If the Zombies mode has tempted you to go for MW3, here’s a link to buy it on Xbox, although we advise getting it on PS5 if you have both consoles because the first weekend of the MW3 beta is a PlayStation exclusive.
This article contains affiliate links which are marked with [shopping symbol]. These links can provide a small commission for us under certain conditions. This never affects the products price for you.