Summary
The popular Zombies mode inCall of Dutywas once set to transition into aMad Max-like standalone game before these plans finally got scrapped. Recently, a formerCall of Dutydeveloper revealed more information about this canceled live-service game, codenamed “Project Zed.”
Back in January,news broke out about a cannedCall of Duty: Zombiesgame that was in development between 2011 and 2012, courtesy of the LinkedIn profile of Michael Gummelt, an alumnus ofCall of Dutydeveloper Raven Software. While there was limited information revealed back then, Gummelt has now divulged a bunch of new details about the canceled Zombies game, giving fans a clearer idea.
In aninterview with Glitching Queen, ex-Raven Software lead Michael Gummelt spoke in detail about the standaloneCall of Duty: Zombiesgame which was axed, drawing parallels between itspost-apocalyptic themeand that ofMad Max. The veteran developer revealed that the 4-player co-op game would initially put players in aMad Max-like gladiator arena where they would fight zombies across multiple rounds and then escape into the open world. Clearing off waves of undead enemies across the open world map would allow players to unlock rewards as they set forth to free other zombie-infested zones and rescue the survivors. About his team’s approach to the game, he added that they wanted to “go broad” and “have fun with it” while keeping the same style as previousCoDentries.
Moving on, Gummelt shared thatCall of Duty: Zombieswas supposed to have character creation right at the beginning and that players could continue customizing their character over the course of the game through ways such as in-game purchases. He also said that, like any other live-service game, this one was also expected to have different seasons sporting distinct themes, similar to theseasonal content strategy in the newCall of Dutygames.
The lead developer stated that much ofCall of Duty: Zombieswas based on his prototypes from the time he spent working onCall of Duty Online, a China-only game that was shut down in 2021. The China-exclusive online title had a similar mode where players would face off against cyborgs instead of zombies, a reasonable portion of which had inspired Gummelt’s ideas for the canceled Zombies standalone project.
Call of Duty: Zombies Development Was Shut Down Early On
Talking about the game’s status before being canned, Gummelt said that his team “never actually got far enough to actually start making that,” clarifying that only the design docs had been prepared forCall of Duty: Zombiesand talks with Activision were still going on for the final go-ahead. However, the thumbs-up from Activision never truly arrived after anotherCoDdeveloper Treyarch decided to retain the Zombies part of the IP as one of the modes in the game. While there is no standalone Zombies game in the franchise right now,Modern Warfare 3’s Zombies mode does feature the open-world aspectthat the canceled game would also have had.
