In the world of live service gaming, many names are shining the brightest now, for example: PUBG, Valorant, Apex Legends, and many more. Call of Duty is also a prime name among these. But this game was to be one of the first names in the category if everything was right.
According to an ex-Raven Software employee, Call of Duty would have been in the live service game scenario 12–13 years ago. The game was meant to be a standalone zombie game that would contain seasons like other live-service games.
Call of Duty Zombies: Cancelled Live Service Title in 2011-12 From Activision Blizzard
In a recent interview with YouTuber Glitching Queen, ex-Call of Duty developer Michael Gummelt shared some intriguing details about the canceled titles. Activision gave the honors to one of their studios, Raven Software, to develop this standalone zombie title. Gummelts stated that this game was being developed in 2011–12, but it never passed the design documents.
At that time, Treyarch was to develop this standalone title. Due to some problems in Black Ops 2 behind the scenes, Treyarch had to shift its focus to BO2 and let Raven Software handle the standalone live service title.
Although Treyarch later on wanted it back and tried to surface the game once again, but due to huge competition in the live service arena, he couldn’t go forward. And till then, no more standalone Zombie titles were ever planned.
Gameplay Details of this Call of Duty Live Service Title
Like other live-service games, this COD title would also have seasons, with microtransactions based on COD online with customization. This game would have been free to play, as would its contemporaries. This standalone zombie title would have been built on the same gaming engine as the other Call of Duty games. Gummelts expressed the gameplay with three words:
“fun, campy, and experimental.”
Unlike other COD Zombie titles, you would have been able to customize your characters fully. The game would have featured a ‘World’ map where 1-4 players could join each team. Players would start off as gladiators in an arena to fight zombies in a mad-max-esque arena.
The arena was round-based, and portions of the open world would have waves. At one point, you would get an opportunity to escape and explore an open world to fight zombies and get rewards.
So, what’s your take on this standalone Call of Duty Zombies title? Should Activision once again reconsider this title? Let us know in the comments section.
