Call of Duty: Zombies from 2011-12 was a canceled project, which was developed by Raven. This was revealed by a former Call of Duty (COD) developer who had worked on several franchise titles from Black Ops to Cold War and Warzone.
Call of Duty: Zombies was revealed to be a stand-alone microtransactions-based live-service title modeled after 2015’s Call of Duty: Online. The COD-branded project was codenamed Project Zed, as an experimental project, but never saw the light of day eventually. Reasons were also revealed as to why Treyarch initially turned down the project which has also never been attempted since then.
Canceled Standalone Call of Duty Zombies Game Detailed by Former Developer
In a recent interview with YouTuber Jennifer, popularly known by her streaming name Glitching Queen, former Call of Duty developer Michael Gummelt talked about the COD titles he was involved in, and also revealed a lot about the canceled Zombies standalone title.
Treyarch had passed on developing the project, handing Raven Software the opportunity to take it upon themselves. Raven had developed a COD Online title which attracted several players, and Gummelt revealed it was built off of COD Online tech that he was involved in.
Gummelt revealed it was meant as a 1 to 4-player fast and fun shooter, which originated as a “fun, campy and experimental Zombie game.” He also mentioned the project was a social and casual game that was meant to appeal to mass-market consumers.
Players would start as a Gladiator in an arena where they would fight zombies, round-based, with an option to explore the game’s open world if players managed to escape the arena, where they can fight more zombies in waves and get additional rewards.
OFFICIAL: Standalone Zombies game information:
-Developed from 2011-2012 but never passed design documents.
-Would be fully supported and updated as a live game
-had microtransactions based on cod online with customization
-NOT a straight port of old zombies
-built off of cod… pic.twitter.com/cwQezOgrA8— COD: Zombies News (@MargwaNetwork) April 8, 2024
It would be a digital-only title available via Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and other similar online services, and would not be a new or original IP as it was still COD-branded. The live-service title would introduce new modes, new maps, and more character customization content.
Raven Software Did Not Go Beyond Design Documents
Upon being asked about how far along the project went before being canceled, Gummelt revealed having gone only as far as writing the Design Documents, after which there were discussions held with Activision. Gummelt based his initial discussions on his prototypes.
After having planned more details, including several seasonal additions to the game, Gummelt revealed that Treyarch wanted the entire project back, and Gummelt got the impression that Treyarch did not want competition from Raven Software. Gummelt mentioned how it could have been a fun project and felt unfortunate about losing it.
On the other hand, looking back, he felt the standalone Zombies game would have canceled out the Zombies mode in the Black Ops titles that came out later on. At one point, it was revealed that the standalone project was considered not worth all the effort, after everything that was going on with Treyarch’s Black Ops title back then.
He’s currently working in Zenimax Online Studios, developing yet another unnamed, project and producing movies on the side.
Would you have wanted a standalone Zombies live-service title or are you happy with the Call of Duty titles including the Zombie mode? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
