The Modern Warfare III reboot is bringing an open-world update to its Zombies mode, and not everyone is happy. 15 minutes of gameplay was shared by Activision to various outlets, and hardcore fans of the mode are not happy.
From statements like “DMZ with a zombies texture pack” to “God this looks horrendous” to “Zombies used to be about the rounds, now with all this xp and bullshit it isn’t what it used to be,” it’s safe to say that the small but hardcore group of Zombies players are at least split, if not frustrated by the new look of the game mode.
The Zombies game mode in Call of Duty used to have elements of claustrophobia that made the rounds thrilling. It was never about exploration; it was about defense, and many players used strategies like shooting out the final zombie’s legs to shore up their defenses and catch their breath before the next round began. An open-world addition to the game mode could have been neat if it didn’t fly in the face of what made the game mode popular to begin with, and if it didn’t completely replace the classic round-based game mode.
There are some other elements that need noting as well. The 24-man lobby looks interesting, and rounds have been replaced by Zones of varying difficulty. DMZ and Outbreak features are making their way into the core mode, and players now have 45 minutes of exploration time with a 15-minute window to extract from the map. From the sentiment of hardcore Zombies players, it seems like the Call of Duty series is going to make the classic Call of Duty mistake: if you make a game for everyone, you’re actually making a game for no one. The mode will be released alongside the core game on Nov. 10, 2023.
