Modern Warfare 3 launched with a plethora of content for players to digest from Warzone to the Campaign and Multiplayer to Zombies. There was something for everyone to enjoy, but not all things are made equal as Warzone and Multiplayer are receiving constant streams of content updates, but Modern Warfare Zombies is being neglected.
It's puzzling because Activision is calling Modern Warfare 3 Zombies the most engaging third mode in MW history. Consequently, players are complaining about a lack of updates.
Since its release, Modern Warfare Zombies has received a handful of content updates that have changed very little about the core gameplay experience. There are some story missions and secrets here and there, but no major additions that rival Warzone's new modes, maps, and changes.
It gets worse when you realize Activision has consistently neglected the Zombies mode with lackluster content updates that add a single-story mission or completely ignore it for the whole season. The only things to do in the open-world experience are hunt Warlords or tackle story missions. The Season 4 content blog just dropped, and only one piece of content is planned for the entirety of the season.
Fans aren't happy
The mood on reddit is exasperated, with players shaking their heads at Activision for their lack of care with the Zombies mode. User Riot_Shielder jumped into the conversation with a belter: "Because 'most engaging third mode IN MW HISTORY' means j******* when all MW games had before that was the s***** Spec Ops mode that 99% of the player base didn't even bother trying." Their words are right on the mark; Call of Duty games rarely include a third game mode (not including the Campaign), so this award is not meaningful.
User Mr_Rafi had their point of view on the topic, saying, "Most engaging third mode. Take away the camo grind, weapon leveling, and challenge unlocks and this wouldn't be true. The game itself isn't pulling most people in; they're just grinding their unlocks for Warzone." Their point is hard to deny when I am guilty of playing through MWZ for weapon camos or challenges; the game mode is just devoid of interesting content.
Traditional Zombies is home
The saddest realization is that we received this version of zombies rather than the traditional round-based survival mode that's been tried and true over decades. Traditional zombies was designed to beat you up and ask you to come back for more. It was a slow learning curve that you eventually mastered as you traverse to higher rounds; surviving to round 10 was your first task, and then it was about learning how to manage the unstoppable hordes deep into the 30s or 40s.
I have countless memories of surviving the zombie horde while trapped in a dig site or a theatre with a bunch of buddies; I remember running zombies around large open spaces as we paced our ammunition and unlocked the Pack-A-Punch machine to get some extra firepower. Even to this day, the OG Black Ops zombies and even the World at War maps still hold up and can offer countless hours of fun.
Conversely, MWZ doesn't offer any meaningful progression and just comes across as a DMZ zombie reskin. If Infinity Ward spent its time perfecting its zombie formula (without copying Treyarch's homework), it could have surprised the player base. Sadly, we were given a mode that just doesn't have the same longevity.
It's hard to say whether or not MWZ will survive the migration over to Black Ops 6 (especially if BO6 returns to that traditional experience), but if Activision doesn't start loading up the content train soon, players will forsake the game mode entirely.
That's all we have on the community's reaction to the Zombie's award. If you're looking for similar Call of Duty content then check out Warzone’s Urzikstan rumored to not get ranked mode and players aren’t happy, CoD campaigns aren’t what they used to be and new players are missing out, and more on Pro Game Guides.
