With Call of Duty Black Ops Gulf War Waiting in the Wings, Treyarch Confirms It Has Moved on From Modern Warfare Zombies Development

Modern Warfare Zombies developer Treyarch has confirmed it has moved on from development for the mode, leaving Sledgehammer Games to wrap up the remaining story.

Treyarch told CharlieIntel its team has shifted “focus to something exciting on the horizon”, which is perhaps a nod to this year’s as-yet unannounced Call of Duty game, Black Ops Gulf War.

Modern Warfare Zombies:

Treyarch confirmed during a creator call this week that their team has shifted “focus to something exciting on the horizon” and that Sledgehammer Games will finish development on remaining MWZ story and content. pic.twitter.com/q1v7lh7nvu

— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) April 3, 2024

The confirmation is perhaps unsurprising given the lack of content Modern Warfare Zombies has received in recent months. Indeed today’s Season 3 update contains little for Zombies fans to get excited about, whereas Multiplayer and battle royale Warzone are in-line for a content-filled season.

In February, Zombies fans declared the mode “dead” just three months after Modern Warfare 3 came out after Treyarch indicated no new perks or enemy types were planned. The situation with Modern Warfare Zombies echoes that of DMZ, an extraction mode Activision moved on from after it launched with 2022’s Warzone 2.0.

The relentless pace of Call of Duty development and its annual release schedule mean there’s an army of Activision developers working on the first-person shooter franchise at all times, with each new mainline entry supposedly led by a different team each year. But last year’s Modern Warfare 3 marked a change in strategy, following directly on from Modern Warfare 2 just a year later.

Treyarch, best known for the Black Ops series and the creation of the Zombies mode, was drafted in to make Modern Warfare Zombies for Modern Warfare 3. This year’s Call of Duty Black Ops Gulf War is expected to launch with a Zombies mode of its own. Fans will hope Activision supports it for longer than Modern Warfare Zombies.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.