Every Call of Duty Zombies mode, ranked

Sigh... here we are, doing something that is an endlessly subjective thing ripe for getting you yelled at in any gaming circle — ranking the Call of Duty Zombies games. And yet, that's exactly what makes it fun. Everyone has their favorite era, their comfort map, and that one round they will never, ever forget when it comes to Call of Duty Zombies.

Over the years, this game mode went from a tacked-on addition to a full-blown pull factor in the latest Call of Duty games, and now, it's practically a franchise of its own. With Black Ops 7 right around the corner, this feels like the perfect time to look back at everything that came before, and figure out which undead outing truly stood above the rest.

11 Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021)

The stumble before the comeback

Vanguard Zombies was the definition of "too little, too late." It was rushed onto Treyarch, and that clearly showed. Der Anfang was one of the weakest launch maps ever, and it's understandably despised by the community. Half the subsequent maps weren't even round-based, and you got repetitive objective runs in this one instead, which essentially just stripped away what made Zombies fun in the first place.

The game did have a solid redemption arc with Shi No Numa Reborn, and it was a pretty well-crafted callback for a map that wasn't inherently perfect, but by then, most players had had their impressions cemented. Vanguard served as a reminder that Zombies without heart and soul poured into it is just another mode, and that's why it ranks dead last.

10 Call of Duty: WWII (2017)

Atmospheric, memorable, but nothing you want to revisit

The WWII Zombies mode was... unlike anything else. It was brutal, unforgiving, and drenched in atmosphere. The Tortured Path is a name that could give any WWII Zombies player PTSD, since it remains one of the most harrowing experiences in the series, and definitely not in a good way.

Gameplay-wise, WWII Zombies wasn't really the best. The mechanics felt stiff, the flow was a bit too punishing, but what it did nail perfectly was tone. It's one of those entries that reminds you just how terrifying zombies really can be, and I wish it had been done better, because COD: WWII Zombies definitely had the potential to be an all-time top-five COD Zombies games.

9 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)

This experiment never quite clicked

I'll give Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare an A for effort, because it does deserve its flowers for trying something new. The game's Exo Zombies mode had potential, with jetpack mobility that gave us new movement but also added vertical design to the maps. Sadly, it was bogged down by one major problem: it wasn't included with the base game, and instead came as DLC in the form of Havoc. You had to pay extra for it, which made the entry cost for even the base Zombies experience $75. This instantly alienated half the player base.

In the game itself, there were a handful of maps, and they looked pretty sharp, but felt empty. The weapons felt weak, the pacing awkward, and while there were a few fun moments, it never quite justified its existence. It was, after all, a non-Treyarch Zombies mode. I'll always love the campaign, but as far as Zombies goes, this was a completely missed opportunity.

8 Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)

Built well upon a solid foundation, but successors overshadow it

2010's Black Ops deserves massive respect for building on World at War's ideas. It refined the systems, added depth, and gave us unforgettable maps like Shangi-La. Even today, it's probably the only map I'd want to touch in the game if I were to go back. However, as much as I love it, it simply doesn't hold up against the series' later achievements.

Black Ops 1's Zombies mode is still fun, don't get me wrong. The map design and atmosphere are impeccable for their time, but the pacing and polish are clear giveaways that this sub-franchise was still finding its footing. It's kind of like revisiting your first car. You love it, you appreciate it, but you wouldn't exactly take it on a long road trip today if you really want a good experience.

7 Call of Duty: World at War (2008)

This was where the outbreak started

2008's World at War was when Call of Duty made history. It gave us the first taste of Zombies, and even now, it does hold up surprisingly well. Its gameplay loop was the simplest to understand, and it's a far cry from what Zombies has become today. World at War's Zombies mode had you do three things, and three things alone — shoot, survive, upgrade. Still, its blueprint is palpable in every single Zombies game that has followed since.

There's something incredibly... pure about World at War's Zombies mode in hindsight. There were no prestige menus, no convoluted systems to pore over. It was just you, a shotgun, and endless waves of undead soldiers. Der Riese, Verrückt, and Shi No Numa remain some of the most influential maps ever made, the last of which has been remade and remastered more times than I can count.

6 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)

The easiest, but maybe too easy?

We've now entered the territory where every subsequent Zombies game is a banger, but some are more 'certified' than others. Cold War Zombies wasn't bad by any means. It just felt overly streamlined. The simplified mechanics made the Zombies mode accessible for sure, but it also stripped away a lot of the tension and grit that made the older games feel so incredibly special. Even the Easter eggs were straightforward, and those should, at the very least, require some legwork on the part of the player.

That being said, Black Ops Cold War Zombies still had its moments of brilliance. The ability to carry your own loadout was a smart change, and although a lot of players didn't like it, it still deserves credit. Outbreak, too, was an underrated experiment that showed how much potential an open-world Zombies mode had. It's not the one I'd want to come back to often, but when I do, I'm sure it would still be a comfortable ride.

5 Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016)

A surprising success story in Zombies history

Game of Thrones' Kit Harrington being the antagonist in Infinite Warfare is the only reason I bought this game off Facebook Marketplace one month after Zuckerberg launched the service. I didn't even have any idea that this game, despite being a non-Treyarch offering in the franchise, was going to have a dedicated Zombies mode. I'll never forget booting it up on my PS4 and playing Zombies in Spaceland for the very first time.

It was colorful, campy, hilarious, and downright fun. The neon-soaked amusement park, the 80s synth soundtrack, David Hasselhoff as a DJ — it all just came together and worked brilliantly. In fact, my non-gamer best friend, who had never touched a controller before and contently relegated himself to the backseat gamer position for years, got hooked, and played split-screen for hours after I showed him how to go about it. It led to countless revives from me to him, but it also led to one of the most memorable Zombies experiences ever made.

Infinite Warfare's Zombies maps were all pretty creative, but Zombies in Spaceland alone sold the entire thing, which is why it deserves its place so high up in the COD Zombies hall of fame.

4 Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)

When Zombies truly came into its own

I know a lot of players would want Black Ops II to be much higher on this list, but much like the higher levels of any good Zombies game, it gets brutal at the top levels. Black Ops II is where Call of Duty's Zombies mode truly came into its own, building a fantastic mansion on top of the foundation that both World at War and BO1 built. This was the moment Activision clearly decided that Zombies deserved the blockbuster treatment, and it's never stopped since. Mob of the Dead, Buried, and Origins are all legendary maps, and say what you will about TranZit, but there's a reason it's one of the first maps anyone remembers in BO2 history.

Then, there were the game modes. Grief gave us co-op chaos and competitive mayhem in equal measure, turning the entire formula into a last-man-standing contest. Of course, it was Turned that makes BO2 what it is today, letting you duke it out with three friends who would become the zombies to try taking you down. This was when the whole world realized that Zombies was going to be a pillar of the Call of Duty franchise, and not just a side show.

3 Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018)

Peak fun, peak chaos, peak replayability

Black Ops 4 (or IIII) is when Zombies reached its very peak. 2018's BO4 was infamous for completely forgoing a campaign and instead focusing on multiplayer alone, but to be rather truthful, that did have its benefits that were visible in the quality of the multiplayer and, of course, the Zombies mode. Black Ops 4 was pure joy once you got in. Every map was a banger, every soundtrack slapped, and it's very rare for there to not be a single dud in the map rotation.

In fact, Black Ops 4 happens to be my go-to Zombies game as well, even seven years later. There's a low player count here, of course, but since I met four of my gaming friends through it, we still boot it up at least once a month just to relive the magic, and we don't play anything other than Voyage of Despair. Blessed be the hands and minds that created the Kraken, and the entirety of Black Ops 4 Zombies.

2 Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015)

The very apex of creativity and atmosphere

This is the one game that many would always tout as the very best Zombies game in the Call of Duty franchise, and honestly, they wouldn't be wrong. Again, this is a subjective affair, but even then, there is simply no denying the absolute greatness of Black Ops III Zombies. The maps here were absurdly ambitious, with Shadows of Evil, Der Eisendrache, Zetsubou No Shima each being a cinematic playground of lore, horror, and ridiculous creativity.

BO3 nailed what made Zombies addictive, and every session felt like an event, every Easter egg a discovery. Add in the Gobblegum system that completely changed the game and became a mainstay, and you had lightning in a bottle. Black Ops III servers are still up, and that's why it is truly a timeless entry in the franchise.