Close

Call of Duty's Walking Dead Crossover is Poorly Timed

By Cameron Swan

Published Feb 6, 2024, 12:04 PM EST

From the moment 4-year-old Cameron first stepped out into Glimmer in Spyro 2, he knew video games were going to play a central role in the rest of his life. Though he never planned to make it the focal point of his career, Cameron spent the vast majority of his spare time growing up playing games, and following graduation from the University of Reading, he thought he'd try his hand at writing a few reviews. Flash forward five years (four of which have been spent at TheBestWarGames) and Cameron's passion for gaming has only grown. Whether it's covering daily news, writing a personal feature, interviewing a developer, reviewing the latest title, or being sent across the world to preview an upcoming game, Cameron adores it all, and he wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

Summary

Call of Duty's Walking Dead crossover ties in with the release of "The Ones Who Live," The crossover event is well-timed for Walking Dead fans, happening in conjunction with the premiere of the new series.
However, the crossover is coming during a season that lacks Modern Warfare Zombies content, which is surprising considering the theme of the crossover.
While MW3 multiplayer and Warzone will get some undead-themed additions, it seems like CoD Zombies fans are out of luck, as none of the content mentioned on the season 2 roadmap is releasing on day one.

Though Call of Duty can trace its crossover roots all the way back to Call of Duty: Black Ops' Call of The Dead Zombies map, it's entered a whole new era of pop-culture collaboration. Kicking off back in 2020 with the release of Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Saw skins for Call of Duty: Warzone, the franchise has since become a melting pot for some truly bizarre crossovers, ranging from currently popular franchises like The Boys to some more dormant IP like Donnie Darko.

The latest Call of Duty crossover definitely belongs to the former camp, tying in directly with the ongoing Walking Dead franchise. Heading to the game on February 7, Call of Duty's Walking Dead crossover will add two new Operator skins based on the show, with Rick Grimes being instantly available via the Battle Pass, and Michonne being available as part of the purchasable Tracer Pack. A major Walking Dead-themed event will also take place across Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone from February 28 to March 6, but there's one strange issue that might end up making this crossover feel poorly timed: a lack of content for MWZ.

Call of Duty's Walking Dead Crossover Is Missing a Key Ingredient

Call of Duty's Walking Dead Crossover Ties in With The Release of The Ones Who Live

When looking outside the CoD franchise itself, this Call of Duty x Walking Dead crossover can be seen as very well-timed. Unlike the recent Boys crossovers, which came out long before the new season dropped, or past crossovers of decades-old franchises like Die Hard, this Walking Dead collaboration is happening in direct conjunction with the release of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

A brand-new Walking Dead series, The Ones Who Live takes place directly after the events of the main Walking Dead series' conclusion. In this series, fans will catch up with Rick and Michonne and they struggle to find their past selves in a rapidly changing world that thrives on never-ending war and conflict, both against the dead and the living. Call of Duty's main in-game Walking Dead event kicks off on February 28, just a few days after Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live's premiere date of February 25, making the crossover favorable for Walking Dead fans.

Call of Duty's Walking Dead Crossover Is Dropping In a Season With Barely Any New Zombies Content

However, there's one glaring omission in Call of Duty's Walking Dead event, and that's a severe and surprising lack of actual Call of Duty Zombies content. On its February 7 launch, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Season 2 will have no new Zombies content to offer fans. According to its roadmap, Season 2 will feature a new Zombies Dark Aether Rift, a new Zombies story mission, a new Zombies Warlord, and some new Zombies schematics, but none of that is coming at launch, and it's currently unclear just when fans will see it all get added to the game.

For a crossover themed around a show that's based entirely around a zombie apocalypse, it seems incredibly strange that there's no new Call of Duty Zombies content coming to coincide with the event. To be fair, it's possible that this new Zombies content could drop alongside the Walking Dead in-game event on February 28, but that hasn't been confirmed, and it's currently unclear if fans will see any Walking Dead-themed content come to Modern Warfare 3's Zombies mode this month. While it's great to see Warzone and some multiplayer maps getting a Walking Dead-themed makeover for the event, it's truly bizarre that the game's actual Zombies mode is seemingly getting nothing.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) Tag Page Cover Art

Display card tags widget

First-Person Shooter

Display card system widget

Systems

Display card community and brand rating widget Display card open critics widget

OpenCritic Reviews: Top Critic Avg: 58 /100 Critics Rec: 14%

Display card main info widget

Released: November 10, 2023
ESRB: M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
Developer(s): Sledgehammer Games
Publisher(s): Activision
Engine: iw 9.0
Multiplayer: Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S

Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

The war has changed. Call of Duty returns with an all-new campaign, modernized versions of classic Multiplayer maps and an open-world PvE Zombies experience. The campaign, a direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, sees Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off against ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov as he extends his grasp across the world. In Multiplayer, the 16 maps that launched with Modern Warfare 2 in 2009 return with upgraded graphics, new modes and innovative gameplay features. In Modern Warfare Zombies, team up with other squads for the first time ever as you work together to survive in the largest Zombies map yet

Franchise: Call of Duty, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Split Screen Orientation: Horizontal Only
Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Genre(s): First-Person Shooter
How Long To Beat: 5 Hours
Metascore: 60
Platforms That Support Crossplay: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
Local Co-Op Support: 1-2 Players

Web Analytics Made Easy - Statcounter