Summary
- Raven Software was working on a live service game for Call of Duty: Zombies that was canceled.
- The cancellation was due to Treyarch wanting ownership of the Call of Duty IP back.
- While a live service version of Zombies may not happen, it's likely that Zombies will return in future Call of Duty games, possibly in the upcoming 2024 Black Ops Gulf War game.
It looks like Raven Software was once working on a Call of Duty: Zombies live service game, but it was canceled. Zombies has been an incredibly popular Call of Duty mode ever since it first debuted as part of 2008's Call of Duty: World at War. Zombies has appeared in every Treyarch-developed CoD game since World at War and many of the non-Treyarch games as well.
Most recently, Zombies was featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as part of a new mode that saw players explore a zombie-infested version of the Urzikstan Warzone map. Work on Call of Duty: Warzone itself is mainly handled by Raven Software, though it seems the studio was once working on a major Call of Duty: Zombies live service game.
This information comes from former Raven Software developer Michael Gummelt's LinkedIn Profile, as spotted by MP1st. According to Gummelt, Raven was working on an "ambitious new Call of Duty: Zombies live service project," but it was ultimately canned because of Treyarch. "Canceled when the ATVI studio that 'owned' that part of the Call of Duty IP wanted it back," Gummelt said. With how popular Zombies has been in Call of Duty over years, a live service Zombies game seems like a no-brainer, so perhaps the concept will be revisited down the line, but the version Raven Software was working on has been canceled.
Even if a live service version of Zombies never materializes, franchise fans can count on the mode returning in future Call of Duty games. The 2024 Call of Duty game is rumored to be Black Ops Gulf War, with Treyarch serving as the lead developer. Whatever form the 2024 Call of Duty game takes, it's a virtual guarantee that Zombies will be part of the package, so Call of Duty fans will have to hang tight for more information. If previous Call of Duty games are any indication, the reveals for the 2024 Call of Duty game will start to ramp up this summer, with a full rundown on Zombies most likely dropping in the fall.
Gummelt's LinkedIn profile mentions another project besides the Call of Duty: Zombies live service game that the studio was supposedly working on. It seems Raven Software also made "two highly playable, well-developed prototypes" that were "proof of concept for a revival of a classic Raven IP." Gummelt doesn't mention which Raven Software IP these protoypes were built for, but some possibilities would include Singularity, Soldier of Fortune, Heretic, and Hexen.