Ever since Treyarch showed the world Nazi Zombies in World at War, the entire gaming landscape shifted. Plenty of other games followed suit to create engaging horde modes that could rival the addictive nature of Call of Duty Zombies.
To this day, Zombies is still one of the best and well-crafted co-op experiences you can find in video games. Its adrenaline-pumped action and unique settings make it distinct from the dozens of filler game modes on the market. This list will look at the best Zombies maps made in Treyarch's Zombies mode, so you won't be seeing Advanced Warfare or WW2 zombies here. Regardless, here are some of the best Zombie maps in the Call of Duty series.
Updated September 17th, 202 by Johnny Garcia: The next installment of Treyarch's Call of Duty has been announced with Black Ops: Cold War. The wildly popular Zombies mode is confirmed to return, and it's looking like it will get fully re-worked — potentially taking inspiration from the terrifying atmosphere of WWII Zombies. With the conclusion of the Aether storyline, Cold War will pave the way for an entirely new generation of Zombies. But for now, some fans may be revisiting old favorites to tide them over, so we've added a few more Zombies gems for fans to check out.
15 Classified (Black Ops 4)
Classified is one of the many reimagined maps included in Black Ops 4. It's based on the map Five, adding in new areas everywhere but the Lab areas. The addition of a Shield as well as more space in the War Room were quite welcome.
Classified is a faithful reimaging of Five, though it's lacking some of the charm that the original had. Classified is the perfect example of how to redo a map, something none of the other reimagined maps would take note of. It also takes out some of the annoyances, most notably the Pentagon Thief.
14 Buried (Black Ops 2)
The Black Ops 2 launch of Zombies was not well-received, from the clunky TranZit to the underwhelming Die Rise. After hitting it out of the park with Mob of the Dead, eyes were on Treyarch for their next map. Luckily, they would deliver with Buried.
While Buried is widely considered to be the easiest map in all of Zombies, it's still a blast to play. Artur allowed the players to do things never previously possible, from locking down the Mystery Box to changing Power-Ups. The environment was incredibly fun, and it's the more grounded experience that everyone was begging for throughout Black Ops 2.
13 Ascension (Black Ops)
Ascension kicked off the DLC cycle for Black Ops, and it set the standard for the future DLC to come. Ascension introduced two fan-favorite perks in Stamin-Up and PhD Flopper. It was also the first map where a free Perk Bottle drop was easily obtainable, requiring players to kill all the monkeys without them touching any Perk Machines. Ascension is also great for how much freedom it gives the players, and they can make it as easy or as hard as they want their experience to be. There's plenty of space to run around in, which makes for an incredibly enjoyable map.
12 IX (Black Ops 4)
While Black Ops 4 suffered from a rather shaky start, IX would be the diamond in the rough. The upper levels of IX flow incredibly well. Each of the major areas represented the Perk Altars, making it easy to know where which ones are.
The crowd affinity is a unique mechanic never seen outside of IX. The atmosphere is what makes IX so special. A gladiator colosseum is one of the most unique settings for Zombies, and it made for one of the best maps Black Ops 4 had to offer.
11 Call Of The Dead (Black Ops)
Call of the Dead was the first Zombies map to utilize a celebrity cast, consisting of Danny Trejo, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert Englund, Michael Rooker, and George A. Romero. It was the first time the Zombies formula was really challenged, and it created one of the most memorable Zombie experiences.
It was the first time a major Easter Egg could be done solo, and completing it rewarded the player with a Wunderwaffe DG-2. While the George Romero Boss Zombie was very "love it or hate it," it created a constant threat that would keep coming back. Killing him would reward the player handsomely with a free Perk Bottle and Death Machine drop (or a Wunderwaffe DG-2 if the Easter Egg has been done).
10 Five (Black Ops)
There aren't many video games that let you slay hordes of undead zombies while making witty quips as JFK or Fidel Castro. Black Ops lets players slay the unrelenting undead horde in its Five Zombies map.
Members of the Zombies community often criticize this map for being too hard, having few train spots beside the second floor and having an awful boss wave. While the Pentagon Thief is rather annoying, running Mustang & Sally or the Ray Gun can make short work of him. This map is special because of its unrelenting difficulty, something seldom seen in modern zombie maps. If you make a mistake, it's all over. Nova crawlers can use teleports as you can, elevators are a deathtrap at higher levels, and most areas are hard to camp in. That is what makes Five special, however. No other map can get the adrenaline pumping like this one.
9 Moon (Black Ops)
You spawn in with an M1911 in a small arena, clueless to where you are. Zombies slowly walk to your position when alarms begin to blare. Suddenly, its the last stand against an infinite amount of undead.
Moon, similar to Five, can be a rather difficult map. It can be rough at times due to constant excavator drillings or the Moon zombie trying to ruin your day, but the zero gravity locations and fantastic No Man's Land endurance area make this one of the most satisfying Zombies maps to play. The easter egg was also a bittersweet ending to the Black Ops Zombie storyline, having players swap bodies with Samantha—the game's main antagonist—and blowing up the entire Earth. It's a fantastic send off for a great series of Zombies maps.
8 Kino Der Toten (Black Ops)
Originally a cut Zombies map for World at War, Kino Der Toten is a fantastic introduction to the Zombies game mode present in Call of Duty: Black Ops.
There are no major easter eggs in this map, instead being mostly focused on surviving as long as you can. Black Ops introduced some iconic weapons like the Thundergun and Galil, both of which made their debut here. Nova crawlers were somewhat annoying to fight, but it made a nice break from camping and spraying down dozens of zombies. Instead, you would have to frequently move around the map to prevent their blinding gas from affecting you. Kino is a perfect example of how, sometimes, less is more.
7 Gorod Krovi (Black Ops 3)
This map was fantastic fan service for those who have stuck with the franchise since the beginning, bringing back the PPSH-41 and mounted MG-42's while including the modern Zombies mechanics fans came to love.
The easter egg here was somewhat unenjoyable, requiring players to do plenty of fetch-quest objectives to progress. With that aside, the Russian town and mythical theming this map has is unique and hasn't been done since. Riding dragons is something you'd expect in Skyrim but is incredibly satisfying to do here. This map is so absurd at times but in every great way possible.
6 Ancient Evil (Black Ops 4)
Black Ops 4's perk changes brought ire among many fans, dropping Juggernog and trying to make armor a proper replacement. The split between two timelines made many veterans groan over Treyarch's attempt to gain sympathy over a new cast of characters for the third time.
When the story is put to the side, Black Ops 4 made some good gameplay alterations to the Zombies game mode. Ancient Evil is the Magnum Opus of Black Ops 4, combining epic imagery with Greek mythology and engaging fights with zombies and bosses alike. The easter egg is also fantastic. If you can stomach Black Ops 4's changes to gameplay, this is a fantastic addition to the series.
5 Der Riese (World at War)
Nacht Der Untoten might have introduced the world to the frantic mania of Zombies, but Der Riese was when this game mode really took off with casuals and hardcore gamers alike.
Sweeping innovations, such as Pack-A-Punch and Teleporters, were all introduced in this map. The eerie vibe of this map makes it instantly recognizable as well, with the cold steel walls juxtaposing the flames and plentiful blood populating the environment. This map might be seen as rather easy by today's standards, but the number of strategies that were possible on this map kept plenty of Zombies fans playing for hundreds of hours. Black Ops 3's rendition called The Giant was also fantastic, but it didn't innovate as much compared to the original. If you don't own World at War, however, The Giant is an amazing substitute to the original.
4 Shadows of Evil (Black Ops 3)
Black Ops 3 introduced a plethora of gameplay changes in both its multiplayer and Zombies game modes. Players could now slide, use GobbleGums—powerups players could consume at will—to make rounds easier, and had specialist weapons they could use.
With all of these innovations, Treyarch also decided to create an H.P. Lovecraft inspired Zombies map for their first entry in Black Ops 3. Fans were initially mixed, angry that the original cast was missing and the map was heavily focused on the easter egg. Over time, this underrated map finally began to get the recognition it deserves for its sweeping mechanical changes and masterful execution of its visual design.
3 Der Eisendrache (Black Ops 3)
Take the epic easter egg present in Moon and set it within a Medieval castle. Then, add Black Ops 3's gameplay systems and you have Der Eisendrache.
If this list was based on visual spectacle, this would be number one easily. A snowy castle in the mountains is just awesome. This easter egg is simple compared to other Zombies maps, meaning new players and Zombies veterans alike can enjoy it. Nuking the Moon was also a nice touch. Unfortunately, this map is pretty easy and can get boring at times. Besides that, this map is practically perfect.
2 Origins (Black Ops 2)
Black Ops 2 received criticism from veteran Zombies fans for its boring cast of characters, lackluster maps, and lack of the original Zombies cast in this installment.
Treyarch took all of those criticisms to heart and created Origins, a map that took the glowing reception of Mob of the Dead and cranked it up to 11. Elemental staves gave a tangible sense of easter egg progress, and the easter egg on this map is pretty amazing. World War I aesthetics and themed weaponry was satisfying to experience, setting this map apart from every other Zombies map ever made, even comparing it to today's maps.
1 Mob of the Dead (Black Ops 2)
Many Zombies fans were disappointed with Treyarch's first map, TranZit. It lacked interesting characters, had a lacking easter egg, and its segmented nature made it a chore to play.
Die Rise wasn't much better, but Mob of the Dead was a complete 180 in design and execution. Instead of surviving as long as possible, players had an actual objective in this map: create a plane to escape Alcatraz. Of course, escaping from Alcatraz is no easy task. Boss zombies had a massive impact on this map, perfecting the implementation originally seen in Shangri-La. The weapon sandbox on this map was superb. Neverending hallways of cells and stairs made Alcatraz seem incredibly expansive and like a real location. The easter egg was fantastic as well. Mob of the Dead's overall fun factor makes it the best Zombies map ever made to this day.