Modern Warfare 3 is one of the most exciting FPS games, and its Zombies game mode is playing on all of our nostalgic heartstrings right now. If you have fond memories of tearing through zombie hordes with your pals in middle school, you’re not alone. According to developers, Modern Warfare 3 will have the largest Zombies mode to date, featuring an entire open world and brand-new mechanics. We’ve also just received a first look at the Zombies lore in MW3, and it seems like the story is just as massive as the gameplay is shaping up to be.
Alongside a cinematic trailer, Zombies just got a huge update post regarding its lore ahead of the Modern Warfare 3 release date. Viktor Zakhaev, ultranationalist arms dealer and enemy of Task Force 141 comes across vials filled with a glowing substance. Upon securing them, Zakhaev’s men are quickly outnumbered by military police. In a moment of desperation, he chucks one of the strange vials at the attackers before escaping.
When the vial shatters, a thick violet fog spreads and the police instantly transform into undead zombies. Zakhaev sees the effects unfold from the safety of his armored vehicle, smiling as he knows the substance inside the vials is a weapon like no other. In Modern Warfare 3, Zhakaev seems to be responsible for the zombie outbreak. What makes the mode’s story stand out among other CoD entries is the fact that, “In this iteration of Zombies, there are enemies both undead and alive.”
Aetherium, the substance from the vials, is “now in a highly enriched state derived from processing vast amounts of the harvested crystalline form.” The dev says we’ll “face off against a greater quantity of undead than ever before” as we “embark on difficult and multi-stage tasks” against Zakhaev while also attempting to “contain the current threat before it spreads out of control.”
MW3 draws on other previous games for lore, too, with familiar characters from and references made to previous sequels such as Cold War. The new game mode will take us “across different regions that escalate in difficulty, with core Zombies features and a cavalcade of secrets to discover.” For a more in-depth look at all of the revealed Zombies lore, you can read through the official Call of Duty blog post detailing the upcoming game mode’s backstory.
If you’re excited to explore MW3’s Zombies lore soon yourself, you should check out some of these other great multiplayer games to keep yourself occupied with friends until the new Call of Duty entry arrives. Alternatively, you can browse through our rundown of all our favorite zombie games to play before Modern Warfare 3’s iconic game mode launches.