The buildup to Friday’s Call of Duty NEXT event has been unavoidable this week. But did you know there’s actually a second Call of Duty livestream happening 24 hours earlier? If you’re a Zombies player, of course you did. ZombieZone, hosted by evanf and cbgray, is broadcasting live from Treyarch HQ to mark the launch of Rex Infernus, Black Ops 7’s final Zombies map.
The stream will follow the race to claim “First in the World” for the Rex Infernus Main Quest and will feature some special appearances from the Zombies dev team, as well as giveaways and some other shenanigans. I’ll be rooting for one of my podcast co-hosts, Stanley557, but my luck goes out to everyone (except the Web Mother). I’ll be following along and hunting for intel on my lonesome, Irn Bru in hand. Bliss.
An official “World’s First” stream is something Zombies players have long advocated for. It’s great to see it finally happen, though the circumstances are less than ideal. What should be a final celebration of this chapter of Zombies is being eclipsed by the impending Modern Warfare 4 Beta and Call of Duty NEXT, which as mentioned, kicks off 24 hours after Rex Infernus launches.
It’s no secret that Black Ops 7 fell short of management’s expectations. Activision issued an apology for the game and quickly moved on to promoting Modern Warfare 4. It makes sense – business is business, after all. Yet sales and monthly active users mean little to Zombies players, doubly so when it comes to Black Ops 7. We’ve enjoyed the strongest post-launch support in years: FIVE round-based maps, umpteen survival maps, starting room challenges, cursed mode, a roguelike mode, the list goes on…
Not to mention, the quality has been there too. You could put several BO7 maps up there with some of the all-time greats, and I wouldn’t argue. It’s been a hell of a year! Yet it ends with a whimper, overshadowed by the prodigal arrival of another Modern Warfare game. Despite so much success over the years, it seems Zombies is destined to remain Call of Duty’s middle child. Expressing creativity within a franchise constantly accused of creative bankruptcy only leads to chasing the shadows of more profitable, easier-to-market modes. It’s nothing new, but it still stings.
This situation may also put Zombies creators invited to NEXT in a tricky predicament. We all remember “We need you in Verdansk” from last year’s event, when MrDalekJD dared to continue playing Zombies beyond 30 minutes. Imagine a similar scenario, except this time, Zombies creators are ordered to stop playing the final BO7 Main Quest so they can react to a presentation. NEXT should be an exciting opportunity, but it could leave them awkwardly stuck between respecting Activision’s instructions and giving their viewers what they actually want to see.
Of course, that all hinges on whether or not the hunt lasts beyond 24 hours. Perhaps Treyarch knows a 24-hour window is enough because Rex Infernus’ quest won’t stump players as much as Kowakujo’s did. If it’s a narratively dense experience, I could see it being more straightforward.
Still, a Zombies finale that wraps up a multi-game story arc should not be rushed to its conclusion. I find it hard to believe Treyarch, Infinity Ward and Activision weren’t all aware of this clash months in advance. If it was impossible to avoid, would it not have made more sense to incorporate the launch of Rex Infernus into NEXT? That way, newcomers could get a proper look at Zombies, rather than the NEXT builds they usually see, which are stripped of story and quests. (I’ve said before that NEXT isn’t a good format for previewing Zombies because of the secrecy required).
Regardless of intent, it’s difficult not to take COD NEXT and the Modern Warfare 4 beta launching in such close proximity to Rex Infernus as a message saying “wrap your silly wee Zombies thing up so we can get on with the important stuff”. MW4 is only a few months away from launch, so it obviously takes priority, but NEXT has has taken the wind out of Rex Infernus’ sails and it didn’t need to be that way.
It’s not a massive deal in the grand scheme of things, but I know many Zombies fans share my frustration. It feels like Zombies is being punished for daring to remain relevant this far into Black Ops 7’s lifecycle. But let’s reframe it a little.
Zombies has always been counter-culture compared to the rest of Call of Duty. It’s a mode that thrives on taking risks and shaking up the status quo. I can’t think of anything more “against the grain” than a stream dedicated to Zombies and its community running head-to-head with the juggernaut that is Call of Duty NEXT.
Enjoy Rex Infernus and let the MW4 marketing machine do its thing. We know where the real party is.
