Call of Duty Zombies’ Latest Announcement May Be More Than Meets the Eye

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The Call of Duty Zombies fanbase is incredibly dedicated, constantly sharing detailed theories, discussing the game’s story, and even creating their own content like custom maps and replica weapons. So, it’s no surprise there was a lot of excitement when the Call of Duty Zombies art book, Call of Duty Zombies: The Art of Treyarch, was announced on Amazon, with many fans quickly pre-ordering it. The book promises a look behind the scenes at 15 years of map design, characters, and enemies, which fans are sure to love. It will be fascinating to see how early ideas for maps and bosses developed into the final versions we all played, and many are eager to see concept art for the original characters and important figures like Samantha Maxis.

As a big Zombies fan, I was really hyped to see some of the older artwork that inspired the new maps! But honestly, that wasn’t what really got people talking. Sure, there might be hints of ideas they tried and tossed aside that could show up later, but it’s the cover art itself that’s got everyone buzzing. They used the same image of a severed hand from the BO3 Zombies Chronicles expansion, but instead of screenshots from the game, they filled it with pieces of artwork. A lot of us think Treyarch is subtly hinting at a sequel to Zombies Chronicles – a second expansion with classic maps – and we’re all hoping it’ll be included in Black Ops 7!

The CoD Zombies’ Artbook Might Just Double as a Zombies Chronicles 2 Teaser

As a huge Zombies fan, it’s really disappointing to hear about how close we were to getting a second Zombies Chronicles! Apparently, it was planned for Black Ops 4, back when they still did big DLC packs. It would have been amazing – not only finishing the story they started with Chaos, but also giving us remakes of classic maps like TranZit and Die Rise, plus some brand new Aether maps! I remember hearing that Treyarch actually made a lot of the stuff for these maps, and some of us were hoping they’d find a way to use it in Black Ops Cold War, but it never happened. It’s a shame, because it felt like a missed opportunity to bring back some of the best Zombies experiences.

According to reports, the planned second year of Zombies content for Black Ops 4 was canceled because Treyarch needed to begin development on Black Ops Cold War. This happened after Sledgehammer Games was unable to complete the project in 2020, so Treyarch stepped in to take over.

Ever since the disappointing news, rumors about a potential Zombies Chronicles 2 have surfaced, but nothing official has been announced. The art book featuring imagery from the original Zombies Chronicles is the closest Treyarch has come to hinting at a sequel, though some fans point to music from the Buried map appearing in Outbreak as a possible clue. It’s possible fans are getting excited over nothing. The art book itself is a celebration of the entire 15-year history of Zombies, including both popular maps like Shadows of Evil and the less well-received Vanguard Zombies. Zombies Chronicles was a particularly important part of that history, as it made the already excellent Black Ops 3 Zombies experience the definitive version and became the best-selling DLC on PlayStation 4. Despite everything, there’s still reason to be hopeful.

What Could Zombies Chronicles 2 For Black Ops 7 Include?

Rumors suggest that the 2026 Call of Duty game might bring back the DMZ mode instead of a traditional Zombies experience. This could mean fans won’t get a new Zombies mode until late 2026 or even 2027 – and possibly longer if the following year’s game also skips Zombies. While this is just speculation, a long gap without new Zombies content would be disappointing for dedicated fans. However, this situation could allow Treyarch to support Black Ops 7 Zombies for an extended period, potentially releasing more than the usual 5-6 maps. They might do this by adding classic maps or releasing new ones periodically throughout 2026 and 2027 to keep players engaged. Because BO7 is expected to be Treyarch’s last game for several years, it has the potential to be supported for a longer time than previous titles like Cold War or BO6.

Based on the cover of the upcoming Call of Duty Zombies art book, the maps likely to be included in Zombies Chronicles 2 are:

  • Dead of the Night
  • TranZit
  • Moon
  • Shadows of Evil
  • Der Eisendrache
  • The Archon

It’s very unlikely that maps from Vanguard Zombies will be included, so if remasters do happen, they probably won’t look like the artwork we’ve seen. Instead, Treyarch will likely choose maps that aren’t exact copies of the originals, since maps like Tag Der Toten, Alpha Omega, Blood of the Dead, and Classified had significant changes from their initial versions. Here’s a more probable list of maps for a potential Zombies Chronicles 2:

  • Five
  • Call of the Dead
  • Mob of the Dead
  • Buried
  • Die Rise
  • TranZit
  • Nuketown
  • Survival map segments from TranZit (released in-between larger remasters, mirroring what BO7 will be doing with Ashes of the Damned survival maps)
Buried Black Ops 2

Treyarch could also remake popular maps from Black Ops 3 and Black Ops 4, since those games are getting older. Maps like Shadows of Evil and Der Eisendrache are already fairly easy to find, so remaking maps from even earlier games would be a good fit. While the hand shown in the art book probably isn’t a hint towards another Zombies Chronicles collection, the next Black Ops game (BO7) is in a good position to include remastered maps from Zombies Chronicles for the first time since Black Ops 4. If this happens, expect Treyarch to focus on fan-favorite maps like Buried, rather than some of the more controversial ones shown on the art book cover – those were likely just chosen at random.

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2025-10-22 23:09