Modern Warfare 3 Zombies Zones explained

Modern Warfare 3 Zombies brings a brand-new version of the classic game mode, opting for open-world co-op over the classic round-based format. Instead of increasingly difficult rounds, Modern Warfare 3 Zombies has “Zones,” and here’s how they work.

For the first time ever, the Modern Warfare franchise brings its very own Zombies mode with MW3. Rather than the classic round-based mode, Modern Warfare 3 brings an open-world PvP format on the “largest Call of Duty Zombies map ever,” which also arrives in Warzone after Modern Warfare 3.

Instead of advancing to increasingly difficult rounds by killing all the undead, Modern Warfare 3 Zombies features “Zones” to keep things challenging. Here’s everything we know about MW3 Zombies’ new Zones feature so far.

What are Zones in Modern Warfare 3 Zombies?

Modern Warfare 3 Zombies’ Zones are how the difficulty scales in the open world, where progressing to the next Zone will feature tougher enemies and most likely, greater rewards.

Treyarch confirmed there will be three Zones in Modern Warfare 3 Zombies (Low Threat, Medium Threat, and High Threat), and enemy health will increase in each Zone. The devs compared it to the increasing difficulty of “rounds” in the traditional mode.

MW3 Zombies also features story missions through “three cinematic acts,” which could tie in with these Zones.

Modern Warfare Zombies is for fans who want to play open world Zombies, combining some of the best of DMZ and Outbreak together. It is not traditional round based, but Treyarch says that the 3 different threat Zones are based on round based difficulty levels.

— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) October 5, 2023

You’ll need to ensure you’re using the Pack-a-Punch and Perk Machines to have a chance of surviving the next Zone and Exfil.

Outbreak back in Black Ops Cold War had a similar system where players could either progress to the next Region where the difficulty would be increased or Exfil. Modern Warfare 3 Zombies appears to be heavily inspired by the popular Outbreak mode but takes many elements from the DMZ mode like Assimilation, Proximity Chat, and Operator slots.

For more on Modern Warfare 3, you can also check out our other guides:

How to play Modern Warfare 3 beta | How to play Modern Warfare 3 campaign early access | Modern Warfare 3 campaign: Storyline, characters & missions | Modern Warfare 3 returning features | What are Modern Warfare 3 After-Market Parts? | Can you slide cancel in Modern Warfare 3? | What is Modern Warfare 3 Tac-Stance?