Best Call of Duty Zombies map: Every map ranked from World at War to Cold War
Call of Duty Zombies has gone from a mini-game to pretty much a must-have feature in every CoD game. So we’ve sifted through every Zombies map ever made, settled on the absolute best ones, and ranked them.
It seems that nearly everyone has a favorite Zombies of all time, and a different top five list, such is the impact of Call of Duty Zombies on players. Treyarch’s post-World at War mini-game went on to become as important to people as the online multiplayer itself.
The latest official entry into the series, Black Ops Cold War, offered up several new maps including Firebase Z and the intense Forsaken, introduced terrifying new enemies in Mimics, and produced several memorable Main Quest Easter Eggs.
Vanguard aims to carry the Dark Aether storyline on in Der Anfang, and CoD Zombies will continue to grow. But before we get to Call of Duty: Vanguard, let’s go through and rank every Call of Duty Zombies map in history so far.
Every CoD Zombies ranked
In total, there have been 49 Zombies maps, and we’ve taken it upon ourselves to complete the difficult task of ranking them all.
Here is every CoD Zombies map ranked:
- Mob of the Dead
- Kino der Toten
- Der Reise
- Nacht der Untoten
- Zombies in Spaceland
- Origins
- Der Eisendrache
- Shadows of Evil
- Moon
- Ascension
- Firebase Z
- Five
- Ancient Evil
- Call of the Dead
- Mauer der Toten
- Shi No Numa
- Die Maschine
- Gorod Krovi
- Buried
- Forsaken
- Shangri-La
- Die Rise
- Verruckt
- IX
- Nuketown Zombies
- Revelations
- Rave in the Redwoods
- Classified
- Der Rise
- Attack of the Radioactive Thing
- Descent
- The Final Reich
- Shaolin Shuffle
- Outbreak
- Blood of the Dead
- Zetsubou No Shima
- Beast From Beyond
- TranZit
- Voyage of Despair
- Carrier
- The Shadowed Throne
- The Tortured Path
- Infection
- The Darkest Shore
- Tag der Toten
- Grosten Haus
- The Frozen Dawn
- Alpha Omega
- Dead of the Night
Top 5 Call of Duty Zombies ever ranked
Now that we’ve managed to rank every single Zombies map ever made, it’s now time to do a deep dive into our top five CoD Zombies maps of all time.
We believe each of our picks has a special quality that makes them so endlessly memorable, and while not all are as refined and packed as other maps, they are in the top five for a reason.
5. Zombies in Spaceland map – Infinite Warfare
Zombies in Spaceland moves away from the largely serious nature of Zombies and throws its players into a mad, exhilarating theme park of thrills, spills, and kills.
It carries on the novelty of Zombies maps around that time by having celebrity David Hasselhoff as the host and also demanded that players work together by having doors that needed to be opened by multiple teammates.
As well as the bright aesthetic, fun traps, and nicely divided up areas of the park, there were also the mini-games in the Astrocade. Featuring multiple, interactive arcade games, players could amass a collection of tokens to redeem for cool prizes.
To sweeten the pot further, players could also grab a bit of a breather on the Triton rollercoaster, a moving shooting gallery. As a whole, Zombies in Spaceland is a fun novelty that separates itself from a lot of the pack to form an identity.
4. Nacht der Untoten map – World at War / Black Ops III
It’s entirely up to you which version of Nacht you opt for, but there’s a part of us that yearns for the simplicity of its original form.
When players completed Call of Duty: World at War, after the credits rolled, many were surprised to be whisked away to a random room with creepy music and only a pistol.
So began the legacy of CoD Zombies, and unlike the Black Ops III remake, the pure nature of Nacht der Untoten still makes it a challenge to this day. No Perks, no Pack-A-Punch, just 1-4 players in a handful of confined rooms.
Given how many Wonder Weapons can be obtained in modern CoD games, the feeling of pure euphoria when you got a Ray Gun from the Mystery Box in Nacht der Untoten was unlike anything else.
3. Der Riese map – World at War
Another entry for Call of Duty: World at War in Der Riese, and the genius of some of its ideas are still at the forefront of many Zombies maps today.
Teleporters, Easter Eggs, and the aforementioned PAP and Wonder Weapon features were all introduced via Der Riese. These novel ideas were complemented perfectly by the map’s extraordinary map design.
All the channels and pathways blended together seamlessly, making a smaller map, in comparison to later maps, seem big enough, fair, and keep players keep coming back for more.
2. Mob of the Dead map – Black Ops II
As a DLC-only map, it may not have been enjoyed by as many people as base maps, but the legacy that Mob of the Dead has left been is unreal.
Fans of Warzone’s Rebirth Island would already have been familiar with Mob of the Dead as the map is set in the world-famous Alcatraz prison. It manages to intertwine the themes of the undead with mobsters, and create a perfect scenario in which you need to escape the island.
Action in Mob of the Dead is intense unlike any other, particularly with the tightness of the corridors and its surroundings at times. The Easter Egg for Mob of the Dead is tremendous, and we definitely need to see it reimagined in the future for all players to experience.
1. Kino der Toten map – Black Ops
Sometimes, less is more. Whereas Nacht der Untoten feels barebones and a modern map like Die Maschine is chock full of features, Kino der Toten strikes that fine balance of power, whilst delivering the best map in CoD Zombies history.
Kino’s cinema is probably the most iconic setting in the franchise and its level design makes the map unbelievably accessible. Turning on the power, going through the curtains, and seeing the decimated venue is a cool feeling.
You can manipulate how the Zombies will get to you, depending on which doors you unlock, and the Projector room offers the perfect respite from the chaos. Kin der Toten never stops being a blast to play, and that’s why we think it’s the best CoD Zombies map in the game’s history.
So there you have it! All 49 Zombies maps ranked, and our top five CoD Zombies maps in order as well.
For more Call of Duty Zombies content, check out everything we know so far about Vanguard Zombies.
Image Credit: Activision / Treyarch / Infinity Ward