D-Day Normandy Landings

Lore & Background

During the development of Call of Duty: World at War, the team initially planned a minigame set during the Normandy landings. The premise involved players taking on the role of German soldiers fighting off waves of Allied attackers. However, Treyarch designer Jesse Snyder scrapped this concept after hearing that animations for Japanese soldiers struck by rockets looked like zombies. He combined this observation with inspiration from the Flash game 'The Last Stand' to create a mode focused on being overrun and unable to win, deviating from the series tradition of feeling invincible. Although studio head Mark Lamia initially tried to shut down the project due to development delays, he later played the prototype and insisted it be included as an unlockable bonus feature.

In Their Own Story

The concept for the mode shifted away from a German defense at Normandy toward a zombie survival scenario. Snyder wanted to deviate from the series tradition where 'everyone lives to see the next day,' instead creating a feeling of being 'over run [sic] and not really being able to win.' The scrapped Normandy idea was abandoned, and the team focused on building a small prototype that would eventually become the 'Nacht der Untoten' map. This map launched as the only content in the mode when it was first unlocked after completing the campaign, featuring Nazi zombies rather than Allied soldiers.

Reader's Guide

The scrapped Normandy defense mode was never released to players; instead, the development team pivoted to the zombie concept. The final version of the bonus feature required players to complete the game's campaign to unlock it initially. It began with a single map, 'Nacht der Untoten,' where players faced endless waves of zombies rather than Allied forces. As the mode evolved through downloadable content (DLC), new maps like 'Verrückt' and 'Shi no Numa' were added, introducing mechanics such as Perk-a-Colas and traps that were not part of the original Normandy concept.

Did You Know?

• The Zombies mode originated from a scrapped minigame where players defended against Allied soldiers at the Normandy landings.
• Jesse Snyder based the zombie concept partly on in-game animations of Japanese soldiers looking like zombies after being hit by rockets.
• Studio head Mark Lamia initially tried to cancel the mode due to development delays before deciding to include it as an unlockable bonus.
• The scrapped Normandy idea was replaced by a Flash game-inspired concept focused on survival against an endless horde.
• The final version of the mode launched with only one map, 'Nacht der Untoten,' after players completed the campaign.