Footage from the initial pitch for Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ alien Extinction mode has surfaced online and it’s a lot different from the final version. In 2008, Call of Duty shook things up by adding a then-secret co-op mode called Nazi Zombies. The mode saw players trying to survive endless hordes of zombies by barricading windows, purchasing whatever weapons they could find, and using teamwork to survive as long as possible. There was no end goal, it was simply a challenge to see how long players could last. From there, Call of Duty continued to put co-op modes in its games, but each developer and subfranchise tried to find its own idea that was separate from Zombies.
Of course, nowadays, all Call of Duty games just have Zombies. That’s not necessarily a bad thing since that’s the most popular mode. There’s also people who only play Zombies, so for Activision, this ensures that those people are buying a new Call of Duty game every single year instead of waiting for the games that specifically include Zombies. Still, it does make some sad to think of what other options could’ve succeeded had they had the same amount of resources and time as Zombies. Spec Ops didn’t really get the care it deserved and there was also another mode that never took off known as Extinction.
2013’s Call of Duty: Ghosts was the first Call of Duty game from Infinity Ward post-Modern Warfare. The developer was trying to figure out what it wanted to do next after creating arguably the most popular games in the whole franchise. Given Ghosts was different from Modern Warfare, they also chose to shake up their co-op mode and Extinction was born. Players progress through a fairly sizable map, fighting off aliens while accomplishing objectives. Unlike Zombies, there was an end goal for Extinction. However, this mode didn’t get the same love or following as Zombies.
A brand new video from ex-Neversoft employee Brian Bright reveals that Extinction initially felt every different. The video was a simple concept created to pitch the mode to executives and shows a player walking around an empty part of Chicago while things are on fire. Aliens are scrambling across rooftops, inside of buildings, and more, making it feel like the player is being stalked. There is even some tall grass that allows the aliens to get up real close without the player being able to see them easily. It makes Extinction looks way scarier and more like a survival horror game.
Blight revealed that Extinction was initially inspired by The Mist and a wave of fog would periodically roll in, obscuring the aliens. Only their eyes were visible in the fog, so players had to put down traps in order to properly protect themselves. Eventually, this idea evolved to the drilling sections that are in the final game, encouraging the player to hunker down and defend a small area. Ultimately, it’s pretty interesting to see how the mode evolved. Blight’s posts note that the video was from November 2012, meaning that they built the entire Extinction mode in about a year. It’s unfortunate we’ll never get to see what the mode could’ve looked like in future games, but it’s great that Call of Duty tried to experiment with ideas other than Zombies.
For those interested in other niche Call of Duty projects, Neversoft also briefly worked on canceled game called Call of Duty: Future Warfare. This game was reported as a potential idea in the 2010s, but it never actually took off. Players would fight on the moon, have battles at the American/Mexican border, and much more. As the title suggests, it also took place in the future. Games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Advanced Warfare, and Infinite Warfare eventually utilized a lot of the ideas for this game, but it sounds like it would’ve been pretty neat.
What did you think of Extinction? Let me know in the comments.
