Happy 115 Day!
Treyarch’s yearly celebration of the Zombies community and all things undead is here, and we’ve got some goodies to share.
Happy 115 Day!
It’s that time of year again: January 15, or “115 Day” to Zombies fans who’ve been around the block once or twice. Today’s an extra-special one for us and we’ve got some news to share with you all, plus some highlights from the community that you’ve shared with us!
Hot on the heels of last week’s Season 01 Reloaded launch, the Zombies team is hard at work on new content for Season 02 launch and S02 Reloaded, in addition to knocking out fixes for some stubborn Augment bugs that we know you’ve been waiting patiently for. Before we get into all that, let’s paint a picture of what to expect for the long haul in Black Ops 7 Zombies.
Our Commitment to Content
We’ve been dedicated to a consistent schedule of content for Black Ops 7 from the start, and Zombies is no exception. Astra Malorum is the first of five Round-Based Zombies maps we’re planning throughout our post-launch seasons, as well as a steady supply of more Survival Maps, Weekly Challenges, and modes to keep things fresh with every major update.
Players are spending around 40% of their Zombies time in Survival these days, and we’re excited to continue delivering new Survival experiences for everyone between our larger Round-Based Map releases. Two months into the game’s launch, we’re proud to have delivered two Round-Based Maps and three Survival Maps so far, as well as Cursed and Directed modes, and of course, Dead Ops Arcade 4 and its newest additions.
And we’re only in our first season! On that note, let’s talk about what’s coming next with Season 02.
Season 02 Launch Preview
Astra Malorum presented the team with the opportunity to deliver one of our most unique Zombies boss arenas yet: a temple on the surface of Mars itself. What better setting for our next Survival Map?
Mars Survival will launch with Season 02, complete with new Caltheris-inspired rewards to earn as you and your squad hit specific round milestones. Grab your friends and fight to survive as long as you can, spin the Mystery Box for a chance at the LGM-1 Wonder Weapon, and take a break from being pushed around by O.S.C.A.R. for a change.
You might have also noticed some of the new Season 01 weapons in the Mystery Box lately. Watch for the Sturmwolf 45 SMG and Hawker HX Sniper Rifle to make their way into the box on all maps starting with Season 02, along with future weapons with each major season launch and Reloaded update.
In addition to Mars Survival, we’re bringing a highly requested experience to every existing (and future) Survival Map at the start of the season. Cursed Survival will be a new, permanent addition to Black Ops 7 Zombies, allowing players to take on every Survival Map using the Black Ops 3-inspired points system, starting with only a pistol and limited HUD, and the full selection of Relics they’ve discovered to crank up the difficulty and unlock more powerful gameplay options.
We know this has been a top request from fans of Cursed since the mode was unlocked shortly after launch, and the team is excited to bringing it to the game with the new season. Cursed Survival will support four maps at launch: Vandorn Farm, Exit 115, Zarya Cosmodrome, and Mars, with more coming in the future as they’re released.
Reach Round 100 on a given map in Cursed Survival, and you’ll earn huge XP bonuses, more GobbleGums, and a new Relic-based cosmetic item. Ever wanted a Golden Spork to hang on your weapon? Now you can.
We’re also bringing the fan-favorite Starting Room Zombies mode to Black Ops 7, now as a permanent fixture starting with Season 02. You and your squad will be trapped in the starting area of Ashes of the Damned or Astra Malorum, armed only with the resources normally available in the first room of the respective map, with all doors permanently locked. How long can you hold out?
That’s just the start of Season 02. What about the next chapter in the Black Ops 7 Zombies story?
The Story Continues in S02 Reloaded
After the events at the end of Astra Malorum’s Main Quest, the crew finds themselves transported out of time by the Warden mere seconds after freeing Caltheris from her bonds. Find out what happens next in our upcoming Round-Based Map in Season 02 Reloaded.
We’ll have more to share as we get closer to the mid-season, including the map’s full Intro Cinematic and a few juicy tidbits here and there leading up to launch.
Keep an eye out for next week’s new Dev Talk video featuring Zombies Design Director Kevin Drew with some additional details on Season 02’s launch, as well as answers to a few of the community questions we’ve seen out there online. Until then, good luck hunting down those remaining Relics on Astra Malorum. Speaking of which…
Cursed by the Numbers
It’s been awesome to watch the community hunt for Relics across both of our current Round-Based Maps, with half of them still undiscovered on Astra Malorum. In fact, the community was pretty stumped on the ninth Relic on Ashes of the Damned until just a couple of days ago! We were going to drop a hint and say you were all chomping at the bit to find out how to unlock that last Relic, but you came through in the end. Three to go...
In the meantime, we went digging into the data for some fun Cursed stats in case some of you were curious:
- 33% of Zombies players have tried Cursed at least once. Not exactly rookie numbers, people!
- Perhaps surprisingly to some, 41% of all Cursed matches are being played at Tier III difficulty. Who knew there were so many masochists in the Zombies community? Don’t answer that.
- And the current top 3 most-used Relics are...
- Teddy Bear (round transition is shorter)
- Lawyer's Pen (Mimic props appear)
- Dragon Wings (Power-Up spawns disabled)
Future Fixes & QoL Updates
We’re tracking some recent issues with a handful of Augments that worked previously but temporarily acted strangely, or just plain stopped working altogether. It’s taken longer than we’d like to identify the sources of some of these and get them fixed up, but the team’s on it and they’ve recently knocked out some of the worst offenders.
When it comes to quality-of-life, fixing these issues continue to be a priority for the team, and we’ve also got a handful of other items planned for the near future. Here’s just a few:
- In Season 02, picking up a Full Power power-up will reduce the cost of your next Field Upgrade charge, but not below the starting cost. Much love to our high-round players, who’ll feel this the most.
- We’ve heard the requests for separate toggles for Medals and Notifications in the Interface settings! This one might come a little later down the line, but it’s on the list.
- Also targeting a later update: a new UI setting to toggle the Loot Pickup widget feed for folks who don’t necessarily need to see the info for the things they’re picking up. More to come!
“Magic” Treyarch Music Video feat. Avenged Sevenfold
After seven long years since our last collaboration, we knew it was time to call up the mad lads in Avenged Sevenfold and work together again on a new Easter Egg track, this time for Astra Malorum. The result? Magic.
The band was gracious enough to knock it out of the park, so we figured we’d return the favor and produce our first Treyarch Zombies music video since A7X’s “Mad Hatter” from Black Ops 4, featuring our Black Ops 7 crew smashing zombie faces across the Dark Aether. Enjoy.
Ol’ Tessie Comes Home
At long last, after journeying from the garage to the set of our Black Ops 7 Zombies Intel Drop, to COD NEXT in Las Vegas and the Dark Aether realms in-between, the real-life Ol’ Tessie has come home to roost here at the studio.
It’s been a hell of a ride to get here, and we’re happy to be the place she calls home. Just don’t feed the Abomination heads if you ever come over to visit.
Dead Ops Arcade 4 Community Guides
Of course, we’re celebrating all aspects of Black Ops 7 Zombies today, and we’ve gotta give a special shout out to Dead Ops Arcade 4... especially two absolute gems who’ve gone above and beyond to serve the DOA community since the early days.
First up: TheMozProject, AKA Ramb0. With 300+ videos over the past 13 years, his YouTube channel covers all things Dead Ops Arcade better than anyone. Looking for tips & tricks? Dark Ops explainers? Achievement guides? Speedruns? Weapon Camo reviews? It’s all there.
And whether you’re looking to step up your DOA game or you’ve been hoping for some first-timer Dead Ops tips, MKillBill’s extensive Dead Ops Arcade 4 Guide has you covered. This officiallyunofficial handbook comprises every aspect of the DOA 4 experience, including all 80 levels, every enemy type and boss encounter, anything you’ve ever wanted to know about the Slayer Arenas and Silverback Challenges, and literally everything in-between.
Huge thanks to TheMozProject, MKillBill, and all the DOA players jumping in to take on the Papaback every day. We salute you!
Community Creations Showcase
We wouldn’t be here without everyone in this community, and over the past week, you answered our call to share your best Zombies creations and collections with us. Here are some of our favorites for 2026:
And finally, in honor of another fine 115 Day, we’re kicking off a Quad Feed in Black Ops 7 for the next five days to help everyone get their fill of new GobbleGums, weapon levels, Battle Pass rewards, and fresh Prestige unlocks as we get ready to head into Season 02. Now live starting at 10AM PT today through January 20:
- 2X GobbleGum Earn Rate
- 2X Level XP
- 2X Weapon XP
- 2X Battle Pass XP
And that’s a wrap on the 2026 edition of 115 Day! As always, thanks for all the support over the past 17 years since we brought this crazy little mode into the world. Take care of yourselves, go squish some zombie heads, and we’ll see you online.
Love,
- Treyarch
