Treyarch managed to strike a delicate equilibrium between the modern technology and weaponry seen in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and the historical backdrop portrayed in Call of Duty: World at War when they were developing Call of Duty: Black Ops. This installment notably introduced larger, more intricate maps for the beloved Zombies survival mode, making it an exceptional shooter.

An array of concepts and visions went into the creation of this title, but a number of them ended up being discarded during the development process. These included a plethora of content for the Zombies mode, as well as abandoned levels that never saw completion for the multiplayer mode, along with many other components that most players might not have been aware were even being considered for the game.

7 Zombies Maps

Three Scrapped Levels And A Trip To Paris

• Two were repurposed into different levels entirely.
• One was scrapped completely and has not been seen in a future game.

The Zombies mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops boasted some real gems. One of them was the much-loved level set in a German theater, ‘Kino Der Toten,’ which was actually repurposed from Map Pack 4 of the fifth game. Another map, code-named ‘Temple of Doom’ in the files, was repurposed into ‘Shangri-La’ for the Black Ops:Escalation DLC. Additionally, a developer from Raven Software uploaded concept art for a Vietnam-themed stage dubbed ‘Viet Cong.’

Furthermore, hints in Call of Duty: World at War’s ‘Der Riese’ map suggested a level that would have been set in Paris, before it was reimagined to become the final survival map for the game: ‘Moon,’ which subsequently became part of the Rezurrection DLC.

6 Multiplayer Maps

Fourteen Maps Never Made The Cut

• None of these maps have been seen in future releases.
• Only one map was found to be playable, but it was unfinished in its discovered state.

A substantial number of maps for the game’s multiplayer mode were planned, but never made it into the base game or any of the corresponding map packs. However, fragments of information about them exist in the game's code and are scattered across the internet.

Some of these maps had self-explanatory names, such as ‘Shipyard,’ ‘Snow Mine,’ and ‘War Museum.’ ‘Landing’ was intended to be set around a landing strip, while two underwater facilities were also in the works. ‘Airbase’ is possibly the only “playable” map, although it lacks significant textures. It's intriguing to contemplate what might have become of all these if they had been completed and released.

5 Zombie Variants

Kung-Fu Zombies And Undead Mules

• Such enemies have never been implemented in future games.
• Only concept art and brief descriptions remain.

Reportedly, Raven Software proposed various enemy concepts for the aforementioned Vietnam map to Treyarch, which were ultimately not utilized. All that remains are the concept art and descriptions. For instance, the Smoke Screen Zombie would emit Agent Orange-like fog around survivors if they got too close, while indirectly heading to other players to conceal his undead brethren.

Additionally, there was a Thuat Zombie (also known as the ‘Martial Arts Zombie’) who would utilize speed, strength, and agility to confront players and dodge their gunfire, encouraging the use of explosives or retreating into a corner to fend off attacks. The final known concept is the Zombie Oxen, which may have posed a hazard to avoid.

4 Wonder Weapons

Chainsaws And Shrink Ray Variants

• The chainsaw is available via mods, but it is not complete.
• While the chainsaw never made it into another game, the Shrink Ray was repurposed and redesigned.

The 31-79 JGb215, informally known as the ‘Shrink Ray,’ was introduced in the ‘Shangri-La’ map as part of the Annihilation map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops. This Wonder Weapon shrinks down zombies to the size of an action figure, making them easy to dispatch. Additionally, there were ideas in the concept art, such as the weapon being powered by a village bell, taking on a dragon-like shape, having makeshift bayonets to recharge it, and slowly recharging on its own.

Furthermore, there appears to be a chainsaw called the ‘Sabertooth’ in the game’s files. It lacks textures, although it was purportedly going to be called the ‘Sabertooth 360’ when Pack-A-Punched. As intriguing as it would have been to use it to carve through rotting flesh like timber, it may have been deemed too overpowering.

3 Perk-A-Colas

Perks That Were Not To Be

• Fans speculate some of these perks were combined into one to make PhD Flopper.
• Audio files exist for perks like Tufbrew.

Perk-A-Colas play a vital role in assisting players to survive against the increasingly challenging waves of the undead in Zombies mode. Several of these perks were slated for addition. ‘BoomJuice’ was intended for the ‘Ascension’ map, but was replaced with the explosive PhD Flopper. Meanwhile, the intended functionality of ‘DTPBoom’ and ‘DamageAde’ remains a mystery.

‘Candolier’ would have likely provided extra ammo reserves akin to the Bandolier perk, while fans speculate that the combination of ‘Boom Juice’ and ‘Pronaide’ might have offered a bonus effect when used together (lines for Richtofen suggest the latter had something to do with diving and laying down much quicker, possibly providing an effect similar to PhD Flopper). Other voice lines mention a ‘Tufbrew’ perk, although its purpose is subject to debate.

2 Campaign Co-Op

Teamwork Sounds Like Too Much Effort

• This was likely inspired by the same mode in the game's predecessor.
• Co-op has since been brought back in Black Ops 3.

Call of Duty: World at War was distinctive in the series for featuring a co-op mode that allowed fans to play online competitively for scores or cooperatively. It even included mutators to shake up the gameplay. It appears that Treyarch was keen to introduce precisely that for their next major release, enabling players to collaborate in tackling the game's antagonists.

However, this concept never materialized. The campaign for Call of Duty: Black Ops was designed to be exclusively available for single-player, while multiplayer and Zombies were accessible for both offline and online play. Nonetheless, the game’s code still contains references to the existence of co-op. One can only speculate on how it would have functioned with two individuals navigating the story and making progress together.

1 Scrapped Kill-Streaks And Weaponry

Airstrike The Zombies

• Modders have recorded online what some of these kill streaks would've been like against zombies.
• Similarly, mods have also uncovered and put these cut weapons in the Mystery Box to be used.

Treyarch evidently had additional concepts for kill streaks, including drops for MP40s (voice lines indicating this are left in the game’s files) and an Ammo Station. Interestingly, fans considered the MP40 in Call of Duty: World at War to be overpowered due to its high damage output coupled with its rate of fire.

Not only do some weapons like the AK-47 and WA2000 have Pack-A-Punch variants for Zombies mode, despite not being available at all, but there are also scripts of unfinished code for kill-streaks in said wave mode. The consideration of calling in attack dogs, airstrikes, and attack helicopters suggests that the latter would likely have been purchasable from the walls, much like most weapons and equipment. One can only speculate on how effective they would have been if they had been implemented.