10 Video Games With Bizarre Origin Stories

Despite being a sturdy addition to the Call of Duty franchise, World at War is perhaps known best for being the game that introduced the series’ now long-time obsession with the undead... but that side-game almost didn’t happen.

After having developed Call of Duty 3, Treyarch were a little burnt out on the real world warfare and in order to keep themselves entertained they worked on a spin-off mode. Nazi Zombies allowed teams of four to squad up to take on waves of never-ending undead.

As much as they enjoyed it though, they didn’t see it ever becoming something publisher Activision would sign off on as it was too far removed from the gritty realism that Call of Duty fans had come to expect.

However, Treyarch’s colleagues in Activision caught wind of the mode and stopped by the office to try it for themselves. They were bowled over by how much fun it was but agreed that it would be a hard thing to market. So the story goes, Treyarch CEO Mark Lamis then simply suggested to not market it at all.

Nazi Zombies was tucked away as an unlockable Easter Egg in World at War. As expected, gamers adored it as much as the developers. As such, the zombies minigame would become a mainstay of the series.