The Call of Duty franchise is packed with Easter Eggs and secrets. The Zombies mode has even built questlines around finding objects and solving complex multi-step puzzles. Unfortunately, the urgency of missions and the chaos of gunfights can lead players to miss some of Call of Duty’s best Easter Eggs.
Mannequin Madness
The multiplayer map Nuketown is a staple of the Black Ops sub-series and each incarnation has had its own Easter Egg involving the various mannequins dotted around the map. For example, in the first Black Ops shooting off all of the mannequin heads will trigger The Rolling Stones’ song Sympathy For The Devil to begin playing out of the map’s air raid sirens. Likewise in Black Ops III shooting off all the mannequin heads in under two minutes will make them start chasing and attacking you like zombies.
The creepiest Easter Egg of Black Ops III, and arguably the creepiest in the entire franchise, occurs if the player shoots all the mannequins’ arms off within two minutes. This will turn the mannequins into terrifying creatures akin to the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who, deadly monsters that only move when the player isn’t looking. Watching will freeze them in place, but considering how many mannequins are dotted around Black Ops III’s Nuk3town map, there’s probably one creeping up on you right now. Don’t even blink. Blink and you’re dead. The mannequins are faster than you could believe. Don’t turn your back, don’t look away, and don’t blink!
Riley Returns
Trojan Horse is the final level in 2023’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and begins with the player, as Task Force 141 member Soap, tailing a hacker in London. To successfully complete this mission the player must blend in with the crowds and avoid detection. One way they do this is by approaching and petting a German Shepherd called Riley.
This isn’t a hidden Easter Egg as everyone who plays the level will, quite rightly, have to pet the dog. However, many players might not realize that this dog references Call of Duty: Ghosts’ four-legged fan-favorite hound Riley. Ghosts is a largely forgotten game in the series, but with both it and Modern Warfare III developed by Infinity Ward (although Sledgehammer Games worked on the campaign of MW3), there is no doubt this dog is a reference to Ghosts’ most iconic character.
Mind Zombies
Break on Through is one of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War‘s most mind-bending levels as the player character Bell and CIA agent Adler venture into the former’s memories. With Adler narrating Bell’s time in Vietnam, the player can follow or ignore his instructions. Disobey his instructions enough times and you can come across a hatch in the ground. Opening the hatch and descending down the ladder within, the player finds themselves in a dark tunnel.
Armed with a flashlight and a 1911 pistol, suddenly zombies emerge from the darkness. The undead will spawn endlessly as the player fights, runs, and shoots as much as they can. No matter what, the horde will overwhelm the player, consuming them. The level will then continue on as usual. It’s a fun change of pace and a quick burst of fear in a level full of twists and turns.
Remaster Paradoxes
The Precognitive Paranoia trophy in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is awarded to players for killing the traitorous General Shepherd in the game’s opening level S.S.D.D. When the original Modern Warfare 2 was first released Shepherd’s betrayal was one of the game’s most shocking moments, and it is no surprise that players would try to kill him at the earliest opportunity in the remaster. Credit to the developers Beenox for pre-empting this reaction by adding this fun trophy into the game as a cool Easter Egg.
There is a similar achievement in Modern Warfare Remastered called Time Paradox. In that game developers Raven Software retroactively added Modern Warfare 3 villain Makarov to the back of the level One Shot, One Kill. The trophy can be achieved by killing Makarov in this mission, thus wiping out the events of Modern Warfare 3.
Call of Duty Skeletons
For many Call of Duty: Black Ops III is the pinnacle of CoD’s zombie mode. As classic as zombies are, on the map Der Eisendrache it is possible to substitute one undead horde for another; turning standard zombies into an army of spooky, scary skeletons. The process to do this doesn’t take long but does require the Wonder Weapon bow Wrath of the Ancients. Players will have to feed zombies to three dragon head statues to unlock the bow, and then find and shoot three skulls with it.
The bow is also essential for completing Der Eisendrache’s main story Easter Egg, and is a generally useful weapon in and of itself, so it’s best to keep hold of it despite the rising numbers of zombies… or should that now be skeletons.
Hackerman
In Black Ops, it is possible to break out of the main menu’s interrogation chair and use a computer hidden in one corner. To do this players need to mash the bumper buttons on the controller or shake the mouse on the PC. It’s fairly well known that typing DOA into the computer unlocks the Dead Ops Arcade mode, a twin-stick zombie shooter. However, there are a number of other Easter Eggs players can uncover on the computer.
Typing in the code 3ARC UNLOCK unlocks all campaign missions and typing 3ARC INTEL gives players access to all of the campaign’s hidden collectable intel. Players can get access to a collection of behind-the-scenes material, but also discover the sign in details of important characters like Frank Woods, Hudson, and even US Presidents John F Kennedy and Lyndon B Johnson. Lastly, Dead Ops Arcade isn’t the only game unlocked in the computer as the text-based adventure game Zork 1: The Great Underground Empire (which was first released on PC back in 1980 by Infocom) by typing in ZORK or HELLO SAILOR.
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Modern Warfare Remastered introduced the ability to inspect your weapon. A fun little gimmick, the animation allows players to see their equipped weapon in more detail during a match and, in later titles and Warzone, would be expanded on with some of the purchasable weapon blueprints having fun little animations when inspected.
Rewinding back to Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered and the level The Hornet’s Nest has a unique animation all of its own. In this mission, the player controls Roach as he is pursued through the Brazillian Favella by the local militia. This exciting, tense mission plays out against the clock as the player is chased through the streets and across the rooftops. It might seem counter-intuitive, then, to stop and examine your weapon at this time. However doing so will make Roach play Rock, Paper, Scissors against himself.
And The Award Goes To…
The Call of Duty franchise doesn’t just reference its own titles. In the Call of Duty: Ghosts missions Federation Day and Struck Down, players can find a trophy cabinet with a trio of neat Easter Eggs. The first is a gem-shaped trophy awarded for ‘Most Bushes Cut And Pots Smashed’. This is a reference to The Legend of Zelda franchise and the award is shaped like one of the collectible rupees in that series. The second is a strange box-shaped trophy awarded for the ‘Largest Interior With Smallest Exterior’, a nod to the classic sci-fi series Doctor Who. The award is shaped like the titular character’s spaceship the TARDIS, famous for being bigger on the inside.
The final Easter Egg isn’t a reference to a famed video game franchise or legendary sci-fi series, but a real-life event. Kind of. The third award is given for the ‘World Not Ending 2012’, a reference to the ancient Mayan myth that the world would end on December 21st, 2012. For anyone wondering, CoD: Ghosts was released almost a full year later on November 5th, 2013.
Nacht der Untoten in Black Ops 2
Nacht der Untoten is the map that started it all. The first Nazi Zombies map introduced gamers to the classic, simple formula of rebuilding barriers, shooting hordes of the undead, and spinning the Mystery Box. The map has been remade and reused multiple times over the years. One very missable appearance is on the map Green Run from Black Ops II, specifically the Tranzit game mode. Tranzit is a unique spin on the zombie formula as players travel from one location to another via a bus route. Each location functions as its own little zombie map. There are nine locations on the map, with most of the action taking place in the Town, Diner, and Bus Depot.
To get to Nacht der Untoten on Tranzit players need to disembark from the bus between the Farm and the Laboratories and travel through a cornfield. The problem? Green Run is covered in a thick fog that is hard to navigate, full of monkey-like Denizens, and specifically designed to be avoided by players. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to Nacht der Untoten in Black Ops II, players can visit the spawn room and grab a part of the Thrustodyne Aeronautics Model 23 Wonder Weapon, or the Jet Gun as it’s better known. Nonetheless, it’s a really cool, hidden Easter Egg for players to find.
Samantha’s Lullaby in Mob Of The Dead
Picture the scene: you’re playing Call of Duty: Black Ops II and choose the Alcatraz-set map Mob of the Dead. After watching the awesome opening cut scene that sees four gangsters attempting a prison breakout, you’re ready to join the action. Cut scene over, you spawn in ready to fight for your life, only to discover you’re a spirit without a body. What little life you have left very quickly draining away.
Who in their right mind then would let time run out and die before a single zombie has even spawned? Well, if you did die at this point in the game then the song Samantha’s Lullaby will play. Samantha’s Lullaby was composed by Brian Tuey and is available on the Mob of the Dead soundtrack. It first appeared on the Black Ops map Moon’s loading screen and has subsequently reappeared as a leitmotif over a dozen more times since. Usually, Samantha’s Lullaby is tied to completing a puzzle or destroying/collecting a number of objects on the map. In Mob of the Dead though, you just need to die before the game has even begun. The game wants you to do the exact opposite of everything players have come to expect from Call of Duty zombies.
There are so many Easter Eggs, secrets, and references in the Call of Duty franchise that this list could have had dozens more entries. What’s your favorite Easter Egg in the franchise? For more news and features on everything Call of Duty, check out the links below.
