Does MW3 Zombies have a time limit? Answered

With there being no round-based Zombies mode in Modern Warfare 3 at launch, it’s perhaps no surprise many are wondering whether or not the completely overhauled mode has a time limit.

MW3 Zombies was designed to be an open-world experience, something far more akin to MW2’s DMZ mode than the original Zombies experience of years past. But how much time are you given to explore Urzikstan before everything ends?

Here’s everything you need about the time limit in MW3 Zombies.

What’s the time limit for MW3 Zombies?

In MW3 Zombies, each Operation Deadbolt match has a time limit of 60 minutes. There is no round counter; it is simply a timed-based extraction experience. As such, the goal isn’t to survive as long as possible. Instead, players are invited to complete various objectives amid the growing pressure to escape before the final exfil helicopter leaves.

Upon dropping into a match, players will notice that there is a 45-minute timer under their minimaps in the top-left corner of their screens. During this portion of the match, you will want to get most of your exploring, looting, and contract-completing antics done.

In the last 15 minutes of the hour, the Aether Storm will begin engulfing exfil locations, buffing AI enemies, and damaging players across the entire map—similar to how the Radiation Area operates in DMZ.

When there are around five minutes left in the lobby, the final exfil point will appear. If you’re not there when the timer ends, you will die and lose all your loot. Of course, the helicopter itself will not leave until the final 10 seconds of the match, so you will have to be able to hold your own against the undead until then.

Can you extend the time limit in MW3 Zombies?

In a traditional MW3 Zombies match, there is no method of extending the time limit; each match is hardcapped at an hour, and if you aren’t on that final exfil helicopter, then you lose everything.

Technically though, if you deploy for a match with a special story mission selected, such as Extraction from Act 1, it will take you and your party to a private section of Urzikstan, where you will be given another one-hour session of playtime to get everything done and exfil.

In this case, you could spend as long as you want on the regular map before the Aether Storm consumes the special starred exfil point, head to the special story mission area, and simply use up as much of the time given there, putting you well past an hour elapsed.