MW3 Zombies party size explained: How many players can play co-op?

When it comes to Zombies in Modern Warfare 3, it’s pretty important to be aware of how big your party size can be.

After all, there are perhaps few things worse than having one too many friends ready to squad up and get some games in, only to find out there’s not enough room in the lobby.

Before you drop into Urzikstan, here’s a breakdown of how many players you can bring with you to take on the undead in MW3 Zombies.

How many players can play co-op in MW3 Zombies?

Up to three players can party together before entering a Zombies match in Modern Warfare 3.

But it is also possible for up to 24 players to play cooperatively in Modern Warfare Zombies. Since Zombies lobbies in MW3 do not feature a PvP component, it is entirely possible that all eight squads of three in a match could work together at any given time, using proximity chat to team up against the mode’s AI enemies.

Ultimately, this might be a buzzkill for those with larger friends lists, given how Call of Duty Zombies modes have traditionally been four-player affairs. But this decision makes a lot of sense considering how the new mode was envisioned to be a mix of Warzone’s DMZ and Outbreak from Black Ops Cold War.

While MWZ was described by Activision as a mode where players could “team up with other squads to survive and fight massive hordes of the undead in the largest Call of Duty Zombies map ever,” the devs also placed a heavy emphasis on the fact it is an “open-world, player-versus-environment (PvE) extraction survival experience.”

As such, just like in DMZ, you should expect other players in a MWZ lobby to be focused on completing their own story missions and ready to leave the match as they please.

Is MW3 Zombies four-player co-op?

MW3 Zombies is not four-player co-op. The mode is set to three players in MW3 Zombies whether you are queuing up within a lobby or playing with two other friends. You could always enable private lobbies if you are wanting to just play with friends.

There will always be 24 players in a Zombies playthrough which means there will be eight squads in all. You will be able to join an additional three players in the Zombies session to make a total of six members in the squad. Confusion surrounding this matter might have been because of many previous Call of Duty games that offered four-player co-op.

How to join another squad in MW3 Zombies

Just like in Warzone and DMZ, MWZ also allows players to join up with others mid-game in squads of up to six.

1. Hold Up on the D-Pad
2. Use the Right Stick to select “Invite nearby players to join your squad” or “Request to join nearby squad.”

Whether you’re someone who queued solo and ended up wanting to meet other players, or if a player on your team exfilled or disconnected, this should be a great feature to use.