Call of Duty: Black Ops III boasts an extremely passionate modding community, with fans dedicating significant effort to remaster all the classic Zombies maps left behind by Treyarch, aiming to complete the content of Zombies Chronicles. Currently, the Green Run survival maps, Mob of the Dead, Origins, Nuketown, Die Rise, and Facility 5 have all been ported to the BO3 engine, and next month, Buried will join the remaster lineup.
The project's development team—composed of Kingslayer Kyle, Blak, ThomasCat, OldManCats, Scobalula, and Swiftythree—recently released a new launch trailer for the Buried remaster, with the map scheduled to go live on the Steam Workshop in November. The remaster is highly complete, meticulously recreating the entire underground Western town, with classic elements such as Arthur, the Paralyzer, the Haunted House ghosts, and Vulture Aid all making their return.
According to the FAQ on Discord (a document first published in 2022, making it somewhat old material), this map combines classic weapons from Black Ops II with the arsenal from Black Ops III, while fully supporting the GobbleGum system. Players can also obtain additional buffs from Wonder Fizz machines; the Bank and Weapon Locker mechanics will also return, with stored points carrying over between different matches in Buried and being usable across the Death Tower remakes created by Xela and Dobby.
The biggest surprise is that the original Easter egg quest from Black Ops II will be fully preserved in the remastered version. Unlike the original, players no longer need a full four-person squad to unlock it; the development team has adjusted the quest mechanics so that the complete Easter egg progression can be advanced regardless of team size.
Buried is not the only classic map being ported. Years ago, the smaller-scale Green Run survival maps were already ported, and now mod authors Xela and Dobby are working on a complete remaster of the Migration mode for Black Ops III.
This means the infamous self-driving bus will be back on the road, with its annoyance level undiminished. Avogadro, the Mannequin Turbine, the tense process of crossing the cornfield to find Night of the Living Dead, and the radio Easter egg will all make their return.
Once both Buried and the Migration mode are available on the Steam Workshop, all story maps for Victis Squad will have been remastered—meaning that all Zombies maps released between 2008 and 2015 will be playable in Black Ops III.