5 years since launch, co-op zombie shooter World War Z launches free update set in an apocalyptic hellscape that just so happens to be where I live

As if the punishing desert climate, abundance of venomous reptiles, and worsening air pollution weren’t enough to declare Phoenix, Arizona an apocalyptic hellscape, my home city is now being invaded by flesh-eating zombies in a new World War Z update some five years after launch.

The harsh city’s deserved ribbing aside, it’s not often I get to see the place I live get video game-ified. Although you can’t see much outside of the new map – an abandoned military museum – you also can’t mistake the non-native palm trees we plant to trick ourselves into thinking we live in San Diego or the jagged, cacti-dotted mountains surrounding the valley.

World War Z: Battle of Arizona is a free update available with the upgraded Aftermath version of the game, but the new Horde mode XL Phoenix map is exclusive to PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. The update also includes a paid DLC pack that comes with a new Kukri melee weapon and four new weapons skins for the DE50 pistol, 1877 SBL rifle, TMP5 SMG, and M500 shotgun.

Everything else is free for all players regardless of platform, such as the new ‘Improving Bag’ power-up that gives you a unique boost to strikes, more ammo capacity, and one additional equipment slot in PvE and Horde mode. Then there’s the nifty new customizable player portrait frames that’ll display on the scoreboard in lobbies to show off your undead personality.

Finally, the update adds a quality of life change that should make it a heck of a lot easier to come back from a battle that’s going south: you can now change your class one time between waves in Horde and Horde XL. That’ll also make it possible to grind different classes more seamlessly, since you can simply swap classes and keep running the same session until you drop.

I’m honestly still a little shocked that Saber is still supporting World War Z five years on from its rocky launch. And most of the new additions are totally free! Couple that with the limitless potential for jokes at the city I love to hate, and I reckon it’s time to give ol’ World War Z another chance. 

I remember really trying to shape it into the Left 4 Dead-sized hole in my heart at launch but struggling with performance issues and the relative lack of content, so I’m hopeful all that’s been sorted out by now. If not, at the very least I’ll get to look around and go, ‘Hey that’s where I live!’ and be thankful that, for the time being, rattlesnakes and bad drivers are still the most dangerous things around here.

Elsewise, here are the best co-op games we recommend playing with a friend (or nemesis).