How many players can join a party in MW3 Zombies?

A new Zombies mode has entered the fray in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and it’s receiving some generally positive reviews from the community. However, there are certainly some questions surrounding the new mode, as it’s unlike any kind of Zombies experience we’ve seen before. One of the more popular questions from MW3 players pertains to how many players can be in a party to start a Zombies match.

In multiplayer, you can have up to six players in a single party, which has always been the norm. Then, if you move over to Private Matches, you can crank that number up even higher, allowing you and all of your friends to join a match together. However, Zombies works a little differently, as it’s an open world experience, but there are random players on the map with you at any given time.

Below, I’ll explain exactly the maximum number of players you can have in your party in MW3 Zombies.

The maximum players in a party in MW3 Zombies

At the time of writing, you can only drop into a Zombies match with three players in a party. This means you and only two other friends can start a Zombies game together.

This is a huge change of pace from previous Zombies experiences, as you could always have four players in a party. However, given how Zombies works in MW3, this number has been reduced to accommodate the new elements of the mode.

Related: How to use Zombies to unlock weapons and gear in MW3

While you can only have three players in your party, it won’t just be you three on the map in Zombies. You will also have up to 21 other random players on the map with you, who deploy at the same time as your party does. These players can’t harm you in any way, but they’re there and can steal Zombie kills, contracts, and even exfil points. You can also choose to recruit those players to your team if you wish, which technically will increase the size of your party. However, they won’t come back to your lobby with you when you exfil or die.

So there you have it, you can only have a three-person party in MW3 Zombies, but up to 24 total players can be on the map at a single time.