Infected Game Mode: How to Play Infected Online with Friends (and How to Survive)

Few modes turn a quiet lobby into chaos like the infected game mode. One player turns, every survivor they catch joins them, and the last few humans hold out against a horde made of their friends. This guide explains how Infected works in ZeroFront, how to set up a round in your browser, and the tactics that win it from both sides. It also covers Juggernaut, the other "one against everyone" mode.

Where does the infected game mode come from?

Infected became famous in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011), which shipped it as one of several ready-made private-match modes alongside Juggernaut, Gun Game and One in the Chamber. It has returned in many later Call of Duty games, often next to Gun Game and One in the Chamber in the party-mode playlist, and Activision has run a zombie-themed version as a limited-time event. The core loop has barely changed in all that time, which says a lot about how well it works:

• One player starts infected.
• Survivors who die switch sides.
• Survivors win by lasting until the timer runs out.

How Infected works in ZeroFront

ZeroFront runs the same idea in a browser, with every rule enforced by the room server:

• The outbreak. Once at least 2 players are in the room, there is an 8-second grace period, then one player is picked at random to turn.
• The infected. Infected players carry only a pistol, but they move 18% faster and their shots do 1.5 times the damage. They play on the red team.
• The survivors. Survivors keep their own loadout, minus frags and the RPG-7: explosives are off in Infected.
• Switching sides. A survivor who dies respawns infected, and a "YOU ARE INFECTED" banner makes sure they know it.
• Late joiners. Anyone who joins after the outbreak starts infected.
• The clock. The status line shows the survivors left and the time remaining, for example "SURVIVORS 2 · 1:47".

How do you win?

Survivors win if at least one of them is still human when the 2:30 clock runs out. The infected win the moment the last survivor turns. The results screen shows "SURVIVORS" or "INFECTED" as the winner.

How do you start an Infected round?

1. Open zerofront.pro/play in any modern browser, on desktop or on your phone.
2. Choose Online FFA or Team Deathmatch. Infected always plays as two teams either way.
3. Under Match Rules, choose Infected.
4. Press Multiplayer, then Create Room, and send your friends the room code.

Infected needs real players, so it is an online-only rule: in Solo Survival the button is dimmed. A room holds up to 8 players, and the mode is at its best with 4 or more.

Survivor tactics

Stay together and cover each other's backs

The infected are faster than you, so you cannot outrun them. Two or three survivors facing different directions in a corner are far harder to crack than anyone on their own. A lone survivor in the open is the infected team's favourite target.

Hold a spot with one entrance

Pick a room, catwalk or alley that can only be reached one way, and keep your sights on that doorway. The infected have to come through it, and you get the first shot. On maps like the Ember Foundry or the Monsoon District, stairwells and narrow walkways work well.

Reload early, and keep your distance

An infected player only has a pistol. Your best weapon against them is range: keep them at a distance where your rifle wins and their pistol struggles. Reload after every fight, because the next one is seconds away.

Watch the clock

The last 30 seconds are when the infected get desperate and rush. If you are the last survivor, stop chasing kills and focus on staying alive until 0:00.

Infected tactics

Use your speed to flank

You are 18% faster than any survivor. Don't run straight at a held doorway. Circle round to a second entrance, or wait for a teammate to draw their fire, then come in from the side.

Rush together

One infected player at a time gets cut down. Three at once overwhelm even a good survivor. Call the push and go in together.

Make every shot count

Your pistol hits 1.5 times harder than normal, so a few body shots finish a survivor. Close the distance first, then shoot; don't trade fire across a long sightline.

Juggernaut: the other asymmetric mode

If you like the "one against many" feel of Infected, try Juggernaut:

• One player wears a suit with 400 health and carries an M249 machine gun, moving at 85% speed.
• Killing the Juggernaut scores a point and passes the suit to you.
• Every kill made in the suit also scores a point.
• First to 15 points wins. It always plays free-for-all, and "JUGGERNAUT" appears above their head so everyone knows whom to hunt.

The tactics are close to Infected, the other way round: everyone without the suit should attack it together from different angles, while the Juggernaut should hold a corner and make people come to them.

Infected vs Juggernaut at a glance

Both are free and run in your browser. Create a room, pick a rule and send the code to your group. If you play on a phone, our mobile browser guide has setup tips.

What is the Infected game mode?

Infected is a multiplayer mode where one player starts infected and every survivor they kill joins their side. Survivors win if anyone is still human when the timer runs out; the infected win by turning everyone.

How long is an Infected round in ZeroFront?

Two minutes and thirty seconds after the outbreak. The outbreak itself starts 8 seconds after at least two players are in the room.

Can I play Infected solo against bots?

Not yet. Infected, Juggernaut and Kill Confirmed need real players, so they are online-only. Solo Survival offers every other match rule, including Gun Game and One in the Chamber.

How many players do I need for Infected?

At least two to start the outbreak. Rooms hold up to 8 players, and the mode plays best with 4 or more.

What weapons do the infected get?

Only a pistol, from their own loadout. To make up for it they move 18% faster and their shots do 1.5 times the damage.