Zombies, referred to as the Undead, are a Survival-exclusive pedestrian type appearing in Grand Theft Auto Online. They first appeared as part of the Bottom Dollar Bounties update and returned with the Cayo Perico Survival Week. While Grand Theft Auto has never involved zombies in any official capacity until GTA Online, fan-made zombie mods existed for older GTA games.
3D Universe
In Grand Theft Auto, zombies were first referenced in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
The latter, in particular, saw InterGlobal Studios actors wearing zombie makeup featured in the mission Brawn of the Dead. Victor Vance acted as a stunt performer in a zombie movie being recorded at the North Point Mall during this sequence.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas later included a supposed "zombie lab" named Zombotech Corporation located in Downtown San Fierro. In-game dialogue suggests this building actually serves as a hotel, with the zombie references functioning purely as an Easter egg.
HD Universe
Grand Theft Auto IV's multiplayer allowed players to unlock a "Rockstar Zombie" outfit for the male multiplayer character. This costume included unique zombie growling sounds that replaced the character's normal dialogue during matches.
Classic zombie movie references returned in Grand Theft Auto V. A character named Graham can also be found cosplaying as a character from Vinewood Zombie.
Grand Theft Auto Online introduced zombie pedestrians through the Bottom Dollar Bounties update. This iteration of undead enemies appear as opponents in the Ludendorff Cemetery Survival mode set in the Ludendorff Church and Cemetery in North Yankton. Being a Survival mode, this content has no relation to GTA Online's canonical storyline.
The Halloween 2024 event added zombies to the Survival Creator. This allowed players to create their own zombie-based Survival scenarios using the same undead enemies featured in the official Ludendorff Cemetery mode. Players can now design custom maps featuring hordes of zombies and share these creations with the community.
Zombies returned to GTA Online as part of the Cayo Perico Survival Week. In Cayo Perico Survival, players fight waves of zombies in Cayo Perico. The event lasted from August 21 to August 27.
Appearance / Features
Zombies in GTA Online possess distinct behavioral patterns compared to regular pedestrians. They shamble toward players in groups, can withstand more damage than standard enemies, and emit distinctive groaning sounds. In their debut, the Ludendorff Cemetery setting provided atmospheric elements like fog and tombstones that enhance the horror aesthetic while offering tactical cover during survival rounds.
Datamined Content
Prior to the official introduction of zombies to GTA Online, data miners discovered potential zombie-related content in GTA V's game files. A leaked line of code labeled "main_ZMB" was found, which many fans interpreted as a reference to potential zombie content that would later be realized in_GTA Online_.
