ZombiU is a 2012 first-person survival horror game developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and published by Ubisoft. It was released for the Wii U as one of its launch games in November 2012. In the game, the player assumes control of a human survivor amid a 2012 zombie apocalypse. Featuring a permadeath system, it uses the Wii U GamePad extensively to scan the environment and maintain the survivor's inventory. The game was released under the name Zombi for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in August 2015. The port, handled by Straight Right, adds new melee weapons and removes the multiplayer feature.

Ubisoft was approached by Nintendo to develop a mature game for the Wii U. Originally envisioned as a spin-off of the Raving Rabbids franchise and a fast-paced first-person shooter, Killer Freaks from Outer Space (with small, agile monsters), the game was retooled as ZombiU after the development team realized that the Wii U GamePad was suitable for slower-paced games. Many of the game's features, including the GamePad functionality and the permadeath system, went through several iterations. Among other video games, ZombiU was influenced by Resident Evil, Condemned: Criminal Origins and Peter Jackson's King Kong. London was chosen as the game's setting because of its blend of modern and historic architecture and its rich history. Ubisoft Bucharest led development of the game's multiplayer portion.

ZombiU received generally positive reviews from critics, while the game's Zombi version received mixed reviews. Critics praised the game's emphasis on survival horror, atmosphere, and the permadeath system. They had mixed opinions about gameplay, multiplayer, story, and use of the GamePad. Technical problems, such as glitches and load times, were criticized. The game was unprofitable for Ubisoft, prompting it to turn another Wii U exclusive, Rayman Legends, into a multiplatform game. A prototype for a sequel was developed, but was canceled when the game failed financially.

In ZombiU, a first-person set in London, the player is a survivor of a zombie apocalypse. They are contacted by the Prepper, a mysterious figure who tasks them to maintain his safe house in order to be properly prepared for survival in this new destroyed London, all while the survivor seeks out a cure for the infection at the behest of Dr. Knight, a scientist/doctor stationed at Buckingham Palace. The player has a number of ways to deal with enemies, and can confront the zombies with firearms, land mines, and Molotov cocktails. They can use an unbreakable cricket bat, which does less damage than other weapons. There are several types of zombies, including those which explode, are armored, or spill corrosive fluid. The zombies are sensitive to light, and are attracted to a player who is using a flashlight or flare. Sound produced by firearms will also attract nearby enemies to a player, who can push them away with their weapon. The player can also use stealth to avoid being noticed by enemies.

Exploration is encouraged in the game. By exploring the game's world, players can find beds (which are save points) and routes leading them back to their safe house. New weapons, ammunition, and scarce items can be collected by searching areas or dead bodies. These items include food and medkits (which restore health), plywood scraps (used to barricade doors), and weapon parts (which can be used in the safe house to upgrade weapons). As players discover new items during the game, previously-inaccessible areas can be entered. These items are stored in the player character's inventory (known as a bug-out-bag) or a cache in the safe house. If the player's character is killed by a zombie (which can occur with one bite), the character will permanently die and the player will then assume the role of another survivor. The previous character will become a zombie, whom the player must kill to reclaim their inventory. If Miiverse is enabled, other players' characters may also appear as zombies carrying the items they collected. A player can also place symbolic clues and hints, visible to other players, on walls. In addition to the normal-difficulty mode, the game has a "Chicken" mode, which lowers the game's difficulty, for new and inexperienced players, and a survival mode where the game ends when the player's original character dies.

The game's controls make extensive use of the Wii U GamePad. During normal play, the touchscreen manages player inventory and displays a mini-map of the immediate area (indicating the locations of the player and nearby enemies). The touchscreen is also used for context-sensitive actions such as executions, escaping from enemies, and hacking combination locks. The GamePad's gyroscope, which allows the controller to sense its rotation and tilt in three-dimensional space, is also used. While viewing the touchscreen, a player can move the controller to scan different areas to find items. While performing these actions, the television's perspective switches to a fixed third-person view of the player character and the surrounding area. The player is vulnerable to attack in this state, and must watch the GamePad's touchscreen and the television screen in to avoid harm. The Wii U camera allows players to import a face, which will be "zombified", into the game.

ZombiU has three multiplayer modes. In Time Attack mode, players must kill as many zombies as they can in a limited time. In survival mode, players stay alive as long as possible with a limited supply of resources. The results of these two modes will be posted on the game's online leaderboard. The third mode, King of Zombies, is an offline asymmetrical multiplayer mode. A player, using the Wii U Pro Controller, plays a human survivor who must navigate a map to obtain all capture points. Another player, known as King Boris and using the Wii U GamePad with a top-down perspective, must deploy a maximum of 10 zombies to halt the players' progress and capture a flag. A progression system is present, in which the Pro Controller player and the GamePad player unlock more-powerful weapons and different types of zombies.

Four hundred years ago, scientist John Dee made what was known as the Black Prophecy. The Prepper, an ex-army, no-nonsense man, prepares for the coming apocalypse, and a secret society known as the Ravens of Dee researches Dee's predictions to stop them from taking place. In November 2012, the Black Prophecy begins to be realized in the form of an outbreak of zombies in London.