For many Call of Duty players, particularly veterans, the setting of 2025 in Black Ops 2 felt like a distant future when the game was released back in 2012. Now, over a decade later, what was once seen as futuristic has transitioned into contemporary reality.
Like many titles set in the future during their launch, Treyarch developed a narrative-driven campaign and multiplayer experience for Black Ops 2 that, surprisingly, predicted some real-world developments. Whether through technology, geopolitics, or societal shifts, Call of Duty managed to foreshadow events that align with our reality.
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1
Widespread Use of Drones
Strike the Enemy From Afar Without Exposure
In the context of modern warfare, numerous tools are employed to gain an edge over opponents. As a shooter game, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 predicted the widespread military use of drones, particularly killer drones like the Hunter Killer Drone, quadcopters like the Dragonfire/Quadrotor, and micro-sized devices like Karma’s level Ziggy. These drones allowed players to deploy for strategic raids, either by guiding them to a target or attacking enemies with a mobile machine gun capable of agile maneuvers.
While such technology existed to a degree in 2012, its extensive use in conflicts, such as the war between Ukraine and Russia, has become a defining feature of contemporary combat. Both sides have deployed drones extensively, resulting in significant casualties. This makes Black Ops 2’s portrayal one of its most accurate predictions, foreseeing aspects of modern warfare that were once seen as futuristic.
Influence the Population Massively
In Black Ops 2, the narrative centers around the attempt to destabilize and overthrow governments, with social media playing a critical role in advancing such movements. This is exemplified by the game’s campaign antagonist, Raul Menendez, who leverages platforms like YouTube and Twitter to disseminate the philosophy of Cordis Die. These tools allow Menendez to challenge global leaders with the rallying cry, “Join the Revolution,” similar to real-life political dictator leaders.
Social media in the game is portrayed as a multifaceted weapon, used to execute disinformation campaigns, solicit resources from allies, and orchestrate massive protests. This parallels how modern platforms like Twitch, Facebook, Twitter/X, TikTok, and Instagram are used today to achieve similar political, economic, and even entertainment objectives. These platforms have become indispensable for individuals to express themselves and for leaders to unite with their audiences on a broad and direct scale.
3
Personalized Ads
Continuous Monitoring of Preferences and Behavior
While social media was already prevalent during Black Ops 2’s release in 2012, their rapid expansion and integration into daily life over the past decade have brought a significant shift, especially in personalized advertising. Today, targeted ads tailored to individual preferences and behaviors have become the norm, with websites and apps leveraging user data to “enhance” our online experience.
The game captures this societal trend through its depiction of constant surveillance, where cameras and screens in public spaces – such as shopping malls – display personalized advertisements. This mirrors the real-world scenario, where screens equipped with advanced tracking technology, such as smartphones, can deliver ads aligned with a person’s habits and lifestyle. BO2’s vision also hints at the erosion of privacy, showing that even spaces perceived as private may be subject to monitoring, a theme that resonates with the present state of digital surveillance.
4
Upgraded Military and Civilian Technology
Refinements in Equipment Capabilities
Technological advancements, both for military and civilian use, have made significant strides since 2012. While some of these developments might not be surprising, Black Ops 2 successfully predicted several technologies that are either in use today or have been further developed. Notable examples include flexible displays, tablets for controlling devices or streaks, and heads-up displays (HUDs), all of which play a key role in the game’s campaign.
Flexible displays, now becoming more common in smartphones and tablets, were only emerging when the game was released, but their potential was envisioned. The use of thermal and holographic sights, integrated with computer-assisted target finder systems, has also advanced, allowing reflex sights to automatically mark and identify enemies more efficiently. Meanwhile, HUDs, which continue to evolve in the military, have become an essential tool. Similar to what was depicted in Black Ops 2, these systems provide soldiers with real-time, integrated visual data on the battlefield to enhance situational awareness and predict enemy movements. These technologies, although somewhat speculative at the time of the game’s release, have taken shape and now play a significant role in modern military and civilian tech.
5
Importance of Rare Earth Minerals
The Backbone of Computing and Tech Advancement
In Black Ops 2, the storyline set in 2025 centers around a rare earth element device called Celerium, which is critical to breakthroughs in quantum computing. Quantum computing is seen as a major leap in technological advancement, offering vastly superior problem-solving capabilities compared to traditional transistor-based computers. The Celerium device plays a pivotal role in the campaign by giving them control over the U.S. military’s arsenal of drones, enabling the manipulation of their operations.
By 2025, significant advances in quantum computing are already underway in real life to boost various industries’ advancements, like artificial intelligence, by providing unprecedented computing power, and that’s not even mentioning the mining for Bitcoin and other crypto currencies that occur on PCs.
6
Jimmy Kimmel Hosting TV
Late-Night Talk Show Still Going Live
One of the surprising predictions in Black Ops 2 is the continued presence of Jimmy Kimmel as a late-night talk show host. In the game, Kimmel makes a cameo in two of the campaign’s endings. In one, he hosts Chloe Lynch, who discusses her world-saving actions when she humorously insults Raul Menendez, while he’s watching from his prison cell. In another, after Menendez escapes, Kimmel mentions that Menendez was offered a spot on his show but declined due to a “special anniversary.”
In real life, Kimmel has indeed remained a prominent late-night host with his show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which is slated to continue until at least 2026, the end of his current contract. While Jimmy Kimmel has been prominent on TV since around 2003, it’s still funny to see his relevance in a game from 2012 all about 2025.
- Released
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November 13, 2012
