From the distant future of 2065 to the height of the Cold War in 1963, theCall of Dutyseries’Black Opsuniversehas given players the chance to experience history and dark futures alike. With the games covering the past and future equally, the series focuses on showing players what battles used to look like and could be like going forward. While recent entries moved forward in time,Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Wartook a step back, throwing players back into a different era of the Cold War.
As such,Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Waris an interesting game with an even more interesting place on the timeline. Serving as both a prequel and a sequel to various entries in theCall of Duty: Black Opsseries, the game’s 1980s setting functions as a way to tell a new tale in theBlack Opsuniverse — without getting in the way of the games that came before. With a futureBlack Opsgame possibly doing the same, taking place beforeCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold Waror shortly after, understanding the timeline could prove to be wildly important.
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The Timeline Prior To Black Ops Cold War
Call of Duty: Black Ops (1961-1968): Widely regarded as one ofthe bestCall of Dutygamesmade thus far, the firstBlack Opsgame took place at the Cold War’s peak, covering some of the most important moments from the era while also telling a story centered onCall of Duty: World at Warcharacter Viktor Reznov and his brainwashing of protagonist Alex Mason. Throughout the originalCall of Duty: Black Ops. players witness the Bay of Pigs invasion through the lens of a failed assassination attempt of Fidel Castro, the Vietnam War, and a look at some of the most devious experiments going on at the time, the original game covers plenty of ground. Its original sequel covers a bit more, however.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (1986-1989, 2025): Taking place in two timelines,Call of Duty: Black Ops 2showcases a story centered on villain Raul Menendez and his attempt to kickstart a second Cold War between China and the United States. The 1986 portion showcases Alex Mason coming out of retirement to rescue Frank Woods, with the game touching on the Angolan Civil War and Desert Storm. In 2025, Alex Mason’s son David eventually takes down Raul Menendez, with the villain’s motivations coming from a botched CIA mission in the 1980s timeline where Woods accidentally killed his sister. Thoughmultiple endings existfor the game, the ending where David Mason kills Menendez is canon.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2045): Set 20 years afterBlack Ops 2’s second timeline, this sequel features an odd storyline centered on David Mason’s children. With his two daughters at war over the ethics of cloning, and several classicBlack Opscharacters being brought back to life, the game’s absurd direction leads to a cliffhanger that will likely never be addressed by Treyarch. The cliffhanger in question sees an evil version of Woods brainwashing Alex Mason into killing his “good” granddaughter Jessica, with Woods doing so because he was in love with Mason’s villainous grandchild Savannah. More of an odd plot used purely to justifythe place of Blackout modein series' canon, asBlack Ops 4had no campaign, this part of the story may be best left forgotten.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (2065): The final game in the timeline even afterCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s release, this futuristic title is mostly disconnected from the rest of the universe. Only boasting connections via similar technology and a brief mention ofBlack Ops 2villain Raul Menendez, the unique campaign tells its story out of order and keeps its main twist hidden in the scrolling text before each mission. While it featured solid co-op and interesting upgrade mechanics, its disconnect from the rest of theBlack Opsuniverse has led tothe “train go boom” memebeing the most remembered moment fromBlack Ops 3’s narrative. Still, there are many positive aspects of the story if players put the time into looking through the lore, but for most fans the campaign remains one of the weaker entries in theCall of Dutyseries.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Timeline Position
The events ofCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold Wartake placefrom 1981 to 1984, positioning it before Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 but after the originalCall of Duty: Black Ops. While the campaign features some Vietnam missions, they are purely fabrications to makeAdler’s mind controlof the protagonist Bell more effective, meaning that the entirety of the game’s story takes place in the early 1980s.
WithCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s narrativereaching its conclusiononly a few years prior to Mason leaving retirement in 1986 to rescue Frank Woods, it can be concluded that stopping Perseus was his final mission beforeBlack Ops 2’s story began. As such, while there is technically room for anotherBlack Opscampaign to take place entirely in 1985, it seems far more likely that anotherBlack Opsgame would cover the 70s.
While this makes theCall of Duty: Black Opsstory and timeline even more complex, as another Black Ops game would need to be a prequel toCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Raven Software and Treyarch could do some interesting things with the sequel. Focusing entirely on the Vietnam war for the nextBlack Opsgame could prove interesting, as the conflict has only been featured briefly inBlack OpsCold Warand the firstBlack Opsgame. With so many major events taking place in the war, a unique setting, and the chance tofocus fully on Frank Woods, a proper Vietnam game could fit well in the Black Opsuniverse.
Beyond that, returning to the 1960s to answerBlack Ops 1’s lingering questionregarding Mason’s role in the JFK assassination would make for another great game. Pitting Mason and Woods against each other, players could see the RPG mechanics and different endings of the latestBlack Opsgame make a return. Regardless of where theBlack Opsseries goes next, though,Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warhas filled a major gap in the timeline — leaving only a few decades in the Black Ops universe unexplored.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Waris available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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