However, the Earth begins shaking, and Maxis explains to the four that he is beginning the process of the destruction of the Earth and humanity to reach Agartha, where he believes Samantha is; in the non-canon ending, the group aids Richtofen, letting him gain unlimited power over the Aether and the Earth, allowing him to kill Maxis and condemn Samantha's soul to eternal damnation. If all of the Strike Force missions were completed, China and the United States will ally, ending the Second Cold War. A separate story, "Mob of the Dead", taking place also in Dimension 63, focuses on four mobsters: Salvatore "Sal" DeLuca, Billy Handsome, Michael "Finn" O'Leary, and Albert "The Weasel" Arlington, who are incarcerated at Alcatraz Island.

If Section reapprehends Menendez and Lynch survives, she will prevent Menendez's cyberattack, and he will remain imprisoned, watching Lynch being interviewed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where she insults Menendez as he rages in his cell. The precise consequences of Salazar's betrayal are determined by the preceding fates of Lynch, Farid, and DeFalco. Around the same time, computer game artist Hugo Beyer also listed "Black Ops 2" as his current project in his LinkedIn CV, then removed his LinkedIn page.In 2014, a militant populist movement known as Cordis Die is founded, led by a mysterious but charismatic leader known as “Odysseus” who is actually Menendez. New characters include: Section's DEVGRU teammates Mike Harper ( Michael Rooker) and Javier Salazar (Celestino Cornielle), their commanding officer Admiral Tommy Briggs ( Tony Todd), the CIA double agent Farid ( Omid Abtahi), US President Marion Bosworth (Cira Larkin), Strategic Defense Coalition leader General Tian Zhao ( Byron Mann), Tacitus Corporation ex-employee Chloe Lynch (codenamed Karma) ( Erin Cahill). David, now a DEVGRU Lieutenant Commander codenamed Section, spearheads an effort by JSOC to neutralize Menendez. The single-player campaign features two connected storylines, with the first set from 1986 to 1989 during the final years of the First Cold War, and the other set in 2025 during a Second Cold War and rare earths trade dispute [14] between the United States and China. Turned occurs in the Diner segment of the TranZit map from the original release, and allows up to four players to fight each other in two teams – one human against three zombies.

A non-canon ending is unlocked by completing the game, depicting Menendez and Woods performing at a concert with Synyster Gates and M. The Obama survives the subsequent attack if the preceding Strike Force missions were completed, causing China to send drones to assist, and if Briggs remains alive to activate the ship's defenses.

After maxing out a weapon's level, the player can choose to "prestige" the gun, similar to how they can prestige the player level, and reset their attachment progress. The group is eventually successful, and while Maxis meets his daughter, they enter Agartha to be rewarded.

The 2025 section of the game features Alex Mason's son David (codenamed Section) (Rich MacDonald) as the protagonist, in which Menendez is plotting against the United States and China, with one of his ultimate goals being to see the United States locked in a new Cold War with China, in revenge for his many misfortunes. They are then teleported back to the prison, with no memories of their previous attempt (except Weasel, who keeps a journal of the ongoing events).

The publisher, Activision, was also sued in a French court by family members of Jonas Savimbi, who thought his portrayal in the game was inaccurate, saying he was portrayed as a "barbarian".

On December 12, 2012, all Xbox 360 Season Pass holders received access to the Nuketown Zombies map, with PC holders following on January 17, and PlayStation 3 holders on January 19, having been delayed two days due to PSN technical issues. The player's progress in the Strike Force missions may go on to change even the plans of the story's antagonist, Raul Menendez. It is revealed that Menendez is responsible for holding Woods captive after torturing and killing his team. Marty Sliva of 1UP gave the game a B+ while praising it's freedom of choice in game modes and gameplay variety: "I was surprised with the risks that Treyarch took in the name of delivering a unique and creative experience. Mason becomes afflicted by his brainwashing once again, struggling to resist the urge to kill Kravchenko.When the Campaign is completed, after the end credits, Woods and Menendez perform a concert with heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold on their song "Carry On", with Woods on drums and Menendez on rhythm guitar. These changes were introduced to shift the emphasis towards objective-based gameplay, to reward players who work in teams and to make the game more accessible to new players. It has everything a player could want in a game: great graphics, a good story, easy controls and superb acting. Their shaky relationship is further strained when Jason Hudson approaches Mason for an assignment in Angola—Frank Woods and his team have disappeared while attempting to take out an arms smuggling ring; the CIA has already disavowed their actions, but Hudson hopes to rescue any survivors. Ludvig Maxis joins with his daughter Samantha and Richtofen's former allies, Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, and Takeo Masaki, to thwart him.