Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Call of Duty: Black Ops
Subseries of Call of Duty
Call of Duty: World at War	2008
Call of Duty: Black Ops	2010
Call of Duty: Black Ops II	2012
Call of Duty: Black Ops III	2015
Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII	2018
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War	2020
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6	2024

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person action, FPS and shooter game in the Call of Duty: Black Ops series.

General information

Official Call of Duty series site

Official forum

Steam Community Discussions

BO2 Optimizations Summary - Useful optimization list thread.

CallofDutyMaps - A detailed Website for all included multiplayer maps.

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail
Steam
Humble Store (unavailable)

All versions require Steam DRM.

Playing multiplayer for bots and zombies is mandatory to be online.

Various security vulnerabilities have been found with all Call of Duty games between Modern Warfare (2007) and Black Ops III, allowing hackers to remotely access, execute code on, and control user's PCs if they connect to the game's online modes.^[1]

Version differences

Black Ops II: Contains the base game.

Digital Deluxe Edition: Contains the base game, Call of Duty: World at War, original soundtrack and digital deluxe content (Which includes Nuketown Zombies Map, One Weapon Camo, & 2 Player Card Backgrounds.) no Season Pass.

Black Ops II Bundle: Normal version with Season Pass.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Season Pass	Contains Revolution, Uprising, Vengeance and Apocalypse packs, also Nuketown Zombies Map. 1 special Calling Card for Season Pass owners.
Revolution	4 Multiplayer maps, 1 new weapon for Multiplayer, and 1 Zombies map.
Uprising	4 Multiplayer maps and 1 Zombies map.
Vengeance	4 Multiplayer maps, 1 new weapon for Zombies, and 1 Zombies map.
Apocalypse	4 Multiplayer maps and 1 Zombies map.
c
Nuketown 2025	Free, initially available as exclusive pre-order content.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II Ultimate Customization Bundle	Contains Extra Slots pack, all Calling Card and Personalization packs. Ghosts and Advanced Warfare Personalization packs are not included.
Extra Slots Pack	More slots for Create-A-Class, emblems, films and screenshots.
Bacon Personalization Pack
Ghosts Personalization Pack	Free, Call of Duty: Ghosts pre-order bonus.
Advanced Warfare Personalization Pack	Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare pre-order bonus.
Benjamins Personalization Pack
Dia de los Muertos Personalization Pack
Graffiti Personalization Pack
Jungle Warfare Personalization Pack
Kawaii Personalization Pack
Party Rock Personalization Pack
Viper Personalization Pack
Zombies Personalization Pack
North American Flags of the World Calling Card Pack
South American Flags of the World Calling Card Pack
European Flags of the World Calling Card Pack
African Flags of the World Calling Card Pack
Asian Flags of the World Calling Card Pack
Cyborg Personalization Pack
Paladin Personalization Pack
Aqua Personalization Pack
Breach Personalization Pack
Coyote Personalization Pack
Glam Personalization Pack
Pack-A-Punch Personalization Pack
Rogue Personalization Pack
Beast Personalization Pack
Dead Man's Hand Personalization Pack
Octane Personalization Pack
Weaponized 115 Personalization Pack
Afterlife Personalization Pack
Comics Personalization Pack
Dragon Personalization Pack
UK Punk Personalization Pack

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Mission cutscenes automatically play until the mission level is loaded, upon which a left click will allow skipping.

Delete video files^[2]

Go to <path-to-game>\video\.
Delete or move these files:

default.bik
default.webm
dolby.webm
frontend_load.webm
intro.webm
treyarch.webm

Notes

This will disable the game intro video which forms part of the campaign storyline. This can be kept by not deleting intro.webm.

Plutonium

An easy-to-install replacement launcher using dedicated servers for the game's online modes. Fixes the security vulnerabilities while also adding several enhancements:

A custom-built anticheat system
Aim Assist for controllers
Discord Rich Presence
Ultrawide monitor support
Support for custom camos
The ability to play with eight-players on all Zombies maps

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\players\bindings_*.bdg^{[Note 1]}
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/202970/pfx/^{[Note 2]}

There are several files in players but only bindings_(sp/mp/zm).bdg is unencrypted.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\players\hardware.chp^{[Note 1]} <path-to-game>\players\user_.cgp^{[Note 1]} <path-to-game>\players\savegame.foo^{[Note 1]} <path-to-game>\players\savegame.svg^{[Note 1]}
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/202970/pfx/^{[Note 2]}

hardware*.chp and user_*.cgp appear to be tied to configuration changes & game saves.

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game general video settings.

In-game advanced video settings.

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor		See the WSGF entry.
Ultra-widescreen		See the WSGF entry.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)	65-90°, configurable in the in-game options menu.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	There is a "Texture filtering" option with low, medium and high settings.
Anti-aliasing (AA)	Up to 8x MSAA, FXAA and up to 4x TXAA.
High-fidelity upscaling	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)	Called "Sync Every Frame" in game.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS	Multiplayer is capped at 200 FPS.
High dynamic range display (HDR)	See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Ray tracing (RT)
Color blind mode	Set in Options. Changes green and red elements to blue and orange.^[3]

A comparison of video setting image quality can be found on the GameSpy Port Authority.

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		Follows OS setting.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M		Occasionally changes button prompts.

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Master, SFX, Music, Voices, Cinematics.
Surround sound
Subtitles		Not available in every language^[4].
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		No option to disable it.
Royalty free audio

Game supports 7.1 positional audio and there are several sound mixing settings in menu (bass heavy, high heavy, hearing impaired, etc).

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Japanese				Only available in Japanese retail release. Retail CD Key gives subscription exclusive to single language.^[5]
Polish				Only available in Polish retail release. Retail CD Key gives subscription exclusive to single language.^[6]
Brazilian Portuguese				Consoles only (text/voice); Download (audio).
Russian				Only available in Russian retail release. Patch for digital release here. Retail CD Key gives subscription exclusive to single language.^[7]
Spanish				Some non-story essential audio has not been dubbed.
Latin American Spanish				See Latin American Spanish audio mod. Alternatively, this guide can be used to replace the Castilian Spanish files with the Latin American Spanish files contained in this archive.

Latin American Spanish audio mod

Latin American Spanish audio mod^[8]

Taken from the console version, the mod dubs Latin American Spanish audio over the English release audio. Titles and text are still presented in English.

It's highly recommended to backup the English language files before using this mod.

Does not support the Spanish version of the game.

Some DLC maps do not have Latin American Spanish audio available, even with the mod.

Download the modded archives here.
Change the language of the game to English.
Paste the downloaded files over the existing language files.

Network

Having an "open NAT" is important for VOIP, joining/hosting a party and private matches (this may require a static IP).

Multiplayer types

Type	Players	Notes
Local play	Use Nucleus Co-op.
LAN play
Online play	18	Versus, Co-op Zombie mode 4 player co-op.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	3074, 27014-27050
UDP	3074, 3478, 4379-4380, 27000-27030

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		2D Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.`Note:`Game is on official List but 3D has not been confirmed yet.

Devices
3RD Space Gaming Vest
Novint Falcon

Issues unresolved

Game refuses to start

This can occur on modern systems that has stopped working, setting up time and date to late game's release date may be fixed. To play this game, don't play with compatibility mode.

Issues fixed

TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for fixing issues in this game. It can be found here.

FPS drop while zooming in

Frame rate drop while aiming down sights.

Set low Depth of Field^[9]

Set Depth of Field option to low without significant visual impact.

Notes

Additionally, Ambient Occlusion and FXAA can be turned off, which affect the speed when aiming down sights.

Mouse Lag

Significant mouse lag with Vsync enabled.

Use Borderless Windowed mode^{[citation needed]}
If there is mouse lag from vertical sync and screen tearing without it, selecting Borderless Windowed mode from the video options menu may solve the issue.

Error '57475' When Joining Game

Fixing 57475 error^{[citation needed]}

These steps should fix the error, but they reset all of the stats.

Using Cheat Engine or similar tools carry high risk of being banned by either Treyarch Anti Cheat or VAC.

Download a memory address editor (like Cheat Engine).
Run the game and go to barracks.
Use an editor to change the value of address 02e97ca4 (version 21.406.7) to 5.
Go to 'Prestige mode' and then click 'Prestige Awards'.
Select 'Fresh Start'. Stats should now be reset, and the error shouldn't come up anymore.

Issue with changing Language

Fixing Localization Problem^{[citation needed]}

This problem occurs after switching the game language. It crashes the game on startup with a message similiar to this one :
"Error during Intialization:

ERROR: sound Bank failed to load cmn_root.Englisch. You have a Build Problem."

Set the language of all three game parts (singleplayer, multiplayer and zombies) to the desired language and wait for Steam to finish downloading.

Zombies Leaderboard and Campaign Career Record crash

The game will crash whenever Career Record/Leaderboard (Campaign/Zombies) is accessed if there are more than 60 and less than 100 Steam friends.

Steam Offline mode or Firewall block^[10]
Set Steam in Offline Mode. Block `t6sp.exe` for the campaign and/or "t6zm" in the Firewall by creating a blocking rule for incoming and outgoing traffic. Achievements should work, but it won't be possible to play online or retrieve leaderboards.

Change number of friends^[11]
Delete friends until total number is under 60, or add more friends until total is over 100.

Unhandled Exception Caught

Verify^[12]
Verify local files for singleplayer and then multiplayer. Reset Steam.

Highest resolution not showing

Monitor may support 1920x1080, but highest available setting may be 1440x900 or 1680x1050.^[13]^[14]

Use borderless fullscreen windowed mode^[15]
Set the windowed mode to Windowed (Full Screen). Restart the game. The missing resolution will now be listed in-game.

Set Catalyst Control Center^[16]
Go to the Catalyst Control Center > My Digital Flat Panels > Properties (Digital Flat-Panel). Activate "Enable GPU scaling".

Black screen opens and closes on startup

Limit CPU cores for first game launch
Press "Win" + "R" and type "msconfig.exe" and press "OK" Under "Boot" go to "Advanced Options" and set "Number of Processors" to 1. Press "OK" and restart PC After successfully launching the game, this fix can be disabled.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	11

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	Havok
Cutscenes	Bink Video, VP8	Bink Video 1.99g

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	Vista SP2, 7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 2.66 GHz AMD Phenom X3 8750 2.4 GHz
System memory (RAM)	2 GB (32-bit) 4 GB (64-bit)
Hard disk drive (HDD)	16 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 8800GT ATI Radeon HD 3870 512 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible

Users have the option of installing the campaign (~8.7 GB), multiplayer (~4.5 GB if without DLC), and zombies (~1.0 GB if without DLC) separately.

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1
Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/202970/.
- Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (202970) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

References

↑ CVE-2018-20817 exploit - last accessed on 2023-11-10
↑ Verified by User:AlphaYellow on 2024-01-19
↑ Call of Duty Black Ops 2 (PC) | AbleGamers.com
↑ [1]
↑ SteamDB: Every depot associated with Japanese Retail Product Key - last accessed on May 2023
↑ SteamDB: Every depot associated with Polish Retail Product Key - last accessed on May 2023
↑ SteamDB: Every depot associated with Russian Retail Product Key - last accessed on May 2023
↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjqRTO5exDM
↑ Black Ops II Huge FPS Drops While Zooming-In - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)
↑ Steam Users' Forums - View Single Post - Game crashes on career record. (retrieved)
↑ Game freezes on Zombie Leaderboards. - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)
↑ Unhandled Exception Caught - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)
↑ Steam Community - last accessed on May 2023
↑ https://steamcommunity.com/app/202970/discussions/0/882965737311926725/#p1
↑ 1920x1080 resolution :: Call of Duty: Black Ops II General Discussions - last accessed on May 2023
↑ https://steamcommunity.com/app/202970/discussions/0/882965737372041556/#c882965737387565006

[gamedir-3] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

[Proton_path_note-4] 2.0 ^2.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/202970/.
Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
The app ID (202970) may differ in some cases.
Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[3] File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.

[4] Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/202970/.

[5] Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.

[6] The app ID (202970) may differ in some cases.

[7] Treat backslashes as forward slashes.

[8] See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[1] CVE-2018-20817 exploit - last accessed on 2023-11-10

[2] Verified by User:AlphaYellow on 2024-01-19

[5] Call of Duty Black Ops 2 (PC) | AbleGamers.com

[6] [1]

[7] SteamDB: Every depot associated with Japanese Retail Product Key - last accessed on May 2023

[8] SteamDB: Every depot associated with Polish Retail Product Key - last accessed on May 2023

[9] SteamDB: Every depot associated with Russian Retail Product Key - last accessed on May 2023

[10] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjqRTO5exDM

[11] Black Ops II Huge FPS Drops While Zooming-In - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)

[12] Steam Users' Forums - View Single Post - Game crashes on career record. (retrieved)

[13] Game freezes on Zombie Leaderboards. - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)

[14] Unhandled Exception Caught - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)

[15] Steam Community - last accessed on May 2023

[16] ttps://steamcommunity.com/app/202970/discussions/0/882965737311926725/#p1

[17] 1920x1080 resolution :: Call of Duty: Black Ops II General Discussions - last accessed on May 2023

[18] ttps://steamcommunity.com/app/202970/discussions/0/882965737372041556/#c882965737387565006

[1]

[2]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

Developers

	Treyarch
Publishers
	Activision
Engines
	IW engine
Release dates
Windows	November 13, 2012
Reception
Metacritic	74
IGDB	78
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, DLC
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, FPS, Shooter
Vehicles	Automobile, Flight
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Africa, Middle East, North America, Contemporary
Series	Call of Duty: Black Ops