Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War launched earlier this month, earning mostly positive reviews and selling millions of copies out of the gate. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War features the franchise's signature multiplayer mode, Zombies, and unlike Black Ops 4, a proper story campaign. Furthermore, the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War campaign ends in a way that leaves the door wide open for Raven Software to continue the story in sequels.
There are some things that complicate making a Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War sequel. The biggest issue is where Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War falls in the series' timeline. The events of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War are set between the original Black Ops and Black Ops 2, which doesn't leave the developers at Raven Software a lot of room to work with without potentially contradicting future events.
However, there are still some potential stories to tell for a Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War sequel, and here's exactly where the plot can go. Please keep in mind that this article will have MAJOR SPOILERS for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, so those that have yet to complete the campaign will definitely want to proceed with caution.
Good or Bad Ending
Thanks to Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, it's clear that the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Good ending is the canonical one. In this ending, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War protagonist Bell teams with Russell Adler, Frank Woods, Alex Mason, and others to foil Perseus' plan to launch nuclear weapons all across Europe to damage the United States' reputation. With the world saved, Adler goes with Bell on a hike into the mountains, only to turn on him and shoot. Bell lifts his own gun up in an attempt to defend himself, and it's not entirely clear what happens next.
The reason why Russell Adler needed to kill Bell was due to the big Black Ops Cold War campaign twist, where it's revealed that Bell was once actually Perseus' righthand man before he was captured and brainwashed by the CIA. With that in mind, the bad ending sees Bell turn on his American captors, helping Perseus carry out his plan to launch the nuclear weapons all over Europe.
There are some interesting directions that the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War story could go in if the bad ending was made canonical. And maybe that's exactly the route the developers should go, putting forth a sort of "what if" scenario for the next game in the series. Then again, the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War bad ending sees most of the main characters killed off, which would mean fan favorites would be missing for the next game.
Perseus, Bell, and Adler
Regardless of which Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War ending is canon, there's a loose thread in both of them. Neither ending sees players successfully eliminate the Soviet terrorist Perseus, which means he is still a serious global threat. Presumably, Perseus is dealt with between the events of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Black Ops 2, and so it would be interesting to see what exactly happens to him.
Bell's fate in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is left ambiguous. It's implied that Russell Adler very well killed him, but it's just as likely that Bell made it out alive somehow. Getting concrete answers about Bell's fate would be great, and him being on the run from the United States government could lend itself well to a very interesting storyline that's a twist on the typical Call of Duty campaign formula.
And finally, Adler himself is a loose thread that the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War sequel could explore. Adler is not mentioned or featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 at all, and so like Perseus, it seems quite likely that he was killed off somewhere in-between. It would be interesting to find out for sure, and this seems like one of the most interesting possible storylines for a Black Ops Cold War sequel.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Storyline
Whatever direction the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War storyline takes, it has to be careful not to contradict the events of Black Ops 2. Luckily, it should be able to explain what happened with Perseus and Bell without doing so, as long as the developers stick to a very specific chunk of time in the 1980s.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is set from 1986 to 1989. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's storyline runs from 1981 to 1983, and so it would need to be set somewhere between 1983 and 1986. At some point during these events, Alex Mason ends up moving to Alaska with his son David, so how exactly he came to that particular decision is something else that could be explored in the sequel.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
