Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War released on November 13th, 2020. The single-player campaign is particularly short, but it is still brimming with story and characters. The game sits in an interesting spot in the continuity, being a direct sequel to the first Black Ops and taking place before Black Ops 2.
The narrative mostly ignores the other sequels, however. Despite the future events of the series already being known, there still remains numerous questions hanging in the air by the time credits roll. Perhaps a sequel will clear up some of the mystery. For now, fans still have plenty of question left unanswered regarding the story. This list includes numerous spoilers for the campaign.
10 Does Bell Survive?
Considering one ending involves the protagonist destroying Europe, it is easy to say the canon ending has Bell siding with Adler and stopping Perseus's plan. The last moment of this ending has Adler draw a gun on Bell while Bell raises their weapon at the same time. Since neither character is in the future games, no one knows who survives. They very well could have killed each other.
9 What Continuity Is The Game Set In?
So this game is a sequel to the first Black Ops, which has connections to 2008's World at War. However, Imran Zakhaev makes a cameo appearance in this title, which raises the question; is this game connected to the old Modern Warfare trilogy or the reboot? Zakhaev is a character in both continuities, so is this the Zakhaev barely mentioned in the new game, or the one heroes face off against in the 2007 Modern Warfare?
8 What Does Perseus Do Afterwards?
Should you side with Perseus, they discover the name refers to a group and not a single person. In the canon ending, the heroes do not catch the villain. Nor do they learn it is a group What does the character and group do after their plan is foiled?
Black Ops 2 deals with a completely different threat and the third game takes place in the future. Perhaps Black Ops Cold War will receive a follow up game detailing the villain's next scheme.
7 Why Doesn't The Government Hunt Down Adler And The Team?
About halfway through the game the team finds out the nuclear bomb Perseus stole was manufactured by the United States and hidden in Europe as a part of a contingency plan against the Soviet Union if they ever made a move on the western side of the continent. Considering Ronald Reagan's insistence they cover this secret up, they still let the team continue their operations after they complete the mission. They must really trust Mason and Woods to keep a secret, even though the latter has a big mouth.
6 Was There Ever A Bunker In Vietnam?
To find the information they need from Bell, Adler and the team implant memories into them, making them believe they ran into Perseus in Vietnam in an underground bunker. Bell was never in the war and was in fact an agent of Perseus before being betrayed. However, is there some truth to the bunker story in Vietnam? Perhaps there really was something in the jungle still hiding secrets.
5 What Does Belikov Do After Escaping The Lubyanka Building?
One mission involves Bell infiltrating the Lubyanka building, also known as the KGB headquarters. They access the building with the help of Belikov, a double agent who compromises his cover during the mission. What happens to him after he escapes the building with Adler and the team? Does he earn himself a new life in the states or does a sadder fate befall the character? Hopefully he does not have family back in Russia whose safety is now compromised.
4 What Does Adler Do After The Story?
Assuming Adler lives through the canon ending of the game where he is forced to kill Bell, what does he do once the credits roll? He is not in the future games, so he must go off to some other part of the world and get himself involved in other operations. The United States got up to plenty of black ops operations in the 1980s, so he certainly would have had his hands full if he lived through the events of Black Ops Cold War.
3 What Does Bell Do?
On the opposite end of Adler surviving is the possibility of Bell living through the canon ending. What do they do if they survive? Considering the United States wants them dead, Bell will have to spend the rest of their life in hiding or on the run.
Since you can customize the character's background, skin tone, and gender, having them as an NPC in a future game would be complicated. Perhaps a direct sequel could return to Bell's perspective.
2 Why Are These Events Not Mentioned In Black Ops 2?
This conundrum also affects other popular prequels, especially Red Dead Redemption 2. Why are the events and characters from this game never once mentioned in Black Ops 2. It makes sense for them to have no bearing on the third game, because it is so far apart from the Cold War story, but Woods and Mason were involved in tracking down Perseus and never bring it up again.
1 Why Did Bell Recognize Park?
Curiously, talking to Park during the safe house segments unlocks dialogue options with the MI6 agent where Bell mentioned recognizing her. Does Park have some past with Perseus she is not letting on? It could just be some residual memories Bell has from after their near death experience, but it could also be something going far deeper. Considering no one in the series can be trusted, it would not be surprising to learn Park is hiding something.