A 13-year-old article reporting on Call of Duty’s new release reads: “Activision has now officially announced the title of its new version, Black Ops II.” The synopsis clearly stated that the game’s plot is based on a 2025 Cold War between the US and China — until you realise we’re now in 2025, and the exact same thing is happening. How eerie is that? US President Donald Trump announced new “reciprocal” tariffs, a fancy way of saying he slapped taxes on imports, claiming it’s to balance trade. Almost everyone got a 10% hit, but China? Trump went full throttle, raising it to 84% and then, later, 125%.
In the Black Ops 2 story, set in 2025, there’s a cyberattack on China’s stock market. As a result, China bans rare earth exports, leading to a second Cold War with the US. Gamers are already losing it over the parallels, and social media is flooded with snapshots of the game describing the exact same scenario.
Black Ops 2 is about to happen in real life 😭 💔 pic.twitter.com/sMJkuI34hZ
— internet hall of fame (@InternetH0F) April 9, 2025
Also read: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has AI-generated visuals, Activision Blizzard confirms
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 compared to real-life US-China trade issues
Black Ops 2 revolves around two superpowers fighting over access to rare earth minerals, technological advancements, and modern machines, including mobile phones, weaponry, and more. The story also features a mysterious antagonist who hacks into America’s defense network and drone-related fights. Now, if you’re following the current global scenario, in response to Trump’s tariffs, China struck back hard — not with tanks, not with missiles, but by banning exports of rare earth elements. These materials are used to make weapons, computer chips, electric cars, and more. The fact that China controls 90% of the world’s supply makes it even more intense.
Also read: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 now available worldwide: Here’s how much it costs
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Another mind-blowing fact: in the game, the campaign mission clearly lists the war beginning on April 19 and 20, 2025. Guess what? We’re almost there, it’s next week. So not only did it predict the situation, but also the exact month. “Black Ops 2 is about to happen in real life 😭💔,” one post read. “THE YEAR IS 2025 AND WE’RE LITERALLY LIVING THROUGH THE BLACK OPS 2 CAMPAIGN,” another wrote.
Black ops 2. pic.twitter.com/4YHySI620s
— mrredpillz jokaqarmy (@JOKAQARMY1) April 9, 2025
Trump’s confusing Tariffs U-turn
Just hours after China’s counterstrike, Trump’s administration hit pause on tariffs for most countries for 90 days. He spared nations like India, but China is still on the list. The Republican’s trade rep, Jamieson Greer, was mid-speech defending the tariffs in Congress when the update went viral on social media, and he was badly mocked. Ever since the 2024 Presidential election campaign began, Donald Trump had been threatening countries with tariffs if he returned to power. And now that it’s happening, global markets are shaking. The impact is clearly visible in stock fluctuations.
One of the direct effects of the trade war can be seen in the mobile phone industry (one of the biggest trade categories between the US and China). According to the BBC, one of the biggest example of the war is Apple’s recent market value drop, with its share price falling by 20% over the past month. While the US exports a large amount of petroleum and pharmaceuticals to China, it imports a mega volume of batteries (vital for electric vehicles), among other things, from China.
