The game is set in 2025, as opposed to the Cold War setting of Black Ops. In this new setting, China and the United States are locked in a cold war after China bans the export of rare earth elements following a cyber-attack that cripples the Chinese Stock Exchange. War is now defined by robotics, cyber-warfare, unmanned vehicles and other modern technology. The game's story deals with the speculation that this unmanned technology could just as well be used against those it was meant to protect.