Fans have spotted a harrowing theme present in Call of Duty Black Ops II, as it appears to accurately predict the future despite having released over a decade ago.
By far the go-to place across media to look for predictions of the future is The Simpsons, as the popular animated show has accurately envisioned countless different future events both big and small, yet there might be a new contender on the scene.
Forget Baba Vanga and Nostradamus though, Call of Duty might be the place to look to see the future of politics and warfare, as fans of the gaming series have discovered eerie and harrowing similarities between Black Ops II and today's political landscape.
As shared by DramaAlert on X, the recent trade war between America and China following President Trump's aggressive tariffs plan has led real life to shockingly line up with the 'future' in the 2012 Call of Duty title.
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The screenshot details the game's characters and setting, explaining that Black Ops II "begins in the year 2025, where China and the United States are in a cold war after the China stops exporting rare earth elements. In this future setting, militaries use robotic weaponry, cyberwarfare, unmanned vehicles, and futuristic technology."
Sound familiar? Not only is it a bizarre coincidence that Black Ops II is also set in 2025, but only this past week did China announce export controls on rare earth materials as a retaliation against American tariffs.
This is one of the most powerful moves that China can pull out of its sleeve, as it dominates the mining of rare earth materials that are essential for the production and manufacturing of modern technology.
People have taken this as a sign that we're soon to enter a cold war, as seen in Black Ops II, and looking at ChatGPT's warning signs for World War 3 it's hard not to think the same.
"Life imitating art in the wildest way," replies one user, adding that it "makes you wonder what other vide game storylines might end up predicting the future."
Another added that "it's wild how a game from over a decade ago is starting to feel like a prediction instead of fiction. Black Ops 2 really said 'future', and now here we are living it."
It appears that the restriction of China's rare earth materials isn't the only thing that Black Ops II got right, as a recent Reddit thread has people sharing all of the correct predictions that Call of Duty made over a decade ago.
Many have pointed towards the rise of drone-based warfare, 3D printed weapons, and even the rise of a political leader through the power of social media. Hilariously, one comment also points out the fact that "Skrillex is still popular" to be one of the game's best foresight, and I doubt that they would have seen that as a prophecy to remember.