Can I Run Call of Duty: Black Ops II on My PC / Laptop?

A Core2 Duo E8200 or Phenom X3 8750 CPU, a GeForce 8800GT or Radeon HD 3870 graphics card, 2GB of RAM on 32-bit or 4GB on 64-bit, and DirectX 9.0c. This was a modest bar even in 2012 and is essentially nothing today.

Roughly a Core i5-2400 or Phenom II X4 940 CPU, a GTX 470 or Radeon HD 5850 graphics card, 4GB of RAM, and DirectX 11. That was a solid mid-range PC in 2012. A modern budget laptop beats it without effort.

The campaign is fully playable any time, offline, with zero setup. Official Activision multiplayer and Zombies matchmaking are effectively dead on PC, but the game is not: a free community project called Plutonium keeps both modes running with hundreds of active servers, so online play is alive, just not through the original servers.

The game defaults to 91 fps through the com_maxfps setting. Open the in-game console and type com_maxfps 240, or whatever number you want, or edit the value in your config file so it sticks. Once removed, almost any GPU from the last decade pushes well past 200 fps at 1080p.

About 16GB of hard drive space for the base install. That figure has not changed since 2012 and there is no SSD requirement.

No. It was built for hard drives and runs fine on one. An SSD only helps with load times, it is not required.

Yes, and that hasn't changed since 2012. 4GB was the official recommended amount then and it's still all this game needs. Going to 8GB or beyond just gives Windows and your background apps more breathing room, your fps stays exactly where it was.

The recommended tier calls for DirectX 11, though the minimum only needs DirectX 9.0c. Any Windows 10 or 11 PC already has DirectX 11 or later installed, so this is never something you need to install separately.

On modern Windows this is rarely a hardware problem. Three things usually explain it: compatibility mode isn't set, Steam isn't running in the background, or the GPU driver is stale. Set the executable to Windows 7 or 8 compatibility mode, keep Steam open, and update your driver before you start suspecting your PC itself.

Yes. Steam has to be installed and running for the game to launch and activate, even for solo offline campaign play. This is a Steam requirement from the original release, not something that changed later.

Yes, fully. Campaign never needed an internet connection beyond the initial Steam activation, so once the game is installed and verified once, you can play the whole story with no connection at all.

No. The base game includes the original Zombies map, Green Run (Tranzit, Survival, and Grief), for free. The Season Pass adds four extra Zombies maps and multiplayer DLC packs, but they are optional on top of a full base experience.

You are unlikely to need to turn anything down on hardware made in the last several years. If you are on genuinely old integrated graphics, drop texture quality and shadows first, since those cost the most for the least visual payoff in this engine.

CPU and engine bound. Past a card like a GTX 1060, a faster GPU stops adding fps because the 2012 engine and the default cap become the limit, not the graphics card. A faster single-thread CPU and removing the fps cap do more for your frame rate than a GPU upgrade at this point.

No trouble at all. The RTX 3050 meets or beats what Call of Duty: Black Ops II recommends, so 1080p high runs well and 1440p is realistic.

Plenty of power here. The GTX 1650 is above Call of Duty: Black Ops II's recommended tier, so high 1080p is smooth and 1440p is a fair target.

Easily. With the GTX 1060 6GB you are past Call of Duty: Black Ops II's recommended tier, which means high settings at 1080p and a genuine shot at 1440p. Roughly 250 to 300 fps at 1080p with the cap removed. Plenty of headroom for this engine.

Easily. With the RX 580 you are past Call of Duty: Black Ops II's recommended tier, which means high settings at 1080p and a genuine shot at 1440p. About 230 to 280 fps at 1080p uncapped, well past what the engine actually needs.

Yes. On the RTX 4060, Call of Duty: Black Ops II runs at high settings in 1080p and scales up to 1440p without much fuss. The same practical ceiling as an RTX 3060, roughly 300+ fps at 1080p uncapped.

No trouble at all. The RTX 3060 meets or beats what Call of Duty: Black Ops II recommends, so 1080p high runs well and 1440p is realistic. Around 300+ fps at 1080p. Past this the CPU and engine, not the card, decide your fps.

That is more than enough. The RTX 2060 clears Call of Duty: Black Ops II's recommended requirement, so aim for high at 1080p or step up to 1440p. About 300 fps at 1080p uncapped. You are CPU limited here, not GPU limited.

Yes. The GTX 1660 has headroom over Call of Duty: Black Ops II's recommended card, so you can push 1080p high and move to 1440p when you want. Around 280 to 300 fps at 1080p, effectively at the practical ceiling for this game.

Yes, comfortably. The GTX 1660 Super sits at or above Call of Duty: Black Ops II's recommended card, so 1080p on high is smooth and 1440p is well within reach.

For sure. The RX 6600 outpaces Call of Duty: Black Ops II's recommended card, leaving you high 1080p now and 1440p whenever you like.

The GTX 1660 Ti is a strong fit for Call of Duty: Black Ops II. It lands at or above the recommended spec, so high 1080p is comfortable and 1440p works.

Easily. With the RTX 3060 Ti you are past Call of Duty: Black Ops II's recommended tier, which means high settings at 1080p and a genuine shot at 1440p.

Yes. The RTX 4050 has headroom over Call of Duty: Black Ops II's recommended card, so you can push 1080p high and move to 1440p when you want.

Yes, with room to spare. Call of Duty: Black Ops II recommends less than the GTX 1050 Ti offers, so expect smooth 1080p high and a playable 1440p. Around 180 to 220 fps at 1080p once you raise the default cap in the console.

Plenty of power here. The RTX 4070 is above Call of Duty: Black Ops II's recommended tier, so high 1080p is smooth and 1440p is a fair target. Performs about the same as a mid-range card here, around 300+ fps, since the engine is the limit, not the GPU.

Activision never built a Mac client for this one, so no MacBook runs Black Ops II on its own, M-series chip or not. Your best bet is a full-PC cloud service like Shadow or airgpu, which runs an actual Windows install on remote hardware and streams it back to you. CrossOver and similar Windows layers exist too, but they're shaky with a Steam-activated, DRM-era title like this.

Yes, comfortably. Modern integrated graphics such as Intel Iris Xe or Xe2, and AMD's Radeon 780M or 760M, run this game at high frame rates without issue. Even older integrated chips from the last several years generally clear it, since the 2012 minimum GPU is well below what any current integrated graphics offers.

No, and this one isn't on GeForce Now to fall back on either. A Chromebook's only real path in is a full-PC cloud service such as Shadow or airgpu, which runs your own Windows install remotely and just streams the picture to you.

Through Proton on Steam, yes, though there's never been a native build. On Steam Deck the campaign is fine on stock Proton, but multiplayer and Zombies hold up better on the newer Proton GE build than on Valve's default version.

Yes, all three handle it well for a game this light, and battery life is good since the hardware is barely working. On Steam Deck, use Proton GE and cap settings to low with a limited TDP if you are joining multiplayer or Zombies servers, since the stock Proton build can be less stable there than it is in campaign.

Yes, though some players hit a crash or black screen on first launch. Setting the game's executable to run in Windows 7 or Windows 8 compatibility mode, and making sure Steam is running, clears this up for almost everyone.

Yes, and it is not demanding at all. Any GPU from roughly a GTX 1060 upward handles native 4K at a high frame rate, since the game's textures and effects were built around 2012 hardware, not modern 4K displays.

Yes, without any real thought required. Even a mid-range card from several generations back holds well over 100 fps at 1440p on max settings.

A GTX 1050 Ti or better GPU is enough for the frame rate itself, but you also need to raise the com_maxfps setting in the console or config file, since the game defaults to a 91 fps cap that will hold you back regardless of your hardware.

Yes. There is no PC from the last several years, including most laptops with integrated graphics, that cannot run this game at its highest settings and still land a high frame rate.

Yes. Even a budget PC or an older laptop with basic integrated graphics comfortably clears both the minimum and recommended specs, since both were set for 2012 hardware.

Yes, any current i3 or Ryzen 3 is well above what this game needs. The CPU only becomes relevant once you have removed the fps cap and are chasing very high frame rates, where a faster chip helps push past 200 fps.

Through Plutonium, a free community client available from its own site, which requires you to already own a legitimate copy of Black Ops II. It adds a server browser with hundreds of active community-run multiplayer and Zombies servers, dedicated server hosting, and mod support that the original 2012 release never had, and it installs alongside your existing Steam copy rather than replacing it.

No. Split-screen was only ever a console feature on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. The PC version has never supported it, so there is nothing to enable in the settings.

On console, yes: the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions need their respective paid online service for multiplayer, same as they did in 2012. On PC, there is no such subscription. Steam handles the connection, and community multiplayer through Plutonium does not require any paid service either.

Yes. Microsoft's Backward Compatibility program covers it, so an Xbox 360 copy you already own runs on Xbox Series X, Series S, and Xbox One at no extra charge. This page is focused on the PC version though.

Yes, as of a 2026 re-release. Sony's consoles never had backward compatibility with the original PS3 disc, so Activision published a new standalone PS4 and PS5 port of Black Ops and Black Ops II with campaign, multiplayer, and Zombies included, though a few extras from the original release, like Studio Mode, were left out. This page focuses on the PC version.

Crossplay support varies by mode and platform and has been added gradually around the newer PS4/PS5 re-release rather than being a day-one feature of the original 2012 game, so treat it as something to check per platform rather than assume works everywhere.

On Xbox, yes, an original Xbox 360 disc works through Backward Compatibility on Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles. On PlayStation, no, a PS3 disc will not work on PS4 or PS5, since Sony's consoles never added PS3 backward compatibility; you need the separate 2026 PS4/PS5 release instead.

No. Black Ops II was never released on any Nintendo platform. This page covers the PC version.

It is not on GeForce Now's catalog. Your cloud option is a full-PC streaming service such as Shadow or airgpu, which runs a real Windows install remotely and streams the video, letting weak hardware including Chromebooks and Macs play it.

Yes, easily, well above the recommended spec. Expect roughly 300 fps at 1080p once the default cap is raised, effectively at the game's practical ceiling.

Yes, with room to spare. It lands in the same 300 fps range at 1080p as newer mid-range cards, since this engine simply does not need more GPU power than that.

Not as a subscription perk on either platform as of this writing. It is available as its own purchase on Xbox through Backward Compatibility if you already own the original, and as the new standalone PS4/PS5 release on PlayStation.