On July 19, 2012, a second trailer was released by Treyarch, offering insight into the game's narrative. Personalization pack microtransactions for the game were released for Xbox 360 on March 12, 2013, and PC and PS3 on April 12.

Black Ops II is also the first game in the series to allow the player to customize their loadout before beginning a mission, creating freedom in choosing how to approach a mission. Air raid sirens are heard and the two children retreat to the basement with Maxis, with Samantha noting her father has a plan to make the heroes of their games real.In July 2014, Manuel Noriega sued Activision for lost profits from the use of his likeness in the game. Several weeks after their ordeal in Afghanistan, Mason, Woods, Hudson, and Panamanian Defense Forces, led by General Manuel Noriega, raid Menendez's compound in Nicaragua. Two possible endings can occur: if Weasel is killed, the cycle repeats once again; if Weasel lives and the other three are killed, the cycle is broken, and he is finally freed of his punishment. Locations featured in the game include Angola, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Pakistan, the Cayman Islands, Panama, Yemen, the United States, and Haiti. If Section reapprehends Menendez and Lynch survives, she will prevent Menendez's cyberattack, and he will remain imprisoned, watching Lynch being interviewed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where she insults Menendez as he rages in his cell.

The Die Rise map is a larger zombies survival map taking place in two semi-destroyed skyscrapers in Shanghai, where one to four players use elevators to travel between floors. It includes the new zombies map Mob of the Dead as well as new multiplayer maps Magma, Vertigo, Encore, and a re-imagining of fan-favorite from previous installment Black Ops Firing Range, known as Studio.

A war track pack containing a selection of Black Ops II songs is featured in Black Ops Cold War's season two battle pass. Ludvig Maxis joins with his daughter Samantha and Richtofen's former allies, Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, and Takeo Masaki, to thwart him. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 12, 2012, and for the Wii U on November 18 in North America and November 30 in PAL regions. Section locates and attacks Menendez at a military checkpoint and pins him down, now deciding whether he should execute or apprehend him. Known as "Strike Force missions", these branching storylines appear during the 2025 storyline and feature permanent death.

Further, Black Ops 2 was listed by the France international entertainment retail chain Fnac in March 2012, which touted a predictable November release date. It includes new zombies map Buried as well as new multiplayer maps Cove, Detour, Rush and a remake of the popular map Summit from Black Ops: Uplink.Black Ops II received mostly positive reviews from critics, with praise for its gameplay, story, multiplayer, Zombies mode, and villain, but its Strike Force missions had a mixed reception. Known as League Play, the mode allows players of similar skill level to be matched together, and play according to the rules of Major League Gaming.

Zombies takes place throughout various time periods, mostly focused during the modern time, in a post-apocalyptic world, created as a result of the missile launch from the Moon striking the Earth. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, with the rest of the characters from the game dancing, in a mid-credits scene; it acts as the game's official music video.Jimmy Kimmel cameos as himself in one of the game's endings, while the rock band Avenged Sevenfold makes a non-canonical appearance at the end of the game. The game also features several historical and real-life characters, including: UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi ( Robert Wisdom), Panamanian General Manuel Noriega ( Benito Martinez), Colonel Oliver North (voiced by himself), and former CIA Director David Petraeus ( Jim Meskimen). After many failures, they discover that they were actually stuck in Purgatory, constantly repeating a cycle as punishment for their past sins.