The main plot of Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War takes place in the early 80s, also covering some events related to the US-Vietnamese War. The current president at that time received information about the visit of a certain Soviet intelligence agent who is trying to change the development of history and achieve the triumph of the communists. A special squad led by special agent Russell Adler must stop his plans. In the process, the player will have to travel around the world and visit almost all the continents of the planet. Individual episodes will need to go through the territories of South and North America, Europe, Asia and Vietnam.