The biggest rumor about Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, is, of course, its very existence. There’s no reason not to assume Black Ops 2 is coming though—after all, we get a new Call of Duty game every year, and Infinity Ward and Treyarch trade off development duties year after year. Since we’re coming back around to Treyarch, that means it’s time for the next Black Oops game. We can add to this the fact that Activision recently acquired the Black Ops 2 web domain name. This could be for brand protection reasons, but the logical assessment is probably that they want the domain name for use later this year.

The next rumor to look into is whether Black Ops 2 will be released on Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4. The rumor comes from a job ad which was posted to Treyarch’s website. The ad states, “Treyarch is seeking a Senior Platform Engineer for a position on the team bringing our hugely successful game to a new console.” Both Microsoft and Sony seem adamant though that they aren’t planning to release the new consoles anytime this year. With that in mind, it seems pretty unlikely that Black Ops 2 will be released on the next generation consoles.

The other rumor we’ve heard as far as consoles are concerned is that Black Ops 2 will be released for Wii U and PS Vita. Now, this rumor makes a lot more sense than the previous one. PS Vita already is out, after all, and Wii U is due out by the end of 2012. Activision’s Bobby Kotick is a fan of both consoles, so there is plenty of reason to expect we’ll see Black Ops 2 released for both.

The last rumor we’ll consider is the rumor that the game will pick up where its predecessor left off. Since there has only been one Black Ops title in the Call of Duty line, this makes sense. It makes even more sense considering how many loose ends weren’t tied up in the previous game. For example, did Mason assassinate Kennedy? This is just one of many questions which were left unanswered by Call of Duty: Black Ops, and which could be answered in Black Ops 2. There is still a lot of ground to cover, and wrapping up the original game storylines could be a perfect setup for a new Black Ops storyline.

Right now there isn’t a lot to say solidly about the next Call of Duty game. We’re not even positive about the name, but most people have settled on Black Ops 2 (Iron Wolf) as the most probable title. The most recent rumor about the game has revolved around the inclusion of zombies. Zombies have previously featured in Call of Duty to great reception; at this point though there’s really no reason to assume the zombies are making a comeback. The rumor, traced to its root, stems from a forum where fans are simply discussing what they’d like to see in the next COD game. Zombies are a popular suggestion, and why shouldn’t they be? Everyone loves zombies!

Zombies aren’t the only suggestion which gamers have for the next COD title. Players would also like to see some innovation—not just recycling of old ideas which worked. For example, one improvement which could be implemented to improve the game would be campaign co-op. Campaign co-op was used in World at War, and many gamers considered it one of the best features of the entire series. A more open-ended approach to campaigns could also add realism and variety to gameplay and create a more engaging experience. There are many great ideas for maps which have been proposed by fans of the series, and which the developers would do well to take a look at while they are working on the new game.

It would also be great if the graphics in COD Black Ops 2 were improved on from the previous release. Black Ops 1 was a great game, but the graphics did leave something to be desired. Fortunately excellent gameplay overrode our concerns and we still enjoyed the game—enough to look forward with great anticipation to the next game. Still, though, Black Ops would be even better if we had great gameplay and superb graphics. With all the advancements in the industry since the release of the previous game, this should be an obtainable goal.

So, do bring back the zombies—we want to see them again for sure. But don’t rely on re-using old ideas. Bring in some innovative changes to gameplay by making missions more open and adding more depth to the world. And please improve the graphics in the next game. These are our suggestions to the developers of Call of Duty 2 (Iron Wolf).

Even though we’re all pretty busy raising our stats on Modern Warfare 3 right now, we’re also already excited about the next release in the Call of Duty franchise. At this point we don’t know much of anything about the next game in the franchise—except that it will almost certainly be awesome, since that’s what Call of Duty is. But one thing we can now place a guess on is the title of the next game. We’re starting to suspect that the name of the next game may be Black Ops 2.

Why Black Ops 2? Not only is it a logical choice for a follow-up to Call of Duty: Black Ops, but Activision also recently registered a Black Ops 2 domain. This can mean one of two things. Either Activision is trying to protect its brand by scooping up the URL, or Activision has purchased this brand with the intention of eventually making it the official website for the next Call of Duty game. If so, that game will almost certainly be called Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Even though Modern Warfare 3 shattered sales records last year, Black Ops still sold more copies in 2011. So this direction would make sense for Activision!

Recently the domain BlackOps2.com has been purchased by MarkMonitor, which is a company that has purchased domains on the behalf of Activision in the past, leading some to wonder whether this means the next Call of Duty game is on its way. The news could indeed indicate that the next Call of Duty game will be Black Ops 2. It seems a logical conclusion given the information at hand.

It’s not the only conclusion possible to draw, though. For on the other hand, Activision has also purchased many other Call of Duty domains in the past in order to protect its brand. This could be just one more way in which Activision is attempting to do just that. In which case the news may not reveal anything at all about the franchise. The purchase of the domain could be frivolous, just a way of holding off others from profiting on the Black Ops name. We still don’t know for sure whether the next Call of Duty game will be Black Ops 2 or something else. For now we’ll have to be content to speculate and wait for more solid news or other leads which could give us some indication as to the nature of the next game. In the meantime we can all continue to enjoy Modern Warfare 3, the latest Call of Duty game to be released. The first DLC for MW3 is due out later this month, which will mean new maps and other new material!

Recently a member of the se7ensins forum released screenshots which showed a Treyarch game developer playing an unknown game called Iron Wolf. Since no game titled Iron Wolf has been announced anywhere, it seems more than likely that this is a game under development by Treyarch—and after the smashing success of Black Ops, not to mention Modern Warfare 3, what would make more sense than to start working on developing Black Ops 2? Previous Call of Duty installments have smashed sales records, and the next Black Ops game is sure to do the same. Furthermore, the screenshots indicate clearly that this is a first person shooter game, which would seem to lend even more credence to the Black Ops 2 theory.

Modern Warfare 3 also had a codename while developers were working on it, which was Project Colossus. It would seem to follow that Call of Duty Black Ops 2 is codenamed Project Iron Wolf. It will probably be some time before we get a solid confirmation that this is indeed the case, but for now it seems like a strong theory. Stay tuned for more news about Black Ops 2 and the Call of Duty franchise!

Recently David Vonderhaar, one of the Treyarch developers who worked on Call of Duty: Black Ops, stated that he regretted the inclusion of the “Second Chance” feature in the game. Second Chance is a feature which allows a downed player to shoot with a pistol for an additional ten seconds in multiplayer mode before actually dying. Vonderhaar stated that they probably won’t be including Second Chance in Black Ops 2 —which is a strong indication they’re working on it!

In any video game, especially the Call of Duty games, there are always things that can be improved. What would you like to see added in the Call of Duty Black Ops 2? What were the best and worst parts of Black Ops? Post your thoughts in the comment section below.

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 will be released November 13th, 2012. Below you can pre order the game for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC.