How to Play Black Ops 2 Online in 2026 (Plutonium Setup Guide)

Black Ops 2's official online service is long past its prime, but the game never died: the community keeps it running through Plutonium, a free custom client that restores full online multiplayer and zombies with its own master server, server browser, and anticheat. As of 2026 there are 600+ BO2 servers online at any time - both classic multiplayer (TDM, Domination, trickshot lobbies) and zombies (Tranzit, Town, custom maps).

What is Plutonium?

Plutonium is a long-running community project (around since 2018) that revives four Call of Duty titles: World at War (T4), Black Ops 1 (T5), Black Ops 2 (T6), and Modern Warfare 3 (IW5). For BO2 it supports both multiplayer and zombies, adds dedicated-server support, mod tools, and higher FPS/resolution support than the 2012 original.

Two things to know up front:

• You need the game. Plutonium is a client, not the game itself - it launches BO2 from your own game files. If you own BO2 on Steam, you're set.
• It replaces the dead official matchmaking with community dedicated servers, so "is anyone still playing?" stops being a lottery - you pick a populated server from a list instead.

Installing Plutonium (5 minutes)

1. Download the launcher from plutonium.pw and create a free account.
2. Run the launcher and pick T6 (Black Ops 2).
3. Point it at your BO2 installation folder when asked (your Steam library's Call of Duty Black Ops II directory).
4. Choose Multiplayer or Zombies and hit play.

The launcher keeps itself and the client updated; server owners and players must be on the same revision, which the launcher handles automatically.

Finding a server worth joining

The in-launcher browser lists every server, but it shows raw player counts - and on BO2 a lot of "full" multiplayer servers are padded with bots. A few tips:

• Sort by real humans, not total count. MantaScope's BO2 server list splits humans from bots on every row (we detect them from the server's own data), shows each server's 24-hour activity sparkline, and ranks servers by genuine population.
• Zombies vs multiplayer are different worlds. Zombies servers run one map per server (Town, Tranzit, Der Riese, plus a big custom-map scene). Use the game-mode filter to browse only zombies servers.
• Check the activity graph before committing. A server with 2 players now but a full evening peak is worth favoriting; a server that's been flat for a week isn't. Every server page on MantaScope shows population history and rank.

Is it safe / legit?

Plutonium has been the standard way to play these titles for years, runs its own anticheat, and requires you to own the game. As with any community client: download only from the official site, and use a unique password for your Plutonium account.

Common questions

Do I need Xbox Live / the old servers? No - Plutonium runs entirely on community dedicated servers.

Does it work for zombies with friends? Yes. Join the same server from the browser, or party up via the launcher.

What about World at War, BO1, or MW3? Same launcher, same flow - pick the title in the launcher. We track World at War (filter version = Plutonium), Black Ops 1, and Modern Warfare 3 servers too.

My server isn't listed / I run a server. Plutonium servers are discovered automatically from the master list - if yours is registered and heartbeating, it appears on the BO2 list within minutes.