Call of Duty: Black Ops II’s unlikely cameo: Former CIA chief David Petraeus

This story contains minor spoilers for Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

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Four-star general David Petraeus resigned as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency after admitting to an extramarital affair. But maybe the general could make a career comeback by 2025.

It so happens that Petraeus is a character in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the latest entry in the blockbuster first-person shooter series. The game, which goes on sale today, is set in the year 2025, and Petraeus has a cameo role. His appearance comes late in the campaign as he welcomes a captive aboard the U.S. military’s premier aircraft carrier, the USS Barack Obama. Petraeus has a couple of lines in the game, and he is referred to as “Secretary Petraeus.” That suggests he has the title of Secretary of Defense for the United States.

The animated character certainly looks like the real Petraeus, but nothing in the materials provided with the game suggests that he is based on the real general. It’s just an odd coincidence that the general made headlines just as a video game portraying him hits the streets. It’s sure to help the notoriety of Activision’s military franchise, which has had its controversies in past years related to violent imagery.

After a long career in the U.S. military, Petraeus resigned last week after the FBI unearthed evidence of his affair in the general’s Gmail account during a check to see whether his computer had been compromised.

[Image credit: Reuters]