The M2A2 was the second variant of the M2 light tank family (formally Light Tank, M2) that served in the U.S. Army during the interwar period. During the 1920s, the U.S. Army tank design began with the prototype T1 light tank, which progressed into a series of experimental upgrades and versions that were never produced. Several design aspects from the prototype T1 light tank were used into the prototype T2 light tank concept, which began five years later. The first prototype T2 light tank was designed in 1933 and built with minimal changes, mounted with a single fixed turret holding one M2HB Browning heavy machine gun, and designated as the M2A1 in 1936, with a total of 17 units produced. This variant was quickly revised, and the M2A2 was designed, with 239 built, and became the primary tank of the U.S. Army during the interwar period.

Introduced in Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory", the M2A2 gives players vital insights into tank design philosophy prior to World War II, when machine guns were utilized as the primary offensive weapons for many light tanks. The M2A2 had twin turrets, with one M2HB Browning heavy machine gun in the left and one M1919A4 light machine gun in the right, where the turrets partially obscured each other, restricting fields of fire. The M2A2's primary offensive armament was a heavy machine gun, and it quickly became obsolete as adversary tanks were constructed with heavier armour.