Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 Are Out Now on PS5—But at a Steep Price and With Some Trade-Offs
Activision has shadow-dropped native versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, surprising fans who had been expecting a July release. The two iconic first-person shooters, originally launched in 2010 and 2012 respectively, are available immediately on the PlayStation Store at $39.99 / £34.99 each.
PS Plus members get a 50 percent discount on the base games until August 6, 2026, bringing each title down to roughly $20. Additionally, season passes for all the original DLC packs are on offer: $29.99 / £25.99 for each game normally, but discounted 67 percent for subscribers, making them $9.89 / £8.57. The season passes cover the four expansion packs for each title—First Strike, Escalation, Annihilation, and Rezurrection for Black Ops 1, and Revolution, Uprising, Vengeance, and Apocalypse for Black Ops 2.
It is important to note that these are straight ports, not remasters. The PlayStation Store descriptions explicitly label them as the "original" games, meaning no upgraded textures, higher frame rates beyond what the PS5 backward compatibility already offered, or any modern quality-of-life changes. Players get the full base content: single-player campaign, traditional multiplayer, and the Zombies mode. But the DLC packs are not included by default—they must be purchased separately via the season pass.
What's Missing: Wager Matches, League Play, and Theater Mode
Trophy lists for both games leaked online earlier this week, and they reveal that several fan-favorite features have been cut. Specifically, Black Ops 1 trophies tied to "wager matches" and "theater mode" are absent. Wager matches were a unique playlist where players gambled in-game currency on modes like Gun Game (where your weapon changes with every kill) and One in the Chamber (a single-bullet survival mode). Theater mode allowed players to watch replays of matches from any camera angle, a tool heavily used by early YouTube content creators.
Meanwhile, Black Ops 2’s trophy list is missing any reference to "League Play," the competitive ranked playlist that featured skill-based divisions and seasonal rewards. The removal of that trophy is less surprising given the game’s age and the likelihood that a dedicated competitive community would be small on modern consoles.
It is possible that these modes still exist in the games but without trophy support, but given the pattern and the fact that the remaining trophy lists are nearly identical to the original PS3 versions, it is much more likely that the modes have been removed entirely. One theory, raised by IGN’s report, is that the wager match gambling mechanics could have run afoul of stricter modern regulations around loot boxes and simulated gambling in video games. Several governments have tightened rules since 2010, and Activision may have chosen to avoid the legal gray area altogether.
For multiplayer, a PS Plus subscription is required to play online—a point raised by users in community discussions who were wondering if they could jump into lobbies without an additional fee.
Why This Matters: The State of Classic Call of Duty Preservation
The surprise release of these ports comes at a time when fan interest in classic Call of Duty titles is surging, partly driven by nostalgia and partly by dissatisfaction with the direction of the annualized modern entries. Games like Black Ops and Black Ops 2 are widely considered the series’ creative peak, featuring tight gunplay, memorable multiplayer maps (Nuketown, Firing Range, Standoff), and the origin of the Zombies phenomenon that has become a franchise pillar.
For years, these games were locked on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, available on modern PlayStation systems only through backward compatibility—which still ran the PS3 versions with no enhancements. Native PS5 versions with full trophy sets and potential performance improvements were a long-running request from the community. Activision had stayed silent until the leak of trophy lists on PSN Profiles and subsequent confirmation via store listings.
The Pricing Controversy
The $40 price tag for a 14-year-old game that does not include its DLC has drawn significant criticism on social media and in comment sections. Users on the PushSquare article expressed disbelief: "Ouch! £35 each? I'm good thanks. Even at discount price i'll pass," wrote one commenter. Another added, "they never drop their prices for COD games. even on PC black ops 1 & 2 have been 35 dollars for years sucks."
If a player wants the complete experience—both base games plus all DLC—they would spend $80 on the base titles (or $40 with the PS Plus discount) plus another $60 on the two season passes (or $20 with the subscriber discount). Without PS Plus, the full price is $140. That is a steep ask for games that many fans already own on older hardware, especially when the PC versions can often be found on sale for a fraction of that.
Still, for players who never owned the games or want the convenience of playing them on a modern console with a unified trophy collection, the entry point might be worth it—particularly for the Zombies mode, which remains extremely popular. The Black Ops 1 Zombies maps—Kino der Toten, Five, Ascension, and the iconic Moon—are beloved by the co-op community, and the DLC adds even more maps like Call of the Dead and Shangri-La.
Broader Implications: Activision’s Port Strategy and the Future of Legacy Games
This release is part of a larger trend of publishers re-releasing older titles on modern platforms, often without the remaster treatment that fans hope for. Activision has done this before with the Crash Bandicoot and Tony Hawk’s re-releases, but those were actual remakes or remasters with upgraded graphics and modern control schemes. Here, the company is betting that the brand power of Black Ops alone—plus the Zombies mode—will drive sales without significant investment.
Critically, the decision to relaunch these games may also be tied to Activision’s broader ecosystem. With the Call of Duty franchise now under Microsoft’s ownership following the Xbox acquisition, internal strategy may favor bringing older games to market as low-cost, high-margin digital releases to satisfy nostalgic fans while the main development teams focus on the next premium annual entry (reportedly Black Ops 7 or a sequel).
The Risk of Fragmenting the Player Base
Another factor is the multiplayer community. For years, the PS3 and Xbox 360 servers for these games were infested with hackers and modders, making online play nearly unplayable. A fresh port on modern consoles—with updated anti-cheat and clean matchmaking—could revive the multiplayer scene, at least temporarily. But with the removal of key modes like wager matches and League Play, the replay value for competitive players may be diminished.
It is also unclear whether cross-play is supported, though it is unlikely given the age of the games and the lack of any such announcement. Similarly, there has been no mention of mouse-and-keyboard support on PS5, which would be a first for these titles.
Perspective: What This Means for the Broader Gaming Landscape
The release of Black Ops 1 and 2 on PS5 is a microcosm of a larger debate in the gaming industry: how to handle legacy content in an era where digital storefronts, licensing, and technical limitations often make older titles inaccessible. These ports are a half-measure—they preserve the core gameplay but strip away the social features and the optional gambling mechanics that were part of the original identity.
Some may argue that the removal of wager matches is a positive change, as it eliminates a mechanic that could encourage unhealthy spending behavior. But for purists, it represents a loss of authenticity. The experience is no longer exactly what it was in 2010, and for a game that prides itself on being the "original," that inconsistency stings.
A Litmus Test for Future Ports
How well these ports sell could determine whether Activision invests in similar releases for Modern Warfare 2 (2009), World at War, or even Call of Duty 4. If the community responds well despite the complaints about pricing and missing features, we will likely see more shadow-dropped ports in the future. If sales underwhelm, the company may pivot to full remasters or skip older titles altogether.
Meanwhile, fans of the Wegovy Pill Hits UK Pharmacies Amid Fears of Black Market Counterfeits and other health news might find the pricing of digital games a more trivial concern, but for the gaming community, the Black Ops release is a significant moment. It is a reminder that preservation and monetization often collide, and that the industry still has not found a clean solution for making classic games both accessible and authentic to their original forms.
Should You Buy?
For PlayStation owners who have never played Black Ops or Black Ops 2 and have a PS Plus membership, the discounted price of around $20 per game is a decent deal for hours of campaign and the classic Zombies maps. For veterans who already own the PS3 versions and want to replay online multiplayer without hackers, these ports may be worth the investment—provided you accept that wager matches and theater mode are gone.
For everyone else, waiting for a sale—or hoping the season pass becomes bundled with the base game down the line—might be the wiser course. As one community member summed it up: "I love BO1 and BO2, but I ain't paying that much."
The games are available now on the PlayStation Store. There is no word yet on an Xbox or PC release.
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