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The Call of Duty: Black Ops 1&2 PS4 and PS5 ports sold more than 11 million copies in under a month
The PlayStation ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 have proven a major commercial success, selling more than 11 million combined copies across PS4 and PS5 in under a month, according to estimates from Alinea Analytics. The strong performance comes despite criticism that the ports offered little meaningful technical improvement over the original releases and have continued to suffer from lobby hacking and exploits, suggesting nostalgia outweighed those concerns for most buyers.
Black Ops 2 was by far the stronger performer, selling an estimated 8.2 million copies compared with 3 million for the original Black Ops, with the vast majority of sales (93-94%) coming on PS5 rather than PS4. Alinea analyst Rhys Elliott noted the audience skews towards 30-40 year-olds who remember the originals fondly, with crossover interest in titles such as EA Sports FC 26, NBA 2K26, Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto 5. Alinea estimates the two games generated around $435m (£323m) for Microsoft, comparable to the total sales revenue of Forza Horizon 6, one of Xbox's biggest recent launches.
In short
- Black Ops 1&2 PS ports sold 11.2 million copies in under a month
- Black Ops 2 dominated with 8.2 million sales, mostly on PS5
- Estimated $435m revenue, rivalling Forza Horizon 6's takings
Explained simply
Call of Duty is a long-running series of military action games, and Black Ops is one of its best-known sub-series. The original Black Ops games were released in 2010 and 2012, with story campaigns and online multiplayer matches; many players who grew up with them are now in their thirties and forties.
Microsoft owns the Call of Duty publisher, Activision, after buying its parent company in 2023. The games’ return on PlayStation brings older releases to newer consoles, where players can revisit them or try them for the first time.
The ports are versions adapted for PS4 and PS5, but reports have noted limited technical changes and continuing problems with hacked online lobbies. Their sales therefore offer a measure of how strongly familiar games and nostalgia can draw players, even when technical updates and online conditions attract criticism.
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