Quick Facts

  • Platforms: PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
  • Estimated July Sales: 8.2 million units for Black Ops 2; 3 million units for Black Ops 1
  • Estimated Revenue: $435 million collectively across both titles on PlayStation
  • Developer: Iron Galaxy
  • Publisher: Activision

Unannounced ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 for modern PlayStation hardware have turned into massive commercial successes. According to estimates from Alinea Analytics, the unexpected releases have rapidly climbed the charts to become the highest-selling PlayStation titles of July.

Activision historically avoided re-releasing older titles in the franchise to keep player focus on newer, highly lucrative annual entries. However, following the underperformance of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 last year, the publisher brought the older entries to PS4 and PS5. That strategy generated an estimated $435 million on PlayStation in a single month.

Sales Performance and Market Impact

Alinea Analytics estimates that Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 sold 8.2 million copies on PS4 and PS5 last month, while the original Black Ops moved 3 million copies. Those figures place Black Ops 2 among the top five best-selling games of 2026 so far, trailing behind early-year releases like Mecha Chameleon, EA's FC 26, and Resident Evil Requiem.

By comparison, Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced trailed in third place for July on PlayStation with 1.6 million copies sold—roughly half the volume generated by the 16-year-old Call of Duty title.

Port Quality and Future Outlook

The surprise console releases arrived without significant technical updates, new features, or added content compared to their original versions. Activision tapped developer Iron Galaxy to build the ports, though financial terms and development costs remain undisclosed.

Whether these sales numbers prompt Activision to bring additional older entries forward remains unconfirmed, though fans have publicly expressed interest in seeing a return of the original Modern Warfare 2. Meanwhile, Activision's next major franchise release, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, is scheduled to launch this October.