Call Of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 are getting re-released next month, but only for PlayStation consoles, Treyarch has confirmed. After the poor performance of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7, it might seem surprising that Activision is revisiting the Black Ops subseries, but the company is playing it safe by bringing back beloved older titles. Re-releases of the first two Black Ops games had been rumored, and now series developer Treyarch has formally announced them for a July launch exclusively on PlayStation platforms. The lack of an Xbox release has caused confusion, but there is a reasonable explanation for this omission.
Are Call Of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 Being Remastered?
No, unlike Activision's remasters of the first two Modern Warfare games, Black Ops 1 and 2 are only getting straight ports. They will be identical to the original versions, aside from standard improvements like faster loading speeds on PlayStation 5. These ports are being handled by Iron Galaxy, the same developer behind the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 remake.
Why Aren't the Black Ops 1 and 2 Ports on Xbox?
The lack of an Xbox version may seem like further proof of Microsoft's confusing exclusivity approach, but the real reason is that these games are already playable on Xbox. Black Ops 1 and 2, originally launched for Xbox 360, were added to Xbox's backwards compatibility program in 2016 and 2017, respectively, ensuring they work on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. They have also remained available on PC. In contrast, the PlayStation 3 versions are locked to that console, as PlayStation 4 and 5 lack backwards compatibility for PS3 games. Activision is simply making Black Ops 1 and 2 available on current PlayStation hardware, which explains why these are ports rather than full remasters.
Will the Black Ops 1 and 2 Ports Be Available on PlayStation 4?
Presumably yes, since Treyarch's announcement does not specify that these ports are only for PlayStation 5. While Activision is set to leave last-gen consoles behind with this year's Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, these ports should run easily on PlayStation 4, and omitting it would leave money on the table.
Will the Black Ops 1 and 2 Ports Have Multiplayer?
Yes, Treyarch has confirmed that both games will retain their multiplayer modes alongside campaign and Zombies modes. Since these are straight ports, nothing needs to be changed. This contrasts with the Modern Warfare 2 remaster from 2020, which lacked multiplayer. Activision cited concerns about splitting the player base, but it was also cheaper to only remaster the campaign.
Whether Activision and Microsoft would have done the same for a remaster is uncertain. Last year's Gears Of War remaster kept both co-op and competitive multiplayer, but the Halo: Combat Evolved remake will only contain the campaign mode. Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty has said that future multiplayer games will continue to be multiplatform releases, yet Gears Of War: E-Day is locked to Xbox Series X.
Will the Black Ops 1 and 2 Ports Launch for Switch 2?
Strangely, Treyarch has made no mention of a Nintendo Switch 2 release. Microsoft has been keen to bring Call Of Duty to Nintendo's platform, starting with Modern Warfare 4. Both Black Ops games were available on Nintendo consoles in the past: Black Ops 1 launched for Wii and DS, while Black Ops 2 had a Wii U port. However, those versions are now inaccessible unless you track down physical copies.
