Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 & 2 Are Officially Coming to PS4 and PS5 in July 2026

After weeks of leaks and datamined database entries, Treyarch has officially confirmed it: Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012) are being ported to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, arriving in July 2026. The work is being handled by veteran porting studio Iron Galaxy.

On June 17, 2026, Treyarch posted a brief but definitive message on X: “It’s official: the original Black Ops and Black Ops 2 are being ported to PlayStation in July, courtesy of our partners at Iron Galaxy.” No trailer. No gameplay footage. No exact release date. Just a simple confirmation of what the internet had already been piecing together for weeks.

What’s Included

In a follow-up post, Treyarch confirmed that both ports will ship with the full content that made these games legendary:

• Campaign — both single-player stories in full, including Black Ops 2’s branching narrative with multiple endings.
• Multiplayer — the complete competitive suite, including fan-favourite modes like Wager Matches (Black Ops 1) and Hardpoint and Kill Confirmed (Black Ops 2).
• Zombies — the beloved cooperative mode that still commands an active player base to this day.

Based on datamining by RemasterRadar, who spent several days combing through the game files, both titles declare a joinSession intent inside their param.json — meaning players will be able to jump straight into a friend’s online session directly from the PS4/PS5 system UI, using invites and Game Base. Online play will run on modern PSN infrastructure, not the old PS3 servers.

Ports, Not Remasters — But Not Lazy Either

Let’s be clear upfront: these are ports, not remasters. Treyarch and Activision have been explicit about this. Don’t expect redesigned textures, rebuilt lighting, or modern quality-of-life overhauls. This is not in the same league as the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered or the Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered releases.

That said, calling these a “lazy copy-paste” would also be inaccurate. As RemasterRadar noted in a detailed breakdown:

“This isn’t a lazy 1:1 copy, and it isn’t Xbox-style backwards compatibility (running the old build as-is). Real work went in: new languages that weren’t in the originals, plus PS5-enhanced flags baked into the build. It can’t run on legacy PS3 servers either, so it relies on modern PSN online infrastructure.”

Think of these as marginally upgraded versions of the originals — adapted and cleaned up for modern PlayStation hardware, without the scope of a full remaster. The announcement’s low-key nature (no trailer, no showcase slot) is itself a good indicator of what to expect.

Who’s Behind the Ports: Iron Galaxy

Iron Galaxy Studios is a Chicago-based developer with an extensive and well-documented track record in porting major titles across platforms. Their résumé includes:

• Diablo III: Eternal Collection (Nintendo Switch)
• Overwatch (Nintendo Switch)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Nintendo Switch)
• The Last of Us Part I (PC) — though this one was notably troubled at launch
• Metroid Prime Remastered (support studio)
• Apex Legends, Dauntless, Fallout 76, and 80+ other titles

Iron Galaxy’s body of work shows they know how to move a game to a new platform — though their record on PC ports in particular has had its rough spots (see Batman: Arkham Knight and The Last of Us Part I). For a console-to-console port, however, they have a considerably cleaner history.

Platforms: PlayStation Only — Here’s Why

The announcement specifies PlayStation only — PS4 and PS5. No Xbox. No PC. No Nintendo Switch 2. This has raised eyebrows, but there’s a straightforward reason for it.

On Xbox Series X|S, both Black Ops and Black Ops 2 are already playable via backward compatibility — and Black Ops 2 in particular has remained in the top 50 most-played games on Xbox, ahead of titles like Halo Infinite. On PC, both games are available on Steam and Battle.net.

Sony’s PlayStation, on the other hand, has never supported PS3 backward compatibility on PS4 or PS5. That means PlayStation players have been locked out of both games since 2013. These ports exist to close that gap — giving a massive audience access to two of the most beloved CoD titles they’ve never been able to play on their current hardware.

File Sizes and Technical Details

Ahead of the official announcement, PlayStation Game Size — which datamines Sony’s backend databases — surfaced both games in the PlayStation Store’s internal systems. According to data compiled by Dexerto and Insider Gaming:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops — approximately 22.7 GB
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 — approximately 30.3 GB

At the time of writing, the PlayStation Store database lists PS4 versions only — with no separate native PS5 build detected. This suggests the port may run on PS5 via backward compatibility of a PS4 build, rather than as a dedicated next-gen application. Whether PS5-specific enhancements (like higher frame rates or faster load times) will be present remains to be confirmed.

One important detail flagged by dataminers: the games cannot run on legacy PS3 servers and are instead built to use modern PSN infrastructure for online play. That’s potentially good news for the multiplayer experience — though how heavily Activision will monitor and moderate these servers is still an open question.

What We Still Don’t Know

Treyarch’s announcement was deliberately sparse, and several key questions remain unanswered:

• Exact release date: “July 2026” is all we have. Given the file sizes and the fact that both games are already in PlayStation’s backend, a shadow drop is entirely possible.
• DLC status: Will the multiplayer map packs and Zombies DLC be included, or sold separately? File size data hints that some DLC may be bundled in, but nothing has been confirmed. Game Rant notes this is one of the most pressing questions fans are waiting on.
• Price: Completely unknown. For context, the original Black Ops is still sold digitally on Xbox 360 for $40 in 2026. Whether Activision prices these as budget re-releases (~$25 each) or full-price nostalgia items remains to be seen.
• Multiplayer servers: New dedicated servers, or repurposed existing infrastructure? The answer will define the online experience.
• Xbox, PC, Switch 2 versions: Not announced. Xbox and PC users have existing access; a Switch 2 version has been speculated but not confirmed.

Why Now?

The timing makes strategic sense. The back half of 2026 is dominated by two behemoths: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (late October) and GTA VI (November). Dropping a pair of legacy ports in the quieter summer window keeps them from getting buried — while also building momentum for CoD’s broader 2026 slate.

It’s also worth noting that, as WCCFTech points out, these ports arrive alongside the return of older Call of Duty titles to Xbox Game Pass — suggesting a broader Activision strategy of making its classic library more accessible across platforms and services, rather than leaving it to rot in platform limbo.

Why Black Ops 1 and 2 Still Matter

Released in 2010 and 2012 respectively, Black Ops and Black Ops 2 consistently top fan rankings of the best Call of Duty games ever made — and for good reason.

Black Ops introduced a Cold War-era campaign that felt genuinely cinematic, popularised Zombies as a major mode, and added Wager Matches to multiplayer — creative, risk/reward game types that the franchise has never quite replicated since. Its soundtrack, its “Numbers” opening scene, and maps like Nuketown became franchise touchstones.

Black Ops 2 went further: a branching campaign with meaningful choices and multiple endings (rare for the series), a multiplayer that many still consider the purest, most balanced CoD experience ever shipped, and a Zombies mode that expanded the lore significantly. Even after six more Black Ops games — including Black Ops 6 (2024) and Black Ops 7 (2025) — these two originals remain the benchmark.

For PlayStation players who missed them the first time around, or who want to revisit them without hunting down a PS3, July 2026 will be a notable moment.

Quick Summary

We’ll update this article as soon as Activision and Treyarch confirm a release date, pricing, and DLC details. Stay tuned.

Sources: Treyarch (X) · Push Square · Kotaku · GameSpot · Insider Gaming · Dexerto · Game Rant · WCCFTech · ComicBook