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.

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.

Updated — June 23, 2026

New details have emerged on price, DLC costs, and a ratings board filing that hints at Xbox and Switch 2 versions. The sections below have been updated to reflect what we now know.

What We Now Know — and What’s Still Open

Since the original announcement on June 17, several key details have surfaced — though most come from leaks and reports rather than official Activision statements. Here’s the current picture:

Price: $40 per game — separately

According to Dot Esports, both Black Ops and Black Ops 2 will be sold separately at $40 each — meaning $80 if you want both. Activision has not officially confirmed this figure, but it aligns with the current digital price of Black Ops on Xbox 360 ($40 in 2026), suggesting the publisher has no interest in discounting the back catalogue. Reception to this reported price point has been mixed, arriving in the middle of an ongoing community conversation about the rising cost of Call of Duty products.

DLC: Sold Separately — But Cheaper Than Before

DLC map packs will not be included in the base price. Per the same Dot Esports report, the pricing structure is expected to be:

• Individual map packs: $10 each (down from the original $15)
• Season pass (all DLC): $30 (down from the original $50)

For context: Black Ops has four DLC packs (First Strike, Escalation, Annihilation, Rezurrection); Black Ops 2 also has four (Revolution, Uprising, Vengeance, Apocalypse). Buying all DLC for both games at the reported prices would cost an additional $60 on top of the $80 base — bringing a complete collection to $140. None of this is officially confirmed by Activision yet.

Xbox and Switch 2 Versions May Still Be Coming

The PlayStation-only framing of the announcement may not tell the full story. Ratings board filings that surfaced before the announcement listed Xbox and Nintendo Switch 2 alongside PlayStation — suggesting additional platform announcements may be in the pipeline. Nothing has been confirmed outside of PlayStation, but the filings make a broader rollout plausible.

Servers: Existing Network, Not New Dedicated Servers

Early reporting suggested the ports would run on modern PSN infrastructure rather than the old PS3 servers — which is accurate. However, more recent reports indicate the games are expected to connect to the existing Call of Duty server network, rather than receiving fresh dedicated servers built specifically for these ports. This has implications for anti-cheat and matchmaking quality; Activision has not officially addressed it.

Still Unknown

• Exact release date: Somewhere in July 2026 — no specific day confirmed.
• PS3 digital owners: No discount, upgrade path, or save transfer has been announced for players who bought the originals digitally on PS3.
• Crossplay: Not confirmed. Given that PC and Xbox versions remain separate, crossplay appears unlikely — but nothing official has been said.

Quick Summary (updated June 23, 2026)

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