Black Ops 1 & 2 PS4/PS5 Ports: Price, Release, and Everything We Know (July 2026)

Confirmation & Release Window

Treyarch posted a short but definitive message on June 17: "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" . The ports are being developed by Iron Galaxy, a studio with a proven track record of high-quality ports, including Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection and The Last of Us Part II Remastered for PC . A specific launch date within July has not yet been announced .

Ports, Not Remasters

Activision and Treyarch have explicitly clarified that these are direct ports of the original games, not full remasters or remakes . This distinction disappointed some fans hoping for enhanced visuals or rebuilt assets, but the games will benefit from native resolution and frame-rate improvements provided by the modern hardware itself . The PS4 versions will be playable on PS5 via backward compatibility .

All Three Core Modes Included

Both titles will ship with their complete campaign, multiplayer, and Zombies modes . The inclusion of Zombies is a particularly significant selling point for its dedicated fanbase, who have been unable to play these original versions natively on modern PlayStation consoles. The infamous Emblem Creator is also expected to return .

How the Leak Happened: Trophy Lists on PSN

Before the official announcement, the ports were first revealed through datamining. Accounts like PlayStation Game Size and dataminer RemasterRadar discovered PS4 and PS5 database entries for both games on PlayStation Network servers in early June 2026 . The appearance of trophy lists and backend listings on Sony's infrastructure was the primary evidence confirming the ports were real and impending . Listings showed Black Ops at 22.7 GB (North America) and Black Ops 2 at 30.3 GB .

Why PlayStation: The Backward Compatibility Gap

This release directly addresses a long-standing hardware gap. Xbox users have been able to play both Black Ops and Black Ops 2 via backward compatibility on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S for years . PlayStation consoles lack this feature for PS3 titles, locking these games to the original PS3 hardware. These new ports are PlayStation's answer to that gap . The ports are PlayStation-exclusive; no Xbox Series X|S versions are planned, as backward-compatible editions already exist on that platform .

Pricing: $40 per Base Game (Digital-Only)

Activision has not officially announced PlayStation Store pricing, but a strong proxy has emerged. Call of Duty tracker CharlieIntel reported that PC (Steam) and Xbox Store listings for both games were updated with new pricing: each base game is now listed at $39.99 / €39.99 . Individual DLC map packs were reduced from $15 to $10, and Season Passes dropped from $50 to $30 . Industry outlets including IGN, Digital Trends, and Push Square widely expect the PlayStation Store versions to follow this same $40-per-title pricing for digital-only releases . The total cost for everything: buying both base games is $80, and adding all DLC could bring the total to roughly $160 .

Server Infrastructure and Modern Features

While Activision has not detailed specific server plans, datamining suggests the ports will run on modern PSN infrastructure rather than the legacy PS3 network . File analysis by RemasterRadar indicates support for features like native PS5 system invites and Game Base integration, allowing players to jump straight into a friend's online session from the console UI .

Bonus: Black Ops 6 Goes Standalone

In a related development announced in the same timeframe, Activision confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 would be separated from the Call of Duty HQ launcher and become a standalone download as of July 7, 2026 . The change took effect at 9 a.m. PT / noon ET that day . Players must re-download the game as a separate installation, but the old COD HQ-integrated version is automatically deleted, freeing up approximately 65 GB of disk space . This move was widely welcomed by players who had long complained about the bloated unified launcher .