Recent PlayStation ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and Black Ops 2 have achieved significant commercial success, with combined sales exceeding 11.2 million units across PS4 and PS5 within their first month of release. Estimates from Alinea Analytics indicate that Black Ops 2 was the stronger performer, accounting for 8.2 million of the total sales, while Black Ops 1 sold 3 million units.
The generational split for sales shows a strong preference for the newer hardware. Alinea estimates that 93 percent of Black Ops 2 copies were sold on PS5, with the remaining 7 percent on PS4. The original Black Ops saw a similar trend, with 94 percent of sales on PS5 and 6 percent on PS4.
Despite criticism regarding the ports' lack of substantial technical enhancements and ongoing issues with hacking and exploitation, the sales figures suggest these concerns did not deter a large player base. According to Alinea analyst Rhys Elliott, the primary audience for these ports consists of players in their 30s and 40s who have fond memories of the original games.
Further analysis of the players who purchased these ports reveals interesting demographic data. Twenty-three percent of these players also engaged with the Black Ops 1 port, suggesting they bought both titles. Nineteen percent have used the Call of Duty app, which hosts Warzone and modern franchise entries, and 10 percent are active players of Rainbow Six Siege. Outside of the shooter genre, 24 percent of this cohort have played EA Sports FC 24, and 13 percent have played NBA 2K24, indicating a broad gaming interest. These players have also engaged with popular titles such as Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto 5, Minecraft, and Roblox.
Alinea estimates that Microsoft generated approximately $435 million in revenue from the sales of these two games alone. This figure is comparable to the total game sales revenue of major Xbox launches like Forza Horizon 5 since its release.