Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 Now Available on PS5 for $40 Each, DLC Not Included

Activision has finally brought the classic Xbox 360 first-person shooters, Call of Duty: Black Ops and its sequel, to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. This is a welcome move, especially since these titles have been available through backwards compatibility on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S for a while. However, if you’re looking to grab both games along with all their DLC, be prepared to shell out over $60. And that’s with a temporary PS Plus discount; once it expires, the total jumps to $140.

After a wave of rumors and data leaks, Activision confirmed the porting of Call of Duty: Black Ops (originally released in 2010) and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (released in 2012) to the PS4 and PS5, responding to fan requests. While Xbox players have enjoyed these and other older CoD titles with full online support, PS5 and PS4 owners have been left in the dark—until now. The release of both games has sparked a mostly negative reaction from fans, who are taken aback by the steep prices and lack of enhancements.

Currently, Call of Duty: Black Ops is priced at $40 but is discounted to $20 until August 6. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 shares the same pricing structure. Additionally, each game’s season pass is available for $10 during the discount period, but once it ends, the price will rise to $30. Ouch.

One of the first comments on a Reddit post announcing the release of Black Ops and Black Ops 2 on PSN simply stated, “Bruh, you have to buy the DLC again?” And yes, you do! It feels like a blast from the past, reminiscent of the days when DLC map packs were the norm. At least these ports come with Zombies and all the other modes.

The situation is made worse by the fact that these ports appear to be quite bare-bones. There are no added features, behind-the-scenes content, or new maps. Even more disappointing, they lack an FOV slider, don’t support 120FPS, and seem to offer minimal graphical updates—just some light upscaling to fit better on a 4K TV. Essentially, they are the old games re-released on PS4 and PS5 at a premium price with little else to show for it.

“Reselling the DLC is so greedy and annoying considering that it will split the player base between those who have it and those who don’t—and it’s not 2010 anymore where this is the hit multiplayer game of the year and guaranteed to have lots of players indefinitely,” lamented another Reddit user.

Some have noted that these prices align with those on Xbox, where the games also lack new features or significant visual upgrades on Series consoles. While that’s true, it’s still a missed opportunity for Activision to reconnect with fans and improve their image. They could have had a port house create slightly enhanced versions of both games, bundled with all the DLC and crossplay, and released them for around $30. Fans would have been thrilled. Instead, Activision opted for the most disappointing and greedy approach to re-releasing these beloved titles, leaving many frustrated. Well done?