Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 Run Better on PS4 and PS5 Than on Xbox, but Experts Call the New Ports Disappointing

While opinions may vary depending on who you ask, many fans would agree that Call of Duty: Black Ops and its 2012 sequel, CoD: Black Ops 2, rank among the finest entries in the franchise’s history. This is what made the announcement of their return a cause for genuine excitement, though the final product has proven to be a letdown for many.

The PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 ports of these older Activision and Treyarch titles arrived unexpectedly on July 9, 2026, developed by Iron Galaxy Studios. Thousands of players eagerly jumped back into these classic experiences to relive fond memories, only to find themselves disappointed upon booting up the games, as the ports offer little in the way of meaningful improvements or new features.

Experts Criticize Quality of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 Ports

Following the re-release, Digital Foundry, one of the world’s most respected outlets for performance analysis, undertook a thorough examination of the ports to determine whether they deliver any substantial upgrades over the original PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions.

Prior to launch, Activision had already made it clear that both titles would arrive as straightforward ports rather than full remasters or remakes, tempering expectations from the start. Nevertheless, the community still hoped for at least modest enhancements.

According to Digital Foundry’s findings, the new ports do outperform the backward-compatible versions currently available on Xbox, which run at a modest 608p resolution. However, the analysis reveals that both re-releases fall considerably short when it comes to graphical upgrades and overall performance.

The 2010 Black Ops runs at 1080p on both PS4 and PS5, not 4K, even on PS5. Notably, this new version lacks anti-aliasing, despite the original game debuting 16 years ago on aging hardware.

Worse still, the port offers no improvements in frame-rate fluidity; it remains capped at 60Hz across both PlayStation consoles. “A 1080p60 presentation would be potentially acceptable for the PS4 version - and there is one! - but for a brand new PS5 conversion, it’s disappointingly poor and well below what the hardware is capable of,” they noted.

Compounding the issue, Black Ops retains several visual blemishes from its decade-old original release, including low-quality shadow rendering. The situation is no more encouraging for Black Ops 2, which is similarly locked to 1080p at 60 frames per second on both Sony platforms.

Call of Duty Re-Releases Divide Fans’ Opinions

Despite these shortcomings, it is worth reiterating that the PS4 and PS5 versions do represent an improvement over the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S iterations, which remain stuck at 608p via backward compatibility with no enhancements whatsoever.

Unsurprisingly, the return of these two beloved classics has divided the fanbase. While some players are simply thrilled to revisit two of the greatest Call of Duty titles ever made, others have expressed disappointment over the minimal effort invested in these ports.

Beyond the graphical deficiencies, players have also discovered that certain features have been stripped from the new releases. Black Ops loses its Wager Matches and Theater Mode, while Black Ops 2 arrives without League Mode, the ranked playlist that helped lay the foundation for professional competitive play.

Pricing has further fueled the debate. Both games launched at $40 USD each, though PS Plus subscribers can currently purchase them at a 50% discount for $19.99 USD as part of a limited-time promotion. However, all downloadable content and Season Passes are sold separately, adding to the overall cost.

What do you think? Were you expecting more substantial graphical improvements? Share your opinions in the comments section.

For more news on Call of Duty, click here.