14 Years After Its Release, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Is One of 2026's Best Selling Games, According to Analysts

The recent PS4 and PS5 ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 are already some of the best-selling games of the year, according to analysts. Last month, Activision surprised Call of Duty fans by dropping ports of Black Ops 1 and 2 on modern PlayStation consoles. Activision has somewhat notoriously avoided re-releasing older Call of Duty games, as fans speculate that it would distract players from the newer games that are more lucrative for the publisher. Still, it seems that after Black Ops 7 failed to meet expectations last year, these ports were put into production to earn back player trust (and generate some quick cash, too). That plan worked absurdly well, as Alinea Analytics estimates that Black Ops 2 sold a whopping 8.2 million on PS4 and PS5 last month, while Black Ops 1 sold 3 million. The firm estimated that the games collectively generated $435 million on PlayStation. The two are estimated to be the two highest-selling PlayStation titles of July, with Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced trailing in third with 1.6 million copies, roughly half the number of copies sold as a 16-year-old game. This is a rather astonishing amount and would make Black Ops 2 one of the best-selling games of 2026, period. At the beginning of July, Alinea estimated that the three best-selling games of 2026 were Mecha Chameleon at 12.6 million copies, EA's FC 26 at 9.1 million, and Resident Evil Requiem at 7.5 million. By the end of July, Capcom confirmed Requiem had just surpassed 8 million units sold, so those estimates seem fairly on point. With that said, it looks like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is among the top 5 best-selling games of the year so far. Another notable part of this story is that these ports haven't made any significant changes from their original versions. There are no new features or content, and even the technical aspects largely remain unchanged. It's unclear how much Activision paid developer Iron Galaxy to put these ports together, but they likely didn't spend nearly as much as needed for a remaster or remake. Whether this will open the door to more Call of Duty ports remains to be seen, but vocal fans are hoping to see a return of the original Modern Warfare 2 in the future. Activision's reign is far from over, though, as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is set to release this October. While it was released during a very busy season, it will still likely sell gangbusters as the Modern Warfare sub-franchise is the most revered part of Call of Duty. Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.

Aug 6, 2026 - 02:22

14 Years After Its Release, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Is One of 2026's Best Selling Games, According to Analysts

The recent PS4 and PS5 ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 are already some of the best-selling games of the year, according to analysts.

Last month, Activision surprised Call of Duty fans by dropping ports of Black Ops 1 and 2 on modern PlayStation consoles. Activision has somewhat notoriously avoided re-releasing older Call of Duty games, as fans speculate that it would distract players from the newer games that are more lucrative for the publisher. Still, it seems that after Black Ops 7 failed to meet expectations last year, these ports were put into production to earn back player trust (and generate some quick cash, too).

That plan worked absurdly well, as Alinea Analytics estimates that Black Ops 2 sold a whopping 8.2 million on PS4 and PS5 last month, while Black Ops 1 sold 3 million. The firm estimated that the games collectively generated $435 million on PlayStation. The two are estimated to be the two highest-selling PlayStation titles of July, with Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced trailing in third with 1.6 million copies, roughly half the number of copies sold as a 16-year-old game.

This is a rather astonishing amount and would make Black Ops 2 one of the best-selling games of 2026, period. At the beginning of July, Alinea estimated that the three best-selling games of 2026 were Mecha Chameleon at 12.6 million copies, EA's FC 26 at 9.1 million, and Resident Evil Requiem at 7.5 million. By the end of July, Capcom confirmed Requiem had just surpassed 8 million units sold, so those estimates seem fairly on point. With that said, it looks like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is among the top 5 best-selling games of the year so far.

Another notable part of this story is that these ports haven't made any significant changes from their original versions. There are no new features or content, and even the technical aspects largely remain unchanged. It's unclear how much Activision paid developer Iron Galaxy to put these ports together, but they likely didn't spend nearly as much as needed for a remaster or remake. Whether this will open the door to more Call of Duty ports remains to be seen, but vocal fans are hoping to see a return of the original Modern Warfare 2 in the future.

Activision's reign is far from over, though, as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is set to release this October. While it was released during a very busy season, it will still likely sell gangbusters as the Modern Warfare sub-franchise is the most revered part of Call of Duty.

Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.

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