Nostalgia is doing what a major new release would usually hope to do: pull a crowd. Black Ops 2 players on PlayStation are reportedly outnumbering those on Black Ops 7 across every platform combined, according to sources cited by Call Of Duty fansite CharlieIntel.

The claim follows the release of PlayStation ports for Call Of Duty: Black Ops and Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 last week. Both titles landed on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, giving Sony players easier access to two older entries that have long been easier to revisit on Xbox.

Why are the old Black Ops games selling so well?

The renewed interest was visible before launch. Social media posts about the Black Ops 1 and 2 ports reportedly generated far more engagement than posts about the next Call Of Duty entry, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. Now, according to CharlieIntel’s sources, that interest appears to have translated into actual player activity.

The site has not published specific numbers, so the claim should be treated with some caution. Still, the comparison is striking because Black Ops 7 is available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. The two classic ports, meanwhile, are only on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

That’s a bad look for a franchise built on annual momentum. It is also a reminder that players often have very long memories, especially when the old thing had maps, modes, and rhythms they liked better.

How much do the PlayStation ports cost?

Both Black Ops ports are priced at £34.99 each on PlayStation. That has already drawn complaints from some players, particularly because the base purchases do not include downloadable content.

There is a temporary discount, however. Until August 6, PlayStation Plus subscribers can get 50% off both games. Oddly enough, that currently makes the games cheaper on PlayStation than on Xbox, despite Microsoft owning Activision. Corporate synergy, apparently, needed the afternoon off.

The pricing controversy has not stopped the ports from climbing the charts. Across several PlayStation Store territories, both Black Ops and Black Ops 2 are sitting at or near the top of the best-sellers list.

According to the reported store rankings, the games are performing strongly in:

  • The United Kingdom
  • The United States
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy

Across those storefronts, Black Ops 2 appears to be the stronger seller of the pair.

What are the games beating on the PlayStation Store?

On the UK PlayStation Store, the two older Call Of Duty titles are reportedly ahead of several major current games and live-service staples.

That includes:

  • Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
  • EA Sports FC 26
  • GTA 6
  • Fortnite
  • Roblox
  • Marvel Rivals

For games originally released over a decade ago, that is a notable showing. Call Of Duty: Black Ops launched in 2010, while Black Ops 2 followed in 2012. The latter is now 14 years old, which makes its current pull especially awkward for newer franchise entries.

The older games also make the remaster-and-port business model look awfully tempting. The development work is usually smaller than building a new game from scratch, while the audience is already emotionally pre-loaded. Players know what they want, and in this case, they seem to want the old menus back.

Could more classic Call Of Duty ports follow?

If these sales hold over the next few weeks, Activision may have a clear incentive to bring more older Call Of Duty titles to current PlayStation consoles.

Xbox already has a major advantage on that front because many classic Call Of Duty games are playable through backwards compatibility. On Sony’s current systems, pre-PlayStation 4 entries are largely absent, aside from the multiformat remasters of the first two Modern Warfare games.

That gap has now become an opportunity. It may also become a slightly uncomfortable comparison point if older ports keep outperforming modern releases.

Black Ops 7 was already being treated as a downturn for Call Of Duty, both in quality and sales. The next major test is Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, which should show whether the franchise can regain momentum with newer games.

For now, though, two old Black Ops games are doing very modern numbers on PlayStation. Activision may not need to look far for its next big release. It may just need to look backward.