The two classic Activision titles, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2, have officially overtaken Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6 on the PlayStation Store charts. Recent reports confirmed this unexpected shift in the console market. Out of seemingly nowhere, Activision released these two fan-favorite games for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and they are currently selling like hotcakes.
The Call of Duty Nostalgia Beats The GTA 6 Hype
Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6 remains the most highly anticipated video game release of all time. Naturally, it exploded to the top of the sales charts when pre-orders initially went live. However, the Call of Duty re-releases currently hold a major advantage, which is that the players can actually play them right now. Immediate access has allowed these classic shooters to surge past the GTA 6 pre-orders.
Still, fans shouldn’t expect this dominance to last forever. Industry expectations suggest GTA 6 will easily reclaim the top spot. Whenever Rockstar decides to release the highly anticipated Trailer 3, pre-orders will likely surge again. Furthermore, GTA 6 will almost certainly become the best-selling game of the year instantly upon its official launch later this year.
Bare-Bones Ports, Premium Prices
Activision explicitly chose to release these ports exclusively on the PS4 and PS5. Surprisingly, they skipped Xbox and the Switch 2 entirely. Xbox currently offers backward compatibility for the original versions, which likely explains its exclusion despite Xbox owning Activision. Meanwhile, skipping the Switch 2 represents a significant missed opportunity to revitalize the classic multiplayer servers.
Interestingly, these re-releases are straightforward ports rather than full remasters. They offer no major improvements. They even completely lack the fan-favorite Wager Matches. Consequently, players have heavily criticized the games for carrying expensive price tags, especially since the original titles are well over a decade old.
The Power of the Treyarch Legacy
Despite the backlash over pricing and missing features, both games stand as two of the most beloved entries in the entire franchise. Historically, Call of Duty: Black Ops established Treyarch’s unique identity within the series. Gamers heavily praised the original game for its twisting narrative, exciting multiplayer formula, and iconic Zombies mode. Black Ops 2 earned similar universal praise.
Ultimately, this massive commercial success highlights a clear lesson for the industry. Publishers can extract massive value by bringing older games to newer platforms, even without going through the significant effort of developing full remasters.
