microsoft did They say he wanted to make more console exclusives, but maybe this isn’t what Xbox fans had in mind.
One of the best features of Xbox One and Xbox Series|S is the backward compatibility program. It has hundreds of games Xbox 360 and the OG Xbox consoles, giving you the chance to soak in a little nostalgia even on modern systems. Some games there are also not available on any other platform.
Some of the older Obligations The titles were simply never ported to modern PlayStation systems, meaning the only way to access them on modern platforms is through a modern PC or Xbox.
To close the gap, Microsoft and Activision simply made some very basic ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 for PlayStation 5. And PlayStation fans love it. The games are overtaking GTA 6 on the PlayStation charts, which shows how much nostalgia there is still for some of these classic games. Xbox fans, however, are NOT happy, and it’s not because they’re watching.
Black Ops and Black Ops 2 ports are the #1 and #2 trending games on the PlayStation Store, even ahead of Grand Theft Auto VI pic.twitter.com/4VrOgWo8nNJuly 10, 2026
Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard gave it full control of the Call of Duty franchise. Classic Call of Duty games were already widely available in Xbox backwards compatibility, with online matchmaking and the like. However, given the lack of security updates for Xbox 360 consoles, system hacks are common, making some of them virtually unplayable.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 are as basic as ports can be. Activision has practically done it nothing to improve them in addition to a resolution increase, and it seems honestly intentional. I imagine the reason they haven’t is because it would rub even more salt in Xbox’s wound; It’s almost as if they were designed to mimic the backwards compatible versions of the Xbox 360 as much as possible. Iron Galaxy also did the (very solid) ports for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, so it’s not a question of skill here.
Even if they offer some visual improvements, the real problem is the prevalence of hackers on backward compatible versions of Xbox. The Xbox 360’s layers of security have been stripped away over the years, allowing cheaters to ruin the experience. Since the PlayStation 5 ports of Black Ops 1 and 2 are isolated from older systems, they are much less susceptible.
As a result, what you have here is a de facto exclusive PlayStation console, published by Xbox.
Normally I’d overlook a basic port of an Xbox 360 game, but as you can see by how difficult the game is, these are well-loved titles. As players await September’s big-hitting streak, indulging in innocent nostalgia would have been a good bet. Clearly the PlayStation charts agree.
It’s a pure oddity that Microsoft has decided to leave Xbox fans here, and the reactions on social media have been what you’d expect. As a gesture, it appears that Microsoft has decided to make the Black Ops DLC free on the Xbox Store, but the hacker-riddled base game still costs a frankly absurd $40.
As someone who has played Black Ops on both Xbox and PlayStation, I can confidently say that Xbox players are completely ruined by the rally PlayStation players are having right now. PS4/PS5 ports find games almost instantly. I haven’t encountered a single hacker,… https://t.co/7EAP5kCDADJuly 12, 2026
I’ve reached out to Microsoft and Activision for comment on why they decided to leave the Xbox version of Black Ops 1+2 broken in light of this hot PS5 port. But I suspect they had no idea it would work so well on PlayStation. If they hadn’t been trending, I probably wouldn’t have shed as much light on the state of Xbox backwards compatible versions either, although I’ve been receiving messages about it for quite some time.
I suspect Microsoft and Xbox won’t do much to resolve the situation. They have opened a can of worms here. The source code of the original games and their server infrastructure are likely frozen. Microsoft could send new ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1+2 that do away with previous versions. The downside is that Xbox 360 users (and yes, there are still tens of thousands of gamers on Xbox 360) and backwards compatibility would be left adrift.
All of this just screams for lack of organization and foresight, but Things are pretty chaotic on Xbox right now. …
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