Black Ops 1 and 2 Skip Nintendo Switch as PS4 and PS5 Ports Launch

Q: Why is Microsoft's Call of Duty launching classics exclusively on its rival's PlayStation console?

It is not actually launching “exclusively” on PlayStation. Black Ops 1 and Black Ops 2 have already been available on Xbox for years through Xbox 360 backward compatibility, so Microsoft is not withholding them from its own platform. What is new is that PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 users are only now getting access. The simplest explanation is gap-filling and revenue. Sony players had no native way to play these older Call of Duty titles on modern PlayStation hardware, while Xbox players already could. Porting the games to PS4 and PS5 lets Microsoft and Activision sell the same catalog titles to a large audience that had been locked out, with relatively low development cost because these are straightforward ports rather than remasters. It also fits Microsoft’s broader multiplatform strategy. Since acquiring Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has shown increasing willingness to publish games on rival platforms when it expands reach and boosts software sales. Recent Xbox-owned releases on PlayStation have reinforced that the company is prioritizing audience size and recurring revenue, not just hardware exclusivity. There is also a practical reason no equivalent “new” Xbox release exists: Xbox did not need one. The games were already playable there. By contrast, PlayStation needed dedicated ports. That is why this looks like a PlayStation-only launch, even though the titles themselves are not PlayStation-exclusive in any meaningful sense.

3 articles · Updated · Insider Gaming · Jul 9

CharlieIntel said no Nintendo Switch ports are currently planned for Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2, even as the games arrived on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
These releases are straight ports rather than remasters or remakes, with no new Xbox or PC updates and no explanation for the Switch omission.
More than 10 years after the originals, the PlayStation versions add campaign, multiplayer and zombies but omit upgrades such as 120 FPS, an FOV slider or graphical improvements.
Pricing has drawn criticism because DLC is sold separately, leaving the new PlayStation launch positioned mainly as a way to replay the classics on current Sony hardware.