Performance of Call of Duty: Black Ops PS5 ports disappoints, maxing out at 1080p/60Hz

Two beloved PS3-era shooters have finally landed on current-gen PlayStation consoles. Still, the Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 PS5 ports may be a missed opportunity. Benchmarkers Digital Foundry found that the Activision titles only run at 1080p, while lacking a 120Hz mode. On the other hand, they do offer performance benefits over the Xbox versions.

When the publisher announced a July release date for the shooters, it was careful not to label them as remakes or remasters. Nevertheless, Digital Foundry believes that, with minimal effort, the Call of Duty games could have made better use of Sony’s modern hardware. The site noted that competing straight ports render at 4K and higher refresh rates on the console.

The developers failed to address other visual drawbacks, like lackluster shadow quality. That said, Black Ops 1 and 2 PS5 players now have advantages over their rivals. Relying on backward compatibility, the dim-looking Xbox 360 games are hindered by a maximum 608p resolution.

Explaining the ports' paltry upgrades

Digital Foundry suspects that the Microsoft-controlled Activision didn’t want PlayStation systems to boast dramatically improved performance. Yet, they do display some incremental upgrades. Frustratingly, the publisher has yet to identify release dates for a native Xbox Series X version.

The transition to the PlayStation 5 has produced more complaints about input lag and multiplayer disconnects. While not every player has the issue, movement may feel sluggish compared to the original 2010 and 2012 titles. Despite seemingly using new servers, dropped connections and matchmaking problems are also reported.

The most disgruntled fans blame laziness and greed for the scarcity of updates. They point to the price of the Call of Duty: Black Ops PS5 games, which cost $40 each without DLC. For 1080p/60Hz ports with limited performance and quality-of-life improvements, it’s a steep investment. However, until August 6th, PlayStation Plus subscribers enjoy a 50% discount and a reduced rate on a season pass.