Microsoft lists Black Ops 1 and 2 at $40 on Xbox, no DLC

Microsoft set the price for Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and Black Ops 2 at $39.99 each on PC and Xbox marketplaces, with no DLC included in those base prices. The detail that has PlayStation fans spooked is the “$40 without DLC” structure itself, especially because the games are from 2010 and 2012.

CharlieIntel reports that PC and Xbox storefronts were updated with DLC prices, while locking in the 2010 and 2012 base games at $39.99 each. The same reporting also points to a shift in the monetization math: Black Ops 1 and 2 have been on Xbox for some time via extensive backward compatibility, but the current changes are showing up in individual DLC pricing, which now appear to be $10 instead of $15, and season passes priced at $30 instead of $50. For PlayStation, the worry is that the base game will carry a $40 ticket while the extras stay expensive, turning “classic ports” into a multi-cart checkout.

This matters because Activision has already committed to ports for PS4 and PS5, not remasters, for the two Treyarch titles, with plans to launch them in July. The publisher’s most concrete promise is about content modes, stating the ports will include Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombie modes when they launch. What is missing is the clarity on DLC, and that gap is exactly what is making price rumors feel less like speculation and more like a shopping cart waiting to happen.

The context is important for decision-makers watching this space. On Xbox, Microsoft’s backward compatibility ecosystem has long enabled access to older catalog titles, and the real monetization lever moves to DLC and season passes layered on top. In other words, the base price may be the headline number, but the “full experience” cost is what dictates the reaction from players and the hit to goodwill when expectations are misaligned. Here, the Microsoft listings effectively provide a template: base games at $39.99 each, DLC priced separately, and season passes at $30 instead of $50. If the PlayStation ports adopt the same pricing architecture, the implied cost for two games adds up fast.

According to the report, should the prices shown on the Microsoft Store carry over to the PlayStation ports, players who want both games might need to shell out $80 for the base titles alone. Add in the cost of both season passes and the full package could reach $140, again, based on those Microsoft storefront figures and the still-unconfirmed assumption that PlayStation will match them. Activision has not officially published port pricing details in the information available from this source, and the absence of “what will be included” guidance is what turned fan sentiment from “curious” into “prepare to get burned.”

The reaction in the wild tracks that fear. One X/Twitter user said, "Not including the DLC and charging $40 on games from Obama’s first term is nasty work." Another response suggested, "Games this old should be 20 bucks max WITH the DLC." On Reddit, one user wrote, "Wait what the f**k that's insane lmao," while another commented, "That's worth like $20-30 max with all DLCs included." A different thread view argued the expected value framing differently, saying, "For a remake/remaster with the DLCs I would've said $40, maybe $50 at the very high end." And in one more blunt take: "$40 for games we already purchased (allegedly with no enhancements btw) is an absolute atrocity." Even the meme-y jabs land because the pricing is concrete, not hypothetical: $39.99 base plus extra SKUs.

Zoom out and you get why this is more than gamer drama. Activision is banking on nostalgia demand for two highly anticipated releases, and the “port not remaster” language signals a thinner value proposition than players might assume. IGN gave the original Call of Duty: Black Ops an 8.5/10 review when it launched in November 2010, and its sequel, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, a 9.3/10 when it launched in November 2012. Those reviews became part of why these games are still “talked about” and “quoted,” which is precisely why pricing scrutiny is so intense. In markets like premium console gaming, the perceived fairness of pricing often determines whether a title is treated like a once-off purchase or a cash register. And when DLC and season pass pricing are left to inference, uncertainty turns into outrage.

There is also a release-timing pressure point. The ports reportedly have no firm release date outside the promise to see them launch next month, but “next month” is already close enough that storefront pricing behaviors become a de facto forecast. That means competitors, partners, and other publishers looking at catalog monetization can learn a very practical lesson: when you reuse an old base and monetize extras, any mismatch between price expectation and value perception can become a narrative wildfire. For peers in product and finance roles, the second-order risk is reputational and retention related, not just near-term revenue. A $40 base price can look “standard,” but if the full package implied by DLC and passes starts to sound like $140 for the set, the story can shift from “classic comes back” to “classic gets re-priced.”