Call of Duty: Black Ops II Ranks as Sixth Best-Selling Game of 2026 in US
The 2012 shooter’s resurgence follows a surprise PlayStation 4 and 5 re-release in July, which briefly made it the top-selling game of the month.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is the sixth best-selling video game in the United States for the year to date through September 2026, according to Circana’s sales chart.
The 14-year-old shooter’s ranking, ahead of titles like Forza Horizon 6, follows its surprise re-release on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on July 9.
Activision released ports of both Black Ops and Black Ops II, developed by Treyarch and Iron Galaxy, for $19.99 each until August 6, after which the standard price became $39.99.
The games include the campaign, multiplayer and Zombies modes, while the original map packs are sold separately through a season pass.
“After its surprise re-release this year, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 remains one of the 10 best-selling games of 2026 in the United States, more than 13 years after Treyarch originally launched the shooter,” wrote Adrian Morales for GameRant.
The PlayStation versions sent Black Ops II from 67th place on Circana’s monthly chart in June to first place in July, beating EA Sports College Football 27 and Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced.
The original Black Ops climbed to fifth place that same month, up from 150th.
Activision has not released official sales figures, but an unconfirmed player tracker shared by beta program members suggested about 5.25 million Black Ops II players and nearly 2 million for the original Black Ops within the first week.
Activision also confirmed cross-play between PS4 and PS5 for both games shortly after launch.
There is no native Xbox Series X|S version, so Xbox players access the game through backward compatibility with the 2012 Xbox 360 release.
This means Microsoft’s chart entry for Black Ops II is driven almost entirely by PlayStation sales, an odd result for a game owned by Microsoft following the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
The game’s sustained performance comes during a rough year for Xbox hardware, with Circana reporting Xbox Series hardware at a record low in the US in August and September units down 27% year on year.
NBA 2K27 leads Circana’s year-to-date chart through September, ahead of Resident Evil Requiem and 007 First Light.
The only game to pass Black Ops II on the annual list since July is NBA 2K27, which went straight to first place after launching in September.
Fan interest extended beyond the official release, with Activision issuing DMCA takedowns for AI-coded browser ports of older Call of Duty titles in October. Redington Cybersport reported in October that Activision issued takedowns for projects using assets from the original PC titles.
The success of the straight port, with no remaster work, signals the value of Activision’s back catalogue.
Older Call of Duty games that never reached PS4 or PS5, such as World at War or the 2011 Modern Warfare 3, could be candidates for similar re-releases.
