Activision Confirms Black Ops 1 & 2 Crossplay and Matchmaking Mechanics

Earlier this week, Call of Duty Black Ops and Black Ops 2 were released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The all-digital arrival of these legendary first-person shooter titles was heralded with excitement by fans of the franchise, but there was immediate confusion concerning the game’s crossplay mechanics.

Many were under the impression that the games do not have cross-generation matchmaking mechanics, and thanks to what seemed like a bug, folks with the season passes seemed to be blocked from matching with those without the passes.

This has all been cleared up by Activision.

Cross-Generation Play is Present in Black Ops 1 & 2

In a post on social media, Activision’s Call of Duty team confirmed:

PS4 and PS5 players are able to matchmake with one another. There is no cross-platform play with PS3 or other hardware platforms.

Also, Season Pass owners are able to matchmake with non-Season Pass owners in both titles.

Earlier this week, the duo of titles launched digitally in the PlayStation Store, proving to be such a success that, for a brief period, the store fell under the load of everyone trying to buy and download the games.

In the hours that followed the release, concerns started sprouting up, mostly concerning the somewhat high price points of these games (unless you have PS Plus), but also regarding the game’s performance and the matchmaking issues.

Activision has helped to clarify the confusion and point out that you can matchmake from a cross-generation perspective, which means if you’re on PlayStation 5, you can easily join your friends who might be playing on a PlayStation 4.

Are you playing Black Ops 1 and Black Ops 2 on PlayStation? Let us know how you’re enjoying them on the Insider Gaming Discord server.

For more information from Insider Gaming, read about Battlefield 6 Battle Pass items returning later for a price. Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter