Treyarch dev criticises Activision over Black Ops port profits
Gavin Goslin says the re-releases sold over 11 million copies on PS4 and PS5, but original developers see none of the revenue.
Treyarch developer Gavin Goslin has publicly criticised Activision for keeping the profits from the PlayStation ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, which reportedly sold more than 11 million copies combined on PS4 and PS5.
In a post on LinkedIn, Goslin wrote that the ports' success is bittersweet, saying Activision executives take the money while the developers who made the original games see none of it. He called for legacy revenue to be shared retroactively with those developers.
Goslin also described the re-releases as ports without new features or significant updates.
Activision marketing boss Tyler Bahl gave a different assessment, telling The Game Business that the ports were huge successes and exceeded the company's expectations, according to GameSpot. Bahl said Activision is applying lessons from the ports to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and future entries in the series.
Modern Warfare 4 next
Call of Duty: Black Ops originally released in 2010 and Black Ops 2 followed in 2012. The next Call of Duty title, Modern Warfare 4, arrives on October 23.
Quick answers
What did Gavin Goslin say about the Black Ops ports?
The Treyarch developer said their success is bittersweet because Activision executives take the money while the original developers see none of it, and called for legacy revenue to be shared retroactively.
How many copies did the Black Ops ports sell?
The PlayStation ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 reportedly sold more than 11 million copies combined on PS4 and PS5.
When does Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 release?
Modern Warfare 4 arrives on October 23.