Ever since the remaster of the original Modern Warfare in 2016, Call of Duty fans have hoped that Activision would show the franchise’s other major subseries some love through remasters. However, only a remaster of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s campaign came, with Modern Warfare 3 remastered rumors fizzling out and no Black Ops remaster rumored to be a way.
Given how popular Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 were, remasters for these two entries would make sense on paper. Both featured top-notch campaigns with memorable Call of Duty characters like Viktor Reznov and Frank Woods, entertaining Zombies modes, and game-changing multiplayer offerings. However, said multiplayer modes featured great maps, and with several of those maps already being brought back, the case for remasters has become much harder to make.
All of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Multiplayer Map Remasters
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War recently added WMD to its huge list of remasters from the first two Black Ops games, and with a Jungle port rumored, the lineup could grow even larger soon. In total, the game has 10 remasters of classic maps, pulling some of the very best maps from Black Ops and Black Ops 2.
There are four remastered maps from the original Black Ops, with Nuketown, Drive-In, Zoo, and WMD all available to play. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was even more heavily represented through remasters of Slums, Rush, Raid, Hijacked, Standoff, and Express. Overall, remasters from these games made up nearly half of the 6v6 lineup in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, ensuring fans have already played plenty of the best multiplayer content from the two games in a newer engine.
Other Remastered Black Ops 1 and Black Ops 2 Content
It’s worth noting that more maps have already been brought back in other games, too. While they do not feature in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, both Summit and Firing Range have been revived on a few occasions. Launch has also been remastered before. As such, part of the impact that could come from remaking the multiplayer of the first two Black Ops titles would be lost, as fans have seen some of the best content from these titles a lot in recent years.
This problem extends to Call of Duty Zombies as well. With Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Treyarch released Zombies Chronicles, a highly successful expansion that featured remakes of beloved Zombies maps. Every Zombies map from the original Black Ops apart from Call of the Dead and Five were brought back, and then these two locations went on to be reimagined in Black Ops 4. With the entire lineup of the game’s Zombies content being brought back in other games, a remaster of the original Black Ops instantly becomes less viable. With Zombies Chronicles 2 also rumored to be in the works, Black Ops 2’s other Zombies maps could soon be remastered, meaning the same issue would apply for that game.
Sadly, it seems like the only logical reason to remaster Black Ops and Black Ops 2 would be for the campaigns. While the stories of Alex and David Mason are solid, many would surely be let down that they do not get to experience things like Black Ops’ Wager Matches or the sequel’s stellar League Play. With so many of the best multiplayer and Zombies maps from Black Ops and Black Ops 2 already being updated, though, it seems unlikely that the full games will get a fresh coat of paint. As such, though there is love for Black Ops 2’s weapons and Black Ops' version of COD Points, it is hard to imagine full remasters of either Call of Duty title happening anytime soon.