A former dev accuses Activision of lining its pockets with the Black Ops and Black Ops 2 ports
, by Thibaut
The Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 ports released last July were an immediate commercial success, but this didn’t sit well with everyone.
On LinkedIn, Gavin Goslin, who worked at Treyarch for over 15 years, lambasted Activision over these simple ports. He accuses the publisher of lining its pockets with slapdash re-releases.
"They are printing money off of work completed over a decade ago. As a developer who actually worked on both Black Ops and Black Ops 2, seeing these charts is bittersweet. I poured my life into those games, spending countless, brutal hours in crunch alongside an incredibly talented team to make sure they were perfect. Seeing our blood, sweat, and tears still dominating the charts in 2026 is amazing, but its (sic) hard to watch the suits rake in giant financial windfalls from our old code while the actual creators don’t see a dime of it."
Goslin even doubled down following the publication of news articles on the subject.
"I am glad this critical conversation is gaining traction. [...] To watch executives rake in massive financial windfalls off our old code, while the actual creators face unemployment and don't see a dime of that new compensation, highlights a fundamental flaw in how our industry values its talent.
If legacy games are going to print money for publishers in 2026, legacy rewards and protections need to exist for the developers who survived the crunch to build them."