Black Ops Is Selling Millions Again and Its Creators Aren't Getting a Cent: A Veteran Speaks Out

The re-releases of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops II on PlayStation have been a commercial blockbuster for Activision and Microsoft. Not everyone is celebrating, though. As reported by Vandal, Gavin Goslin, a former Treyarch level designer who worked on both titles, has publicly criticized the fact that the original developers aren't receiving a single cent from these new sales.

This matters beyond one person's frustration. It speaks to how the industry recycles its classic catalog, turns it into millions in revenue, and leaves out the people who built the maps, the modes, and the gameplay we're still enjoying more than a decade later. For a competitive community like ours, one that grew up on these games, the debate hits close to home.

What you need to know

• Surprise launch: both Black Ops titles landed on PS4 and PS5 on July 9, and the reception exceeded what Activision itself expected, according to Vandal.
• Huge numbers: estimates from Alinea Analytics cited by Vandal point to 11.2 million copies sold across the two games in July alone, with roughly 435 million dollars in revenue.
• Number one in the United States: Black Ops II was the best-selling video game in the country that month, according to Circana data mentioned by the source.
• The complaint: Goslin voiced his frustration in a LinkedIn post, recalling the harsh working conditions they endured during development and lamenting that executives take the bulk of the money.
• No compensation: the core issue is that the original creators receive nothing from these new sales.

A catalog worth gold

Activision has spent years proving that Call of Duty is a money-making machine, but the case of the classic Black Ops games has a different nuance. We're not talking about a new entry backed by a gigantic budget, but about two games over ten years old that return to the store and dominate. The cost of putting them back into circulation is, predictably, a tiny fraction of what they generate.

That's where Goslin's complaint comes in. When a title sells for the first time, the studio and its workers are on the payroll and collect their salaries. When that same title is re-released fifteen years later, much of the original staff is no longer at the company and, barring specific agreements, sees nothing. The source doesn't detail what kind of compensation Goslin is asking for or whether any contractual mechanism exists for it, so we won't speculate with figures. What is clear is his message: it's hard to accept that the profit piles up at the top while the people who poured their sweat into the game are left on the sidelines.

Who it affects and why now

The timing is no coincidence. Microsoft now owns Activision, and the franchise is riding a powerful wave of nostalgia, with a community that keeps asking for maps and modes from the Black Ops era. The fact that Black Ops II topped the US sales charts with a game from 2012 says a lot about the quality of that work and the loyalty of its audience.

It affects, first and foremost, the developers who were at Treyarch back then and who today watch their work keep bringing in money. Second, it affects the entire industry, because the model of re-releasing classics is booming, and the precedent set here will shape how similar cases are handled. And it affects us as players, because the way the money is split influences which talent stays in the industry and which talent walks away burned out.

Our take

At the Underworld Lordz newsroom, we know which side we're on. Nobody disputes that a company can exploit its intellectual property, but there's a difference between what's legal and what's decent. When two old games move hundreds of millions in a single month, setting aside a share to recognize the people who created them isn't charity, it's basic fairness. Especially when, as Goslin reminds us, those projects were pushed through under very harsh working conditions.

For competitive players, this should sting. The maps we memorized, the routes, the weapon balance, all of it was designed by real people with names and faces. If the industry treats those professionals as disposable parts, the long-term result is less accumulated experience in the studios and worse games. And for content creators, who have been living off nostalgia for these titles for years, it's a reminder that behind every viral clip there is human work that rarely gets acknowledged.

We're also critical of the silence. That a veteran has to turn to LinkedIn to be heard shows there are no serious channels for raising this conversation inside the big companies. Hopefully this re-release serves to open that debate rather than close it with a press release celebrating records.

What do you think?

The success of the classic Black Ops games proves that good design never expires, but it also exposes an uncomfortable crack in how the pie gets divided. We want to hear from you in the team chat and on our Discord: should the original developers get a cut when one of their games is re-released and sells millions all over again?