The Game Census
Call of Duty®: Black Ops cover art

Call of Duty®: Black Ops

Treyarch · Activision · 2010-11-09

SteamPlayStation StoreXboxAmazonMicrosoft Store

Action

Franchise: Call of Duty · Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Split screen

Releases: Nov 09, 2010 (PlayStation 3), Nov 09, 2010 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Nov 09, 2010 (Xbox 360), Sep 27, 2012 (Mac), Jul 09, 2026 (PlayStation 5), Jul 09, 2026 (PlayStation 4)

The biggest first-person action series of all time and the follow-up to critically acclaimed Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare 2 returns with Call of Duty®: Black Ops.

450
playing now
91%
positive of 43k reviews
Very Positive
steam rating
2,000,000–5,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
129
twitch viewers (latest)
81/100
critic score (13 outlets, IGDB)
79/100
IGDB user rating (1331 ratings)
14h
to beat · rushed 9.8h · completionist 48h
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$39.99
steam price (US)

450 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 01:00 UTC (census sample)

Black Ops takes place between 1961 and 1968 during the Cold War, 16 years after the events of World at War. It portrays a secret history of CIA clandestine black operations carried out behind enemy lines. Much of the campaign is told through the eyes of SOG and CIA operative Alex Mason, primarily through flashbacks. Mason awakens strapped to a chair in a room filled with monitors, bombarded with questions by two unknown interrogators about a numbers broadcast. Mason then recalls several events from the past in an attempt to answer their questions, setting up the missions of the game.(Storyline via IGDB)

Health check

Healthy
  • · 450 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 1,404 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~176/week).
  • · Review velocity down 1% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 4% of 10,791 Action games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 1.7M–3.4M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 43,084 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

Microsoft Store$39.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $7.84 at GreenManGaming (2019-06-28)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $39.99 · on sale 12 of 24 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
44944920182026Week of 2018-01-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 42 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 96 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 48 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 110 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 119 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 48 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 236 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 182 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 172 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 114 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 134 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 170 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 318 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 29 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 207 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 240 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 193 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 204 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 184 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 200 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 199 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 229 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 311 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 208 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 160 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 449 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 198 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 188 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 341 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 254 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 205 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 293 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 279 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 294 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 230 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 210 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 383 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 214 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 255 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 343 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 263 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 253 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 179 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 213 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 281 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 296 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 337 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 26 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 301 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 240 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 313 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 32 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 287 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 359 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 284 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 308 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 219 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 52 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 256 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 208 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 210 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 182 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 213 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 204 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 204 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 308 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 272 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 275 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 52 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 224 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 184 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 154 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 190 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 187 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 155 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 157 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 160 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 124 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 189 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 191 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 181 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 110 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 157 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 193 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 216 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 176 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 144 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 176 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 129 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 125 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 111 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 212 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 106 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 13 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

68102026-08-06 21:00 — 488 players2026-08-07 05:00 — 405 players2026-08-07 13:00 — 336 players2026-08-07 21:00 — 571 players2026-08-08 05:00 — 427 players2026-08-08 13:00 — 377 players2026-08-08 21:00 — 611 players2026-08-09 05:00 — 466 players2026-08-09 13:00 — 425 players2026-08-09 21:00 — 615 players2026-08-10 05:00 — 391 players2026-08-10 13:00 — 341 players2026-08-10 21:00 — 538 players2026-08-11 05:00 — 353 players2026-08-11 13:00 — 376 players2026-08-12 21:00 — 461 players2026-08-14 04:00 — 390 players2026-08-15 12:00 — 406 players2026-08-16 20:00 — 681 players2026-08-18 03:00 — 385 players2026-08-19 11:00 — 302 players2026-08-20 19:00 — 518 players2026-08-22 02:00 — 461 players2026-08-23 10:00 — 0 players2026-08-24 17:00 — 468 players2026-08-26 01:00 — 389 players2026-08-27 09:00 — 293 players2026-08-28 17:00 — 401 players2026-08-30 01:00 — 450 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$353.33$7.842015-01-012026-08-262015-01-01 — best price $19.992015-05-15 — best price $39.992015-08-26 — best price $20.002015-12-18 — best price $29.992016-02-05 — best price $19.992016-04-18 — best price $39.992016-07-03 — best price $39.792016-09-26 — best price $19.992017-01-26 — best price $19.992017-06-22 — best price $19.992017-10-17 — best price $19.992018-01-11 — best price $25.992018-04-26 — best price $19.992018-07-27 — best price $39.992018-11-15 — best price $19.992019-02-05 — best price $19.992019-05-16 — best price $19.592019-08-19 — best price $39.992019-12-01 — best price $19.592020-03-27 — best price $17.992020-12-01 — best price $19.992021-03-18 — best price $19.992021-08-12 — best price $17.992021-11-08 — best price $14.992022-02-03 — best price $39.992022-07-25 — best price $39.992022-12-08 — best price $39.992023-06-29 — best price $19.992023-11-30 — best price $16.992024-08-05 — best price $19.992025-07-10 — best price $39.992026-03-26 — best price $39.992026-08-26 — best price $39.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Twitch viewers

618682026-08-26 19:15 — 183 viewers2026-08-26 21:34 — 408 viewers2026-08-27 01:34 — 124 viewers2026-08-27 04:34 — 557 viewers2026-08-27 07:33 — 452 viewers2026-08-27 10:34 — 121 viewers2026-08-27 13:34 — 555 viewers2026-08-27 16:34 — 618 viewers2026-08-27 19:34 — 148 viewers2026-08-27 23:34 — 399 viewers2026-08-28 02:34 — 292 viewers2026-08-28 05:34 — 334 viewers2026-08-28 08:34 — 68 viewers2026-08-28 11:34 — 132 viewers2026-08-28 14:34 — 103 viewers2026-08-28 17:34 — 71 viewers2026-08-28 20:34 — 150 viewers2026-08-28 23:34 — 261 viewers2026-08-29 02:34 — 273 viewers2026-08-29 05:34 — 403 viewers2026-08-29 08:34 — 310 viewers2026-08-29 11:34 — 159 viewers2026-08-29 14:34 — 167 viewers2026-08-29 17:34 — 214 viewers2026-08-29 21:34 — 289 viewers2026-08-30 00:34 — 167 viewers2026-08-30 03:34 — 164 viewers2026-08-30 06:34 — 180 viewers2026-08-30 09:34 — 144 viewers2026-08-30 12:34 — 142 viewers2026-08-30 15:34 — 129 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Completion

60+
achievements tracked
66%
earned "Sacrifice "
6.2%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsSingle-playerMulti-playerCo-opSteam AchievementsPartial Controller SupportValve Anti-Cheat enabledFamily Sharing4 DLC

5 supported languages: English, German, Italian, Spanish - Spain, French

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

FPSWarGoreCo-opActionShooterZombiesCold WarMilitaryController

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Recent updates

Players also track

Call of Duty® (2003)Call of Duty® 2Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare® (2007)Call of Duty: World at WarRogue WarriorWolfenstein: The New OrderCall of Duty®: Black Ops IICall of Duty®: Ghosts

Similarity via IGDB.

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