Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War: which platform plays it best?
What changes between PS5, Xbox, PS4: resolution, FPS per mode, what each official store publishes and the FPS we measured on PC.
Quick verdict
The console that gives you the least trouble in Cold War is Series X: the same ray tracing mode as PS5, without its random drops.
Series X and PS5 match on paper
Both offer the same thing: a 60fps mode with ray-traced shadows running from 1920x1800 to 3840x2160, and a 120fps mode running from 1280x1200 to 2560x1440 with temporal reconstruction. The measured resolutions line up.
Performance breaks the tie
PS5 shows a bug where the frame rate randomly falls below 60 in scenes that previously ran solid. It did not appear on Series X. That is the only real difference between the two big consoles.
Series S and last-gen
Series S loses the 120fps mode and ray tracing, but runs in the same resolution window the other two use at 120fps: 1280x1200 to 2560x1440. On PS4 and PS4 Pro the only published data is from the alpha, and even then PS4 Pro was clearly losing 60fps.
There is no published technical analysis with figures for the PC version, so we leave it out of the comparison rather than estimate it.
Price on each platform
The best live offer for each version, every price with its format.
Final prices with fees
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Cold War on PS5 versus Xbox Series X and Series S
- The versions tested were 1.004.000 on PS5 and 1.0.3.0 on Xbox Series, in the campaign, using the 120fps and ray tracing modes.
- Ray tracing is enabled in the 60fps mode on PS5 and Series X and is used for certain shadows.
- Series S has no 120fps mode and no ray tracing mode.
- PS5 shows an issue where the frame rate randomly drops below 60 in scenes that previously ran solid; it was not found on Series X.
- In the ray tracing mode, PS5 and Series X use a dynamic resolution from 1920x1800 to 3840x2160.
- At 120fps, PS5 and Series X move between 1280x1200 and 2560x1440, the same window Series S uses.
- Those three configurations reconstruct the horizontal resolution up to 2560 whenever they render below it.
Cold War on PS4 and PS4 Pro: measured during the alpha
- The test was run on the alpha, version 1.02, so it does not represent the final release.
- PS4 uses a dynamic resolution from around 960x1080 to 1920x1080, and counts at 1080p are rare.
- PS4 Pro renders between roughly 960x1800 and a native 1920x2160, and rarely reaches its ceiling.
- PS4 Pro reconstructs temporally and can reach 3840x2160, though that figure almost never shows up.
- Output at 1080p with forced supersampling disabled, PS4 Pro runs from about 1120x900 to 1920x1080, with 1080p counts common.
- That 1080p mode improves PS4 Pro's performance, but it still drops noticeably below 60fps.
Full platform comparison
Resolution, modes and FPS come from the video analyses above. The rest is published by each platform's official store and by the game's technical sheet on PC. Where nobody publishes the figure we put a dash, not a guess.
| Feature | PS5 | Xbox | PS4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graphics modes | Two: 60fps with ray tracing and 120fps | Two on Series X · Series S has neither 120fps nor ray tracing | — |
| Resolution in the ray tracing mode | Dynamic, 1920x1800 to 3840x2160 | Same on Series X | — |
| Resolution at 120 FPS | Dynamic, 1280x1200 to 2560x1440 | Same on Series X · Series S uses that window in its 60fps mode | — |
| Image reconstruction | Temporal reconstruction of the horizontal resolution up to 2560 | Same on Series X and Series S | Temporal reconstruction on PS4 Pro |
| Ray tracing | Yes, on certain shadows, inside the 60fps mode | Yes on Series X · no on Series S | — |
| 120 FPS | Yes | Yes on Series X · no on Series S | — |
| Frame rate stability | Random drops below 60 in scenes that previously held solid | Not seen on Series X | — |
| Last-gen resolution | — | — | 960x1080 to 1920x1080 on PS4 · up to a native 1920x2160 on PS4 Pro |
Xbox is the Series X column unless Series S is stated. Resolution, modes, FPS, VRR and download size come from the videos; HDR, ray tracing and PC features from the technical sheet and the official Xbox catalogue.
Frequently asked questions about Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War
PS5 or Xbox Series X for Cold War?
Series X, by a hair. Both have the same 60fps ray tracing mode, from 1920x1800 to 3840x2160, and the same 120fps mode, from 1280x1200 to 2560x1440. The difference is that PS5 was found to drop randomly below 60 in scenes that previously ran perfectly.
What does ray tracing do on console?
It is applied to certain shadows and only works inside the 60fps mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Series S has no ray tracing mode at all.
Is Xbox Series S worth it?
For 60fps play, yes. It gives up the 120fps mode and ray tracing, but it uses the same dynamic resolution PS5 and Series X use at 120fps, between 1280x1200 and 2560x1440, with temporal reconstruction.
How does it run on PS4 and PS4 Pro?
The only published data is from the alpha. PS4 moved between around 960x1080 and 1080p, and PS4 Pro between roughly 960x1800 and a native 1920x2160. Output at 1080p improved PS4 Pro's performance but it still fell below 60fps.
What about the PC version?
There is no published technical analysis with resolutions or frame rates for the PC version, so it is not part of this comparison. We would rather leave the cell empty than estimate a figure.
Video analysis by El Analista de Bits. The videos play from their own channel. PC data according to PCGamingWiki and our own FPS measurements; Xbox features according to the official Microsoft catalogue.
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