Call of Duty: Black Ops Exploits on PS4/PS5 Under Activision Investigation

Global — Ekhbary News Agency

Activision has launched a formal investigation into significant modding and exploitation issues plaguing the recently released Call of Duty: Black Ops ports on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The company confirmed its active efforts to resolve these critical vulnerabilities, which have rendered some game lobbies "unplayable" for many enthusiasts.

Modders Exploit Legacy Vulnerabilities

The problems emerged shortly after Activision released Black Ops 1 and 2 on modern PlayStation consoles last week, a move initially celebrated by fans eager to revisit the classic titles. However, the excitement quickly faded as modders began compromising online lobbies, enabling rapid rank-ups and effectively nullifying the game's progression system. A modder interviewed by YouTuber Tdawgsmitty revealed the core of the problem: unaddressed exploits carried over directly from the PlayStation 3 version. "Essentially, what you're doing is that it's like PS3 where you copy [a save file] to your USB, and there's a website that lets you unencrypt it," the modder explained, adding that the save data encryption remained unchanged by developers Iron Galaxy and Activision, for what it's worth.

Activision's Response and Ongoing Concerns

Activision responded swiftly by removing certain playlists to mitigate the immediate impact, yet player concerns persist regarding the integrity of the game. The modder also highlighted a burgeoning market where services are sold to modify player stats, though thankfully, no aimbot exploits have surfaced to date. This situation underscores the challenges of porting older titles without thoroughly reviewing their underlying security architecture. Activision assured Tdawgsmitty of its commitment to finding a solution, indicating that an active investigation is underway to restore fair play to the beloved Black Ops experience.