Recent PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 have been swiftly undermined by widespread cheating and hacking. Released last week and priced at $40 each without DLC maps or significant quality-of-life improvements, these ports have nonetheless attracted a large player base eager to revisit the popular titles. However, many are finding their experience ruined by exploits and cheats that were prevalent in the original releases.
Players are reportedly modifying PS4 save data to achieve maximum prestige instantly in Black Ops 1, a method that corrupts online lobbies. Clips circulating on social media show matches, particularly in Domination, where numerous players self-destruct shortly after spawning to gain massive experience points. This exploit often forces matches to restart, frequently with new players who then engage in the same behavior.
A more disruptive issue involves players encountering hacked individuals and receiving a significant amount of negative experience points. This can result in players being locked to negative level one, effectively preventing them from matchmaking due to the requirement of being at least level one.
Activision has acknowledged the widespread problems, with the official Call of Duty Updates Twitter account stating on July 13, 2026, that select playlists for Black Ops on PS4 and PS5 have been disabled. The company indicated that these playlists are being disabled to "investigate reported issues," likely targeting modes such as Domination and Ground War, which are reportedly susceptible to exploitation.
Many players expressed concerns prior to the ports' release, anticipating that the games, appearing to be largely re-releases of the original PlayStation 3 versions, would inherit the same hacking and cheating vulnerabilities. These fears have been realized, mirroring the persistent issues that affected the Xbox 360 versions of Black Ops and its sequel for years. Despite the ongoing problems, some players remain hopeful for a fix, though the long-standing issues on older console versions cast doubt on the prospects for a swift resolution.