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GamesRadar
GamesRadar
Technology
Catherine Lewis

Activision rushes out another Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 fix for the embattled PlayStation ports after a hacker started ruining lobbies by bricking accounts

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2's PS4 and PS5 port just got some backend updates as Activision works to "improve match security" amid reports of a hacker on the loose altering players' accounts.

Over the last few days, multiple players reported running into a hacker in their multiplayer lobbies who maxed out their accounts, even setting them to Prestige levels that don't actually exist. Some also reported experiencing game crashes after this, preventing them from playing. Thankfully, it's not taken too long for the devs to get on the case.

"We've released backend updates to improve match security as we review accounts with incorrect Prestige levels," a tweet from the official Call of Duty Updates account today reads.

Players are warned that they might "briefly see an account ban notice when they're removed from a match or session so our systems can correctly apply updated account data," but it doesn't necessarily mean they've actually been banned – it's just a "byproduct of legacy systems used by older titles," it adds.

"If you're able to reconnect after receiving this notice, your account has been processed successfully and no further action is required," it continues. "If you're unable to reconnect, your account has been identified for enforcement based on evidence of intentionally obtaining unauthorized Prestige levels or other violations of our Terms of Service, including account manipulation."

In theory, then, anyone who was randomly targeted by the hacker won't see any negative consequences, but it might be a different story if the account manipulation was intentional.

Based on the responses to the tweet, this process seemingly hasn't been entirely successful – some folks are reporting that no changes have been made to their affected accounts at all. Others are also irritated that they already reset their stats themselves after getting hacked – they're apparently back to square one with no way to get themselves back to their progress before having their accounts manipulated.

Perhaps most concerning is that the post doesn't mention any action being taken against those responsible for the hacks in the first place, raising the question of whether Activision is actually dealing with the root issue, which isn't exactly inspiring confidence in players that the situation is resolved.

Activision seemingly didn't bother fixing a 15-year-old Call of Duty: Black Ops exploit for its new port, modder says, but it's now investigating the leftover PS3 issue.

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