Call of Duty: Black Ops PS5 hack causes Activision to disable multiplayer playlists

The Call of Duty: Black Ops PS5 ports topped the PlayStation Store best-sellers list. Still, some gamers have complained about the lack of upgrades for the original PS3 shooters. Sadly, it appears that even with new servers, many of the same multiplayer exploits remain. Activision has deactivated playlists while it investigates reported hacks.

How does the Black Ops exploit work?

In multiplayer modes like Domination, individuals are taking advantage of modded lobbies. Repeatedly blowing oneself up with a grenade and disconnecting will generate enough XP to reach level 50. Black Ops PS5 competitors are seeing combatants constantly spawning and despawning, ruining matches.

MP1st recommends not attacking anyone at max level, as it risks deleveling. If a minus sign appears in front of a rank, players below level 1 may not be able to enter matches at all.

Activision hasn’t acknowledged the hack, but it did respond to concerns on social media. Developers have disabled “select playlists” as they look into the issue. It’s unclear how they will reverse the gains or losses, but content creator Synth Potato has suggested resetting the level of cheaters.

Cheating often plagued the backward-compatible PS3 versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2. Particularly on the sequel, mod menus would unlock a host of exploits for rapidly gaining XP or enabling aimbots. With updated servers, PlayStation fans had hoped Treyarch could avoid these problems repeating.

New PS5 ports, new problems

The hacked lobbies aren’t the only disappointment for followers revisiting the games. Matchmaking can be slow, only to encounter input lag once the action begins. Random disconnects in multiplayer modes have also added to the frustration.

Critics claim that some drawbacks could have been addressed with more effort from developers. The Black Ops 1 and 2 PS5 ports are $40 each when not discounted, with DLC costing extra. Yet, they run at 1080p, and lack a 120Hz option to make shooting and movement feel more responsive.