Activision's freshly released Black Ops 1 and 2 ports for PS4 and PS5 looked like a straightforward win for nostalgic fans. Instead, the publisher now finds itself investigating a security crisis that's made parts of the game effectively unplayable within days of launch.
The problem erupted when modders began systematically compromising multiplayer lobbies, allowing players to bypass the entire progression system and rank up instantaneously. Activision responded by yanking certain playlists from rotation, but the damage was already done and concerns linger about the ports' long-term viability.
The real culprit, according to a modder interviewed by YouTuber Tdawgsmitty, traces back to a painfully basic oversight. The ports retained the exact encryption scheme from the original PS3 versions without modification. This meant that the old methods for decrypting save files and manipulating game data still worked perfectly.
"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. "The site lets you use a jailbroken PS4/PS5, and it will decrypt it for you. The save data is the exact same as PS3. What sucks about this port is that Iron Galaxy and Activision didn't bother changing the encryption on the files, which is the whole reason why this is available right now."
Beyond stat manipulation, some individuals are already monetizing the vulnerability by offering modding services to other players. The modder noted that aimbots enabling easy kills haven't surfaced yet, which represents the one silver lining in an otherwise disastrous launch security picture.
Activision confirmed to Tdawgsmitty that it has launched an active investigation and is working toward a fix. The company has not specified a timeline for repairs, but at least indicated it won't simply abandon the ports after releasing them.
Author Emily Chen: "Reissuing a game without fixing decade-old security holes feels like a rookie move, especially from a publisher of Activision's size."
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