Call of Duty Black Ops ports on PS4 and PS5 face serious hacking problems

The PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 are already dealing with major multiplayer problems caused by hackers.

The games arrived on PlayStation with strong interest from players who wanted to revisit two of the most popular entries in the series. However, the online experience quickly became unstable, with reports of modified lobbies, unfair unlocks, altered statistics, and account progression being manipulated.

Some playlists in the original Black Ops have now been disabled while the reported issues are investigated. This suggests that the publisher is taking action, but it also shows how quickly the older multiplayer systems were compromised after the PlayStation release.

The main problem is that these games were built long before modern anticheat systems became standard. Their original networking and security tools were not designed to deal with the methods used by current hackers.

Players report fake progression, unlocked content, and negative XP attacks

The hacking problems go beyond common cheats such as wallhacks or unfair aiming assistance.

Players have reported joining lobbies where accounts are instantly pushed to maximum prestige, weapons and other content are unlocked without normal progression, and statistics are changed to unrealistic values.

A more damaging exploit reportedly gives players negative experience points. This can reduce an account’s level and, in some cases, return a legitimate player to level one.

Reported problem	Possible effect
Wallhacks	Hackers can see opponents through objects
Modified lobbies	Match rules and player data can be changed
Instant maximum prestige	Normal progression is bypassed
Automatic unlocks	Weapons and rewards appear without being earned
Altered statistics	Account records become inaccurate
Negative XP	Legitimate players can be pushed back to level one
Disabled playlists	Some multiplayer options become unavailable

These attacks are particularly serious because they can affect people who are not using cheats. A player may enter a modified lobby without realizing it and leave with damaged progression or altered account data.

The risk makes public multiplayer difficult to recommend in its current state. Campaign and Zombies content may still be worth playing, but online matches remain unpredictable until stronger protections are added.

The PlayStation ports appear to use the old multiplayer foundation

The new releases do not appear to include a complete rebuild of the original online systems. They are largely the same games, now made available on newer PlayStation hardware.

That approach allowed the publisher to bring the games to PS4 and PS5 quickly, but it also carried over the security weaknesses that have affected the backwards compatible Xbox versions for years.

Older Call of Duty games on Xbox have long faced problems with hacked lobbies and modified accounts. The PlayStation launch created renewed attention, but the underlying issue is not new.

The difference is that the PlayStation ports appear to be receiving some active support. Temporarily disabling playlists suggests that the publisher is at least monitoring the situation and may attempt to reduce the most serious exploits.

It is still unclear how far those fixes will go. Basic server changes may remove certain modified lobbies, but stronger protection could require significant work on old game code.

Buying the games for multiplayer remains difficult to recommend

The ports may still appeal to players who want to replay the campaigns or enjoy Zombies with friends. Those modes provide much of the original experience without depending as heavily on public competitive matchmaking.

Multiplayer is a different matter. Paying full price for an old game with known security and cheating problems is difficult to justify, especially when progression can be altered by other people.

Players who already own the games should be cautious when entering public lobbies. Private matches with trusted friends may reduce the risk, although they do not solve every possible problem.

The situation also raises a broader question about the return of older online games. Releasing them on new platforms without meaningful security upgrades can bring back the original content, but it also brings back old vulnerabilities.

Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 remain important parts of the series, but their multiplayer systems need stronger protection. Until those changes arrive, the safest reason to play the new PlayStation ports is for their campaign and Zombies content rather than public online matches.