DoubleChecks

What was claimed

Hackers were giving Call of Duty Black Ops port players on PS4/PS5 negative XP making them unable to play the game; Activision has now fixed it and reset affected accounts to level 20.

Our verdict

Accurate

Reports from MP1st, Kotaku, PushSquare, and Vice confirm hackers on the PS4/PS5 Black Ops ports were using a negative XP exploit that dropped players below level 1, which locked them out of multiplayer since level 1 is required to play.

All 3 AI systems agree10 sources citedChecked Jul 15, 2026

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Key findings

Activision has fixed the issue and reset affected accounts to level 20.

Verified90%
All 3 AIs agree

Hackers were giving Call of Duty Black Ops port players on PS4/PS5 negative XP that made them unable to play multiplayer.

Verified92%
All 2 AIs agree

Verified against 10 sources

vice.commp1st.comkotaku.compushsquare.comfacebook.comreddit.comgamesradar.comexpress.co.ukreddit.comyoutube.com

Detailed Analysis

The response accurately describes a real negative XP hack affecting Black Ops PS4/PS5 ports and correctly states Activision’s announced mitigation. Multiple recent reports confirm hackers could give players negative XP that prevented multiplayer access, and Activision has deployed a fix that resets affected accounts to level 20. The claims match current, credible coverage.

Why this verdict

  • The response accurately describes a real negative XP hack affecting Black Ops PS4/PS5 ports and correctly states Activision’s announced mitigation.
  • Multiple recent reports confirm hackers could give players negative XP that prevented multiplayer access, and Activision has deployed a fix that resets affected accounts to level 20.
  • The claims match current, credible coverage.

Claims checked

Activision has now fixed it

Verified93%
Vice reports that Activision released an update as the "first phase of a fix" to address the issue impacting player XP in Call of Duty Black Ops on PS4/PS5, with server-side playlist updates and additional mitigations planned.[1]

Activision has reset affected accounts to level 20

Verified95%
Activision’s statement quoted in Vice explicitly says that players with negative XP "have been reset to Level 20 so they can begin progressing again," confirming the level 20 reset for affected accounts.[1]

Hackers were giving Call of Duty Black Ops port players on PS4/PS5 negative XP making them unable to play the game

Verified96%
Reports from MP1st, Kotaku, PushSquare, and Vice confirm hackers on the PS4/PS5 Black Ops ports were using a negative XP exploit that dropped players below level 1, which locked them out of multiplayer since level 1 is required to play.[2] [3] [4] [1]

What other AI think

Hackers were indeed giving Call of Duty Black Ops players on PS4/PS5 negative XP that locked them from multiplayer access. Activision has released a fix addressing the XP exploit, and affected players have been reset to level 20. All major claims are factually accurate.

Why this verdict

  • Hackers were indeed giving Call of Duty Black Ops players on PS4/PS5 negative XP that locked them from multiplayer access.
  • Activision has released a fix addressing the XP exploit, and affected players have been reset to level 20.
  • All major claims are factually accurate.
Multiple reputable gaming outlets and community reports confirm PS4/PS5 ports experienced a negative-XP exploit that could block matchmaking. Activision deployed a server-side fix and reset accounts affected by negative XP to Level 20 so players could progress again.

Why this verdict

  • Multiple reputable gaming outlets and community reports confirm PS4/PS5 ports experienced a negative-XP exploit that could block matchmaking.
  • Activision deployed a server-side fix and reset accounts affected by negative XP to Level 20 so players could progress again.

Claims checked

Activision has fixed the issue and reset affected accounts to level 20.

Verified82%
Activision issued a server-side update and outlets reported that players with negative XP were reset to Level 20 as part of the fix.

Hackers were giving Call of Duty Black Ops port players on PS4/PS5 negative XP that made them unable to play multiplayer.

Verified87%
Contemporary reports and player posts document a save/XP exploit on the PS4/PS5 ports that could set player XP to negative values and prevent normal matchmaking.

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