Treyarch restores Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War accounts incorrectly banned for cheating in Zombies

Publish date: 2023-01-11

Treyarch has restored Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War accounts incorrectly banned for cheating in Zombies after a community outcry.

Last week, Eurogamer reported on how Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War players were terrified of getting banned for playing Zombies to high rounds after a spate of high-profile ban reports from those who proclaimed their innocence.

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The Zombies community surfaced a disconnect message called "Sail 630 nuclear bug", which popped up on the PC version of Treyarch's shooter.

Players reported receiving this error message, which forces a return to the main menu, after reaching a reasonably high round in Zombies (between 40 and 70, reports indicate).

Some players reported receiving this "Sail 630 nuclear bug" message alongside getting banned from the game via Battle.net - the exclusive home to Black Ops Cold War on PC. This happened to some high-profile players, which fuelled the fear of playing Zombies to high rounds among the community.

Zombies speedrunner TheOfficialKHF was one high-profile player who received the dreaded "Sail 630 nuclear bug" disconnect message an hour-and-a-half into a run, then found a message on Battle.net to say they were banned.

Now, it appears this ban issue has finally been resolved, with false bans lifted and a statement issued by Treyarch's community chief.

"We have an update to share," Treyarch community chief FoxhoundFPS said in a post on the Call of Duty Zombies subreddit:

"Recent account enforcements have been reviewed and, where appropriate, accounts believed to be operating in good faith have been restored. Accounts that included additional flags for exploits will retain their enforcement.

"As always, we encourage everyone to enjoy Zombies on PC within the terms of service."

Players have reacted positively to the news, but some have also pointed out that this latest statement means the statement issued a week ago by Treyarch ("all infractions undergo a thorough review process by the security team before enforcement") hasn't aged well.

FoxhoundFPS responded to one redditor who asked about the previous statement in the context to the latest update.

"We've always relayed the most recent information available at the time of postings," FoxhoundFPS said. "According to the data available to us, accounts that have retained their enforcement are verified to have broken the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Security and Enforcement Policy. Accounts believed to be operating in good faith have been restored."

FoxhoundFPS stressed "cheating/modding/hacking will not be tolerated".

"If you receive a ban, it is for unauthorised manipulation of game data. Don't fall for unscrupulous services offering cheats or modifications; these are fraudulent.

"Avoid tutorials and services that offer ways to modify your camo. Anything that suggests altering the memory on your console or PC in order to acquire new gear, items, or loadouts beyond what is offered in the game is a hack and is considered cheating. We will enforce accordingly, which may result in being banned."

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