Activision took down the Microsoft Store version of Call of Duty: WWII after hackers exploited a vulnerability in that specific PC release, leading to multiple players reportedly having their systems compromised, TechCrunch has learned.
Last week, Activision announced it had taken the 2017 first-person shooter offline from the Microsoft Store while it investigated “reports of an issue,” without disclosing any further details. That version had recently launched and was also available via Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription service for games.
A source familiar with the situation told TechCrunch that the game was pulled due to those reported hacks and that Activision is actively working on a fix. TechCrunch is not naming the individual because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Several gaming outlets have covered the story, noting that players took to social media to report being hacked while playing. Until now, however, there had been no confirmation tying the reported hacks to the game going offline.
“The game is not safe to play on PC right now, there’s an RCE exploit,” one player wrote on Reddit last week, referencing a remote code execution bug—an especially dangerous vulnerability that allows attackers to execute malicious code and potentially take control of another user’s system.
As of publication, the Microsoft Store and Game Pass versions of the game remain offline, according to Activision’s official status page.
The game publisher did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
According to two sources with knowledge of the situation, Activision only took down the Microsoft Store and Game Pass versions because they differ from the Steam release and contained an outdated flaw that had already been patched in other versions.
This incident adds to a string of security issues the company has faced in recent years. In November 2024, a vulnerability in Call of Duty’s anti-cheat system enabled hackers to ban legitimate players. Earlier that year, Activision investigated a hacking campaign that targeted gamers with infostealer malware—software designed to steal login credentials. And in 2023, attackers used a self-propagating worm to exploit an old bug in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, compromising players’ devices.
While many gaming companies have recently expanded their cybersecurity and anti-cheat teams, Activision has seen multiple rounds of layoffs in recent years, some of which impacted its cybersecurity operations directly.
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