Call of Duty: Vanguard and Modern Warfare II - two parts of the series hacked at once

Two parts of the series at once Call of Duty — Vanguard (2021) и Modern Warfare II (2022) — were the subject of a leak and subsequent hack. According to Reddit, the releases were distributed by a p2p group under the nickname h00dbyair, which had previously worked on similar projects. According to the publications, both games were transferred to a completely offline mode with DRM protection and multiplayer components disabled.

In case of Modern Warfare II, we are talking about the campaign assembly, available even before the official release. It is noted that it is used Goldberg Steam Emulator, which allows you to run the story part without connecting to the network. Installation requires following the instructions and bypassing the built-in anti-cheat. At the same time, players get access to the full single-player campaign without restrictions.

For Call of Duty:Vanguard A similar approach is described: the campaign, multiplayer (offline with bots) and zombie mode have been unlocked. Users report that the launch is possible without a permanent Internet connection and authorization in Activision services. Both releases are distributed through forums and private channels, which caused a wave of discussions in the community.

While Activision has yet to officially comment, the incident highlights even large AAA games have security vulnerabilities several years after its release. Cases like these call into question the effectiveness of modern DRM solutions, especially in conditions where single-player modes require constant online authorization.