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Call of Duty: WWII Pulled from Microsoft Store on PC After Major Hacking Exploit

Call of Duty WWII
Call of Duty WWII (Credit: Sledgehammer Games/ Activision/Xbox)

Call of Duty: WWII has been taken offline on PC via the Microsoft Store and Game Pass, following reports of a serious security issue that’s left many players concerned.


The 2017 title, developed by Sledgehammer Games, was quietly disabled on July 5 as the Call of Duty team began investigating the situation—but what’s actually happening goes far beyond just a typical bug.


The core problem? Remote Code Execution, or RCE. It’s a type of exploit that allows hackers to take control of someone’s computer—literally. All a player has to do is launch the game and hop into a match, and someone with malicious intent can gain access to their system, install malware, or steal personal data without the player having any clue. Needless to say, it’s a serious issue.


Reports of the exploit began popping up on social media around July 2, shortly after servers went live following maintenance across multiple Call of Duty titles. Within hours, players were posting video clips showing their PCs being taken over mid-game. One player’s warning—complete with a chaotic screen takeover—quickly went viral, prompting others to steer clear of the game altogether.


What’s adding fuel to the fire is Activision’s vague messaging around it. A brief update on the official Call of Duty Updates account simply stated that the PC version was taken down “to investigate reports of an issue.” There was no direct mention of the RCE threat or the fact that players may have unknowingly put their systems at risk.


According to reports from the Call of Duty community, this isn’t a brand-new problem. RCE vulnerabilities have allegedly been floating around in older CoD titles for years. But the timing here is especially bad, as WWII was recently added to Game Pass, drawing in a wave of fresh players—many of whom assumed a Game Pass title, especially one tied to Microsoft, would be relatively safe.


It’s worth noting that this particular exploit only affects the Windows version of the game. Xbox users are safe thanks to the console’s more restricted operating system, which makes RCE attacks far less likely to succeed.


This whole situation has sparked broader concerns about the future of older Call of Duty titles on Game Pass. If more classic games get added without proper security checks or updates, there’s a real possibility of similar issues happening again. Many fans are calling for Activision and Microsoft to be more proactive in maintaining and securing these legacy titles.


The timing of all this is also a bit unfortunate for Sledgehammer Games, which was one of several studios hit by Microsoft’s recent round of layoffs. Alongside support teams like Raven Software and High Moon Studios, Sledgehammer saw a number of roles cut—raising questions about whether enough people are still around to handle issues like this.


At the time of writing, Call of Duty: WWII is still listed on the Microsoft Store and Xbox PC, but the PC servers remain offline. No timeline has been shared on when—or if—the issue will be resolved. Until then, players are being advised to stay away from the PC version.

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