The Sail 630 Nuclear Bug has been crashing Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies games since early April. The bug is triggered when a player on PC hits high levels in a match resulting in an immediate crash with a disconnect blurb. After numerous Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War fans reported being banned as a result of the bug, the developer has finally investigated the player's complaints.
Originally, Activision and Treyarch responded to fans by restating their zero-tolerance Call of Duty ban policy. Under this rule, all bans are final, and players who have lost their accounts can not have them recovered. Due to so many players being banned, Treyarch seemed to assume that the bans were not bug-related and instead of the result of multiple offenses during gameplay. Obviously, this was not the case as it affected several players; reasonably, many of them were quite upset with the idea that a ban from a bug meant they could no longer play.
Recently, Foxhound on Reddit confirmed that recent account bans had been reviewed, and players who operated in good faith have had their access restored. Although the developer has not admitted that the bug was at fault, many fans believe that their accounts were taken away due to a gameplay glitch. This was the main issue, of course, and those who are getting their accounts back are likely happy with that. Still, some transparency would be nice in regards to what exactly went down. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War bans that had any flags or reports on their accounts will retain enforcements, however, and the developer has confirmed that playing on PC is safe as long as it is done within the terms of service of the game.
Fans are still frustrated despite having their accounts restored, as the developer originally claimed that the bans had nothing to do with the bug. As a result, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War zombie fans are wary of testing the waters, and many are ending their zombie matches early to avoid any accidental bans.
Still, the community does understand the need for a zero-tolerance policy, but many players believe that it can only be enforced if every case is investigated. For the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War bug to be capable of banning players shows an immediate flaw in the system. If the bans were authentic and reviewed by security personnel, then the accidental bans would never have happened to clean and fair accounts.
On the bright side, players are regaining access to lost accounts in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. As the developer attempts to resolve the bug, the most that fans have to worry about now is a disconnect message. Still, if a player does receive a ban as a result of this bug, they are encouraged to continue to contact Treyarch and Activision for further assistance.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: FoxhoundFPS (via Reddit)