Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Update Reportedly Makes Secret Big Nerf

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's recent update on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC reportedly made a secret nerf not mentioned in the patch notes by Treyarch and Activision. Over on the game's Reddit page, players are reporting en masse that the game's Season 1 update has once again nerfed XP across the board. Adding to this, the reports outline nerfs to Dirty Bomb XP, leveling XP, and even Zombies XP. Meanwhile, there are also claims that the battle pass is now leveling slower.

At the moment of publishing, this hasn't been validated or confirmed in any capacity, however, many players are reporting these observations, suggesting, at the very least, there's something to the claims. That said, as noted, Treyarch has mentioned zero XP nerfs in any of the game's recent patch notes, however, this may not be something it would necessarily specifically outlined via patch notes.

Whatever the case, right now, take everything here with a grain of salt given that it ranges from unofficial to downright speculative. Unfortunately, for now, this is what players are stuck with, as it's unlikely either Treyarch or Activision will formally address these reports. However, if they do, we will be sure to update the story with whatever is provided.

Players are reporting that Treyarch stealth nerfed XP in #BlackOpsColdWar AGAIN. pic.twitter.com/QcPY1I4aGh

— ModernWarzone (@ModernWarzone) December 18, 2020

It's not uncommon for progression to be tweaked over time, but it appears like Treyarch may have tweaked things a bit too much this time.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available via the PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. For more coverage on it and all things COD click here or check out the relevant links below:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Update Fixes PS5 Problems and Invisibility Bug
• Huge Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Leak Reveals Upcoming Maps, Guns, and MW2 Content
• Call of Duty: Warzone Update Reportedly Making Players Sick
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Update Adds Highly-Requested Feature to Zombies
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Bug Makes Operators Naked

Meanwhile, as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think or, alternatively,, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. Have you noticed a nerf to XP since the start of Season 1?