Summary
ACall of Dutyglitch has recently brought back the banned Nickmercs skin nearly two years following its removal. However, early indications suggest that the scope of the bug was fairly limited and that theCall of Dutyteam has already moved to address it.
Activisionlaunched Nickmercs and TimTheTatmanCall of Dutyoperator skinsin mid-May 2023. Less than a month later, Nickmercs—real name Nicholas Kolcheff—responded to a video of violence against LGBT activists at a school board meeting about Pride Month, saying, “they should leave little children alone.” The comment sparked widespread online backlash, with Nickmercs being accused of stoking anti-LGBT violence. Activision removed the Nickmercs skin from theCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2andWarzonestores within two days of this development. TimTheTatman requested that his own operator bundle be removed out of solidarity with Nickmercs, whom he publicly labeled as a friend in the aftermath of the controversy. Activision promptly complied with that request.
Two years later, the banned Nickmercs skin reportedly returned to theCall of Dutyshop, reappearing in late March 2025. The unexpected return was originally highlighted by YouTuber ItsHapa, who shared some gameplay footage of the Nickmercs operator bundle being available in theWarzoneshop,ComicBookreports. The content creator said the video was captured by one of his viewers.
Nickmercs' Call of Duty Operator Bundle Reportedly Wasn’t Purchasable After Unexpected Return
The scope of the reported glitch appears to have been limited, as only a fewCall of Dutyplayersreported seeing the bundle in theBlack Ops 6andWarzoneshops. Moreover, even those who were affected by the glitch said they were unable to purchase the bundle, adding that any attempts to buy it resulted in an unspecified error. Activision hasn’t commented on this development in any capacity. Seeing how player reports of the banned skin being visible in the in-game store declined on March 24, it’s possible that whatever bug was causing it to reappear has already been addressed.
The chances of Activision ever officially relaunching Nickmercs' skin appear non-existent, as doing so would be an unprecedented move for the Microsoft-owned company. That notwithstanding, the publisher never truly removed the operator bundle from its games but merely pulled it from their digital storefronts. As a result, it’s still possible to see thebanned NickmercsCall of Dutyoperator skinin online matches, as anyone who purchased it prior to its delisting is able to continue using it.
