The Season 1 Reloaded update for Modern Warfare 3 added the new Ranked Play competitive mode. Ranked Play uses the official rules, maps, and game modes of the 2024 Call of Duty League, meaning this mode restricts much of the game's perks, weapons, and attachments. Here we guide you through creating the best loadouts available to use in Ranked Play.

Best primary weapon for Ranked Play

Ranked Play features 4v4 gameplay of Hardpoint, Control, and Search and Destroy. The primary weapon you decide to equip will be determined by the role you prefer to play. If you're looking to hold down a lane in a slayer role, then the MCW assault rifle is the choice of the pros, while the Rival-9 submachine gun is the preferred pick for close-quarters action near the objective.

MCW Ranked Play loadoutMCW Ranked Play loadout

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The GDC 2024 State of the Game Industry report asked over 3,000 workers in the game industry which platforms they are currently developing their projects for. Surprisingly, 18% of the devs surveyed are working on a Nintendo Switch project, while 8% are working on games for a "Nintendo Switch successor," according to the survey.

The report, which can be downloaded here, also mentions the Switch successor in a question about the general platform interest. For this, 32% of them are looking forward to Nintendo's new console.

It's been almost seven years since the release of Nintendo's hybrid console. As it stands, there's still much we don't know about a Switch 2. The company has yet to provide a teaser of when we could hear more news about it. An announcement could take place before the new financial year begins on April 1, culminating the Q1 period of 2024. If you saw the AI Shark news about the console releasing on September of this year, that was most likely a wild guess.

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Destiny 2's current content season, the Season of the Wish, isn't quite done with its story. Despite seeming to wrap up its narrative last week, according to developer Bungie, there's more to come at the end of January.

Bungie dropped a few hints about what we can expect from the ongoing Season of the Wish in its weekly This Week In Destiny blog post. The details, as always, are a little thin, but Bungie said explicitly that the story for the season is not yet done. More story content is coming "sooner than you think," according to the post. That's following last week's story beat, which seemed to conclude the weekly missions and story content advancing the game's seasonal narrative.

Players will also get a new twist on the season's activities starting on January 30. In addition to the bounties you can complete in the Riven's Lair and The Coil activities, Bungie says it's adding Riven's Wishes, a new weekly pursuit, to your options. Complete the week's objectives and you'll get to choose your reward from a loot pool. There will be a new pursuit each week for six weeks, taking players all the way into March.

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Bungie is finally adding the ability to change your Destiny 2 characters' faces and body types with an update ahead of its next expansion, The Final Shape.

The update was announced in Bungie's weekly This Week In Destiny blog post with some details about how the new character customization options will work. Players will be able to alter their characters' physical appearances, including their body types, genders, facial characteristics, hair, and markings like scars or tattoos. Basically, it sounds like Bungie is just unlocking the character creation options available when you create a new character in the game.

Notably, you'll be free to make these adjustments at any time after the update goes live, and there are no currencies associated with making character changes--you're free to change your characters as much as you want, whenever you want. The one thing you can't change about your characters, however, is their underlying race. Destiny 2 characters can be either Human, Exo (essentially robot people), or Awoken (blue-skinned folks created by a fateful collision of Destiny 2's Light and Darkness powers). So while you can change everything else about your characters, you can't change a Human into an Exo, for example.

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The Elder Scrolls Online's latest chapter, Gold Road, is coming in June, ZeniMax Online Studios has announced, and with it a major new addition to the Elder Scrolls universe: a never-before-seen Daedric Prince.

Ithelia is the prince's name, and the story of Gold Road, which launches on June 3, 2024 for PC and June 18 on consoles, will revolve around her unexpected awakening. ESO creative director Rich Lambert shared details about the upcoming chapter during a media briefing ahead of its official reveal, and described the story of the chapter as a race to figure out who freed Ithelia and to find her before others with a more nefarious purpose do. She has no memory of who she is, but strange things follow in her wake as she slowly regains her powers. Lambert described Ithelia's introduction as a "huge addition to the lore" of The Elder Scrolls, and said she is on the polar opposite side of the Daedric Prince spectrum compared to the squid-like prince Hermaeus Mora, who played a large role in last year's Necrom chapter.

"She's not horror, she's crystal and color," Lambert said. "That's kind of her jam."

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Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, which finally has a release date courtesy of Xbox's 2024 Developer Direct, will be a digital-only release, Microsoft has confirmed. It will retail for $50, and will be available on Xbox Series X|S consoles, Xbox Game Pass, and on PC via Windows and Steam.

In an Xbox Wire blog post, Ninja Theory studio head Dom Matthews stated when Hellblade 2 launches on May 21, it will be sold as a digital-only title, one that is similar in length to the first game in the series with a "focus on narrative." According to How Long To Beat, which tracks game lengths as reported by users, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice clocked in at around 7.5 hours for an average, main story playthrough, with a few additional hours for a completionist playthrough.

Ninja Theory doubled down on Hellblade 2 in terms of its brutal combat, which has been reinvented for the sequel and will see Senua battling against Vikings and supernatural threats. All the while, Senua will be dealing with psychosis, something that heavily informs how the game's story unfolds and is told.

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The Xbox Indiana Jones game, which we now know is titled Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, finally got its first gameplay reveal during the Xbox Developer Direct. In it, we saw hints of the story's villain, the new adventure Indy finds himself on, lots of gameplay that blends first- and third-person--and, oh yeah, it does feature Harrison Ford's likeness, ending a long debate over whether the game would involve the actor who has starred as the hero in movies dating back over 40 years. However, the voice acting is actually performed by Troy Baker, of Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us fame.

In a lengthy developer diary, MachineGames talked about the importance of tricky puzzles, stealth options, and Indy's iconic whip. The story will see Indy globetrotting to Thailand, Egypt, India, and beyond in a brand-new adventure that's set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, a period in which Temple of Doom also took place.

The full Indiana Jones presentation went over 10 minutes, which starts in the above video at the 1:03:13 timestamp. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle comes to Xbox and PC, including Game Pass, later in 2024.

Square Enix took some time during the Xbox Developer Direct to detail its upcoming action-RPG Visions of Mana, which was announced at The Game Awards. The sneak peek gave us a better look at the world, your adorable animal companion mount, and the general art style. Series creator Koichi Ishii walked through some of the design decisions, especially when it came to modernizing his classic creatures.

For your rideable mount, Ishii wanted to make a mascot and designed a dog-like creature, combining elements of a yorkshire terrior, pangolin, and the mythological Anubis. The result is an extremely cute black dog-like creature that seems destined for merch. We also got an extended look at combat, with an emphasis on air juggles. We only saw one playable protagonist during the footage, but no story details were shared.

The art looks characteristically cute and colorful for the Mana series, with many enemy designs translated straight from early games like Secret of Mana. The presentation served as a mini history lesson on the Mana series as well, covering its origins as Final Fantasy Adventure.

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Humble is kicking off the year with its giant Winter Wonderland sale, featuring hundreds of PC games on sale for as much as 90% off from now through February 4.

Some of the biggest games from 2023 are discounted in the sale, including the Resident Evil 4 remake for $30 (normally $60), Street Fighter VI for $40 (down from $60), Starfield for $49 (normally $70), and Remnant II for $30 (was $50). The sale is also the perfect chance to grab Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion so you can catch up on the story before Final Fantasy VII Rebirth drops next month.

The Winter Wonderland Sale Store page is broken down into specific categories so you can find exactly what you're looking for--whether that's indies like Cult of the Lamb and Inscryption, acclaimed shooters like Doom Eternal and Deathloop, or high-speed action games with dope soundtracks like Hi-Fi Rush and Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. There's even a "handheld-friendly" section full of discounted Steam Deck-verified titles like Darkest Dungeon, Loop Hero, and Marvel's Midnight Suns.

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After resurfacing for the first time in three years during the 2023 Xbox Games Showcase, Avowed--the latest RPG from Obsidian Entertainment--was again featured during today's Xbox Developer Direct. Not only did we see new gameplay for the upcoming adventure, but we also learned its release window: Fall 2024.

The gameplay video gave a proper introduction to what players can expect in Avowed, which included the different areas of The Living Lands--Avowed is not a full "open-world" game like Skyrim or Fallout--instead, the game will incorporate multiple smaller zones a la Obsidian's recent release, The Outer Worlds. The video also showed off the multiple combat methods available to each character, which include melee weapons, magic, and even a gun.

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The Minecraft movie continues to add to its already impressive cast. Deadline reports that Kate McKinnon and Jemaine Clement are boarding the movie, joining Jason Momoa, Jack Black, and Jennifer Coolidge.

McKinnon, a veteran of Saturday Night Live, recently starred in the blockbuster smash Barbie. Clement is known for his roles on Flight of the Conchords and What We Do in the Shadows.

The movie is filming now in New Zealand, and it also stars Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, and Sebastian Eugene Hansen. Jared Hess (Nacho Libre, Napoleon Dynamite) is directing.

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Strategy fans received a new in-depth look at Ara: History Untold, an upcoming 4X turn-based strategy game from developer Oxide Games that is published by Xbox Game Studios. New details about the ambitious civilization-builder Ara: History Untold were revealed as part Xbox's 2024 Developer Direct, where it was also confirmed that it is coming to PC via Steam and PC Game Pass in Fall 2024.

One of the main differences between Ara: History Untold and other grand strategy games is the Living World. It is a procedurally generated map that reflects the upgrades and changes being made by players, showing progress through visual changes and not just numbers. Ara: History Untold also features a crafting system, which requires players to gather resources and create necessary items. For example, building certain military units requires crafting the correct weapons first.

While Ara: History Untold is still a turn-based strategy game, instead of players each taking their turn one at a time, everyone will take their turns at the same time. This allows players to not only focus more on their own strategy, but also allows them to be more reactive to what other players are doing.

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For a limited time, you can grab Microsoft Visio 2021 Professional and Microsoft Project 2021 Professional for just $30 each from Stackcommerce. Microsoft sells Project Professional for a whopping $1,130 (or $680 for the standard edition), while Visio Professional goes for $580 (or $310 for the standard edition).

• Buy Microsoft Visio 2021 Professional -- $30
• Buy Microsoft Project 2021 Professional -- $30

Microsoft Visio is a brainstorming and diagramming software used to create charts, graphs, and other data visualizations like architectural layouts. It comes with dozens of templates for flowcharts, org charts, floor plans, and more, and it can import data from other Microsoft programs like Excel, Exchange, and Entra ID to automatically create charts and diagrams.

Microsoft Project is a project management app similar to tools like Asana or Trello. It includes pre-built sample projects, tools for visualizing schedule timelines, and even a built-in timesheet submission form, among many other features.

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Sea of Thieves' biggest update yet is scheduled to go live on January 23rd. As fans eagerly wait for the update Rare shared some insight on why the dev team decided to make such big changes to the game.

Thanks to a series of posts on X/Twitter by Joe Neate, the executive producer of Sea of Thieves, we have more information on the thought process behind season 11. He explained that everything being changed has "been considered to the tiniest detail by the team."

1/3 This is honestly one of the biggest changes we've ever made to SOT, but everything has been considered to the tinest detail by the team. We'll share the Deep Dive next week, which goes another layer into the detail, but the team have thought of everything. https://t.co/7KKXUN7FZH

— Joe Neate (@JoeNeate1) January 18, 2024

In a follow-up post, Neate shared his thoughts on how the Season 11 update was great overall because it was "one of the biggest improvements" the studio could have made while staying true to what makes Sea of Thieves special.

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It looks like Turnip Boy is officially a career criminal, as committing tax evasion wasn't enough for the mischievous vegetable. His new adventure sees him robbing a bank--and it looks every bit as wild as the first game. Plus, Turnip Boy has traded in his shovel for guns. By our count, this means he's the first turnip to fire a gun. If you're interested in checking out the quirky sequel, you'll be glad to know that Turnip Boy Robs a Bank is discounted on both PC and Switch, with the PC version getting a rather massive discount at Green Man Gaming. For Xbox players, you'll find it in the Game Pass library.

Buy at GMG (Steam key)

Buy at Switch eShop

The best deal for Turnip Boy Robs a Bank is at Green Man Gaming, where you can snag the title for just $10.79 (down from $15). Purchasing from GMG gets you a Steam key, so you don't have to worry about installing a second launcher before robbing the bank.

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Rockstar Games announced today that Rockstar Editor will no longer be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles starting on February 20, and all user-uploaded clips will be deleted on that date.

First introduced in 2015, Rockstar Editor allows players to edit gameplay clips from Grand Theft Auto 5 & Grand Theft Auto Online and upload them to YouTube and the Rockstar Social Club, where they can be seen by other players. The developer says the program's removal from PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles is necessary in order to "support ongoing updates to these games on both platforms."

Support for Rockstar Editor and saved Clips or Projects on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is ending on Feb. 20, 2024. More info here: https://t.co/6ISWG2NtbC

— Rockstar Support (@RockstarSupport) January 18, 2024

A short FAQ was uploaded to the Rockstar website to explain the program's removal in more detail and help players preserve their gameplay clips. Players on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S will remain unaffected, but those on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will likely want to download any clips they've uploaded via the video editing program before they're deleted on February 20.

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It's been almost two years since the Jon Snow spin-off show was announced, and there's still no guarantee it will ever be made. House of the Dragon, the Targaryen spin-off series will be returning this year with Season 2, and the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight will begin filming in Spring 2024.

During their press tour for Netflix's 3 Body Problem, the original Game of Thrones show creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss mentioned that they wanted to "leave Westeros behind" but mentioned what it would take for them to return to the franchise.

"Nothing would make us happier than to work with our people from that show," Weiss told The Hollywood Reporter. "But there are a lot of other ways to make that happen that are fresh and exciting for everyone involved. Also, unless [Kit Harington] has been doing a lot of working out, that's a really heavy cloak for a guy in his 40s to carry around--it's almost 60 pounds!"

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After several years of development, an official release date for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 has been confirmed at Microsoft's new Developer Direct livestream. Ninja Theory's sequel will officially be released on PC and Xbox Series X|S consoles on May 21.

Similar to the original 2017 action-adventure game, Hellblade 2 is a gritty and gory experience set in an ancient Nordic world. For the sequel, Senua has made peace with her past, and finds herself in Iceland seeking the Vikings that enslaved her people. Along the way Senua will face Viking raiders, giants, and zombie-like monsters on her quest, engaging them in brutal fights. Ninja Theory worked on creating "all-new combat" for the sequel, increasing the complexity of the actions that Senua can perform against a wider variety of opponents and creating a more dynamic flow for combat, all the while trying to tell a story with each encounter.

As part of the Developer Direct presentation, Ninja Theory studio head Dom Matthews said Hellblade 2 focuses on delivering a "shorter, narrative-led experience that focuses on the things we really care about." One of the things the team really cares about and which carries over from the first entry in the series is Hellblade 2's examination of Senua's mental state, where she "faces a battle of overcoming the darkness within and without" as part of a "brutal journey of survival through the myth and torment of Viking Iceland," according to the game's synopsis. Senua battles with psychosis, seeing and hearing things that aren't there. It's something Ninja Theory put a lot of effort into portraying accurately, with special attention to the game's audio and the voices players will hear as they embody Senua over the course of her journey.

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Saw is one of the most iconic horror franchises in recent history, spanning 10 films across two decades. Saw 11 is expected to arrive later this year--but if you want to relive the action before then, the Saw 10-Film 20th Anniversary Collection is releasing in March, giving you an easy way to view every entry in the gory series.

Saw 10-Film 20th Anniversary Collection (Blu-ray) $80

Releasing on March 5, the Saw 10-Film 20th Anniversary Collection is now available for preorder on Amazon. It includes Blu-ray, DVD, and digital formats for every film in the franchise (including Saw X, which just launched last year).

Preorder at Amazon

Details about special features and bonus content are not yet available, but expect it to include all the extra content found on previously released Blu-rays. We also wouldn't be surprised to see additional goodies to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Along with all 10 movies, the collection features an exclusive slipcase to store all your discs.

If you don't want to wait until March for your preorder to arrive, you can pick up the Saw: 9-Film Collection for $20 or the Saw: 8-Film Collection for $11 (down from $25). Neither of those includes Saw X (and they lack the collectible slipcover), but they're a good alternative if you're shopping on a budget.

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The late Carrie Fisher famously played Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, but the part was originally offered to Jodie Foster. The Oscar-winning actress confirmed this rumor on an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, mentioning how Lucasfilm was originally eyeing someone younger for the part, which made her a fit. It didn't work out, though, because Foster had other acting commitments at the time.

"They were going for a younger Princess Leia but I had a conflict. I was doing a Disney movie and I just didn't want to pull out of the Disney movie because I was already under contract," she said (via The Hollywood Reporter).

Foster would have been only 13 and 14 when the original Star Wars was filmed before she turned 15 when the movie came out in 1977. Fisher, however, was 19 years old during the filming of the movie.

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