Season 4 goes live in Black Ops 7 and Warzone on June 4, and the developer's patch notes reveal all the major changes for Call of Duty’s various modes. These adjustments include a nerf for the powerful SG-12 shotgun, a new self-revive kit for Warzone, and map improvements for Zombies.

Content-wise, Season 4 of Black Ops 7 and Warzone adds a new battle pass, another operator for the Guild faction, more guns, and additional maps. New seasons of Ranked Play arrive for both multiplayer and Warzone. Treyarch also introduces a "classic" multiplayer moshpit playlist inspired by Black Ops 2's movement and gameplay, which will remove the game's omnimovement, sliding, and wall-jump abilities.

In other news, hype is already building for this year's new Call of Duty release. Activision officially revealed Modern Warfare 4 last week, and the game will include a campaign, multiplayer, and DMZ extraction mode.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 preorders are live, and Activision has also confirmed a “Loyalty” discount that allows players to get 10% off the game’s Vault edition.

The Season 4 patch notes for both Black Ops 7 and Warzone can be found below, as shared by Activision.

New anti-cheat measures are live

As previously announced, Call of Duty's new security checks are now in effect for players on PC. Microsoft Azure Attestation (MAA) checks will place PC players into a separate matchmaking pool. To access all playlists, players must successfully complete the MAA process. Because the pool of players who haven't passed our attestation checks is small, access is limited to a select set of playlists to help maintain healthy matchmaking.

Players who do not complete the required checks will be limited to Nuketown 24/7 in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and the Battle Royale Casual playlist inWarzone. This requirement helps protect the integrity of the game and the experience of the broader community.

More detailed instructions for how to make a PC compliant can be found on Activision's blog.

SG-12 shotgun nerf in multiplayer

The only multiplayer weapon tuning for Season 4's launch is a nerf to the overpowered SG-12 shotgun when using the 12 Gauge Dragon's Breath attachment. This reduces the damage range with this ammo type, as well as how many pellets are fired per shot.

The developer says this should put the power of this attachment more in line with the base ammo type.

Season 4's Launch map Weapon tuning for Endgame

Endgame doesn't normally receive the same weapon tuning as multiplayer and Warzone, but the developer says it wanted to improve some of the more specialized and challenging weapons to use.

Notably, this includes a massive buff to the M34 Novaline marksman rifle with a 50% damage boost, which Treyarch says should help it feel more powerful as a slower, precision weapon.

Headshot damage was increased by 33% for the Strider 300, Hawker HX, and VS Recon sniper rifles. The Shadow SK was previously the weakest of the snipers in Endgame, but it received several buffs to make it more viable. These improvements include the following:

• Headshot damage increased by 13%
• Upper Torso damage increased by 85%
• Lower Torso damage increased by 97%

For launchers, the most popular choice was the Arrow 109, but Treyarch has made reductions to the weapon's direct impact damage and the inner explosion damage, while improving the weaker A.R.C. M1 launcher to have higher direct impact damage and reduced charge time.

The Siren special weapon has a 50% damage increase, and the NX Ravager crossbow damage is increased by 26%.

Zombies Totenreich map improvements Totenreich Zombies map

Season 4 brings several improvements for the Totenreich map, including fixes for several issues affecting the map's Wonder Weapon and main questline. The patch notes detail fixes for an issue that previously caused the boss's weak points to not take critical damage. It also addresses an issue where the Jotunn Star Wonder Weapon would only swing at normal speed when using the Melee Macchiato perk with the Expresso Major Augment equipped.

Additionally, it corrects an issue where the Jotunn Star Wonder Weapon control UI would not appear correctly after reloading a save.

Warzone Ranked Play map pool changes

The Fortune's Keep map returns to Warzone along with a new season of Ranked Play. Season 4 adds Fortune's Keep into the Ranked Play Resurgence map pool, allowing players to compete across Rebirth Island, Haven's Hollow, and Fortune's Keep.

Increased Buy Stations for battle royale

Buy Station locations have been greatly increased across Avalon and Verdansk for standard battle royale. Buy Station locations are increased from 49 to 64 on Avalon and from 49 to 51 on Verdansk. The developer says this change was based on player feedback, asking for more consistent access and map coverage.

As with previous seasonal updates, the Buy Station placements have also been refreshed for the maps.

Clash mode on Verdansk New "advanced self-revive" for Resurgence modes

Season 4 adds a new "advanced self-revive" item to Resurgence. The patch notes describe this as a rare variant of the Self-Revive Kit, which in addition to reviving the player, will also grant them temporary active camo.

Active Camo activates while the player is self reviving, and successfully completing a self revive will maintain the Active Camo for an additional two seconds or until the player makes an aggressive action.

Regular self-revives can also still be found in matches, but they share the same inventory slot, so a player is only able to carry one of either type.

Warzone weapon adjustments

Weapon tuning arrives for Warzone to specially adjust the weapon builds found as ground loot across various modes.

All Black Ops 7 assault rifles equipped with a suppressor attachment now have a 10% damage range benefit, and the recoil suppressor velocity penalty has been removed.

In all modes, including the Black Ops Royale, the horizontal shake and recoil of the AK-27 assault rifle builds has been reduced when firing the gun.

All Black Ops 7 light machine guns equipped with a suppressor attachment now have an 8% damage range benefit, and the recoil suppressor velocity penalty has been removed.

The Season 4 patch notes for both Black Ops 7 and Warzone can be found below, as shared by Activision.

WELCOME TO SEASON 04

Season 04 introduces another massive season of content. Take on Operation Wall Breaker in Endgame, deploy across five new and remastered Multiplayer Maps, fight off the horde in the new Rogue Run game mode in Zombies, and much more arriving tomorrow, June 4th!

The Story So Far

After David Mason is captured by The Guild and Specter Two goes on the offense with their own man on the inside, Karma's Guild-killing virus is finally ready to deploy... but Dorne has one last card to play. A collision of forces at JSOC's secret jungle hideout will determine the shape of the future. 

New and Returning Maps

Liminal (6v6, 2v2)

• Descend into a live Guild procedure mid-test, where the patient’s response to the experiment actively rewrites the center of the map. When the subject is calm, a red pillar stands intact on a raised platform; when agitation spikes, it fractures and slams into a crater, throwing up fresh cover and new angles around the impact zone.

Primetime (6v6)

• Let no obstacle stand in your way on Primetime, a new 6v6 Multiplayer map themed around a Japanese game show obstacle course. Battle over speed tracks, Wall Jump across bound pads, and rack up points on the board as Operators weave between supersized crates.

Vertigo (6v6)

• First introduced in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Vertigo returns fully remastered and ready for action in Black Ops 7. The map features a new Japanese setting, though the layout will be familiar to veterans of the original.

New Weapons

KRS-7.62 (Marksman Rifle, Battle Pass)

• Semi-auto marksman rifle. High damage and great mobility, limited by significant first shot recoil.
• Strong and steady, the KRS-7.62 offers a reliable two-hit elimination against unarmored enemies up to 25 meters out, an easy double tap when fighting up close, with a third shot required for more distant targets.

CBRS-3 (SMG, Battle Pass)

• Full-auto submachine gun with a high-capacity, rechambering magazine. Well-rounded with excellent range and recoil.
• With 60 rounds in the base model, the CBRS-3 features the largest magazine in its weapon class, capable of reaching 75 rounds with the Redwell Sprocket Mag.

Grimhawk (Special, Weekly Challenge Reward)

• Full-auto specialized rifle. Fires low-velocity homing rounds that lock onto targets.
• Make the enemy pay for opening fire on your position with this Special Weapon that fires rounds with light homing capabilities against targets shooting their weapons.

VX Compact (Assault Rifle, Event Reward)

• Full-auto assault rifle. Best-in-class rate of fire and excellent handling, offset by lower range and ammo capacity.
• What the VX Compact lacks in damage per shot, it makes up for with a blistering fire rate. At 25 rounds in the base magazine, this weapon chews through its supply fast, though its manageable recoil and minimal muzzle flare make tracking targets seamless.

New Attachments

LTI Stentorian Brake (Most Weapons, Battle Pass)

• Heavy muzzle device to improve Horizontal Recoil and Bullet Deviation with a slight fire rate improvement. Firing with this attachment reveals your position and direction on the mini-map in real time.

M10 Breacher Argus Lever (M10 Breacher, Weekly Challenge Reward)

• Lever-action conversion for the M10 Breacher. Faster fire rate with an improved starting pellet spread that becomes deadly accurate while ADS. Removes weapon charging.

New Scorestreak

Iron Rain (In-Season, Weekly Challenge Reward)

• A high-altitude, player-controlled aircraft that provides a bird’s-eye view of the battlefield, allowing tracking and eliminating enemies from above.
• Enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the action below while using this new medium-cost Scorestreak designed to pummel enemy forces from above. When called in by the enemy, reach for your Launcher or run for cover.
• Overclock Abilities
  • Active Camo: Keeps aircraft hidden. Attacking or taking damage temporarily breaks camouflage. 
  • Tactical Radar: Reveals and pings nearby enemies to allies. Grants bonus Score when marked enemies are eliminated.

New and Returning Multiplayer Modes

Black Ops Classic (Launch)

• Wind back the clock in Black Ops Classic, a new throwback mode inspired by classic Black Ops gameplay. With simplified movement and streamlined Loadouts, this mode focuses on tactical positioning and classic multiplayer fundamentals built on the modern foundation of Black Ops 7. Jump into iconic throwback maps and core modes including Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint and Kill Confirmed.
• Restrictions: No Overclock Abilities. No Perk Combat Specialty bonus.
• Limited Selection: Scorestreaks, Perks, Lethal, Tactical, Wildcards, Melee Weapon, Field Upgrades.

Blueprint Gun Game (In-Season)

• Every plan needs a good outline. Blueprint Gun Game returns for its Black Ops 7 debut, challenging players to advance through a lineup of Weapon Blueprints. There are no Scorestreaks or Loadouts involved here, just plain old gun skill. Eliminate players with your weapons to advance to the next weapon.

6v6 Gunfight (In-Season)

• Get ready to up the ante as Gunfight returns with a 6v6 spin. Players begin each round with the same predetermined Loadout that changes every two rounds. Health regeneration and respawns are disabled, so make your shots count. If neither team is wiped out in the specified time, the Overtime Flag will spawn; capture it to secure the round win.

Multiplayer Ranked Play: Ranking System Update

Black Ops 7 Ranked Play is getting clearer in Season 04. The SR (Skill Rating) System has been completely overhauled to remove hidden MMR and instead provide full transparency over every single point of earned or lost SR. In Season 04, your SR gains and losses are driven entirely by your visible Rank and your performance relative to the Rank and performance of other players in the match. Outperform players in your Rank or above you and you’ll continue to climb, but struggle to beat players at your Rank or below you, and big SR gains will be harder to come by.

SR Gains after Wins

The following can be awarded after a Ranked Play win:

• Base Win: Earn a flat +20 SR for every win, regardless of your current Rank.  Scoreboard Bonus: Finish among the top 4 players of the match to earn an SR bonus. The higher your Scoreboard position, the bigger the bonus.
  • Opponent Rank Adjustment: Receive an SR Adjustment based on the relative Rank of Opponents beaten compared with your current Rank:
  • Outperform opponents that are higher Rank than you, and you’ll receive additional SR bonuses for beating better players.
  • However, get beaten by lower-Ranked opponents, and your SR total for the match will be reduced because you were outperformed by weaker opponents.
  • Additionally, outperforming lower-Ranked opponents will reduce your SR total for the match because you were expected to perform better than the weaker opponents you beat.
  • To maximize your Opponent Rank adjustment and receive big SR gains: prove you belong to a higher Rank by outperforming opponents that are currently in your Rank or are higher Rank than you.
• Underdog Team Bonus: Awarded if you beat a significantly higher-Ranked team, while a Favored Team Penalty is subtracted if the team you beat was lower Rank.

SR Deductions after Losses:

The following SR deductions and adjustments occur after a Ranked Play loss:

• Base Loss: -20 SR is deducted when losing a match in Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond Ranks. This Base Loss amount increases for Crimson Rank and above, so that players are required to consistently exceed expectations of their current Rank to continue to climb into the highest Ranks and the Top 250:
  • Crimson Rank: -30 SR per Loss
  • 10,000 SR+: -40 SR per Loss
  • 12,500 SR+: -50 SR per Loss
  • 15,000 SR+: -55 SR per Loss
  • 17,500 SR+: -60 SR per Loss
  • 20,000 SR+: -65 SR per Loss
• Underdog Team Bonus: Your SR loss for the match is reduced if you lost to a significantly higher-Ranked team. Lose to a lower-Ranked team, and you’ll receive a bigger SR loss via the Favored Team Penalty.

Party Size Restriction Update

Back in Season 02, Black Ops 7 Ranked Play introduced Party Size Restrictions that limited players in Crimson and above to two-player parties. This was done to ensure that parties did not give players in the highest Ranks a competitive advantage. However, we’ve seen consistent feedback from players who feel like the current party rules are too restrictive and have impacted their ability to party up with friends in Ranked. 

Season 04 changes the Ranked Play Party Size Restrictions. Crimson players will now be free to form up to four-player parties without size restrictions. Iridescent and Top 250 players will continue to be restricted to two-player parties to ensure that parties do not give players competing for the top Rank a competitive advantage.

Season 04 Ranked Play Rewards

Each season comes with its own seasonal rewards that can only be earned throughout the duration of that season, including the following Weapon Blueprint, Large Decal, Calling Cards, and Weapon Camos:

• Get 10 Wins: Pro Issue MPC-25 SMG Blueprint
• Get 100 Wins: “Ranked Season 04 – 100 Wins” Large Decal
• Reach Silver Rank: “Ranked Season 04 – Silver” Calling Card
• Reach Gold Rank: “Ranked Season 04 – Gold” Calling Card and Weapon Camo
• Reach Platinum Rank: “Ranked Season 04 – Platinum” Calling Card and Weapon Camo
• Reach Diamond Rank: “Ranked Season 04 — Diamond” Calling Card and Weapon Camo
• Reach Crimson Rank: “Ranked Season 04 — Crimson” Calling Card and Weapon Camo
• Reach Iridescent Rank: “Ranked Season 04 — Iridescent” Animated Calling Card and Weapon Camo
• Finish Season 04 at the Top 250 Rank: “Ranked Season 04 — Top 250” Animated Calling Card and Animated Weapon Camo
• Finish Season 04 at the Top 250 #1 Overall: “Ranked Season 04 — Top 250 Champion” Animated Calling Card

New Permanent Zombies Mode: Rogue Run

Drop into a whole new Zombies experience with Rogue Run! This fast-moving roguelite twist on Round-Based Zombies features randomized reward paths, permanent in-mode upgrades, and increasing levels of challenge through five different playlist selections, each with its own rewards.

At the start, begin with a randomly selected Common Rarity Pistol and infinite ammo. The zombies come fast and hard in this mode, so be prepared for a fight. Make it to the end of the round and choose your reward.

Build Your Loadout: After clearing each round, teleport to an area with three different rewards, each presented on a pedestal. Each pedestal draws from a different pool — utility upgrades, weapons, Perks, Field Upgrades, Ammo Mods, and more. Primary Weapons have infinite ammo, but Wonder Weapons and Underbarrels do not. 

Claim your reward within the allotted time or it will be chosen for you, then off to the next arena.

Earn Permanent Upgrades: Complete playlist challenges to gain permanent in-match benefits and stronger pedestal reward choices to aid you in future runs. These challenges often require hunting down powerful HVTs.

Included in the possible rewards are permanent Rogue Run upgrades, such as starting with a higher-rarity Pistol, or getting access to Wonder Weapons. These upgrades affect subsequent matches in every playlist within Rogue Run, making it worthwhile to progress in each one.

The Rogue Run playlists are as follows:

• Target: Luci
  • Summons volatile attackers that disrupt the fight. Stay mobile or get overwhelmed.
  • Rewards:
    • “Who’s Keeping Score?” GobbleGum and 1,000 XP (complete Round 5)
    • Wonder Weapons Rogue Run Reward Feature and 2,500 XP (complete Round 15)
    • Aether Tools Rogue Run Reward Feature and 5,000 XP (defeat Luci)
• Target: Mal
  • Drains nearby zombies and resists standard damage. Use elemental damage to turn the horde against it.
  • Rewards:
    • “Arsenal Accelerator” GobbleGum and 1,000 XP (complete Round 5)
    • Permanent 4th Rogue Run Reward Feature and 2,500 XP (complete Round 15)
    • “Hidden Power” GobbleGum and 5,000 XP (defeat Mal)
• Target: Mo
  • Adapts to your weapons over time. Scavenge new ones to stay effective.
  • Rewards:
    • “Profit Sharing” GobbleGum and 1,000 XP (complete Round 5)
    • Pack-a-Punch Crystals Rogue Run Feature and 2,500 XP (complete Round 15)
    • Augments Rogue Run Reward Feature and 5,000 XP (defeat Mo)
• Target: All Targets
  • Luci, Mal, and Mo. One run. Good luck. They appear in rounds 20, 30, and 40.
  • Rewards:
    • “Modified Chaos” GobbleGum and 10,000 XP (defeat 1 HVT in a single run)
    • “Perkaholic” GobbleGum and 20,000 XP (defeat 2 HVTs in a single run)
    • “Ray to Play” Calling Card and 30,000 XP (defeat all HVTs in a single run)
• Target: Endurance
  • Push as far as you can. Every round gets harder, so build smart and survive for as long as possible.
  • Rewards:
    • Uncommon Starting Pistol Rogue Run Reward Feature and 1,000 XP (complete Round 10)
    • Armor Upgrades Rogue Run Reward Feature and 2,500 XP (complete Round 20)
    • Rare Starting Pistol Rogue Run Reward Feature and 5,000 XP (complete Round 30)

Adapt on the fly, chase the best rewards, and see how long your squad can outlast the undead.

Zombies Survival Map: Nuked

Take on the undead horde in Hell’s coziest cul-de-sac as the Nuked Survival map arrives in Season 04.

Battle enemies in the street between the iconic Yellow House and Green House. Far from their idyllic presentation in other forms of Nuketown, this neighborhood is tainted with corruption, and the denizens and their Rad-Hounds are anything but friendly. 

Survive as long as you can to earn the following rewards:

• “Population: Just You” Animated Emblem and 1,000 XP (complete Round 10).
• “Dead End” Weapon Charm and 2,500 XP (complete Round 25)
• “Time Out” GobbleGum and 5,000 XP (complete Round 50)

Zombies Directed Mode: Totenreich

Get extra guidance for the Main Quest on Totenreich as Season 04 brings Directed Mode to the map, delivering on-screen quest steps and a max round cap of 15.

Explore the ancient fishing village’s dark past under the shadow of giants while battling new enemies, including the undead Viking warrior spirit known as the Necropincer, a trident-wielding adversary with a giant crab claw in place of its left arm. Seek out the Jotunn Star Melee Wonder Weapon to meet the challenge head-on; attack enemies with the mythical lantern to steal their souls, generating power to cast death-dealing fireballs between strikes with the barbed iron chain.

Players who complete Totenreich on Directed Mode will earn the “Dead Man’s Drip” Operator Skin for Weaver, “Totenreich Directed Mode Completion” Calling Card, and 5,000 XP.

New Zombies Mode: Totenreich Starting Room

Make your stand in Eidskallen Landing as Starting Room: Totenreich arrives in Season 04. In Starting Room, all pathways out of the starting area are locked, forcing you to make the most out of the space and resources available to you. With no way out of this old fishing village, it’s time to set the bait and take down as many as you can before a cold death overtakes you. Use the following map items to aid in your pursuit:

Totenreich: Mystery Box, Wallbuy (Coda 9), Ammo Cache, Quick Revive, Rampage Inducer, GobbleGum Machine

Survive as long as you can to earn the following rewards:

• “Flavor Hex” GobbleGum and 1,000 XP (reach Round 10)
• “Cold Reel” Calling Card and 2,500 XP (reach Round 25)
• “Aether Fisher” Calling Card and 5,000 XP (reach Round 50)

Mid-Season Zombies Map: Kowakujō

The fight for survival heats up in Kowakujō, the all-new Round-Based Zombies map set within a feudal Japanese castle near active volcanos, where a supernatural new Wonder Weapon, a hellish GobbleGum, and deadly new enemies await.

New Endgame Operation: Wall Breaker

The Guild strikes back in the final chapter of the story: a Command Node is preventing Karma’s virus from attacking their network. Scour Avalon for enough Mapping Data to locate the Node and take it down.

The push to infiltrate The Guild’s network has hit a snag, and unless Karma and her allies can find their way past the company firewall, their plans will have been in vain.

In Season 04, players must return to Avalon to find the weak link in Guild security, starting with the search for the region’s hidden network hub. Find it, breach the firewall, and gain the permissions needed to successfully access the command center node.

Once you’ve breached the command node, it’s time to crack The Guild’s operations wide open. Enter the ensuing Command Killer Glitch Fracture and complete the mission.

New Endgame Feature: Operator Prestige

Starting with Season 04, Endgame Operators with a maxed-out Combat Rating (CR) will gain the option to enter Operator Prestige 1, starting a whole new leveling journey in exchange for greater power. Entering Prestige discards all equipped Skills, resets the Operator’s CR, discards equipped Field Acquisitions, and resets Loadout weapons to their base rarity. 

From this fresh state, redeploy to Avalon and start upping your CR again. With each Prestige, your Operator will earn access to additional skillsets, including:

• Prestige 1: Extra Exotic Skill Slot
• Prestige 2: Extra Nightmare Skill Slot
• Prestige 3: Equip a 4th Skill Track

New Season 04 Endgame Abilities and Skills New Major Ability: Death Machine

• Deadly machine gun. High damage per shot and large magazine capacity.

Endgame's free-to-play period will extend to the end of Season 05, so bring your friends and jump into all the new content waiting for you in Avalon! If you haven't tried Endgame yet, now's the perfect time to start earning all the Weapon Camos, Operator Skins, and additional rewards the mode has to offer.

New Weekly Challenges

Complete challenges every week of the season to unlock new Loadout items, Camo rewards, and XP. Check the Weekly Challenge menu at the start of Season 04 to see the available rewards and the challenges required to unlock them. Complete any six challenges across any or all of the four supported modes to unlock the weekly reward, including new Attachments plus the devastating Iron Rain Scorestreak, the Grimhawk Special Weapon, the “Unescapable Deep” M8A1 Marksman Rifle Weapon Blueprint, and more.

New Season 04 Events

• Nuked Challenge Event (Zombies-Only, Launch)
  • Complete challenges within the new Nuked Survival map in Zombies to earn themed rewards including two new Weapon Camos, a Weapon Charm, and the “Crack in Space” REV-46 SMG Weapon Blueprint.
• Illicit Cargo Camo event (Multiplayer + Zombies + Endgame, In-Season)
  • A mercenary will do anything for the right price. Unlock the new VX Compact Assault Rifle and contraband remastered Weapon Camos smuggled in from Black Ops III titles by completing Weapon Class Challenges in Multiplayer, Zombies, and Endgame. And yes, there’s a Mastery Camo for unlocking all eight Camos in the Event across all four modes.

Full Season 04 Breakdown

For a full breakdown of content arriving throughout the season and at Season 04 Reloaded, including Kowakujō, a new Round-Based Zombies map, be sure to check out the Call of Duty Blog. Look below for our Season 04 Patch Notes and stay tuned for further updates right here.

GLOBAL RICOCHET ANTI-CHEAT

With Season 04 now live, we’re building on our anti-cheat systems to better protect players and ensure fair matches across all platforms. The following security measures are now enabled and actively enforced in-game.

Players who fail Microsoft Azure Attestation (MAA) checks will be placed into a separate matchmaking pool. To access all playlists, players must successfully complete the MAA process. Because the pool of players who haven't passed our attestation checks is small, access is limited to a select set of playlists to help maintain healthy matchmaking.

Players who do not complete attestation will be limited to Nuketown 24/7 in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Battle Royale Casual in Call of Duty: Warzone. This requirement helps protect the integrity of the game and the experience of the broader community.

How it works: 

If your PC isn’t compliant, you will receive a notification that your system failed attestation, and matchmaking access will be adjusted accordingly. 

If you attempt to play with party members whose PCs aren’t compliant, you will also receive a message that you’ve failed attestation because at least one party member did not meet secure attestation requirements.  

To be fully compliant, your system will need: 

• TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) enabled 
• Secure Boot enabled 

For AMD users, versions of AMD’s TPM software in the 3.x.0.x range can return an error during the attestation process, and the fix is to update the system BIOS or firmware. 

If you don’t have these features enabled, you will be placed into a separate matchmaking pool. You also won’t be able to match with players whose systems meet our security requirements or with console players. 

If you need help updating your settings, visit our Player Support page. 

MULTIPLAYER Modes   Black Ops Classic (New Mode)  

Revisit the roots of Black Ops experience with Black Ops Classic, a curated Multiplayer mode focused on the core fundamentals.

• Simplified Gameplay: Movement is streamlined to focus on classic combat, removing advanced mechanics such as sliding, Wall Jumping, and Omnimovement, for a more grounded feel.
• Classic Loadout: Players fight using carefully selected default loadouts and custom loadouts with restrictions, emphasizing essential weapon mastery.
• Old-School Pacing: The mode is designed to deliver a slower and tactical flow.
• Iconic Maps: Battle across throwback maps including Firing Range, Raid, Nuketown, Summit, and more, bringing classic matchups into rotation.

Black Ops Classic is built to capture the nostalgia and the identity of the Black Ops series while offering a distinct way to play within Black Ops 7.

General Playlist Updates 

• Blueprint Gun Game - In-Season
  • Replaces Gun Game in Party Games tab
• 6v6 Gunfight - In-Season
  • Replaces Gunfight in Party Games tab

Weapons

SG-12

We are tuning down Dragon’s Breath on the SG-12, as it’s been overperforming and quickly spiking in usage. It will still be an option for stretching the range and improving base damage consistency of the weapon, but its power will be more in line with the default ammo configuration.

Equipment  

Needle Drone

• Manual pilot mode duration increased from 6 to 7 seconds
• Manual pilot mode pitch speed increased 50 to 60 degrees/sec
• Manual pilot mode yaw speed increased 50 to 60 degrees/sec
• Boost Overclock boost speed increased from 23 to 27 mph

Field Upgrades  

Black Hat

Black Hat's pick rate is low despite the frequency of Scorestreaks in our matches. To help incentivize its use as a go-to Scorestreak counter, we've made some targeted improvements to its charge and use time requirements.

Number of charges to destroy UAV reduced from 2 to 1
Number of charges to destroy CUAV reduced from 2 to 1
Black Hat use time to steal Sentry Turret reduced from 1.5 to 0.75 seconds
Black Hat use time to steal SAM Turret reduced from 1.5 to 0.75 seconds

Scrambler

While Scrambler is intended as an intel-masking device, it is currently also very strong at Score generation. To address this, we've reduced its area of effect radius to be on par with Squad Link and have also reduced its Score bonuses.

• Assist Score event decreased from +15 to +5 score
• Scrambled score event decreased from +15 to +5 score
• Scrambler radius reduced from 650 to 500 inches

Scorestreaks 

• Iron Rain (New Scorestreak)
  • Take to the skies with Iron Rain, a versatile mid-cost drone that gives you a bird’s-eye view of the battlefield while you drop ordnance onto your enemies. Overclocks conceal the drone with active camo tech or add a sonar pulse to help out your team, depending on which you choose. Get in the remote pilot seat at 825 Score.

Ranks + Prestige 

• Players can now see their active 2XP Tokens as well as activate 2XP Tokens on the loading screen while loading into a match.

Stability 

• Addressed various stability issues. 

ZOMBIES Maps 

• Totenreich
  • Gameplay
    • Closed an exploit that allowed players to access unintended areas in the Lighthouse.
    • Closed an exploit that prevented zombies from attacking players in the Dry Docks area near the Speed Cola machine.
    • Added a hidden Random Perk Power-Up.
    • Addressed an issue that allowed players to melee with Melee Macchiato while holding the Glocke Drop remote.
    • Addressed an issue that allowed multiple players to interact with the medal and simultaneously start the Richtofen quest.
    • Addressed an issue where the Flammenfalle trap had extended bullet and equipment collision.
    • Addressed an issue where the Dark Flare Field Upgrade could not damage the ice on frozen machines.
    • Addressed multiple collision issues.
  • Main Quest
    • Players will now be removed from the Richtofen Quest if a holdout event is started during the Main Quest.
    • Addressed an issue that prevented players from completing the Pack‑a‑Punch Quest if a save was created during the Glocke Drop step.
    • Addressed an issue where weapons could clip into the Claw Machine during the Main Quest.
    • Addressed an issue where the Siren and NX Ravager could not open the vent for the ARC‑XD during the Main Quest.
    • Addressed an issue where the Siren did not display damage numbers when hitting Gjallarfrost.
    • Addressed an issue where one of Dravakar’s weak points would not take critical damage.
    • Addressed an issue where one of Dravakar’s weak points could appear during the player’s death scene.
    • Addressed an issue where High Contrast Mode remained active during the end cutscene after defeating Dravakar.
    • Addressed an issue where players could hear the Out‑of‑Bounds warning after selecting Continue following the boss fight.
  • Wonder Weapon
    • Addressed an issue where using the Jotunn Star to break the ice on the Pack‑a‑Punch machine would disable Pack‑a‑Punch camo.
    • Addressed an issue where the Jotunn Star Wonder Weapon would sometimes swing at normal speed when using Melee Macchiato with the Expresso Major Augment equipped.
    • Addressed an issue where the Jotunn Star’s flame effects became mistimed with its attack when using Melee Macchiato alongside the Expresso Major Augment.
    • Addressed an issue that allowed players to use the Jotunn Star Wonder Weapon while in Gnome form.
    • Addressed an issue where Jotunn Star Wonder Weapon effects could be applied to other weapons after exiting Tyr.
    • Addressed an issue where the Jotunn Star Wonder Weapon control UI would not appear correctly after reloading a save.
    • Addressed an issue where Stamin‑Up equipped with Guns Up prevented players from completing the Jotunn Star Chain Blast attack.
  • UI
    • Added a mini‑map icon for the Atomkraft Core when dropped on the ground.
    • Added a HUD icon to indicate when the player is carrying the Atomkraft Core.
  • General
    • Addressed an issue where players could become stuck on a white screen when being teleported to Richtofen’s quest after triggering Dark Flare Field Upgrade immediately beforehand.
    • Addressed an issue where the boot zombie spawned from fishing would not properly clean up if players used a zipline to a new zone.
    • Addressed numerous minor visual issues.
• Paradox Junction
  • Addressed an issue that caused the shells to appear floating while crafting the Sundergat Wonder Weapon.
  • Addressed multiple collision issues.
  • Addressed numerous minor visual issues.
• Astra Malorum
  • Addressed a rare issue where O.S.C.A.R. could become stuck inside the environment in Stargazer’s Courtyard.
  • Addressed multiple collision issues.
  • Addressed numerous minor visual issues.
• Ashes of the Damned
  • Addressed an issue where the Zursa could sometimes get stuck when descending a staircase in Ashwood Bridge.
  • Addressed an issue where Ol’ Tessie was not removed from the course track if left there when triggering the ARC‑XD Race remote.
  • Addressed a rare issue where one of Klaus’s lines appeared in the subtitles at the start of the match.
  • Addressed multiple collision issues.
  • Addressed numerous minor visual issues.

Modes 

• Survival
  • Ashwood
    • Closed an exploit spot where zombies could not target the player in Ashwood Bridge.
    • Closed an exploit spot near the ascender in Market Square when using Toxic Growth.
• Directed
  • Paradox Junction
    • Addressed an issue where the objective marked the incorrect zombie if the Piano Teacher was killed before traveling to the past during the Obtain the Sheet Music step.
    • Addressed an issue that caused the prompt to fill the flask to appear even when the flask was already full of acid.
• Cursed
  • Updated Relic‑selection logic to prioritize the largest party in the lobby when loading into a level.
  • Updated the pause‑screen UI to correctly display the Relics selected during matchmaking for all players.
  • Addressed an issue where weapons obtained from Mister Peeks’s Egg Item did not spawn with full ammo.

Weapons 

• Addressed an issue where the Siren was not appearing as the Deadliest Weapon in the After Action Report.
• Addressed an issue where the Shadow SK with the 12‑Gauge Masterkey Comb Attachment did not receive the correct ammo from a Wall Buy.
• Addressed an issue where the Sokol 545 LMG with the Samarskiy Overdrive Belt Magazine lost its overheat functionality after Pack‑A‑Punching.
• Addressed an issue where Akimbo weapons did not appear correctly after using a zipline while holding a Support Item.

Perk-a-Colas 

• Melee Macchiato
  • Addressed an issue where the Barista Brawl Minor Augment did not function correctly in Cursed. 
• Stamin-Up
  • Addressed an issue where the Hard Target Minor Augment did not function correctly against the Necropincer’s Trident throw. 
• Speed Cola
  • Increased the speed boost gained from Ammo Surge Major Augment.
  • Addressed an issue where the Prestidigitation Minor Augment could trigger on each round loaded into single‑round‑reload weapons.

Support

• War Machine
  • Addressed an issue that caused the War Machine to have reserve ammo. 
• Ion Core
  • Increased direct and max‑health‑based damage and updated radiation blast timing to improve sustained DPS. 
• Disciple Injection
  • Added a cap to damage dealt by Normal Zombies to ensure consistent duration at higher rounds. 
• D.A.W.G.
  • Addressed an issue where the resupply prompt appeared at the destroyed D.A.W.G.’s location.

Power-Ups  

• Addressed an issue where Power‑Ups sometimes failed to spawn correctly. 

Enemies 

• Addressed an issue that allowed certain enemy types to shove players too far.
• Addressed an issue where Karkinos’ death displayed incorrect color effects when killed with Surtr’s Ember.
• Addressed an issue where HVT AIs did not display the correct Elite icon.

Challenges 

• Addressed an issue where Elite enemy trap kills did not progress challenges.
• Addressed an issue where more Peek Performance Medals could be earned than intended.
• Addressed an issue where certain challenges were not progressing in Cursed.
• Added the Heat Wave Medal: Kill 10+ Zombies rapidly with Wild Fire.

UI 

• Addressed an issue where the health bar showed remaining health after the enemy was eliminated.
• Addressed a rare issue where players would see the Robot Controller UI after dying.

Audio 

• Addressed issues with various voiceover lines not playing.
• Addressed various subtitle issues.

Stability 

• Addressed various stability issues. 

ENDGAME Operations

• Operation Wallbreaker and the Command Killer Glitch Fracture added to Endgame.
  • Complete Operation Wallbreaker to unlock the Command Killer Glitch Fracture. Prepare to bear what comes at you.

Gameplay Features

• Operator Prestige: Starting with Season 04, Endgame Operators with a maxed-out Combat Rating will gain the option to enter Operator Prestige 1. Entering Prestige discards all equipped Skills, resets the Operator’s CR, discards equipped Field Acquisitions, and resets Loadout weapons to their base rarity. You can Prestige your Operator a total of 3 times, and each Prestige will let your Operator earn access to more skill slots.
  • Prestige 1 : Extra Exotic Skill Slot
  • Prestige 2 : Extra Nightmare Skill Slot
  • Prestige 3 : Equip a 4th Skill Track. 
• Restore Tokens: Starting in Season 04, Restore tokens might appear in loot when playing Endgame.
• Possessed Convoy: A new activity has been added to Endgame. Destroy the Possessed Guild Convoy and eliminate the Zursa. 

Skills and Abilities 

• Death Machine
  • Get your hands on a powerful minigun with high damage, fast fire rate, and a large ammo pool.
• Ability Tuning
  • Crash Cart
    • Feedback added for allies that receive a buff
  • Black Hat
    • Some targets will now explode after a successful hack
  • Blood Burner
    • Slight increase to the active time for the ability
  • Supply Link
    • Now adds extra ammo to weapon abilities when activated
• Skill Tuning
  • Nova Strike
    • Enemies struck will be shocked at the base level of the skill. 
  • Dive Bomber
    • Increased area of effect, increased damage, and increased stun duration at all levels.
  • Shocking Reload
    • Improved radius and increased minimum damage. Maximum damage lowered slightly. 
  • Shattered Shield
    • Cooldown added to how often invincibility is triggered. 

New Exotic Weapons

• Kilonova: Full-auto submachine gun enhanced for mobility and close-quarters power. Affinity for Graviton Rounds.
• Infraradiance: Semi-auto shotgun altered for non-stop assault and aggression. Affinity for Photon Rounds.

Weapon Tuning

With the launch of Season 04 we are making several adjustments to weapons in Endgame. Among the changes are buffs to some of the more specialized and challenging weapons to use, a partial rework to snipers and some of their Exotic Mods, and some launcher class rebalancing.

We have generally avoided nerfing weapon content in Endgame, and we will continue to follow that philosophy. That said, there are a few “meta” weapon strategies that have emerged over the past months and are negatively impacting our ability to introduce new challenges to the mode. While we could tune new content to these outlier weapons, that quickly hurts the viability of dozens of other weapons and builds. And buffing everything else to match the meta would be a monumental task that risks disrupting the rest of the Endgame experience.

For those reasons, the AAROW 109 and XR-3 Ion have been targeted for tuning with this update. More details can be found below. While it wasn’t an easy decision, we feel that they have had ample time to shine and look forward to seeing what new builds take their place. As always, we will be monitoring your feedback and making follow-up adjustments to these and other weapons as needed.

Shotguns

• Dragon’s Breath Ammo
  • Addressed an issue that prevented Dragon’s Breath from doing burn damage over time.

M34 Novaline

The M34 Novaline is receiving an overall damage boost to help it feel more powerful as a slower, precision weapon.

M34 Novaline Endgame Adjustments

• Damage increased by 50%.

SNIPER RIFLES

A few discoveries came up as we investigated adjustments to the XR-3 Ion. The first was that the Sharpshooter Exotic Mod was unintentionally boosting headshot damage in addition to its intended function. The second was that the Explosive Bullet Exotic Mod was disproportionately increasing damage for the XR-3 Ion, given that it fires a three-round burst. We decided to take a more holistic look at snipers as we addressed the XR-3 Ion.

For the Sharpshooter issue, we opted to remove the extra headshot bonus and just bake it into the base power for the three bolt-action rifles. The Shadow SK, with its faster rate of fire, received a partial refund.

We think the Explosive Bullet Mod is fair in its current tuning for the bolt-action snipers, so those weren’t touched. The Shadow SK received a damage cut but remained mostly the same. The XR-3 Ion, of course, took a large damage reduction.

Finally, we made further adjustments to hit location modifiers on the Shadow SK and XR-3 Ion to make them more effective at body shots.

All

• Sharpshooter Mod
  • Removed an unintended headshot damage modifier that resulted in an additional 33% damage.

LAUNCHERS

The AAROW 109 is the O.G. meta weapon in Endgame. For now, we are only going to hit its damage, with the impact damage taking most of the reduction. This should preserve the playstyle that players have come to love, but limit its power.

We decided to improve the damage on the A.R.C. M1 at the same time, so that the two launchers have more distinct roles as AOE vs. direct damage weapons. A small Charge Time improvement will help the A.R.C. M1 feel more responsive, while still preventing it from becoming the same menace that the AAROW 109 was.

AAROW 109

AAROW 109 Endgame Adjustments

• Direct Impact Damage reduced by 32%.
• Inner Explosion Damage reduced by 12.5% after Combat Rating 10.

A.R.C. M1

A.R.C. M1 Endgame Adjustments

• Direct Impact Damage increased by 36%.
• Charge Time reduced by 25% after Combat Rating 10

MELEE

Knife

• Heavy melee damage increased by 12.5% to better align with other melee weapons.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where entering the Glitch did not count towards challenges that required players to Escape from Avalon.
• Fixed an issue where players could accidentally spend a Restore token when they did not mean to. 
• Addressed rare cases of the Exotic Fabricator spawning on top of players and downing them.
• Addressed an issue where certain skills that could damage enemies would directly reduce the health of armored enemies instead of breaking their armor. 
• Fixed an issue where Conductive Shot was not doing the expected damage in some cases.
• Fixed an issue where Conductive Shot was not granting the appropriate Score.
• Fixed an issue where the Aether Blade wouldn’t attack Toxic Growths in the Glitches.
• Fixed an issue where the Hellwing and Nova Strike would not properly apply damage in Glitches. 
• Fixed an issue where players sometime take fall damage and enter Last Stand after being ejected from the Blood Burner

Stability 

• Various fixes to improve stability.

CALL OF DUTY: WARZONE

MAPS

New

» Fortune's Keep «

Map Refresh

Fortune’s Keep returns! Revisit familiar locations while exploring new points of interest and updated pathways that introduce additional depth to engagements throughout the map.

• Major Points of Interest
  • Terraces
    • A fortified combat zone featuring elevated traversal routes and strong sightlines surrounding the central courtyard. 
  • Keep
    • A sprawling stronghold combining long-range sightlines with dense interior close-quarters combat. 
  • Gatehouse
    • A central rotational hotspot featuring battlements, sewer flanking routes, and constant multi-directional engagements. 
  • Bay
    • A shoreline POI offering watercraft access, cliffside tunnels, and the new Sea Science Aquatic Laboratory. 
  • Winery
    • A large eastern compound centered around contested courtyard combat and basement-level engagements. 
  • Pier
    • A coastal crossover route supporting vehicle traversal and flexible shoreline repositioning. 
  • Lighthouse
    • An elevated sniper position with Ascender access, cliffside traversal routes, and zipline connectivity. 
  • Overlook
    • A high-ground POI delivering powerful sightlines over Town and the eastern side of Fortune’s Keep. 
  • Town
    • A dense urban combat zone packed with loot and fast-paced close-quarters engagements. 
  • Graveyard
    • A low-cover POI featuring underground access routes and elevated tower sightlines. 
  • Grotto
    • A subterranean cave network connecting multiple POIs beneath the island surface. 
  • Smuggler’s Cove
    • A secluded coastal POI focused on vertical traversal, elevated positioning, and cave-based rotations. 
  • Research Vessel
    • A moving offshore POI equipped with a Buy Station, Ammo Cache, and the island’s only UAV Tower. 
• Micro Points of Interest New
  • Sea Science Aquatic Laboratory
    • A compact research facility at Bay featuring multi-level close-quarters combat and shoreline access. 
  • Capt. Bubby’s Chum Haus
    • A new shoreline restaurant offering interior cover and sightlines between Pier and Lighthouse. 
  • Smuggler HQ
    • A central staging area near Gatehouse designed for looting, ambushes, and rapid map rotations.

For a deeper rundown on Fortune’s Keep Remaster in general and each POI in particular, check out the official Fortune’s Keep Tac Map Guide.

MODES Returning

• ClashLimited-Time Mode
  • General
    • Clash returns with team-based combat across nine possible locations in Verdansk.
    • Players earn score by capturing objectives, completing Contracts, and eliminating enemy Players.
    • Supports endless respawns.
    • Vehicle combat and Buy Stations remain available throughout the match.
  • Gameplay
    • Rebalanced scoring to increase the value of objective captures.
    • Enabled Grappling Hook and Wall Jump movement mechanics.
    • Added the Machine Gun variant of the JLTV.
    • Added Black Ops Killstreaks and Equipment to Buy Stations.
    • Removed Powerups.
  • Players
    • 52 vs 52 
    • Quads
  • Map
    • Verdansk
    • Added four new combat zones (bringing our total up to 9):
      • Launch
      • Signal Station
      • Factory
      • Airport

PLAYLIST

For information about upcoming Playlists, please check out the dedicated Warzone Trello Board.

GENERAL New

• Placement Challenges
  • Placement Challenges introduce a new progression system that rewards consistent match performance across playlists.
  • Players can earn Placement Points by reaching designated placement milestones in Battle Royale, Resurgence, and casual variant playlists, regardless of squad size. 
  • Milestones
    • Battle Royale
      • Top 20 - 1 Point
      • Top 15 - 3 Points
      • Victory - 5 Points
    • Resurgence
      • Top 5 - 1 Point
      • Top 3 - 3 Points
      • Victory - 5 Points
    • Black Ops Royale
      • Top 15 - 1 Point
      • Top 10 - 3 Points
      • Victory - 5 Points
  • Rewards
    • Placement Points contribute toward a series of unlockable rewards that can be progressed throughout the Chapter.
      • 1 Point - Animated Emblem
      • 10 Points - Animated Calling Card
      • 20 Points - Contrail
      • 30 Points - Parachute Skin
      • 45 Points - Animated Weapon Camo

Adjusted

Win Streak Static Camos

Win Streak Animated Camos

• Win Streaks
  • Win Streak rewards have been updated for Season 04. As a reminder, the prior rewards for Season 03 are no longer obtainable.
  • Black Ops Royale
    • 10 Consecutive Wins – Primordial Streak Static Camo
    • 25 Consecutive Wins – Ethereal Reflection Animated Camo
  • Battle Royale
    • 10 Consecutive Wins – Stone Sigil Static Camo
    • 25 Consecutive Wins – Electric Sigil Animated Camo
  • Resurgence
    • 30 Consecutive Wins – Northern Streak Static Camo
    • 50 Consecutive Wins – Hellish Embers Animated Camo

• Unique Camo Challenges
  • The following Snipers and LMGs had a unique camo challenge requiring kills while moving, which has been changed to require kills while using a Suppressor:
    • XR-3 Ion
    • VS Recon
    • Hawker HX
    • XM325
    • Sokol 545

RANKED PLAY New

• Maps
  • Fortune’s Keep has been added to the Resurgence Ranked Play map pool.
  • Ranked Play on Fortune’s Keep supports up to 48 Players across 16 squads.
  • The current Resurgence Ranked Play map pool now includes:
    • Fortune’s Keep
    • Rebirth Island
    • Haven’s Hollow

Adjusted

• Matchmaking
  • Updated Ranked matchmaking configuration to more consistently enforce intended skill brackets during matchmaking.
  • This change will reduce skill disparities within matches and improve SR progression consistency at higher skill levels.

• Loot Pool
  • Added Counter UAVs to ground loot.
  • Re-enabled Echo Units at a rare spawn rate.
  • Re-enabled Point Turrets at a rare spawn rate.

• Restrictions
  • Grimhawk
  • Advanced Self Revive
  • Shadowlink Contract

GAMEPLAY Adjusted

• Added High Value Loot ZonesHaven’s Hollow
  • High Value Loot Zones have been enabled in Haven’s Hollow Resurgence with two of the following zones selected each match: Lumbermill, Homestead, Riverboat, Pond, Train Station, and Coal Depot.
• Horizontal AscendersQuality of Life
  • Adjusted the interaction range and aligned the use prompt distance with the actual interaction distance for improved consistency and easier use. 

BUY STATIONS Adjusted

» Battle Royale «

• Increased Number of Buy Stations
  • Increased Buy Station locations from 49 to 64 on Avalon.
  • Increased Buy Station locations from 49 to 51 on Verdansk.
  • Adjusted locations of Buy Stations on both Avalon and Verdansk.

CONTRACTS New

» Resurgence «

• Shadowlink ContractFortune’s Keep Only
  • Added a new Recon Contract variant rewarding squads with access to the Shadowlink satellite phone.
  • Shadowlink grants remote access to the Black Market Buy Station from anywhere on the map.
  • Black Market information:
    • Players can purchase and complete Hit Lists through the Black Market to earn rewards.
    • Completing a full Hit List rewards Cash and unlocks the next Black Market tier.
    • Access and progression is shared across the squad.
    • Multiple Hit Lists can be active simultaneously.
    • Compatible with the Fire Sale Public Event.

Adjusted

» Battle Royale & Resurgence «

• Recon
  • Updated Recon flare behavior to persist after capture has begun until the Contract is either completed or failed.
  • Train Recon Contracts continue to use the previous flare behavior, which expires automatically after a short duration.

FIELD UPGRADES New

» Resurgence «

• Advanced Self-Revive
  • A new rare variant of the Self-Revive Kit has been added to ground loot and caches, granting temporary Active Camo.
  • Functionality:
    • Activates Active Camo while self reviving.
    • Successfully completing a self revive will maintain Active Camo for an additional 2 seconds or until the player makes an aggressive action..
    • Active Camo is removed if the self revive is cancelled or interrupted by a teammate revive.
    • Will not be consumed if interrupted by a teammate revive.
    • Shares an inventory slot with the standard Self-Revive.
    • Players may only carry one Self-Revive variant at a time.
    • Players can swap between Advanced and standard Self-Revives when interacting with either item.

PERKS Adjusted

» Battle Royale & Resurgence «

• Surveyor 
  • Nearby enemies who use a Grappling Hook will now briefly appear on your minimap. 

EQUIPMENT Adjusted

» Black Ops Royale «

• Bubble Shield & EMP Grenade
  • EMP grenades will now disable active enemy bubble shields.

Weapon Adjustments

Overall weapon usage is in a healthy spot, but we're addressing a few outliers in this update. One of our primary goals is to improve build diversity, particularly within the muzzle category. These changes are intended to create more meaningful tradeoffs between muzzle options, encouraging players to choose attachments based on the strengths they value most rather than defaulting to the Monolithic Suppressor for nearly every build. 

» Battle Royale & Resurgence «

• Ground Loot Weapons
  • Extensive pass has happened to refresh the ground loot builds on multiple weapons

» Black Ops Royale «

• New exotics have been added to Black Ops Royale:
  • Swarmforge - MPC-25
    • Built for aggressive players, offering exceptional handling, mobility, and hipfire accuracy alongside an expanded magazine and improved damage range.
  • Collateral - EGRT-17
    • Delivers exceptional long-range performance with minimal recoil, outstanding damage range, and a best-in-class magazine size to keep you in the fight longer.
• The Killswitch (AK-27) and Barrage (Razor 9mm) have been removed

BUG FIXES

Gameplay

• Fixed an issue that prevented players from picking up plates while plating if they had the “Apply All” setting on.

• Fixed a Battle Royale Casuals issue that occasionally left a bot stuck in the Gulag at match end. 

• Fixed an issue that could cause visual distortion when aiming down sights with certain optics.

• Fixed an issue that allowed players to achieve faster-than-intended ADS speeds with the VST.

Challenges

• Fixed an issue where the “Hyper Lethal” Prestige Title challenge did not correctly track player placement for progression.

• Fixed an issue where the “Get Kills with Ground Loot Weapons” Weekly Challenge incorrectly tracked kills made with a player's infil weapon. 

• Fixed an issue where the “Natural Talent” Prestige Title challenge incorrectly tracked progress for kills made with the starting pistol in Battle Royale.

• Fixed an issue where the “Get Kills Without Taking Damage” challenge for the Sokol 545 LMG could ignore damage taken.

Maps

• Fixed an issue causing geography to flicker in certain areas of Avalon.

UI/UX

• Fixes issue that caused proximity chat red enemy names to appear on the screen for enemies that were not actually near the player 

• Fixed an issue causing the Death Icon to appear inconsistently after a player was eliminated and redeployed in Resurgence.

• Fixed an issue preventing Danger Pings from appearing in the final Killcam replay.

• Fixed an issue where weapon names and attachment information could overlap in the Killcam.

• Fixed an issue causing the lobby screen to occasionally go black after equipping a new Operator.

The free-to-play military FPS World War 3 is going offline. Developer New Generation Games has announced that "after careful consideration," the studio will end support for the game and close the servers very soon.

The multiplayer servers will be taken offline on August 3, 2026, after which the game will not be playable.

"This was not an easy decision. You have supported us throughout the years and we want to thank everyone who played World War 3, shared feedback, reported issues, created content and kept the community alive," the developers said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysgzR2jMwNE

New Generation Games did not share any further specifics regarding the upcoming server shutdown, but the closure may have something to do with the game's player count.

The game had 49 concurrent players at its peak over the past 24 hours. Player numbers steadily declined since an all-time high of 11,792 in September 2022, according to data from SteamDB. World War 3 was originally released in 2018.

A free-to-play tactical shooter, World War 3 takes players to places like Warsaw, Berlin, and Moscow, featuring all manner of guns, vehicles, and gadgets.

World War 3 shutting down is just the latest example of a live-service game calling it quits.

Many big releases have failed to catch on and ended up shutting down, joining the live-service graveyard. Concord and Highguard are two examples, and Hawked, a shooter similar to Fortnite, will also close its servers later this year.

God of War developer Santa Monica Studio has responded to a social media post from Domino's Pizza after the pizza chain's UK account joked about the newly announced God of War: Laufey for being a God of War game without Kratos.

The post from Domino's Pizza UK said, "God of War game with no Kratos = Pepperoni Passion with no pepperoni." The Domino's Pizza UK post was criticized for making fun of the game just because it doesn't feature Kratos, with many replies pointing out the reports of how poorly Domino's is known to treat its workers and how mediocre at best its pizza is.

Santa Monica Studio responded by saying, "ok thanks for the feedback, dominos pizza corporate account."

The Domino's Pizza UK account is known for its spicy posts, and this was just the latest example as the account purposefully posting something hyperbolic and weird to garner attention. It worked, but now people are dunking on Domino's even more than before.

God of War: Laufey tells the story of Fey, the wife of Kratos and mother of Atreus. She died, but lives on in the afterlife of the gods--the Everywhen. The events of the new game are happening concurrently with the story from the 2018 God of War. The game also involves a gelatinous cube played by Jack Quaid.

Kratos is a beloved character, but Santa Monica Studio wanted to mix things up and tell a story from a different perspective with Laufey before possibly returning to a Kratos-focused story in the future.

2K Sports released a new batch of downloadable content for WWE 2K26 earlier today, with Matt Cardona, La Parka, and WWE legends Torrie Wilson and Brian Pillman headlining the additions. However, hidden within the latest update is another addition to the roster that not even diehard WWE fans would expect: Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of 2K parent company Take-Two Interactive, is now playable in WWE 2K26.

Zelnick is depicted in a blue suit and dress shoes, and he currently boasts a 77 overall rating; for comparison, WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin, who sits next to Zelnick on the roster page, has a rating of 97.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsWoNBW6HuI

The CEO's entrance music is "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, a song that's exclusive to Zelnick. The in-game jukebox will not play the song, nor can it be assigned to any other wrestler, real or customized, through the creation suite.

YouTube user Xain Wani posted a video of Zelnick's entrance, which also includes a custom video on the Titantron as well as unique commentary, which found its way onto ResetEra. Zelnick's inclusion was not mentioned in the official press release for the DLC pack, so many players were caught by surprise.

This is also not the first time a real-world gaming executive found their way into a video game. A downloadable chapter of Nier: Automata saw players face off against then-CEO Yosuke Matsuda, as well as Platinum Games president Kenichi Sato, in 2017.

Remedy's multiplatform action game Control Resonant showed up during the PlayStation State of Play event this week, and it turns out the game is giving PS5 users preferential treatment.

One of the perks of buying the $70 digital deluxe edition of Control Resonant on PS5 is 48 hours of early access. That means PS5 users who pay $10 more than the standard edition can start playing on September 22. Everyone else can get started on September 24.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFmz2jV7Zkw

The digital deluxe edition also includes the Hiss Corruption outfit and Pickpocket's Tool artifact on all platforms, but PS5 players get something more: the Occult outfit.

The digital deluxe edition of Control Resonant also costs $70 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, but PS5 is the only place to get 48-hour early access and the Occult outfit.

These types of exclusivity deals are not uncommon in games, but it's still a bummer that two out of the game's three platforms are missing out on some content and early access, despite paying the same amount. PC and Xbox users will also have to deal with potentially having the game's story spoiled for them as they wait the two days to get started.

A new story trailer for Control Resonant was released during the State of Play event this week--check it out above.

Ahead of its release in September, Remedy Entertainment has revealed the recommended PC specifications for Control Resonant, and they aren't as demanding as you might think.

Hot on the heels of the game's latest trailer during Sony's State of Play, Remedy shared the minimum and recommended hardware configurations you'll need for Control Resonant later this year, with GPUs and CPUs from several generations past being the most demanding aspects. On the recommended front, Resonant will require either an RTX 3070 or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, which released all the way back in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

They're also severely limited cards when it comes to memory by modern standards. The RTX 3070 specifically features only 8GB of VRAM, which has been too little for many recent releases. That bodes well if you're still clinging onto older hardware in light of the ongoing AI-driven memory crisis, which has made everything with fast memory more expensive to purchase.

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10/ 11 (64-bit required)
• Processor: Intel corei5-8500 or AMD equivalent
• Memory: 16GB RAM
• Graphics: GeForce GTX 1070 / Radeon RX 5600 XT
• Storage: 100GB SSD

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10/ 11 (64-bit required)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or Intel equivalent
• Memory: 16GB RAM
• Graphics: GeForce RTX 3070 / Radeon RX 6700 XT
• Storage: 100GB SSD

The caveat here is that while Remedy Entertainment seems to be catering to players with aging systems, there's no indication yet what type of performance you can expect with these configurations. The studio says that information will come closer to launch, presumably with breakdowns indicating what hardware you'll need to run the sequel at higher resolutions with more graphically demanding settings like ray tracing, which the first Control was renowned for.

Control Resonant is launching on September 24, and there's a slew of other massive games occupying the same month such as Marvel's Wolverine, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Silent Hill: Townfall, and more.

Sony just announced a new God of War game, God of War: Laufey, and the developers are telling Laufey's story this time, not one from the perspective of series hero Kratos.

In an interview with IGN, the developers said, "We'll always tell stories about Kratos," but for the new game, it was an opportunity to tell a different story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upjpP54xDIc

Laufey, or Fey--the wife of Kratos and mother of Atreus--is someone who is "so pivotal" to the wider story, and making a game all about her gave the team a chance to "push beyond into this new world and give us some place to be surprised and see how things connect," the studio said.

The developers said they reject the idea that God of War: Laufey is a "departure" from the previous games. "It's more of an expansion," they said.

In 2018's God of War, Kratos and Atreus are on a journey to spread Faye's ashes. Sony Santa Monica creative lead Cory Barlog said Faye was "a phantom and a specter" in the 2018 game, someone who was "omnipresent but visually not represented" in that game.

He said it would be "so interesting" to have made a prequel to see Fey's life before the events of the 2018 game, but it was equally interesting to the studio "to see how things continue forward."

In Laufey, Faye ascends to the afterlife of the gods, known as the Everywhen, where she has a lot of monsters to fight. The events of Laufey are happening concurrently with the plot of the 2018 God of War game.

Laufey is coming to PlayStation 5, but the game does not have a release date. Deborah Ann Woll plays Fey, with Jack Quaid playing the role of the gelatinous cube, Phranque, and people have many theories about who he really is.

One of the major takeaways from the new trailer for Marvel's Wolverine at the State of Play event recently was that the PS5 game is a brutal, gory affair.

Creative director Marcus Smith told Variety that Wolverine is a "mature game," but if you want to dial back the gore, there will be an option for you. He also said developer Insomniac had to change certain animations during development to avoid having Logan come across as a "sadist" when it comes to violence.

"We understand that some people are squeamish when it comes to blood, and we do have an accessibility option to turn it off and do low-gore paths," he explained.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5UuhXW32JI

Game director Mike Daly, meanwhile, said there was "really no turning away from the violence" and the studio needed it in the game "in order to really live up to the character" and make a game that does Wolverine justice.

The result is an "unapologetic embrace of the character and their violent nature," he said.

Smith went on to say that Logan does not relish in the violence he inflicts upon his enemies. Instead, his violence is about "efficiency," Smith said.

"What he’s doing is the quickest way to get to what he needs to do, right? So when you’re cutting through unequivocally bad guys, it feels pretty good to just be doing it," he said. "But there were times during development when somebody would do an animation where you just went, 'Ah, that looks a little bit too much, like he’s enjoying it.' He’s not a sadist here or anything."

Wolverine launches on September 15 for PS5. We recently got a closer look at the game during the PlayStation State of Play broadcast--check out the new footage above.

Microsoft has announced the next set of additions to the Xbox Game Pass library, and there are nine games on the way in the first half of June. The list of titles includes games new to Game Pass and games joining different tiers.

The new additions for June include the day-one new releases Solarpunk (June 8), Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions (June 11), and Junkster (June 16).

Also in June, the adventure game from the publisher of Firewatch, Herdling, comes to Game Pass Premium on June 4, joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Total Chaos, the first-person survival-horror game, also comes to Game Pass Premium on June 4; it was already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

The boxing game Undisputed comes to Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass on June 8, while the turn-based RPG Personal 5 Royal lands on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass on June 9.

The life sim Beastro hits Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on June 11, while the co-op puzzle-platformer Frog Sqwad comes to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on June 11.

In terms of games leaving Game Pass in June, Microsoft will cut five games from the service on June 15, including Jurassic World Evolution 2.

Microsoft is expected to announce a second wave of additions and removals for Game Pass in June later this month. There may also be some Game Pass surprises during the Xbox Games Showcase on June 7.

Xbox Game Pass June Wave 1 Additions

June 4

• Herdling (Xbox Series X|S, PC, cloud) - Now with Game Pass Premium, joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
• Total Chaos (Xbox Series X|S, PC, cloud) - Now with Game Pass Premium, joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass

June 8

• Solarpunk (Xbox Series X|S, PC, cloud) - Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass. Day-one new release.
• Undisputed (Xbox Series X|S, PC, cloud) - Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass

June 9

• Personal 5 Royal (Console, PC, cloud) - Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass

June 11

• Beastro (Xbox Series X|S, PC, cloud) - Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Frog Sqwad (Xbox Series X|S, PC, cloud) - Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions (Xbox Series X|S, PC, cloud) - Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass. Day-one new release.

June 16

• Junkster (Xbox Series X|S, PC, cloud) - Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass. Day-one new release.

It's that time of the month once again, as several titles will be leaving Xbox Game Pass in a few weeks. Alongside the new batch of arrivals, subscribers only have until June 15 to play some great retro-inspired beat-'em-ups, dive into an inventive RPG, and set up a dinosaur theme park where nothing can possibly go wrong. As a reminder, if you’d like to keep any of these games, you can buy them at a discount, as Game Pass subscribers can save up to 20% before they’re removed from the service.

Jurassic World Evolution 2 Jurassic World Evolution 2

Welcome to Jurassic World Evolution 2--but not for much longer. The sequel to the original 2018 game introduced some significant improvements, but you don't have too much time to check them out for yourself before it exits Game Pass for cloud, console, and PC.

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die Lost in Random: The Eternal Die

Feeling lucky? Lost in Random combines fairy tale and gothic influences to create a stylish adventure, and with everyone's fate determined by a roll of the dice, you'll have to work hard to keep the odds in your favor. Originally released for Game Pass on cloud, console, and PC, it's one of the five games leaving in mid-June.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game

A love letter to 2D beat-'em-ups, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game is exiting Game Pass for cloud, console, and PC this month. Grab it while you can, enjoy the excellent Anamanaguchi website, and defeat the League of Ramona Flowers' Evil Exes. Last year also saw the release of Scott Pilgrim EX, and it's a fine follow-up to this cult-classic brawler.

Warhammer 40K Space Marine: Master Crafted Edition Warhammer 40K Space Marine: Master Crafted Edition

Ever wondered why Warhammer fans were so vocal over their desire to see a new Warhammer 40K: Space Marine game for over a decade? Then check out this enhanced edition of the original game before it leaves cloud, console, and PC later this month.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

We've seen several Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle games released over the last couple of years, but Shredder's Revenge is still one of our favorites. A combination of coin-munching arcade aesthetics with classic beat-'em-up action enhanced with several modern ideas, it'll exit Game Pass for cloud, console, and PC.

The Best Xbox Game Pass Games In 2026 View Images

Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog have confirmed that Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, the upcoming remake of the 1996 game, was made in part with AI tools.

The game's product page on Steam contains a disclosure about the use of AI, and it says the developers used "AI-assisted tools" to support "some early exploration and temporary development content."

"Any AI-assisted assets were either replaced or refined by humans in order to maintain the creative and artistic vision of the development team," the disclosure states.

One of the newly released images for Legacy of Atlantis shows Lara dual-wielding pistols, while two more pistols remain holstered. People online said this was odd and possibly related to AI. That remains to be seen, however.

In another newly released image, we can see Lara wielding two pistols and the holsters are empty.

The use of artificial intelligence tools in game development has increased, as developers look to find ways to make games more efficiently to help combat rising development costs.

The use of AI has not been without controversy, of course, as people continue to fear that the use of the technology will negatively affect the business of games and the people who make them, and further enrich executives.

Crystal Dynamics, Flying Wild Hog, and the Tomb Raider franchise are owned by Embracer, a behemoth holding company whose CEO is a big believer in AI for helping to increase profits.

Following a delay, Legacy of Atlantis is now releasing in February 2027. It will be followed later in the year by a brand-new Tomb Raider game, Tomb Raider: Catalyst.

Marvel's Wolverine finally got its big gameplay reveal during Sony's latest State of Play showcase, alongside first looks at a variety of new characters from the wider X-Men universe. With mutants being rounded up by Trask Industries and other factions, it begs the question: where are the other X-Men? It turns out, they don't exist in this version of Wolverine's universe.

That's according to creative director Marcus Smith, who confirmed that the mutant-defending team would not feature in Insomniac's Wolverine. Instead, the game will feature Team X, which is described as a globe-trotting group of mercenary mutants who are protecting other mutants in danger. In this universe, most mutants are still living in secret, so the idea of Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters seems a while away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiBo_NgYI5Q

"In our world, mutants aren’t really that well known throughout the world, so they’re mostly in hiding because they’re pretty vulnerable," Smith explained to Variety. "In our trailer that we set up, Logan is hunting down some mutants who’ve been kidnapped by cybernetically enhanced mercenaries called the Reavers, and that’s when he discovers there’s yet another mutant who is also trying to save them, and that’s where he and Jean cross paths."

That would explain why Logan doesn't seem to recognize Jean Grey in the trailer, but might also give some hints as to why other characters also appear. Mystique is seen fighting Reavers near the end of the trailer, suggesting that she might be another member of Team X. While Omega Red and Sabretooth have also been associated with the group in the past, it's clear here that they're villains you'll have to deal with as Wolverine, and likely not aligned with saving other mutants.

One associate of Team X in the comics has been Lady Deathstrike, who has not featured in a trailer yet. She has also lead the Reavers in the past, who are pominently featured (and torn up) in this latest gameplay trailer. So it's possible Insomniac could be reserving her introduction as a surprise later down the line.

There are many Marvel characters that are making an appearance in Wolverine, in large and small roles alike. Check out our list of everyone you might have missed from the latest trailer before Wolverine launches exclusively on PS5 on September 15.

Last month, Jack Quaid wrapped up his five-season run as Hughie Campbell on The Boys. But during Sony's State of Play event, it was revealed that Quaid's next role is in a new God of War game.

Quaid isn't playing the new lead character. Instead, he's lending his voice to Phranque, who is some kind of gelatinous cube that can speak and move on his own.

"Phranque is ... a cosmic cube that you meet in this world called the Everywhen," explained Quaid in a behind-the-scenes video. "When you start playing this game, you get the feeling that the Everywhen is in trouble and Phranque will stop at nothing to protect all the living creatures that inhabit this world."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKMCqyeBWmU

The video also features some footage of Quaid providing the motion-capture performance for Phranque, which apparently included a cube-like apparatus built around his body. Phranque and the sentient ribbon, Rue (Perlina Lau), are the new companions of Faye (Deborah Ann Woll), the late wife of Kratos and the mother of their son, Atreus. Together, this unlikely trio is going to explore the afterlife of the gods while confronting some dangerous foes.

"To be an original character in a new game in a universe that I love and care so much about, it's really like dream-come-true stuff for me," added Quaid. "The gameplay is unbelievable. The characters are rich and and vibrant, and I think if you're a long-time God of War fan, this is going to be really fun for you because it's taking you in a completely different direction, but still keeping those core pillars of the things that you love."

God of War Laufey will be released on PlayStation 5, but it doesn't currently have a release date.

New games were announced for the PlayStation Plus Classics Catalog at PlayStation's State Of Play 2026, including Gitaroo Man, a PlayStation 2 cult classic rhythm game that has been out of reach for players for more than two decades.

Developed by iNiS, Gitaroo Man is often praised for its storytelling, outstanding visuals, and original soundtrack, as you follow the adventures of an ordinary school boy who transforms into the eponymous Gitaroo Man to take on enemies in musical battles.

Gitaroo Man was also released in low quantities in the West, which means it hasn't been widely available to purchase. Old PS2 copies often fetch high prices on the secondary market. A PlayStation Portable version called Gitaroo Man Lives came out in 2006, but the title coming to the PlayStation Plus Classic Catalog in June will be the definitive PS2 original.

Sony also announced during the livestream that Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, a third-person action adventure that mixes gunplay with psychic powers, will join the Classic Catalog in July. Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, the last game in the series until the upcoming Onimusha: Way of the Sword, is coming to the library in August.

The Classics Catalog is part of PlayStation Plus Premium membership tier, although classic PS1 and PS2 games are usually also made available as standalone purchases on the PlayStation Store.

A new trailer for Silent Hill: Townfall is providing a pretty good look at the next entry in Konami's survival-horror series, and alongside a release date, gave a sense that this new Silent Hill could help expand the series the way Resident Evil 7 did for Capcom's storied franchise.

Publisher Konami dropped a new trailer for Townfall during Sony's June State of Play livestream, which included a release date of September 24. The trailer includes a lot of gameplay from Townfall's first-person perspective, ranging from combat to stealth to puzzle-solving. Check it out below.

https://youtu.be/cm1Z1IFTtX4?si=2k0xiy7wPNZgDHkb

In the trailer, the first-person perspective is particularly reminiscent of Resident Evil 7, which reinvigorated that series with a similar perspective. Solving puzzles has also always been a big part of the Silent Hill experience, and Townfall doesn't look like it'll disappoint on that front, if the trailer is any indication. That side of the equation makes Townfall look similar to something like Myst.

For my part, anyway, the prospect of first-person Silent Hill with Myst-like puzzle gameplay is a phenomenal combination.

Silent Hill has had some big wins of late with Bloober Team's remake of Silent Hill 2 and Neobards Entertainment's Silent Hill f. With Silent Hill f in particular, Konami expanded what defines a Silent Hill game. From the trailer, Townfall looks poised to do the same, providing more kinds of horror experiences that still fit within the bounds of the Silent Hill series,.

Developed by Screen Burn and published by Annapurna Interactive, Silent Hill: Townfall is a set in 1996, and it follows Simon Ordell as he explores the Scottish town of St. Amelia. Under siege by strange monsters, Ordell will have to decide when to fight or when to run, and a handheld TV will help him stay one step ahead of his adversaries.

Enemies appear on its screen as blobs of static, and Ordell can also use the device to solve the mysteries of St. Amelia. If you're interested, Silent Hill: Townfall preorders are open, and the game is priced at a modest $50.

The rumors about a new God of War game proved to be true during Sony's latest State of Play event. That's why the reveal of God of War Laufey wasn't unexpected. What was a surprise was its cubic, talking, gelatin-like companion character, Phranque (as voiced by The Boys' Jack Quaid), is the character who turned out to be the breakout star of State of Play.

As seen in the video below, Quaid even provided the motion-capture performance for Phranque.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKMCqyeBWmU&t=102s

Ostensibly, the focus was supposed to be on Faye (Deborah Ann Woll), the late wife of Kratos and the mother of their son, Atreus. The game begins shortly after Faye's death in 2018's God of War, and she soon finds herself in Everwhen, the afterlife of the gods. However, this is no paradise and Pharanque and his talking ribbon companion, Rue (Perlina Lau), may be the only allies that Fay can depend upon.

While Rue is attached to Faye's new sword, Pharanque proved that he's willing to fight alongside Faye. It's unclear what the full extent of Pharanque's abilities entail, but he was formidable enough to take on a few of the on-screen enemies. And his engaging personality appears to be a hit with viewers so far.

"I hope by the end of this, everybody has feelings for some ribbons and a jellied cube," said God of War Laufey director Ariel Lawrence during an interview with IGN.

Sony Santa Monica Head of Creative Cory Barlog also noted that Phranque's presence in the game has been there since its early stages.

"To me it's one of the most important parts of it," said Barlog. "Strip away all of the fanciful and the design and the extra and what you have is this very simple cube, but you imbue inside of it an incredible struggle as well as an earnestness and a real personality."

God of War Laufey doesn't currently have a release date, but it will be available on PlayStation 5.

In contrast to the snowy, mountainous landscape of the first game, Until Dawn 2 is set on a tropical island, but still involves a set of horny young people getting hacked and slashed. Just like the first game, it's a cinematic, choice-based horror game where your decisions affect who lives and dies. The game was announced at the June 2026 State of Play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpVZ9OvRLZI

Until Dawn 2 follows a crew of ghost hunters to Akishima Island, which is home to mountain trails, ancient archeological sites, and a former vacation spot that's been abandoned for decades. Though the ghost hunters have faked every encounter with the supernatural thus far, they will encounter evil forces on the island. The trailer only show what appears to be a masked killer, but as fans of the first game can expect, there are likely layers to how this horror story will unfold

As in the first game, every player character can live or die based on the choices of the player. They can treat their horrified teens as precious souls in need of protection or as slasher movie hacks best murdered. One such choice is showcased in the trailer. While running away from the aforementioned masked killer, a player can choose to push their companion Luke off a cliff or to jump alone. Pushing Luke seems to result in his death to the rocks below the cliff.

Until Dawn already got a spiritual sequel in the form of The Quarry, where players take the role of teenage camp counselors beset by mysterious beasts. This Until Dawn sequel is not developed by the original developers, Supermassive Games, which have also released many horror games as part of the Dark Pictures Anthology series. Instead, it is helmed by Firesprite, the team behind the Horizon VR game Call Of The Mountain and the survival-horror game The Persistence.

Whether Until Dawn 2 has any direct connection to the first game, or the film adaptation (besides the posthumous presence of Peter Stormare) is still unknown.

Hosting a Sony State of Play broadcast not even two weeks after announcing that the next Destiny 2 update will be its last was always going to attract attention from the soon-to-be alienated player base. However, it's the week of Summer Game Fest, so it's pretty unavoidable.

As early as three hours prior to the broadcast beginning, there were almost 6,000 viewers waiting in the chat, with comments ranging from "Save Destiny!" through to "We Want Destiny 3" already popping up.

As the broadcast started, the enthusiasm only ramped up, with floods of messages of support for the Destiny franchise coming in. To the PlayStation Twitch moderators' benefit, they tried to delete messages spamming the #WeWantDestiny3 hashtag, but to little avail.

During a State of Play that focused on Marvel's Wolverine, God of War Laufey, Control Resonant, and a whole host of other titles but certainly not Destiny, it was a bold statement from fans of the franchise who are desperately wondering what comes next for the space shooter.

Prior to the broadcast, content creators Aztecross and Luckyy10p created emotes to use on Twitch to show their support for the development of Destiny 3, speculating that the chat could become so overwhelmed with Destiny supporters that the moderators would change the chat mode so that only emotes could be posted.

That didn't happen though, and fans were free to yell their support loudly over other games' showcases (via their keyboards).

https://twitter.com/Crimsn_/status/2061922236982775927?s=20

While content creators, developers, and even the game's voice actors have made statements of support for Destiny, it's the fans who have been the loudest in an attempt to get decision makers at Sony and Bungie to provide insight on the franchise's future.

It remains unclear what comes next for Destiny, although players are asking everyone to rally in the Tower in-game when the final update is released on June 9.

During Sony's latest State of Play, Insomniac Games unleashed its latest preview for Marvel's Wolverine with gory Mortal Kombat-like violence. It also featured a closer look at some of the X-Men-related characters who will appear alongside Wolverine.

Jean Grey

The footage seemingly features the first meeting of Wolverine/Logan and Jean Grey, and the most striking thing is that they don't appear to know each other at all. Jean and Wolverine separately arrived to save a group of mutants from the cyborg mercenaries known as the Reavers, many of whom were featured in the 2017 film Logan.

Although Jean and Logan are unfamiliar with each other, they have a series of tandem attacks that utilize her telekinetic powers to hold or restrain their mutual foes until Wolverine can strike the killing blow. It's similar to the team-up attacks in Insomniac's Spider-Man games.

Note that Jean isn't wearing an X-Men uniform and she doesn't seem to have any backup beyond Logan. It suggests that the X-Men have either never formed or they haven't come together yet.

Leech

The most prominent hostage among the mutants is Leech, a young boy who lives among the Morlocks in the comics and in the original X-Men animated series. Leech's powers negate the abilities of other mutants around him.

Callisto

If the group that Leech is with are the Morlocks, then the woman in black leather may be their leader, Callisto. However, her identity isn't clarified in the trailer.

Skullbuster

Skullbuster is one of the only prominent Reavers featured in the demo to get called out by name. He's not the leader of the group, but he's higher up in the food chain than the grunts that Wolverine brutally puts down.

Ogun

This character appears to be Ogun, an evil ninja with a longstanding grudge against Wolverine. Not even death has prevented Ogun from striking back at his rival from beyond the grave.

Omega Red

A Soviet relic from the Cold War, Omega Red has almost always been an adversary to Wolverine. It doesn't appear that they'll have much common ground in this game either.

Mystique

There have been rare instances in the comics when Wolverine and the shapeshifter Mystique have been aligned, or even lovers. But she's not to be trusted under the best of circumstances.

Sabretooth

It just wouldn't be a Wolverine game without his personal arch-nemesis, Sabretooth. And it looks like Marvel's Wolverine will deliver another showdown between Logan and his most-hated foe.

Marvel's Wolverine will hit PlayStation 5 on September 15.

Video game retailer GameStop has released its latest quarterly report, and it was a banner period for the company.

GameStop posted a quarterly profit of $389.6 million for its fiscal Q1, and that was the highest-ever quarterly profit in the company's history. This compares to a profit of $44.8 million for the same period last year.

Revenue surged as well, rising from $732.4 million during Q1 last year to $835.3 million this year. GameStop also continued to cut costs, with selling, general, and administrative costs falling from $228.1 million to $201.6 million.

GameStop's stock price is surging in after-hours trading, jumping by more than 7% and boosting GameStop's market cap by billions. It may settle back down tomorrow, however.

GameStop has made dramatic, deep cuts to return to profitability. This has included layoffs, store closures, selling off the Game Informer magazine, and other cost-cutting measures.

GameStop also announced that it now has $9.7 billion in assets on hand. That is a figure people will no doubt point to as GameStop continues to try to buy eBay for many multiples more than the amount of money it has. GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has said he's secured $20 billion in financing from TD and could look to get more funding from Middle-East sources to buy eBay.

For its part, eBay has flatly rejected GameStop's buyout proposal. Cohen has said he may go direct to eBay's shareholders and pursue a hostile takeover.

GameStop no longer conducts earnings calls, so we won't hear from Cohen or other management regarding the Q1 results or the latest in the eBay saga today.

In other GameStop news, the company is hosting a "1v1 Me Bro" Halo 3 tournament on June 6, and the top prize is a legendary console.

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