Microsoft has confirmed the next batch of titles headed to Xbox Game Pass for the latter half of August: Atlas Fallen, Core Keeper, and Star Trucker.

Then there's that little known game called Call of Duty Black Ops 6. You'll be able to participate in the early access open beta when it kicks off for Xbox Game Pass subscribers on 30th August, 2024, with pre-downloading available from 28th August.

"Sure, it takes itself way too seriously and the loot chase can get monotonous, but everything outside of the monster-slaying is just an excuse to get right back to the monster-slaying. Or make the monster-slaying cooler with upgrades," we said in our Atlas Fallen review.

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The creator of the now-defunct Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 mod, H2M, has opened up about what happened when Activision slapped the mod with a cease and desist, admitting, "the past couple of days have not gone to plan".

Although the mod - which upgraded Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer mode - was announced over a year ago, the cease and desist arrived the day before the mod was scheduled to be released last week, forcing the project to "shut down [...] immediately and permanently".

Shortly thereafter, unhappy Modern Warfare 2 fans jumped onto the Steam page to express their dismay.

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Destiny developer Bungie says it has addressed an issue where players have had their usernames changed by its "name moderation tool".

After "actively investigating" the issue for 24 hours, Bungie advised that while it had "identified the issue that was forcing a high number of Bungie name changes", it was "continuing to investigate" what happened and how "to address player accounts that were impacted".

Although Bungie acknowledged that a "high number of account names have been changed", the studio stopped short of confirming exactly how many players were affected.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered mod, H2M, has been cancelled following a cease and desist demand from Activision.

Although the mod - which upgraded Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer mode - was announced over a year ago, the cease and desist arrived yesterday, a day before the mod was scheduled to be released later today.

"Today, our team members received a Cease & Desist order on behalf of Activision Publishing in relation to the H2M-Mod project," the team explained on Twitter/X.

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Two Legacy of Kain games are being re-released, but for the Evercade retro handheld console.

The Legacy of Kain Collection will include both Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver on one giga cart priced £22.49.

The collection will release next month and will be available to pre-order from 30th August. It's compatible with all Evercade and Super Pocket devices.

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Call of Duty has become an absolute hard drive hog in recent years, with 2023's entry managing to consume over 200GB of storage in some cases. That all might be about to change, however, as Activision has announced major changes to the way it'll be handing installs with this year's Black Ops 6, promising "smaller and more customised downloads" as a result.

Activision shared the news in a post on its Call of Duty blog, explaining its optimisation work will begin with a revamp of "the experience formerly known as Call of Duty HQ". This revamp is set to roll out over the course of several updates ahead of Black Ops 6's October launch, and will promises to introduce a streamlined interface, direct access to games, more control over downloads, and expanded texture streaming technology to reduce file sizes.

A first update to reorganise game content arrives on 21st August. Then, following Black Ops 6's open beta on 30th August, a new user interface and other "remaining updates" are scheduled for mid-October. After these "larger initial updates", Activision says future Call of Duty downloads will decrease in size and existing files will take up less space on players' device.

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For many, scaling Mount Everest has stood as the ultimate challenge of one's strength and endurance. An achievement of a lifetime. For long-time Doom players, however, there is an equivalent: NUTS.WAD. Legend has it that NUTS.WAD descended upon Doom players in the year 2001: a map from the future in which players are dropped into a single map with more than 10,000 enemies and a handful of power-ups. And now - for the first time ever - it's playable on a games console.

I'm half-joking, of course, but the ability to load in any Doom mod is just one great feature found in the latest version of Doom and Doom 2. Helmed by Nightdive in cooperation with id Software and Machine Games, this new version is worth looking at as it is the most feature rich, best-performing version of Doom on consoles. It's available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series consoles, Switch and even last-gen PS4 and Xbox hardware. The game was transitioned over to Nightdive's KEX engine and brings with it a vast array of enhancements - 120fps support on consoles, 16-player multiplayer including co-op, and a new soundtrack from the legendary Andrew Hulshult.

But it was the mod support that was my first destination and with it, the chance to see how Nightdive's work would cope with the NUTS.WAD challenge. This pushes beyond the limits of what Doom engine was intended to handle and now we can test it on console and the results are interesting. Before we go on, it's worth stressing that all current-gen machines can handle 4K gaming at 120fps - and yes, that includes Series S. The engine is optimised and fast - all the included content and every map I tested runs like greased lightning. I wanted to raise this caveat because the challenge of NUTS.WAD is so extreme and cruel that I don't want people to get the wrong idea. The fact that you can run NUTS.WAD at all is cause for celebration!

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Activision sure is dragging out its reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's Zombies mode. But if you're sucker for the undead stuff, there's more where last week's trailer and gameplay reveal came from, with developer Treyarch having now offered a tour of Zombies' Terminus map.

Terminus Island is one of two maps that'll be available at launch (the other being the West Virginian town of Liberty Falls), and Treyarch calls it "one of the largest round-based Zombies maps ever created". Black Ops 6's Zombies mode takes place in the early 90s - five years after the events of Black Ops Cold War's Zombies mode - and Terminus Island serves as a prison for some familiar Requiem faces. After their liberation early at the start of the story, players can explore the prison itself before moving out to investigate its tropical island surroundings.

There's a secret research facility specialising in "weird science" (in case you were wondering where the zombies might spring up from this time), as well as the ocean, and assorted smaller islands - all of which players will visit as part of Terminus' main quest. It's described as a "living world" full of scripted encounters, ranging from zombies smashing out of vats and prison guards still trying to control the undead threat, to less fortunate souls being chomped on.

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Activision have just screened an abbreviated video of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign level “Most Wanted”, in which you and a buddy infiltrate a US fundraiser to save returning character Adler from Bad Dudes. Good news, people who like Call Of Duty: this looks like Call Of Duty. It’s got a homing knife, an exploding remote-controlled car and a big chap in full face armour with an overcompensatory minigun. Catch the full video below.

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Last week, the Xitter account for H2M - a mod aiming to recreate the heyday of classic Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer inside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered - announced that they had received a cease and desist from Activision Blizzard, and would shut down the project. The 2022 version of Modern Warfare 2 lacked the original’s multiplayer, and H2M was so highly-anticipated that Steam sales of the 2016 FPS balooned in the lead-up to the mod’s planned release date. It didn't hurt that Activision had it on sale, of course, but the timing lined up so well that some fans speculated the discount was a deliberate bait-and-switch on the publisher’s part to profit from excitement over a mod they were already planning to shut down.

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For years, our PC storage has wobbled and buckled beneath the tyranny of gigantic Call Of Duty installs. Like 13th century peasants straining to convey huge, teetering loads of freshly quarried LMGs, our SSDs cry out for justice. Perhaps scenting imminent rebellion and a mass audience desertion to low-poly shooters with more civilised file sizes, Activision have relented. Future installations of the much-padded FPS will be "smaller and more customised", though in a last cruel stroke of villainy, they want you to download a large update to prepare the ground.

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Last week, Bethesda released a remastered edition of Doom and Doom II on Steam, with lots of extra episodes and improvements. One of these new features is a built-in browser for mods, and support for many existing mods that previously required a different version of the game. Basically, lots of good fan-made mods are now playable on the Steam version of ye olde Doom. That's neat! Ah, but there is some demon excrement on the health pack, so to speak. The mod browser lacks moderation and lets people upload the work of others with their own name pinned as the author. That's prompted one level designer to call it "a massive breach of trust and violation of norms the Doom community has done its best to hold to for those 30 years."

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Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! This week, I’ve been half reading in the garden and half staring in awe at my Kindle’s paperwhite doohickey and it’s ability to stay readable in searing sunbeams. I’m tempted to look up how it works but I don’t want to find out it’s made from the luminous, genetically-engineered husks of the workers that drop dead from dehydration at the fulfilment centers or something. To help distract me with yet more books, it’s Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider writer and Destiny 2 senior narrative designer, Dr. Hazel Monforton! Cheers Hazel! Mind if we have a nose at your bookshelf?

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Activision have just screened an abbreviated video of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign level “Most Wanted”, in which you and a buddy infiltrate a US fundraiser to save returning character Adler from Bad Dudes. Good news, people who like Call Of Duty: this looks like Call Of Duty. It’s got a homing knife, an exploding remote-controlled car and a big chap in full face armour with an overcompensatory minigun. Catch the full video below.

Read more

Last week, the Xitter account for H2M - a mod aiming to recreate the heyday of classic Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer inside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered - announced that they had received a cease and desist from Activision Blizzard, and would shut down the project. The 2022 version of Modern Warfare 2 lacked the original’s multiplayer, and H2M was so highly-anticipated that Steam sales of the 2016 FPS balooned in the lead-up to the mod’s planned release date. It didn't hurt that Activision had it on sale, of course, but the timing lined up so well that some fans speculated the discount was a deliberate bait-and-switch on the publisher’s part to profit from excitement over a mod they were already planning to shut down.

Read more

For years, our PC storage has wobbled and buckled beneath the tyranny of gigantic Call Of Duty installs. Like 13th century peasants straining to convey huge, teetering loads of freshly quarried LMGs, our SSDs cry out for justice. Perhaps scenting imminent rebellion and a mass audience desertion to low-poly shooters with more civilised file sizes, Activision have relented. Future installations of the much-padded FPS will be "smaller and more customised", though in a last cruel stroke of villainy, they want you to download a large update to prepare the ground.

Read more

Last week, Bethesda released a remastered edition of Doom and Doom II on Steam, with lots of extra episodes and improvements. One of these new features is a built-in browser for mods, and support for many existing mods that previously required a different version of the game. Basically, lots of good fan-made mods are now playable on the Steam version of ye olde Doom. That's neat! Ah, but there is some demon excrement on the health pack, so to speak. The mod browser lacks moderation and lets people upload the work of others with their own name pinned as the author. That's prompted one level designer to call it "a massive breach of trust and violation of norms the Doom community has done its best to hold to for those 30 years."

Read more

Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! This week, I’ve been half reading in the garden and half staring in awe at my Kindle’s paperwhite doohickey and it’s ability to stay readable in searing sunbeams. I’m tempted to look up how it works but I don’t want to find out it’s made from the luminous, genetically-engineered husks of the workers that drop dead from dehydration at the fulfilment centers or something. To help distract me with yet more books, it’s Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider writer and Destiny 2 senior narrative designer, Dr. Hazel Monforton! Cheers Hazel! Mind if we have a nose at your bookshelf?

Read more

V epizodě „Most Wanted“ se tým infiltruje na černý tým, aby získal Russela Adlera, což se rychle zvrhne ve výbušný útěk.

Společnosti Treyarch a Raven Software představily první rozsáhlou hratelnou kampaň pro hru Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. V ní se posádka v misi „Most Wanted“ snaží dostat na přísně tajné černé místo pod Washingtonem D.C., aby získala Russela Adlera. Podívejte se na něj níže.

Pomocí kamery, která dokáže zachytit sken sítnice senátora, dorazí hráč na černé stanoviště a zjistí, že na něj zaútočili. Po boji s mnoha nepřáteli nakonec narazí na Adlera a zahájí proces jeho vysvobození. To zahrnuje vyřazení těžkého minipistolníka, boj s hordami nepřátel a nakonec nalezení několika motocyklů k útěku.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 vychází 25. října pro konzole Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 a PC. Otevřená multiplayerová beta probíhá od 6. do 9. září, ale předplatitelé předplatného Game Pass Ultimate a PC Game Pass získají předčasný přístup od 30. srpna do 4. září. Na konferenci Call of Duty Next 28. srpna bude odhaleno další hraní kampaně, takže zůstaňte naladěni.

Článek Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 představilo na Gemscom ONL gameplay z kampaně se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Hra Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 od společnosti Activision se 28. srpna na konferenci Call of Duty Next dočká několika nových detailů. Mezitím má Treyarch čerstvé informace o zombies, členové vývojářského týmu nastínili Augmenty, návrat Gobblegums a další.

Vylepšení jsou v sérii nová a hráči mají přístup ke třem hlavním a třem vedlejším. Hlavní rozšíření zahrnuje tři elektrické koule, které obíhají kolem hráče a chrání ho, zatímco vedlejší rozšíření způsobuje něco jako Napalm Burst, který způsobuje o něco větší poškození. K dispozici jsou také nové perky jako Melee Machiatto udělující ničivý úder zblízka. Jeho hlavní rozšíření zlepšuje rychlost útoku zblízka pro všechny zbraně pro boj zblízka.

Vylepšení brnění v arzenálu byla nahrazena modifikacemi munice, které také vylepšují vzácnost zbraně. Co se týče Gobblegumů, které se vracejí, můžete jich nastavit až pět a před zápasem je vložit do balíčku. Najděte ve hře automat na žvýkačky a po interakci s ním získáte jeden z těchto Gobblegumů.

Můžete si vybrat, kdy Gobblegum aktivovat, a povolit jich více najednou. Mezi speciální efekty patří získání všech perků najednou, střelba ze zbraní bez použití munice atd. Před zápasem je také možné uložit sestavu zbraně zaměřenou na zombie, která obsahuje nástavce a plány zbraně. Nákupem na zdi nebo v Mystery Boxu k nim pak získáte přístup.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 vychází 25. října pro konzole Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 a PC. Na veletrhu Gamescom v rámci Opening Night Live 20. srpna bude k vidění nová hratelná kampaň.

Článek Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies Video s podrobnostmi o vylepšeních, Gobblegums a dalších věcech se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Když si stáhnete Call of Duty, nebudete muset současně stahovat i Warzone. Podle nového příspěvku společnosti Activision vydavatel oznámil, že do budoucna oddělí Warzone od her Call of Duty.

„Abychom hráčům umožnili větší kontrolu nad tím, co stahují, oddělujeme stahování hry Call of Duty: Warzone od ostatních titulů,“ uvedla společnost Activision. „Když si zakoupíte roční titul, budete ve výchozím nastavení stahovat pouze soubory pro tuto hru.“

To znamená, že pokud si chcete stáhnout hru Warzone, musíte ji stáhnout zvlášť. Nejenže se tím zkrátí doba stahování hry Call of Duty, než si ji budete moci zahrát, ale také se uvolní hlavní prostor na vašich úložných zařízeních.

„Důležitá je flexibilita a možnost volby,“ uvedli. „Chceme dát hráčům možnost volby stáhnout si každou hru Call of Duty, včetně Call of Duty: Warzone, kdy a jak chtějí.“

K tomuto oddělení dojde od středy 21. srpna. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 vychází 25. října a bude první hrou v sérii, která vyjde Day One na Xbox Game Pass.

Článek Activision odděluje Warzone od vydání Call of Duty se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Společnosti Activision a Treyarch představily první záběry ze hry Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 v režimu Zombies, které se zaměřují na první mapu Terminus. V rámci pokračování příběhové linie Dark Aether musí hlavní aktéři uniknout z vězení, kde se to hemží zombiemi (a kde probíhají experimenty s nemrtvými).

Vedle nových zbraní umožňují některé bonusy přeměnu na těžkou jednotku a útočí na nemrtvé. Za zmínku stojí také všesměrový pohyb, kdy se postavy potápějí a mohou se na zemi otočit o 180 stupňů, aby mohly střílet na zombie za sebou.

Zatímco typických hrozeb je mnoho, objevují se i nové hrůzy, od pavoukovitého tvora až po masu nemrtvých shluknutých do jednoho nepřítele. Dokonce se objeví i něco ve vodě s obludnými chapadly. To je samozřejmě jen jedna část zážitku ze Zombies při uvedení na trh – k dispozici bude i další mapa Liberty Falls, která bude odhalena 28. srpna na Call of Duty Next.

Postavy

Na jedné ze dvou map, které budou k dispozici při uvedení na trh, Terminus se znovu setkávají herci ze hry Cold War, kteří se však ocitli v zoufalé situaci. V novém videu Intel Drop se vývojový tým rozpovídal o tom, jak se věci od poslední hry změnily.

Stručně řečeno, Richtoffen uvrhl naše hrdiny na neznámé místo a oni se po šesti letech musí spojit se svým bývalým nepřítelem, doktorem Peckem. U každého člena došlo k určitým změnám, ať už jde o Weavera, který se potýká s pocitem viny za smrt svého týmu, doktora Greye, který přitvrdil, nebo Carvera, který se snaží najít si místo poté, co byl zbaven své hodnosti.

Maya je nováček, který se při pátrání po svém bratrovi spojí s Peckem. Společným cílem je však útěk a pomsta Richtoffenovi. Treyarch potvrzuje, že postavy hrdinů spolu mohou během hraní konverzovat, což přispívá k příběhu. Ostatní operátoři jsou stále k dispozici, pokud si je hráči vyberou.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 vychází 25. října pro konzole Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC a Xbox One. Mapa Liberty Falls bude odhalena na Call of Duty Next 28. srpna, takže zůstaňte naladěni na další podrobnosti o Zombies.

Článek Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies odhaluje v novém videu mapu Terminusu, příběh, nepřátele zbraně a další se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Společnost Activision nabídla první pohled na režim Zombies ve hře Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 prostřednictvím nového filmového traileru a oficiálního příspěvku na blogu společnost odhalila nové podrobnosti o pokračování příběhové linie Zombies Dark Aether a o tom, co samotný režim přinese.

Trailer se zaměřuje na tým Terminus, který bude v režimu hrát hlavní roli a v němž se objeví spousta známých tváří i nováček Maya Aguinaldo, a na mapu Terminus Island, která bude při spuštění režimu jednou z dostupných map. Podívejte se na trailer níže, kde najdete další podrobnosti.

Další podrobnosti o režimu Zombies, včetně podrobného přehledu hratelnosti, zveřejní společnost Activision 8. srpna, takže si na další detaily počkejte do konce týdne.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 vychází 25. října pro PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One a PC. Od 30. srpna do 4. září bude probíhat beta verze multiplayeru s předběžným přístupem a od 6. září do 9. září otevřená beta verze.

Článek Filmová ukázka z Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 představuje zombie režim, plné odhalení 8. srpna se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Thought that Microsoft was going to drop $72 billion on Activision Blizzard and then allow the studio to continue operation with no interference whatsoever? So this is our “we’re not surprised” faces when the news came out that Microsoft is restructuring its expensive new toy to form a smaller team that will focus on creating […]

Over 90% of Call of Duty players play less when skills-based matchmaking is deprioritised, according to new research published by Activision.

In a recently released white paper, the publisher researched how skills-based matchmaking affects its player base. This form of matchmaking looks at how a player's skill is defined so they can be matched with similar players during a game.

The publisher ran a test in early 2024 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, in which 50% of players experienced a decrease in skills-based matchmaking.

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Images of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 have leaked online, including multiplayer maps, menu screens, and perks.

Within hours, the screenshots were hit with copyright claims from Activision, adding credence to the claims they come from an in-development build. However, this is the internet, which means nothing's ever truly gone, and the images are still going up faster than Activision can remove them.

Whilst the map images have since been removed, the leaker claims the maps have partial titles, many of which will be familiar to Call of Duty players.

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Activision has banned over 65,000 players across Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

The bans rolled out in the last few hours, purging thousands of "cheating and boosting" players from both Ranked and non-Ranked play alike.

"The Ricochet Anti-Cheat team has now purged the Ranked Play leaderboards in both Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare 3, banning accounts for cheating and boosting," Team Ricochet – the cheating enforcement team – said.

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Bungie is no longer working on Payback, a new project set in the Destiny universe once overseen by franchise bosses Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy.

That's according to reporting by Gamespot's Tamoor Hussain, Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb and Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who all state that Smith and Noseworthy are also now no longer at Bungie.

Details of Payback leaked online back in April, when it was described as "Destiny 3". There were questions at the time over whether the project was still in development. Now, Schreier has confirmed that Payback was more of a spin-off, and was cancelled "a while ago".

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Following yesterday's mass layoffs at Destiny 2 developer Bungie - in which 220 employees lost their jobs - a new report has claimed the cuts were a result of Bungie leadership 'overstating the studio's financial prospects' to Sony, which acquired the developer in 2022.

That's according to sources interviewed by journalist Stephen Totilo, who, writing in his GameFile newsletter, reports yesterday's job cuts were necessary to stem Bungie's continued financial losses. The studio is said to have repeatedly missed financial targets promised to Sony, and has reportedly lost money since the release of Destiny 2 expansion Lightfall in 2023.

Totilo claims yesterday's layoffs - the second round of job cuts in less than a year - had long been planned, and "couldn't be avoided" even if this year's Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, had "blockbuster performance". Bungie management reportedly concluded last year - amid poor sales and a dwindling Destiny 2 player base - it would need to "make deep cuts to show Sony's executives that it was taking its finances seriously", with the studio's autonomy - and management jobs - seemingly on the line if it failed to meet its targets.

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Following news of yesterday's layoffs at Bungie, CEO Pete Parsons has faced criticised from staff for spending millions on classic cars since the studio was purchased by Sony in 2022 and bragging about his lavish collection, as the company headed towards this week's latest brutal round of job losses.

Employees - some of whom are now unemployed - have shared links to an array of classic cars purchased via the Bring a Trailer website, with Parsons profile public and listing a vast number of auction wins. The earliest was in September 2022 costing $34,000; the most recent was 1st June this year costing $91,500, just a month before these latest layoffs. "How exciting!" wrote Parsons in a comment. "I have wanted a c1 since I was a little kid. My second hot wheel ever (in gold). Going to its forever home."

Parsons spent $79,000 on a vehicle in October 2023 just ahead of the previous layoffs, followed by three more purchases over the remainder of the year - including a Porsche costing over $200k. In total, Parsons appears to have spent $2,414,550 on vehicles.

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Current and former employees of Destiny 2 developer Bungie have responded to the news of devastating layoffs at the studio - which has seen 220 employees lose their jobs - aiming harsh criticism at the handling of the cuts amid calls for Bungie CEO Pete Parsons to resign.

Parsons announced the studio would be laying off approximately 17 percent of its workforce earlier today, blaming "rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions." The news marks the second round of job cuts at the studio in less than a year, with approximately 100 employees having been laid off last October.

Following this latest round of job cuts, former and current Bungie employees took to social media to lambast the decision. Destiny 2's global community lead Dylan Gafner (AKA dmg04) called the move "inexcusable" in a post on X. "Industry leading talent being lost, yet again," he wrote. "Accountability falling upon the workers who have pushed the needle to deliver for our community time and time again."

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Destiny developer Bungie has laid off another 220 staff, representing roughly 17 percent of the studio's workforce.

In October last year, the studio laid off 100 staff from its then 1200-strong workforce. That means Bungie has laid off around a quarter of its workforce in the past nine months.

The news was shared today in a blog post from Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, describing the decision as "some of the most difficult changes we've ever had to make as a studio".

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Microsoft's continued decline in Xbox console sales continued through the last financial quarter, the company has confirmed.

In what is now a familiar pattern - and one not limited to Microsoft - revenue from gaming hardware fell again, this time by 42 percent. That's down further on the 31 percent fall reported back in April this year, for the quarter before.

Microsoft's gaming revenue overall was up overall by 44 percent, thanks to a significant boost from the addition of Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft bought for $68.7bn before its latest round of layoffs. Without Activision, growth would have sat around three percent.

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Activision has published a 25-page white paper exploring the impact of skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) on its multiplayer lobbies, determining that SBMM is better for all players.

As spotted by indie game developer and consultant Rami Ismail, the report – which can be read in full on Activision's official website – outlines an "amazing A/B test" where Activision "secretly progressively turned off SBMM and monitored retention… and turns out everyone hated it, with more quitting, less playing, and more negative blowouts".

Activision announced plans to launch the series of white papers back in April, and has already considered the impact connections and Time to Match has on online play.

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Na internet unikl seznam map pro multiplayerovou část hry Black Ops 6, který obsahuje všech 20 map, které by se mohly objevit ve hře.

S únikem informací přišel uživatel Twitteru @betterthanalaix, kterému se zřejmě podařilo získat přístup do backendu Black Ops 6 ještě před multiplayerovou BETA verzí a finálním vydáním.

Zde jsou:

• Vorkuta Mine
• Vorkuta
• Catacomb
• Flat
• Dig
• Babylon
• Train Graveyard
• Russian Base
• Socotra 2
• Hacienda alt
• Strip mall
• Red Card
• Firing Range 2
• Veiled
• Canals
• Island
• Pillage
• Radar
• Stealth
• Nuketown

Ti, kteří znají minulé díly Call of Duty, možná poznají, že některé mapy jsou zdánlivě z původního titulu Call of Duty: Black Ops, ale většina z nich se zdá být originální.

Na účet na Twitteru se také začaly jednotlivě nahrávat obrázky všech map Black Ops 6.

maps as you wish, sadly there is only a tiny preview
(will get all individually) pic.twitter.com/nr2ZaoR5zH

— betterthanalaix (@betterthanalaix) August 3, 2024

Black Ops 6 vyjde na konzolích Xbox Series S|X, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation5 a PC 25. října 2024.

Dejte nám vědět, jak se vám líbí seznam map.

Článek Únik odhaluje všech 20 multiplayerových map pro Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Nedávno se objevila řada úniků, které odhalily nespočet informací o hře Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, včetně map, režimů, killstreaků, mechanik pohybu a dalších. Hra, která má vyjít v říjnu, se díky těmto únikům dostala do širšího povědomí, ale Activision se snaží sdílení obrázků na internetu zabránit, vydává proti nim bany a klipy a obrázky stahuje ze sociálních sítí.

Jeden konkrétní únik, který fanoušky nadchl, byl screenshot pořízený na mapě, která zjevně patří battle royale režimu Warzone. Tento obrázek (který byl nyní společností Activision stažen) ukazuje „Avalon“, mapu Warzone, která vyjde později v roce 2025.

Nejprve návrat do Verdansku

Už za pár měsíců se vrátíme do Verdansku, poprvé od prosince 2021 – pokud nepočítáme Warzone Mobile. Zatím není známo, zda půjde o předělávku klasické mapy, nebo jen o návrat do původní mapy, ale to ukáže čas. Očekává se, že pro hráčskou základnu půjde o nový impulz k návratu do hry. Tuto mapu by měli mít hráči k dispozici v roce 2025.

Avalon

Interní kódové označení rozsáhlé mapy, která přijde po Verdansku, se nedávno objevilo v únicích.

Kromě uvedeného klipu jsme viděli také ukázku, která ukazuje hráče letícího vysoko nad mapou, což nám poskytlo širší pohled na celou krajinu. Od výběžku menších ostrovů oddělených vodou až po jakési centrum města, které nabízí městskou lokaci uprostřed převážně venkovské mapy, to vypadá, že toto prostředí je dost podobné Caldeře.

Jak hráč prochází mapou, vidíme satelitní stanice a vojenská zařízení spolu s obytnými čtvrtěmi, přístavní oblastí a několika starými, zničenými zajímavými místy. Je zde i trocha zemědělské půdy, golfové hřiště a obrovský stadion.

The 'out of region' areas in this MP map look awfully detailed.

Almost as if it's really part of a bigger map…

Like a Warzone map? 👀 pic.twitter.com/42ZdOaYobx

— Geeky Pastimes (@geekypastimes) June 9, 2024

Byl to jednoduchý obrázek, který zobrazoval hráče stojícího na jakémsi malém ostrově u pobřeží poněkud zamlženého, možná venkovského místa. Fanoušci rychle poukázali na to, že nová mapa má spoustu vody a otevřeného prostoru, což není něco, co by ve Warzone mapě aktivně vyhledávali – ale to je Avalon.

Očekává se, že Avalon dorazí v prosinci 2025 s jakoukoli další hrou Call of Duty.

Článek Mapa ‘Avalon’ pro Call of Duty: Warzone 2025 unikla na internet se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Bungie is no longer working on Payback, a new project set in the Destiny universe once overseen by franchise bosses Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy.

That's according to reporting by Gamespot's Tamoor Hussain, Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb and Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who all state that Smith and Noseworthy are also now no longer at Bungie.

Details of Payback leaked online back in April, when it was described as "Destiny 3". There were questions at the time over whether the project was still in development. Now, Schreier has confirmed that Payback was more of a spin-off, and was cancelled "a while ago".

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Following yesterday's mass layoffs at Destiny 2 developer Bungie - in which 220 employees lost their jobs - a new report has claimed the cuts were a result of Bungie leadership 'overstating the studio's financial prospects' to Sony, which acquired the developer in 2022.

That's according to sources interviewed by journalist Stephen Totilo, who, writing in his GameFile newsletter, reports yesterday's job cuts were necessary to stem Bungie's continued financial losses. The studio is said to have repeatedly missed financial targets promised to Sony, and has reportedly lost money since the release of Destiny 2 expansion Lightfall in 2023.

Totilo claims yesterday's layoffs - the second round of job cuts in less than a year - had long been planned, and "couldn't be avoided" even if this year's Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, had "blockbuster performance". Bungie management reportedly concluded last year - amid poor sales and a dwindling Destiny 2 player base - it would need to "make deep cuts to show Sony's executives that it was taking its finances seriously", with the studio's autonomy - and management jobs - seemingly on the line if it failed to meet its targets.

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Following news of yesterday's layoffs at Bungie, CEO Pete Parsons has faced criticised from staff for spending millions on classic cars since the studio was purchased by Sony in 2022 and bragging about his lavish collection, as the company headed towards this week's latest brutal round of job losses.

Employees - some of whom are now unemployed - have shared links to an array of classic cars purchased via the Bring a Trailer website, with Parsons profile public and listing a vast number of auction wins. The earliest was in September 2022 costing $34,000; the most recent was 1st June this year costing $91,500, just a month before these latest layoffs. "How exciting!" wrote Parsons in a comment. "I have wanted a c1 since I was a little kid. My second hot wheel ever (in gold). Going to its forever home."

Parsons spent $79,000 on a vehicle in October 2023 just ahead of the previous layoffs, followed by three more purchases over the remainder of the year - including a Porsche costing over $200k. In total, Parsons appears to have spent $2,414,550 on vehicles.

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Current and former employees of Destiny 2 developer Bungie have responded to the news of devastating layoffs at the studio - which has seen 220 employees lose their jobs - aiming harsh criticism at the handling of the cuts amid calls for Bungie CEO Pete Parsons to resign.

Parsons announced the studio would be laying off approximately 17 percent of its workforce earlier today, blaming "rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions." The news marks the second round of job cuts at the studio in less than a year, with approximately 100 employees having been laid off last October.

Following this latest round of job cuts, former and current Bungie employees took to social media to lambast the decision. Destiny 2's global community lead Dylan Gafner (AKA dmg04) called the move "inexcusable" in a post on X. "Industry leading talent being lost, yet again," he wrote. "Accountability falling upon the workers who have pushed the needle to deliver for our community time and time again."

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Destiny developer Bungie has laid off another 220 staff, representing roughly 17 percent of the studio's workforce.

In October last year, the studio laid off 100 staff from its then 1200-strong workforce. That means Bungie has laid off around a quarter of its workforce in the past nine months.

The news was shared today in a blog post from Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, describing the decision as "some of the most difficult changes we've ever had to make as a studio".

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Microsoft's continued decline in Xbox console sales continued through the last financial quarter, the company has confirmed.

In what is now a familiar pattern - and one not limited to Microsoft - revenue from gaming hardware fell again, this time by 42 percent. That's down further on the 31 percent fall reported back in April this year, for the quarter before.

Microsoft's gaming revenue overall was up overall by 44 percent, thanks to a significant boost from the addition of Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft bought for $68.7bn before its latest round of layoffs. Without Activision, growth would have sat around three percent.

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Activision has published a 25-page white paper exploring the impact of skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) on its multiplayer lobbies, determining that SBMM is better for all players.

As spotted by indie game developer and consultant Rami Ismail, the report – which can be read in full on Activision's official website – outlines an "amazing A/B test" where Activision "secretly progressively turned off SBMM and monitored retention… and turns out everyone hated it, with more quitting, less playing, and more negative blowouts".

Activision announced plans to launch the series of white papers back in April, and has already considered the impact connections and Time to Match has on online play.

Read more

V první vlně srpnových titulů by se mohla objevit i kritikou i komerčně oceňovaná remasterovaná kolekce Crash Bandicoot N. Sane společnosti Vicarious Visions.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 se oficiálně objeví v Game Passu 24. července a stane se tak druhým velkým titulem z rozsáhlé knihovny Activision Blizzard, který se do služby dostane. Je však třeba se zamyslet nad hrami Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Spyro Reignited Trilogy a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, o nichž se rovněž hovoří.

Zatímco stav ostatních není znám, leaker eXtas1s (který oznámil datum vydání Game Passu pro Modern Warfare 3) tvrdil, že Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy dorazí 8. srpna. Vzhledem k načasování je možné, že jej Microsoft oznámí příští týden v rámci první vlny srpnových her. Ostatní hry vydané společností Activision mohou být také zahrnuty, i když to ukáže až čas.

Únik také informoval o tom, že hra Valorant od Riot Games vyjde pro PS5 a Xbox Series X/S 26. července, po zjevném ukončení omezené konzolové bety. Do té doby zůstaňte naladěni na další podrobnosti a aktualizace.

🔥👀 100% CONFIRMADO 🔴

📌 Crash Bandicoot n sane trilogy estará disponible en Gamepass el 8 de Agosto de 2024.

Paso a recordarlo porque no puse tweet individual de ello y quizás algunos no han visto el video donde lo mencioné, me doy el lujazo de confirmarlo también. pic.twitter.com/gme4ilOqnX

— eXtas1s 🎮 Noticias & Rumores (@eXtas1stv) July 23, 2024

Článek Trilogie Crash Bandicoot N. Sane přichází na Game Pass 8. srpna se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Byly odhaleny termíny multiplayerových betaverzí hry Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 a v souladu se slovy Microsoftu bylo také potvrzeno, že letošní díl bude mít poprvé betaverzi na všech platformách současně a nebude vázán na PlayStation s časovou exkluzivitou, jak tomu bylo v minulých letech.

Během prvního dílu oficiálního podcastu Call of Duty bylo oznámeno, že beta předběžného přístupu pro Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 bude spuštěna na všech platformách 30. srpna a potrvá až do 4. září. Bude k dispozici všem, kdo si hru předobjednali, a také členům Game Passu. O týden později bude následovat otevřená beta, která bude pro všechny spuštěna od 6. do 9. září.

Společnost Activision zatím o obsahu bety nehovoří, ale předpokládá se, že tyto podrobnosti budou zveřejněny v následujících dnech a týdnech.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 vychází 25. října pro konzole Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4 a PC. V závislosti na tom, jakou úroveň máte předplacenou, bude první den k dispozici také v rámci služby Game Pass.

Článek Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Early Access Beta se uskuteční od 30. srpna do 4. září se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Od vydání hry Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time uplynuly již čtyři roky a mnoho fanoušků série se ptá, jak dlouho se ještě protáhne čekání na další díl. Ukazuje se však, že další Crashova hra byla možná v zákulisí v tichosti zrušena, jak tvrdí někdo, kdo na ní možná v nějaké podobě pracoval.

Nicholas Kole – ilustrátor a výtvarník postav, který spolupracoval s Toys for Bob na Spyro Reignited Trilogy i Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time – se nedávno na Twitteru rozpovídal o Project Dragon, neoznámeném titulu, který byl ve vývoji v neznámém studiu a na němž Kole pracoval tři roky, až do jeho nedávného zrušení.

Při diskusi o tomtéž, v reakci na dotaz fanouška, zda je Project Dragon novým Spyrovým titulem, Kole ujistil, že tomu tak není, ale dále se zmínil o „Crash 5, který nikdy nebyl“, a dodal, že to „zlomí srdce“, pokud a až se o tom lidé dozvědí.

Crash Bandicoot 5 byl pravděpodobně ve vývoji ve společnosti Toys for Bob, než byl v tichosti zrušen. Kole v následných tweetech upřesnil, že Crash 5 a jím dříve zmiňovaný Project Dragon jsou dva různé projekty v různých studiích.

Rok 2024 byl pro Toys for Bob bohatý na události. Pod novou mateřskou společností Microsoft bylo studio v únoru zasaženo výrazným propouštěním, ale brzy poté bylo oznámeno, že se Toys for Bob od Activisionu a Microsoftu odkoupilo a hodlá se osamostatnit.

Navzdory osamostatnění bude další hra Toys for Bob stále vydávána společností Microsoft, jak bylo oficiálně oznámeno v květnu. Zprávy tvrdí, že se jedná o titul Spyro 4, na kterém se pracuje od ledna letošního roku.

WELL. Our cancelled project of the last 3 years is officially, truly dead as of today (internal attempts to save it failed), and the embargo on the whole body of portfolio work has been lifted.

RIP Project Dragon. Brace yourselves for the largest ever art bomb of work I loved 👁️

— Nicholas Kole (@FromHappyRock) July 13, 2024

Článek Crash Bandicoot 5 byl v tichosti zrušen se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

A new Deadpool movie means two things: Marvel is about to make a lot of money and people all over the internet are going to try and tap into what is likely to be one of the biggest pop culture events of the year. And that means someone is trying to sell a $970 copy of that Deadpool game from 2013 on eBay.

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Thousands of video game actors went on strike on July 26 for the first time since 2017. The fight is over AI protections and other issues in contract negotiations with some of the biggest studios and publishers, and will halt work from SAG-AFTRA members on future projects, as well as possibly keep them from promotion…

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Bungie have reportedly cancelled Payback, an unannounced project in the Destiny universe from former Destiny 2 game director Luke Smith and project lead Mark Noseworthy. Both Noseworthy and Smith appear to have lost their jobs in the course of Bungie's brutal cost-cutting this week, but Payback's cancellation pre-dates the layoffs. Envisaged as a Destiny spin-off, rather than Destiny 3, it was apparently dropped "a while ago".

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This week's mass layoffs at Destiny studio Bungie were planned out months ago, former employees have told journalist Stephen Totilo at Game File (paywalled). According to Totilo, Bungie leadership "overstated their studio’s financial prospects to Sony" after the latter bought Bungie in 2022 for $3.6 billion. The latest cuts were necessary to prevent continued losses, says the report, after Bungie missed Sony’s targets following the release of last year’s Lightfall.

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