Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Could Boost Game Pass by Up to 4 Million Subs — but at the Cost of 6 Million Lost Sales, Analysts Predict

Black Ops 6 comes out today, October 25, and it does something no other Call of duty game has done before: launch straight into Game Pass.

Following Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, the pressure is now on its gaming business to deliver. With that in mind, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has decided to take the plunge and release Black Ops 6 as a day one Game Pass game, albeit restricted to the Ultimate and PC Game Pass tiers.

This is a momentous moment not just for Call of Duty but for Game Pass, which has struggled for growth in recent years. Latest official figures put Game Pass subscriber numbers at 34 million. That’s 34 million paying subscribers across console, PC, and cloud. Indeed Microsoft removed its $1 introductory Game Pass trial just weeks before Black Ops 6’s launch, as it did with last year’s Starfield — further evidence, after recent price hikes and tier changes, that the pressure is now on for Game Pass to make the absolute most of the power of Call of Duty.

Will it pay off for Microsoft? In interviews with GamesIndustry.biz, analysts predicted Black Ops 6 could boost Game Pass subscriber numbers by between 2.5 million and 4 million. However, analysts also predicted a significant impact on sales of Black Ops 6. Call of Duty is usually the best-selling game of the year, but there is now a big question mark over whether it will achieve that record once again with Black Ops 6 given it’s available as part of Game Pass.

Wedbush boss Michael Pachter told GI that putting Black Ops 6 into Game Pass could result in up to six million lost sales, based on the idea that 25% of Game Pass subscribers might have bought the game anyway. Countering this, Pachter said Game Pass could swell by between three to four million subscribers.

This is a perhaps expected shift, but is it overall better for Microsoft and Activision? The theory is that getting more players through the door than ever before, even at the cost of sales of the game, will eventually pay out because of Call of Duty’s lucrative live service, which is fueled by premium battle passes and costly cosmetic packs. Microsoft may be playing the long game here, even though it risks negative headlines about Call of Duty sales being down compared to previous years.

Of course, now Microsoft has taken the plunge with Call of Duty little is off the table when it comes to Game Pass. The expectation now is that each year’s premium Call of Duty game will launch day one on Game Pass, and fans are still waiting for the back catalog to be added.

We’ve got plenty more on Black Ops 6 ahead of launch, including its strange arachnophobia mode, built-in support for better audio tech that costs $20, Activision’s new ambitious plans to beat cheaters, and confirmation it doesn’t include the dreaded Riot Shield.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed Review

In 1991, I went to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. The Turtles were barely using their weapons now, Casey Jones was gone, and April O’Neil wasn’t Judith Hoag anymore – which was like coming back after holidays to find the classmate you had a crush on had changed schools. Put simply, it wasn’t what I’d expected, and I find myself in a similar position with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed. What I expected was a basic 3D beat ’em up that would be over in a few hours. What we got is actually a 14-hour light RPG, with a basic 3D beat ’em up tying together long sections of exposition and relationship building. Unfortunately, like with The Secret of the Ooze, moving in an unexpected direction doesn’t automatically make the end result good. Despite a clear effort on the part of developer aheartfulofgames to make Mutants Unleashed a juicy and authentic follow-up story to 2023’s Mutant Mayhem film, it quickly becomes tedious thanks to a significant lack of enemy variety and small selection of constantly reused levels. It’s not ninja crap, but the T.U.R.T.L.E. power is limited.

As far as I’m concerned, the original 1990 TMNT movie is untouchable, but I do feel Mutant Mayhem is the best TMNT movie since the first. Its deliberately imperfect, hand-drawn appearance is remarkable, its soundtrack is impeccable, and – as the father of a 16-year-old – it contains easily the most believably teenage Turtles ever.

[The graphics] ably ape the hastily sketched, asymmetrical look of Mutant Mayhem – from its crude, 2D scribbles for smoke and light sources, to Bebop’s distractingly droopy pierced nipples.

Mutants Unleashed comes impressively close to recreating two of those pillars itself. While the graphics don’t reach par with the exquisite, painterly appearance of the movie, they ably ape the hastily sketched, asymmetrical look of Mutant Mayhem – from its crude, 2D scribbles for smoke and light sources, to Bebop’s distractingly droopy pierced nipples. The four main Turtles themselves are also in sync with their movie counterparts, largely thanks to the fact the voice stars of the movie have returned here. If the budget could’ve stretched to include some of the film’s licensed music, they could’ve had the trifecta. It sadly didn’t but, unfortunately, Mutants Unleashed has several more pressing problems than a lack of iconic ’90s hip hop up in here (up in here).

Can I Kick It?

While a 14-hour TMNT RPG may sound like slam dunk value on paper, Mutants Unleashed is actually stretched to a breaking point over that surprisingly lengthy duration. The main story missions quickly become dreary once you notice it’s constantly rehashing the same stages.

Mutants Unleashed tries hard to obfuscate how many levels it actually has by having us run backwards through ones we’ve previously completed, or switching up the fixed camera to a different angle, but it’s very transparent. There’s also far too much loading required as we complete sections, which just feels like a cheat to shuffle the order of environments used for each mission without blending them together. Either way, clambering across the same construction site, running through the same pipe, riding up and down the same elevator, and scurrying over the same cargo ships gets old, quick.

Worse, very little exploration is possible. Yes, there are hidden objects – and pieces of street art to find for Mondo Gecko – but Mutants Unleashed generally only punishes us for trying to veer off the path. I lost track of the number of times I tried to jump to a spot that appeared fine to land on, only to plummet to the street off camera – or be met with an invisible wall. On one stage I completely trapped myself somewhere I clearly wasn’t meant to be. I’ve only ever found hidden art by accidentally going the way I thought I was supposed to go anyway.

Combat itself is totally serviceable, although enemies aren’t very smart, and they’re not always great at tracking you through the environments. The Turtles all have distinct fighting styles that can be upgraded with new moves as you progress specific relationships for each. There’s little need to get into the weeds with it, though, and it’s totally a button masher. This makes it accessible, but fairly mindless. I’d try out new moves, but mostly to get the tutorial boxes to leave the screen, where they sometimes cover up your Turtles thanks to the fixed camera.

That camera didn’t really bother me for the most part; I get that it’s ultimately a bit of a halfway house between an entirely third-person brawler and the 2D beat ’em ups of yesteryear, and Mutants Unleashed creatively replaces your character with a scratched silhouette when they’re hidden by pieces of the environment. However, I did have instances where the angle was a real burden. There’s not a ton of technical platforming in Mutants Unleashed, but lining up jumps and rail grinds from a 45-degree angle is like leaving your TV and trying to keep playing Tony Hawk from the toilet with the bathroom door ajar.

Most disappointingly, Mutants Unleashed seems built primarily as a single-player game. The Turtles you haven’t selected will simply dip out at the beginning of every level, so you never feel like you’re part of a fighting foursome – which is what TMNT is all about. Sure, it has two-player co-op, but it’s not four-player, so that still doesn’t feel right. You don’t even get AI Turtles raising shell in the background. The special assist moves make it seem like a second Turtle is going to get involved, but activating them doesn’t actually bring one of your brothers physically into the space. It’s just… implied that they dropped in and bugged out, perhaps while you were blinking.

It also doesn’t help that enemies are just the same handful of mutants for the entire game. Trash crabs. Zebra squids. Hippo luchadores. A couple more. But it’s over a dozen hours of these same few baddies. Yes, I understand a licensed tie-in game isn’t going to be able to introduce important opponents from the TMNT universe – like the Foot Clan or such – before the film’s inevitable sequel. Hell, I wouldn’t let it either. That’s how you get Emperor Palpatine returning to Star Wars in… Fortnite. At 6am Australian Eastern Daylight Time on a random Sunday morning. But Mutants Unleashed really needed more enemy variety.

There are a host of side missions, but unfortunately these only contribute to the repetition. Civilian missions involve beating up a bunch of the same mutants across a couple of levels you’ve almost certainly been to before. Contagion missions involve running through a level you’ve almost certainly been to before, beating up the same mutants again, although this time some of them will be highlighted as key targets. Pizza deliveries are just speed runs through the same levels once more, although the enemies have been removed, and the map is now full of giant inflatable bounce pads and boom gates for no discernible reason. And no one’s carrying a pizza.

Mutants Unleashed features a time progression system, where each mission or conversation encounter takes either a day or a night, and then the day moves on. This puts a limit on the amount of side activities you can tackle before needing to do a main mission, but there’s more than enough time to complete everything in a single playthrough. There’s about two months of tasks, but I had weeks up my sleeve before needing to do the final couple of story missions and I was already out of side missions, so the time component doesn’t really add a great deal.

No Diggity

The RPG-style conversational component of Mutants Unleashed does add a lot of unexpected exposition, although I think the story of a new wave of mutants descending on New York and finding themselves at odds with the existing human population is an effective and totally logical follow-up to the movie. It continues the themes that hatred and prejudice are repugnant from any side they’re projected and, while “do unto others” is admittedly a message that’s been embedded in kids’ cartoons for decades, that doesn’t make it any less authentic in this new TMNT world where mutants and humans have suddenly been thrown together.

Yes, not every conversation is particularly riveting, and not all of them are actually voiced, either. These sections are also entirely passive, so there are definitely times when they’re simply filler. Even moments that seem custom made for a minigame – like Donatello visiting an arcade to play a dancing game – ultimately aren’t interactive. An indirect dig at how rubbish Raph is in the original TMNT game is cute, but otherwise there’s a bit of a weird clash of approaches at times. I raised my eyebrow as the script worked quite hard to concoct an entire fantasy catalogue of parody John Hughes films to not mention him by name – but then, on other occasions, overtly references the likes of Clint Eastwood and Chuck Norris.

Cutscenes are totally hamstrung by the glacial cadence of conversations.

The biggest problem, however, is the pacing of the dialogue. Cutscenes are totally hamstrung by the glacial cadence of conversations, which waits line-by-line for huge dialogue boxes and canned reaction animations to pop up. This creates highly-unnatural pauses between sentences and very much kills the momentum of conversations.

These scenes can mostly be skipped, or slightly sped up by hammering a button, but they’re nonetheless necessary if you want to progress the Turtles’ relationships with their friends around the city and unlock new upgrades.

Where to Watch Every Friday the 13th Movie Online in 2024

After the success of Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th kicked off the 80’s by taking the slasher genre to gorey new heights. Jason Voorhees first appeared (sort of) to terrify teens at a Crystal Lake summer camp, and its safe to say the original Friday the 13th is essential viewing for any horror fan. 12 movies and 11 directors later, the hockey-mask wearing horror villain has become a zombie, gone to space, and battled a fellow slasher icon.

For those looking to watch or rewatch the films ahead of Halloween or the next Friday the 13th in December, here’s where you can stream all of the Friday the 13th movies right now.

Where to Watch the Friday the 13th Movies Online

Over the years, the Friday the 13th movies have been pretty hard to find online. This October, the first eight Friday the 13th movies (“the original series,” if you will) have finally found a home at Paramount+. The more recent films, including the 2009 reboot, are available to stream on Max. All of the Friday the 13th movies are available to rent or purchase from digital storefronts, which is unfortunately the only way to get your hands on Jason Goes to Hell (maybe that one’s for the best) and Jason X.

Friday the 13th Movies on Blu-ray

While the Friday the 13th movies may be all over the place online, Shout!Factory released a collected set of all 12 movies on Blu-ray back in 2020. The set also includes what can only be described as a ludicrous amount of bonus features. If you don’t need the Blu-ray or all those extras, you can also grab a DVD set of the first 8 movies for around $20.

What Order Should You Watch the Friday the 13th Movies

The Friday the 13th franchise, like most of the 80’s slashers, has a lot going on. We’re talking spin-offs, reboots, crossovers, and some good ol’ time travel. For those interested in the Jason timeline, we’ve also covered how to watch the Friday the 13th movies in chronological order.

Will There Be More Friday the 13th Movies?

While the 2009 reboot may have intended to bring back the series, complicated legal drama over franchise rights has stalled the production of any new Friday the 13th movies since. Instead, the biggest release the franchise has seen in the past 15 years was Friday the 13th: The Game, which, due to more legal drama, was delisted at the end of 2023.

Still, we may finally get that 13th Friday the 13th movie. Earlier this year, Horror, Inc announced they would be working with some of the original license holders to build up a multi-platform Jason Universe. Yes, of course that’s what they’re calling it. While the Jason-verse will seemingly kick off with a Crystal Lake TV show, hopefully we see Jason back on the big screen sooner rather than later.

Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who is always looking for the next great horror story and turn-based RPG.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Adds Strange Arachnophobia Mode That Turns Zombie Spiders Into Floating Torsos

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is following a recent trend by adding an arachophobia setting to Zombies, but its solution somehow seems even worse.

As part of its blog detailing Black Ops 6’s various acccessibility features, Activision showed off its new arachnophobia mode, explaining, “For the first time in Black Ops 6 Zombies, a new arachnophobia toggle feature will be available. This setting will allow players to change the appearance of spider-like enemies in Zombies without affecting their game play.”

The description is accompanied by a screenshot that shows a spider beast crawling toward the player on one side, and what it looks like when the arachnophobia mode is turned on. It seems the toggle simply removes the spider creatures legs, turning it into a floating torso that resembles a flying leech with huge, spiky teeth. In a word, eww.

But hey, at least it’s not a spider, right?

The new feature is part of Black Ops 6’s version of Zombies, the latest in a long line of games dating back to Call of Duty: World at War. You can check out our full Zombies preview right here. Black Ops 6, meanwhile, releases October 25, but fans who use the New Zealand trick can gain access right now much earlier. Make sure to stay tuned for our full review.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Hits Lowest Price Yet as New Yakuza Show Premieres on Amazon

With the recent success of Metaphor: Refantazio and Sonic x Shadow Generations, it’s safe to say Sega is having a pretty good year. While those may be the final big game releases from the publisher in 2024, Sega officially caps off its year of releases with a TV show based on the Yakuza game series. That’s a cause for celebration, and, more importantly, some discounts.

With the new TV show Like a Dragon: Yakuza premiering today on Prime Video, Amazon has dropped prices on most of the Yakuza games. The critically acclaimed turn-based RPG Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is at its lowest price yet.

$40 Off Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth on PS5 or Xbox Series X

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the most recent addition to the Yakuza timeline, and $40 off brings the game down to its lowest ever price. In my experience, 60% off a same-year release of this quality is about as good as video game deals can get.

To clear up some confusion, the Yakuza series rebranded as “Like a Dragon” in English localizations back in 2022. If you’re an OG Yakuza fan, have no fear: The recent Like a Dragon games carry the spirit of the original PS2 series through and through. Here’s what Tristan Ogilvie had to say in his 9/10 review of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth:

More Yakuza Games on Sale

Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2020) and the spin-off Like a Dragon: Ishin! (2014) are also included in Amazon’s deals. If you want to check out some of the OG Yakuza series, you’re in luck. While not the same level of price slashing, the remastered collection of Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 is 25% off. The collection was released for the PS4 back in 2020, but because of the PS5’s backward compatibility the games work on either console. Same goes for Yakuza Kiwami 2, a remake of the original Yakuza 2, which is also slightly discounted.

Preorders for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Are Still Full Price

The one Like a Dragon game that isn’t on sale is, as you could probably guess, the one that isn’t out yet. Preorders for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii are now live and still full price at $59.99. In better news, the next game is now set to release a week earlier than expected, on February 21, 2025.

Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who is always looking for the next great horror story and fantasy RPG.

IGN Plus Games: Claim a Free Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland Key!

If you’re an IGN Plus member, a new game is available to claim now with IGN Rewards. You can claim a free Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland key for PC via Epic Games Store with your membership while supplies last. If you’re a fan of 2D platformers, this is the perfect game for you to try out.

Claim a Free Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland Key!

Developed as an NES game, indie teams, The MIX Games and Wallride teamed up to make a modern classic game with Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland. The game sees Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil transform Tommy’s house into a video game world that has all sorts of surprises in store. Each of the babies is playable, meaning you have four unique characters to choose from. Additionally, you’ll find that every character has unique abilities.

Every stage has hidden secrets and collectibles to discover. These include Bottles, Cookies, Reptar Coins, and more. For those who enjoy the 100% grind, Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is an excellent and challenging game. Plus, there are plenty of boss fights that feature familiar faces.

From the soundtrack to the mechanics, Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland feels like a love letter to platformers of the ’90s. If you want even more retro goodness, you can toggle between either 8-bit or HD graphics. Whether you choose to play alone or with a friend in co-op, Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is bound to be a great time. Don’t miss your chance to claim a free Epic Games Store key!

Support The MIX team by checking the game out on consoles and Steam:

The MIX Games Website and Socials:

About IGN Plus

If you’re unfamiliar with IGN Plus, it’s the ultimate subscription to get the most out of your IGN experience! Some of the perks include no ads across IGN, unlimited maps and checklists for games, free games each month, and even discounts at IGN Store! Learn more and try IGN Plus today.

Final Fantasy 7 Speedrunners Just Figured Out How to Save Aerith…and Save Two Hours

Ever since the release of the original Final Fantasy 7, fans have agonized over the game’s biggest, best-known tragic moment: Aerith’s death. Could she be saved? Was it possible? For years, rumors have abounded about secret ways to save her and keep her in the party. And now, speedrunners have found a path to keeping her around that may also be a massive time-saver.

Discovered by speedrunners AceZephyr and Kuma and publicized by Luzbel, a new skip allows players to jump from Midgar all the way to Forgotten Capital with Aerith still in the party. Because it skips the part of the game where Aerith leaves the party, she sticks around, and ultimately witnesses her own death at the hands of Sephiroth only to join the battle against Jenova Life moments later.

The actual skip is pretty complex and the kinks are still being worked out. It involves using a Chocobo on the world map to trick the game into letting you walk on the ocean, and then Cloud simply strolls across the water over to Forgotten Capital without doing any of the other stuff required to get there. The cutscene there plays as normal, but the party composition remains what it was before. Kuma’s got a tutorial on YouTube here for anyone interested in trying it themselves.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of asterisks on this skip actually working. For one, if you don’t use a version of the game that lets you disable encounters, the skip is impossible, because getting into an encounter while walking on the water will softlock the game. And because Aerith isn’t supposed to be in the party at this stage, the game also softlocks whenever there’s a scene with the party that she shouldn’t be involved in.

The community is currently working to try and find ways around this, including one agonizing five-hour effort from AceZephyr using pause buffering to avoid encounters while walking across the water. Hopefully they find one, because if it ever becomes viable it will supposedly save runners around two hours, allowing them to blast through disc one faster than ever.

If this has sparked your interest in Final Fantasy 7 again, you don’t need to speedrun the original to enjoy it. Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth are pretty incredible too, and together they cover a sliiiiightly different version of all the story that speedrunners are skipping on ye olde disc one. We gave Final Fantasy 7 Remake an 8/10, and Rebirth got a 9/10. Our reviewer wrote: “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth impressively builds off of what Remake set in motion as both a best-in-class action-RPG full of exciting challenge and depth, and as an awe-inspiring recreation of a world that has meant so much to so many for so long.”

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Preseason Patch Notes Released Amid Global Release Date Rollout

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is rolling out now (some have been playing it for hours at this point), and Activision has published its preseason patch notes that detail changes made to Multiplayer in time for launch. These are in addition to already announced changes based on feedback and data from the beta weekends.

The headline here is that aim assist is much weaker at point blank ranges for launch and smoothly increases in strength out to a short range. Aim assist is always a hot topic within the Call of Duty community with each game’s release, so it will be interesting to see feedback now the game is out in the wild.

Elsewhere, there are improved pistol and dedicated melee swap speeds, a slight increase to weapon butt melee attack speeds, and adjustments to sway, bob, and overall weapon motions to improve point of aim when entering ADS (aim down sights).

Helpfully, Activision included a weapon damage range explainer in the patch notes, which go into detail on how damage actually works in Black Ops 6 and Warzone from Season 01.

We’ve got plenty more on Black Ops 6 ahead of launch, including its built-in support for better audio tech that costs $20, Activision’s new ambitious plans to beat cheaters, and confirmation it doesn’t include the dreaded Riot Shield.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Preseason Patch Notes

MULTIPLAYER

Weapons

There are 33 weapons at launch waiting for you to unlock and customize. See our full breakdown on weapons at the COD blog.

Weapon Balance

While many weapon balance changes have been implemented across the board since Beta, we consider launch to be our day 1 baseline across the entire arsenal. Weapon balance is always ongoing, so we’ll be evaluating data and feedback, and sharing updates on this regularly.

  • In the Multiplayer Beta we tested a change that disabled aim assist at close ranges. While this was a change in the right direction, we felt that this was a bit jarring when crossing that close range threshold, so we’ve adjusted our approach to linearly interpolate aim assist strength. This means that aim assist will be much weaker at point blank ranges and smoothly increase in strength out to a short range. We will of course continue to monitor and assess data and player feedback.
  • Improved Pistol and Dedicated Melee swap speeds
  • Slight increase to Weapon Butt melee attack speeds
  • Adjustments to sway, bob and overall weapon motions to improve point of aim when entering ADS
    • Additional improvements coming in Season 01
  • Improved Depth of Field across all Weapons

Movement

  • Added a toggle option for Corner Slicing
  • Added an option to set the hold time to perform a Dive to Prone or Slide depending on your Slide/Dive Behavior setting
  • Added an Intelligent Movement option to set Mantle Assist Angle from tight, medium, or wide

Multiplayer Map Adjustments

Keen eyes have already noticed a handful of changes we have introduced to our Beta maps thanks to everyone’s amazing feedback. Delivering fair and consistent gameplay will always remain our goal, and as such we’ve introduced some additional cover and changes to make firefights a bit fairer, as well as various lighting changes. The below selects aren’t every change we have made, but they’ll help provide an idea of what to expect from Beta to Launch.

Skyline

  • Expanded the cover points around the hot tub at the center of the map.
  • Added new planters as cover near far spawn point.
  • Added multiple cover options throughout the map.

Scud

  • Adjusted bullet penetration values on the satellite dish panels to allow additional bullet penetration.
    • The concrete wall at the main overwatch is now broken out, which will allow more bullet penetration to make it slightly less powerful.
    • Panels are doubled up at the side overwatch to still amount a small amount of bullet penetration where there was previously none.
  • Made additional cover improvements throughout the map.

Rewind

  • Made cover improvements across multiple sightlines.

Audio

  • We’re excited to introduce our best-in-class audio experience coming to Black Ops 6 with the introduction of HRTF (Head-Related Transfer Function) via Universal Profile in Enhanced Headphone Mode, which is available to all players for free.
  • We’ve also added a setting to disable licensed music across all modes, particularly useful for content creators streaming the game.

For a closer look at our innovations in adaptive audio, spatial reverb, physics-based acoustics, game sound prioritization, HRTF support, and all-new asymmetrical hearing compensation technology, check out our dedicated audio blog.

RICOCHET Anti-Cheat

RICOCHET Anti-Cheat systems activated for Black Ops 6. Upgrades deployed include:

  • Kernel-Level Driver (PC) detection and monitoring updates across all protected titles, including Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty®: Warzone™
  • #TeamRICOCHET mitigations live in Black Ops 6 multiplayer, including Damage Shield, Disarm, Splat, and more
  • Machine-learning behavioral systems deployed to increase speed of detection
  • Machine-learning detection models added to analyze gameplay combating aim bots

For more information on RICOCHET Anti-Cheat, check out the most recent blog here.

Adjustments for Future Weapon Damage Patch Notes

Whether you’re new to the franchise or a long-time fan, understanding how your weapon of choice deals damage is an essential aspect of Call of Duty gameplay. In the past, our patch notes used some terms to describe damage values at various ranges that could create some mild confusion for some players.

In Black Ops 6 and Warzone: Season 01, we aim to avoid this confusion two-fold:

  • Creating a new Weapon Damage Adjustment table for Black Ops 6 and Warzone: Season 01 patch notes.
  • Establishing Weapon Damage Range definitions for Black Ops 6 and Warzone: Season 01 moving forward.

Weapon Damage Adjustment Table

New in Black Ops 6 and Warzone: Season 01, we’re introducing a new table to highlight the changes a weapon has undergone from one patch to the next. You’ll find it nested within our existing tables in our attempt to keep information as detailed and centralized as possible.

This new table will comprise three columns (Damage Range, Pre-Patch, and Post-Patch) and rows of up to five to account for each applicable Damage Range for a given weapon. In each Pre-Patch/Post-Patch cell, the corresponding Damage and Range (in meters) values will be found.

For easier understanding, we’ll identify “positive” (⇧) and “negative” (⇩) adjustments with an arrow like what you see in-game.

Weapon Damage Range Explainer

In Black Ops 6 and Warzone: Season 01, not all weapons are created the equal, but all of them respect the fundamental principle that the closer your target is to you, the more damage you will deal to them. Using the following dynamic ranges, we identify how damage works in Multiplayer and Warzone:

Maximum Damage Range

  • This range outlines the maximum potential damage a weapon can output in a single shot up to a specified distance.
  • This range will always start at 0 meters and extend outward until a player falls outside of our Maximum Damage Range, where damage begins to “step down.”

Medium and Minimum Damage Ranges

  • Picking up right after the Maximum Damage Range ends, we use Medium and Minimum Damage Ranges to identify how damage will “step down” in potency over distance.
  • Remember how we said not all weapons are created equal? Some weapons can have up to three Medium Damage Ranges while some can have zero.
    • In situations where a weapon only has one Medium Damage Range, we will label this Medium Damage range as-is.
    • If a weapon has no Medium Damage Range, we’ll omit over the Medium Damage Range rows.
  • Medium Damage Ranges
    • Picking up right after the Maximum Damage Range ends, we use Medium Damage Ranges to identify how damage will “step down” over distance.
    • Reminder: A weapon with Medium Damage Ranges can have a minimum of one Medium Damage Range and a maximum of three.
    • In all future Damage Range Adjustment tables, we’ll identify these Medium Damage Ranges as 1, 2, and 3 when applicable, with One (1) being closest to the player and Three (3) being the furthest within the Medium Damage Ranges.
      • In previous patch notes versions, these were identified as “Close-Mid,” “Near-Mid,” “Mid,” “Mid-Far,” or “Far-Mid.”
  • Minimum Damage Range
    • This range identifies the minimum potential damage a player can receive at the furthest distances.
    • This range will always pick up right after the furthest Medium Damage Range ends and will continue indefinitely unless otherwise noted.
      • Reminder: Some weapons can have no Medium Damage Range and will enter a Minimum Damage Range immediately after the Maximum Damage Range.

One Last Thing: As we progress through our future Seasons, the teams at Treyarch and Raven will adjust weapons based on feedback and data to deliver the best experiences possible for Multiplayer and Warzone respectively. These adjustments may include shared Black Ops 6 weapons having different Damage Range values between titles.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Roblox Smash Hit Dress to Impress Pulls Hotdog Outfit After Players Used It to Look Like a Catwalking Penis

The developers behind Roblox smash hit Dress to Impress have pulled a hotdog costume from the game after players used it to look like a penis.

Dress to Impress, from developer Gigi, launched inside Roblox in November last year and took the controversial user-generated content platform by storm. It tasks players with putting themed outfits on their avatars before they’re ranked.

Dress to Impress is meant to be a wholesome experience, but, as reported by Eurogamer, the recently added hotdog costume sparked less savory behavior. Players changed the color of the costume and combined it with a specific hat to make their fit look phallic.

Dress to Impress development manager Zac initially took to X/Twitter to signal the removal of the hotdog costume’s colorable toggles, forcing players to use it as a plain hotdog costume. But Zac warned that if players continued to misuse the costume, it would be removed. “We want to create a safe and friendly environment for our players and it was not intended to be used this way,” Zac added.

Of course, players continued to misuse it, and so now the hotdog costume is no more. “Here’s the thing: we cannot simply change our whole UI system for a simple hotdog costume,” Zac explained.

“Creativity is the point of the game, and we see a lot of tweets that prove that. But, we just can’t give other outlets to something this serious. We love all of your creativity with it (besides the reasons we are removing it..) but it’s better for us and for the community just to end it asap.”

To that end, Dress to Impress’ hotdog costume is now replaced by a cupcake outfit. But even that has had to be changed as determined virtual penis-looking outfit fans changed the cupcake’s color to look like, well, you know. And so in response to that, the cupcake is non recolorable. Now that’s a happy ending.

Dress to Impress’ hotdog kerfuffle comes amid Roblox policy changes for pre-teen users that follow ongoing accusations of child-safety failures, which Roblox has denied. A 2023 class action lawsuit in California accused the Roblox Corporation of being misleading about “the efficacy of its filtering technologies and its ability to make the site safe and appropriate for children.” A 2021 report by YouTube channel People Make Games alleged that Roblox was exploiting child labor.

For more, check out IGN’s Dress to Impress Halloween Update 2024 guide, which has all the details and patch notes.

Image credit: @Numerou14390151

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Star Wars Outlaws Title Update 1.3.0 Improves Stealth, Tunes Enemy AI, and a Lot More

Ubisoft has released Star Wars Outlaws Title Update 1.3.0, which makes a number of significant changes to the game.

The patch, available across all platforms, focuses on improving Outlaws’ much-maligned stealth “to give players more flexibility in how they approach situations,” Ubisoft said. It also tunes enemy AI (another aspect of the game that came under fire) and speeder travel. The patch notes, courtesy of Ubisoft’s website, are below.

Ubisoft added that it’s aware of an ongoing issue affecting PC players after the 24H2 Windows Update, and is working to fix it. Elsewhere, Ubisoft has created a dedicated Bug Reporter tool where players can report issues and track their status, in a bid to “improve transparency and communication.”

Star Wars Outlaws has struggled since its launch in August, with Ubisoft admitting sales failed to meet expectations. Developer Ubisoft Massive has said it’s committed to improving the game, however, with more patches planned in the run up to the crucial Christmas sales period. Update 4 will arrive on November 21, featuring further combat and stealth improvements as well as free additional contracts. The upcoming story DLC, Wild Card, will “see Kay and Nix infiltrate a high-stakes Sabacc tournament where they will face off against the legendary Lando Calrissian.”

It comes amid a shakeup at Ubisoft following the collapse of the company’s share price and Outlaws’ aforementioned poor sales. Ubisoft has returned to Steam (Outlaws hits Valve’s platform on November 21) after years of Epic Games Store exclusivity on PC, delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows into next year, and is reportedly considering partnering with Tencent to take the company private.

Star Wars Outlaws Title Update 1.3.0 patch notes:

PATCH DETAILS (version 7199763.TU3):

  • PlayStation 5: 3.48 GB (version 01.003.000)
  • Xbox Series X|S: 5.07 GB (version 1.0.3.0)
  • PC: 4.88 GB (version 1.0.3.0)

NOTABLE CHANGES:

  • Implemented stealth changes to ‘False Flag’ and other missions to give players more flexibility in how they approach situations without the risk of failing
  • Improved speeder travel by reducing collisions with objects in the environment
  • Improved NPC combat behavior
  • Increased auto-save opportunities in open world hostile areas (Imperial Compounds and Faction Territories)
  • Scaled ‘Wanted’ difficulty based on player progression
  • Improved AI speeder avoidance

FULL PATCH NOTES:

Performance & Stability

  • Fixed an issue where the game would crash when ‘New Game’ was selected
  • Improved overall stability and FPS drops
  • Fixed an issue where the game could crash when using the Electrobinoculars on PS5
  • Improved stability with GeForce Now

General Gameplay

  • Increased and improved quest checkpoints
  • Improved manual and autosave features including allowing more opportunities to save in the open world, compounds, and syndicate territories
  • Removed autosave restrictions for combat/detection
  • Improved NPC and player animations
  • ‘Wanted’ difficulty now scales based on player progression
  • Fixed an issue where Death Troopers would not spawn from search parties
  • Improved enemy AI and combat behavior
  • Fixed an issue where the Stun Shot would miss if shooting from cover when unholstered
  • Fixed an issue where the Boonta Brawler Belt did not increase grenade blast radius
  • Fixed an issue where grappling hook haptics were not present on PS5
  • Improved camera detection for defeated enemies

UI, HUD and Settings

  • Improved UI when detected
  • Updated the keybind for Hyperspace jump
  • Added segments to the VRAM meter
  • Equipment screen now has an option to mark all items as viewed
  • Fixed an issue where the map cursor could disappear when using a controller on PC

Audio

  • Made NPC voice lines more consistent with player detection
  • Fixed an issue where there was no music on Renpali station
  • Fixed an issue where multiple sound effects would disappear after completing the game
  • Improved ground wetness/snow footstep sound effect playback
  • Improved airtraffic sound effect playback
  • Improved audio for collisions

Cinematics

  • Improved textures during cinematics
  • Fixed an issue with blurred images during cinematics and dialogue scenes

Camera

  • Improved the camera when interacting with vendors
  • Improved camera re-center speed on the speeder

Worlds, Fauna and Flora

  • Increased spawn rates for speeder races
  • Made the Varaki predator on Toshara more formidable

Sabacc:

  • Fixed an issue where music and ambiance were missing

Photo Mode:

  • Enabled splitting camera inversion from gameplay camera
  • Added option to disable UI sounds in photo mode
  • Camera speed applies to both panning and movement
  • Enable switching between 16:9 and 21:9 modes
  • Implemented a color picker UI
  • Added a black, white and neon cyan Star Wars Outlaws logo
  • Fixed an issue where some UI elements could be seen in photos

Accessibility:

  • Removed glitch effect while using Electrobinoculars
  • Removed directional arrow for Kay’s captions when in standard gameplay camera view
  • Added setting to show a visual reminder of the button used for Nix quick actions
  • New settings from updates 1.2 and 1.3 added to accessibility presets
  • Menu remapping section added, allowing some keyboard controls for navigating menus to be remapped
  • The keys for Hyperspace menu and Hyperspace jump are now remappable through the keybind menu
  • Added settings to invert X and Y axis of photo mode camera
  • Moved menu narration to top of the UI menu & top of the vision preset menu
  • Added setting to stop voice lines interrupting menu narration
  • Menu narration now reads negative brightness slider values, the heal button while low on health, new quest notification, reputation changes in contracts menu, quest tracker ‘more info’ prompt, cloud upload/download notifications, that starting a Sabacc game requires a hold, and whether abilities of partially equipped gearsets are locked
  • Fixed an issue where Nix sense was not affected by protanopia color preset
  • Fixed an issue where ND5 and Gedeek would not appear as allies in high contrast mode for some missions
  • Fixed an issue where some inputs would have a double action if remapped

Miscellaneous

  • Fixed an issue where NPC speeders could collide with each other
  • Fixed an issue with the intel location for Thorden’s itinerary
  • Fixed an issue where the Trailblazer’s auxiliary devices couldn’t be used during syndicate quests

__MAIN & SIDE QUESTS __(beware of spoilers)

Canto Bight

  • Beginnings
    • Fixed an issue where Nix could get stuck when stealing credits

Toshara

  • Underworld
    • Traversal opportunities are now better highlighted
  • False Flag
    • Adjusted the mission to enable flexibility in how players approach situations in addition to stealth
    • Removed some alarm panels from the mission
    • Adjusted the text when failing the mission
    • Adjusted NPC and enemy placement
  • ‘I’m here’ Intel
    • Fixed an issue where a rock blocking the fan wouldn’t spawn if the player left the area and returned later

Kijimi

  • The Hive
    • Adjusted NPC and enemy placement
  • Fixed an issue where Jet Kordo’s vault would not be able to be opened

Tatooine

  • Jabba’s favor
    • Fixed an issue where Vail would not mount her speeder
    • Removed some alarm panels from the mission
    • Adjusted NPC and enemy placement

Akiva

  • Viper
    • Fixed an issue where the rebels could remain stuck after the Viper droid fight
  • The Scavenger
    • Fixed an issue where the speeder would not spawn after talking to Temmin
  • Money Drop
    • Fixed an issue where the objective would be missing
  • Revelator
    • Fixed an issue where players could not move or shoot the Trailblazer

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.