Good news, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 fans — Activision has extended its open beta to run an additional 24 hours to October 9, taking it right up to competitor Battlefield 6‘s release, which is slated for October 10.
“The reaction to the Black Ops 7 Beta so far has been awesome to see! Whether you’re calling in Nukes in Multiplayer or going for high rounds in Zombies Survival, there’s plenty to jump into and we’ve had a ton of fun playing alongside everyone,” Activision wrote in its latest blog.
“On behalf of all of us at Treyarch, we’re truly grateful for your feedback so far… and speaking of which, we heard you might want a little more, so we’re extending the Black Ops 7 Beta to 9am PT on Thursday, October 9!”
The beta now includes sixth Beta MP map, Toshin, and Open playlists, which have classic matchmaking where skill is minimally considered, Activision said.
Activision also confirmed it will be extending 2XP + 2X Weapon XP through the rest of the Beta “to help everyone hit level 30, try out all the weapons and gear, and unlock plenty of attachments and Overclocks along the way.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Battlefield 6 has suffered numerous leaks throughout 2025, and now, just three days before launch, the game itself may have leaked its way into the public’s hands, too.
Reddit users grecea_vlad and SS-Enter-Thighs shared they had recently managed to secure early copies, posting images of what seem to be Phantom Edition versions of the game that have been unintentionally released days before Battlefield 6’s October 10 release date.
Box art highlighted in both posts features labels from the European video game ratings board, PEGI, suggesting both copies were sold by European retailers. It’s unclear which store(s) could be responsible for the alleged leak or how pre-release copies of Battlefield 6 could have slipped through the cracks and into the fans’ hands. Of course, that may not be a concern for the two – or maybe even more – Battlefield 6 fans who now have the game in hand days before everyone else.
It’s unclear which features these supposed early Battlefield 6 adopters have access to, so for everyone else still waiting for official launch, it’s probably best to be wary of spoilers for the next few days, just in case.
Meanwhile, EA and the four-company team that makes up Battlefield Studios recently previewed some of the changes set to be introduced with the Battlefield 6 day one patch. It’s a tease for this Friday’s patch that also came with an update regarding the debate between Closed and Open Weapons, as the developers insisted that “the vast majority of players” prefer the latter.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Megabonk is a 3D survivors-like with a very specific sense of humor that has been getting a lot of buzz lately. I’ve played about 15 hours as of writing this, so while this quick look is more meant to share my early impressions across that time rather than being a full, scored review, I’ve already done plenty worth talking about. There is still a fair bit I haven’t seen, but I got a little more than half the achievements and unlockables in that time, and I have been enjoying myself a lot. Adding an extra axis of movement does a lot to set it apart, and it’s more than competent at all the usual conventions of the genre already.
If you’ve played these kinds of games before, the basics are pretty much the same. You run around and fight endlessly-spawning waves of enemies that get harder and harder as the time ticks down. It’ll start with little goblins, and then you’ll get goblins with swords, and eventually build up to some more dangerous stuff like ogres or giant scorpions. Every once in a while a miniboss will pop up and those add some variety and a nice little spike of challenge.
There are also shrines that let you summon powerful elite packs and even more bosses with the promise of greater rewards, and I always appreciate that kind of thing where I’m not going into a menu and turning the difficulty up, but I can kind of tweak the difficulty as I go based on the decisions I make in the run. I prefer that, honestly.
As is common for these kinds of games, all of your weapons do their things automatically, whether that’s a sword or a rocket launcher. The only controls you’re worried about are movement-related. I like the variety and the bombastic attitude of the weapons. There are no two that feel overly similar, and they’re all pretty fun to use in different situations. Getting the revolver and the missiles and stacking bonuses to the number of projectiles I can spawn is great.
But of course the most obvious and I think the coolest difference here is that Megabonk is built with fully 3D levels and 3D movement. You can jump, and even get power-ups that give you better jumps or double, triple, quadruple jumps which is a ton of fun. There’s an item that makes all your weapons do more damage while you’re airborne, which can be quite powerful. One of the characters, Monke, can actually climb walls, which gives him some big advantages.
There’s a frantic but tactical loop of going fast while planning out your path carefully.
And this exploration and planning routes across steep cliffs, up and down ramps, is a big part of Megabonk, which makes every run feel interesting and challenging in some ways a lot of survivors-style games aren’t. First off, to finish a level, you have to locate the boss gate so you can summon the final boss before the timer runs out and you’re eventually overwhelmed by endless waves of ghosts. So there’s that added need to get out and comb the map, unless you get lucky and spawn right by the boss gate which sometimes happens, and I like that.
Then the second part is that the map is littered with breakable containers, shrines, and chests, and your power level is going to be directly related to how many of these you can hit within the time limit before you move on to the next level. So there’s this frantic but also very tactical loop where you want to go fast while planning out your path carefully to avoid backtracking and tag as many points of interest as possible. Chests also, at least most of them, cost gold to open, and that price goes up every time you open one, so sometimes you have to know when to pass one up because it’s not worth waiting around to farm coins when you’re not going to be able to afford to open every single chest anyway. The number of considerations I have to weigh in my head to put together a really good run feels satisfying and like I can usually overcome at least a lot of the capricious force of randomness by playing smart.
Now I do have to talk about the humor, because it’s one of the first things I noticed. The entire theme of Megabonk seems to be Millennial and Gen Z internet brain rot. And it’s honestly hard to tell if – at the rist of sounding a bit mean or snotty – this supposed to genuinely make me laugh in a surface-level way. Like is this the straightforward sense of humor the developers were aiming for? Or are they doing a Tim and Eric cringe comedy thing, like the real joke is that it’s kind of stupid on purpose? How many layers of irony deep are we? In the former case, it doesn’t work that well. But if it’s the latter, it kind of does. Yeah, in 2025, I’m totally still sending my friends all the latest GigaChads. Remember him? There’s an item that spawns “borgars.” Dang, did John Hammond show up to pop your champagne after you dug that one up? (The irony is not lost on me that I’m using a reference from a 1993 movie to criticize how old this meme is, but it’s a classic, okay?) There’s a surprisingly safe for work boss called “Scorpionussy.” There’s a power-up that “claps cheeks.” Practically everything you pick up is some kind of reference to years- or decades-old meme culture. It never got in the way of the gameplay for me, but there were a few times I thought my eyes were going to roll so hard I might sever my optic nerves.
Megabonk currently only has two levels, a spooky forest and a deadlier desert, at least unless there are some secret ones I’m not aware of. But they do each have three different tiers of increasing difficulty. The first is just a single stage, while each subsequent tier adds one additional stage with a new boss that lets you carry over all your power-ups from the previous one. I do find the lack of changing scenery a bit disappointing. Those two biomes are definitely starting to feel repetitive, and I couldn’t find anything like a roadmap that said the devs plan to add more. It’s not labeled as Early Access either. But the three tiers definitely provide a good challenge and give me more room to push myself.
Meta-progression isn’t super deep, but it is meaningful and rewarding. Everything outside of a run costs a separate currency called silver that you can pick up on runs. Getting permission to buy new characters, items, and power-ups requires you to first complete an objective or achievement thematically tied to each one, which is kind of neat. Then you have the more straightforward buffs to level up like getting more rerolls or more weapon slots. I appreciated that you only have to pay for the ability to toggle unlocked items on or off once and then you can use it as much as you want, since I really like to optimize my loot pool going into a run in these types of games.
The characters are mostly pretty simple in their design but enjoyable to use. I think my favorite is CL4NK who is a robot cowboy gunslinger that starts with the revolver and gets increased critical chance every level. But you’ve also got a skeleton on a skateboard who does more damage the faster he moves, and the ninja is also a lot of fun because he automatically kills any enemy who misses him with an attack.
As far as survivors-likes go, this is a pretty strong one. Especially with the added consideration of the jump button and the whole vertical axis, and the emphasis on route-planning and exploration, I found it had that crucial ability to make me want to start a new run as soon as I finished the last until it was suddenly several hours later. I’m regularly groaning at some of the uninspired image board humor, but I feel like I can sometimes appreciate it in an ironic way, and otherwise just ignore it. I’d say it’s worth a look if you have an appetite for another one of these that isn’t basically just a Vampire Survivors reskin. I just wish there was a little more level variety.
Over on the Commander Deck side of things, we’ve started to see prices drop, but now one of the decks has reached half price at Amazon, which has Revival Trance for just $34.99.
This MTG Final Fantasy Deck Is Half Price
The Final Fantasy 6 deck is down 50% from its $70 MSRP, marking the lowest price yet since it arrived.
We will concede that the deck has been steadily discounted for some, but a new low is always worthy of celebration. The deck is, arguably, the worst of the four, though, with a graveyard recursion theme that never really gets off the ground, but if you’re looking to get started playing with friends, it’s worth it at this price.
We ranked the decks already, and the one that ended up top was the Final Fantasy X deck, Counter Blitz. Why do I mention that? Because ahead of Prime Day, it’s discounted again.
Amazon has a 30% discount on the deck, bringing it down to $48.99. The deck is really fun to use, if a little complex, and involves manipulating counters (including Lore ones) to get extra value out of your Summon creatures.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
Magic: The Gathering has offered Universes Beyond crossovers with other franchises for a few years now, and while some become full sets like Spider-Man and Final Fantasy, others are more squarely focused on Commander.
Fallout Commander Decks: Under $40 Each With This Bundle Deal
Amazon has all four decks for $144.99, a reduction of 11% on the $162.99 list price. That might not sound like a huge amount, but consider what that value represents when the Mutant Menace deck is selling for $70 and upwards on its own.
As for the decks, the good news is that they’re all pretty great. Mutant Menace is one of the best, powering up its spooky Mothman Commander with counters as you deal radiation to everyone else at the table, while Hail Caesar is all about being aggressive and sacrificing cards to power up Caesar himself.
Science! offers something a little different since it leans into energy counters and powering up the board with artifacts, while Scrappy Survivors is definitely popular since it’s helmed by the adorable Dogmeat and has the series’ four-legged star rummaging through your graveyard for equipment and tokens.
As a reminder, each of these decks comes with a Collector Booster Sample Pack, too. They contain two cards each, but it’s better than getting irradiated, right?
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
Ask a fan if they want to see more of Assassin’s Creed Mirage hero Basim, and you’ll likely get a resounding yes in response. One of the most intriguing characters in the franchise’s recent history, Basim already ranks among the few of its hooded heroes to appear in multiple games — in 2020’s Valhalla as a central figure, and then in 2023’s Mirage which featured a younger version of the character as its star.
The fate of Basim post-Valhalla remains a signficant hanging plot thread, while fans have also yearned to see more of the character between the events of the two games (such as his meeting with Valhalla character Sigurd in Constantinople, centuries before Ezio visited the city). But Ubisoft seems uninterested in entertaining either scenario while cooking up new Basim content, instead working on a new story chapter without any extra lore for the Hidden Ones, and anything that might impact the series’ modern day.
Five years on from his first introduction, Basim’s story will continue in Valley of Memory, a side-story set within the events of Mirage itself. Launching for free on November 18, the expansion will see Basim visit AlUla, now a UNESCO World Heritage site in modern day Saudi Arabia.
Publicly, Ubisoft has shied away from discussing the expansion’s funding, though previously told IGN that it had retained complete creative control over Valley of Memory’s content. Internally, however, Ubisoft has reportedly responded to concerns from developers by drawing a distinction between Saudia Arabia’s ruler Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the PIF itself, whose chair is also Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
To hear Ubisoft tell it, AlUla was simply a location Mirage’s team wanted to explore. “AlUla has always impressed us and was considered for the main game instead of Baghdad,” producer Vincent Maulandi-Rabbione said during a recent presentation to press, attended by IGN. “We had access to experts, resources, archeologists, while maintaining a complete creative freedom on how we would create the content.”
Certainly, AlUla seems to fit visually with the Assassin’s Creed series’ sense of exploration and parkour. The site features thousands of years worth of history for players to learn about, and geographically it’s only as distant from Baghdad as Mirage’s existing sequences set within the Assassin fortress of Alamut. But while the concept of AlUla may have existed on a whiteboard within Bordeaux during Mirage’s original development years ago, art director Florian Salomez told IGN that no actual work on the region began until Valley of Memory’s development began last year.
Discussing the content’s main concept, Salomez said the expansion’s narrative added “a new piece to Basim’s coming of age story, and why he chooses the path that ultimately define him.” (Oddly, it will also be Bordeaux’s second Assassin’s Creed add-on about a protagonist searching for a long-lost parent in as many months, following its work leading Assassin’s Creed Shadows expansion Claws of Awaji.)
“Before his final mission in Baghdad, and before the series of events that lead to the end of the game, Basim hears about his long-lost father Is’haq,” creative director Olivier Leonardi said. “[He] is mentioned in the game many times, and he’s even mentioned in Valhalla. We know he abandoned Basim as a child aged 7. Now, Basim hears Is’haq may still be alive in the wondrous valley of AlUla. It’s so important to him, that he goes on this long journey to get answers.”
Valley of Shadow sounds subtantial, which makes its addition for free all the more surprising. Ubisoft estimates it contains around six hours of new gameplay spread across a new in-game region with five districts. Familiar Mirage mission types are back, alongside new missions where you chase down stolen goods and gain opportunities to learn about AlUla itself.
Alongside all of that, the Valley of Memory update will add several improvements to the main Mirage experience, not least an impressive-looking challenge mode that lets you replay missions from both the new expansion and the main Mirage campaign with additional objectives, which feels a lot like the franchise’s classic ‘Full Sychronization’ rewards. There’s a reward track to unlock additional in-game items by testing your prowess here, and you’ll be aided by additional game-wide tool upgrades that allow, for example, smoke bombs to now dissolve bodies, or blow darts to pierce armor.
As a free gift to fans, Valley of Memory feels generous — even if its setting and choice of storyline are not something fans asked for.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Grabbing Prismatic Evolutions cards at a good price has felt like a lost cause for Pokémon TCG collectors, but Walmart has confirmed that its upcoming October Deals event will include a significant offer that seems too good to be true.
If you’re not already a member, it’s admittedly a slight drag that you’ll essentially have to add $12.95 onto that $59.99 price tag; it’s still better than the $200 minimum you’ll currently find on other marketplaces like TCGPlayer for the same set.
Plus, this is going to sell out FAST, and I highly doubt there will be any remaining for the general non-Walmart+ shoppers looking for a bargain. Not only that, but you’re going more for your money if you’re looking to grab the brand new and upcoming Mega Evolution expansion, Phantasmal Flames.
Walmart is doing a repeat of the Prismatic Evolutions deal preview drop, but this time with preorders for the upcoming set featuring Mega Charizard X during Walmart Collector Con. The preorders will drop at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET on October 9, so you better bookmark those links and be ready to go.
Whether you’re after Prismatic ETBs or elusive preorders at MSRP for Phantasmal Flames, picking up a Walmart+ membership is undoubtedly the move this week.
It’s also important to know that whilst Walmart+ does have a 30-day trial available, the Walmart+ hub page states that only paid members will have access to its early deals on 6 October.
The annoying part of the Walmart+ subscription process, if you want to buy early access items right away, is that you’re only given the initial option to claim the 30-day trial. However, you can get around this by starting your free trial, cancelling it, and resubscribing for paid access.
The Walmart Deals event, scheduled for 7-12 October, is designed to compete directly with Amazon’s Prime Day. However, Walmart+ members will benefit from exclusive early access starting the day prior, on 6 October.
The idea is that after that early access day, the deals will then be made available to the wider public who don’t have Walmart+. However, given how quickly almost any MSRP-priced stock for new sets in the Pokémon TCG is selling out at all retailers, we’re certain this particular ETB will be sold out within hours, if not minutes.
A Walmart+ subscription is priced at $12.95 per month, or $98 annually, and offers a range of benefits beyond early shopping privileges. Members receive free delivery with no order minimum, savings on fuel, access to Paramount+ or Peacock at no extra cost, and additional perks such as pharmacy delivery and discounts at selected partners.
Although we are expecting Amazon Prime Day and the upcoming Black Friday sales to offer some decent Pokémon TCG deals of their own, this is still quite frankly one of the best we’ve seen this year.
We don’t expect Walmart to repeat this kind of deal for the foreseeable, or Walmart to match it. Even so, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to beat out all the other keen collectors, scalpers, and their bots who might be trying to nab one before you can.
What we’d advise is to have your paid Walmart+ subscription set up and you be logged in on 6 October, and if you get the chance to add one of those half-priced Prismatic Evolutions ETBs to your basket, you take it.
Ben Williams – IGN freelance contributor with over 10 years of experience covering gaming, tech, film, TV, and anime. Follow him on Twitter/X @BenLevelTen.
Note: Pokémon TCG pricing is incredibly volitile and any mention of sale pricing is indicative of the current market rate for the aforementioned products.
For example, Pokémon Elite Trainer Boxes are meant to sell for around $50-$60 MSRP, but instead retailer at around $100+ post launch.
A listing for the unannounced Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 has appeared online.
The website for the Entertainment Software Rating Board has a listing for Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, which is set for release on Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. Its publisher is listed as Daybreak Game Company LLC, which owns Cold Iron Studios, developer of the first game. As you’d expect, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is rated M for Mature 17+ by the ESRB, with “Blood and Gore, Strong Language, and Violence.”
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a cooperative third-person survival shooter which drops players into the role of a Colonial Marine aboard the USS Endeavor, recently tasked with answering a distress call from the outer colonies. It was well-received upon its 2021 launch, earning a 7/10 from IGN’s review. We said: “There’s plenty of wild shootouts with swarms of xenomorphs in Aliens: Fireteam Elite, but some awkward pacing and repetitive level design prevents it from being a classic.”
Aliens: Fireteam Elite recently hit Xbox Game Pass, expanding its audience. It was a well-timed addition, with the critically acclaimed Alien: Earth TV show set to hit FX and Hulu at the time. This sequel, while so far unannounced, looks like a sure thing.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Released on October 2, Ghost of Yotei is quickly garnering praise from Japanese gamers who are busy exploring Sucker Punch’s depiction of 1600s Japan. Its choice of setting, picturesque scenery, and expansive map seem to be resonating with local residents, with the developers receiving plaudits for their detailed research and sense of style.
Sucker Punch’s standalone sequel to 2020’s award-winning Ghost of Tsushima moves the action to Ezo on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido. You play as Atsu, a warrior on a quest to take vengeance on the six men who slaughtered her family.
Overall, Ghost of Yotei’s scenery is getting a lot of praise from Japanese speaking commenters for its beauty, especially the titular Mount Yotei. However, one commenter, who apparently lives in Hokkaido, shared a photo of the real Mount Yotei, saying: “You were probably thinking they exaggerated its beauty for the game, right? But Mount Yotei really is a beautiful mountain. Please come and visit.”
In a follow-up post, they added that the developers’ decision to choose “Mount Yotei instead of (Hokkaido’s highest mountain) Daisetsuzan makes so much sense as a person born and raised in Hokkaido. Mount Yotei isn’t part of a mountain range, it stands alone, and that’s what gives it the ‘wow’ factor.”
Sharing an in-game screenshot featuring Mount Yotei, another user commented: “I live in Ezo but Ghost of Yotei is way more quintessentially Hokkaido than I could have imagined, lol. (…) Whether it is to scale or not, the fact that the entire map is Hokkaido is deeply moving.”
As a sidenote, map software company Zenrin got into the Ghost of Yotei spirit by sharing a real-life map of Ezo on its official X account to mark the game’s release.
Although Atsu’s story is serious, like in Ghost of Tsushima the game also gives the player plenty of opportunities to explore the beautiful landscapes, relax in hotsprings and interact with local fauna, such as foxes. Many Japanese comments point out how “cute” these animals and their movements are, such as the fox’s butt-wiggle reaction to your attempts to slice through bamboo, and the appearance of the Japanese long tailed tit, with users sharing a screenshot of the white bird perching on Atsu’s hand.
However, as cute as these animals might be, one user warned players that petting foxes like Atsu can do is not a good idea in real life, as although it wasn’t an issue in the 1600s, the foxes in Hokkaido nowadays carry the parasitic disease echinococcosis, which can be passed to humans.
Ghost of Yotei’s opening title movie, which follows Atsu riding through the landscape at speed, also gained much praise and shares, with one Japanese language comment going so far as to say: “As expected, this game’s opening movie has surpassed all others.” Talking about the opening, another commenter added: “You’re galloping up the hill and then boom, Mt Yotei appears at its most beautiful. I take my hat off to the staff of Sucker Punch for their good taste and successful research. They really know how to hit the right note for Japanese audiences.” Others praised translation and voice acting aspects, saying that Ghost of Yotei has a “perfect localization for Japan.”
During the making of Ghost of Yotei, the developers took many research trips to Japan. Director Nate Fox previously talked about the team’s commitment to creating a respectful representation of Japan to match Sucker Punch’s previous work on Ghost of Tsushima. In fact, Fox and Jason Connel were made permanent tourism ambassadors to the real-life Tsushima in recognition of how Ghost of Tsushima has spread awareness of the place. As more people experience Ghost of Yotei, it will be interesting to see if it gets similar recognition.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
97% of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 cheaters were caught within 30 minutes of signing into the beta, Activision has said.
The mega publisher said that its anti-cheat effort, dubbed Team Ricochet, “hit the ground running,” and that “fewer than 1% of cheating attempts reached a match.”
“Cheaters were expected. But our upgraded systems caught them faster than ever, powered by strengthened TPM 2.0 checks and automated systems helping to eliminate a large number of attempts to cheat,” Activision explained. “Those who did manage to slip through didn’t last long. Most never made it into a match.
“You may have seen clips of cheaters in the Black Ops 7 Beta. We had already actioned on most of those accounts before they hit social media. We’re watching closely, acting in real time, and learning from every attempt.”
Activision also reminded players that while Team Ricochet’s anti-cheat detection systems stop most cheaters even reaching a match, player reports “still play a vital role” as they “help fuel our detection models, refine enforcement and improve coverage.”
Interestingly, Activision also spoke about the individuals and companies that sell cheats, saying most major cheat providers have admitted their tools are “unusable” for Black Ops 7, and is targeting them “beyond in-game enforcement,” having closed over 40 cheat developers and resellers since Black Ops 6 launched last year.
“And this is just the beginning. When launch arrives, every layer of protection will be in full force, and Ricochet Anti-Cheat’s defenses will only grow stronger,” the statement concluded. “The fight against cheating is an industry-wide challenge – and we’re committed to leading the charge. We continue to bring new systems online during Beta, fine-tuning our protections, responding faster and gaining deeper insights. We’re dedicated to transparency, community feedback, and constant evolution in our fight for fair play.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
