Category: Video Games

Black Ops 6 Season 1 launches today, November 14, and with it comes a mammoth update that has become a Call of Duty trademark.

The Season 1 update, which brings Call of Duty up to version 1.061.000, is available to download now and weighs in at a gargantuan 40.422 GB on PS5 and 38.724 GB on PS4.

This is an enforced update for Call of Duty, the all-encompassing app that houses Black Ops 6, Warzone, and prior Call of Duty games. You need to download the 40 GB update for the base game even if you don’t have Black Ops 6.

Season 1, which goes live at 9am Pacific / 5pm UK time, makes a number of significant changes to Black Ops 6, adding new Multiplayer maps, skins, a battle pass, and big balance changes. Activision published the Season 1 patch notes overnight. New updates are also coming for the Black Ops 6 campaign and Modern Warfare 3, if you have those downloaded.

Call of Duty, with its various evolving modes like Multiplayer and Zombies alongside yearly releases on top of separate games like Warzone, is not only messy but takes up a big slice of your storage. For this year’s game, Activision made a number of changes designed to streamline the Call of Duty interface, offering more direct access to games and more control over downloads.

Taking on Zombies mode? We’ve got Essential Zombies Tips and Tricks to help you get started, plus a guide on How to Exfil. Both Zombies maps are full of easter eggs and secrets; here’s everything we’ve found in both Terminus and Liberty Falls, including How to Pack-a-Punch in Liberty Falls and How to Get the Meteor Easter Egg in Terminus.

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.

Mortal Kombat 1 developer NetherRealm fully unveiled Ghostface overnight, showing off the DLC guest character’s signature hunting knife, crawling skills, and ability to phone in a fellow Ghostface partner to help finish off victims.

But what the developers failed to reveal is which Mortal Kombat characters they’re quietly bringing back to the series via the Scream villain’s various versions that are available in-game.

During a Kombat Kast, NetherRealm confirmed there are actually three versions of Ghostface: the main Ghostface is the villain from the Scream films, as you’d expect, but the identities of the other two are secrets NetherRealm challenged players to work out for themselves.

As reported by EventHubs, NetherRealm confirmed that the other two Ghostface versions are Black Dragon characters called, at least for now, The Enforcer and The Assassin. Black Dragon is Mortal Kombat’s mercenary clan headed up at various points (the timeline is pretty complicated!) by fan-favorites Kabal and Kano. The lore justification here is Ghostface has been transported to Lui Kang’s timeline without his partners from the movies, so recruits two members of the Black Dragon clan to help him out.

So, Ghostface is actually three characters in one. You can switch to temporarily playing as The Enforcer or The Assassin by holding a button during certain moves. You can tell them apart by their knives, if you look closely. You get 12 seconds to play as an alternative Ghostface before you revert back to the OG, or your opponent lands a hit and triggers the OG to come running back in.

Players have analyzed The Enforcer and The Assassin’s unique movesets for hints at the Black Dragon characters’ true identities. Already, there are two outstanding suggestions.

Warning! Spoilers for the identity of Ghostface in Mortal Kombat 1 follow.

Mortal Kombat fans have identified moves that are directly related to Kobra (Enforcer) and Kira (Assassin), two human Black Dragon members who each made their debut in 2004’s Mortal Kombat: Deception. We also see Assassin do Kano’s famous roll attack, but Kira does this move as well in both Deception and 2006’s Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. As you can see from the movesets, this one looks nailed on.

Reaction to this revelation has been positive, not only because it’s a clever way of bringing back two rather obscure Mortal Kombat characters that perhaps would never have seen the light of day otherwise, but also because it leaves the door open for other, perhaps more wanted characters to appear as Kameos or even fleshed out DLC characters with a potential, but so far unannounced Kombat Pack 3.

As for Ghostface, the OG version is voiced by Roger L. Jackson, who has voiced the character throughout the Scream franchise. Ghostface joins the Mortal Kombat 1 roster on November 19 as part of the early access period for Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Expansion owners, followed by wide availability for purchase on November 26. Up next is Conan the Barbarian and T-1000 Terminator.

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.

The developers behind Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket have teased some of the updates players can expect to receive in the coming months, including additional booster packs, trading, and other new features.

The team detailed their strategy in a post published on its official X/Twitter account. It’s a message that thanks fans for trying out Pokémon TCG Pocket since its launch a few weeks ago, and more importantly, it tells players what they can expect if they stick around. Update plans not only include new cards but even new, mysterious features that have yet to be announced.

Hi everyone! Today, I’d like to share a brief statement by the #PokemonTCGPocket Team about more immediate updates coming to the game in the next few months.

I look forward to sharing more details with everyone as they become available! pic.twitter.com/eaN35vRpSw

— Pokémon TCG Pocket (@PokemonTCGP) November 13, 2024

Pokémon TCG Pocket will receive at least one “major update” in the near future, with the team saying that the plans is to release new booster packs before the end of the year. Those who have picked up the Pokémon mobile game so far have been treated to three packs – Genetic Apex Mewtwo, Charizard, and Pikachu – with three pools of cards to choose from. It’s unclear exactly how many more packs will release in the next few months or which creatures they will feature.

How and when the card roster will grow remains a mystery, but one feature that has been on everyone’s minds is currently slated to arrive early next year: trading. The ability to trade cards with other players is a Social Hub menu option that’s been grayed out since launch, and in January, Pokémon TCG Pocket will finally make it available to use. It’s worth noting that today’s message clarifies that only “certain cards” will be available to trade at release, with the team promising to “expand the selection of cards that are able to be traded” over time.

While the message keeps more than a few details hidden, rest assured that more features will come to Pokémon TCG Pocket down the line. “Also, we have other new features in development outside of the trade feature introduced here,” the message says. “We plan to announce more details about the update as the dates for the addition of these features are finalized, so please look forward to it.”

This mobile version of everyone’s favorite pocket monster trading card game has taken the world by storm since it launched late last month. Developer Creatures Inc. announced Pokémon TCG Pocket managed to surpass 30 million downloads last Friday – just more than one week after launch. Although release dates for expansion sets have not been officially revealed, a datamine from earlier this week suggested that more cards may be due to arrive in December and January.

Pokémon TCG Pocket will no doubt evolve over time, so while we wait to see how its collection of creatures will grow, be sure to read up on why some players think its coin toss mechanic needs some work. You can also check out why the developers are playing coy when it comes to the importance of pack choice and which card IGN readers think is best.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

In the wake of today’s large 2.0 update for Warcraft III: Reforged, Blizzard has released the complete list of patch notes, revealing changes to everything from multiplayer to various bug fixes.

The biggest highlight is a graphical update that adds HD versions of classic units, buildings, visual effects, environments, and icons. It also includes the option to customize between Reforged and Classic HD assets so fans can mix and match as they please.

Elsewhere, Warcraft III: Reforged 2.0 includes improvements to the lighting, the addition of XP and leveling to ranked play, and music from Warcraft I and II. The user interface also features various updates.

The 2.0 update represents another step forward for Blizzard’s ill-fated remaster, which is considered one of the worst moments in the publisher’s long history. The original release was panned for poor graphics, missing features, and broken promises, leaving it with a poor reputation from which it has never really recovered. Nevertheless, Blizzard has continued to work on Warcraft III: Reforged in the background, adding in ranked play and other requested features.

Warcraft III: Reforged 2.0’s launch was part of Wednesday’s Warcraft 30th Anniversary stream, which also included the release of remasters for Warcraft I and II, updates to World of Warcraft, and lots more. You can read the full list of patch notes below.

Warcraft III: Reforged 2.0 Patch Notes

Classic HD + Addon System

• Added HD versions of Classic Units, Buildings, VFX, Heroes, Environments and Icons.
• Added new section (under Reforged in the option screen) which will give players the ability to customize between Reforged and Classic HD Assets.

Collection

• Collection screen now has a filter option between skins and portraits.
• Added 5 new Warcraft III Starter Portraits.
• Added Reforged Campaign Heroes as playable skins in Multiplayer (if the skin has a Classic equivalent, the Classic version will show if you have Classic HD Heroes enabled).
• Added an option to disable Skins (for players who only want to see default units).
• Added Warcraft 2 Portraits.
• Added Warcraft 1 Portraits.

User Interface

• Added The Frozen Throne Theme (TFT). Players can toggle back by clicking the logo on the main menu or in the options.
• Menu flow has been updated.
• All front-end menus have been updated.
• Added in-game hotkey customization screen in the option menu. Players must have custom keys enabled to access the menu.
• Added options to turn on APM, FPS, Timer, Ping through the option menu.
• Added the ability for a player to watch through their Match History if they have the replay saved.
• Search filter added to create game.
• Search filter added to replays.

In-Game User Interface

• Added in-game timer that can be turned on/off via the options or using “/time”.
• Added deny indicator that can be turned on/off via the options.
• Added Goldmine worker counter that can be turned on/off via the options.
• Added Race Indicator in the Allies menu (F11) next to the players’ names.
• All chat is disabled by default but can be turned on manually via the options.
• Squad formation is disabled by default but can be turned on manually via the options.
• Health bars are set to always on by default but can be changed manually via the options.
• Numbers on cooldown are set to on by default but can be turned off manually via the options.
• Idle worker key will camera snap to the unit only after the player has double tapped.
• HUD can now be scalable in the option.
• Classic mode HUD now has the option of removing the side boarders.
• Campaign Talking Head UI is disabled by default but can be turned on manually via the options.

Music

• Added Warcraft 1 and Warcraft 2 Music as an option.

Multiplayer

• Added XP and leveling to ranked play.
• Leaderboard ranking is based on the amount of XP if player have the same XP rank tie breaker will be MMR.
• MMR bands have been reduced from 0-10000 to 0-7000.
• MMR will no longer reset after a new season if you are currently ranked. MMR will reset slightly if you played 0 games in the previous season.
• Level and XP will reset completely at the start of every season.
• AT can no longer match RT in 4v4 and 3v3.
• Added game servers located in Chicago, United States of America and Sydney, Australia.

Reforged Environments

• All Reforged Terrian Art has been updated for all environments.
• Various Tree Doodads have been updated to reflect the environment changes.
• Foliage is disabled by default.

Reforged Lighting

• Bloom has been removed.
• Tone map has been updated.
• Increased Ambient Lighting.

Settings

• All settings have been set to default settings.

Tooltips

• Updated various tooltips to better reflect ability usage for Heroes.

World Editor

• Added option to turn on/off Addons from Reforged to Classic HD.
• Added the ability to toggle on/off foliage.

Bugfixes

• Fixed an issue where players could no longer create or invite players to Clans.
• Fixed an issue where the Demon Hunter would lose vision permanently if it was revived through the Ankh of Reincarnation.
• Fixed an issue where match results would not be processed.

Mac

• Fixed an issue preventing Mac users from launching the game.

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.