Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2 updates continue with patch 01.003.200, which makes a big balance change and a number of fixes.

According to patch notes released by the developer, 01.003.200 reduces the time it takes for the Helldiver to regain control after ragdolling from 0.8 to 0.5 seconds.

This seemingly innocuous change will have big implications for how Helldivers 2 feels to play. It’s a game that leans heavily on its physics systems and the emergent gameplay that comes from them, and that includes being blasted around the map.

As any Helldivers 2 player will know, you spend a lot of time prone on the floor recovering after being smashed into a ragdolling status. There’s a panic that sets in as you slowly pick yourself up and dust yourself off while the forces of the Illuminate, the Automatons, and the Terminids continue their assault. Those precious few milliseconds may make all the difference, especially on harder difficulties.

Meanwhile, the flag can now be “proudly” planted directly into enemies — dead or alive — “ensuring the eternal colors of Super Earth are never tainted, only quenched by the blood of its foes.” So, if you want that Charger to be running around with your flag on its back, now you can make it happen.

There are a number of balance changes worth checking out in the patch notes below.

Things are hotting up in the world of Helldivers 2, with the PC and PS5 game set to become the first PlayStation Studios-published title ever on Xbox when it launches on Series X and S next month alongside crossplay.

Helldivers 2 update 01.003.200 patch notes:

🌍 Overview

• Balancing
• Mission Fixes
• Weapon Fixes
• Miscellaneous Fixes

⚖️ Balancing

General

Helldiver

• Reduced the time it takes for the Helldiver to regain control after ragdolling from 0.8 to 0.5 sec
• Increased chest injury bleed damage from 1 to 10. Chest injuries now cause more noticeable damage, as the previous value of 1 was so low it appeared to have no effect

CQC-1 One True Flag

• Thanks to some groundbreaking military research into pointier flag tips, the flag can now be proudly planted directly into enemies—dead or alive—ensuring the eternal colors of Super Earth are never tainted, only quenched by the blood of its foes. Absolute Democracy

Primary weapons

AR-32 Pacifier

• Stun duration increased from 1.5 to 3 sec
• Starting magazines increased from 5 to 6
• Max amount of magazines increased from 7 to 8
• Slight increase in stun value applied to enemies

SMG-72 Pummeler

• Stun duration increased from 1.5 to 3 sec
• Slight increase in stun value applied to enemies

ARC-12 Blitzer

• Slight increase in stun value applied to enemies

R-2124 Constitution

• Bayonet stagger strength increased from 20 to 25

R-2 Amendment

• Bayonet stagger strength increased from 20 to 25

Sidearms

P-92 Warrant

• Now also locks-on to Large sized enemies

Throwables

G-109 Urchin

• Stagger strength increased from 0 to 50
• It now staggers and affects Large sized enemies

G-10 Incendiary

• The amount of fuel has been increased in the grenade, resulting in longer-lasting fire duration

G-13 Incendiary impact

• The amount of fuel has been increased in the grenade, resulting in a longer-lasting fire duration

Stratagems

A/FLAM-40 Flame sentry

• Fire damage resistance increased from 0 to 95%
• Cooldown reduced from 150 to 100 sec

GL-52 De-Escalator

• Slight increase in stun value applied to enemies

Boosters

Firebomb Hellpod

• Now affects the Hellpods default explosion as well
• Stagger strength decreased from 80 to 15 to prevent ragdolling players
• Demolition strength decreased from 40 to 20 because we now correctly also additively apply the normal Hellpod explosion

Stun Pods

• Now affects the Hellpods default explosion as well
• Stagger strength decreased from 80 to 15 to prevent ragdolling players
• Demolition strength decreased from 40 to 20 because we now correctly also additively apply the normal Hellpod explosion

Enemies

General

• It’s now easier to put Large to Massive sized enemies on fire

Terminids

Warrior

• Damage needed to gib Warriors increased from 500 to 750 damage
• This is how much damage is needed to explode the body without leaving a corpse behind

Automatons

Scout strider

• Legs armor decreased from 3 to 2
• Legs durable resistance has been increased

Illuminates

Overseer variants

• Unarmored Torso healthzone armor decreased from 2 to 1

🔧 Fixes

Weapons Stratagems & Boosters

• Fixed an issue with the R-2124 Constitution playing audio during the wrong instances
• Fixed an issue with the draw and holster speed with the Gunslinger Armor Passive
• Fixed an issue with ranged weapon grips after dropping the Entrenchment Tool

Enemies

• Fixed an issue where status effect damage were attempting to apply more times than intended

Missions

• Fixed an issue that prevented stratagems from working correctly on Terminate Illegal Broadcast objectives
• Fixed an issue with bad enemy pathing on military uplink objectives
• Fixed an issue for the terminal and drop off point, where they became inaccessible during the Retrieve Recon Craft Intel objective

Miscellaneous Fixes

• Fixed an issue in first person view where some armors resulted in visible obstructions around the shoulder while using a high Field Of View
• Fixed an issue during map generation that could result in missing terrain features
• Fixed fall animations occasionally playing before victory poses
• Extended some fonts to handle Bengali characters in player names
• Fixed an error that caused some enemy models to appear in lower quality
• Fixed an issue to prevent accidentally triggering jump packs or climbing on supply pods while using the interact button on controller
• Fixed an issue where exiting the chat was leaving players unarmed
• Fixed an issue with aiming during the draw emote
• Fixed issues when exiting First Person View using emotes

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.

The only officially licensed John Wick video game is being removed from sale just six years after launch.

Bithell Games’ well-received John Wick Hex launched in October 2019. It’s a fast-paced, action-oriented strategy game “that makes you think and strike like John Wick.” John Wick, of course, is the hugely popular action hero made famous by Keanu Reeves.

Fast forward six years and John Wick Hex is set for the digital scrapheap. In an update directed at the game’s community, publisher Big Fan Games (which is part of Devolver Digital) said John Wick Hex will be removed from sale on all platforms beginning July 17, 2025.

After July 17, existing owners of John Wick Hex will still be able to access the game via their digital libraries across PC and console, and of course physical copies will continue to work on console. However, new purchases of John Wick Hex will not be possible, regardless of platform or storefront.

Big Fan Games failed to say why John Wick Hex was being removed from sale, but it seems likely it’s the result of the expiration of its licence with John Wick rights holder Lionsgate Entertainment. IGN has asked Big Fan for comment.

The expiration of a licence is one of the main reasons video games end up being pulled from storefronts; you see it most often with video games that have licensed music. It happened to Alan Wake, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake trailers, and Spec Ops: The Line, to name but a few. Video game preservationists often call for video game companies to do more to keep their products alive when this happens. Back in 2018, Rockstar replaced Grand Theft Auto IV song licenses that had expired after the end of a 10-year deal.

As for Bithell Games, it released Tron: Catalyst last month. The game was developed in collaboration with Disney and Pixar Games, and is set within the world of Tron.

And as for John Wick, he recently cameoed in spinoff Ballerina, and John Wick 5, once again starring Keanu Reeves, is in development, although we’re not sure when it will come out. Director Chad Stahelski recently said he’s still trying to work out how to make Keanu Reeves in John Wick 5 make sense given the ending of 4. Meanwhile, Keanu Reeves reportedly pays a company a few thousand dollars a month to get the likes of TikTok and Meta to take down imitators.

Lionsgate has confirmed it has a John Wick AAA video game in the works, although it has said nothing about it.

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.

Bomb Busters was recently awarded the highest honor for board games as it was named the 2025 Spiel des Jahres in Germany, beating out Flip 7 and Krakel Orakel for the top honors this year.

The Spiel des Jahres may not be a household name in the U.S., but it’s the most prestigious and influential board game award in the world, similar to winning an Oscar for film. The Spiel des Jahres (literally “Game of the Year”) has been awarded to the best overall board game by an independent jury in Germany since 1979.

This year’s winner, Bomb Busters, is a strategic cooperative game for up to five players that requires everyone to work together to defuse a bomb by cutting the correct wires. It’s basically the tabletop equivalent of the video game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes.

This is a great game for families as it’s not too difficult to learn and includes 66 unique scenarios to conquer together. Typical games take around 30 minutes, making it a quick board game to get to the table and play.

Scarlet and Violet base set prices have been anything but steady lately, with some Illustration Rares climbing fast while SIRs cool off just as quickly. I’ve been tracking a handful of cards that stood out this month, with some pulling in surprising gains and others dropping harder than expected. Here’s a quick look at which Pokémon TCG cards are crashing and climbing ahead of the final Scarlet and Violet sets release in Black Bolt and White Flare.

Pokémon TCG Crashers