Author: Trafficblast

Update: Immediately following the publication of this piece, Take-Two reached out to inform IGN that it was delaying its announced NFL partnership game past March 2022, meaning that it has two “immersive core releases” from new franchises that have not yet been announced, one of which is being developed by Gearbox.

Original story:

With its full-year financial results today, publisher Take-Two Interactive announced it plans to release a total of 21 games between now and the end of its fiscal year in March 2022. Unfortunately, it looks like none of these will be Grand Theft Auto 6.

While we don’t know the names of all these games yet, existing announcements, trends, and Take-Two’s own analysis can help us break down exactly what to expect.

Per Take-Two’s own analysis, four of these games are “immersive core releases,” with two from new franchises and two from existing franchises. One of the games from a new franchise is likely the new NFL game coming out of the partnership Take-Two announced with the league last year for a “non-simulation football game experience.” And one, Take-Two says, is being made by Gearbox, giving no further details.

For the two existing franchises, one is definitely WWE 2K22, which was announced at Wrestlemania last month. The second is most likely a new NBA 2K game, as the series has had a consistent pattern of annual releases going back years.

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Unfortunately, this doesn’t really leave room for GTA 6 in the coming calendar year, despite ongoing rumors and teases that the game is in development. Of the remaining 21 releases between now and March, one is an already announced independent game: OlliOlli World, from Private Division. Ten are free-to-play mobile games, with six from new franchises and four from existing franchises. And the remaining six are re-releases of existing games — so most likely platform ports or similar.

However, this doesn’t count GTA 6 out entirely. Take-Two also projected out its fiscal years 2023 and 2024 (April 2022 through March 2024), saying it plans to release over 40 games, including 19 “immersive core releases,” seven of which are sports sim games and four of which are free-to-play. Take-Two is also planning to release five independent games most likely through Private Division, ten free-to-play mobile games, four “mid-core” games, three of which will be “sports-oriented,” and three re-releases of existing games.

There are fewer details here, but it seems much more likely that GTA 6 could slot into that 19 “immersive core releases” segment if it is indeed in development as rumored, though details are still too scarce to tell for sure.

As a disclaimer, Take-Two noted in its release that this was just a snapshot of its “current development pipeline” and that games may still be delayed, and new games might be added. Speaking to IGN, Zelnick said he felt very confident about the release slate, but acknowledged that being this specific this far in advance had its drawbacks.

“We’ve been asked to provide more transparency and that’s what we’re trying to do,” he said. “…But of course, the more specificity you provide, the greater the risk we’ll have to make a change in the future.”

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In total, this would get Take-Two to 62 games in three years, following its promise in 2020 to release 93 games in five years, which it reiterated in February. Though it’s not clear how Take-Two counts releases just yet for the purposes of these milestones (is Borderlands 3 on next-gen one new release or two?), the publisher still seems well on its way to fulfilling this projection by 2025.

The publisher’s robust release plans today came alongside comments from Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick on the company’s future following a record financial year, which saw the highest full-year net bookings in company history at $3.6 billion (up 20% year over year) and $3.3 billion in revenue.

In a press release, Zelnick pointed out that he sees the pandemic as having initiated a “transformational shift in entertainment consumption” that drew many people to gaming who had previously not engaged with it. However, he added that he expects a “moderation” of these trends in the future, and told IGN that the company’s plans to continue to set new records each year were tied both to the surge of gaming interest as well as its aforementioned packed release slates.

In the same release, Take-Two shared that GTA 5, which just got a November release date for its PS5 and Xbox Series X/S upgrades, has now surpassed 145 million copies sold. GTA Online saw a record number of active players in the last quarter (January to March). In addition, NBA 2K21 has now sold over 10 million copies, and an average of 2.3 million users are playing NBA 2K games each day.

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Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Call of Duty’s Season 3 Reloaded is coming soon with an ’80s action hero theme, plus there’s major weapon tuning coming to Black Ops Cold War‘s weapon pool, as revealed in today’s patch notes from Treyarch. This mid-season update will go live event goes live at 9 PM PT May 19/12 AM ET May 20.

However, the highlight of today’s patch notes is definitely the weapon balancing that Treyarch is bringing to Cold War’s weapon pool. Significant weapon tuning is coming for both multiplayer and Zombies mode.

For multiplayer, there’s a significant change coming to flinch across the entire sniper class. The developers are introducing a sniper-specific flinch, which was created to move the weapon aim while being hit. This new sniper flinch will be more pronounced while aiming down sights with the sniper. The update also individualizes the aim down sights momentum for each sniper rifle, meaning each rifle will have its own unique ADS speed and heft to it.

A bullet velocity increase will buff almost the entire class, providing assault rifles more of a long-distance advantage over submachine guns. The FFAR 1 is the only one in the class that will not receive this increase, and instead the bullet velocity is being reduced in exchange for an increase to its max damage.

A change is also coming to the headshot modifiers for the assault rifle class. Assault rifles that have 5.56 ammo will have a 1.4x headshot modifier, while those using 7.62 ammo will have a 1.25x modifier. The number of hits required to kill should remain the same, except for the FFAR 1, which will require fewer hits to kill with a headshot.

The pistol and light machine gun classes will see a buff to bullet velocity, but the commonly used Task Force Barrel is getting a nerf to bullet velocity for the LMG class. Treyarch says these changes “provide more value to the rest of the barrel attachments, while the Task Force Barrel remains a solid choice.”

The entire pistol and light machine gun classes will receive a boost to bullet velocity, while the R1 Shadowhunter crossbow gets the addition of sniper flinch.

For Zombies, most of the weapon pool will receive significant buffs to the critical damage multipliers with most boosting up from 2.8x up to 4.5x. Several weapons will also get additional adjustments to their upgraded Pack-a-Punched versions, including changes to magazine size, stock ammo, and damage.

Players can also expect more features with Zombies, including world events, a fishing feature, and more to be added in with this major weapon balancing update.

As previously announced, the ’80s Action Heroes event introduces the iconic characters Rambo and John McClane to Call of Duty. The event will allow players to complete objectives across Black Ops Cold War and Warzone. There are nine Black Ops Cold War challenges, and a semi-automatic tactical rifle blueprint is rewarded for completing them all.

The entire list of patch notes from Treyarch is available, but you can find the weapon balancing below.

Multiplayer Weapon Tuning

• All Sniper Rifles

In this update, we’re revising sniper rifles with two goals in mind:

• To create more meaningful gameplay between sniper rifles and other weapon classes.
• To better define the role of each sniper rifle to give them more individuality and specialization.

To those ends, the following updates have been made:

Custom Flinch: We’ve created a sniper-specific flinch that moves the weapon aim while being hit. This flinch is more pronounced in ADS. Attachments that reduce flinch have been factored into this feature update.

ADS Momentum: ADS (Aim Down Sight) Momentum is now individualized for each sniper rifle. ADS Momentum is that feeling of weightiness as the weapon exits and re-enters ADS. You feel this when you rapidly exit and enter ADS, without fully returning fully to the hip position. Heavier sniper rifles will now feel weightier and re-acquire ADS slower accordingly. Please note that ADS Momentum is not used when entering ADS from the full hip-fire position.

As the next step in making each sniper rifle stand out even further in its own right, we’ve made the following changes across the weapon class. As always, we’re committed to evaluating and adjusting weapon stats as necessary once these updates are live based on game data and feedback.

LW3 – Tundra

This is the baseline of our sniper rifles. It is lenient enough in its one-hit kill capacity while being fast enough to scan the horizon and find new targets quickly. This weapon is meant to be geared for most players to play with and have fun experiencing what it’s like to be a sniper in Black Ops Cold War. The following changes better define the weapon’s role, providing more long-range accuracy and focusing less on short-range combat viability.

• LW3 – Tundra
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 550 to 580.
  • Reduced ADS-In Momentum from 0.2 to 0.233.
• Attachments
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 28.2” Extended Barrel attachment from 25% to 18%.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 29.1” Combat Recon Barrel attachment from 75% to 36%.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 28.2” Tiger Team Barrel attachment from 50% to 27%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance bonus from Dropshot Wrap Handle attachment from 50% to 33%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance bonus from Field Tape Handle attachment from 90% to 50%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance bonus from SASR Jungle Grip Handle attachment from 80% to 67%.
  • Increased Sprint to Fire Time penalty from SASR Jungle Grip Handle attachment from 12% to 15%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance Bonus from Airborne Elastic Wrap Handle attachment from 90% to 25%.
  • Increased Sprint to Fire Time penalty from Airborne Elastic Wrap Handle attachment from 15% to 18%.
  • Reduced Aim Down Sight Time bonus from Airborne Elastic Wrap Handle attachment from 12% to 5%.

Pelington 703

The Pelington 703 is designed to be a quick-handling sniper rifle for players who enjoy constant movement and repositioning, trading off some one-hit kill potential for more speed. This weapon is geared for the kind of player who enjoys running into the middle of gun battles and advancing on important positions. The following changes reinforce the weapon’s role, shifting some ADS speed into a Sprint to Fire benefit, and using a slightly slower Bullet Velocity to keep gameplay at closer ranges.

• Pelington 703
  • Increased Sprint to Fire speed from 0.45 to 0.433.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity from 500 to 478.
  • Increased Aim Down Sight Time from 0.55 to 0.583.
• Attachments
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 25” Extended Barrel attachment from 25% to 17%.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 27.2” Combat Recon Barrel attachment from 75% to 43%.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 26.5” Tiger Team Barrel attachment from 50% to 30%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance bonus from Field Tape Handle attachment from 90% to 50%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance bonus from SASR Jungle Grip Handle attachment from 80% to 67%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance Bonus from Airborne Elastic Wrap Handle attachment from 90% to 25%.
  • Reduced Aim Down Sight Time bonus from Airborne Elastic Wrap Handle attachment from 12% to 5%.

Sniper Rifle Charlie (Semi-Auto)

With the recent release of the ZRG 20mm and the popularity of the LW3 – Tundra, there existed an untapped space between those two weapons. To fill that position, our semi-auto sniper rifle has been given some new upgrades. Leaning into the lethality of a .50 Cal round, the weapon is now much more powerful, with the trade-off of being slower to fire successive shots. As a semi-automatic weapon without any rechamber, it is still quite fast and works well for holding down a position.

• Sniper Rifle Charlie
  • Increased one-hit kill potential to include the mid-torso.
  • Increased Aim Down Sight speed from 0.7 to 0.666.
  • Increased ADS-Out Momentum from 0.2 to 0.183.
  • Reduced ADS-In Momentum from 0.2 to 0.25.
  • Reduced firing speed from 0.333 to 0.833.
• Attachments
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 22.2” Extended Barrel attachment from 25% to 13%.
  • Increased Fire Rate bonus from 20.6” Rapid Fire Barrel attachment from 11% to 12%.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 22.6” Combat Recon Barrel attachment from 75% to 26%.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 22.6” Tiger Team Barrel attachment from 50% to 20%.
  • Increased Fire Rate bonus from 22.6” Tiger Team Barrel attachment from 18% to 24%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance bonus from Field Tape Handle attachment from 90% to 50%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance bonus from SASR Jungle Grip Handle attachment from 80% to 67%.
  • Increased Sprint to Fire penalty from SASR Jungle Grip Handle attachment from 12% to 15%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance Bonus from Airborne Elastic Wrap Handle attachment from 90% to 25%.
  • Increased Sprint to Fire penalty from Airborne Elastic Wrap Handle attachment from 15% to 18%.
  • Reduced Aim Down Sight Time bonus from Airborne Elastic Wrap Handle attachment from 12% to 5%.

ZRG 20mm

This is the most lethal sniper rifle in Black Ops Cold War, and it ravages vehicles and Scorestreaks. This power comes at a price, as this weapon is slower with less available ammo. Players who prioritize map knowledge, common enemy movements, and destroying enemy Scorestreaks will excel with the ZRG 20mm. Strategy over tactics. To that end, this weapon must be slower to wield compared to the rest of the sniper rifle class.

• ZRG 20mm
  • Reduced Aim Down Sight speed from 0.65 to 0.683.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity from 925 to 923.
  • Increased ADS-Out Momentum from 0.2 to 0.183.
  • Reduced ADS-In Momentum from 0.2 to 0.283.
  • Custom Vehicle Damage: The “anti-material” property of this weapon deals extra damage to every vehicle and Scorestreak. Due to the sheer number of vehicles and Scorestreaks to choose from in Black Ops Cold War, this damage is displayed in-game as a range (i.e. 1100 – 2200). Generally speaking, the larger a vehicle or Scorestreak is, the more damage this weapon will deal to it.
• Attachments
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 41.9” Extended Barrel attachment from 25% to 10%.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 43.9” Combat Recon Barrel attachment from 75% to 20%.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 42.7” Sigma Special Barrel attachment from 67% to 16%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance bonus from Field Tape Handle attachment from 90% to 50%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance bonus from SASR Jungle Grip Handle attachment from 80% to 67%.
  • Increased Sprint to Fire penalty from SASR Jungle Grip Handle attachment from 12% to 18%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance Bonus from Airborne Elastic Wrap Handle attachment from 90% to 25%.
  • Increased Sprint to Fire penalty from Airborne Elastic Wrap Handle attachment from 15% to 20%.
  • Reduced Aim Down Sight Time bonus from Airborne Elastic Wrap Handle attachment from 12% to 5%.

Swiss K31

With its low recoil, fast rechamber, and speedy handling, this weapon is ideal for quickly eliminating multiple enemy targets. Players with an eagle eye and nerves of steel will be able to down more enemies with this weapon than with any other sniper rifle. For those who aren’t as skilled at nailing their headshots every time, the Swiss K31 can perform much like a tactical rifle. The changes made here further index on this skill aspect, with the benefit of less sniper flinch.

• Swiss K31
  • 25% less Flinch than other sniper rifles.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity from 700 to 684.
• Attachments
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 24.9” Extended Barrel attachment from 25% to 16%.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 24.9” Combat Recon Barrel attachment from 75% to 31%.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 24.9” Tiger Team Barrel attachment from 50% to 23%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance bonus from Field Tape Handle attachment from 90% to 50%.
  • Reduced Flinch Resistance bonus from SASR Jungle Grip Handle attachment from 80% to 67%.
  • Reduced Sprint to Fire penalty from SASR Jungle Grip handle attachment from 12% to 11%.
  • Reduced Aim Down Sight Time bonus from Airborne Elastic Wrap Handle attachment from 12% to 5%.

All Assault Rifles

We’ve improved bullet velocities across the board (with one exception) to allow assault rifles more innate long-distance advantage over submachine guns. The FFAR 1 has its Bullet Velocity reduced in exchange for an increase to its max damage.

We have also standardized headshot modifiers on assault rifles with this update. Assault rifles that have 5.56 ammo have a 1.4x headshot modifier, while those that use 7.62 ammo have a 1.25x modifier. In general, assault rifles that use 7.62 ammo deal higher damage already. The number of hits required to kill remain the same, except for the FFAR 1, which requires fewer hits to kill if the player scores a headshot.

• Krig 6
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 625 to 686.
  • Increased Bullet Velocity bonus from 19.7” Ranger Barrel attachment from 100% to 126%.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity penalty from 15.5” Contour Barrel attachment from 25% to 12%.
• AK-47
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 490 to 702.
• FFAR 1
  • Increased maximum damage from 27 to 28.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity from 705 to 629.
• Groza
  • Reduced headshot multiplier from 1.4x to 1.25x.
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 650 to 660.
• QBZ-83
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 625 to 671.
• FARA 83
  • Increased headshot multiplier from 1.25x to 1.4x.
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 675 to 729.
  • Reduced maximum damage from 31 to 30.
  • Reduced minimum damage from 28 to 27.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity penalty from 17.5” Contour Barrel attachment from 25% to 18%.
• XM4
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 550 to 657.

All Light Machine Guns

We’ve refactored Bullet Velocity to give LMGs more inherent power with less reliance on the Task Force Barrel attachment. These changes provide more value to the rest of the Barrel attachments, while the Task Force Barrel remains a solid choice for boosting Bullet Velocity.

• Light Machine Gun Alpha
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 675 to 714.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 21.8” Task Force Barrel attachment from 100% to 41%.
• RPD
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 475 to 684.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 20.3” Task Force Barrel attachment from 100% to 44%.
• M60
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 600 to 791.
  • Reduced Bullet Velocity bonus from 22.8” Task Force Barrel attachment from 100% to 39%.

All Pistols

Pistols have received minor adjustments to Bullet Velocity. These changes better fit each pistol by pushing their “hitscan” range to the edge of their most-used engagement distances.

• 1911
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 200 to 206.
• Magnum
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 300 to 313.
• Pistol Charlie (Burst Fire)
  • Increased Bullet Velocity from 250 to 257.

Special Weapons

• R1 Shadowhunter
  • Added Sniper Flinch.

Zombies Weapon Tuning

We’ve increased the power of most weapons through higher critical damage multipliers (generally from 2.8X up to 4.5X) to make killing zombies feel even satisfying by rewarding players for skillful shooting. Some weapons have also received additional adjustments to their Pack-a-Punched versions with respect to magazine size, stock ammo, and damage.

This update generally brings up the power levels of the Black Ops Cold War arsenal in Zombies to ensure every weapon is a viable option in round-based Zombies maps, Outbreak, and Onslaught.

Note: Damage and critical location hit multiplier tuning below is unique to Zombies and is not inherited from the global weapon tuning changes also included in this update.

• Assault Rifles
  • XM4
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.4.
    • Xeno Matter 4000 (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.4.
      • Increased max damage from 62 to 67.
  • AK-47
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.2.
    • Rasputin’s Retribution (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.2.
      • Increased max damage from 78 to 85.
  • Krig 6
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.2.
    • Blitzkrig 99 (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.2.
      • Increased max damage from 70 to 71.
      • Increased stock ammo from 420 to 480.
  • QBZ-83
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.2.
    • Yaoguai (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.2.
      • Increased max damage from 63 to 69.
  • FFAR 1
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.5.
    • Increased ammo capacity from 25 to 40.
    • Increased stock ammo from 250 to 280.
    • Winnower (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.5.
      • Increased ammo capacity from 50 to 100.
      • Increased max damage from 53 to 59.
      • Increased stock ammo from 350 to 500.
  • Groza
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.2.
    • Tugarin (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.2.
      • Increased max damage from 68 to 76.
      • Increased ammo capacity from 60 to 64.
  • FARA 83
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.5.
    • Neara 51 (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.5.
      • Increased max damage from 62 to 72.
      • Increased ammo capacity from 90 to 50.
      • Increased stock ammo from 450 to 500.
• SMGs
  • Submachine Gun Alpha
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 3.8.
    • Mystic Pony Express (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 3.8.
      • Increased max damage from 69 to 73.
      • Decreased ammo capacity from 75 to 72.
      • Decreased stock ammo from 525 to 504.
  • AK-74u
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 3.8.
    • AK-74NOFU (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 3.8.
      • Increased max damage from 80 to 84.
  • Milano 821
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 3.8.
    • Succubus Stinger (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 3.8.
      • Increased max damage from 88 to 93.
  • Bullfrog
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 3.8.
    • High Anxiety (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 3.8.
      • Increased max damage from 72 to 76.
  • KSP 45
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 3.8.
    • Herald of Woe (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 3.8.
      • Increased max damage from 105 to 110.
  • MAC-10
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.0.
    • Royale with Lead (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.0.
      • Increased max damage from 57 to 68.
      • Increased ammo capacity from 60 to 80.
      • Increased stock ammo from 420 to 480.
  • LC10
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 3.8.
    • Cnidoblaster (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 3.8.
      • Increased max damage from 63 to 70.
  • PPSh-41
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.2.
    • Grisly Reaper (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.8 to 4.2.
      • Increased max damage from 59 to 66.
      • Increased ammo capacity from 80 to 100.
      • Increased stock ammo from 480 to 500.
• Tactical Rifles
  • Type 63
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.2.
    • Hell Vetica (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.2.
  • M16
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.2.
    • Skullsplitter (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.2.
  • Tactical Rifle Charlie
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.2.
    • Pack-A-Punched version:
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.2.
  • DMR14
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.2.
    • Demolisher K14 (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.2.
  • CARV.2
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.2.
    • Carv-o-Matic (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.2.
• Light Machine Guns
  • Light Machine Gun Alpha
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.0.
    • Psychotropic Thunder (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.0.
      • Increased stock ammo from 360 to 440.
      • Decreased ammo capacity from 120 to 110.
      • Decreased max damage from 82 to 80.
  • RPD
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.0.
    • Ruinous Pain Distributor (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.0.
      • Increased max damage from 76 to 84.
  • M60
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.0.
    • Slow Burn (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 2.5 to 4.0.
      • Increased ammo capacity from 150 to 90.
      • Increased stock ammo from 300 to 360.
      • Decreased max damage from 103 to 100.
• Sniper Rifles
  • Swiss K31
    • Increased max damage from 150 to 175.
    • Increased min damage from 110 to 140.
    • Decreased stock ammo from 48 to 42.
    • Swiss KH3353 (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased max damage from 300 to 350.
      • Increased min damage from 220 to 280.
      • Increased stock ammo from 150 to 125.
  • Sniper Rifle Charlie (Semi-Auto)
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 4.0 to 5.5.
    • Increased max damage from 110 to 150.
    • Anathema (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 4.0 to 5.5.
      • Increased max damage from 226 to 300.
      • Increased stock ammo from 100 to 120.
  • Pelington 703
    • Pellegrino Della Morte (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Decreased stock ammo from 98 to 84.
  • LW3 – Tundra
    • Decreased max damage from 325 to 300.
    • Permafrost (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Decreased ammo capacity from 14 to 10.
      • Decreased stock ammo from 98 to 70.
  • ZRG 20mm
    • Head Cannon (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Decreased stock ammo from 72 to 64.
• Pistols
  • 1911
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 4.0 to 4.2.
    • Pain (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 4.0 to 4.2.
      • Increased stock ammo from 300 to 330.
  • Magnum
    • Private Eye (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Decreased stock ammo from 288 to 264.
  • Pistol Charlie
    • Increased critical damage multiplier from 3.5 to 4.5.
    • Die-a-Lotti (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased critical damage multiplier from 3.5 to 4.5.
      • Increased max damage from 66 to 73.
      • Increased stock ammo from 330 to 420.
• Shotguns
  • Hauer 77
    • Added mid-range damage of 56.
    • Increased min damage from 42 to 48.
    • Decreased stock ammo from 90 to 60.
    • Orion 777 (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Added mid-range damage of 112.
      • Decreased ammo capacity from 12 to 10.
      • Decreased stock ammo from 96 to 60.
  • Shotgun Bravo
    • Increased max multi-shot base damage from 40 to 45.
    • H-NGM-N (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Decreased ammo capacity from 16 to 15.
      • Decreased stock ammo from 112 to 75.
  • Streetsweeper
    • Road Rage (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased stock ammo from 120 to 180.
• Launchers
  • Launcher Alpha
    • OMEGA 3FA (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased stock ammo from 10 to 15.
  • RPG-7
    • CRIT-D20 (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased stock ammo from 15 to 20.
• Specials
  • M79
    • Matter Dismantler (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased stock ammo from 45 to 90.
• Wonder Weapons
  • Ray Gun
    • Decreased stock ammo from 80 to 60.
    • Porter’s X2 Ray Gun (Pack-A-Punched)
      • Increased ammo capacity from 20 to 30.
      • Increased stock ammo from 80 to 90.
      • Decreased min radius damage from 800 to 700.

Grand Theft Auto V has crossed yet another huge sales milestone. Take-Two Interactive has announced that the open-world game has now crossed 145 million units shipped to retailers, which is up from 140 million three months ago. Also during the call, 2K delayed its upcoming arcade NFL game and announced that Borderlands studio Gearbox will release a new game.

In total, the series has reached 345 million units sold in to retailers. That’s a huge figure, but it’s not the biggest franchise around, as Call of Duty just hit 400 million sold.

The game is poised for even more growth in the future, as Rockstar Games just announced that GTA V is headed to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 11. That’s also the day that GTA Online’s standalone release will debut on next-gen systems.

Outside of that, Rockstar recently announced plans to support GTA Online with more content updates throughout the summer.

Also in the earnings release, Take-Two announced that Red Dead Redemption II has now shipped more than 37 million units, up from 36 million, while the franchise overall has passed 60 million copies sold across two entries. Like GTA Online, Red Dead Online is also getting additional updates this summer.

Take-Two also disclosed franchise sales numbers for other series:

• NBA 2K — 111 million
• Borderlands — 70 million
• Civilization — 57 million
• BioShock — 37 million

2K’s arcade NFL game was planned to release in 2021, but that will no longer happen, management said on the earnings call. As for the Gearbox game, management said it’s coming … but that’s all it had to say. We previously heard that Gearbox was preparing to announce a new IP after it was sold to Embracer Group. More recently, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford responded to a report that a new Borderlands spin-off game is on the way.

For Take-Two’s fiscal year 2021 ended March 31, the company made $3.373 billion in revenue, which is up 9% compared to $3.089 billion. Money from “recurrent consumer spending,” which includes virtual currency, add-on content, and in-game purchases, rose by 50% compared to the same period last year. Another bright spot for Take-Two was digital sales, which jumped 23% to $2.919 billion.

Take-Two posted a profit of $588.9 million for the year, which is up 46%. Take-Two is currently holding an earnings call to discuss these results, so check back for more.

Marvel’s monthly Black Panther comic may be ending soon, but a new series is already in the works. Marvel announced 12 Years a Slave screenwriter John Ridley has been tapped to chronicle the next chapter in T’Challa’s life.

Launching in August 2021, the new series will pick up in the aftermath of writer Ta-Nehisi Coates’ long-running “Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda” storyline. T’Challa is finally back on Earth, but he faces new challenges as he settles back onto the throne of Wakanda. The new series will take a more espionage-focused approach to the franchise, with T’Challa racing against time to rescue a deep-cover agent before their capture sparks an international scandal.

In addition to Ridley, the new creative team includes artist Juann Cabal (All-New Wolverine) and cover artist Alex Ross. Ross’ cover to issue #1 reveals the series will also feature the current Avengers lineup, the Dora Milaje and T’Challa’s ex-wife Storm. That art also suggests the new series will deal with the long-term fallout of T’Challa’s discovery of a cosmic offshoot of Wakanda.

“It’s a hybrid espionage-superhero thriller, but at its core, it’s a love story,” Ridley told The New York Times. “And I don’t mean just romantic love, although there’s some of that as well. It’s love between friends.”

“We’re coming out of a summer where we saw Black people fighting for our rights, standing up, fighting in ways that we haven’t had to do in years,” Ridley added. “And it was really important to me after the year we had where we can have these conversations with Black people and we can use words like love and caring and hope and regret and all these really fundamental emotions that everybody has.”

Black Panther #25 will conclude the current series when it hits stores on Wednesday, May 26. The new Black Panther #1 will follow in August 2021.

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This is Ridley’s latest foray into superhero comics. Ridley was among a number of creators involved in DC’s Future State crossover, with his series Future State: The Next Batman showing Luke Fox taking up the Batman mantle ten years in the future. Ridley is also writing The Other History of the DC Universe, a DC Black Label comic that reexamines this world through the eyes of heroes of color like Black Lightning and Renee Montoya.

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

One of the most exciting new additions to Call of Duty: Warzone with the Season 3 Reloaded update is the introduction of the game’s first licensed characters, John Rambo from the Rambo series and John McClane from Die Hard. Both are coming to the game through the ’80s Action Hero DLC, which shakes things up in a big and exciting way. We recently had the chance to speak to developers at Activision about the new DLC, which arrives this week, and our conversation touched on the Nakatomi Plaza missions, whether or not Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis worked with Activision, and if more licensed characters could come in the future. We also asked if Call of Duty’s player base might even know who Rambo and McClane are, given they originated back in the ’80s.

Activision’s Natalie Pohorski, a narrative designer at Raven Software, said she’s excited in particular about the introduction of the famous fictional building from Die Hard, Nakatomi Plaza, being added to the game. It replaces the broadcast tower and is the tallest structure on the map. It’s also filled with special missions and activities, and there will be a series of Easter eggs to uncover throughout its five stories of playable spaces.

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One of the missions will involve cracking into the Nakatomi Plaza safe, but it won’t be easy, as other players will be trying as well. There is also another missions where players must stop an arms deal. Pohorski said this will be a multi-stage mission that begins in the basement and moves all the way up. Another missions challenges players to defuse C4 on the top of the building while enemy choppers try to gun them down. Overall, Pohorski said players can expect a series of Easter eggs in the Plaza building.

“It’s a 450-foot structure, five levels of playable space,” Pohorski said. “And we have some specific missions for that space. There is definitely a Vault event, where players are working to secure Vault keys. There’s another arms deal event where players are starting in the basement and working their way up through the building,” she said. “We also have something going on at the helipad. Trying to defuse some C4 while getting attacked by enemy choppers. So there is definitely a lot more going on in that building. There are a lot of Easter eggs we’re hoping players can find those on their own.”

“I’m most excited about being able to play Zombies, as John McClane, with a baseball bat, smashing skulls,” — Natalie Pohorski

Pohorski also shared that she’s excited for the blending of franchises that will come about with the ’80s Action Heroes DLC. Specifically, she’s stoked to whack some zombies with a baseball bat as John McClane–whether or not she’ll be yelling “yippee ki yay” as she does this remains to be seen.

“I’m most excited about being able to play Zombies, as John McClane, with a baseball bat, smashing skulls. But also, Nakatomi Plaza–all the special missions going on in there, I think is going to be a blast to watch players experience that,” she said.

Also in our interview, we wondered if Rambo and McClane might be just the first of many new licensed characters to come to Warzone. It’s not an unprecedented strategy, as Fortnite has welcomed all manner of licensed characters from major franchises. Call of Duty: Mobile VP Chris Plummer said it’s too soon to say if this will happen, but he said Activision is always looking to mix things up and keep the game fresh and interesting for players.

“This season is totally focused on the ’80s action event, so we’re totally stoked on bringing Rambo and John McClane and Die Hard action into the ecosystem and letting players engage with that,” Plummer said. “So that’s where 100% of our focus is right now. We’ll continue to inject more content over the course of the seasons to come. I think we’re always committed to evolving the playbook and continuing to try new things. Right now the focus is 100% on Rambo and Die Hard and our ’80s Action Heroes event.”

Finally, we asked Plummer for his thoughts on the recognizability of Rambo and McClane as characters that the audiences of Warzone, Black Ops Cold War, and Call of Duty: Mobile would be aware of. The franchises date back to the ’80s, so you need to be more than 30 years old to have been alive when they debuted and rose to prominence. That may be true, but Plummer reminded people that Rambo and McClane have elevated themselves beyond a particular time period; they are legendary, not only from film but also memes, he said.

“We think these characters are legendary from their films, but also memes and even folks who never saw the original release know who these characters are,” Plummer said.

While Rambo and McClane are coming to Call of Duty, it doesn’t appear that Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis voiced the characters or consulted.

Plummer said Activision worked closely with the rights-owners for Rambo and Die Hard–which is Studio Canal and Disney–but it’s believed Stallone and Willis did not record new lines for the game. Instead, Pohorski said, “You’re going to hear lines directly from the franchises,” suggesting that voice lines from the movies will be carried into the game.

While it may not be Stallone and Willis voicing the characters in Call of Duty, Plummer stressed that Activision went to great lengths to make sure Rambo and McClane are represented authentically in Call of Duty.

“We worked super closely with Studio Canal and Disney to make sure that these characters were brought to life with all their vivid detail and authenticity that fans would expect for those particular IP but also for Call of Duty,” he said. “We want to deliver it in a way where you recognize these guys and you feel like you’ve seen those weapons, you’ve seen the looks on their faces; that was really important for us. It took a lot of awesome artistry to get those details just right. It was definitely a deep collaboration with the IP holders and with our studios to create that awesome content.”

Check back soon for GameSpot’s full interview with Plummer and Pohorski, which touches on a range of other subjects about the forthcoming DLC. For more, check out everything you need to know about the ’80s Action Heroes DLC.

A new, fan-made online fighting game glossary with 673 terms is finally here to answer your burning fighting game questions, like what the heck is a “fuzzy”?

Fighting games can be notoriously obtuse at times, with many games in the genre including barebones tutorials that outright fail to explain important concepts or terms and instead leave it all up to the player to figure out. The Fighting Game Glossary by Infil looks to change that. Terms are easily searchable, and players can search for both universal fighting game terms as well as series specific ones.

Each term is broken down in a fairly easy to understand way. For example, a “fuzzy,” as Infil writes, “is a situation where a character is trying to be in two states ‘at once’ (that is, kind of a fuzzy middle ground between the states).”

The glossary sports terms from 14 different fighting game franchises including Street Fighter, SoulCalibur, Mortal Kombat, Guilty Gear, and many more. It includes 577 terms with Japanese translations as well as 216 terms with accompanying videos/images. Each day a new term is highlighted. Infil writes that work on the project began in August 2020.

It’s the perfect tool for players looking to dive into the fighting game deep end with upcoming high-profile fighting games like Guilty Gear Strive. Billed as a fresh entry point for players new to the series, developer Arc System Works has even released a series of starter guide videos for each of the game’s characters. Nonetheless, Guilty Gear Strive is still very much a fighting game, filled with numerous complex mechanics players will need to get a grasp on to succeed. Guilty Gear Strive arrives on June 11.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is out and it brings a litany of changes to the series — some announced and some kept secret until it was in the hands of fans — and players are still discovering more.

Leading up to the release of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, EA and BioWare detailed many of the changes coming to the series. IGN’s Mass Effect Legendary Edition wiki guide breaks down many of those changes and it’s worth checking out, but many new things are being discovereddaily.

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Some come as big surprises, such as a fix to a decade-old bug, while others serve as reminders to just how much time has passed since the release of the original trilogy of Mass Effect games. IGN has rounded up some of the biggest, best, well-hidden, and most-surprising changes to BioWare’s sci-fi trilogy.

Tali’s Face in Mass Effect 3

Anyone familiar with the original Mass Effect 3 release knows that it answered a question asked by many a Tali fan: what does Tali look like under her quarian armor? If you romance Tali in Mass Effect 3, this relationship leads to a scene in which Commander Shepard looks at a photograph of an unmasked Tali and…saw what was a photoshopped image of Miss England ’05 winner, Hammasa Kohistani.

Sure, BioWare did add some alien features to Kohistani’s face in the photo, but at the end of the day, it was still just a photo of a human. It’s safe to say BioWare took that criticism to heart because in the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect 3, Tali’s face is now seemingly an original piece of art and not a photoshop of a pageant winner. You can check out Tali’s new look below, courtesy of MaxGoods on Reddit.

 

Redditor Superspicycurry37 said “this is the ONE thing I wanted them to change if they were going to change nothing else,” and that they’re “glad it was this.” Redditor Max_Crultak26, however, said “in my head-canon, some quarians are purple or pale red with lines, and others like Tali are purple with freckles (and tree-like lines) but still, the image is cool.”

New Pluto Textures in Mass Effect 2

Pluto is a hotly-debated topic in the world of science. Is it a planet? Is it not a planet? Mass Effect 2 doesn’t care because regardless of its status in our solar system, it’s something in space that can be scanned. What’s interesting about scanning the planet in Mass Effect 2 now is that in the Legendary Edition of the game, Pluto’s texture has been updated to match the most recent picture of Pluto from 2015.

The photo above is what Pluto looks like in the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect 2 and it comes by way of Redditor Kunven. It’s a small change, but a welcome one as indicated by some of the replies to Kunven’s post on the Mass Effect subreddit. Redditor Silent_Shadow05 said they “appreciate these small details” and that they believe “BioWare really went above and beyond for this remaster.”

Elanos Haliat Is a Turian in Mass Effect Now

In the original release of Mass Effect, space pirate Elanos Haliat was a human and that didn’t really make much sense. Eurogamer, which originally reported on this change, pointed out how weird it was that Elanos was human in the original release of the game. As Eurogamer’s report notes, Elanos hates humans, he wants to attack a human colony, and other Terminus races rally behind him as their leader. Doesn’t sound very human-like, eh? That’s because Elanos’ status as a human was a bug in the original game.

That’s been fixed in the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect, however, as now Elanos appears as a Turian in the game, which makes a lot more sense. Redditor DocD173 posted a side-by-side of the change, which you can check out below.

“Was always so confused that the leader of the Terminus systems responsible for the Skyllian Blitz was a human,” DocD173 said on the game’s subreddit. “This is such a small but welcome change in ME:LE. Was not expecting these side missions to get this kind of love.”

Lovers of Liara T’Soni: Check out Her Doctorate Degree in Photo Mode

If you’re romantically interested in Liara, or even just interested in this character platonically, why not get to know a little more about her educational background? Thanks to the newly-included Photo Mode in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, players can now view Liara’s doctorate degree, as discovered by Redditor TannenFalconwing.

As you can see, this is Liara’s doctorate degree from the University of Serrice on Planet Thessia. Who knows what else the newly-included photo mode could help players discover in Mass Effect? TannenFalconwing posted what they believe to be a transcription of what the degree says, too, alongside their discovery:

• University of Serrice
• Planet Thessia
• The governing body of the university grants this day that
• Liara T’Soni
• To be conferred the title of
• Doctor of Anthropology
• of the Prothean Era
• Having completed in due course, and with singular purpose, to continue the pursuit of truth and knowledge to further the Asari people

Beyond cool discoveries like this, the inclusion of photo mode is a welcome addition for fans of the series, both new and old. For some, it’s an opportunity to take hilarious photos where Commander Shephard is awkwardly standing behind beloved characters. For others, the new photo mode is a great tool for those who wish to showcase their love of the series’ characters, locales, and more.

#MassEffectLegendaryEdition #SeriesX pic.twitter.com/Tuq1f7I8YD

— Shinobi602 (@shinobi602) May 18, 2021

A quick stroll through the Mass Effect subreddit reveals dozens of posts where players are praising BioWare for adding a photo mode to the game. Redditor Demiurge93 said “adding photo mode was the best decision BioWare ever made” and that they “hope they keep it for future ME/DA titles.” Another Redditor, ShadowVia, said “photo mode is a game changer,” while other users, like Beanjameen, are astonished at the photos they’re able to capture because of the game’s photo mode, such as the one they took below.

You Can Use the Original Mako if the New One Handles Too Well for Your Liking

It’s well-documented just how poorly the Mako handled in Mass Effect and while it’s still not a perfect, easy-to-handle, all-terrain space vehicle, the team deserves credit for making the new Mako handle much better. It’s impossible to deny that it controls much better.

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However, if you want to drive the original Mako around, flaws and all, you’re free to do that by simply switching to the original version in the game’s settings, as noted by a PC Gamer report.

Be it nostalgia or masochism or something else entirely, this is a judgement-free zone: use that original Mako if you want to — we’re just here to let you know it’s possible to switch back and forth between the old and the revamped version.

Even The Latest Mass Effect Legendary Edition Update Made Some Changes

As noted by the examples listed above, there are some previously-announced changes and secret changes to be found in Mass Effect Legendary Edition and at least for now, it seems more could be on the way if the latest update for the game is any indication.

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A new update pushed out on May 17 brought new visual changes to Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. Specifically, some terrain textures in Mass Effect have been improved and across both Mass Effect and its sequel, some pre-rendered cutscenes have been changed to remove visual artifacts.

As noted by IGN’s coverage of the update, Mass Effect 2 players will be able to enjoy “improved lighting and shadows” in the game’s cinematics and “minor visual, rendering and VFX improvements” as well. Other things like achievements were fixed with this update too.

If all of these discovered changes are anything to go off of, it seems there might be even more hidden within Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Have you seen some changes we didn’t catch here? Drop a comment and let us know. In the meantime, be sure to read about how the game’s project director says Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer could return and then check out IGN’s official Mass Effect wiki guide for tips and tricks, walkthroughs, how-to guides, and more.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.