Author: Trafficblast

It’s a big week for Call of Duty. Activision will officially announce and unveil Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on August 26, but ahead of that, the Season 5 Reloaded update for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and the battle royale game Warzone will arrive late in the day on August 24.

The full patch notes for the update will arrive soon, Infinity Ward’s community director Ashton Williams said in a tweet. We’ll post the full patch notes here when they are released.

Season 5 Reloaded adds a new weapon, the FiNN LMG, as well as a new Warzone mode called King Slayer. A new operator named Morte is coming to the game as well, while there is a new Games of Summer event where players can represent their country in single-player missions where they can earn rewards. For more on Season 5 Reloaded, check out GameSpot’s breakdown of everything you need to know.

The Season 5 Reloaded update will be released across PS4, Xbox One, and PC starting at 11 PM PT, so there isn’t much more time to wait.

Call Of Duty Warzone/Modern Warfare Season 5 Reloaded Patch Notes:

Coming soon!

A closed beta test for NHL 21 is coming up very soon, and now EA Sports has detailed what’s in it and what to expect. The beta test will start on August 28, the studio has confirmed.

Those accepted into the beta test will be able to try out two modes: Online Versus and World of Chel. Because it is a closed test, users are forbidden from streaming their gameplay, so don’t expect to see footage.

Registrations for the NHL 21 closed beta test are closed, so if you did not already sign up for a chance to get in, you’re out of luck. Those who did should check their emails to see if they have been accepted.

NHL 21 has now been officially announced, and it features Alexander Ovechkin on the cover. Among the new features for this year are a series of skill moves that have been made famous in the NHL, including the lacrosse/Michigan move and Kucherov’s “no move move.” EA has said it will use the NHL 21 beta test to gather feedback regarding these moves.

For lots more on NHL 21, check out GameSpot’s breakdown of everything new this year.

The ongoing Halo 3: ODST beta test on PC and Xbox One for The Master Chief Collection will run for longer than expected. Developer 343 Industries has confirmed that the beta test, or “flight,” will now run through Monday, August 31.

The beta remains closed, so you will need an invitation to get in. Just recently, 343 sent over 100,000 more invitations on PC alone, so be sure to check your email. To get into the beta you need to be a member of the free Halo Insider program–you can sign up here.

Those who are selected for the beta test on PC can try out six campaign missions and seven Firefight maps, plus some of the new changes and improvements coming to the Master Chief Collection, including new weapon skins and guns for Halo 3.

The situation is slightly different on Xbox One–the ODST campaign has been available on the Xbox One version of the Master Chief Collection since 2015, but Firefight, the wave-based multiplayer mode, is making its long-awaited debut. Both the campaign and Firefight are heading to PC for the very first time.

ODST was originally released back in 2009 for the Xbox 360. Critic Tom McShea awarded it a score of 9/10 in GameSpot’s Halo 3: ODST review, saying, “The delicate construction of the story adds a new wrinkle to the typical Halo plot, and the action-packed campaign levels are full of intense battles and surprising encounters. Firefight mode is a standout addition, crafting highly addictive cooperative battles for players to experience.”

Several Lab Zero Games employees have announced their departure from the studio. The mass exodus is in response to Lab Zero Games director Mike “MikeZ” Zaimont going back on his word to step down from his position following harassment allegations.

“The reason Lab Zero never issued a statement about MikeZ is because he hasn’t let us,” former Lab Zero Games creative director and lead animator Mariel “Kinuko” Cartwright wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. “I’m here today because we had asked him to leave over these behaviors. He apologized for his behavior and said he would, but has now turned around and said he won’t, all the while continuing to intimidate and bully employees. Mike is the 100% shareholder of the company, and as such, it is his right to stay if he wants to.”

In another statement posted to Twitter, former Lab Zero Games art producer Brian “EU03” Jun clarified that Zaimont went back on his word to step down when his “unrealistically high and potentially illegal” terms weren’t met.

“Mike used intimidating and potentially retaliatory tactics to bully the team while refusing responsibility for his actions,” former Lab Zero Games senior animator Jonathan Kim wrote in their statement, also posted to Twitter. “He then gave all employees until August 31 to leave if they’re unsatisfied and so now we’re here.”

Quite a few other Lab Zero Games employees released similar statements or simply tweeted out that they were leaving the studio without supplying their exact reasons, including former senior animator Jebus “Simpai” Matoi and former senior artist Jessica Allen. Necrosoft Games director Brandon Sheffield also released a statement on Twitter about Lab Zero Games, speaking out about why he cut ties with the studio earlier this year.

Lab Zero Games developed Skullgirls and Indivisible, two video games often celebrated for their fun character designs, enjoyable combat, and diverse representation. It’s disappointing to see one man’s horrific actions and inexcusable handling of the aftermath lead to the dissolution of such a creative team.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will be announced through the battle royale game Warzone on August 26, and now we know exactly when the reveal will happen.

The Call of Duty Twitter account posted a teaser today that confirms the timing of the announcement–10:30 AM PT. That works out 1:30 PM in New York and 6:30 PM in London. In Japan, it’ll be at 2:30 AM, and in Sydney the reveal will take place at 3:30 AM.

The teaser, which you can see below, shows the opening to a Warzone match before cutting out. The enduring rumor is that Warzone’s map, Verdansk, will be overhauled to give it a Cold War style and tone to reflect the new Call of Duty game.

Keep checking back with GameSpot for lots more on Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, as we’ll be reporting about the Warzone reveal and whatever else happens this week.

Black Ops Cold War is developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, with Beenox handling the PC edition which will be exclusive to Battle . net.

Black Ops Cold War teaser art has also been revealed. The art features a character wearing a Soviet insignia on the left and an American on the right, presumably to show how the two major powers were essentially equals during the height of the conflict. It’s unclear if these characters are part of the story.

Even with Black Ops Cold War set for a reveal soon, Activision continues to update and support Warzone and Modern Warfare with the Season 5 Reloaded update that adds a new weapon, mode, and more.

Hitman III developer IO Interactive recently announced that the PlayStation versions of the game will get a PSVR mode, letting you play through each location in first-person virtual reality. While there’s been some question of how the game would translate to VR, since so much of the game’s stealth involves costume changes and situational awareness, IO Interactive has released a single, short GIF that really sells the concept.

You can see the GIF in the tweet below. It shows 47 tapping a man on the shoulder with a crowbar before whacking him in the face with it as he turns around. It’s a perfect encapsulation of Hitman’s extremely dark sense of humor, albeit a bit more slapstick than usual–as is befitting of VR.

This seems to be taken from the Sapienza level from the first season of Hitman, at the inside front gate to the De Santis estate.

The Twitter account has shared a few other GIFs from the game’s new VR mode since it was announced, showing 47 relaxing and firing blind around corners.

A new location from the third game, the Thornbridge Manor, was recently shown off. IO Interactive has also detailed how Elusive Targets, Escalation missions, and Contract modes will be overhauled in the future.

Hitman III releases for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC on January 21, 2021. The VR mode will launch exclusively for PSVR users.

A recently approved PS5 DualSense patent suggests that Sony’s next-gen controller may one day be able to identify specific users simply by how they are holding it.

As reported by SegmentNext (via VGC), this patent describes a system that would use DualSense’s sensors, including its gyroscope and accelerometer, to gather telemetry data to track the controller’s position, orientation, and properties “such as the maximum velocity, minimum velocity or mean velocity of the controller for a given time, such as 60 seconds for example.”

If a match is found by the controller, it would prompt the user to accept or reject the detected profile. This patent looks to solve the issue of having to manually log into multiple accounts and provide a more seamless experience.

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This patent isn’t strictly limited to the DualSense, however, as it also indicates this technology could work with other devices like the DualShock controller, Move Motion controllers, PSVR Headset, and more.

It’s important to note that patents are filed by companies all the time, and this specific filing does not guarantee this will make it to PS5 owners around the world.

Other recent patents filed by Sony include one that gives a glimpse of what the PS5 UI could look like, an AI tool that could help players if they are stuck in a game, a cloud system to play PS1, PS2, and PS3 games, and more.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.