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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone‘s big Season 5 update is nearly here, and now developer Infinity Ward has offered a few more details on what to expect.

Season 5 introduces the Shadow Company, which is a “mysterious new private military company” that is aligned with the Alliance, but in name only.

“An elite PMC, Shadow Company operates outside the boundaries of the original Armistice. Forged from the fires of in-fighting between the Coalition and the Allegiance, Shadow Company has a framework and agenda all of their own,” Infinity Ward said in a blog post.

Shadow Company is a “splinter group” that has grown impatient with Captain Price and his leadership. The squad is coming to Modern Warfare to “deal with terrorist threats directly.”

The Shadow Company includes the new Operators Rozlin “Roze” Helms (who formerly was aligned with the Jackals faction), along with Velikan, and Marcus “Lerch” Ortega.

Lerch is a former US Marine from Plano, Texas who struggled to re-adjust in civilian life, so he joined the private military company. “There’s no contract Lerch won’t take on nor challenge he won’t face which is how he finds himself in Verdansk leading the other Operators of Shadow Company,” Infinity Ward said.

Fewer details are available for Velikan, who is described as “a shadow of a shadow.”

“Tales of his exploits are written off as fairytales at best and gross exaggerations at worst. Those who know him never speak ill of him. Whether it’s due to fear or respect, no one knows,” Infinity Ward said.

As for Roze, we don’t know anything about her beyond her roots with the Jackals.

More details should become available very soon, as Season 5 is expected to release beginning the first week of August on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. A new Battle Pass is coming, too. For now, you can check out the new Season 5 trailer above.

In other news, Modern Warfare and Warzone are now offering double XP, which comes at a good time for those looking to advance through the ranks and claim more Battle Pass items.

Grindstone, an Apple Arcade launch title that remains exclusive to the service, has just received a major update full of new content. The Daily Grind update adds a new daily mode, as well as 50 new levels and more.

The new mode is a daily challenge with leaderboards, so you can log in every day and try to dominate. It’s designed with long-term players in mind. You’ll be able to access the new Shrine of Greed and fight your way through four levels to reach a high score.

The new levels introduced bring the game up to 230 levels total, and they can be unlocked with Grindstones. They’ll likely be trickier than what was available in the base game. There’s also new items to unlock, with a new Pickaxe and Goldrush Garb to nab.

There’s also five new Gold Item Blueprints available, and you can get them by beating mini-bosses at the end of each new cave added in the update.

Grindstone earned strong reviews at launch, and has a Metacritic average score of 90. It’s available only through Apple Arcade.

The first Halo Infinite campaign footage was released during the July 23 Xbox Games Showcase, and people commented that the graphics left something to be desired. In a new blog post, developer 343 Industries responded to the concerns, stating that the company is trying to make a more “classic”-looking game, while also acknowledging the studio still has work to do to make Halo Infinite look better before launch. The blog post also touched on how Halo Infinite will approach microtransactions.

Regarding the graphics, 343 said there are multiple issues at play here, including the overall art style and the visual fidelity. For the art style, 343 is moving back to the “legacy” look of the original Halo trilogy. The company said it’s doing this based on the feedback surrounding Halo 4, Halo 5, and Halo Wars 2, which had more modern-looking graphics.

“With Halo Infinite, we’re returning to a more ‘classic’ art style which was a key message going back to the very first reveal that garnered enthusiastic and positive responses,” 343 said. “This translates to a more vibrant palette, ‘cleaner’ models and objects with less ‘noise,’ though it doesn’t mean less detail. While we appreciate this may not be everyone’s personal preference, we stand by this decision and are happy to see it resonating with so many fans around the world.”

In terms of the visual fidelity, 343 said it has heard the negative feedback that Halo Infinite’s characters and in-game objects look “flat, simplistic, and plastic-like.”

“In many ways we are in agreement here–we do have work to do to address some of these areas and raise the level of fidelity and overall presentation for the final game,” 343 said. “The build used to run the campaign demo was work-in-progress from several weeks ago with a variety of graphical elements and game systems still being finished and polished.”

“While some of the feedback was expected and speaks to areas already in progress, other aspects of the feedback have brought new opportunities and considerations to light that the team is taking very seriously and working to assess,” 343 added. “We don’t have firm answers or outcomes to share yet but the team is working as quickly as possible on plans to address some of the feedback around detail, clarity, and overall fidelity. The team is committed and focused on making sure we have a beautiful world for players to explore when we launch.”

Microtransactions, Explained

Also in the blog post, 343 addressed how Halo Infinite will handle microtransactions. There will be no real-money loot boxes, the studio said, though the game is expected to feature microtransactions in other ways that have not yet been detailed.

Multiplayer Beta May Not Happen

The blog post also touches on multiplayer. It states that 343 may not be able to deliver a pre-release beta as it originally planned to.

“Our original plans for large-scale flighting aren’t where we originally intended in large part due to the challenges of working from home during COVID-19,” 343 said. “At this time we’re honestly not sure what is going to be possible in terms of flighting but we still hope to have an opportunity for broader public hands-on before release. And, as we’ve previously stated, we’ll be relying on flighting and continued feedback and community partnership well beyond launch as we grow and evolve the game together.”

New Weapons

Also in the blog post, 343 spoke about the brand-new MK50 “Sidekick” and CQS45 “Bulldog” weapons. The Sidekick is the new pistol that is “lightning fast to draw and fire,” and most closely resembles the Magnum from Halo 2, 343 said. The Bulldog, meanwhile, is a pump-action shotgun that has less damage as a tradeoff for a faster rate of fire. 343 also confirmed that the classic Magnum and the Tactical Shotgun from earlier Halo games won’t appear in Halo Infinite.

More weapons will come to Halo Infinite over time, the developer added.

“As we look beyond launch, we have robust plans to continue evolving the game which will include further additions to Halo Infinite’s sandbox,” 343 said. “We understand some players won’t be thrilled over the prospects of different pistols and shotguns but we encourage you to keep an open mind and we look forward to everyone getting hands-on perspective with these new weapons when the time comes.”

Other Halo Infinite Details

Here is rundown of other key details about Halo Infinite, as written and shared by 343.

• In Universe Timing: It follows the Master Chief’s story some time after Halo 5: Guardians’ conclusion
• Pro Team: We’ve assembled an internal Pro Team for Halo Infinite
• Splitscreen: Yes, splitscreen will be a thing! (See above for details about Campaign)
• LAN: Halo Infinite will support LAN
• Back in Black: Black undersuits will be in the game
• Microtransactions: Halo Infinite will not include real-money loot boxes
• Player Customization: If you liked the level of armor customization options in Halo: Reach, you will be pleased
• SR 152: Players who hit SR 152 in Halo 5: Guardians will receive a token of appreciation in Halo Infinite
• Forge: Our famous editing tool will be in Halo Infinite and will have Undo & Redo buttons, which is a first for Forge.

Halo Infinite is due to release this holiday as a launch title for the Xbox Series X. The game will also come to the standard Xbox One as well as PC. For lots more, check out GameSpot’s video overview above that covers everything you need to know about Halo Infinite.

Grand Theft Auto V has announced this week’s bonuses, discounts, and Lucky Spin prize car, and if you’re a fan of Survival Series of Arena War you’re in luck. These modes will pay out higher than usual this week, so they’re worth jumping into if you need more GTA$.

The Horde Mode-style Survival Series is paying out double rewards all week long, so you’ll be rewarded for enduring at a better rate than usual. Arena War, the game’s large-scale destruction derby-style mode, is paying out double RP and GTA$, but it’s also giving players triple Arena Points this week.

By competing, you can also get 50% off the Apocalypse variant for any vehicles that can be used in this mode.

The Lucky Wheel at the Diamond Casino and Resort can win you a Dinka Sugoi this week, a hatchback without quite as much oomph as some of the game’s other cars, but still a classy little vehicle. Of course, you’ll have to rely on luck to land it.

There’s also a few more discounts up for grabs this week. They are:

• Arena Workshop: 50% off
• Arena Workshop Customizations and Add-Ons: 40% off
• Invade and Persuade RC Tank: 40% off
• Principe Deveste Eight: 35% off

As was announced when we found out that GTA V is coming to PS5, PlayStation 4 owners can currently get GTA$1 million a month just by logging in; when it ticks over to August, you’ll be able to get another million, and if you haven’t claimed for July yet you’d better hurry.

A big content update is also due for GTA V Online soon, and we’ll report further on that when we know more.

Imagine trying to explain to your colleagues who are members of Congress what Twitch is 😭

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 30, 2020

Following rumors and teasers earlier this month, it has been confirmed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone‘s Season 5 will officially start on August 5 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

The new season will introduce a new Battle Pass, but developers Infinity Ward and Raven Software have yet to outline it. Furthermore, the co-developers haven’t detailed what’s inside Season 5. Still, publisher Activision shared an announcement trailer revealing the start date and the new Shadow Company agency.

The trailer, above, plays out like an Army recruitment video for the Armistice Alliance before a gruff-sounding narrator interjects with musings on what the Shadow Company will do following Armistice’s collapse.

While what Season 5 contains remains a mystery for now, earlier teasers suggest that a train could make an appearance on a map. Datamining also suggests that the stadium may officially open up.

With Season 5 going live on August 5, the current Battle Pass will expire on the same day. This means you have about a week left to complete any tier progression before the new Battle Pass is introduced.

In other Call of Duty news, both Modern Warfare and Warzone received playlist updates that swap around a bunch of game modes. Modern Warfare had Gunfight and Deathmatch Domination added to its multiplayer rotation, while Warzone brought back Plunder: Blood Money Trios.