Author: Nik Ranger

Treyarch Release Day One Recap of the ‘Blackout’ Private Beta – Item Picking, Armor, Friendly Fire, and More Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 developers Treyarch have released a recap of Day One of the ‘Blackout’ battle royale Private Beta. The recap highlights and covers a variety of in-game mechanics from Blackout that many in the community have discussed and given feedback about, including Item Pickups, Quick Equip Menu, Armor, and Friendly Fire. Treyarch have picked up on the feedback and chatter, and have begun looking into said aspects of the game and how they can be adjusted, changed, and fine-tuned to ensure that the Blackout experience remains fresh and fun. Read More: Treyarch’s Vonderhaar Discusses the First Major Change Coming to Blackout After Hearing Community Feedback – This recap is part of what Treyarch promised would be constant communication between the developers and player-base, and it seems that they are already delivering on that promise. The developers have even lined up two fixes to go live tomorrow that will help streamline the Quick Equip Menu and its usage process. Item Pickups: We’ve seen several comments suggesting that the item pickup time is slower than expected. We’ll be updating the game to make pickup speeds as fast as possible without interfering with reloading, and make it easier to pick up items without looking directly at them. PC players will also be able to map keys to instantly pick up items when the Blackout Beta goes live on PC later this week. – Quick Equip Menu: Some players have had trouble performing certain actions while the Quick Equip menu is open. We have two fixes set to go live around 10AM PT tomorrow (Tuesday) that will help with this: Quick Equip will auto-close if you don’t do anything in it for 5 seconds, and auto-close and prevent from opening when using the Recon Car. For future reference, the Quick Equip menu can be closed by pressing down on the d-pad. – Armor: Much like the early days of the MP Beta, we’ve seen some online discussion about the utility of Armor in Blackout. We’re keeping a close eye on Armor’s performance during the Beta. – Friendly Fire: We’re aware that friendly fire allows your teammates to take you out – by mistake, or in some unfortunate circumstances, on purpose. While we always recommend choosing your Duo and Quad partners wisely, we’ll keep an eye on teamkilling throughout the Beta and consider other options. We’re also collecting stats on players who damage their teammates with friendly fire and have a security team monitoring those players for offenses that are outside the bounds of the occasional accident. Play nice out there. – Players can keep these tips in mind and use them in Blackout in order to find more success and maybe even a match victory. Infiltration: To achieve maximum distance when dropping onto the map in your wingsuit, try pointing straight down until you hit 60 meters/second, then level out. Pulling up past the horizontal position will cause your descent to slow. – Heal on the Move: You don’t need to stop moving to heal! This can be a real game-changer when you’re under fire and low on health. – Weapon Breakdown: Need to drop your weapon’s attachments quickly? Try hovering the cursor over your weapon in your inventory, then drop all attachments to break your weapon down. – Base-Jumping Off Structures / Re-deploying Wingsuits: There’s been some confusion out there about how to re-deploy your wingsuit to base jump during a match. Make sure that you’re high enough above the ground and simply sprint towards your desired location, then press and HOLD the jump button. – Twitter: @Treyarch and @ATVIAssist – Console: Depending on the technical issue, you may be given the opportunity to “report a problem” directly on your console. If that happens, please do so, as it helps us track down the source of issue. – Survey: After you’ve played the Beta, you will be given the opportunity to provide us with direct feedback through a survey. Stay tuned for a link at the end of the Blackout Beta period. – The Blackout Private Beta is currently live on Playstation 4 until September 17. Players on the Xbox One and PC will have to wait until the 14th-17th to try out the Private Beta. The beta on PC will become open from September 15-17. Source – Reddit

Treyarch release teaser for another new Black Ops 4 Multiplayer map TreyarchTreyarch has been showing snippets of new locations for Black Ops 4, and now, the company is back at it again with another teaser – presumably for an upcoming Multiplayer map. Black Ops 4 is set to receive a swarm of new content for all of its major modes including Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies, leaving fans eagerly anticipating the upcoming offerings. In a February 13 tweet, the studio released a short video with the sights and sounds typically seen in a Casino, as previous leaks for the next batch of content seem to be holding ground. Previous leaks indicated two new maps taking place at a police station and a casino. With today’s new teaser, players can expect to take their skirmishes throughout a high rollers’ club. Although brief, Treyarch’s teaser showed various locations around the new map through security camera feeds from a main console. The six-second clip was also filled with typical sounds that would fill a casino’s main floor. Treyarch wrote “always bet on black,” which is a reference to the gambler’s mantra suggesting to always bet on the dark colored grouping featured on a roulette table. The teaser also tucks away an elegant chandelier in the background that are common fixtures in most casinos. Directly underneath are what appears to be slot machines in a far room. Black Ops 4 players can expect to get into the new maps anywhere after February 18 when Operation: Absolute Zero gets closer to wrapping up.

Treyarch preview what’s coming in future Black Ops 4 updates Call of Duty developers Treyarch have revealed what they are looking to improve for the next series of updates in their newly released Black Ops 4 title. Treyarch have put up a list of topics that they are currently tracking, which covers issues with the game that spans over all three of the game’s modes – Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies. The list includes: instability of Zombies Easter Egg Quests, Multiplayer audio issues, crash of the Hellion Salvo launcher on PC, teammate names disappearing, and accessing exclusive content on the Xbox One Deluxe Edition version of the game. This information was presented on October 16, alongside the patch notes for a game update that went live earlier the same day, which can be viewed by clicking on the article linked below. Read More: Full patch notes for Black Ops 4 update on October 16 – Blackout player count, Multiplayer fixes, and more – It’s not yet clear when Treyarch plan to implement fixes for the issues they are monitoring, but considering their commitment to being on top of things, it’s likely to be sooner rather than later. Here are the recent topics that the developers have been tracking for future updates: Zombies Easter Egg Quests We’re aware of some instability issues currently affecting the Easter Egg quests, and will address these in a major update coming soon. Thanks for your patience. – Multiplayer Audio We’ve seen some reports of audio volumes in Multiplayer not sounding quite as expected, particularly with footsteps. We’ve passed these onto the appropriate teams for evaluation. In the meantime, please be sure to try out the different custom presets in our Audio settings under Options on consoles to find a mix that works best for you. – – PC Hellion Salvo Crash PC players will currently crash when equipping a weapon camo and Fast Lock attachment on the Hellion Salvo launcher. We’re fixing this in an upcoming update – in the meantime, please avoid using this camo/Attachment combination on the Hellion Salvo to prevent crashing. – – Teammate Names Disappearing Some players are reportedly seeing their teammates’ player names disappearing temporarily during MP matches, making it difficult to tell friend from foe. We’re investigating this as well. – – Xbox One Deluxe Edition Items We’re aware some users are still having trouble accessing their Shadowman and Classified content consistently on Xbox One, even after manually downloading the items. We’re continuing to investigate to see what can be done on our end to solve this. – – Source – Reddit

Treyarch preview brand new ‘Militia’ multiplayer map in Black Ops 4 Treyarch have released yet another video previewing one of the new multiplayer maps that will be in Black Ops 4, this one being called ‘Militia.’ The video showcasing this new map was posted on Treyarch’s official Twitter page on October 4. The map appears to be located in a forest, and there are several structures that would normally be found on a farm, such as several barns and a watermill. Here is the official in-game description of Milita, as provided by Treyarch in the video: Anti-government extremists backed covertly by a Russian cell are stockpiling weaponry in a remote region of Alaskan wilderness near the Bering Strait. The video not only provides an in-depth look at the interior and exterior areas of the map, it also includes the mini-map layout that players will see in-game. Militia is the second map to be showcased in a video today; the remastered version of the popular of the popular Slums map from Black Ops 2 was also shown earlier on October 4. Overall, with the reveal of Militia and Slums, the confirmed number of maps that will be available in Black Ops 4 when the game launches on October 12 is now up to 14. Militia is the eight map to be previewed in the days leading up to the game’s release, as Treyarch have been releasing similar videos for all of the multiplayer maps that had not been playable during the beta testing weekends in August. The other seven map preview videos that have been released so far can be viewed below:

Treyarch preview brand new ‘Arsenal’ multiplayer map in new Black Ops 4 video Treyarch have revealed a new multiplayer map called ‘Arsenal’ for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. The new map was showcased by Treyarch on October 2 in a video that was posted on their official Twitter page. The map is located at a futuristic facility that has interior and exterior portions, both of which look to be playable areas in game. Here is the in-game description for Arsenal, as provided by Treyarch in their posted video: Hostile covert ops on a manufacturing facility of a powerful North American military defense contractor means someone may have stolen the keys to the castle. Treyarch’s video not only provides a cinematic preview of the map, but also includes the mini-map layout, the same one that players will be able to see and use in-game. Arsenal was one of the maps that had already been announced by Treyarch in the months leading up to the release of Black Ops 4. In fact, those attending the Gamescom convention in August were given the chance to experience a play-through of the map. Arsenal is the second map to be given a showcase preview on October 2; the remastered version of the classic Firing Range map from the original Black Ops game was also shown in a video released earlier the same day. Similarly, both the new Morocco map and the remake of Summit were also shown in separate videos on October 1, bringing the total number of confirmed maps that will be available at launch to 12. With many of the maps having already been playable during the beta, it’s unclear how many more will be revealed by Treyarch before October 12, although another one was hinted at in a recent launch trailer that looked to feature a jungle terrain with foliage and a body of water.

Black Ops Cold War leak claims Treyarch is planning eight more map remakes TreyarchTreyarch is planning to add as many as eight remake maps to Black Ops Cold War multiplayer across the next few seasons, after relaunching popular 2012 battleground Raid in Season One, and announcing Express for an upcoming February 4 update. The return of “Nuketown,” “Raid,” and “Express” are just three of a dozen planned map remakes — at least — that Treyarch will be trotting out across the first year of Black Ops Cold War, according to the popular Call of Duty leaker TheMW2Ghost. The insider suggests Treyarch have “about eight more remakes planned,” not including Raid and Express. “So, at least one, sometimes two, each season, every season,” they wrote. If Treyarch does indeed follow the reported game plan, this would be stretched from Season Two, through to around Season Five. While there was no indication which maps are in development, there’s a good chance the Call of Duty devs will go back to some of their old faithfuls — including Hanoi, Standoff, and Breach — from across their decade-long Black Ops series. Several maps, including Radiation, Launch, Grid, WMD, and Slums were mentioned, though these are likely the insider’s “wish list” rather than a confirmed leak. Just been told that there is “about 8 more remakes” planned for after Express. So at least one, sometimes 2 each season, every season. 👍 — MW2 OG (@TheMW2Ghost) January 14, 2021 Are Standoff & Hijacked coming to Black Ops Cold War? The news that Treyarch is indeed going all-in on remakes for Black Ops Cold War is sure to excite plenty of long-time fans; some may already be getting their wish lists together in anticipation. According to a poll run by Dexerto back in late December, vintage Black Ops 2 map “Standoff” is a clear favorite that players may want to see added to the modern 2020 title. The cityscape battlefield — which also returned in Black Ops 3, and Black Ops 4’s Blackout mode — claimed 44.6% of the Twitter vote. Hijacked, Firing Range, and Summit were other top picks for possible remasters. Read More: Best Warzone guns after DMR nerf – Treyarch may also return to old faves they’ve resurrected in past titles, and there’s a lot of them. Call of Duty classic maps Here’s some they’ve brought back multiple times: Nuketown (five times!) – Slums (twice) – Summit (three times) – Firing Range (four times) – Jungle (three times) – There’s also a few maps that have been remade just once. These include Grind, Cliffside, Courtyard, Stadium, Contraband, Seaside, Outskirts, Hacienda, Arsenal, and Hijacked. All of these could be potential remasters options. At the end of the day, however, we’re just going to have to wait to find out which maps Treyarch actually ports across to Black Ops Cold War. Considering “Express” is soon making its debut in the latter half of Season One, we can likely expect another remake map at the beginning of Season Two. The next huge Call of Duty content dump should arrive around February 24 — when the Season One battle pass ends — and should bring that next map remaster too. For now, sink your teeth into the Season 1 “Reloaded” patch details here.

Treyarch outline what’s coming in future updates for Black Ops 4 As Treyarch continues to improve on Black Ops 4 in the week following the game’s release on October 12, they’ve given fans an idea of what they can expect from upcoming updates. While Black Ops 4 has been met with widespread praise from across the board, Treyarch has made sure to keep an eye on all feedback to determine which areas need improvements the most. The latest update on upcoming changes to the game should be very pleasing for both international players and Zombies fans alike. While the international community for Black Ops 4 may not be as large as in the United States, they have been no less dedicated as their stateside counterparts. One of the biggest issues such players have run into has dealt with low server populations that have made it so that they can’t play the game. In the days since the release of Black Ops 4, multiple players have taken to Reddit to express their concerns over the issues. v1.03 patch notes on Friday afternoon.To our players experiencing trouble starting full Blackout and MP matches in certain areas at specific times of the day (parts of South America, South Africa, Australia, Asia, and the Middle East): we hear you. We are investigating multiple options to give everyone the best possible experience by connecting players to the closest well-populated server with without negatively impacting other players on that server. Please stay tuned as we roll out updates to help alleviate this issue. In addition to the matchmaking updates for international players, those who have been dedicating their time to Zombies will soon have a few more things to chase after. Gold, Diamond, and Dark Matter camos will be coming to Zombies in a future update. We hear you loud and clear. Pretty soon, weapons in the Zombies game mode will have the chance to see what all the fuss is about with the changing colors of the Diamond and Dark Matter camos. There’s no word on when any of these updates will be available in the game, but with the speed in which Treyarch have been pushing out these updates, fans shouldn’t have too long to wait. You can read the full list of upcoming changes below: New Black Ops 4 game update now live! We’re also currently tracking the following recent topics to address in future updates: International Lobby Populations To our players experiencing trouble starting full Blackout and MP matches in certain areas at specific times of the day (parts of South America, South Africa, Australia, Asia, and the Middle East): we hear you. We are investigating multiple options to give everyone the best possible experience by connecting players to the closest well-populated server with without negatively impacting other players on that server. Please stay tuned as we roll out updates to help alleviate this issue. – – Zombies Weapon Camos Gold, Diamond, and Dark Matter camos will be coming to Zombies in a future update. We hear you loud and clear. – – Hosts Exiting Zombies We are aware of players’ games ending when the host exits. We’re working on a solution and will update you with further details soon. – – Source – Reddit

Treyarch outline plans for major Black Ops 4 update Even though the game has only been out four days, Treyarch has been hard at work improving Black Ops 4 with yet another update planned for this week. During the entire launch weekend, multiple updates have been pushed out for Black Ops 4 on all platforms. Now that we’ve moved into the new week, it looks like Treyarch isn’t going to stop bringing consistent updates to the game and ensuring that players have the best experience possible. Not only did they announce a new, larger update coming later in the week, but Treyarch also discussed other issues on their radar and what the release schedule of future updates will look like. At the forefront of Treyarch’s attention are four different issues covering a variety of topics. Some of them are small, such as emblem editor issues and disappearing optics, and some are bigger, such as performance in the quads version of Blackout and Search & Destroy custom games ending after round 7. Moving forward, Treyarch stressed that while updates won’t be rolling in on a daily basis like during launch weekend, fans can expect Reddit updates “about 2-3 times a week.” You can read Treyarch’s full statement below: Community Update – Oct. 15 Mondays, right? To everyone stuck at work today after one hell of a launch weekend… we feel you. Our coffee game is very strong today. Just remember: the grind will be waiting for you when you get home. And for those of you in later time zones who are already home and playing again, just know that you’re the envy of the rest of us. Later this week, the team is planning a larger game update that will bring some key improvements and new additions to Black Ops 4. In the meantime, we’re currently tracking the following topics: Performance in Quads We’re aware that some players are seeing fluctuations in network performance in Blackout Quads (particularly on Xbox One), and the team has been actively investigating. This is not an easily identifiable issue that happens for all players, and internal testing hasn’t shown it to be consistent. We’ll update everyone when we’re closer to a solution. – – Disappearing Optics We’ve seen some reports that the Red Dot and other Optics can sometimes temporarily disappear when aiming down sights. The team is investigating this for a fix in a future update. – – Emblem Editor Issues Some players have experienced unexpected behavior with the Emblem Editor, including layers that can’t be deleted, distorted images, and other issues that occur after adding several layers to the Emblem. While many players have been able to create some truly amazing Emblems already, we know it’s not an optimal experience for everyone across the board and we’re looking into it. There are a lot of moving parts here (literally) and some of these items may affect how other items perform, so please bear with us as we work on improving this experience. – – Search and Destroy Custom Games As we mentioned in a previous update, we’re aware of some issues specifically present in Custom Search and Destroy matches, particularly with matches ending after round 7. We’re planning to address these in an update soon. – – Not seeing a specific topic listed above? Check out our previous updates since Launch here: October 12: Welcome to Launch! October 13: Launch Weekend Begins October 14: Zombies Balancing Pass, MP updates, and more Now that we’re moving out of the Launch window, you can expect more time between these Reddit updates (about 2-3 times a week), and higher potential impact from future game updates. For example: we issued daily improvements to Black Ops 4 over the game’s first weekend to make some quick fixes and balancing changes, whereas the update coming later this week will be a bigger one. We’ll have more details to share on that later this week – until then, don’t forget to tag your most insane gameplay clips with #CODTopPlays on Twitter for a chance to be featured by Call of Duty, and keep your feedback coming here and Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Have fun out there. -Treyarch Source – Reddit

Treyarch confirm more map variants coming to Black Ops 4 TreyarchTreyarch revitalized the popular Black Ops 4 map Contraband when they added a weather variation to the locale and after the early reception from fans, it seems the developer has given the green light for similar changes in the future. Along with the March 12 update that kicked off the Shamrock & Awe event on Playstation 4, Treyarch gave Contraband a facelift in the form of a raging Hurricane. Which struck a chord of high praise with many fans. In a Reddit post, Treyarch shared in on a fan’s excitement of how “awesome” the latest change to Contraband has been playing out, and the company was all too generous in confirming that similar updates were on the way. “Glad you’re enjoying it,” Treyarch said in reply the player. “We’ve already got plans in the works for more alternate weather versions of some of our favorite maps.” Though some fans were initially hesitant about weather variations ruining the competitiveness of a map, hordes of players have so far been having a blast with the latest tweak to Contraband. The added rain and auxiliary sound effects that come with the inclement weather is adding another layer of immersion when matches start to reach their breaking point. After Treyarch had dropped the news, fans were all too eager to chime in with their own suggestions that ranged from a rainy night variant for Arsenal to a snow or lightning storm for Militia. The company didn’t offer a target window for release or what maps they had in mind with the announcement, so fans are going to have to wait a bit for incoming news.

Treyarch is trolling Black Ops Cold War leakers in the best way possible TreyarchLeakers are a godsend for players, but they can be a nuisance for developers. Treyarch has taken matters into their own hands and trolled Black Ops Cold War leakers with an absolute classic. [jwplayer KfbNyXWJ] Leakers are the dark knights of the gaming world. They’re the heroes we need but don’t deserve, and the watchful lurkers and not-so-silent explorers of our favorite game’s data, including Black Ops Cold War. But while their efforts are a godsend to players, they’re a nuisance to the developers who work hard to create and update the games we all love to play. Still, there’s nothing developers can do about it, and that’s fine. They’re certainly not complaining. But in a game of cat and mouse, sometimes the cats like to play with their prey, and that’s exactly what Treyarch did. Data miners and leakers found some interesting tidbits hidden in the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War executable file. It had a series of odd-looking links that lead people straight to Rick Astley’s infamous “Never Gonna Give You Up” music video on YouTube. That’s right, folks. Treyarch rickrolled them all. Fun fact: looking through the COD Cold War .exe, you will find a couple Rick Roll links 🙂 pic.twitter.com/5BBNhnjUc5 — Saturn (@prSaturn) October 17, 2020 Treyarch’s rickroll is a classic Rickrolling is one of the oldest internet pranks and memes. Simply put, it happens when someone sends out a masked link that tricks people into seeing the video of the hilarious and catchy eighties jam. Treyarch ‘disguised’ some of the most popular configs, like god mode and what Season 1 could look like in a “test.txt” file. It might be nothing more than simple bait and switch, but it sure is effective, and the reactions are priceless. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has been subject to a number of massive leaks. They revealed a workaround to the dropshotting nerf, as well as every map that would be included in the beta. It goes without saying that we owe leakers a lot for their hard work, and it’s not like they’re breaking any rules. But it’s nice to see developers like Treyarch hit back once in a while, and it’s even better when they’re good sports about it.

Treyarch hints at removal of specialist from CWL ruleset TreyarchA senior game designer from Treyarch has hinted at the removal of another specialist from the Black Ops 4 CWL ruleset coming in the future. The current pool of specialists in the CWL ruleset is smaller than that of what is used in public online matches. With professional players also agreeing to gentlemen’s agreements on not using others, such as the Ajax character, only a handful of the specialists are actually used. The Ajax specialist, one that pros have already agreed not to use because of how strong it is, has the ability to use a Ballistic Shield and the ever-devastating 9-Bang grenades in-game to create havoc. However, it could soon be removed. Treyarch senior game designer Matt Scronce responded to a post on the CoDCompetitve subreddit that spoke about the frustrations of dealing with the character in-game. “For real holy shit and half of the broken ass specialists that kill you one short of your attack chopper because a dude going 13-25 got his riot shield,” posted user Josh13CE, before fellow commenter TheMad_Dabber responded “Well that could still be in. Ajax isn’t banned in the CWL ruleset.” However, neither of the Call of Duty fans would have expected Scronce to reply to their posts, as he simply replied: “Yet” to the TheMad_Dabber’s comment. While Ajax is not one of the more commonly used specialists in the CWL, its removal from the pool would certainly limit options of players if the meta of the game shifts. Pro players are currently locked in a battle over whether or not to ban the Stock 2 attachment for the SAUG SMG. Plenty of players are in favour of its removal but eUnited’s James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks revealed that only Splyce, Midnight Esports and Evil Geniuses are not ready to agree to remove the attachment.

Treyarch have good news for the modding community for Black Ops 4 on PC Treyarch’s PC community manager has responded to a request about the future of mod tools in the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and it is good news for the modding community. Due to Call of Duty’s underwhelming popularity on PC in past years, mod tools have never really been fully supported by the developers, but that could all be about to change with Black Ops 4. With an entire studio in Beenox being brought on board to focus entirely on the PC version of the game, plus the new Blackout battle royale mode, there is renewed optimism for the PC community about the release. As for mod tools specifically however, Black Ops III did in fact embrace them somewhat, and there are plenty of examples of creative modders creating new maps and more with the tools that were available. More: Treyarch’s Vonderhaar gives update on Hardcore mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 for first time – But the potential for modding in Call of Duty has certainly never been fully realized, so fans are still eager to see what will chance for Black Ops 4. When asked by a Twitter user what “mod tools are looking like” for BO4, Treyarch’s dedicated PC focused account replied assuredly, “We’ve repeatedly commented on our huge fandom for the mod community, and it’s something we’ll be looking at, but won’t be at launch.” We’ve repeatedly commented on our huge fandom for the mod community, and it’s something we’ll be looking at, but won’t be at launch. — TreyarchPC (@TreyarchPC) September 30, 2018 So while the launch window is ruled out (which is admittedly a completely undetermined period of time), modders should be optimistic to getting support from the devs a month or two down the line, or perhaps in early 2019. This will be of particular interest with Blackout coming too, as the potential for modding and custom games (should they be a feature in Blackout) could be massive. The only downside is that of course the features wouldn’t translate over to console, where the majority of Call of Duty’s player base remains, but if interesting mods for the PC version are created, it could encourage some console players to make the switch.

Treyarch Have Addressed the Rumors of CoD: Black Ops 4 Coming to the Nintendo Switch The upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 game will not be developed for the Nintendo Switch console. The game’s developer, Treyarch, confirmed this on March 18th, dispelling the rumors that the next CoD title would be available on Nintendo’s hybrid console. Since Black Ops 4 was officially announced on March 8th, the vast CoD community waited in anticipation for the worldwide Community Reveal Event that took place on May 17th. During the event, Treyarch unveiled various details and aspects about the game’s modes, including Multiplayer, Zombies, and the brand new ‘Blackout’ Battle Royale. Read More: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Was Never Set to Include a ‘Traditional’ Single-Player Campaign According to Treyarch – Video game news outlet had the chance to speak with two high ranking members of Treyarch and asked them about the possibility of Black Ops 4 being on the Nintendo Switch. Twinfinite recently sat down with Yale Miller, senior producer at Treyarch, and Matt Scronce, gameplay designer at Treyarch, for a roundtable interview. We ended the interview by asking “Are there any plans to bring any aspect of Black Ops 4 to Nintendo Switch?” Miller’s response to this was quick and brief, with him simply saying without hesitation “No there is not.” It’s clear that the team at Treyarch is focusing on delivering a big new experience on the usual systems, and porting the game to Switch would be at least a small undertaking whether it was by Treyarch or another company. For now at least, Call of Duty fans will need to get their fix outside of the Switch. This is unfortunate news for Nintendo fans who would have gotten excited after seeing this recent image of what appeared to be Black Ops 4 Switch game cases on the shelves of a GameStop store. It certainly would have been interesting to see the game be available on the Nintendo Switch since the console offers users equally full functionality both at home and on the go. However, considering how much extra effort Treyarch have put in on the PC side of the Black Ops 4 development, having the game on the Switch was always going to be too tall of an order.

Treyarch nerfs sliding again in Black Ops Cold War launch update TreyarchTreyarch has nerfed Call of Duty’s notorious slide-canceling exploit, and sliding in general, just days out from the Black Ops Cold War launch day, in an effort to cowl the “broken” trick before millions of players flood into the 2021 release. [jwplayer 38QHhqzR] The Black Ops Cold War developers have been trying to get sliding under control since the alpha, where it ran rampant. The problem didn’t improve much in the beta, where Call of Duty players were using slide-canceling to hack through maps. To combat this issue — which plagued Modern Warfare for much of its lifespan too — the Black Ops Cold War devs dropped a series of sliding changes in the beta. Unfortunately, these nerfs didn’t seem to help. Now, right on the eve of the Black Ops Cold War launch day, Treyarch has pushed another set of nerfs, more aggressive than the last, to try and fix the problem once and for all on Day 1. “Sliding is intended as an escape mechanic, or a quick entrance into crouch or cover. It’s not intended to be over-used in engagements, or to be advantageous in close quarters,” the devs wrote in the Black Ops Cold War day 1 patch notes. “We’ve shortened the slide length, and reduced its speed to address these goals. “In the beta, it was faster to fire your weapon from a spring by sliding than by simply ending your spring to fire. This has been fixed so that ending a sprint to fire is the faster way to get your gun up, and sliding to fire is no longer faster.” Here are the three primary sliding nerfs in the Nov. 12 patch: Shortened slide length. – Reduced slide speed. – Ending a sprint to fire is now faster than sliding to fire. – The sliding changes were also paired with a small change to mantling. Across the board, Black Ops Cold War mantle speeds have been “increased” dramatically. Treyarch packaged this in with the slide-canceling nerfs in an effort to promote the flow of combat around terrain and defendable objects, rather than just sliding around them or simply ignoring close cover altogether in gunfights. There’s no indication this may be the be-all-end-all fix Treyarch is hoping it will be. Instead, it may just be another bandaid like the beta changes were all the way back in October. For now, we’ll just have to sit tight for 24 hours. Sliding may well run rampant in the early days of Black Ops again, but Treyarch has proven they’re willing to change it — if the exploit remains, they likely have more nerfs waiting in the wings.

Treyarch gives first look at Nuketown in Black Ops 4 ahead of November 13 release With the release of Nuketown just over a day away for Black Ops 4 players, we have finally got a clear look at what the map will look like. As one of the most iconic maps in Call of Duty history, it was no surprise that Treyarch would be including it in the latest iteration of Black Ops. The developer had given hints that it would be set in Russia and would feature a winter theme complete with snow, but we hadn’t gotten an actual look at the map until now. In a trailer posted to the official Call of Duty YouTube, we got our first official look at the map and now know exactly what to expect when it drops on November 13. The tiny, claustrophobic map looks as hectic as ever with its brand-new Cold War setting. With the few Specialists showcased in the trailers, fans should expect the bodies to fly early and often while playing on this map. The trademark main pair of houses is back and look better than ever in this updated version of Nuketown. The map even looks to have some tricks up its sleeve with a secret passageway available to steer your RC-XDs through. Not only that, but it looks as though there might be a way to launch the nuclear missile from the center of the map. Whatever secrets do end up coming with this new version of Nuketown, fans will only have to wait another day to discover them, with the map set to drop for PlayStation owners on November 13.

Treyarch Game Designer Comments on Character Collision, Flinch and More in Black Ops 4 Treyarch game designer Matt Scronce has been active on Reddit answering fans queries about various designs and mechanics in the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. The beta for Black Ops 4 multiplayer is set for August 3, first on PlayStation (a second weekend on both Xbox and PlayStation August 10), and Treyarch will be anticipating lots of feedback on various multiplayer aspects. Ahead of the beta’s release, Scronce has discussed two very specific, but also very significant design choices – character collision and flinch. Flinch was a major concern in the most recent title, CoD: WWII, and underwent numerous changes since the game’s release to fine tune it to a more comfortable state. Character collision was another issue, but more so in Treyarch’s previous game, Black Ops III, as it would affect the high paced movement and wall running mechanics. Scronce has confirmed that in its current build, character collision has been “drastically reduced” and is now a ‘smart system’. For flinch, the team at Treyarch will wait on feedback and data from the beta before deciding on final levels ahead of release. Scronce primary focus on the design team seems to be movement, and previously hinted that ‘ledge sliding’ from Black Ops III would return in the upcoming game. 2 years since I pinned this. Ledge slide is still bae. https://t.co/TsLJHOAZoe — Matt Scronce (@MaTtKs) April 7, 2018 Treyarch will be expecting feedback from the beta in heaps, and will be making adjustments to all aspects accordingly, meaning nothing is final ahead of the October 12th release date.

Treyarch faces backlash for disabling stat tracking in Black Ops 4 Treyarch, popular developers behind Call of Duty’s Black Ops series, are facing community anger at what appears to be a decision to prevent players tracking their stats so easily. Recent changes have seen avid players of the best-selling FPS franchise unable to access their stats on third party stat tracking sites, such as CoD Tracker. These issues occurred after changes were apparently made to Call of Duty’s API, restricting the availability of player data. People trying to access this data, who do not have permission, are now met with a “not permitted” error message. One reddit user, ‘BMilla9’, posted a ‘Stat Tracker shutdown rant’, in which they aired frustration at unkept promises from Treyarch, as well as unwelcome adjustments to the official companion app, which makes stat tracking less in-depth. These issues occurred after changes were apparently made to Call of Duty’s API, restricting the availability of player data. People trying to access this data, who do not have permission, are now met with a “not permitted” error message. However, not only were third party sites affected, as the Call of Duty companion app was rendered unusable for stat tracking on March 1, after the changes were made. We are currently not able to get @CallofDuty Stats. We are working on alternate solutions but it could take some time. If anyone from @Activision or @Treyarch could reach out to us, please do, thank you. — Call of Duty Tracker • COD.TRACKER.GG (@CODTracker) March 1, 2019 It is also unclear whether the decision to alter the availability of this data came from Treyarch or Activision, but, as the developers of Black Ops 4, it is Treyarch who seem to be receiving the majority of criticism for this change. The tracker community has since been able to develop a workaround, but it is not clear how long this will last and whether Activision or Treyarch will make further adjustments to make this workaround ineffective. We managed to get stats updating again. Hopefully it works for a while, but who knows. Enjoy it while you can!https://t.co/9iumCA3EGx — Call of Duty Tracker • COD.TRACKER.GG (@CODTracker) March 2, 2019 Restrictions to API are necessary to avoid third party abuse, but many people seem to believe this is a step too far, and has negatively impacted the overall community. Treyarch and Activision are yet to respond to these community complaints, so it remains unclear how this situation will develop.

Treyarch Explains Why Respawning is Possible in Search & Destroy and How It Works Search and Destroy was added by popular demand to the Black Ops 4 multiplayer beta on August 4, but players were surprised to discover that it was possible to respawn. Search and Destroy (SnD), is a classic mode in almost all first person shooters, and has been a staple of Call of Duty both for casual and competitive settings for since Call of Duty 2. The fundamental of SnD, and what makes it unique from any other game mode, is that there is no respawning during rounds. Every player has one life per round, and if killed, can only respawn upon the start of the next round. But that has changed for Black Ops 4, as if a player chooses the ‘Seraph’ specialist and uses her ‘Tactical Beacon’ ability, they can choose to respawn on their beacon mid-round. Initially, players believed this was a glitch, and would be fixed quickly by Treyarch, but the development studio has now confirmed that it is not in fact a glitch at all, but a deliberate design choice: While it’s true that S&D has traditionally been a single elimination game mode, we shouldn’t be afraid to challenge conventions – what would be the fun in always playing it safe? For Black Ops 4, there a couple of things about game modes that are important to us: first, that all Specialists are viable and fun to use in all game modes; and second, that the gameplay content and systems that we’ve designed provide opportunities to introduce some new twists on old favorites. With that in mind, we’ve allowed Seraph (and only Seraph) to respawn on her Tac-Deploy ONCE per game. That gives players who choose Seraph an important strategic decision to make with a risk/reward associated with it. Because any change will inevitably be controversial, we did not take this lightly. A lot of thought and play time went into it with the team at Treyarch, many of whom are S&D traditionalists. However, Treyarch did confirm that there is a bug that is allowing players to use the respawn ability more than once per game: The specific tuning is designed such that Seraph won’t earn the Tac-Deploy until roughly the 4th or 5th round (although a bug slipped through the cracks that did not set cooldowns on any equipment at round start, to be fixed shortly). Once used, it cannot be used again that game. The announcer notifies both teams when a Tac-Deploy has been placed so that everyone knows when it’s in play, and enemy players with the Engineer perk equipped can easily hunt it down and destroy it. So, while this sounds like a big change to a staple mode, in reality, it’s no more powerful than any other piece of equipment and gives a new piece of strategy to add to the mode’s depth. Black Ops III fans will remember the ‘Rejack’ ability that would allow players to instantly respawn on the spot, and this too could be used in SnD, again once per game. So it is not the first time a one-off respawn in SnD has been possible. Source: Reddit

Treyarch Explain Full List of Changes Ahead of Second Weekend of the Black Ops 4 Beta The anticipation has been building ahead of the second weekend of the Call of Duty Black Ops 4 Beta, available on PS4 and now Xbox One. Starting at 10am PST (1pm EST, 6pm BST) on Friday August 10, the multiplayer experience will be playable through to Monday August 13, finishing at 10am PST (1pm EST, 6pm BST). Although it’s difficult to truly judge a game by the beta, Black Ops 4 has received some serious praise from the Call of Duty community. After the first weekend exclusively on PlayStation 4, the Xbox One users now get their chance to play. Treyarch have released a huge list of changes based on feedback from the first weekend, and posted in detail on the Black Ops 4 Reddit ahead of the second weekend. You can view the gigantic list below. Happy hunting. Thanks to everyone that tuned into our stream – extra special thanks if you tuned into the part that had audio – you’re keepers. As we all get pumped up and ready for the start of Week 2 of the Beta, there are a number of updates that we wanted to communicate. For as much as we talk about the value of a beta and the feedback that it provides, we thought you’d be interested to know what sort of changes that feedback has yielded to date and how it will impact a better gameplay experience one week after getting it. General Fixes Stability & Performance Matchmaking optimization pass. – Fixes to reduce a number of network disconnects. – Resolved several hitches that were occurring during gameplay. – Resolved a number of UI errors that were occurring in the Front End menus. – Fixed numerous crashes/freezes. – Fix for scoreboard scores and faction icons sometimes getting flipped during killcams. – Maps Performance optimization pass across all maps. – Addressed several collision bugs across all maps. – Addressed many gameplay-impacting issues (like bad lines of sight) across all maps. – Features Lobby Timer Reduced “Match Start Timer” to 70 seconds. This timer is longer than usual right now to accommodate map pre-loading in the lobby, which has been added to allow players to spend more time on Create-a-Class customization, Scorestreak selection, and more, rather than spend that time on a static loading screen. We’re aware that there are still cases where this isn’t working as consistently as it should, and we’re working on it. – – Addressed an issue with the lobby timer restarting to the full time if too many players leave. Now, when the lobby timer is below 10 seconds and players leave/join, the timer will only reset to 10 seconds. – – Player Feedback Reduced the amount of flash on screen at the moment of taking damage. We’ve reduced the darkness and duration of the “damage flash” when players take damage. We are working to find the right balance between making sure players understand every time they take damage and keeping the screen clear for gameplay. This is a continued work in progress. – – Movement Reduced default jump height. – Added tuning that scale down jump height on subsequent jumps to prevent bunny hopping. – Reduced default slide speed. – Reduced default slide distance. – Spawns Adjusted Domination spawn logic to ensure that players spawn more frequently near objective points owned by their team. – Gear Body Amor: Fixed a bug where explosive damage was not damaging Body Armor or the player wearing it. – Addressed an issue where players wearing Body Armor had no flinch when taking damage. – Player wearing Body Armor is now dealt a percentage of damage rather than the Armor blocking full damage. – Killing a player with Body Armor now awards an additional +25 score per EKIA. – – COMSEC Device: Further reduced cost to earn Scorestreaks with COMSEC Device for the following: RC-XD – UAV – Care Package – Counter UAV – Attack Chopper – Strafe Run – Strike Team – Gunship – – – Further reduced cost to earn Scorestreaks with COMSEC Device for the following: – Stim Shot (and standard Heal): For both standard heal and Stim Shot heal, time to full health has been sped up with an increase to the heal cooldown time. – – Equipment Charge: All Equipment will charge faster with this Gear. – – Perks Dead Silence Increased Dead Silence’s effectiveness versus Acoustic Sensor by reducing the ranges at which Acoustic Sensor can detect a player with Dead Silence. – – Flak Jacket Reduced explosive damage protection. – – Cold Blooded Reduced the delay that AI will take before recognizing a Cold Blooded player by a little over 50% – you’ll need to take cover a bit more quickly when enemy AI are roaming. – – Dexterity Increased weapon hip spread while mantling. – Reduced slide duration. – – Ghost Decreased time that you are protected by Ghost after you stop moving. – – Tactical Mask Reduced the amount of resistance to 9-Bang, Concussion, Reactor Core, and Fire. – – Tracker Increased the duration that footsteps remain in the world. – – Equipment We’d like to see the balance of gunplay vs Equipment tilt a little further to the gunplay side, so we are increasing Equipment cooldown rates across the board. This will make each Equipment use more impactful, while also leading to less “Equipment Spam.” – Combat Axe: Lowered cooldown. – All other Equipment cooldowns are longer across the board. – Frag Grenade: Increased inner and outer damage to match Cluster Grenade damage. – 9-Bang: Increased stun radius. – Decreased fire delay. – – Tac Deploy: Reduced the positive influence on the Tac Deploy. This will allow players spawning on the Tac Deploy to have a better chance at spawning in safer conditions when possible. – Reduced the time that a Tac Deploy is active to 25 seconds. – The Tac Deploy will now have a maximum cap of 10 spawns. Once 10 players have used the Tac Deploy, it will self-destruct. – – Reactor Core: Increased damage distance. – Specialists Ajax – Despite his potentially game-changing Ballistic Shield, Ajax has been underperforming in gameplay. To help him out, we further increased his movement speed while using Ballistic Shield, in both standard and Fortify (ADS) modes. This should provide an overall smoother experience and relieve some frustrations of feeling too sluggish. – Ruin – Players are flocking to Ruin thanks to his extreme mobility and Best-Play worthy Grav Slams. We’ve bumped up his Grav Slam cooldown to help focus usage and make sure everyone has a nice day. – Firebreak – Reactor Core can be very hit or miss Equipment, causing big plays or sometimes ending in a fruitless death. We’re bumping up its damage to provide more consistency and help Firebreak hold his ground. His Purifier also has a bit more fuel to keep those heartwarming flames firing longer. – Torque – Torque can definitely be a thorn in his enemy’s side. However, he’s still not up to snuff with the other Specialists. To make him the true master of his domain, we increased the duration of his Barricade and improved damage on its microwave field. This should make Torque more effective at blocking routes, providing cover, and getting kills. – Prophet – Prophet’s Tempest needed a bit more oomph to bring it up to the level of our other Specialist Weapons. To start with, we’re decreasing its cooldown so players can earn it faster. In addition, we’ve made its ADS move speed slightly faster to help players line up those shots. – Nomad – One man’s best friend is another’s worst enemy, and it turns out that Nomad’s dog, Juneau, is a force to be reckoned with. We’ve slowed down her sprint speed, and she’ll now play with boots… paws on the ground like the rest of us. These changes should also prevent her from launching into an aerial assault when running up a sloped surface. We’ll miss the memes. – Scorestreaks Scorestreak progress is no longer resetting between Domination rounds. – Lightning Strike: Explosive damage and radius increased. – Tablet will now sweep for enemy positions in the Fog of War when first used. – – Hellstorm: Cluster bomb lock-on radius increased. – – Sentry: Health increased. – Can be placed while sprinting. – – Strafe Run: Pathing – Cost reduced. – – Strike Team: Default cost increased. – Weapon accuracy increased. – Behavior updates to seek out enemies more quickly. – Increased health per squad member. – – Gunship: cost reduced. – Mantis: Health increased. – Damage increased. – Move speed increased. – Behavioral changes to seek out enemies more quickly. – – Attack Helicopter: behavioral changes to seek out enemies more quickly. – Weapons SMG: GKS ADS recoil reduced for increased ADS accuracy. – Hip-fire spread reduced for increased Hip-fire accuracy. – Improved high damage range. – Improved Ammo Pool. – – SMG: Cordite Increased weapon recoil. – Extended Mags: Improved bullets gained. – – SMG: Spitfire Increased weapon recoil. – Reduced Ammo pool. – Fast Mags: Improved and standardized reload speeds. – Extended Mags: Improved Bullet gained. – – SMG: MX9 Increased weapon recoil. – – AR: ICR-7 Improved ADS IN speed. – Improved movement speed while ADS. – Improved movement speed while firing in ADS. – – AR: Rampart 17 Improved ADS IN speed – Improved movement speed while ADS – Improved movement speed while firing in ADS – – AR: MADDOX RFB Improved ADS IN speed. – Improved movement speed while ADS. – Improved movement speed while firing in ADS. – Stock Attachment: Improved movement speed while ADS. – – AR: KN-47 Improved ADS IN speed. – Increased high damage range. – Improved movement speed while ADS. – Improved movement speed while firing in ADS. – Stock Attachment: Improved movement speed while ADS. – – AR: VAPR-XKG Improved ADS IN speed. – Added a higher damage short range. – Improved movement speed while ADS. – Improved movement speed while firing in ADS. – Stock Attachment: Improved movement speed while ADS. – Bayonet: Slightly reduced range – – LMG: Titan Improved hip-fire accuracy – Improved movement speed while ADS – Improved movement speed while firing in ADS – Stock Attachment: Improved movement speed while firing in ADS – – Shotgun: Mog 12 Slightly increased 1 hit kill range. – – Shotgun: SG12 Extended Mags: Improved bullets gained. – – Launcher: Hellion Salvo Improved ADS IN speed. – Improved Raise Time. – Improved Drop Time. – – TR: ABR 223 Extended Mags: Improved bullets gained. – – Sniper: Koshka. Quickdraw: Slowed ADS IN time. – Quickdraw2: Slowed ADS In time. – Speed Center: Increased Precision Aim Crosshairs size. – – Sniper: Paladin HB50 Fix for left arm taking less damage than the right arm. – – Thank you for all of your feedback – please keep it coming! Treyarch

Treyarch employee responds to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 fan-made map change Treyarch’s communication with the Call of Duty Community during the Black Ops 4 and Blackout betas is one of the big reasons both went over so well with fans, that communication has continued with a Treyarch employee acknowledging a fan’s suggestion from playing control on the beta. The fan, Reddit user killaisgoat, suggested to the Black Ops 4 subreddit that the balcony surrounding point B on the control map should be expanded and made more accessible to players. “When playing control on the beta I noticed how hard it was to push B if the opposition were set up behind the big shield,” they wrote. Matt Scronce, a game designer at Treyarch, responded in the comments with a checkmark of approval. https://www.reddit.com/r/Blackops4/comments/9iamcw/when_playing_control_on_the_beta_i_noticed_how/ Treyarch developers had all kinds of interactions with the Call of Duty Community during the Black Ops 4 beta, and it looks like that trend is continuing. The openness of Treyarch employees to discuss changes, improvements and even criticisms to the game with fans has given the community a sense of investment in the new Call of Duty. Changes to the new Blackout battle royale mode were made mid-week during the beta, which showed Treyarch’s commitment to listening and responding to what the community was saying about the game. Call of Duty Black Ops 4 is schedule to come out on October 12, and the private beta for Blackout recently ended to rave reviews from streamers and players who were able to gain access. Black Ops 4 also leads EA’s Battlefront V in preorders by a significant margin, so far it looks like the hype for the latest Call of Duty is leaving Battlefield in the dust.

Treyarch drops teaser for new Black Ops 4 Multiplayer map With the release of the next Black Ops 4 Operation on the horizon, Treyarch have released a new teaser, this time hinting at the next Multiplayer map. The Black Ops 4 Operation, Absolute Zero, began back in December and is set to come to end with the upcoming v1.13 update. The next Operation hasn’t yet been named, but Treyarch have already been hard at work dropping various teasers for the content it will bring. Following the first teaser released on February 11 that focused on new additions to the Blackout map, Treyarch have now turned their sights to Multiplayer with their latest tease. The seven-second video posted to the official Call of Duty Twitter account shows off the new map that takes place outside of the LAPD headquarters. This teaser looks to fall perfectly in line with a previous leak that detailed both of the new maps that were on the way soon. According to the leak, the map is called Station and is set at an “LAPD Police Station in the middle of the city.” No information was given for the other map that was leaked, Casino, but with a full week left until the anticipated February 19 release of the maps, there is still plenty of time for more teasers. The maps will go live for PlayStation 4 players first, with the Xbox One and PC releases set for the following week. Much like the first Black Ops Pass drop, this latest one is also expected to contain at least one new Zombies map and Blackout character. In addition to the Black Ops Pass content and new Operation, Black Ops 4 fans are anxiously awaiting the release of League Play, which was said to be on its way in “mid-February.”

Treyarch Drop Hints About Secret Locations on the Blackout Map It seems that Treyarch have put in some secret locations on the map of their new ‘Blackout’ battle royale mode that will be in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. In a preview stream for the mode’s Private Beta on September 7, Co-Studio Head Dan Bunting and Studio Design Director David Vonderhaar hinted at there being additional secret locations and areas on the map than the ones that have already been revealed. The latest version of the Blackout map, which was revealed several days ago, includes 13 named locations, as well as that Lighthouse that was later revealed to be across from the Cargo Docks in the bottom left quadrant. Towards the end of the stream, Bunting dropped two hints about secret areas on the map. The first was in regards to a location inspired by a popular Black Ops 3 map that is located at some point along the river near Firing Range. The second hint was about Nuketown Island, as it appears there is going to be an underground aspect to it that has not yet been revealed. In addition to the hints, Bunting was heard mentioning ‘Stronghold’ during the stream, which is a map in Black Ops 3. It is not clear whether that is the map he was referring to in his hints above, although Stronghold is a snow based map, and his suggested location would not really match. Thus, this could mean that Stronghold will also be a location in Blackout, in addition to the unnamed one that Bunting hinted at above. visit our information hub here.

Treyarch drop first teaser for updated Blackout map ahead of upcoming Black Ops 4 Operation Treyarch is gearing up for a major update to Black Ops 4, and have now released a teaser for the upcoming additions to their battle royale, Blackout. Black Ops 4 is expected to get its next major operation February 19 on PlayStation 4 and February 26 on the Xbox One and PC. With the update, players can expect a lot of content for the game’s Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies modes. In a tweet, Treyarch showed a brief video of blueprints for the Blackout out map. The video reveals numerous hotspots throughout the map, but goes on to drawing a big red X on the Southeast portion of the blueprints. The teaser has added fuel to the flames of existing Blackout rumors, leading fans to believe that this will be the location of a new point of interest. Read more: How to watch the Black Ops 4 CWL Pro League – streams, schedule, scores, standings, and more – Previously, Reddit users had found what appeared to be surveying stakes spread throughout the Blackout terrain, which now seems to be the theme Treyarch is going for with their use of blueprints to tease out the new POI. Treyarch Studio Design Director, David Vonderhaar, had previously confirmed that a major addition to Blackout would be the introduction of a new location and it seems the company has been teasing its location on the map this whole time. Players will be thrilled to hear of the possibility for multiple points of interest making their way to Blackout but at least one big new location is in the works. Since its release, the battle royale has only added one POI in the form Hijack’s yacht while constantly adding visual updates to its map. Blackout fans have been reeling with the lack of content added to its game, and they’ll most likely hear more about the new changes to come in the battle royale the closer it gets to the update’s February 19 release.

Treyarch Discuss What They Will Look Into After Day One of the Black Ops 4 Beta – Weapon Tuning, Armor, and More Treyarch has posted an update as to what they will be looking into after day one of the CoD: Black Ops 4 Private Beta. The developers have outlined several aspects of the game that they will be working on, including framerate, load times, weapons tuning, special issue equipment/weaponry, bunny hopping, spawns, the free cursor UI, and armor. The arrival of the Black Ops 4 Beta on August 3 has afforded the chance for many in the community to try the upcoming game out for the first time. It has also given Treyarch an opportunity to gauge community feedback and appropriately apply it to the game so that the final product released on October 12 will be as good as possible. Read More: CoD YouTuber Drift0r Provides Six Tips For Players New or Struggling in the Black Ops 4 Beta – After the first day of action, Treyarch published a long post on Reddit detailing their experiences with the Beta so far, and what feedback they had received from the community. The post is split into two parts, the first which details the high impact feedback items that the devs have been tracking: Framerate: Overall, the general framerate in the game has been solid for the majority of players; however, we have identified specific cases where a player will experience a bug that causes the game to get into a bad state where framerate is severely impacted. We’re working with our QA and Player Support teams to zero in on steps to reproduce this issue so that we can engineer a fix. Additionally, there are some known performance shortfalls in Gridlock that we’re working to improve for our next big update. – Load Times: We’ve also identified a bug that’s causing maps to load too slowly for some players in a lobby relative to others in the same lobby (which results in those players missing out on the pre-match specialist selection stage). Again, we’re working with QA and Player Support to identify a repro case so that we can implement a fix. – Weapons Tuning: For anyone getting rekt by SMGs right now(!), rest assured that we’re looking at the performance stats of all weapons in the game with the flood of new data that we now have from the Beta, and we will be tuning gameplay content throughout the Beta period and beyond based on performance metrics. Look out for an update Saturday morning (PST). – Special Issue Equipment/Weaponry: Some players have shared feedback about Specialist weapons or equipment that feel OP. We’re actively looking through the data to make sure that we strike the right balance between fun and pacing. As with weapons tuning, balancing this will be actively updated during the Beta. – Bunny Hopping: We see you out there. . . clearly, your jump game is on point! Jumping in combat is a perfectly valid technique, but we may have let a few tweaks slip by that makes it a little… too valid. This one is high on our list of tuning tasks to address this week. (We also see you in your slide game, don’t think anything slides by us… see what I did there?) – Spawns: We’re looking at the data on spawns and are tuning this actively alongside other gameplay systems. Spawn systems are always in constant need of fine-tuning throughout the life of a game, because there are always new and evolving player behaviors and trends that impact it. We have designers dedicated to watching the spawn system and constantly working to improve it for a better overall player experience. – The second part of the post talks about two other aspects of the game that have been at the center of discussion among Beta players. Free Cursor UI: Yes, this is a big change – which is why we knew it would be controversial. There are benefits to free cursor that make it faster to navigate once you get the feel for it and once we’ve tuned it effectively (which like all things is ongoing through Beta and beyond) – for example, you can travel from a selection in one corner of a grid to a selection in the opposite corner of the grid several times faster than you can with standard d-pad navigation. That said, we understand how off-putting a change like this can be for many players, so we’re investigating alternative approaches that bring more familiarity into the system while still maintaining the option of free cursor for those who want it. – Armor: We hear what you’re saying about Armor. We want to proceed thoughtfully and carefully here. We’re less than 24 hours into the Beta at this point, and not all content has been earned or had enough time to settle into the meta of the game. We know that the Gear category is new and has a lot of content that sits above the normal power band of Perks. Because of that, it’s really important that we see the full range of Create-a-Class content in play with a lot of data about player performance with this content before we rush into any changes with it. From our stats so far, other pieces of Gear are showing up as more effective than Armor. That said, we know that it can feel frustrating to fight against, and that feel is where we want to start. But let’s give this one a few more days to breathe. – It is worth keeping in mind that the Beta is as much for gaining feedback to improve the game as it is for players to have fun in a new CoD title. You can participate in the feedback process by providing your comments and concerns on the Black Ops 4 Reddit page and these other locations: Twitter: @Treyarch and @ATVIAssist – Make sure to include #BO4Beta. – Console: Depending on the technical issue, you may be given the opportunity to “report a problem” directly on your console. If that happens, please do so, as it helps us track down the source of issue. – Survey: After you’ve played the Beta, you will be given the opportunity to provide us with direct feedback through a survey: https://www.cvent.com/d/jgqvyy – The entirety of Treyarch’s Reddit post can be viewed below: Day 1 – Beta Recap Last night, we began slowly opening the flood gates to the Black Ops 4 Multiplayer Private Beta on PS4 to ease server load as we rolled into our official 10am/PT start this morning. Over the course of the first 5-10 hours, we experienced a few issues with beta packages not launching properly in the EU, as well as some instability associated with the new map Gridlock. We worked quickly to address these issues and were off to the races on what has been a tremendously fun Day 1 of our PS4 Beta. It looks like people have been having a good time and providing the exact type of feedback that we are looking for to make our October 12 launch better for everyone. Of course, the Beta is just that – it’s a work-in-progress that can only be fine-tuned by having everyone hammer on it and tell us what they think. Out of the gate, here are a number of high impact feedback items that we’ve been tracking: Framerate: Overall, the general framerate in the game has been solid for the majority of players; however, we have identified specific cases where a player will experience a bug that causes the game to get into a bad state where framerate is severely impacted. We’re working with our QA and Player Support teams to zero in on steps to reproduce this issue so that we can engineer a fix. Additionally, there are some known performance shortfalls in Gridlock that we’re working to improve for our next big update. – Load Times: We’ve also identified a bug that’s causing maps to load too slowly for some players in a lobby relative to others in the same lobby (which results in those players missing out on the pre-match specialist selection stage). Again, we’re working with QA and Player Support to identify a repro case so that we can implement a fix. – Weapons Tuning: For anyone getting rekt by SMGs right now(!), rest assured that we’re looking at the performance stats of all weapons in the game with the flood of new data that we now have from the Beta, and we will be tuning gameplay content throughout the Beta period and beyond based on performance metrics. Look out for an update Saturday morning (PST). – Special Issue Equipment/Weaponry: Some players have shared feedback about Specialist weapons or equipment that feel OP. We’re actively looking through the data to make sure that we strike the right balance between fun and pacing. As with weapons tuning, balancing this will be actively updated during the Beta. – Bunny Hopping: We see you out there. . . clearly, your jump game is on point! Jumping in combat is a perfectly valid technique, but we may have let a few tweaks slip by that makes it a little… too valid. This one is high on our list of tuning tasks to address this week. (We also see you in your slide game, don’t think anything slides by us… see what I did there?) – Spawns: We’re looking at the data on spawns and are tuning this actively alongside other gameplay systems. Spawn systems are always in constant need of fine-tuning throughout the life of a game, because there are always new and evolving player behaviors and trends that impact it. We have designers dedicated to watching the spawn system and constantly working to improve it for a better overall player experience. – Based on what we’ve seen on Twitter and on the Black Ops 4 sub reddit today, we appreciate that there are two other things that you’ll likely want to hear about: Free Cursor UI: Yes, this is a big change – which is why we knew it would be controversial. There are benefits to free cursor that make it faster to navigate once you get the feel for it and once we’ve tuned it effectively (which like all things is ongoing through Beta and beyond) – for example, you can travel from a selection in one corner of a grid to a selection in the opposite corner of the grid several times faster than you can with standard d-pad navigation. That said, we understand how off-putting a change like this can be for many players, so we’re investigating alternative approaches that bring more familiarity into the system while still maintaining the option of free cursor for those who want it. – Armor: We hear what you’re saying about Armor. We want to proceed thoughtfully and carefully here. We’re less than 24 hours into the Beta at this point, and not all content has been earned or had enough time to settle into the meta of the game. We know that the Gear category is new and has a lot of content that sits above the normal power band of Perks. Because of that, it’s really important that we see the full range of Create-a-Class content in play with a lot of data about player performance with this content before we rush into any changes with it. From our stats so far, other pieces of Gear are showing up as more effective than Armor. That said, we know that it can feel frustrating to fight against, and that feel is where we want to start. But let’s give this one a few more days to breathe. – There are many other issues that we’re also tracking (including some interesting canine behavior) – just know that this is a process that is constant, ongoing, and only possible through our interactions with you. Please keep the feedback coming here on Reddit – and here’s how you can participate at the following locations: Twitter: @Treyarch and @ATVIAssist – Make sure to include #BO4Beta. – Console: Depending on the technical issue, you may be given the opportunity to “report a problem” directly on your console. If that happens, please do so, as it helps us track down the source of issue. – Survey: After you’ve played the Beta, you will be given the opportunity to provide us with direct feedback through a survey: https://www.cvent.com/d/jgqvyy – Thank you for your feedback and continue to enjoy the Beta – we’re looking forward to playing with you throughout the weekend! Treyarch

Black Ops 4 devs “frustrated” with Activision pushing microtransactions and crunch at Treyarch Call of Duty developers, Treyarch, the studio behind the incredible successful Black Ops series, have reported being frustrated with Activision’s “never-ending quest for increased revenue”, particularly regarding microtransactions. When initially released in October 2018, there were very few microtransactions to speak of in Black Ops 4. However, in the months following, this quickly changed, with a Fortnite-style battle pass added, and later even ‘Reserves’ (better known as supply drops). In their Days of Summer update in June, perhaps the most egregious example of microtransaction greed was on show, as new weapons were added to the game – available only through the luck-based supply drop system. Couple this with plain red dot reticles being sold for $1, and it’s easy to see why players have become angry with the constant push of microtransactions, but in a new report from Kotaku – the developers are too. “Many (developers) said they were just as frustrated with publisher Activision’s never-ending quest for increased revenue, and they were frustrated with the lack of influence they had on it,” the report reads, with one developer stating “It makes you wonder, where does all the money go?” Extreme crunch for Black Ops 4, and 2020 CoD Black Ops 4’s unusal October release date was apparently brought forward from the usual November launch, due to competition with Red Dead Redemption 2 (released October 26 – two weeks after BO4). Kotaku’s report highlights that this earlier release date, and the cancellation of the planned campaign mode, lead to excessive ‘crunch’ at the studio, with contractors working long hours and extra days. There is also a focus on the contracted QA testers, who claim to feel treated as second-class to the core development team, even told not to speak to devs in other departments. Lead developers and staff at Treyarch received a bonus for Black Ops 4 earlier in 2019, which one contractor said saw the car park fill up with new Teslas and Jaguars, while other developers, especially the testers, didn’t see any of that bonus. An earlier Kotaku report also revealed that due to a ‘mess’ with Sledgehammer and Raven Studio’s planned 2020 CoD release, Treyarch had been drafted in on late notice to take over the project. Now with less than two years to develop the game, as opposed to the standard three year cycle, the developers are expecting even more gruelling crunch. Some QA testers only found out about the change from Kotaku’s article, too. Additionally, a number of developers told Kotaku that they have expressed concerns about the Call of Duty series becoming “stale”, and suggested taking the example of Assassin’s Creed, which took a year off to ‘revitalize’ the franchise.

Treyarch developer gives incredibly detailed reply to user who thought they died to a glitch A post by /u/DukeNZ titled “Treyarch please, I want an explanation” had gained a lot of traction on /r/BlackOps4 when a developer broke down the video in question on a frame by frame basis. The post shows an engagement where the OP seemed to get the jump on their opponent and hit most of their shots, only to end up dead. Some people questioned if the lack of a kill was the result of a glitch or a bug, but the actual answer was much more complex. /u/TFlameZ from Treyarch broke down the video and said the confusion was a combination of two different issues. The first, was that while it was apparent that five bullets made clean contact with the opponent, the first shot actually was fired during the transition from hipfire to aiming down the site. As a result, the shot hit the top stair causing the damage to decrease but still showing a hitmarker, making it appear to OP as if the shot had done more damage than it actually did. The second issue has to do with the length of time the hitmarker stays on screen. Because shots are fired so quickly, the hitmarker appears to always be active but in reality, only five of the 12 shots actually made contact, with one having less damage because of glancing off the stair. The full post is below and you can see the lengths that the devs went too to answer this question. For fans of the game, that kind of response is great to see and the replies to the comment showed their appreciation for the developer taking the time. “Wow this response was awesome. We love communication like this. Keep it up guys!” – /u/Elgoomtaf “Holy shit, OP just got Valve’d” – /u/WadeLT3 “‘You’re trash, get so fucked’ – Treyarch” – /u/HotPlastic_

Treyarch dev Tony Flame’s Twitter gets hacked – Cold War SBMM tweet goes viral Tony Flame / PixabayWell-known Treyarch Lead Game Designer for Black Ops Cold War, Tony Flame, saw his Twitter account get hacked the morning of December 25. Flame is known as one of the main channels of communication on social media between the Call of Duty developer team and player-base. Most Call of Duty fans who are active on Twitter will be familiar with the name Tony Flame. As Lead Game Designer at Treyarch, Flame is not only one of the top voices of authority when it comes to Black Ops Cold War, but he’s also how a lot of announcement and information gets passed on between the devs and players. Unfortunately, he got a rude awakening on Christmas – not from Santa, but rather from one or more hackers who had infiltrated his Twitter account and posted their own messages on there. It’s not clear if this was the work of a single individual or several, but there were plenty of tweets that had foul language and racial slurs, so we won’t be posting any of them here. There was even one tweet that went semi-viral; the perpetrators posted a message asking Activision to remove skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) because it was “ruining the game I [Flame] worked hard to make.” SBMM has been arguably the most controversial topic in Call of Duty since the launch of Black Ops Cold War, and while Flame would never address it publicly (none of the devs ever do), the hackers took the liberty to do so. Interestingly enough, all of the tweets remained on his page for a while after the account was hacked; although Twitter quickly locked the page from posting any more (due to the offensive language), the messages themselves were allowed to remain for hours before they were deleted, presumably by Flame himself. The Treyarch Lead Game Designer is not verified on the platform, which is probably why it took as long as it did for the tweets to get removed. Neither Activision nor Flame have issued any public comments about the incident, so this could be the last we hear about it.

Treyarch dev teases upcoming Black Ops 4 Scorestreak balance patch The Thresher Scorestreak in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is underperforming and Treyarch is working on a fix. Matt Scronce, a Senior Game Designer at Treyarch, humorously implied a buff was coming to the Thresher, saying, “Had a talk with the Thresher pilot this week. I believe we came to a mutual agreement.” Had a talk with the Thresher pilot this week. I believe we came to a mutual agreement. #BlackOps4 — Matt Scronce (@MaTtKs) February 9, 2019 In Black Ops 4, the Thresher is one of the most expensive Scorestreaks in the game at 1250 points. Players expect more performance out of an expensive streak and Treyarch has noticed. I’d argue that it sees little play due to it underperforming, which our data backs up. Part of my job is to make sure those underperformers are tuned in order to hit our targets that we set (Kills Per Use in this example), whether that be up or down. — Matt Scronce (@MaTtKs) February 9, 2019 “I’d argue that [the Thresher] sees little play due to it underperforming, which our data backs up,” started Scronce. “Part of my job is to make sure those underperformers are tuned in order to hit our targets that we set (Kills Per Use in this example), whether that be up or down.” Hardcore players might be cringing at the thought of a more powerful Thresher, since aerial streaks have a tendency to take out teammates in modes where friendly fire is on. Fear not, Treyarch is also aware of that issue and is working on a way to eliminate Scorestreak teamkills from the count that will kick players. “Changes to Scorestreaks not counting toward the kick limit are checked in and in test,” said Scronce.

Treyarch dev says League Play in Black Ops 4 is a “huge priority” Fans are still waiting on League Play to be added to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, but Treyarch game designer Tony Flame has assured competitive players that it remains a “huge priority”. League Play, first introduced in Black Ops II, is especially for players who want a more competitive experience, with a ranking system and a more restricted ruleset of maps, modes, weapons, attachments and more. It follows the same ruleset as the professional players will use in the Call of Duty World League, so fans of competitive play are understandably eager for this playlist. But, they have been waiting a long time. Black Ops 4 launched on October 12, and now more than three months later, still lacks the League Play playlist. Initially expected before 2019, it was later revealed that it would ‘early 2019’ before League Play was added, and this was later shortened to January 2019 – but as of January 26, there is still no League Play. Treyarch’s Tony Flame, who has just returned from time away from the development studio, reassured competitive fans on Twitter, explaining that they are working to “deliver the definitive competitive experience.” League Play is a huge priority for us. We want to do our absolute best and deliver the definitive competitive experience. Know that we’re listening on ALL channels, the team is working hard to deliver a lasting League system, and there is more info incoming next week. — Tony Flame (@Tony_Flame) January 26, 2019 Treyarch also addressed League Play in their latest patch notes, saying more information would be coming “next week”, and also that they had drastically changed their plans for the mode since first announced. Previously, they had laid out that League Play would only have ‘ranked’ matches on three days a week, called ‘events’, with the other days simply unranked ‘scrim’ matches. Players did not respond to these plans well, and so are hopeful that the changes to League Play include a 24/7 ranked playlist, as with previous Call of Duty’s.

Treyarch Dev Says Future CoD Games Could Have Campaign; Has No Idea What Infinity Ward or Sledgehammer Are Doing In a recent interview Treyarch Senior Producer, Yale Miller, declared that single player campaigns are “only missing at the moment.” In the same interview with the Daily Star Online, Miller explained that he is not aware of what goes on at Sledgehammer or Infinity Ward, the two other Call of Duty developers. In an interview with the Daily Star, Miller spoke about Treyarch’s decision: “[The single player mode] is only missing at this moment in time. I really think with every game we make, we finish that title and then we ask ‘what is it fans are gonna love the most?’ If that’s another traditional campaign, then we’ll make another traditional campaign. But right now, for what our goals were for Black Ops 4, it was just [multiplayer, Zombies and Blackout] that we were focused on.” We do not believe this to mean that Black Ops 4 will release a DLC single player campaign, but rather that future instalments of the Call of Duty series developed by Treyarch could feature a traditional single player campaign. Read More: Number of Original Infinity Ward Employees Return to Studio From Respawn Ent. to Work on 2019 Call of Duty – Treyarch is not involved with the development teams at Infinity Ward or Sledgehammer, meaning Miller’s statement about Treyarch not developing a single player campaign does not mean the games developed by other studios will follow suit. In Miller’s interview he did not address the situation of former Infinity Ward developers leaving Respawn and returning to Infinity Ward, but this news has sparked speculation of a Modern Warfare 4. This means fans could see a return to single player campaigns in Call of Duty as soon as 2019. In his own words, Miller had this to say about Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer: “In terms of the future of the franchise, Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer are their own awesome teams, they’re doing their own thing. And I have no idea what they’re doing! They couldn’t, for example, make Blackout… because that’s just quintessentially Black Ops, you know?” So, it sounds like fans of the single player campaigns can be optimistic about the future.

Treyarch dev reveals why there is no VSAT/Blackbird in Black Ops 4 multiplayer Treyarch Senior Game Designer Matt Scronce has shared the reasoning behind the lack of a VSAT scorestreak in Black Ops 4. After the full list of Black Ops 4 scorestreaks was finally leaked on October 9, some fans were no doubt disappointed at the absence of a VSAT or Blackbird-style scorestreak. One such fan took to Twitter and expressed his disappointment, saying “Can [you] add the VSAT please?” Scronce quickly replied and explained why the streak won’t be making its way into Black Ops 4 anytime soon. The VSAT/Blackbird was a popular scorestreak that worked like a standard UAV with the added benefit of displaying enemies as arrows on the mini-map, giving players intel on not just the enemy locations but also the directions they were facing. It seems that this effect would have simply been too overpowered for Black Ops 4, judging by the reply from Scronce. “VSAT stomps way too hard on Recon’s Vision Pulse and Sensor Dart,” was Scronce’s reply, making it clear that the inclusion of the scorestreak was a potential balance issue that had to be delicately handled. Recon is one of Black Ops 4’s Specialists and both of his abilities overlap with the function of the VSAT/Blackbird. Recon’s Vision Pulse ability “sends a pulse into the surrounding area and reveals any nearby enemies for a short period of time” and can be seen by all teammates. Sensor Dart is Recon’s equipment that “reveals nearby enemies when placed” and can also be seen by teammates. Rather than risk one Specialist being outright ignored from the start, Scronce and his team opted to simply not include the powerful scorestreak and allow players the freedom to use whichever Specialist they prefer.

Treyarch Dev Reveals Bullet Drop and New Ballistics System Will be Tested in Black Ops 4 Multiplayer Beta Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 continues to ‘push the envelope’ with a collection of new features set to be implemented into the title. On August 2, it was revealed in a vg247 interview with Treyarch Developer Tony Flame that the studio will be implementing ‘mixed ballistics’ in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Beta. The feature, which will be fully present in the ‘Blackout’ Battle Royale mode, implements ‘bullet drop’ on certain weapons, meaning that players may need to ‘lead’ their targets while aiming. Bullet drop can be found in other titles such as Fortnite: Battle Royale, PUBG, Battlefield, and more. Flame states that mixed ballistics will be an ‘experiment’ in the Beta as an opportunity to potentially have a better chance to balance weapons down the line. “With multiplayer, we’re experimenting with that in the beta – we’ve got kind of a mixed system there, what works best for what gun – so we’re going to see how that works […] It really gives us an opportunity to balance some guns that we traditionally had trouble balancing in Call of Duty.” He later goes on to provide an example of weapon balancing with submachine guns in the past, and how mixed ballistics would give the studio an opportunity to change the meta by making weapons ‘feel good in their role.’ “For example, submachine guns have always been tough to get right because good players can do really well with them, even at a distance – so we’re utilising ballistics in the beta to counteract that and keep SMGs within their role in that close-to-mid-range engagement. At the longer range, ballistics kicks in and they’re a little harder to use. We’re really excited to see how that affects the meta and makes all of the guns feel good in their role.” PlayStation 4 users will have the first opportunity to play the Black Ops 4 Multiplayer Beta, which is set to kick off on Friday, August 3 at 10 AM PST and will run until Monday, August 6 at the same time. More information on mixed ballistics and bullet drop can be found in the original vg247 interview with Tony Flame.

Treyarch dev implies major change coming to 9 Bangs and Concussion grenades in Blackout 9 bangs and concussion grenades in Call of Duty’s Blackout beta were amongst the most desirable items to loot on the map, but Treyarch developer Matt Scronce has strongly hinted that a change is coming. The 9 bang particularly is a very strong tactical throwable, which will stun an opponent three-to-nine times, depending on how long it is “cooked”. it leaves anyone in its effective range effectively blind and immobile. Except – technically not everyone in its range. It was discovered in the beta that while the 9 bang and concussion will affect opponents and teammates, it has no affect whatsoever on the thrower themselves. This issue was pointed out in a Reddit post by u/Avi304, who said “I’m the only one that noticed that they don’t impact the player that throw them? I hope its a beta thing and they will tweak that.” With 9 bangs and concussions already so effective, having the player who throws them immune to their affects makes them not only powerful, but also very easy to use. For this reason, Scronce agreed with the sentiment that hopefully it was just a beta thing. Everything Treyarch are fixing, changing, and investigating after Blackout beta – Armor, footsteps, and more Because they prevent opponents throwing equipment back, or even reloading, there is only one effective counter to them – the reinforced perk, which gives added protection, but is not a complete hard counter. Perhaps by making 9 bangs and concussions affect the player that throws them also, they will become more difficult to use, and make engagements in which they are used more balanced, while still giving an advantage to the player who uses their equipment well.

Treyarch dev finally confirms Ranked Play coming to Black Ops Cold War ActivisionA Treyarch developer has finally confirmed that Ranked Play will be coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War — but players still believe there’s a lot to be desired from the confirmation. Ranked Play has been a constant thorn in the side of Call of Duty players and developers over the years. Competitive players beg for it every year and, while there’s always some variation of a competitive playlist, it rarely lives up to expectations. Treyarch, though, have always provided it, be it League Play from Black Ops 2 and 4 or Arena from Black Ops 3. That said, while we can always expect them to provide a competitive option for players — as outlined by David Vonderhaar back in October before the game released — many fans have been disappointed by both the lack of Ranked Play and the lack of communication regarding it so far. While the competitive mode has finally been confirmed by a dev, it’s not exactly the promising answer players would have expected. In a Reddit post asking whether ranked play will even be a thing, with the original poster asking for “something meaningful to grind,” Treyarch’s community manager Josh ‘Foxhound’ Torres gave confirmation. “Yes, Ranked Play will be a thing, ” he said, before dealing a bit of a blow to the community: “I currently don’t have a timetable to share with you, however.” To many, the lack of a Ranked Play mode this late into the game is cause for concern. This is a sentiment echoed by even the likes of OpTic Chicago’s Seth ‘Scump’ Abner, who called out the lack of a competitive mode way back when the game first launched in November. So, this is the first official confirmation we have that Ranked Play will be coming to Black Ops Cold War, but players are still concerned at how late it is arriving as well as the lack of communication. It’s worth noting that this does match the timeline set by Black Ops 4, in which League Play arrived on February 21, 2019, but at the time this was heralded as a disappointment by competitive players, many of whom will be hoping it arrives in BOCW much sooner.

Treyarch details what’s next for Black Ops 4 Zombies – Mastery Camos, New Perks, and more Black Ops 4 Zombies fans might have felt a bit overshadowed by the mega-popular shooter’s other modes, but Treyarch has announced a helpful serving of coming updates and features that are sure to revamp its players. Black Ops 4 was met with incredible reception when it launched on October 2018, and its Zombies mode is now looking to aggregate a ton of new content for its survival-horror mode. Treyarch is celebrating its annual 115 Day with a slew of content that will grace the undead playgrounds in the months to come such as varying camos, new perks and an update on Gauntlets debut. As for immediate offerings, Zombies will have a 2XP, 2X Weapon XP, and 2X Nebulium Plasma on all systems starting January 15 until January 18 at 10 a.m. PST. New Elixirs and changes to existing ones Zombies will also be welcoming new Elixirs in the form of Perk Up that gives four random perks outside of a loadout, Refresh Mint that resets perk/equipment cooldowns for the entire team, and Conflagration Liquidation that spawns a Bonfire Sale power-up. The company stressed that a lot of these changes will be experimented with in the backend, meaning if players don’t see an immediate change then it’s probably on purpose. The game is going to give six Elixirs an update including Sword Flay that will now instantly kill Basic and Vermin while dealing 5x damage to all other enemies and Cache Back that has been downgraded to Legendary giving players a better chance of crafting it. Mastery Camos, Loot Weapons, Reactive Camos and more Unique camos are coming to Zombies in the form of Gold, Diamond, and Dark Matter master camos. While opening up Mastercrafts, Reactive Camos and more items acquired in the Black Market usable in Zombies. Zombies mode is also getting more firepower as the MP 40, Grav, Daemon 3XB and SWAT RFT will help players tame the undead. What’s in store for 2019 Treyarch wants their undead mode to become more user-friendly by letting players have more control of their Zombies parties. The company will want to introduce highly anticipated features such as Host Migration, Server Pause and Split Screen Pause in the coming months. The company also outlined the upcoming Factions Callings that will look to play as events for Zombies where players can test themselves with special challenges that will reward them with equally unique rewards. You can read the full blog post below: Happy 115 Day, zombie slayers! January 15, AKA 115 Day – a nod to the notorious Element 115 from Call of Duty Zombies lore, for those of you scratching your head – holds a special place in our hearts. This week, we’re excited to celebrate our global Zombies community with a special Zombies 2XP in-game event, the debut of Gauntlets and new Elixirs on PS4, a preview of what’s coming to Zombies later this month, and a look ahead at what to expect in 2019. Let’s get into it. How about some Zombies 2XP to kick things off? Now live through 10AM PT on January 18, Zombies players earn 2XP, 2X Weapon XP, and 2X Nebulium Plasma on all platforms! Get out there and slay to your heart’s content, because we’ve been working on some new Elixirs and bundles to brew up with all that newfound Nebulium. First up, let’s talk about our newest Zombies feature with the introduction of Gauntlets in Voyage of Despair. Gauntlets Arrive on PS4 We’re excited to debut Gauntlets in Zombies this week on PS4, starting with “Unsinkable” in Voyage of Despair! Gauntlets in Zombies are endlessly-replayable, 30-round challenges with unique rules governing gameplay in each round. Players earn medals and tiered rewards for completing rounds 10, 20, and 30, as well as a unique reward to adorn your Emblem for completing round 30 without failing a round. Sound easy? Think again. The rules of engagement change each round, including weapon restrictions, area defense challenges, health-drain modifiers, time limitations, and much more. You and your crew will earn a Strike by failing a round, and after three Strikes, it’s game over. Mastering all 30 rounds will test the skills of even the most seasoned veterans, and only the best zombie killers will conquer an entire Gauntlet with zero Strikes. We’ve also designed Gauntlets to be played competitively, with permanent rules for reach round and a timer running during every match. We can’t wait to see the incredible speed-run records our community come up with! Jump in today and show us what you can do. New Epic Elixirs, Elixir Updates, and Laboratory Bundles We’re adding three new Elixirs to craft in the Laboratory starting this week on PS4: Perk Up, Refresh Mint, and Conflagration Liquidation. These powerful new Elixirs are all Epic in rarity, and their effects can make all the difference between life and death in a sticky situation. Here’s the lowdown: Perk Up: Gain 4 additional random Perks that are not in your loadout. Refresh Mint: Refreshes the cooldowns for Equipment, Perks, and Special Weapons for your entire team. Conflagration Liquidation: Spawn a Bonfire Sale power-up. We’ve also made balancing updates to six existing Elixirs in Black Ops 4 Zombies: Join The Party: Now revives downed players in addition to respawning dead party members, but will not restore lost Perks. Sword Flay: Melee attacks now instantly kill Basic and Vermin enemies for the duration, and deal 5X damage to all other enemies. CTRL-Z: Increased the duration of turned zombies from 15 seconds to 30 seconds. Cache Back: Reduced rarity from Epic to Legendary to increase the chance of concocting Cache Back more frequently. Phantom Reload: Doubled the previous percentage chance to get free ammo. Blood Debt: Duration reduced from 3 minutes to 1 minute, and Blood Debt now simply ends when points are reduced to zero, rather than killing the player. You might see some new Concoction bundles in the Laboratory over the coming weeks while we test out some fresh combinations, so feel free to try them out and let us know what you think! If you don’t see anything out of the ordinary this week, don’t worry – we’ll be tinkering with different offerings behind the scenes, and everyone will get a chance to check out these new bundles soon. Coming Soon: Mastery Camos, Loot Weapons, Mastercrafts, Reactive Camos, and More We’ve got more exciting Zombies features planned for the coming weeks, including: Mastery Camos: Gold, Diamond, and Dark Matter camos are coming to Zombies with their own unique Challenges to complete in the Armory. These camos represent the highest level of achievement in Zombies weapon mastery, so get out there and show off your skills. Classic Weapons and Loot Weapons: The MP 40, Grav, Daemon 3XB, and SWAT RFT are coming to Zombies Mastercrafts, Reactive Camos, and Black Market Camos: Get ready for far more variety in Zombies… we’re adding the ability to equip Mastercrafts, Reactive Camos, and Weapon Camos acquired in the Black Market. New Perk: Our first new Perk is coming to Black Ops 4 Zombies in the near future! Look for more details as we get closer to this update later this month. New Gauntlet: Today’s Gauntlet in Voyage of Despair is just the first of many to come. Keep an eye out for our second Gauntlet later this month. But that’s not all… let’s take a look ahead into what’s coming to Zombies over the next few months, shall we? Looking Ahead in 2019 Black Ops 4 Zombies is the biggest and most ambitious Zombies mode we’ve ever created, with five unique experiences already available within two months of the game’s launch. Now that Dead of the Night has been released to the world, we’re heads-down on developing the next series of features and content scheduled for the coming months, in addition to upcoming gameplay improvements, bug fixes, and quality-of-life updates. Plans for the coming months include: Host Migration: We’re always working on ways to improve the public Zombies experience, and host migration will help to ensure everyone in a match can continue to enjoy the game if the host player disconnects. This will be a key priority for the team after our 1.12 update goes live. Server Pause: For the first time in Call of Duty Zombies, we’re planning on allowing hosts to pause the game at the server level during online matches! At last, bathroom breaks during all-night Zombies sessions can become a reality. Splitscreen Pause: While adding the ability to pause online matches is a priority, we’ll also add support for pausing splitscreen matches in an update shortly afterward. More Gauntlets: We’re currently planning to release a new Gauntlet with each major game update throughout the year, beginning with “Unsinkable” in Voyage of Despair and continuing with the next Gauntlet in our 1.12 update. Expanded Stat Support for Black Ops Authenticity Stamp: The second phase of the Black Ops Authenticity Stamp will deliver even more player stats to track at the BOAS web site, allowing players to show off their Zombies prowess in more ways than ever before. Faction Callings: This is the big one. Faction Callings, or “Factions”, is planned to be our most intricate new feature coming to Black Ops 4 later in 2019, and as such, will require the most time to complete the engineering, scripting, implementation, and testing needed before going live in the game. Faction Callings are designed to feature a full season of 12 unique challenge events across all Zombies maps and game modes that reward players with never-before-seen character customization loot. Completing each event will culminate in Faction-based narrative reveals that flesh out the Zombies universe even further. These details are subject to change during development, and we’ll have more info on each of these features as we get closer to releasing the updates containing them – and later today, we’re excited to share more Zombies intel from the man himself, Zombies Director Jason Blundell, in our Zombies Twitter Q&A live from Treyarch. Follow us on Twitter to submit your questions about the upcoming Zombies content we’ve talked about today, and have a killer 115 Day with us online! -Treyarch Source – Treyarch

Treyarch detail what’s to come in v1.12 Black Ops 4 update – League Play, Blackout balancing, new Zombies content, and more Treyarch have announced the release date for the next major patch update in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, as well as giving a massive preview as to what players can expect. The version 1.12 update is set to release on January 29 and will include a lot of content for all three general game modes – Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies. For Multiplayer, perhaps the biggest and most anticipated piece of news is regarding League Play, which has yet to be released in Black Ops 4. According to Treyarch, “fundamental changes” have been made to the Ranked system since they first announced their plans for League Play, as well as “numerous important updates” to the CWL ruleset, all of which will be further explained next week. The other news regarding Multiplayer is that Blackjack’s Gun Game will be making a return, featuring the all new KAP 45 full-auto pistol that was just added to the game. As for Blackout, these previously announced tuning adjustments for Level 3 Armor, Concussions, and Cluster Grenades will be implemented via the v1.12 update. Reduced damage protection for Armor across the board (Levels 1-3) – Level 3 Armor will no longer include additional damage protection against explosions and melee attacks – Increased Armor Plate requirements to repair Level 3 Armor – Reduced status effect duration, area of effect radius, and throw distance for Concussion grenades – More options to outplay attackers when hit by a Concussion grenade – Increased time to detonate for Cluster Grenades – Damage reduction for mini-Cluster Grenade explosions. – There is also a brand new Limited Time Mode coming to Blackout, called ‘Ambush,’ which features only sniper rifles, melee weapons, and launchers in a storm circle that never stops collapsing once it starts. Full Weapon Camo progression will also be coming to the battle royale mode and will work differently compared to the Multiplayer system. As for Zombies, there will be a lot of new content coming via this update, including Classic and Loot weapons such as the MP 40, Grav, Daemon 3XB, SWAT RFT, and KAP 45, all of which will be made available via Mystery Boxes. There will also now be support for Mastery Camos, Mastercrafts, Reactive Camos, and Black Market Camos, as well as a new IX Gauntlet that will feature 30 rounds of new challenges. Source – Reddit

CoD: Black Ops 4 Developer Vonderhaar’s Mysterious Coded Tweet Might be a Surprising Message About the Blackout Beta David Vonderhaar, who is the lead developer of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, has tweeted out another coded message about the upcoming title. Often referred to as Treyarch’s unofficial Community Manager, Vonderhaar has made a habit of dropping hints about Black Ops 4 on social media, leaving it to the community to try and decipher his hidden messages. This latest tweet came on July 30, the same day that the trailer for the Mulitplayer and Blackout modes of Black Ops 4 was released. We are just going to leave this here. ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⬛️:black_square_button:⬛️ I :eyes: you all. — Lord Vonderhaar (@DavidVonderhaar) July 30, 2018 To the naked eye, the black and white shapes in his tweet may seem random and indecipherable, however community members on social media have taken up the task to try and extract a meaning from the code. One user named ‘itsGerth,’ claims that the shapes are actually Morse Code that spell out a hidden message. “”Erase That”” The first 5 dots are a Morse Code prosign for “”Erase”” – is Morse Code for T , – – = TT if we treat the button as a space TT is a Morse Code abbreviation for ThatIt also fits the “”Forget What You Know”” mindset they’ve been pushing with #BlackOps4 — Gerth NF (@itsGerth) July 30, 2018 However, a more popular theory has surfaced that the tweet could be hinting at a surprise, early release of the Blackout beta, which isn’t due to be released until September. If the circles in the code represent the nights until the Multiplayer private beta starts on August 3, and the squares represent the three days that the beta will be live, then the middle square with the white center could potentially be the day that players can get an early taste of CoD’s new BR mode.

Treyarch Create New Official Twitter Account Dedicated to The PC Community For Black Ops 4 Call of Duty and developers of the upcoming Black Ops 4 have made a major statement of intent, creating a new official account dedicated to the PC community. The PC community for Call of Duty has been largely neglected group in previous years, playing second fiddle to the console community. And of course, competitive Call of Duty esports is played on console, making the focus on PC even lower down the list of priorities. However, during the earnings call from Activision recently, they discussed that they would putting more efforts into the PC side of things, and it looks like that wasn’t just big talk. The new Twitter account has been officially created just shortly ahead of the community reveal event, and signals an increased emphasis on the keyboard and mouse players. Official account from Treyarch for the dedicated community of PC gamers who will be enjoying Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 on their beloved PCs. Getting ready for the Community Reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Tune in live on https://t.co/WXyuP9Vbdk at 10am PT — TreyarchPC (@TreyarchPC) May 17, 2018 The esports community may speculate that Call of Duty will be investigating the possibility of PC competitive, however the console tradition is likely too strong to be shifted entirely at this point. But, at the very least, the growth of a larger Call of Duty community on PC is a major step forward for the continued success of CoD generally, as more and more casual players move to PC.

Treyarch Confirms Call of Duty Black Ops 4 Will Be Playable at Upcoming Community Reveal Event The community reveal event for the upcoming Call of Duty Black Ops 4 is set for May 17th, and it looks like fans and media invitees will be getting more than they expected. It was expected, given that is was named a “reveal” event, that we would be getting our first glimpses of a trailer and if we were lucky a gameplay demo, mainly focused on campaign. In past years, the promotional cycles for Call of Duty releases have always focused on campaign initially, before moving on to multiplayer/zombies closer to release. However, this may all be changing for Black Ops 4, especially if recent leaks claiming that campaign has been scrapped entirely for the new title. Recent teasers from Treyarch themselves also hint that it will be multiplayer on show first, as they tweeted out images hinting at perks and the pick 10 system returning to create-a-class. And if this is the case, we could be getting the earliest ever multiplayer reveal – and it may even be playable at the upcoming community event in California. Treyarch have been sending out invites to random community members, presumably on the Call of Duty mailing list, and the invites state they will be the first to get “hands on”. “As a valued member of the community, we want you to witness the global reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and be among the first to get hands-on with the game.” It is predicted that the reveal event will likely be live streamed on Call of Duty’s Twitch channel, and perhaps on Facebook also, however it is unclear if this hands on experience will be shown publicly or kept under wraps. You can check out everything we know so far about the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 right here.

Treyarch confirm new sniper rifle coming soon to Black Ops 4 [UPDATE] TreyarchCall of Duty developers Treyarch have confirmed that players will soon have a new sniper rifle to use in Black Ops 4 Multiplayer. UPDATED on June 3 at 12:35 p.m. PST In a June 3 reply to a fan, Treyarch confirmed that a new sniper will be coming on June 4 with the launch of the Days of Summer event. Although brief, the company reassured a fan that a new long-ranged weapon will be coming to the title after months of waiting. On May 24, Treyarch announced the starting date of Days of Summer – a new content stream that will run alongside the currently ongoing Operation Spectre Rising. In the comments section of the announcement tweet, FaZe Clan member ‘Testyment’ put out a hopeful tweet asking for a new sniper rifle to be added to the game. Surprisingly enough, Treyarch answered the tweet, and not only did they answer, but they wrote three words that pretty much set in stone that a new weapon was indeed on its way. As expected, the confirmation was very positively received by those who saw the tweet, with many expressing their excitement at finally getting a new sniper rifle. One player’s tweet pretty much summed up what everyone was likely thinking when they saw Treyarch’s post, considering that the sniper class is one of the few that hasn’t had any weapons added since the game’s release. 7 months later, our prayers are finally answered:raised_hands::skin-tone-2: — Low / Pat (@Suhlow) May 24, 2019 What will the new sniper rifle be? Aside from the confirmation that it is indeed coming soon, details are scarce on what the nature of this new sniper rifle, with there being various directions that Treyarch could have gone in designing the weapon. Read More: Black Ops 4 May 24 update patch notes – map rotation change, new Barebones mode, and more – Back in February, leaked in-game footage showed what appeared to be a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic sniper rifle in action, although it’s not clear whether that’s ultimately the weapon that the developers decided to put in. Here is the section of the footage that includes what could possibly be the new sniper rifle in-game. As for when it will make its debut, the Days of Summer event is set to kick off on June 4 for PlayStation 4, so it’s likely to either be on that date or sometime shortly after. Once it does get added, it will join the Paladin HB50, Outlaw, SDM, and Koshka in the weapon class, all of which are available both in Multiplayer and Blackout battle royale. Days of Summer in Black Ops 4 Announced on May 24 as part of an update in Black Ops 4, the Days of Summer event will kick off on June 4, and is expected to bring a slew of new content to the three major modes – Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies. The event will feature a content stream that will run alongside Operation Spectre Rising, and will be available for players to track in the Black Market menu. Summer is coming. #BlackOps4 6.4.19 pic.twitter.com/unphJ0k7EX — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) May 24, 2019 As per Sony’s exclusivity agreement with Activision, Days of Summer will first be available on the PS4, which likely means that the new sniper rifle will also be exclusive to PS4 players for at least the first week. As always, we will continue to bring you new information about this event and the new weapon as it becomes available.

Treyarch confirm Modern Warfare 2 ranked play for 2023 ActivisionTreyarch, the development studio behind all of the Black Ops games and the ranked play system utilized in Vanguard, has announced that they’re developing ranked play for Modern Warfare 2, and given a timeline for its launch too. Ranked play is a staple of almost all competitive shooters in the modern day, with players looking to work their way up the ranks and, hopefully, climb the ladder enough to hang with some of the greatest players in the game. The feature is one that hasn’t always been present in CoD, and certainly not at launch in the games it has been in, much to the ire of competitive players who want to hop straight into the sweatiest of games and get their rank. While there has been a lot of speculation over the state of ranked play in MW2, and when it might arrive in-game, Treyarch has confirmed the mode’s impending arrival in 2023, though no exact date has been set yet. This follows rumors surrounding when the mode will drop, with some believing that it could come alongside the launch of the Call of Duty League, with Major 1 taking place from December 15-18. Unfortunately, competitive players will have to wait a little longer than that to earn their ranks. But, a compromise is in place, as Infinity Ward will be implementing a CDL Moshpit playlist, coming sooner so as to let players grind out matches following the as-yet-unannounced CoD League ruleset in an unranked setting. The CDL Moshpit playlist will be live in Modern Warfare 2 from November 16, the launch date for Warzone 2. It should give players their first taste of competitive MW2 play and follow the CDL Ruleset.

Treyarch announces Operation Spectre Rising Black Ops 4 event – New Specialist, Blackout map update, Prop Hunt, and more TreyarchTreyarch has officially announced their next big event for Black Ops 4 coming to Playstation 4 on April 30 that’ll bring new content from Multiplayer maps, additions to Zombies and a new Blackout battleground. In an April 29 post, the Call of Duty Twitter released an epic compilation hyping up their next big Operation for Black Ops 4 which will reign in the follow-up to the highly acclaimed Grand Heist event in mid-February. The next release for Call of Duty fans to sink hours into is called Operation Spectre Rising and will bring with it tons of new modes, maps, weapons and the return of a fan-favorite Specialist, Spectre. No Words, No Warning At long last after multiple teasers, Spectre has been officially revealed to be the next returning Specialist for Black Ops 4. The high tech assassin was first introduced in Black Ops 3, and has since been one of the most exciting characters among fans of the franchise. In the reveal, Spectre can be seen atop of a building ready to ascend down the map, but not before giving a chilling line, saying: “No words, no warning. Just carnage.” Strike from the shadows. Operation Spectre Rising introduces Spectre as the latest Multiplayer Specialist and Blackout character. Drop into the Wetworks Map Update, unlock new weapons, take on new Zombies Gauntlets, and much more. #BlackOps4 pic.twitter.com/XVXwAh27iQ — Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) April 29, 2019 Blackout gets flooded Operation Spectre Rising will bring a host of changes to the battle royale, including the destruction of the map’s Hydro Dam. The Black Ops 4 devs got inventive, calling the map update “Wetworks” and will introduce a much wetter environment for players to travers throughout the map. Popular points of interest throughout the mode can now be accessed with Tactical Rafts while the flooding has opened a whole lot of new underwater combat possibilities. Multiplayer map exclusives The next Operation will also be introducing tons of new maps for Black Ops Pass owners to dive into once Spectre Rising hits the live servers. Artifact take players the southern parts of Iceland and will have teams competing to “eliminate hostiles and secure the artifact.” Players will be shooting their way through an archaeological dig site to claim victory over their opponents. Next up is Masquerade which is located in the U.S. Embassy of Bangladesh and will have players “track down and eliminate all enemy High Value Targets.” The map will definitely be the top contender for most colorful battlefield when it releases. Finally, WMD is making its return when the next Operation launches. The classic map will take players back to the snowy Russian facility to clear out hostile and get the win. New modes in Operation Spectre Rising To herald in Spectre, Bounty Hunter is coming to Black Ops 4 while the long awaited release of Prop Hunt will have players hunting for out of place objects throughout matches. The reveal trailer also teased new “Zombies Gauntlets” but will have to wait for more information about the specifics. The announcement had tons of reasons for Call of Duty fans to be excited for, and they won’t have a long time to wait as Operation Spectre Rising hits the PlayStation 4 on April 30 and is expected to release on Xbox One and PC on May 7.

Treyarch announces long-awaited release date for League Play in Black Ops 4 After weeks of teases and increases anticipation from the Black Ops 4 community, Treyarch have finally announced the release date for the highly-requested League Play mode. League Play has been one of the staples in the Black Ops franchise since its inception, but the feature was infamously absent from Black Ops 4 at launch in October 2018. Months of waiting from the community seems to have finally paid off as Treyarch at long last gave a concrete release date for League Play. League Play will finally go live in Black Ops 4 with the new operation next week, with the first League Play event officially going live on February 21. It’s set to be a massive week for Black Ops 4 fans as a major weapon balance pass will also hit the game two days prior on February 19. While League Play was initially only going to be live during special events over the course of three-day events on the weekends, Treyarch announced in their January 29 blog post that it would be expanded to include events throughout the entire week. Treyarch also detailed a revamped ladder system in that same post that seeks to alleviate many of the problems that past iterations of League Play had. Additionally, Black Ops 4 will be receiving a World League hub that allows players to check out all the latest action during the CWL Pro League right from the Black Ops 4 menu. The journey to the implementation of League Play in Black Ops 4 has been a long one as the mode was originally announced for late December before being delayed until January and then again until its current release date of February 21. You can read the full announcement on the upcoming release of League Play below: As we mentioned in our recent League Play blog, the World League Hub and League Play are coming to Black Ops 4 as part of next week’s new Operation on PS4, and League Play kicks off later in the week with our first League Play Event starting on Thursday, Feb. 21. We can’t wait to see how the competitive meta evolves with the gameplay tuning changes listed above. Remember, the Pro Series Playlist is your chance to test out new loadouts based on the latest tuning changes and CWL rules, to make sure you’re ready to hit the ground running when League Play launches. Let’s do this.

Treyarch announced that major changes to weapon balancing and tuning are coming to Black Ops 4 Treyarch has been pumping out updates to Black Ops 4 ever since it launched on October 12 and it looks like one of the biggest ones is on the way. While Call of Duty fans seem to be very pleased with Black Ops 4 as a whole, many have been outspoken about potential balancing issues when it comes to certain weapon classes. Those fans will no doubt be pleased to hear that Treyarch have heard their cries and are looking at weapon tuning for an upcoming update. No specifics were given on what weapons will see their stats adjusted, but Treyarch made it clear they have plenty of data to evaluate for an update in the near future. We’ve seen comments and requests around general weapon tuning since launch. We take weapon tuning very seriously and put any proposed tweaks through rigorous internal testing before we consider a change to the game. With that said, we’ve captured a massive amount of input and stats since October 12th, and we’re currently making a tuning pass for a major update coming soon. Stay tuned. One of the most common gripes of many Black Ops 4 players throughout launch week have centered around the SMG class, with many fans on Reddit and Twitter calling for buffs to the class as a whole. Read More: Major change coming to how console players can cycle through heals and equipment in Blackout – However Treyarch end up going about balancing any weapons in the game, they have stressed that they take tuning “very seriously” and will be sure to heavily test any proposed changes to weapons. In addition to the upcoming weapon balance, Treyarch also revealed they’re taking a look at vehicle behavior in Blackout, death stashes on consoles, and progression losses. An update on the how Featured Playlist feature will operate moving forward was also given near the end of Treyarch’s post on Reddit. There’s no word yet on exactly when these fixes will go live, but given the speed at which Treyarch has been putting out updates since the game launched, there shouldn’t be too long of a wait. You can take a look at the full list of upcoming changes below: In addition to the topics listed in our previous updates over the past week, we’re currently tracking the following recent topics: Weapon Tuning We’ve seen comments and requests around general weapon tuning since launch. We take weapon tuning very seriously and put any proposed tweaks through rigorous internal testing before we consider a change to the game. With that said, we’ve captured a massive amount of input and stats since October 12th, and we’re currently making a tuning pass for a major update coming soon. Stay tuned. – – Vehicle Behavior in Blackout If you frequent this subreddit, you’ve probably seen clips of some unexpected vehicle behavior in Blackout. We’re investigating the issue. – – Death Stashes on Consoles Some players have reported freezing issues when looting a Death Stash in Blackout on consoles. We’re currently working on a fix for this in the near future. – – Progression Losses We’ve continued to track issues related to connection timeouts that lead to a loss in stats/recently unlocked camos. We’re planning a fix for this later this week. – – Don’t see a specific topic listed above? Please check out our previous updates to see what else we’ve been tracking since launch to avoid a re-post in the comments: October 12: Welcome to Launch! October 13: Launch Weekend Begins October 14: Zombies Balancing Pass, MP updates, and more October 16: 100-Player Duos, PC Crash Fixes, and more We would also like to take this opportunity to talk about Featured Playlists in Black Ops 4 since we’re doing things a little differently with playlists in this game. You’ll notice we’ve created “Featured” playlist tiles for Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies on the home screen. These will change frequently, and will sometimes even include bonus modifiers, like 2XP, for limited times. Black Ops 4 is designed as a more event-driven game, and the Featured playlists will serve to rally the community around different ways to play each week. We also have a “Featured” category in Multiplayer, which includes a showcase of rotating MP playlists. This is where we’ll occasionally feature mashups of modes (like our “Moshpit” playlists), traditional modes with alterations to the rules, fun time-limited modes, and new modes that have never been released before. While we’ll always continue to support the standard playlists in Core and Hardcore, the Featured playlists are there to keep things extra-interesting for all Black Ops 4 players while also maintaining a strong matchmaking pool that isn’t spread thin across too many playlists. That’s it for today! Let’s see what you can find out there today, Easter Egg hunters. Source – Reddit

Treyarch officially announces Operation Grand Heist for Black Ops 4 – New Multiplayer maps, Blackout map update, and more Treyarch debuted a complete look for Black Ops 4’s Operation Grand Heist on February 18, featuring new game modes, skins, vehicles, and the return of a fan-favorite Specialist. Black Ops 4 is winding down its current Operation Absolute Zero by slowly pulling back the curtain on its next operation, and now players have a glimpse at what’s to come in the next batch of content. In a tweet, Treyarch revealed loads of offerings coming to its title such as new modes One in the Chamber and the long-rumored Hot Pursuit, a new Blackout location called Ghost Town, and the next installment of Multiplayer maps Lockout and Casino. Multiplayer The Black Ops Pass will bring two new maps to create chaos in. Casino will have two teams shooting it out in a high roller’s club, while Lockout will feature gunfights in a bustling Los Angeles police station. One in the Chamber is finally making its Black Ops 4 debut, along with League Play which should be out within the week of Operation Grand Heist’s release. Blackout The battle royale will be getting a new mode in Hot Persuit which seems to be the main calling card of the Grand Heist label. Blackout is getting a new vehicles as a patrol boat, SUV and muscle car were shown. Players will be able to fight it out in a western themed location called Ghost Town. The guerrilla fighter Cosmic Silverback will be added to Blackout’s array of characters for Black Ops Pass holders. What side will you choose? :bow_and_arrow: Outrider is back :cactus: New Blackout Destination :world_map: 2 New MP Maps :gorilla: Blackout Character#Blackops4 pic.twitter.com/MpecJnHr6H— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) February 18, 2019 Zombies Although a complete look for the next Zombies experience will come around March, players will be able to get into the Death-con Five Gauntlet sometime in Operation Grand Heist’s launch week. New weapons and signature weapons are also slated to release for the next Operation. Treyarch is still planning to introduce the long-awaited features to the Zombies mode such as Serve Pauses, Host Migration and Splitscreen Pause. Treyarch wasn’t kidding when they teased the next operation as being their “biggest Operation yet.” Operation Grand Heist kicks off on February 19 on PlayStation 4, with it is set to hit Xbox One and PC soon after.

Treyarch is letting Warzone players try Black Ops Cold War for free TreyarchActivision and Treyarch are giving Warzone players a chance to try Black Ops Cold War multiplayer for free following Season One’s highly-anticipated release of, including various maps and popular game modes from the 2020 title. Despite now sharing a singular progression system, Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty’s flagship battle royale Warzone are totally different titles. Up until now, that meant Warzone players could jump into battles on Verdansk or Rebirth Island totally free of charge, but would have to dish out $60 if they wanted to make the leap to Black Ops Cold War. Treyarch plans to change this, however. The Call of Duty developers have confirmed a “free access week” for their title, starting Dec. 17, which will allow Warzone players to get in on all the Season One action too. “Celebrate the holidays by partying up with friends and jumping into multiplayer modes in Black Ops Cold War,” the devs announced on CallofDuty.com. When can players try Black Ops Cold War for free? The Black Ops Cold War free access week begins on Thursday, December 17, and will run for seven days, up to Thursday, December 24. The doors to the early ‘80s will officially swing open at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm GMT / 5am AEDT. Read More: What’s new in Black Ops Cold War Season 1 – The free access week is being split into two ‘stages,’ each running for three and a half days during the promo. Stage 1 will run from Dec. 17 to 21. Stage 2 will start on Dec. 21 and run all the way to the end of the free event. Black Ops Cold War free week gives peek into multiplayer Free Access Week: Stage 1 The free week of Black Ops Cold War will begin with “Stage 1,” which includes a number of popular game modes. The new featured playlists, “Nuketown Holiday 24/7” and “Raid the Mall,” will also be available through the first stage. Here’s the full list of content available in Stage 1: Team Deathmatch – Domination – 2v2 Gunfight – Nuketown Holiday 24/7 playlist – Raid the Mall playlist – Free Access Week: Stage 2 The second stage of the free event will add a number of new modes, all while retaining the popular Black Ops Cold War playlists from the first three days. This includes the arrival of “Prop Hunt,” the hilarious Call of Duty hide-and-seek mode. The second stage will also add “Fireteam: Dirty Bomb,” one of the biggest multiplayer modes the developers have released in their 2020 title so far. Here’s the full list of content available in Stage 2: Team Deathmatch – Domination – 2v2 Gunfight – Nuketown Holiday 24/7 playlist – Raid the Mall playlist – Prop Hunt – Combined Arms Hardpoint – Fireteam: Dirty Bomb – Access to Black Ops Cold War playlists and multiplayer won’t be the only thing players get this week either. Activision has also confirmed all Operators — whether they’re in “free access” or not — will earn double experience and weapon bonuses. This double XP promo will continue through to December 28. “That’s a full 10 days to level up your Operator, weapons, and Battle Pass tiers!” the devs wrote. If you want to access the free week, download Black Ops Cold War here.

Treyarch announce they’ll cap FPS for the Blackout PC Beta Treyarch have confirmed that the Blackout beta on PC will be capped to 90 frames-per-second for the duration of the beta weekend. In a post from their official account on the Black Ops 4 subreddit, Treyarch explained that they will be running “constant server capacity and performance tests” as they look to gather as much information as possible about how the game runs. Because of this, Treyarch will cap the framerate at 90 FPS, in an attempt to keep the beta running as smoothly as possible while these tests are taking place. Treyarch also confirmed that they will continue to test different player counts throughout the weekend, as they work to find what they feel is the ideal number of participants for the battle royale gamemode. While the 90 FPS framerate cap is in place for the duration of the beta, it’s unlikely that the cap will remain when the full game releases on Friday, October 12. The closed beta for Blackout on PC begins on Friday, September 14 at 10am PST (1pm EST, 6pm BST, 3am AEST), for those who have preordered the game on Battle.net. Players will also be able to earn a code on Friday by watching some of Twitch’s most popular streamers for one hour. Anyone who doesn’t have a code will still have an opportunity to try out the beta, as it enters an open beta stage on Saturday, October 15.

Treyarch’s Vonderhaar Discusses the First Major Change Coming to Blackout After Hearing Community Feedback The new ‘Blackout’ battle royale mode in Call of Duty has been very positively received by the community, there are some apparent flaws in its mechanics. One aspect that many players have brought up in their few hours of testing out the mode’s Private Beta is the mechanic involved in picking up items. Players have found that in order to pick up an Item from the ground, they must look closely and precisely at it, which can prove to be cumbersome in certain situations. This feedback has caught the attention of Treyarch, who have promised to work closely with the community to ensure that Blackout game-play is kept both fun and fresh. David Vonderhaar, Game Design Director at Treyarch, commented about the matter and mentioned that improvements are already in the works. Coming soon. We’ve already got improvements in the main game where you won’t have to look so precisely at the Item and just be close to it. I am not yet sure if I can get those in the beta. Certainly will be in v1. According to him, messing with the controller button assignments could result in unintended actions, which could prove consequential in certain in-game situations. Reloading, weapon switching, and other “Call of Duty” face button staples will not be sacrificed for equipping Items or adding to Inventory. We will certainly be sure that it is the fastest (aka: shortest) possible hold press we can do. Regardless, with less than a day into the beta, it seems that Treyarch are already delivering on their promise of prioritizing feedback and maintaining good communication with the community.

Treyarch announce that fixes are coming to emote peeking in Black Ops 4 Multiplayer and Blackout In response to player feedback, Treyarch has spoken out on changes coming to emote peeking in both multiplayer and Blackout. While the inclusion of an emote and spray system was not surprising in the least bit, fans quickly became concerned when it was discovered that the Gestures had unintended uses. In both multiplayer and Blackout, Gestures can be used to go into third-person mode and peek around corners that otherwise would have been blocked while in first-person. Using the Gestures in this manner creates a clear competitive advantage that could be the difference between living and dying in either mode. As such, fans have taken to both Twitter and Reddit over the last few days to express the need for changes to the emote system. Along with announcing details of an update for the newly-released game, Treyarch also announced that changes to the emote system will be coming in future updates. Rather than removing Gestures altogether, the update will simply change how players can use the items. If used in an area where competitive balance isn’t an issue, such as the staging area in Blackout, the emotes will be used as normal. In other areas, though, a “competitive version” of the emotes will be used in order to maintain proper competitive balance. Full details from Treyarch’s Reddit post can be viewed below: We’re aware that players have been able to use Gestures (often referred to by the community as “Emotes”) to peek around corners in modes where that can create an unfair advantage. We’re currently working on an update that creates two systems for Gestures – the default system that is in the game now, and a competitive version that disables free look and applies different camera settings to prevent using it to see around corners. The default system will be used in parts of the game where corner peeking won’t affect gameplay balance (like the staging area of Blackout), and the competitive version will be used in modes where a more restrictive camera system is needed. We want players to always have fun with Gestures as intended, but never at the expense of fair gameplay! Source – Reddit

Treyarch announce pre-load date for Black Ops 4 and PC FPS cap for Blackout Treyarch has given PC fans something to look forward to with the latest announcement on the impending release of Black Ops 4. As Blackout gets closer to launch, PC fans have plenty of questions on their minds. Chief among those were both when the pre-load would be available and what FPS Blackout would be running come launch. Treyarch has finally shed light on both issues to the delight of PC players everywhere. Available on the Battle.net launcher for the first time in the history of the franchise, the PC pre-load will go live on the morning of Tuesday, October 9. Treyarch also announced that the FPS cap for Blackout at launch will be 120 FPS on PC, to ensure server stability is a priority rather than attempting to please players on higher performance machines. Those wanting a higher framerate won’t have to wait too long, though, as Treyarch plans to raise the cap to 144 FPS as soon as the servers are stable and then uncap the framerates within the first few days of launch. For those not interested in the new Battle Royale mode, Treyarch assured fans that Zombies and Multiplayer modes will be uncapped as soon as the game launches. Black Ops 4 is scheduled for an October 12 release and will be the first game in Call of Duty history to not feature a single-player mode. Treyarch’s full announcement can be found below: Black Ops 4 Launch on PC October 12th is rapidly approaching – not fast enough, we know. We can’t wait to get the game in your hands either. We’ve been working really hard together with our partners at Beenox, to optimize the game on PC in preparation for day 1 and beyond. Over the last few weeks, there are a few questions that have risen to the top of your list, so we’d like to get to them here… Pre-Loading: Players who have pre-ordered via Battle.net can begin pre-loading on Tuesday, October 9 (PDT). Blackout on PC: We’re really looking forward to players dropping into Blackout on day 1 – we’ve made a number of updates to the game, all based on your feedback, and we can’t wait to show you how hard we’ve been at work. One thing we’ve seen and heard people ask about is the PC framerate… Part of our commitment to the PC is to support uncapped framerate in the game. During the Blackout Beta, we made the decision to cap it at 90fps to monitor performance and online stability. The reason for this approach was that as a Beta we had a lot of testing to do. It made sense for getting the game right for the whole community, and we were happy with the end result and the data we pulled from this approach. We’ve come a long way since the Beta, thanks to all your feedback, but we still want to roll things out carefully. Since the framerate affects the load on the servers, we want to ensure that the game delivers a great playable experience for everyone who dives in those first moments. So, our plan: • At launch, we will start Blackout with a 120fps cap on PC • Ensure the moment the game launches that it has high stability for every player • Raise to 144fps as soon as the servers are stable • And assuming all looks good, enable uncapped framerates within the first few days (Zombies and Multiplayer modes will be uncapped starting immediately on day 1. This is the right plan to ensure a smooth, playable game for the whole community out of the gate. As always, we are listening and hear you loud and clear. Please share your feedback, and stay tuned for frequent updates on our progress here and on twitter @treyarchpc /Rob

Treyarch Announce New Community Manager Ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Release Treyarch, the development studio behind the Call of Duty: Black Ops series, have appointed a new community manager, ahead of the much anticipated launch of Black Ops 4. Black Ops 4 was of course revealed to the public on May 17th, and there are a lot of new questions and concerns which fans may have. From the new Blackout Battle Royale mode, to the three Zombies maps all available at launch, and of course the massive and complex multiplayer, there was a lot for fans to take in. More: Treyarch Say They Only Started Making Battle Royale Mode BLACKOUT Last Year for CoD: Black Ops 4 – The community manager then, will have a lot to manage, as Call of Duty fans are known for their incredible passion, particularly with the Black Ops series. Posting on the official Black Ops 4 subreddit, the new community manager introduced himself and his plans leading up to and following release. Treyarch design director David Vonderhaar also made a rare statement, giving the new community manager his full endorsement. I’m incredibly excited that Rob (he knows a little bit about PC gaming) decided to join us. He has my full endorsement and support. Be kind. He is here to help you. Rob can’t decide what we do or do not do to the game or the tuning of it, but he can and will bring your important conversations to my design team. You can read the full post from the new community manager below. Introducing the new Treyarch Community Manager… Me! Hi, my name is Rob, and I’m the Community Manager here at Treyarch. And your community manager out there wherever you play Call of Duty: Black Ops, and in particular in the build up to our recently revealed Black Ops 4. I say “your” because I’m here for you, our amazing community of fans. “What the hell does that mean?” Right… it means I’m here to help. I’m here to listen to what you have to say, and to bring that feedback to the team here inside Treyarch who are building the game now and who will continue to support it after October 12th. (That’s release day, just in case you had forgotten). I’m here to answer questions wherever I can. As I’m sure you’re all aware, between our Community Reveal Event and launch day we’ll have much more to tell you about what’s in store for Black Ops 4. I’m particularly focused on supporting the hopes, needs, and desires of our PC fraternity. Between the team here at Treyarch and our development partners at Beenox we’re dedicated to ensuring the PC community gets the game it wants and deserves. If you don’t like something, don’t get something,or want clarifications then certainly air your viewpoints, but do it politely and respectfully. That means being respectful to your fellow Black Ops community members, as well as the team at the studio. Everyone at Treyarch is absolutely committed to delivering the best possible Black Ops experience we can: from Multiplayer, to three separate Zombies maps, and Blackout mode on the biggest map ever created in the Call of Duty universe, there is something here for everyone. Black Ops 4 also represents the studio’s largest commitment to the PC platform to date. To be sure you’re up to date with the latest information, be sure to follow us in these places: Twitter: @treyarchPC Instagram: Treyarch_PC Discord: Treyarch_PC https://community.callofduty.com/t5/Call-of-Duty-Black-Ops-4-PC/bd-p/cod-blackops4-pc Also follow our friends at Beenox @BeenoxTeam There’s much more to come…watch this space. /Rob

Treyarch announce major nerfs coming to Blackout’s Level 3 Armor, Concussions, and Cluster Grenades Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Blackout battle royale mode is set to receive some major changes to its Level 3 Armor, Concussions, and Cluster Grenades. Treyarch Studio Design Lead David Vonderhaar tweeted out the big news on January 23, detailing how the effectiveness of each of the three items will be reduced going forward For Level 3 Armor, it will now take two Shards, or Armor Plates, to repair one point of damage. Currently, all three levels of Armor require one Shard to repair one point of damage. Concussions will see a reduction in both duration and the range of their area of effect, and players hit by them will now be able to switch weapons, toss equipment, and melee while concussed. Last but not least, Cluster Grenades will have a damage reduction and will take an extra second to go off, which will afford players more time to escape the damage radius. This series of changes seriously addresses a lot of what the Blackout community has been persistently complaining about since the game’s release in mid-October. A lot of the players’ contention was with the idea that these items and equipment were far too powerful and had too much influence over the outcome of gunfights and games. As expected, the announcement has been very positively received by the player-base on social media, with many excited at the prospect of a much more fresh and fun Blackout experience. “While I personally don’t think the EMP should removed player names, I do think the EMP could be an interesting addition to Blackout,” he wrote. “It’s on the schedule, but a bit downstream and lower priority…”

Treyarch all but confirm Black Ops 6 is on the way after latest Warzone discovery ActivisionWarzone’s got a new blueprint up for grabs for those who find it, and it’s generated massive hype for Black Ops 6. Since Warzone joined the fold, it’s given Activision and Call of Duty developers a platform to cleverly reveal the next entry. For example, last year’s Shadow Siege event united players in a blockbuster Quads mode variation before revealing Modern Warfare 3. The next Call of Duty game is right around the corner, and while no “official” confirmation has occurred, it’s being labeled as Black Ops 6, with Treyarch at the helm. It seems the reveal build-up may be underway, as Warzone players have discovered a new weapon — the “Sally” pistols. Shared on Twitter/X, one player showed off their Akimbo pistol discovery in Ranked Resurgence. Upon inspection, players can visibly see six tallies for Black Ops 6, along with the name “Sally” etched into the guns. Warzone content creator TheOceaneOpz was another player to discover the pistols and found that killing an enemy player with them unlocks the “She Never Lets Me Down” blueprint for the 9mm Daemon pistol. Of course, the hype was only intensified when Treyarch replied to TheOceaneOpz’s post with the eye emoji. The studio also replied to another player’s screenshot of the blueprint unlock with a winking emoji. It’s been four years since Treyarch’s last title, Black Ops Cold War. As usual, the rumor mill has been spinning extra hard, with leaks galore pointing towards this year’s title focusing on a Gulf War setting. Many believe it’ll be titled Black Ops Gulf War although that remains to be seen. Fans won’t have to wait much longer, however. A full reveal is expected in June when Xbox hosts its digital showcase, with a mystery Direct stream to take place after the show.

Treyarch addresses Blackout Xbox home button glitch The Call of Duty: Blackout beta for the Xbox One has revealed a pretty major bug for the system. The bug occurs when players hit the home button on their Xbox controllers. This may either take users to the system’s main menu, or can toggle between applications when pressed twice. When they get back into the game, the controller stops responding, and their character is unable to move. Read More: Complete Blackout map guide: everything you need to know about the battle royale map in Black Ops 4 – This could spell death for players who are in the midst of a gunfight. With the home button smack dab in the middle of the controller, it’s fairly easy to hit, too – making the glitch that much more frustrating. A few players have noted other issues alongside the glitch, as well, stating that their entire system slowed down when the home button was pressed. We’ve gotten reports that some Xbox One users may lose controller input after pressing the Xbox Button while playing the Blackout Beta. We’re aware of this issue and will have it fixed for launch. While the glitch is here to stay for the remainder of the beta’s lifetime, Treyarch’s timely response proves that they are taking player concerns into consideration. The beta will end for all platforms on September 17, at 1 PM EST. In the meantime, just make sure to be extra careful around your home button to avoid any game-breaking bugs.

Treyarch Address Fog of War, Armor and More Following Black Ops 4 Multiplayer Beta Treyarch will be making a number of highly-requested changes to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 following two Beta weekends. On August 16, Treyarch released a massive Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 ‘Beta Recap’ which addressed a collection of in-game aspects, concerns from community members, and much more. Black Ops 4 is not scheduled to release until October, which gives the developer a substantial window to hear more community feedback and implement it into the final product. The full post can be found below and includes information on Fog of War, Body, Armor, and more. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Beta Recap “With the Multiplayer Beta wrapped and everyone anxiously awaiting the Blackout Beta coming September 10th, we thought it would be a good time to reflect on the biggest pieces of feedback coming from the community over the course of the Beta. But first, we’ve heard that several players found themselves unable to progress beyond level 34 (which was the level cap at the end of weekend 1), so we’re going to award the permanent unlock token to every player who reached level 34 in the Beta. Nice work, you’ve earned it! Alright, let’s get into it… This post won’t go into detail on every fix or tuning change we’re making – instead, we’ll cover the most-discussed topics that also intersect with the game’s design intent and talk about what changes we can expect for launch. Game development is fluid – we know to expect the unexpected, and we’ll always work to solve problems quickly as the game evolves. With Black Ops 4 Multiplayer, one of our biggest priorities has been to add depth to gameplay for an experience that will be more rewarding the longer you play it: we’ve added variety to combat, increased differentiation in gameplay items, extended counter play, and tightened the nuances of movement and gunplay. What you played in the Beta was an early version of all those changes working together for a game that we hope you found both familiar and new, challenging and rewarding, and fun for casual and competitive players alike. There is a meta to the game that will unfold over time, so we took a slightly conservative approach to changes in the Beta until all the gameplay data had been reviewed and digested. Now, we have a wealth of information and are excited to get to work polishing the game for launch. Fog of War & Minimap Awareness Fog of War in the minimap was designed to strengthen situational awareness and guide moment-to-moment decision-making with a benefit to the entire team. Because we know a lot of players don’t want to talk on the mic or engage in teamwork, we designed it (and all gameplay features) to be effective first and foremost to the player using it, and then also helpful to teammates even passively. An enemy that’s spotted by your teammate will appear in your minimap as well, so even lone wolves are helping their team whether they mean to or not. The full Fog of War reveal circle around each player in the minimap was designed to increase situational awareness for a fighting chance against attacks from the back. The circle generated just as much passionate debate within Treyarch as it did within the community, and we wanted to let it play out in the Beta to see where it landed. It’s proven to be too powerful as default functionality, so we’re making a few changes for a more balanced Fog of War: The full reveal circle will be removed as default functionality, and the standard reveal area will be a cone that reflects the player’s field of view. This will continue to always be blocked by solid objects in the game, so it can never be used to “see through walls”. – We’re moving the full reveal circle to the Team Link perk. This way, players who want that power will need to spend a point in Create-a-Class to get it and compete with their choices for other powerful items. This also gives Team Link a much-needed boost, as it significantly underperformed in the Beta. – We’re adding an additional HUD indicator that lets you know when you’re visible to enemy players in the minimap so that you can react accordingly. – Red dots in the minimap that appear when firing your gun will fade faster so there’s more time to evade after engaging in a gunfight. – Those same red dots will no longer reveal teammates that are near the player firing their gun. – Tac-Deploy & Spawning The spawn system is key to ensuring the gameplay of Black Ops 4 shines, and it is influenced by a number of factors which differ across every map and mode. We have a suite of tools that lets us track bad spawns (spawns where players give or receive damage within 3 seconds) and make changes to prevent them from happening. It’s impossible to get the percentage of bad spawns to zero, but we constantly tune to get it as low as possible, generally in the 2-3% range. Thanks to community video clips, comments, and gameplay data, we were able to identify several issues within the spawn system that were creating scenarios that did not meet our expectations. These issues were most prevalent in round-based game modes like Domination. The team is hard at work resolving those issues for the best possible spawn system on launch day. The Tac-Deploy was designed to give the ability to redirect the flow of combat at strategically important moments by creating a secondary team spawn area in the map. The concept was inspired by the tactics employed by the community when playing Hardpoint in Black Ops 2, where a teammate would “anchor” spawns on the next Hardpoint to get their team to the objective faster. This cool, emergent behavior was not only a valid tactic but became necessary to consistently win the mode. The Tac-Deploy brings this idea into other modes with the goal of creating periodic team shifts to take or defend an objective, break out of a pattern, or strategically push in a new direction. An easy counter for the opposing team is to run the Engineer perk and hunt down any enemy-owned Tac-Deploys. In the Beta, the Tac-Deploy proved to be a tad too strong and understanding when you spawned on a Tac-Deploy wasn’t strong enough. To smooth it out for launch, we’re making a few changes: We’ve shortened the duration that a Tac-Deploy is active, lengthened its cooldown time, and limited the number of spawns per use to 10. This will help to fulfill the goal of providing short bursts of strategic positioning shifts. – We’re relaxing the radius around which players will spawn on a Tac-Deploy so that there is more room to spread out, and enemies attempting to disable it won’t suddenly get overwhelmed by a surge of defenders. – We’re adding a notification to the death cam (where camera breaks into third person when you die) that displays when a Tac-Deploy is active and whether there is danger nearby, and another notification that appears in the game HUD after you spawn on a Tac-Deploy. – Body Armor & Gear In service to the overarching goal of increasing gameplay depth, we introduced the Gear category to Create-a-Class in Black Ops 4. Each Gear item will compliment different styles of play, allowing players to optimize into their preferred style. If you like to play aggressively, preferring to move in fast bursts and surviving multiple gunfights, you’ll likely find Stim Shot to your liking. If you’re a player who prefers to roll the dice for high risk and high reward, you may prefer the COMSEC Device to push for bigger Scorestreaks. If you enjoy supporting the team for the win, you’ll likely gravitate to Equipment Charge to power up your Specialist content more frequently. If you rely more on positioning and situational awareness for victory, the Acoustic Sensor is for you. And if you’re a more cautious player who likes the push and pull of objective play, Body Armor should be optimal for that. The balance for this category wasn’t quite dialed in for the Beta, and we’ll be improving that for launch. While Stim Shot was the most popular piece of Gear, Body Armor was the most controversial, so we want to address some of the changes that are coming to that specifically: Explosives should shred Armor – that was not working in the Beta, and we’re fixing that. – Damage is now reduced by armor rather than being completely deflected by it. – Some of the player feedback from the game when fighting against a player with Armor was “cranked to 11,” and made it feel a lot worse than it actually was, so we’re reducing it to feel less annoying. – We added extra +25 bonus score reward for every kill against players with Armor to help feed your Scorestreak meter. – We’re also experimenting with a number of ideas to better support its role while also making it less appealing to highly aggressive players (for example, impacting certain aspects of movement speed or protection coverage area). – Free Cursor UI Navigation While it was always our intention to support both d-pad and free cursor navigation in our menus, the discussion around this topic quickly reinforced our resolve to move this along! When the game launches, you’ll be able to navigate with d-pad through every menu if you want to. But you’ll also be able to move the free cursor quickly across the screen if you like navigating that way. It will be the best of both worlds to accommodate players who like both systems. Loadouts in Killcams This has been a frequently-requested feature, and we assure you… we feel the same way! We weren’t able to get the loadout information of the player who killed you into the Killcam for the Beta, but it will definitely be in the game for launch. The Beta gave us a tremendous amount of feedback – it showed us what needed to be tweaked, tuned, modified, and analyzed further. What has been great is how constructive and articulate you’ve been. This is after all, why developers have betas in the first place. Looking forward to Blackout in September, and onward to an awesome Day One in October! Treyarch” A separate Beta for ‘Blackout’ will go live first on the PlayStation 4 on September 10, with more dates for other platforms to follow. We will continue to provide more information on changes coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 as they are made available Source: Reddit

Treyarch adding harsher punishments for League Play quitters in Black Ops Cold War TreyarchTreyarch’s Lead Game Designer has confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s League Play mode will be getting new abandon penalties, as players complain about teammates leaving matches early. Black Ops Cold War’s League Play finally dropped on February 8, nearly 3 months after the game released. Fans of the competitive mode saw it as a welcome addition, but also criticized it for coming so long after the game’s launch and not matching the high standards Treyarch have set with competitive modes in the past. Regardless, League Play is here to stay for the rest of BOCW’s life cycle, and Treyarch have now confirmed that harsher abandon penalties will be coming for players who leave games early. In competitive modes, game developers often implement penalties for players leaving games early, to prevent them from abandoning and putting their remaining teammates at a major disadvantage. In Rainbow Six Siege, for example, players receive a 30 minute matchmaking ban and lose MMR. Repeated offences result in longer bans. At the moment, players leaving League Play matches receive a hit to their ladder points, essentially meaning they are handed the loss. However, some have argued these are insufficient punishments, and do not do enough to discourage abandonment. Read More: New Warzone map: Ural Mountains rumors – One frustrated player reached out to Treyarch’s lead game designer Matt Scronce, asking whether further penalties are coming for players who leave League Play matches early: “Are there any plans to add a time penalty or other serious penalty for leaving League Play games early aside from simply losing ladder points?” he asked. “Feels like every master game has someone leave early, especially Search [and Destroy].” Matt Scronce simply responded “Yes”, going on to say that he plays League Play daily and experiences the same issues with teammates leaving. Scronce did not specify the exact nature of the penalties coming, but time penalties – essentially preventing players abandoning matches from instantly finding a new game – seem a likely port of call. We will of course update you when the changes are made, likely in a future patch.

Treyarch may have accidentally leaked new Black Ops 4 specialist Spectre Call of Duty fans believe they may have found who the next Specialist character coming to Black Ops 4 could be, as an image from the game’s Create-A-Class feature and names ‘Spectre’ in the description for smoke grenades, which have also yet to appear in the game. Treyarch has already added Zero to Black Ops 4 back in December 2018, whose abilities allow her to “hack and disrupt enemies and their equipment”, with her Specialist Weapon giving her control, or destroying, enemy equipment and killstreaks. Now, it seems like the next Specialist character to appear in the game may have been leaked by Treyarch themselves. Spectre mentioned in Black Ops 4 Treyarch has remained quiet on the possibility of new Specialist characters making an appearance in Black Ops 4, but it appears that a bug in the game’s Create-A-Class system may have let the cat out of the bag, and revealed Spectre as the next addition to the game. Originally posted on Reddit by /u/Xarson1270, the user revealed that when attempting to select the Acoustic Sensor item for one of his classes, he was instead greeted with information about smoke grenades, an item that has yet to be added to Black Ops 4’s multiplayer. The description of the smoke grenade states that “enemies inside are visible to Spectre,” referencing the Specialist character for the first time in the game. Who is Spectre and what are their abilities? While Spectre has yet to make an appearance in Black Ops 4, fans of Treyarch’s last Call of Duty offering will remember the character from his role in Black Ops 3. An engineer, little is known about the character, but it is believed that the Spectre codename was agreed upon by various agencies who believe that a number of assassinations were carried out by the mysterious figure. In Black Ops 3, Spectre’s Specialist Weapon was Ripper, a mono-edged twin blade that sprung out of their wrist, dealing an instant kill to anyone who got too close. Active Camo, Spectre’s Specialist Equipment allowed the character to become invisible for a brief period of time. Whether Treyarch would change the character’s specialists ahead of release in Black Ops 4 is unknown, but the inclusion of Active Camo would change the way the game is played in both a casual and competitive setting if it was included as part of the CWL ruleset. Read More: Top 20 highest earning Call of Duty pros – There is no official confirmation that Spectre is coming to Black Ops 4, and it’s possible we may never see it officially make an appearance in the game. However, the inclusion of the character’s name in the Create-A-Class section appears to suggest that players may soon have a new Specialist character to start using.

Trainwrecks rages after “shameless” Warzone glitch ruins his match Twitch: Trainwreckstv / ActivisionPopular Twitch streamer Trainwreckstv was left enraged when his Call of Duty: Warzone match was interrupted by a bizarre glitch that ruined his game. Warzone is the latest battle royale from the iconic Call of Duty franchise, and has been a major hit since its March debut. However like any game, it can have glitches that show in the most unexpected ways. This is what happened to popular streamer Trainwrecks, who found his match ruined during a May broadcast. The Twitch personality was furious when the game’s environment turned against him at the worst timing possible. Related – The Incredible Call of Duty COMEBACKS That Shocked Everyone Trainwrecks rages at Warzone glitch The streamer was pushing towards the final circle, when he found himself engaged in an intense battle with the remaining opponents. Suddenly he found himself unable to move, and became stuck in a tree. “I’m stuck in a tree! I’m stuck in a tree!” he screamed, as he shook his in-game camera around to try to break loose. After being unable to, Trainwrecks stood up and slammed his hand on his desk as his character became engulfed in gas. Teammate Dimitri ‘Greekgodx’ Antonatos mocked the situation, exclaiming, “We got f**king treetop Andy here, trying to make a treehouse, mate.” The streamer replied, “I can’t even rez because I’m… Oh my.” Train eventually got knocked down by the gas, but managed to break from the glitched environment. Unfortunately it was too late, as he died trying to crawl to safety. Fortunately, his team was able to secure the victory. The victory was bittersweet for the Twitch personality, who told his teammates, “That literally shows you it’s actually a bad day. What the f**k! How do I get stuck in a f**king tree!? Shameless.” This wasn’t the first time the streamer had bad luck in his match. Minutes before, he exploded in anger after squadmates Greekgodx and Mason ‘Symfuhny’ Lanier’s talking muffled his audio, which led to an enemy sneaking up and killing him. “SHUT THE F**K UP!” he screamed. While his team eventually went on to win, Trainwrecks’ rage was completely understandable. After all, none of the situations were his fault, as the tree glitch was just extremely bad luck. Despite the Warzone frustrations, the streamer continues to be one of the most watched personalities on Twitch. At the time of writing, he’s amassed over 600k followers to his channel.

Trading kills in a 1v1 on Black Ops 4 SnD leads to a weird and unexpected outcome Still in its early days of release, the new Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 title has its share of glitches and flaws, one of which involves 1v1 situations in the Search and Destroy mode. Generally in Call of Duty history, 1v1s in SnD can be intense, since the last surviving player from each team go head to head with a crucial round point at stake. However, an odd glitch in Black Ops 4 allows players in a 1v1 situation to trade each other, and thus giving each team an additional point to their round count. This oddity was on display in a 5v5 match that the new look OpTic Gaming roster was playing, with Team EnVy’s Huke filling in for Karma. With the round count sitting at 4-2 in favor of OpTic, TJHaLy and ‘OnyxWC’ traded each other in their 1v1, with the kill-feed showing the two having eliminated each other, after which the round count showed 5-3. On paper, even though both teams get a round, this scenario benefits the team that is ahead in the round count, since it brings that team closer to winning six rounds and claiming victory. Even in the clip above, the excitement in the OpTic players’ voices can be easily heard, since TJ was in a 1v3 and the trade allowed them to salvage the round, even though the opposite team also earned a point. Perhaps the most interesting scenario would be in a round 11, in which both teams would have won five rounds and thus, theoretically, this type of trade would get both teams to six rounds. As of now, it is not clear whether this is a glitch or something added to the game intentionally, although it would be unlikely for Treyarch to have altered SnD in such a fundamental way.

Toxic Modern Warfare 2 trick gives players endless Dead Silence ActivisionA toxic Modern Warfare 2 trick will refresh a player’s Dead Silence but it comes at the cost of their team. Toxicity and Call of Duty have gone hand in hand for a long time. The community has come a long way from the days of nuke boosting via Tactical Insertions in the original Modern Warfare 2, but that doesn’t mean that the playing field is more respectful nowadays. In MW2 (2022), Dead Silence is a premium Field Upgrade to have, but its relatively short duration means knowing when to use it is crucial. The only way to reset the temporary perk is to grab a kill, and while it’s meant for players to kill the enemy team, CDL pro Alec ‘Arcitys’ Sanderson recently revealed that friendly fire is just as effective. Toxic Modern Warfare 2 trick refreshes Dead Silence Arcitys was playing an Al Bagra Fortress Hardpoint with Dan ‘Ghosty’ Rothe of OpTic Texas when the opportunity revealed itself. They were both toward the hill when Arcitys quickly popped a few shots into his back to grab the ‘Deady’ refresh. “Wait, I gotta team kill you,” he warned as he took his fellow pro down. It’s worth noting that they’re playing Ranked Play, which means that Friendly Fire is enabled by default, but that one player can only collect a small number of team kills before the damage stops hurting their teammates and reflects back at themselves. This should work in any mode with friendly fire enabled, but be warned that random teammates aren’t going to know what’s going on, so use this sparingly lest the entire lobby becomes a warzone.

Tottenham Star Dele Alli Teaming up with CouRage to Play Black Ops 4 Live on Twitch Tottenham and England star Dele Alli is getting back on Twitch to play some of the Black Ops 4 beta, teaming up with OpTic Gaming streamer and YouTuber Jack “CouRage” Dunlop. CouRage, a former Call of Duty caster, may be giving Alli some tips as he gets into the newest CoD, but if Alli’s CoD skills are anything like his Fortnite ability he should be able to hold his own. The Tottenham midfielder first started his Twitch channel earlier in 2018 to stream his favorite game, Fortnite, even recruiting some of his club teammates Harry Kane and Kieran Trippier to play as well. With the Black Ops 4 beta only available for one mare day though, it looks like Alli wants to make sure he doesn’t miss an opportunity for some quality Twitch content before it ends. Dele Alli announced the stream via Twitter, set to go live at 8pm BST (3pm ET, 12pm PT). He too has played primarily Fortnite, but the Black Ops 4 beta has attracted a lot of attention, even surpassing Fortnite for viewers on Twitch over the weekend. Watch Dele Alli and CouRage via Twitch below: Watch live video from CouRageJD on www.twitch.tvThe England star is now back from the world cup, and scored on his return to the Premier League on August 11, in a 2-1 win over Newcastle United. CouRage also had a successful weekend of gaming competition, finishing fourth in the Fortnite Summer Skirmish, and placing in the money while up against professional players.

Toronto Ultra’s Hicksy nearly returned to Europe before winning CDL Major 3 Call of Duty LeagueIn an exclusive interview with Dexerto, Charlie’ Hicksy’ Hicks revealed why he almost returned to Europe after spending a year and a half on Toronto Ultra as a substitute. Toronto Ultra didn’t drop a single series at CDL Major 3, securing the organization’s first major since 2021. Community members touted the team from up north as a favorite heading into Modern Warfare 2. However, a top-four finish at Major 1 and a top-six finish at Major 2 didn’t satisfy an organization hungry for titles. The Ultra shocked competitive CoD fans by calling up Hicksy to the CDL starting lineup instead of Standy after the first match of Major 3 Qualifiers. Ultra went 3-1 with the revamped roster, locking up the third seed heading to Arlington. You know the rest: Toronto took down New York, Boston, Atlanta, and the home crowd Texas team to win Major 3. Ultra silenced the Arlington crowd and everyone who doubted Hicksy’s ability. The long journey from Challengers to CDL Hicksy started his career in the European Challengers scene while also completing college. “So obviously, I started in Europe four years ago during Modern Warfare 2019. It went okay, and then Cold War things really kickstarted.” “I was doing uni at the same time; I finished school and joined Toronto Ultra in the same month, so that was crazy.” Under Toronto Ultra in 2021, Hicksy earned the fifth most Challengers points, putting his name on the map for CoD Vanguard. In 2022 Ultra created an academy team, which jumpstarted several CDL careers. Scrappy, Vikul, Scrappy, and MohaK won three Challengers events together and placed second in three others. Assault joined at the end of CoD Vanguard and helped add another trophy to the academy’s cabinet. Entering the 2023 season, Vikul joined Florida, Assault worked his way onto LAG, and Scrappy got called up to Toronto’s CDL team. “In Challengers, you are in the pit 10 or 12 hours daily,” Hicksy explained. “It’s horrible when you are playing non-stop back-to-back.” “Last year with Scrap, we did really well and won most things. I didn’t get the chance at the start of the year, but I knew if I stuck around, maybe I would get the chance.” Reaching a crossroads in Hicksy’s professional CoD career After watching three former teammates get a chance on pro rosters, Hicksy questioned if he would ever get a shot. “I was close to going home this year because I just didn’t think I would have a chance and go home and play again in EU and try to win and then get on a different team.” Right around the time he contemplated returning to Europe, Hicksy finally received a long-awaited call-up to the CDL roster, and he couldn’t believe it. “I thought Ryan, the coach, was joking because he is such a troll. He just came up to me after one of the matches and said you are playing and I took it as a troll. It was surreal at the moment.” Hicksy slotted in seamlessly on Toronto, already familiar with all three players. “Jamie and Toby, I played against them in Modern Warfare 2019. They were annoying to play, and then I played with Scrap for all of Vanguard, so I knew all three of them coming in, so it was quite easy fitting in, and I get along with them all.” Hicksy shines on the biggest stage At CDL Major 3, It was Hicksy’s turn to shine, and he made the most of his opportunity. The rising star became the second player in CDL history to win their first pro LAN event since Scump at MLG Dallas in 2011. In the Grand Finals against OpTic Gaming, Hicksy finished with a 1.10 KD, going 26-18 in the opening Hardpoint and 10-5 in the second SnD game. Hicksy did all of the dirty work for Toronto, allowing Scrappy and CleanX to run and gun to their heart’s content. Scrappy dropped an astounding 134 kills in the six-map series against OpTic, and CleanX had 121. The versatile SMG player doesn’t necessarily light scoreboards on fire, but his calm, cool, and collected demeanor consistently puts his teammates in a position to succeed. CoD caster IHOLDSHIFT provided a fun nugget, staying, Hicksy and Scrappy have never missed a grand final as a duo, placing top two in four Challengers tournaments. While the CDL features plenty of talent capable of huge kill performances, Hicksy buys into his role as a support player. “Every team I have been on since Cold War, it’s the same thing. I try to make other people better. I know my role; I’m not going to do anything crazy like try and take over a map and mess up other people. I know my role. I try to play the game correctly, make everything easier for everyone else, and hopefully win.” Hicksy believes he should have gotten this chance earlier but still credits Challengers for making him stronger. “I could have gone without spending so much time there, but it makes you much more resilient as a player because there are so many ups and downs.” Scrappy and Hicksy will look to extend that Grand Finals streak as a duo when Major 4 Qualifiers begin on March 31.

Toronto Ultra’s Cammy to undergo sensitivity training after vulgar tweet Call of Duty LeagueThe Call of Duty League’s Toronto Ultra is sending Cameron ‘Cammy’ McKilligan to sensitivity training after the Scottish CoD pro had to apologize for posting a vulgar tweet. On April 1, Cammy issued an apology on Twitter after he used the word “c**t” a day prior. The word, which is considered very offensive in North America, is used much more liberally in other parts of the world. “Last night, I posted using a word that is completely unacceptable,” the Ultra star said. “While I didn’t mean offense, I know words matter and have consequences. I take full responsibility and wholeheartedly apologize.” The pro further added he would be working with his team to address the offense and “seek more knowledge” on the impact of his words. Last night, I posted using a word that is completely unacceptable. While I didn’t mean offence, I know words matter & have consequences. I take full responsibility & wholeheartedly apologize. I will work with my team to address this & seek more knowledge on the impact of my words — Cammy (@CammyMVP) April 1, 2021 Shortly after, the Ultra posted a message claiming that Cammy had agreed to undergo sensitivity training and will be making a monetary donation to a local women’s shelter, which the team would match. While many on Twitter took the Ultra’s message as some sort of bizarre April Fools joke, the team clarified that the tweet was in fact real in a message to Dexerto. “It is not an April fools joke,” the team said before addressing how cultural norms didn’t factor into the decision: “While he is Scottish, he lives and works in Canada and competes for a Canadian franchise. We have standards and values for our players and staff — and using words that demean women and their bodies is something we will never tolerate.” Numerous fans and CoD pros expressed their criticisms of Ultra’s decision, tweeting with a mix of sarcasm and disappointment while also pointing out that this sort of lingo was a lot more common outside of North America. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read it. It seemed like the earth stopped spinning and life came to a stop. Thank god you apologized. — Sam Larew (@OctaneSam) April 1, 2021 That word is just what we use instead of a full stop at the end of a sentence in the UK — Shane (@SHANEE) April 1, 2021 Cammy has not been suspended by the team and will feature for them at the CDL’s LA Guerrillas Home Series, with the Ultra kicking off their final week of Stage 2 against the New York Subliners on Saturday, April 3.

Toronto Ultra’s Cammy targets 2022 CDL title: “Now that we’ve come so close, that’s obviously the goal” Call of Duty LeagueDespite what many would call a successful season, the Call of Duty League’s Toronto Ultra, and their MVP-candidate AR/Flex Cameron ‘Cammy’ McKilligan, aren’t satisfied. They’re turning their sights to winning it all in 2022. “What did he just do?,” screamed caster Joseph ‘MerK’ DeLuca. “Show me his POV now!,” replied his co-caster, Clint ‘Maven’ Evans. No one inside Los Angeles’ Galen Center could believe what they had just seen. Cammy, Toronto Ultra’s 22-year-old AR, had just executed a flawless and vital ace against Atlanta FaZe in the 2021 CDL Championship Grand Final. FaZe were leading the series 4-2 and winning the match-point search and destroy map 3-2 when Cammy pulled off the unbelievable 1v4. While FaZe would go on to win the championship series 5-3, the moment was Cammy’s highlight of the season. “I was just like, ‘Oh my god, what have I just done?’ I couldn’t believe it myself,” the Scotsman told Dexerto in an exclusive interview. Good, but not good enough for Cammy Most people would call the Toronto Ultra’s 2021 season a success. Of the five majors that made up the 2021 Call of Duty League season, the Ultra finished in the top-3 at four of them. After a seventh-place finish at March’s Stage 1 Major, Toronto bounced back by winning April’s Stage 2 Major. The team then had back-to-back third-place finishes in Stages 3 and 4 before taking second in the Stage 5 Major. They ended the season with a second-place finish at the Call of Duty League Championship. Cammy had a fantastic season, finishing as a top-15 player in most statistical categories, earning an MVP nomination, and greatly increasing his stock as a top player. 🥇 Major II 🥉 Major III 🥉 Major IV 🥈 Major V 🥈 CoD ChampsThat is a successful season in our books. Heads are held high going into season 3. Thank you, Ultra fam for all the love. See y’all on Vanguard 💜#StrengthInTheNorth #CDL2021 pic.twitter.com/MdfqbGgCFC — Toronto Ultra (@TorontoUltra) August 22, 2021 However, the season left Cammy wanting more from 2022. “I wouldn’t call it successful. We only won one Major. We had two second-places, and no one wants to finish second.” The second of those runner-up finishes was particularly tough as it came in the CDL Championship Grand Final against Atlanta FaZe. With the series played in a best-of-nine format, Ultra took the first map but proceeded to drop the next three as the momentum swung heavily in favor of FaZe. The two sides traded wins on the fifth and sixth maps to put FaZe up 4-2. Cammy’s 1v4 heroics were part of a comeback victory on map seven that held FaZe at championship point and forced a map eight. With FaZe picking the map, they went to their trump card: Apocalypse. It was a map that they had struggled on early in the season but they had fought their way back to a winning record coming into the pivot map eight. Another upside? Toronto had played just five rounds on the Laos-based map all season. Ultra took an early lead but FaZe slowly reeled in their opponents on the back of stellar play by McArthur ‘Cellium’ Jovel, eliminating the deficit and taking what ended up being a comfortable victory. “After the Finals, everyone was pretty upset,” Cammy said, “We had gone into the championship match with everyone expecting FaZe to win. We were definitely the underdogs. That didn’t bother me, it was whatever. But after the loss, we were all pretty bummed. We just couldn’t get it done.” Despite the disappointment, he was able to take some positives out of the 2021 season. “Overall, I’d say I’m just happy with how we gave it our all, and how we improved throughout the season. It was tough, underperforming in that first major. But no one gave up, everyone kept coming back to do the best that we could.” The right roster for a championship There were no surprises when Toronto announced their 2022 roster on September 14. The Ultra will field the same roster they did in 2021 – Cammy, Ben ‘Bance’ Bance, Tobi ‘CleanX’ Jønsson, and Jamie ‘Insight’ Craven. It’s a lineup that has proved its worth in the CDL. European Call of Duty players have long been seen as inferior to their American counterparts, so much so that they held just eight of the 48 starting spots on 2021 rosters. But the Ultra has shown what an all-European roster can achieve. Read More: Cammy: “Stop ignoring European talent” – They are one of only a handful of teams who have not made any roster changes, alongside the defending champions FaZe and a Minnesota ROKKR team looking to step into the title contention conversation. For Cammy, roster consistency is absolutely vital for Toronto’s long-term success. “I feel like our team is one of the few teams that you can’t make changes with at all without throwing everything off,” he said. “From the coaches to the players, everyone plays an important role in what we do, and it’s just important that we keep the team together for long as long as possible”. There are obviously advantages to keeping the roster together. Ultra are a proven force in the league, with strong team chemistry and cohesion. By keeping the team together, they can focus on improving their known weaknesses, rather than having to adapt to a new player’s style. Read More: How to play the Vanguard beta – In Cammy’s eyes, that improvement needs to come in the form of repeating their 2021 performance. “I feel like everyone gave their all, and feel like we just need to do the same again. Honestly, we just need to keep at what we’re doing and hope it works out for us again” A look at Ultra’s stats across the season gives credence to that philosophy. There was no glaring weakness in their 2021 season — they were fairly consistent across all aspects of the game. Their only obvious statistical weak point was Hardpoint, where they recorded a 52% win rate across 90 rounds. The thing that really stymied the Ultra was simply an inability to win when it mattered most. They made deep runs in most of the season’s Majors but failed to deliver in the biggest matches. The best example of this was at the Stage 3 Major. They were one map away from the Grand Final, leading 2-0 against Dallas Empire. However, the Ultra would drop three maps in a row to lose the match and finish the Major in third. But there was one other factor that plagued the Ultra throughout the season: FaZe. FaZe the focus, but respecting everyone The Atlanta FaZe dominated 2021. They won three of five Majors, plus the CDL Championship, and went 7-1 against Toronto. The only time Ultra was able to overcome the eventual season champions was in the Grand Final of the Stage 2 Major. “Obviously, FaZe are the team to beat next year,” Cammy conceded. “They have a really strong team and if we want to win the championship, they are probably the team we will have to beat to do it.” However, while FaZe may be the team to beat in 2022, they are not the only team Toronto will potentially have to contend with for the title. Reports continue to circulate about Dallas Empire’s potential superteam if their rumored merger with OpTic goes through. A possible reunion of Clayster and Crimsix in New York would once again place two of the all-time greats on the same roster. Both the LA Thieves and LA Guerrillas have announced rosters that could see them enter the title race in 2022. According to Cammy, the strength of next year’s rumored rosters mean that Toronto is preparing for any team to potentially contend alongside them. “I think there are no teams that can be taken lightly, there’s going to be a lot of competition this year,” he said. “I know everyone says that at the start of the year, but this year I feel a lot more teams are going to be switched on and from what I’m hearing, a lot of teams are going to be quite good this year.” The focus may shift as the season plays out. After all, Toronto stumbled out of the gates in 2021. But preparing for everyone is the best way to avoid being blindsided early in the season. A tough year and a welcome break “It’s been a really stressful year. Probably because we knew what we were capable of, we just didn’t want to get complacent,” Cammy said. “It felt like every day in scrims there was some small argument, which I feel was good for the team because that sort of thing is [good for a team]. It stops you from slipping, it stops you from getting complacent. But it’s been tough to be away from home for a whole year”. With the league primarily based in America, the season is a year-long commitment for the European players. Bance and head coach Mark ‘MarkyB’ Bryceland both left fiancées back in Europe for the season. Everyone left friends and family in the middle of a global health crisis that made the world feel a whole lot smaller. “It hasn’t affected me too much, I’m not the sort of person who goes out a whole lot,” Cammy said. “But things here in Canada have been a lot stricter than over in Europe, as far as I know.” But the unprecedented circumstances have only served to bring the team closer together. “We have really good chemistry as a team… and we’re just there for each other. We’d go out for walks at night after scrims. We’d hang out. It was just important that we be a team in and out of the game”. With the offseason well underway, the team have gone their separate ways for the time being. “Everyone is kind of doing their own thing right now,” Cammy said. “Ben and Mark left right after the season ended. I think it’s good — it’s been a long year and everyone is happy for some time off”. Read More: 2022 CDL Rostermania – Cammy spoke to Dexerto two days before he flew home to Scotland. Aside from the time off, there were a few things that he was looking forward to. “I’m really looking forward to a home-cooked meal from my mum,” he said. He was also looking forward to reconnecting with his Europe-based friends as the Vanguard season gets underway. “It’s going to be nice to play with my friends in Europe. With time zones and ping, it’s not really something we can do while I’m in Toronto”. Cammy hasn’t had the chance to play much of Vanguard, the next game in the storied franchise, yet. However, he is confident about the game, based on what he has seen so far. “Normally, when I play the betas and stuff, they can feel a little clunky. I’ve only played two maps, but it felt pretty smooth in terms of the movement and stuff,” Cammy said, “So I’m hopeful. We’ll just have to wait and see what the maps are like because I feel that’s what makes or breaks the game”. Toronto Ultra in 2022 Cammy has a very clear benchmark for the next season of the CDL. “I think the obvious thing that everyone’s going to say is winning Champs. Now that we’ve come so close, that’s obviously the goal.” In 2021, Toronto proved that they could compete with the best teams in the league. Their decision not to make roster moves in the off-season shows the organization’s confidence in who they have signed. It also points to there not being a specific weak link, no underperforming member of the squad who cost them during the season. However, 2022 may prove to be the ultimate test of Toronto’s ability to contend for a title with its current roster. Expectations will be high and it’s down to Ultra to prove they have what it takes to be the CDL’s third champions.

Toronto Ultra trim roster to 4 with series of CDL rostermania cuts Activision[jwplayer br5AuoVJ]Following six cuts to their Call of Duty League roster, the Toronto Ultra look prepared to head into CDL 2021 with a team consisting of Methodz, Cammy, Bance, and CleanX. With the CDL shifting to 4 vs. 4 for Treyarch’s upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, rostermania is in full effect and the Ultra, one of the league’s largest rosters, have been the first to substantially downsize. Now, six players, headlined by Daniel ‘Loony’ Loza and Nicholas ‘Classic’ DiConstanzo, are entering what should be a highly competitive player pool during a pivotal offseason. With heavy hearts, we say bye to some of our fellow teammates for the 2021 @CODLeague season. Thank you to this squad, you will forever be #SooUltra 💜 — Toronto Ultra (@TorontoUltra) September 4, 2020 The inaugural CDL Champs winners, the Dallas Empire, kicked off rostermania by releasing James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks on September 1. Then, on September 2, Jordan ‘JKap’ Kaplan retired from OpTic Gaming Los Angeles and competitive CoD altogether. But Toronto’s September 4 cuts are the biggest roster upheaval thus far. Alongside Loony and Classic, the following players have also been released: MettalZ, Lucky, Mayhem, and Brack. While most didn’t get significant playing time toward the latter part of the season, Classic played a pivotal role in the team’s Toronto Ultra Home Series championship, helping the team secure a top-eight postseason berth. Following these cuts, Toronto moves toward 2021 with the league-mandated starting size of four players, leaving some room for new additions to the roster either in the form of substitute, two-way, or starter replacement players. Toronto Ultra 2021 roster Ben ‘Bance’ Bance – Cameron ‘Cammy’ McKilligan – Tobias ‘CleanX’ Juul Jonsson – Anthony ‘Methodz’ Zinni – Toronto Ultra September 4 releases Carson ‘Brack’ Newberry – Nicholas ‘Classic’ DiCostanzo – Daniel ‘Loony’ Loza – Alejandro ‘Lucky’ Lopez – Mehran ‘Mayhem’ Anjomshoa – Asrian ‘MettalZ’ Serrano – I’m told the minimum roster size for next season is 5 players, last season it was 7. — CDL Intel (@intelCDL) September 3, 2020 With recent rumors suggesting that the CDL’s minimum roster size will be shifting from last season’s seven to five, the Ultra are guaranteed to make at least one addition to their team before offseason’s end. While the team started the season off very poorly, they finished the year going 9-4, lending them intriguing potential for 2021. In CDL Champs, Toronto lost to the Empire in a tightly contested 2-3 and the London Royal Ravens 1-3. Both opponents made it to the Champs Weekend final four, further lending credibility to the Ultra core’s capacity to compete with the league’s toughest. As Toronto wishes their best to their released players, fans can continue to monitor any new developments with our rostermania hub.

Brack refutes Toronto Ultra’s response to CDL player treatment concerns Toronto Ultra/CDLCall of Duty pro player Brack has challenged his former CDL team, Toronto Ultra’s response to the concerns that were raised in the CoD community about their treatment of their contracted player. Call of Duty’s rostermania has been even more interesting this usual. The inaugural CDL season wrapped up with Dallas Empire winning the World Championships, before releasing veteran Clayster. Similar roster moves have been seen at a host of organizations, including the Ultra who, after releasing six of their ten contracted players, came under fire from Crimsix on social media. He accused the organization of “forcing their full roster of 10 to stay in Toronto in the middle of a pandemic”, as well as “threatening to not pay non-starters if they went home.” 3. There’s rumors that these clowns are wanting a 50/50 prize winnings split from their team next year WHILE underpaying them. If the prize split goes up, so must the salary. This is the exact opposite of what they’re doing. One of the most anti-player organizations I’ve seen. — Empire C6 (@Crimsix) September 25, 2020 He summarized them as “one of the most anti-player organizations” he’s seen in his time in competitive esports. Understandably, public opinion swung against the Canadian organization, but they have now responded. In the first of two official updates, Paulo Senra, vice-president of the OverActive Media Group, defended the organization’s actions and said that all decisions were made in the best interest of players. He also said that compensation was given to all players who needed it, and finished: “All of our decisions were and will continue to be made with the health and safety of our player and our staff at its core.” The first statement, provided to the Canadian Esports Podcast, can be seen below: Following the first statement, the Ultra provided another official response, focusing on Brack, one of the players at the center of the allegations. Ultra claim that they continued to pay him in full when he asked to travel home, as well as providing “a very generous time period in which to produce sufficient medical documentation substantiating his illness to help us understand when he might return.” They say that they then learned “he had cleaned out his belongings from his residence in advance of leaving Toronto for the family emergency, indicating to us that he never intended to return to his work duties in the first place.” The truth about Brack Read: https://t.co/dQIGhmrJ3s — Toronto Ultra (@TorontoUltra) September 27, 2020 The statement finishes: “With an unwillingness to cooperate and a significant amount of compassionate leave paid, we could not reasonably keep paying Brack’s salary… We believe our conduct has been entirely reasonable – even characterized as generous towards Brack – and we will stand by our conduct and our people.” Toronto Ultra’s Full statement: Over the past few days Toronto Ultra’s treatment of its players has been called into question and some allegations have been made that simply do not align with the facts known to us. We are posting this statement to provide our perspective on these false and harmful allegations. We owe this to our players, our fans, our tireless staff and all those who care about Toronto Ultra. Brack came to us asking to return home to be with his family at a difficult time. We of course alleviated him from team obligations to go home on compassionate leave. We want to be very clear that we continued to pay Brack his full salary as a compassionate leave, despite the fact that we had no contractual or legal obligation to do so, so that he could be with his loved ones without financial pressure to return to his job. Some days later he came to us to say he was now ill and indicating that he could not return to Toronto. We continued to pay him. Finally, we provided him with a very generous time period in which to produce sufficient medical documentation substantiating his illness to help us understand when he might return. We subsequently learned that he had cleaned out his belongings from his residence in advance of leaving Toronto for the family emergency, indicating to us that he never intended to return to his work duties in the first place. With an unwillingness to cooperate and a significant amount of compassionate leave paid, we could not reasonably keep paying Brack’s salary. We are a proud organization with great people who truly care about our work and each other. This has been a tough year on everyone. But at some point an organization has to stand up for itself and protect its people and its reputation. We could not let these false statements about Toronto Ultra’s conduct continue unanswered. We believe our conduct has been entirely reasonable – even characterized as generous towards Brack – and we will stand by our conduct and our people. Update – 3:30 PM ET Brack responds to Ultra’s statement Shortly after the Toronto Ultra issued the above statement, Brack released his own response, refuting a lot of what the organization said in their post. According to Brack, he did provide the team with the necessary medical documentation from his doctor, even including an image of the note that advises him not to travel back to Toronto. The Ultra have yet to issue any further statements following Brack’s tweet. We will continue to update you on this situation as it develops.

Toronto Ultra claim “talent, composure, and leadership” gave them an edge at CDL Major 3 Call of Duty LeagueToronto Ultra tuned out the home faithful and pulled off a grueling 4-2 series victory over OpTic Texas in the CDL Major 3 Grand Final. To be the best, you have to beat the best. Toronto just defeated Major 1 winners New York, Major 2 winners Atlanta, and the home town OpTic Texas on route to the organization’s first major victory since Call of Duty Cold War in 2021. Toronto shocked the entire competitive CoD community by replacing Eli ‘Standy’ Bentz with Charlie ‘Hicksy’ Hicks at the start of Major 3 Qualifiers. Hicksy was on the verge of returning home to Europe, yet a month later, he instead joined Tornoto’s main roster and lifted a Major trophy. Thomas ‘Scrappy’ Ernst put his money where his mouth is, as the rookie phenom secured a first taste of major glory and tournament MVP honors. Jamie “Insight” Craven reminded everyone why he is one of CoD’s brightest stars, and Tobias ‘CleanX’ didn’t miss a shot in the Grand Finals. “Look at us now we are the champs baby” In the very first match of CDL Major 3, Toronto Ultra set the tone by defeating New York. Scrappy knew that his had what it took after winning the first series. “After our first-round game against New York, we knew we could bring this home. The composure all weekend was insane from the boys,” Scrappy said After sweeping OpTic Texas in Major 3 qualifiers, he joked, “slamming them is fun.” He kept that same energy in Arlington, cutting short OpTic’s magical losers bracket run. In the Grand Finals, the rookie sensation posted a 1.20 overall KD, going 1.36 in SnD, 1.30 in Control, and 1.11 in Hardpoint. CleanX has been a member of Toronto for over three years and Insight’s been onboard for about two years. The pair have seen several roster iterations and spoke about what sets this Ultra team apart. “For me it’s just the composure,” Insight said. “You listen to that final there, I am so proud of the boys. The map was going our way, we stayed composed, and came out with a dub.” “I think this team stands out because it is so well-balanced,” CleanX added. “There is talent, composure and leadership. There is quite literally everything and we are the youngest team in the league so I don’t know how.” Hicksy became the second-ever rookie to win his first pro LAN event since Scump at MLG Dallas 2011 under Quantic Leverage. He spent nearly a year and a half on Toronto as a substitute, and almost moved on before getting the call-up. “I still don’t know how we have just won that. Like I said, I nearly went home probably a month ago because I thought I would get more opportunities in the EU Challengers and signing with a different team.” But a month later I just won my first bloody major so I actually don’t know what to say.” Scrappy never shies away from letting opponents know how he feels. With or without a Major trophy or MVP accolades, he never planned on changing his ways. “With the trophy, without the trophy, I’ll talk no matter what because everyone is still trash.” In May, Toronto has a chance to win a major on its own soil for a change, as the Ultra are set to host Major V. However, before turning our attention that far in the future, all eyes will be on Scrap and company heading into Major IV qualifiers.

Toronto Ultra Call of Duty team announces 10-player roster & branding Toronto’s Call of Duty League franchise have unveiled their roster for the 2020 season, along with the team’s official name, logo, and branding. On October 24, the Toronto franchise announced that their official name is Ultra, confirming what had been leaked from the official CDL website several weeks prior. Their branding features a neon violet and purple color scheme, and their logo is a fancy ‘U’ shaped figure within a bold circle. The team also announced the 10-man roster that will be representing them once the inaugural CDL season kicks off in early 2020. The roster features veteran players Methodz, Loony, and Classic, budding stars who made names for themselves last season in Brack and Mayhem, and five international players in MeTTalZz, Lucky, Bance, Cammy and CleanX. At this point, it’s unclear who will start the season in the main lineup and who will be on the bench, but considering that they’ve maxed out on how many players they can have on the roster, the team could be going for a more rotation-based strategy. TORONTO ULTRA CALL OF DUTY ROSTER Daniel ‘Loony‘ Loza – Anthony ‘Methodz‘ Zinni – Nicholas ‘Classic‘ DiCostanzo – Mehran ‘Mayhem‘ Anjomshoa – Carson ‘Brack‘ Newberry – Adrian ‘MeTTalZz‘ Serrano – Alejandro ‘Lucky‘ Lopez – Tobias ‘CleanX‘ Juul Jønsson – Ben ‘Bance‘ Bance – Cameron ‘Cammy‘ McKilligan – Of the five North American players, Loony, Methodz and Classic come in as the established veterans of the squad, and their experience and leadership will play a big role in guiding this team forward. Loony, who played for Splyce last season, won’t have as much of a transition as everyone else, since Splyce’s parent company, Overactive Media Group, also own the Toronto franchise. As for Methodz, he never really found strong footing after leaving OpTic Gaming in 2018. Starting the season with FaZe Clan, he was dropped in December and first moved to G2 Esports then UYU, with whom he finished the CWL campaign without any real success. He will be reunited with Classic after the veteran also ended up on UYU to end the season, following his departure from Luminosity in June. Going from the veterans to the younger players who still have something to prove, there’s Brack and Mayhem. Despite going through a lot of roster-related turmoil early on in the season, having played for now-defunct teams like Midnight Esports, Excelerate Gaming and Denial Esports, Brack still found a way to make a standout name for himself. His strong performances ultimately caught the eye of LG, and bringing him on really helped the team turn around their poor season and finish top-eight at Champs. Mayhem also made his professional debut at the start of the Black Ops 4 season, and things only went up from there. After spending most of the season with UYU, the longtime amateur made the leap to Enigma6 Group in June and had a lasting difference in their surprising run to a fourth place finish at Champs. Moving on to the international side of the Ultra’s roster, we have two established Spanish players in MeTTalZz and Lucky, both of whom previously featured for the now-inactive Spanish powerhouse Team Heretics in the CWL. The two helped turn Heretics into a formidable Call of Duty team last season, as the side managed to place top-eight at Forth Worth, London, Anaheim, and the Pro League regular season. The roster also features two players from the UK: the veteran Englishman Bance, who started the season with Red Reserve but found himself on the amateur team Celtic FC Esports at the end, and Cammy, a relatively new player from Scotland who made his professional debut in 2019 as a member of UNITS. Rounding off the roster is CleanX, a first-time pro player who may end up making the biggest impact on the team. Playing for amateur Danish side Team Singularity last season, CleanX didn’t get a taste of professional action until facing the pro teams at CoD Champs, and boy did he perform. Stringing together standout performances all weekend, he carried Singularity past the group stages and into bracket play, where they even managed to beat Team Envy in the first round before being eliminated by LG. Toronto became the third CDL team to announce its roster on October 24, following Chicago and Los Angeles OpTic earlier in the day. After today, there remain only three teams who have yet to announce any players – Atlanta, LA Guerrillas, and Florida – so fans can expect those rosters to be revealed in the very near future. In the meantime, make sure to catch up with all of the roster moves and player signings with our dedicated Call of Duty League offseason RosterMania hub.

Toronto Ultra bench Methodz in surprise CDL roster move Call of Duty LeagueCall of Duty veteran Anthony ‘Methodz’ Zinni shocked CDL fans by announcing that he has been benched by his Toronto Ultra’s lineup, following a disappointing 3-5 start to the 2021 season. Interestingly, it was not the Ultra who announced the surprise benching of the league’s beloved Chef Tony — it was Zinni himself. Taking to Twitter, the nine-year veteran revealed the roster shakeup without detailing why the decision was made or who would be replacing him. This comes after a 3-5 start to the season by the Ultra, who have shown flashes of the form that helped the team win CDL 2020’s Week 13 Toronto Ultra Homestand and place in the top 6 at CDL Champs. While obviously disappointed, Methodz himself told us that this 2021 team is “miles better” than it was at this time in 2020. Obviously confused himself, Methodz mentioned that Black Ops Cold War has been his “best game since WW2 and obviously wasn’t expecting this.” He’s played a major role in the team’s three wins, so fans are baffled as well. Mere hours after the initial tweets, Methodz followed up to reveal his new plans. While on the Toronto bench, he’s been given permission to compete in the Challengers scene. “Despite what I think, this is the situation I’m in and have decided to play Challengers,” he said. Despite what I think, this is the situation I’m in and have decided to play Challengers w/ Decemate, Drazah, and TMTwerk. I’m confident I’ll be back where I belong in due time & I appreciate all of your guys’ support more than you know. — OpTic Methodz (@Methodz) March 11, 2021 Methodz will be teaming with former LA Guerrillas player Jacob ‘Decemate’ Cato, LA Thieves substitute Zack ‘Drazah’ Jordan, and multiple time Challengers Cup champion Christopher ‘TwerK’ Nava. “I’m confident I’ll be back where I belong in due time,” he added. At the moment, Jamie ‘Insight’ Craven is the lone bench player on Toronto — suggesting that he would move into the starting lineup barring other moves. At 21 years old, he is reputable in the European scene (where he became known as ‘Cash Out Craven’), but has yet to make an impact anywhere near Zinni’s in North America. If he does become the starter, Toronto will have an all-EU lineup. Toronto Ultra’s projected Stage 2 starters Ben ‘Bance’ Bance – Cameron ‘Cammy’ McKilligan – Tobias ‘CleanX’ Juul Jonsson – Jamie ‘Insight’ Craven –

Toronto’s Call of Duty franchise announces General Manager COD TORONTO / RJJ PHOTOGRAPHYThe Call of Duty team that will be based in Toronto, Canada once the esport turns to franchising has announced its General Manager who will be leading the way. It’s no longer breaking news that Call of Duty esports will be transitioning to a franchised league setup starting next season. In anticipation of this major change, the organizations that will be involved are making steps towards solidifying their administrative and managerial staff and structure, to establish condition that will draw the best and brightest talent to join their ranks. CoD Toronto checked off a huge item of priority on August 13, announcing that Dominique “@wi5dom12” Gelineau will be their General Manager to kick off the inaugural campaign. “WE GOT STAFF,” they tweeted. “It’s our pleasure to introduce Dominique “@wi5dom12″ Gelineau as General Manager of CODToronto! Be sure to give her the warmest of welcomes.” WE GOT STAFF! It’s our pleasure to introduce Dominique “”@wi5dom12″” Gelineau as General Manager of CODToronto! :punch: Be sure to give her the warmest of welcomes! :tada: pic.twitter.com/aAlfZgVs91 — Call of Duty Toronto (@COD_Toronto) August 13, 2019 Although she doesn’t boast any extensive experience in esports, Gelineau is known for her reputable skills in recruitment, which she may put to good use at the CWL Championship 2019 taking place this week in Los Angeles, CA. Read More: FormaL explains Nadeshot’s OpTic departure – “I am so excited to get started building a competitive CoD Toronto team for next season,” she tweeted. “I’m in LA right now for CoD Champs and getting to know our players and support staff. This is a dream job, and I can’t wait to deliver for all Toronto fans.” I am so excited to get started building a competitive @COD_Toronto team for next season! I’m in LA right now for #CODChamps and getting to know our players and support staff. This is a dream job and I can’t wait to deliver for all the Toronto fans. :flag-ca: https://t.co/tBWrNyEi0P — Dominique Gelineau (@Wi5dom12) August 13, 2019 Of course, Gelineau may not need to do much recruitment at all, since her organization already employs several prominent players that are very likely to represent Toronto in the new league. OverActive Media, who own the slot, are also the parent company of Splyce, one of the top teams in the CWL, and some of the players on their roster are already slated to make the transition. SPLYCE 2019 STARTING LINEUP Jordan ‘Jurd’ Crowley – Daniel ‘Loony’ Loza – Ulysses ‘AquA’ Silva – Donovan ‘Temp’ Laroda – Cuyler ‘Huke’ Garland – Toronto is one of seven confirmed host cities for next season’s franchised league, which will feature a home-and-away format in its inaugural campaign. The other host sites are Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and Minnesota, and Activision have already announced that they plan on having at least eight cities for the first season.

Top Warzone trio reveals meta Iron Trials loadout for $75k tournament ActivisionCall of Duty: Warzone’s Iron Trials ‘84 mode is new and, therefore, mysterious to many. Fortunately, one of the game’s top professional trios — Tommey, Almond, and Newbz — revealed their meta tournament loadout for the mode. Iron Trials is probably the most beloved mode added to Warzone since Rebirth Island. With a higher TTK (time to kill) and other changes, like the absence of free loadouts, it’s already being considered an ideal mode for competitive play. In that spirit, why not turn to the world’s most competitive players for Iron Trials loadout recommendations? Ahead of the world’s first major Iron Trials tournament, one of Warzone’s top trios revealed their meta loadout of choice. With $75,000 on the line in the Twitch Rivals event, you can be sure they took these choices seriously. Tournament-ready meta Iron Trials loadout As you can hear in the clip, the trio is discussing what guns they should use for the huge event. Tommey, a former professional player and one of Warzone’s top five earners, laid out his preferred setup. Primary: EM2 – Secondary: MP5 (Black Ops Cold War) – Perks: Quick Fix, Overkill, Amped – Tactical Equipment: Stim Shot – Lethal Equipment: Throwing Knife – The setup is pretty interesting, as it makes some unique departures from the meta loadouts used in standard competitive play. Instead of the MG82 and OTs 9, the high-damage EM2 and large-magazine MP5 were recommended. Instead of the popular choices of Double Time and a Heartbeat Sensor, they opted for the life-saving Quick Fix and Stim Shot options. Stim Shots and Quick Fix’s redemption arc While the gun recommendations are useful, Quick Fix and Stims are the real important parts here. Iron Trials gives players more health while slowing down their regeneration rate, making the value of base, un-armored health more important. Quick Fix makes your regeneration faster, thereby counteracting the mode’s default nerf to the mechanic. Separately, Stims not only heal you for more than they would in normal modes (since there’s more health overall) but also make it so that you can regenerate health quickly. With these two health-enabling items, players can get an edge over others who aren’t as prepared. Of course, after the tournament we’ll have to see what the winning team used — but this loadout seems like a strong recipe for success.

Top Warzone streamers get more viewers on Twitch after Apex Legends switch Activision/Respawn/FaZe Clan/TimTheTatmanMany Warzone players are making the switch to competitor Apex Legends in their droves, and some of the top streamers are actually benefitting massively from it. With the rampant hacking problem continuing to run riot in Warzone, many top streamers, as well as casual players, have made the switch, or are simply seeking alternatives to the Call of Duty battle royale. Typically, when content creators change up their content so significantly, especially when transitioning to a different game, they seriously struggle to get off the ground. Viewers usually drop as the streamers find themselves trying to appeal to both a new and an old audience on a medium they’ve got no history in. But for three Warzone streamers in particular, this isn’t the case at all. NICKMERCS’ becomes biggest Apex Legends streamer? NICKMERCS has become one of the biggest Apex streamers on Twitch since switching over. In fact, in the past three days at the time of writing (August 4), he is the number one streamer for hours watched, despite streaming less than half as much as second-place ImperialHal. On August 3, the day of the Apex Legends Season 10 launch he peaked at little under 80,000 viewers, his highest viewership figure since early May. His average viewers are also up, meaning the transition has been far smoother than many could have imagined. This growth extends to both his Apex teammates in Cloakzy and TimTheTatman, too. Tim & Cloakzy seeing success in Apex Legends Tim’s transition has been equally as smooth, with his viewership not dwindling at all after moving to Apex. He peaked at around 66k on August 3, higher than any of his Warzone streams since mid-June. Cloakzy has also managed to maintain his viewership base since changing to Warzone, but his follower count has grown by 12k in the last seven days during his Apex streams. For context, Nick only slightly beats that with 14k, and Tim has only grown by 7k during Apex streams in the same amount of time. Top 10 Apex Legends streamers As mentioned above, each of these streamers find themselves in the top 10 most viewed on Apex Legends in the last 7 days at the time of writing. While in the last 3 days Nick tops the charts, across 7 days he’s only slightly behind ImperialHal, despite a considerably lower number of hours streamed. Cloakzy and TimTheTatman clock in at 6th and 7th place respectively, in the table provided by SullyGnome. Of course, this won’t be the case for other Warzone streamers. Some, don’t retain the same viewership, but the fact that the top names can easily transition without any loss is seriously impressive. The big question now is: will it last?

Top Warzone players call for Streamer Mode after Tommey shares POV of stream snipers Activision / Twitter: 100 ThievesAfter yet another stream sniping incident in Warzone, 100 Thieves star Thomas ‘Tommey’ Trewren took to Twitter, showcasing the state of the Call of Duty battle royale, as well as pleading with the developers for a better Streamer Mode. Stream sniping has historically been a major issue in the gaming industry. A number of popular titles over the years have fallen victim as popular streamers are hunted down by viewers around the world. In order to prevent this from happening, select games have introduced streamer-friendly modes. This provides a unique set of options to mask identity in-game. When combined with a slight stream delay, no one should ever have to deal with pesky stream snipers again. At least that’s how it works on paper. While Warzone does have a Streamer Mode, stream sniping is still a major issue. Without actually hiding player names, the mode does little to help the biggest personalities. Tommey has felt this frustration time and again, finally reaching his breaking point on March 14 after pleading with the developers for a big change. This is exactly why I’m not having fun in tournaments. pic.twitter.com/cKEhm8tkny — Tommey (@Tommey) March 14, 2021 “This is exactly why I’m not having fun in tournaments,” the former competitive CoD player tweeted alongside a clip. The video is from another group of players specifically targeting Tommey in the midst of a tournament. “Tommey’s just been brought back,” one of them said urgently. “He’s at Fire Station.” Having kept a close eye on his stream, they were able to call out his position the moment he came back into the lobby. “They’re in our streams calling our locations and hard playing for us as Warzone has no actual working streamer mode,” Tommey explained, before begging the devs, “Please can we have a working streamer mode in Warzone?” Please can we have a working streamer mode in WZ, @RavenSoftware? The current one that’s been in since the beginning does not work properly. It changes everyone else’s name and not your own, which defeats the point of the feature in the first place. — Tommey (@Tommey) March 14, 2021 This example is just one instance of one team trying to put an end to his tournament run. There could be dozens of players in any given day that turn Tommey’s stream on for a competitive advantage or purely just to tick him off. The same can be for all manner of popular streamers. With the state of Warzone’s current streamer mode, it simply doesn’t do the job, according to Tommey. “The current one that’s been in since the beginning does not work properly. It changes everyone else’s name and not your own, which defeats the point of the feature in the first place.” “I’d rather die to a hacker than having Jimmy and his cousins chasing me around the map,” he added. Read more: Why Warzone PC players dominate console fans – It wasn’t long before a number of fellow Warzone players joined the conversation. “I’m backing this,” Jukeyz replied. “What losers, it’s like that almost every game now,” Newbz added. You know what’s crazy? This is the little kids messages to me on Twitch. pic.twitter.com/MOgs8fWNJh — Tommey (@Tommey) March 14, 2021 Devs are yet to issue a response though a young player from the stream sniping team did. A 13-year-old reached out through Tommey’s Twitch DMs to apologize for the behavior. “My teammates told me to stream snipe,” they said. “I just didn’t want to get dropped so I did what they said.” Immediately feeling “bad for the little kid,” Tommey accepted the apology and moved on. The apology doesn’t change, however, that the issue of stream sniping is more common today than it’s ever been, and it’s fair for pros to demand change.

Top Open Bracket team pull out of CWL Vegas last minute due to travel issues ESWCFrench Call of Duty team Supremacy are in an administrative turmoil, causing the roster to miss out on CWL Vegas, the first major event of the Black Ops 4 season. With 19th open bracket seed, Supremacy were one of France’s top representatives in Las Vegas, aiming for at least a top 32 finish, for a chance at qualification for the CWL Pro Qualifier League in January. However, one of the team’s players, Faïz ‘Senka’ Aurang was stopped from making the trip after arriving at the airport, because his ESTA (a mandatory document authorizing entry into the United States) had apparently been canceled by US authorities. Supremacy made fans aware of the disappointing news on Twitter, on Thursday December 6, the same day as the play-in tournament began and the day before the main tournament. In a Twitlonger, Supremacy stated that Senka was “informed at the airline office that his request for ESTA had been refused although accepted at the time of the online process via the form two weeks ago.” They say that they do not know why the ESTA was refused, and “had not received any information regarding a change in the status of his ESTA by the US Embassy before this morning at the last moment”. Supremacy ne participera pas à la MLG CoD Las Vegas Read: https://t.co/sHILcmflsy — Supremacy (@Supremacy_FR) December 6, 2018 It effectively ends Supremacy’s hopes of qualifying for the CWL Pro League, as they needed a top 32 placing to secure a spot at the qualifying tournament. Although they considered taking a substitute in place of Senka, Supremacy were uncertain that MLG would be able to accommodate the change of seeding on such short notice, and this uncertainty left them unwilling to take the risk. French fans will have to rely on only three teams attending Vegas; Gone Gaming, featuring Eddy ‘Malls’ Maillard and Arthur ‘Zayrox’ Chabas; Overtime eSport featuring Wailers ‘Wailers’ Locart and Monaco eSports, led by Maxime ‘mAxxie’ Ebran. In their statement, Supremacy say they are “drawing a line on this season” and will “study the possibilities for our future […] while setting ourselves aside for the moment.” You can read Supremacy’s full statement below (translated from French). Hello everyone, We inform you through this release of our non-participation in the MLG Las Vegas held this weekend in the United States. Our players arrived this morning at the Charles de Gaulle airport bound for Las Vegas and it was then that Faiz “Senka” Aurang was informed at the airline office that her request for ESTA had been refused although accepted at the time of the online process via the form two weeks ago. Since then, Senka had not received any information regarding a change in the status of his ESTA by the US Embassy before this morning at the last moment before the team’s departure. The administrative problems we had with Senka last year were due to the fact that he did not have French nationality at the time, and therefore a VISA was required to travel to Canada. United States. Since then, we had solved these administrative problems and Faiz had obtained French nationality for several months now. The fact that his request for ESTA was authorized and then canceled at the last moment without even informing him in advance is for us still at the moment a complete misunderstanding. It is not without a huge disappointment that we must give up this major event and draw a line on this season but we have no other possibility at the moment. The delay with the departure of the plane was much too short and we had no guarantee that by taking a player to replace it, MLG would allow on the spot to override the roster lock and thus, modify the seeding of all the Open Bracket. It was important for us to be completely transparent to you about this delicate situation and the decision that had been made. We will study the possibilities for our future on the scene in the next few months while setting ourselves aside for the moment and we hope, despite everything, that you will support Natshay, Eazy, Yuuzl, Senka and Dynasty who have made many sacrifices to arrive at such disillusionment. The Supremacy Team

Top four teams from CWL Vegas qualify for CWL Pro League The first four teams to play in the Call of Duty World League Pro League have been confirmed as the $250,000 CWL Vegas tournament reached its final stages. OpTic Gaming, Splyce, eUnited, and Luminosity Gaming have all qualified directly into the Pro League on the virtue of guaranteeing themselves a top-four finish at CWL Vegas, no matter where in the top four they actually place. OpTic and Splyce both confirmed their qualification after reaching the Winner’s Bracket final, while eUnited and LG did the same after reaching the Loser’s Bracket semifinal. Finishing in the top four has guaranteed these teams that they will not have to compete in the Play-In tournament for the Pro League, which is set to be an intense and competitive affair. The Play-In tournament is due to take place from January 16-20 at the MLG Arena in Columbus, OH, where 28 teams will be vying for the 12 remaining spots in the Pro League, in addition to the four that have already qualified. The 28 teams that will be competing in the Play-In has been determined by final placements at CWL Vegas, with the teams that finished from 5th/6th to 29th/32nd all earning a spot. The field of teams is set to feature some powerhouse squads, with the likes of 100 Thieves, Team Envy, FaZe Clan, Str8 Rippin, and Team Sween all having finished in the top-32, among many others. The full list of teams that have guaranteed themselves a spot in the Play-In tournament can be seen below: Earning a spot in the Play-In is a huge opportunity for these teams, as it gives them a real chance at entering the CWL Pro League. Unlike last season, the 2019 Pro League will only feature a single season, which makes the Play-In that much more important. The Play-In will feature four Pools of seven teams, the top two of which will qualify for the Pro League, while the next three will play in a Playoffs to qualify. The bottom two teams in each Pool will be eliminated from qualification.

Top five guns to use in Black Ops 4 at lower levels One of the most difficult things about starting out on a new Call of Duty game is that there are often players that are 40 or more levels above you from the outset. That’s an issue from the very first day, so if you’re starting late or haven’t been able to pour much time into Black Ops 4 since release, there’s a good chance that you’re a long way behind just about every player in any lobby that you join. Going up against opponents that already have most of the good perks, weapons and items unlocked can be infuriating, but Call of Duty developers always make sure that there are a range of competitive weapons available from the earlier stages in order to offset that deficit. But what weapons should you be pouring your time into and unlocking attachments for during the early levels? Well, Drift0r has compiled a list of the five best guns to invest your earliest hours into. ICR-7 It’s hardly surprising to see the ICR at the top of the popular YouTuber’s list. The assault rifle’s relatively low damage per second (DPS) is made up for with incredible accuracy and low recoil. Once you begin unlocking various attachments, the gun becomes something akin to a laser beam and you’ll soon be destroying people of all levels. Spitfire The Spitfire is a slightly more surprising choice and isn’t immediately available. The submachine gun is like a more difficult-to-use version of the Vesper from Black Ops 3, but it does still work in the same way – peppering opponents with countless rounds before they can blink. Unfortunately, the weapon’s recoil, damage and magazine size makes it difficult to use at anything past point-blank range, so only pull it out in situations and maps that allow for close-quarters gunfights. Rampart 17 The Rampart may not be the most obvious choice in the assault rifle category when it’s competing with the ICR, but it’s worth leveling up, especially when you’ve reached max level with the ICR. The rate of fire is pretty slow, but the Rampart deals out serious damage for each hit. Once you unlock High Caliber II, the Rampart is extremely powerful and worth the time it takes to learn the recoil. Hades The Hades is a fully automatic light machine gun that, as Drift0r explains, “sits very neatly between a traditional light machine gun and an assault rifle.” The Hades has a massive magazine and maneuverability doesn’t take as much of a hit from it as some of the weapons in its class. MX9 The final item on the list is the very first submachine gun that you unlock. It’s extremely easy to use but suffers from the same issues as the other SMG weapons in Black Ops 4 – they simply cannot compete with assault rifles in many situations. As Drift0r points out, the MX9 isn’t even the strongest weapon in the SMG class, but it’s certainly a good option at the lower levels if you’re determined to use one.

Top five class setups to use in Black Ops 4 after Patch v1.04 With patch v1.04 that went live on October 30th, Treyarch made some major buffs and nerfs to guns in Black Ops 4. The main change was nerfing ARs and buffing SMGs to bring the two guns closer together in power level, but just about every class of gun was changed in some way. Here’s an in-depth rundown of OpTic Gaming win first NA CWL 2K tournament of Black Ops 4 season – recap and final placements Here are a few of his preferred setups: He uses quick draw with it to lessen the time it takes to look down the sight and also uses Gung-Ho to quickly jump out of a sprint.

Top five changes Black Ops Cold War needs to make after the Alpha TreyarchWith the Black Ops Cold War Alpha now in the rearview mirror, let’s take a look at five changes we’d love to see ahead of the game’s full release on November 13. The PlayStation exclusive Cold War Alpha was live for just one weekend to give fans their first hands-on experience with Treyarch’s upcoming release. While it may have been short-lived, the handful of maps and modes on offer provided our first real glimpse at how the full game will play. Plenty of changes have already been made behind the scenes, such as sniper adjustments. However, there’s still plenty of room for improvement now that thousands of avid fans have jumped into the action. After a weekend of grinding, here are the things we’d love to see changed ahead of Black Ops Cold War’s official release. Separate playlists with SBMM enabled Skill-based matchmaking quickly became the hot topic on day one of the Alpha. While your first few games may have felt great, it wouldn’t have been long before you were thrown in the deep end. A few consecutive wins and your next match would feel like the final map at the Call of Duty League Championship Weekend. SBMM felt more prominent than ever and countless pro players were quick to lash out against it. While SBMM has been present under the hood in almost every CoD since 2007, a dev confirmed, social media still erupted due to its presence in Cold War’s alpha. Playing against tough competition is great at times, but there should be more casual options available. The best pros in the world shouldn’t be reverse-boosting just to enjoy their time in public games. In order to keep everyone happy, SBMM can still have a place in Black Ops Cold War. Though It should be limited to its own, separate playlists. Incorporating a ranked mode would be highly praised by the community. This is where SBMM could shine. Having teams square off against tough competition in a dedicated environment. It would be a welcome change to see it left out of regular modes upon the full release, however. A buff to the Ninja perk Ninja has been a popular perk in CoD multiplayer for many years. Instead of sounding like an elephant on the map with extremely loud footsteps, it allows you to sneak around. In previous games, all movement sound would be reduced by a considerable amount if it didn’t make you outright silent. In the Black Ops Cold War Alpha, this critical perk wasn’t quite what it used to be. Rather than changing all character sounds, it specifically targeted sprinting. Without providing an exact value, the perk allowed players to “sprint more quietly.” This meant that every other form of movement was still exceptionally loud. You could crouch and move at a snail’s pace in the Alpha. Yet more often than not, you’d still get turned on as the enemy hears you coming from a mile away. Ninja should absolutely be in line for a buff ahead of the full release if it hasn’t already been tweaked behind the scenes. Improved lethal throwing speed If you found yourself rarely using your lethal equipment throughout the Alpha, you weren’t alone. It was one of the more surprising changes, but Treyarch decided to make the throwing animation far longer than usual. It would take a good couple of seconds from hitting the input to actually throwing your grenade, for instance. This is definitely something that should be reverted back to normal ahead of the full release. In objective-based game modes, lethal equipment can be essential when clearing out hardpoints or flags in domination. Players need to be able to throw them out quickly and continue on with their assault. Added flinch when scoped in using snipers Real Passionate Hours happening on Cold War rn…. pic.twitter.com/XQjJyxRkqk — OpTic Pamaj (@Pamaj) September 19, 2020 There’s no denying that sniper rifles were extremely powerful in the Alpha. They’re already being addressed ahead of the beta, and one key way they should be adjusted is through added flinch. While scoping speed is among the fastest it’s ever been in a CoD game, another key issue is the lack of flinch. If you land the first shots on a distant sniper, they can quickly snap onto you and land one-shot without issue. Their aim isn’t impacted by the incoming damage whatsoever. At least, that was the case throughout the early playtest. This could be just one way in which snipers are addressed in the upcoming Beta. A slight adjustment to the game’s visuals Regardless of which map you were playing on, or which Operator you came across, there would be times in the Alpha where you simply couldn’t see your opposition. Darker sections across the core maps would let players blend in with the environment. From the hotel room high ground on Miami, to the B Flag section of Satellite, it was quite a prominent issue. There are a few key ways in which this could be addressed. Lightning could simply be tweaked in various problematic areas. Or Operator models could be adjusted on the whole. A slight character outline or even just brighter colors could do the trick to help players stand out from the environment. The Black Ops Cold War Alpha may be behind us, but the next playtest is right around the corner. Treyarch is set to launch the Beta on October 9 for PlayStation gamers. Following the first weekend of exclusivity, players across all platforms can go hands-on from October 15. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming beta.

Top CoD pro teams to play amateur teams in brand-new CMG ProDown tournament – ft. OpTic Gaming, 100 Thieves, eUnited, and more A new tournament series has been announced that will feature of a number of major Call of Duty teams facing off against amateur squads. While most professional Call of Duty teams have been putting in a ton of time with the weekly CWL 2K tournaments, the CMG ProDown tournament will a chance for them to compete in a more laid-back setting. Eight pro teams will take on eight amateur teams in the $2,500 tournament taking place on November 18. The tournament was first announced on November 15 by CMG on their official Twitter, letting fans know that anyone can qualify for the event. We are happy to announce the $2500 ProDown Tournament! :small_blue_diamond: 8 Pro Teams :small_blue_diamond: 8 Qualifying Teams :small_blue_diamond: Double Elimination :small_blue_diamond: CWL VariantProDown > https://t.co/6NJZWlQ2Wi Qualifiers > https://t.co/34J47xO9Px#CMG #ProDown pic.twitter.com/KCKS7Rcais — CMG (@CMG_eSports) November 15, 2018 While eight of the 16 spots are made up of invited pro teams, the final eight teams will be decided in a series of open qualifiers that will take place November 16-17. Each qualifier will feature a $150 prize for the winner, with the top four teams from each qualifier receiving an invite to the main tournament on November 18. Read More: Major changes made to CWL ruleset ahead of CWL Vegas tournament – map pool, item restrictions, and more – The entire tournament will be using the CWL Variant rules, meaning players will play a mix of Search & Destroy, Hardpoint, and Control during each series. The qualifiers will be best-of-3, while the Winners Bracket matches being best-of-7 and Losers Bracket being best-of-5. The specific ruleset as far as maps, Specialists, and gear is still being ironed out, but the tournament will be double-elimination just like CWL events. Of note, the tournament will be running alongside the weekly CWL 2K tournament, meaning it’s likely that the pro teams playing in the ProDown will not be competing in the 2K. You can find the brackets for the event HERE and the full list of pro teams in attendance can be found below: Pro teams attending CMG ProDown Tournament OpTic Gaming – Splyce – FaZe Clan – eUnited – Luminosity Gaming – Team Envy – 100 Thieves – G2 Esports –

Top Call of Duty Pro Players Are Teaming Up To Compete at Gears of War Tournament – Temp, John and More Five of top Call of Duty players in the world are putting together a formidable roster to try their hand at competing at the upcoming Gears Pro Circuit event in San Diego. With Gears New Orleans concluding on July 15th, pro CoD player Donovan “Temp” Laroda was clearly inspired by the event and began reaching out to other players to see if they would join him in competing at the next tournament. Before the New Orleans grand final, which saw OpTic defeat Echo Fox, the next tournament in the Gears Pro Circuit was announced for September 28th in San Diego. An international open tournament, the best gears teams from around the world will be in attendance, but as proficient console players already the Pro CoD players may think they have an edge. Echo Fox player Temp will be joined by Rise Nation’s Daniel “Loony” Loza, Team Kaliber player Kenny “Kenny” Williams and Luminosity’s Johnathan “John” Perez. The final player, Team Envy’s Cuyler “Huke” Garland, may be the key for the roster however, as he is already proven at the pro level across two console titles, having been very successful in Halo in 2016 – 2017. OUR GEARS TEAM IS ME HUKE LOONY KENNY JOHN WE ARE ABOUT TO FRYYY — EF Temp (@DonnyTemp) July 17, 2018 It looks like they have finalized their roster for now, but some players who showed interest have been snubbed, including former OpTic player Damon “Karma” Barlow and retired pro player Jon “Pacman” Tucker. As for qualification, any team can enter the tournament through the open bracket, but are seeded depending on their pro points, similar to the system used in the CWL, as both circuits are operated by MLG. Of course, none of these players will have any pro points on the Gears circuit and so would enter as a very low seed and would need to make a tough run if they have any hopes of making it out of open bracket. The 2018 CWL Season will conclude in August with the World Championship, and will pick up again with the release of Black Ops 4 on October 12th. So the tournament on September 28th will fit exactly within the CWL off season. So, it’s the perfect opportunity for the CoD players to see if they can hold it down in the fiercely competitive Gears of War scene.

Top 8 most underrated Call of Duty pros of all time Call of Duty LeagueCall of Duty esports has a long and storied history, with hundreds of players at the top level that even some of the most celebrated CoD historians won’t know about. But who are some of the most underrated players we’ve ever seen? It would be impossible to give a complete list for this, with so many who never reached the highs their talents were capable of, or simply with fans forgetting just how dominant certain players were in the past. Within this list is a mix of world champions, as well as players who never managed to secure a LAN championship at all, these are some of the most underrated Call of Duty pros of all time. James ‘Replays’ Crowder Formerly Replays before adopting his surname as his go-to alias, Crowder is a name that is rarely spoken about in the Call of Duty world, despite his exhaustive success in the scene as both a player and a coach. Crowder won a world championship in 2015 as well as two other major championships throughout his career, and helped mold a number of top talent to become the players they became. As a coach, he has excelled beyond any other with 100 Thieves and Atlanta FaZe. Daniel ‘Loony’ Loza Loony is currently a coach at Minnesota Røkkr, after a lengthy career winning championships as the glue guy for a number of top teams. Like many of the other names on this list, Loony had a brain for Call of Duty that not many did, always putting himself in winning positions despite not always being the greatest slayer or most individually talented player. Jordan ‘Jkap’ Kaplan Having a two-time world champion and one of the most decorated CoD players of all time on this list feels a bit odd, but many fans — especially those who are newer to the scene — are somewhat ignorant to just how great Jkap once was. In fact, considering how much success Jkap saw throughout the latter stages of his career, it’s actually the early days where he really excelled, being one of the most feared players in Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops 1. While people might scoff at Jkap’s stats in his final seasons, he always found himself on winning teams — and that was no accident. Jordan ‘Jurd’ Crowley A European star whose career never really took off in the way it should, this Irishman had immense talent but it just came at the wrong time. Alongside the likes of Swanny, Tommey, and Madcat, Jurd was one of a veteran group of European players who frequently competed with North Americans and even won himself a championship in Infinite Warfare. Of all of those players, though, Jurd always felt like he could most naturally fit into an NA side and have a successful career competing in America. If he (and the others mentioned) was 18 or 19 going into the launch of the CDL, his playstyle would have made him a highly sought-after player. Ian ‘Enable’ Wyatt The one-thumb phenom, Enable had a very successful Call of Duty career, but very rarely gets his flowers for it. He went to a world championship grand final in back-to-back seasons, a ‘dirty work’ type of player who wouldn’t be dropping 1.2 KDs each series but would always be doing what’s best for the team. He, unfortunately, found himself on a Seattle Surge team at the start of franchising in which only one player is still actively playing to this day — the rest all retired somewhat hastily either during the season or in the months following it. Jonathan ‘John’ Perez John, for anybody who is new to the scene, was a random Challengers player who perhaps had a bit of a backstory, that came into the big leagues to join LA Thieves and Paris Legion for a very brief, forgettable stint. In reality, though, John was a demon for much of his career, dating all the way back to the original Black Ops 1 days. He won in almost every title he ever played until the Black Ops 4 season ended, including one world championship and a second-place finish the following year, alongside Jkap in Black Ops 3 and Infinite Warfare. Nicholas ‘Classic’ DeConstanzo Classic, or NickyD, the FaZe reaper as he’s come to be known in these later stages of his career, is a criminally underrated player and has been for some time. He is someone who has regularly won championships over the years, for a very long time a supremely capable flex player that could easily go toe-to-toe with the best. He’s still competing to this day, and was even a Challengers Champs winner in 2022, showing there’s still some fight left. Denholm ‘Denz’ Taylor If European Call of Duty fans feel like they get a hard time in their region, it’s nothing compared to what the Australians on the other side of the world have to suffer through. Pre-franchising, there was always one team from Australia that could actually compete against the EU and NA teams, and that was Mindfreak. Arguably the best of them all, though (and certainly the highest earner) was Denz, who also played for Reciprocity in Black Ops 4 and Paris Legion in Modern Warfare. Now, he’s the general manager of Boston Breach. If he had come from the US, could his fortunes have changed? Statistically, he was always a solid performer and showed in IW that he could compete with the best teams and place high. Of course, there are so many other players that could be included in this list, but it would be impossible to list everyone. The likes of Nameless, Tommey, Saints, Rambo, BigTymer, and many others all deserve a mention as players who pioneered the esport in one way or another, or don’t get their flowers for having been great players once upon a time. Often, those most underrated are the ones who weren’t making flashy plays with high KDs, so it will be interesting to see what a list like this would look like in 5 or 10 years’ time as the current crop of players starts retiring. Even better, you can compare some of these to our best CoD players of all time list.

Top 6 players to watch at CDL Champs 2023 Call of Duty LeagueThe Call of Duty League Championship Weekend is upon us, with the eight best COD teams in the world heading out to Las Vegas, Nevada, to claim their place in the history books and become world champions. But which players should fans keep an eye on at the tournament? CDL Champs is the pinnacle of every Call of Duty League season, and the big event that all players aspire to win. While winning a Major is great, hoisting the CDL trophy and getting a championship ring is a moment very few Call of Duty players have been able to do. While some players and teams are more likely to win than others, we take a look here at the key players to watch that could be influential to their team’s success. Obviously, each player has his own story heading into Champs. The likes of Sib, Accuracy, Attach, and more have a weight on their shoulders or records to uphold, but here are our key picks. Players to watch at CDL Champs 2023 Ben ‘Bance’ Bance It’s not unfair to say that expectations are low for Minnesota Røkkr heading into CDL Championship Weekend. They’re not very heavily backed to make a deep run, with some even expecting them to drop out of the tournament in Elimination Round 1. That said, Bance is the key that unlocks this Røkkr team. The team’s performances are heavily tied to Bance’s individual performance — when he plays well, the whole team excels. If he doesn’t come out of the gate flying, Minnesota’s season may be ending far earlier than they would like. Austin ‘SlasheR’ Liddicoat Atlanta FaZe are heading into the tournaments as favorites, putting somewhat of a target on all of the players’ backs. However, that is most true for SlasheR, who joined at the start of the 2023 season and is viewed somewhat as the outsider alongside the core FaZe trio of Simp, aBeZy, and Cellium. If they fail to win the event, or at least place highly, that could mean SlasheR’s spot on the team will be under pressure. Brandon ‘Dashy’ Otell Dashy heads to Vegas as the veteran of this OpTic Texas side, who have looked seriously capable of challenging for championships at almost every step, marking his sixth appearance at Champs. Commonly regarded as one of the best players to never win a ring, Dashy has probably never had a better chance than this season, with his team having dominated online and achieved back-to-back second places at Majors 3 and 4. He’s an MVP-caliber player that needs the ultimate accolade to prove it, and that’s why this could really be a legacy tournament for the Canadian star — especially after such a tumultuous year. Tobias ‘CleanX’ Juul Jønsson Very similar to Bance for the Røkkr, CleanX’s performances can be what makes or breaks Toronto Ultra’s results in many cases. The only difference for Toronto, though, is that they are genuine title contenders. When CleanX is frying, Toronto are unstoppable. We know what we’re going to get from the likes of Scrappy and Hicksy, alongside the consistency and leadership from Insight, but if the Dane can get hot, there are few players that could match him. Eric ‘Snoopy’ Pérez This is a pick that requires no explanation. Snoopy, barely 18 when the current season started, went from grinding it out in the lower tiers of Challengers, fighting to the top, to getting moved onto the Boston Breach starting roster just weeks before Champs. Yet to play a single professional game, he’ll be making his pro debut against the ‘Green Wall’, facing off versus OpTic Texas in the opening round of Champs. The true definition of trial by fire, Snoopy has the chance to do something genuinely unprecedented this weekend. Cuyler ‘Huke’ Garland Another OpTic pick, but then again, they’re certainly one of the more interesting teams heading into the crowning event this weekend. Huke has had a stellar season by all accounts, ever since his switch from the LA Guerrillas. What is interesting, though, is that a poor final placement at Champs could signal the end of his stint on OpTic if they do indeed move for Seattle Surge star Pred. Prior to his pickup, Huke was seen largely as a player that once had high potential but consistently failed to live up to it, watching his stock fall with every passing event. Now, he’s started to rectify that — but what happens if he finds himself on a different team and starts to struggle again? Naturally, every single player in the tournament will be fighting to win it all. It’s everyone’s dream on that stage to win a world championship. Some players, though, have more on the line than others. The ones above have legacies and careers hanging in the balance and could find their lives changing as the tournament progresses. The Call of Duty Championship Weekend kicks off on Thursday, June 15. Be sure to check out our hub to follow all of the action.

Top 50 Warzone streamers: Shroud & xQc make surprise entries in July rankings LG/HyperX/ActivisionCall of Duty: Warzone might not be the main game of choice for Shroud or xQc, but after dipping their toes in it briefly, they’ve managed to crack the most-watched list for July. Ever since PUBG and H1Z1, battle royale games have dominated on Twitch. Fans want to see their favorite streamers take home the glory and pull off some incredible plays while doing so. In the case of Warzone, it remains as one of Twitch’s top games, even though many big creators have decided to mix in other games due to the cheating epidemic in Verdansk. With many big streamers dipping out and playing something else, it opens up spots on the most-watched list for others – including someone like xQc who only briefly flirted with the battle royale. That’s right, the stats for July’s most-watched Warzone streamers have dropped, and while it’s no surprise to see NICKMERCS, Swagg, TimTheTatMan, and Tfue on top, there are some interesting additions. They mainly come in the form of xQc and Shroud, who, while commanding big audiences, didn’t exactly play the battle royale for hours on end. The two top creators briefly hopped into games on Verdansk and Rebirth Island, with xQc having to deal with hacking stream snipers for most of his games. While they both bring plenty of eyes to the battle royale, neither cracked the top-10. As per the stats from SullyGnome, xQc was just outside the top-10 at 12th, while Shroud checked in at 29th overall. Top 50 Most Watched Warzone Streamers of July 2021 📈🏆🔥 pic.twitter.com/efS4M88diW — Fox Eye (@FoxEyeFN) August 2, 2021 Though, had xQc streamed for a few hours more, he could have easily dislodged TeePee or DiazBiffle from the top-10. Both ZLaner and Formal, who cracked last month’s top-50, dropped out of July’s standings given they’ve slowed down on their involvement with the battle royale. As other creators continue to play other games, it’ll be interesting to see how next month’s stats shake out and if any of the big names drop out entirely.

Top 5 Warzone loadouts for Iron Trials LTM ActivisionWarzone Season 4 Reloaded introduced a brand new LTM: Iron Trials. The game mode calls for weapons not included in the normal Warzone meta. So, here are the best Iron Trials loadouts. In the absence of an official ranked mode, Titanium Trials scratches that competitive itch for Warzone players wanting more of a challenge. The LTM increases player lobbies to 152 players and incentivizes aggressive play. Maximum health reaches 300 HP and 400 when fully plated, and health takes longer to restore. Loadouts cost more, and players in the gulag receive armor. Titanium Trial’s Increased time-to-kill requires load-outs with high damage and large magazine sizes to take on more than one enemy at a time. WZLoadout compiled a list of the best primary weapons in Titanium Trials. Some of the weapons may come as a surprise to dedicated Warzone players, but the new LTM differs from most experiences. Best Warzone loadouts for Titanium trials Automaton First up is the Automaton. The Vanguard Assault rifle has a 75-round magazine, an extremely fast firing rate, and a more than reliable maximum damage. Muzzle: MX Silencer – Barrel: ZAC 600 MM BFA – Optic: SVT-40 PU Scope 3-6x – Stock: Anastasia Padded – Underbarrel: Carver Foregrip – Magazine: Sakura 75 round drum – Rear Grip: Polymer Grip – Proficiency: Tight Grip – Ammunition: Lengthend – kit: Fully Loaded – KG M40 The KG M40 received an overhaul in Season 4, making it one of the best meta ARs in Warzone. The Vanguard AR’s damage per magazine makes it a perfect shredding machine for Titanium Trials. Muzzle: MX Silencer – Barrel: Reisdorf 720mm Shrouded – Optic: SVT-40 PU Scope 3-6x – Stock: VDD 22G Padded – Underbarrel: M1930 Strife Angled – Magazine: 8mm Klauser 60 Round Drums – Ammo Type: Lengthened – Rear Grip: Grooved Grip – Proficiency: Brace – Kit: Fully Loaded – UGM-8 The UGM-8 offers the same punch as a powerful LMG, but its added mobility makes it a strong selection for Titanium Trials. The Vanguard LGM also is incredibly fast firing compared to other class counterparts and can be effective at range. Muzzle: MX Silencer – Barrel: Romuald 560MM DA – Optic: SVT-40 PU Scope 3-6x – Stock: Romuald Tac Yr – Underbarrel: M1930 Strife Angled – Magazine: 6.5mm Sakura 125 Round Box – Ammo Type: Lentghend – Rear Grip: Stiopled Grip – Proficiency: Surveil – Kit: On-Hand – STG44 The STG44 returned to relevancy in Season 4 after nerfs to the NZ-41. The Vanguard AR offers one of the best TTKs in Warzone, and its range can easily compete with most weapons. Its easy-to-control recoil pattern also makes it a very forgiving weapon for less-experienced players. Muzzle: MX Silencer – Barrel: VDD 760mm 05B – Optic: SVT-40 PU Scope 3-6x – Stock: VDD 34S Weighted – Underbarrel: M1941 Hand Stop – Magazine: 7.62 Gorenko 50 Round Mags – Ammo Type: Lengthened – Rear Grip: Hatched Grip – Proficiency: Nerves of Steel – Kit: Fully Loaded – PKM It may not be the first LMG Warzone players think of, but the PKM can be lethal when equipped with the right attachments. The bulky LMG’s poor control can be excused when considering the weapon’s manageable recoil and insane damage output. Muzzle: Monolithic Suppressor – Barrel: 26.9″ Extended Barrell – Laser: Tac Laser – Optic: VLK 3.0x Optic – Underbarrel: Snatch Grip – 20 Titanium Trial victories awards a special Ultra Skynet Vanguard weapon camo, so try these loadouts yourself and grind towards the Terminator-themed rewards.

Top 5 Warzone duos to watch during the Baka WonderLAN Twitter, @Swagg / Activision / ANDBOX / Baka BrosCall of Duty: Warzone’s first LAN tournament is upon us, with the Baka Bros’ BakaWonderLAN. To set the stage, here are the top five duos that people should watch out for at the $100,000 event. Released in March 2020, Warzone has been home to millions of dollars in tournament prize pools over the past year and a half, but none came on LAN. That changes today, as $100,000 will be fought over in Las Vegas, Nevada. Complexity’s newest trio, the Baka Bros, are celebrating their new org with the game’s very first major LAN tournament: the BakaWonderLAN. Hosted by two of the Bakas, Lucky Chamu and Repullze, and competed in by the third – DiazBiffle – the event is sure to be a spicy one. But, of all the highly ranked 15 duos invited, here are the five you need to keep an eye on. For the first time ever, Warzone is on LAN 🔥 Here are the top 5 duos to watch at today’s $100K #BakaWonderLAN pic.twitter.com/MRvlWwUpGT — Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports) December 17, 2021 5. Aydan and Fifakill Two of the world’s very best Warzone players split from their traditional duos and come together for this event. With Jukeyz and Rated unable to participate, Fifakill and Aydan are combining forces. This tandem couples Warzone’s highest all-time earner, Aydan, with Fifakill, a UK demon who gets to play in a North America event on reasonable ping for the first time ever. While chemistry is still a question, the talent is there and the ping upgrade could most certainly work in their favor. 4. Biffle and SuperEvan Diaz Biffle and SuperEvan, also known as SuperBiffle, haven’t won a lot of tournaments recently. But they’ve also not really been playing together, as each competes with different teammates for Trios events. For the WonderLAN though, they’re back together. And they tend to place very highly as a tandem, so they should be a serious force to watch – especially if Biffle gets literal host advantage. 3. Tommey and Almond $100K PACIFIC PURSUIT CHAMPIONS! 🏆 TBE squad steady taking dubs. GGs @Tommey, @Almxnd_ & @TBE_Newbzz pic.twitter.com/1QY29Qjmth — 100 Thieves VALORANT (@100T_VAL) December 15, 2021 Tommey, Almond, and Newbz have been on a tear as a trio during Caldera. But now we get to find out who makes that engine run, as the TBE trifecta is split for this Duos event. Tommey, a former Call of Duty pro, just might be the only competitor with true LAN experience at the event. And that’s just a cherry on top of what’s already a formidable pairing. 2. Newbz and HusKerrs After humble beginnings as a duo, Newbz and HusKerrs have legitimately taken the scene by storm over the past several months. As methodical and cool-blooded as anybody in the Pacific, this high-placing tandem is looking to carry on their winning ways. 1. Swagg and Booya Nah @FaZeBooya is really on a mission right now 😰 Gotta love the return of 2v2 Warzone tourneys pic.twitter.com/Ksmy6AtPiE — Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports) December 16, 2021 Two words: recency bias. And we’ll own it. Swagg and Booya just won the $25,000 Duo Quads Code Red a day ago and are coming into this event red-hot. The two hadn’t done much winning in events beforehand, but they’ve got momentum on their side and some killer loadouts. Time to find out if the FaZe boys can replicate their CDL team’s success on LAN.

Top 5 Respawn Slayers Heading into CoD Champs The founder of CoD Comp Stats released a list of the top 5 respawn slayers for the Call of Duty: WWII competitive season. There are familiar names on the list, but the number one place might surprise you. The interesting list started when JPKrez tweeted that Pierce ‘Gunless’ Hilman led all players in kills this season, racking up over 6,000. CoD pro Patrick ‘ACHES’ Price pointed out that Gunless also played the most maps and would be interested in the numbers by map average instead of total. When JPkrez sorted the numbers as ACHES wanted, by showing respawn kills per 10 minutes, Gunless was no longer the top player. British Call of Duty Players Warned by US Customs After Traveling to US for CoD ChampsDashy and his compLexity team struggled in Stage 2 of the CWL Pro League, but may have outperformed the low expectations that were set for them. Thanks to Dashy’s play, coL finished Stage 2 at 6-8, good enough for a tie with Luminosity for 5th place. Unfortunately for Dashy, he is the only player in the top 5 of respawn kills to not win a major this season. ZooMaa took home the Stage 1 Playoffs with FaZe Clan, John won CWL Birmingham with Luminosity, SlasheR won CWL Anaheim and CWL Seattle with Rise Nation and Kenny is the most decorated of the bunch – winning CWL Dallas, CWL New Orleans and the Stage 2 Playoffs for Team Kaliber. Dashy and compLexity will have one final chance to win a WWII major at the 2018 Call of Duty Championships, which begin on August 15. coL is in Group E with second place slayer ZooMaa and FaZe Clan. Dashy’s former team E6 is also in Group E, along with Morituri. Source: CoDCompStats

Best Call of Duty players of 2023 Call of Duty LeagueCall of Duty is the largest video game franchise in the world, with millions of players each year for the last two decades taking to the game. With that in mind, only very few have the ability to make it as a professional, and then even less can be considered the best of the best. But who was the best COD player in 2023? Here’s our list. When assessing who are the greats in any sport or esport, or who have had the best seasons, it can often be tough to come up with a fair list that assesses both talent and performances as well as team performance and accolades, as the two don’t always correlate. For example, Dan Marino is often regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, but never won a Super Bowl ring. While this doesn’t detract from his abilities and what he did as a player, for many it pushes him down the pecking order when we talk about the greatest of all time. That said, we’ve tried our best to pull together a list with all factors in mind. Here’s how we rank the top five Call of Duty players of 2023. 5. Matthew ‘KiSMET’ Tinsley KiSMET could easily find himself higher than this given his MVP-caliber performances and three chips in the season, but as noted above, more consideration does have to go towards individual performances throughout the year, rather than just wins, and for that reason he just slots in at 5th place for us. He had a 0.99 KD in the 2023 CDL season, but was instrumental in New York Subliners’ two Major victories and, of course, their world championship win. 4. McArthur ‘Cellium’ Jovel Cellium has been perhaps the greatest Call of Duty player overall of the CDL era, a ferocious assault rifle player that is almost always one step ahead of his opponents. That was no different in 2023, as he racked up a league-leading 1.22 KD and a 2.5 average LAN placement, despite only managing to win one trophy. 3. Thomas ‘Scrappy’ Ernst Scrappy’s rookie year was one to remember, and he managed to exceed everyone’s already-lofty expectations. The 2023 Rookie of the Year won a championship with Toronto Ultra at Major 3 and maintained a 1.13 KD, one of the most dominant assault rifle players of the year. Not bad for his first outing. 2. Tyler ‘aBeZy’ Pharris The entire year was a battle between aBeZy and French phenom HyDra for the MVP trophy and they were arguably neck and neck right up until the very end. The best entry SMG in the world, aBeZy was the constant thorn in every team’s side and never faltered for Atlanta FaZe, and he undoubtedly deserved to win more than he did in 2023. But, his Subliners rival had other plans… 1. Paco ‘HyDra’ Rusiewiez The 2023 CDL MVP, two-time Major champion and now world champion, HyDra fought hard to earn a near-unanimously agreed upon number 1 spot. There was an ongoing conversation about him vs aBeZy throughout the entire year, but HyDra absolutely came out on top, eventually named Console Player of the Year at the Esports Awards 2023. All of these players are looking to start the 2024 Modern Warfare 3 season the same way they finished 2023, with the CDL now underway with Major 1 qualifiers.

What are the top 5 Call of Duty games of all time? Ranking the best Call of Duty games is always guaranteed to spark a fiery debate, but with that said, here is our list of the five best CoD titles of all time. The Call of Duty series started in 2003 and has since produced 15 mainline titles. All of these have done well commercially and all, in varying levels, have garnered positive feedback. Selecting and ranking the top 5 out of such an iconic list of games isn’t easy. More to the point, there will always be differing opinions as to what the top 5 should include. With that said, and with the knowledge this list is far from a universal opinion, here is our top 5. 5. Call of Duty: World at War Call of Duty: WaW is the sole entry from the World War 2 era. Sandwiched between Modern Warfare and MW2, World at War provided a blunter style of gameplay. Iconic guns and the ability to use tanks made this a classic which still gets remastered requests today. Earning the attack dogs killstreak after 7 kills felt a little overpowered but that was all part of the game. On top of this, World at War was the first CoD game to introduce Nazi Zombies. Nacht der Untoten was the first ever Call of Duty zombies map and remains synonymous with the game mode even today. 4. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Black Ops 4 stands out because it is the only CoD game post 2012 to appear on the list. Some may disagree with its appearance within the list, however, with the addition of Blackout, CoD’s battle royale mode, it more than warrants its place. In comparison to previous iterations of CoD, Infinite Warfare and WWII, the Black Ops 4 multiplayer is also more popular. It is also the first CoD game to not have automatic health regeneration. 3. Call of Duty: Black Ops II The second Black Ops game introduced two new features: the Pick 10 and League Play. The Pick 10 create-a-class system allowed players to pick 10 items to build a class. These include guns, attachments, perks, etc. This allowed a greater level of customization. League Play was the first competitive mode to feature directly in a Call of Duty game. Players of the same ability would be matched together. Much like other games on this list, Black Ops II featured an array of classic guns and maps which has resulted in some still playing the game today. 2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare It has been nearly 12 years since the original Modern Warfare came out. The first in the Modern Warfare series is the epitome of a classic, minimized FPS shooter. Basic, yet excellent shooting mechanics alongside basic and easy to set up killstreaks has made this arguably the most iconic game in CoD history. Throw in several classic maps such as Overgrown, Crash and Crossfire and it’s no wonder this was the first Call of Duty game to get a remaster. 1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 With rumors of a MW2 remaster coming soon, it is fitting Modern Warfare 2 is number one on this list. In the opinion of most, if not all, the second Modern Warfare game took the best parts of the first game and improved upon it in almost every way. Read More: Call of Duty mobile announced! – Nearly all of the guns had their place in the game. You could use the SCAR, TAR, ACR, Aug, UMP and others and not get overrun with one particular go-to gun. Additionally, there wasn’t a bad map in the game – that includes Skidrow! Some would argue the power of harriers and the chopper gunner diminished the game slightly, but it was quirks such as these that made it so addictive.

Top 5 CDL Launch Weekend plays: Was Simp’s 11 kill streak the best? Activision BlizzardThe first weekend of the Call of Duty League has come to an end, and with plenty of incredible action across the three-day event hosted by Minnesota RØKKR, here are five of the best Modern Warfare plays from the weekend. All 12 of the Call of Duty League teams descended on the freezing city of Minneapolis for the launch of the game’s new franchised esports league, with 11 cities represented as the legendary first-person shooter entered into a brand new era for CoD esports. With each team playing twice over the weekend, there were plenty of insane plays and jaw-dropping moments, and we’ve grabbed six of the best from the world’s greatest players who showed off their incredible skill as they searched for their first victories in the competition. Honorable Mention – FormaL’s 10 kill streak against Dallas Empire All eyes were on the opening match of the Call of Duty League on Friday, January 24, when the Chicago Huntsmen and Dallas Empire squared off in what was an early grudge match. With Scump and Crimsix parting ways from OpTic Gaming on less-than-friendly terms, and the teams counted as two of the best entering the League, everyone was keen to see how they matched up when they finally met on stage. It was Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper who was the star of proceedings though, going on a crazy 10 kill spree on Hackney Yard to help the Huntsmen win the Domination map, and eventually take the series 3-1. 5. Skrapz’s sneaky S&D clutch vs Paris Legion Matthew ‘Skrapz’ Marshall is one of Call of Duty’s loudest and most charismatic players, but the London Royal Ravens star proved he was capable of being silent and deadly against Paris Legion on Sunday, January 26, picking off two players to clutch the round with seconds to spare. Finding himself alone against two Legion enemies, Skrapz had just 30 seconds to find the kills he needed and defuse the bomb to give his team the first round on Arklov Peak. The Englishman burst round a corner to wipe out Denz, then activated his Dead Silence Field Upgrade to sneak through the middle of the map, flank around Shockz to find the kill, and pull off the defuse with just one second to spare. 4. Asim wipes out Toronto to win Domination Minnesota RØKKR and Toronto Ultra squared off in the “Battle for the North” in the weekend’s final game, and while it may have been cold in Minneapolis, Obaid ‘Asim’ Asim certainly brought the heat when he went on a crazy eight kill streak to fend off a late charge from the Ultra during Domination on Hackney Yard. With just eight points separating the teams heading into the final 40 seconds, the Canadian team started flooding towards the B flag, trying to capture and steal the win at the death. With Assault taken down by Methodz, Asim found himself left as the only Minnesota player left in the building, and went on a crazy run to push Ultra back and give his team a 2-1 series lead. 3. Shockz stuns OpTic with crazy 10-kill streak Expectations weren’t high for Paris Legion coming into Launch Weekend, but the boys representing France shocked many with their incredible and aggressive displays, and no moment summed things up better than Conrad ‘Shockz’ Rymarek’s brutal streak on Azhir Cave that left OpTic Gaming L.A. in pieces. Already 40 points in the lead during Hardpoint, Shockz managed to flank around the back of OpTic, wiping three players off the hill, before moving outside to take down a few more, and even help secure spawns for his side as they pushed into soccer field to extend their advantage. 2. Wuskinz clutches 1v3 against Subliners With bomb planted and three players still alive against one, the New York Subliners appeared to have the second round of Piccadilly S&D wrapped up until Bradley ‘wuskin’ Marshall decided he was going to steal the show with a perfect 1v3. Sniper in hand, the Brit cracked Accuracy with a vicious headshot, switching to his M4 to take down Attach and then finally Zer0, showing incredible patience to wait for his fellow Englishman to move before taking him down and securing the defuse. ? INSANE 1v3 from @wuskinz vs #NYSL at #CDL2020 Watch live – https://t.co/Ww6ZLf1yna pic.twitter.com/bYed8tFgz9 — DEXERTO Call of Duty (@DexertoIntel) January 25, 2020 1. Simp’s crazy 11-streak against NYSL There’s a reason Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr is known as one-half of the Tiny Terrors, and the Atlanta FaZe star was an absolute nightmare to play against for the New York Subliners, who couldn’t handle the raw slaying power of the 18-year-old as they were blown away the young guns. After a slow start personally on St Petrograd Hardpoint, Simp and his MP5 went to work, slicing through waves of Subliners’ players to go on an unbelievable 11 kill streak, making short work of player after player until NYSL finally ganged up on him to bring his unbelievable run to a close. With the action now finished for the weekend, four teams boast unblemished records heading to the London Homestand on February 8. Atlanta FaZe, Chicago Huntsmen, Paris Legion, and Minnesota RØKKR all enjoyed 2-0 Launch Weekends, while London Royal Ravens, Florida Mutineers, Toronto Ultra, and Los Angeles Guerrillas all picked up one victory each. Perhaps the biggest shock of the weekend was Dallas Empire, who were touted as one of the favorites heading into Launch Weekend, but found themselves on the receiving end of losses from both the Huntsmen and FaZe.

Top 5 Call of Duty League stars being slept on ahead of 2023 season Call of Duty LeagueThe Call of Duty League is almost upon us once again, as players and fans alike gear up to compete in Modern Warfare II for the 2023 season, but some players are flying under the radar as potential game-changers for their team. With 12 teams and 48 players taking to battle throughout the league, there are always going to be some names that slip between the cracks, as the likes of Seth ‘Scump’ Abner, Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr, and Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro steal the spotlight. While we know what to expect from many of the top CDL stars, there are some that fans haven’t given too much thought to — and that could change very easily when they start to really pop off. Here’s who I think are the top 5 players that could seriously turn heads this season — or remind fans and opponents alike that they’re still very much a threat. Eli ‘Standy’ Bentz The number one player that fits this bill for me is Standy, who finds himself on Toronto Ultra for 2023 after a two-year stint on Minnesota Røkkr. Standy had one of the biggest impacts on a team in CDL history when he joined Minnesota in the Cold War season, hitting the ground running with dominant performances against the very best teams in the game. Vanguard wasn’t quite as successful for Standy, but that kind of talent doesn’t simply disappear, and with the right unit around him, Standy could very well take over matches and guide Ultra to victory, no matter the opposition. With high expectations on the team during preseason scrims, Standy will definitely be one to watch out for, especially alongside Danish star Tobias ‘CleanX’ Juul-Jønsson. Byron ‘Nastie’ Plumridge This could really apply to any player on the London Royal Ravens, but Nastie is the main name that takes the cake here. Nastie hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations that fans had of him before his entry into the CDL, but there’s clearly a boatload of talent. In Modern Warfare 2019, he was one of the greatest Challengers players in the game, a dominant SMG that looked destined to take on the best in the game in the future. He’s struggled to live up to that, though, with inconsistencies on his London Royal Ravens teams and the squad’s inability to really get the ball rolling much at all. If he can echo his MW2019 performances in MWII, however, that could be set to change. Carson ‘Brack’ Newberry Fans who were watching before the franchised CDL launched will be well aware of what exactly Brack can bring to the table. He was a breakout star in Black Ops 4, a top-tier AR that just needed some fine-tuning to make him a consistent force in the league. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t presented with similar opportunities to excel going into MW, stuck as a substitute on Toronto Ultra before finding himself stuck on the Challengers grind once again. He became one of the most consistent top performers in Challengers and even won the Challengers Finals in August 2022, alongside multiple 1st and 2nd place finishes throughout the season. If he can bring that same prowess to Florida, the team could see more success than it has done since 2020. Thomas ‘TJHaly’ Haly TJHaly has fallen far out of favor in the Call of Duty League in recent years. Once an exciting young prospect, then an accomplished winner, there has been a lot of slander targeted at ‘Teej’ over the last couple of seasons. But, their argument often lacks context. TJHaly was a decent player in Vanguard: of course, he didn’t set the world alight, but he didn’t drag his Boston Breach side down either. He’s a smart player, and he knows how the game should be played, not to mention he wasn’t playing the do-it-all SMG role he’s excelled in throughout his career. It would be a lie if I claimed that I expect TJHaly to once again be a top-tier sub that’s going to drop 50 bombs in every respawn. However, he’s certainly capable of helping lead his team in the right direction, especially playing a role in helping Byron ‘Prolute’ Vera navigate his first full season in the CDL. Travis ‘Neptune’ McCloud Last on this list but certainly not least, Neptune is a player that has experienced the rollercoaster of highs and lows of Call of Duty esports more than most over the last 12-18 months. After looking like a real star for the future at the end of the Cold War season under Florida Mutineers, he was picked up by New York Subliners for the 2022 season alongside Paco ‘HyDra’ Rusiewiez and three-time world champions Ian ‘Crimsix’ Porter and James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks. While this was supposed to be the making of Neptune, instead, it all went horrendously wrong. He struggled to find his footing, as the team failed to make any mark on the league at all, and was promptly dropped after Major 2. He then became one of the consistently top performers in Challengers with a top 5 KD, and multiple top 2 placements, before being picked up by LA Guerrillas for Major 4. The talent is clearly there: he’ll just be hoping for it to show under a new-look LAG this season. Be sure to tune in to the CDL Major 1 qualifiers when they get started on Friday, December 2!

Top 5 pro players in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 MLG/CWL/Call of DutyWith the curtain down on Black Ops 4’s Call of Duty World Championship, we make our picks for the best players of Treyarch’s latest CoD title. Black Ops 4 is reaching the end of its life cycle, with the CoD community gearing up for Modern Warfare. We are casting our minds back over the last competitive season, to pick out the top five players. Last week’s CWL Championships saw eUnited secure back to back major wins, but how many of the eUnited roster make our list? Who was the most consistent player? Who was the most valuable player on their team? All this and more is considered, but of course, it’s always subjective. 5) Envoy 1.15 overall K/D We kick off our list with Dylan ‘Envoy’ Hannon. The SMG slayer started his season at Midnight Esports, but his impressive performances earned him a switch to Gen.G in March 2019. Envoy was undoubtedly the strongest member of Midnight, highlighted in the fact he was the only player retained when they overhauled their roster in December 2018. It was after making the switch to Gen.G where Hannon really shone, invigorating the roster to perform well above expectations, securing back-to-back second-place finishes at CWL Anaheim and CWL Finals. At the latter, Envoy put up a staggering 1.28 overall K/D. A poor finish at the CWL Championships does detract somewhat from the incredible season Envoy has had, but he has certainly made a name for himself as CoD enters franchising. 4) aBeZy 2 tournament wins, 1.08 overall K/D Our pick for number four is Tyler ‘aBeZy’ Pharris. Despite not having placed above 9-12th during CoD: WWII, aBeZy did enough individually to become part of a strong eUnited roster. This was a roster that would only become stronger over the course of the Black Ops 4 season. Despite occasionally being overshadowed by fellow SMG Simp, 19-year-old aBeZy put up some ridiculous numbers of his own. As eUnited won CWL Finals in July, aBeZy managed a 1.16 respawn K/D. However, it was at the CWL Championship where the young star really came into his own. He finished second in respawn K/Ds, putting up an insane 1.35, and proving he was one of the very best with a Saug in his hands. To go from a best finish of 9-12th to world champion emphasizes the phenomenal season aBeZy has had, and he deservedly comes in at number four on our list. 3) Dashy 1 tournament win, 1 MVP, 1.28 overall K/D Brandon ‘Dashy‘ Otell is our pick for number three. He was considered something of a gamble when the GreenWall picked him up last summer. Despite coming off a strong individual WWII season, the Canadian never been a part of a roster where winning was an inherent expectation. However, he rapidly surpassed expectations, winning the MVP award at CWL Las Vegas, where he pushed OpTic Gaming to their only major tournament win of the season. He finished Las Vegas top of almost all stats, with a ridiculous 1.44 K/D. It wasn’t just the early season where Dashy shone though. Despite lackluster placements from OpTic Gaming, Dashy was consistently the stand-out player, taking down enemy teams for fun with his trademark Maddox / Tempest combination. He finished the season with a 1.28 K/D across all events, and did not have a negative tournament once. He became known to Greenwall fans as a ‘human highlight reel’, a nickname which was no more epitomized than in his CWL Champs destruction of Enigma6, in which he killed all five opponents in a matter of seconds. Saying the gamble paid off would be a gross understatement. The Greenwall has found an incredible player who will star long after the OpTic name has faded from the forefront of competitive gaming. 2) Simp 2 tournament wins, 2 MVPs, 1.24 overall K/D Coming in at number two is Chris ‘Simp‘ Lehr. Despite being just 18 years old, Simp has blown fans away with the most incredible rookie season any CoD pro has ever had. eUnited fans were divided when the organization replaced two-time world champion Jordan ‘JKap‘ Kaplan with Simp, an up-and-coming SMG star. No one’s questioning the move anymore. While replacing JKap is no easy feat, Simp more than stood up to the task. At CWL London, his first-ever professional tournament, he led K/Ds in all game modes other than Control, where he came in second overall. However, this was just the start for Simp. He led eUnited to wins at CWL Finals and CWL Champs, winning MVP at both. He finished Champs second in overall K/D, putting up an incredible 1.35 overall. Simp stunned fans all over the world with his insane sniper skills, including an incredible three-piece in the Winners semi-finals, which features in our top 10 plays of CWL Champs. Simp ended the series versus Units with a 3.15 K/D across all three game modes, an unprecedented achievement in Call of Duty. The best SMG player in Black Ops 4, Simp represents a tangible shift towards new superstars. 1) Octane 2 tournament wins, 1 MVP, 1.18 overall K/D Our pick for number one is Samuel ‘Octane‘ Larew. The AR superstar has been in and around the best players in the world since Infinite Warfare, but it’s hard to deny his phenomenal talents on Black Ops 4. Despite being part of a stellar 100 Thieves roster, Octane has stood out as the indisputable best player on all of Black Ops 4. A wizard with an ICR, Octane led 100 Thieves to two major tournament victories over the course of Black Ops 4. The first of these majors, CWL London, saw Octane put up a 1.29 K/D overall. At the second, CWL Anaheim, he put up a 1.17, anchoring 100 Thieves’ back to back victories. Octane finished the season with a slightly lower K/D than Simp, but featured at more tournaments. Also, like Dashy, he never had a negative tournament, reinforcing the consistency with which he anchored 100 Thieves. Despite their second-place finish at CWL Champs, Octane stood out as 100 Thieves made an incredible Losers Bracket run. Octane oversaw an incredible reverse sweep of FaZe Clan to avoid an early elimination, including an insane 1 vs 3 clutch in Map 5. While a clutch of this caliber would see most players react ecstatically, Octane merely shrugged it off with his trademark nonchalance. Octane finished Champs with a 1.27 K/D, and came so close to winning a first world championship ring. The best Call of Duty player in the world, Octane is thoroughly deserving of our number one spot. Simp’s sniper three piece is number 3 in our top ten plays of CWL Champs, while Octane’s 1v3 clutch is number 6. Who misses out? Narrowing down the best Call of Duty players in the world to just five was no easy task, and means a number of incredible players miss out. Arguably number one on our honourable mentions is Alec ‘Arcitys’ Sanderson, whose ICR skills were key to eUnited’s world championship-winning campaign. He finished top of the overall K/D list at champs, with a 1.36. Other honourable mentions include Preston ‘Priestahh’ Greiner and Matthew ‘FormaL‘ Piper. Both experienced varying success in terms of tournament wins, but particularly impressed at CWL Champs. Similarly, Splyce stars Donovan ‘Temp’ Laroda and Daniel ‘Loony’ Looza were both consistently playing at an elite level, but failed to capitalize in terms of results, and a lowly top 16 at Champs means it’s ultimately a season to lament. Pierce ‘Gunless’ Hillman looked back to his best at the start of the season, but it’s no secret that his performances stagnated at best, and diminished significantly at worst. After joining Envy, Gunless seemed unable to take over matches like we’re used to seeing from him. His performances at the start of the year still deserve a mention however. We round off our honorable mentions with Dylan ‘Dylan’ Henderson and Cuyler ‘Huke’ Garland. Dylan played as Flex for Team Reciprocity, pushing them to a respectable 5-6th finish at CWL Champs. Huke has been one of the best players in both Black Ops 4 and WWII, but a failure to win any major tournaments since his return to competitive CoD holds him back from competing with the very best. That wraps up our list of Black Ops 4’s best players. Competitive Call of Duty is about to undergo a groundbreaking transition into a franchise league. We expect to see these players star, even as the landscape in which they operate is transformed. What do you make of our list? Tweet us your lists @DexertoIntel on Twitter, to let us know what you’d change!

Best Warzone players of 2022 – top CoD Warzone players Activision2022 has been a huge year for Warzone, as Caldera came into its own, Rebirth was joined by Fortune’s Keep in the Resurgence modes, and, of course, Warzone 2.0 launched in November. But which players have stood out ahead of the rest this year? The best Warzone players earn hundreds of thousands of dollars across tournament winnings and stream success, always competing against the most elite set of competition and looking for ways to one-up the rest of the Warzone playerbase. While there were less major tournaments in 2022 than in years prior, a select few still reigned terror on their opponents and made the game look easier than anyone else. Having consulted some of the very best players in the world, here are our top 5 Warzone players of 2022. Best Warzone players 5. Edy ‘Newbz’ Juan One-third of the TBE trio, Newbz has been a mainstay around the top of the Warzone rankings ever since tournaments started and players started to take the game more seriously. While he may not be as flashy as some of the other players on this list, his earnings and tournament placements speak for themselves. He was a top 5 earner in Caldera and consistently took on the very best in custom lobbies when they went head-to-head. 4. Kasimili ‘HiSoka’ Tonga Tongamoa Hisoka is a player that really flew in 2022, including winning two major events in the World Series of Warzone Trios tournament and the Warzone World Classic, which took place on Warzone 2. He isn’t as big a name as some others in the Warzone space, but he’s definitely looking to smash through the glass ceiling and displace some of Call of Duty’s biggest battle royale stars, and he’s got off to the perfect start on Al Mazrah. 3. Thomas ‘Tommey’ Trewren Warzone’s highest-ever earner, English former CoD pro Thomas ‘Tommey’ Trewren is arguably one of the biggest success stories in the game’s short history. If we’re assessing these players from an all-time perspective, it would be hard to put Tommey anywhere but first, but when looking at just 2022, he was just pipped to the top spot by two absolute standouts. 2. Ethan ‘Fifakill’ Pink Another Brit, Fifakill has shone in Warzone for the last couple of years, and really fought for the number one spot throughout the year. Despite being halfway across the world from the biggest tournaments and best competition, Fifakill has become one of the most prolific names in the game, with huge wins in the World Series of Warzone $100k Solo Yolo, and the TimTheTatman $150k Kill Race. 1. Ben ‘Almond’ Rosendahl An almost unanimous number 1 pick from anybody you ask, Almond was the best Warzone player in 2022. Be it kill races, customs, duos, trios, he was an absolute force to be reckoned with, always showing up against the very best. Almond is the definition of raw talent meeting game IQ, and his results throughout 2022 proved that. If Al Mazrah serves him anywhere near as nicely as Verdansk and Caldera did, this won’t be the last time Almond makes these lists. Obviously, this list wasn’t easy to pick by any means, with so many Warzone players having insanely successful years in 2022. The likes of Aydan, who continues to fly high, Biffle, who doesn’t play in as many tournaments as others but always places well, and ScummN are all certainly due a mention as standout players. If you’re more of a multiplayer person, though, you should definitely check out our list of the , where the elite CoD League stars really shine. You can also take a look at our list of the best Valorant and League of Legends players.

Top 3 best tips to help you get gold in Warzone’s Games of Summer event Activision[jwplayer zMXgrtOu] The Games of Summer have started in Call of Duty: Warzone, and while it may seem like a series of simple trials, getting that coveted gold ranking its a bit more challenging than you might think. Here’s some tips that can help you out! Call of Duty’s Games of Summer competition is finally live. After being teased during Warzone’s Season 5 announcement and officially revealed during the Reloaded mid-season update, players can finally jump into a slew of trial runs in order to compete against other countries. On the surface, these trials are pretty straightforward. Players either have to run through levels as fast as they can or hit targets. That being said, the trials themselves are pretty brutal, so here are some tips to help you out during your time in the event. Enable Automatic Tactical Sprint This can be the difference between making that gold ranking or being stuck with silver. Enabling automatic tactical sprint allows you to not have to worry about making sure that sprint button is clicked or not. Instead, you can just press your stick forward (or press ‘W’ on your keyboard) and be sure that you’ll automatically be sprinting at your fastest. Enabling automatic tactical sprint is quite simple. While in-game, press the ‘pause’ button and scroll down to the ‘options’ tab. – While on the ‘controller’ section, scroll down to the ‘movement’ sub-section. – Find the automatic sprint option and change it to ‘automatic tactical sprint.’ – For target-based challenges where you’re going to be standing still, this won’t do much, but for modes like ‘Risky Parkour’ and ‘Gun Course’ where you’ll be running around, this is going to help you out a ton. Practice, practice, practice! Like anything in life, you’ll only get better at something once you practice it a million times (maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but the point still stands), especially on levels like ‘Risky Parkour.’ Tou’ll more than likely have to run through it multiple times in order to get your run under 30 seconds. It’s understandable if you don’t get that gold medal in your first, second, third, or even 50th attempt/. There are very few people who can. If you practice, however, you’ll get it eventually. https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1299393309270441985 Know when to restart or even take a break This is extremely important to remember when running through these trials. If you miss a jump, miss a target, or just really fail in any way, you need to back out and restart the trial. Gold ranking requires pretty much perfection, so anything short will require you restart, even if you’re right there at the end. That being said, you’re going to get frustrated and you need to accept that it’s going to happen. Taking a break for 5 to 10 minutes and coming back can clear your head and allow you to get the ranking you so desperately desire.

Top 20 Highest Earning European Call of Duty Pro Players following CWL Anaheim Have you ever wondered just who is the highest earning European Call of Duty player? Well, check out our top 20 list of European players below, which will be updated after every major tournament. Call of Duty has been a staple of console esports since the release of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare back in 2007. Whilst North American players have traditionally dominated the scene, there has been an ever-increasing European influence as more players flock to play the iconic series professionally. Before the start of the Black Ops 4 season, Activision announced that roster region locks would no longer be a barrier and International teams began forming. European players have also moved to the United States to be closer to the dominant North American teams – with players like Matthew ‘Skrapz’ Marshall and Trei ‘Zer0’ Morris heading up the strong new FaZe Clan roster. In theory, having better regular access to the higher caliber of teams should lead to improved play and more tournament wins which would propel some players up the list. However, it hasn’t quite worked out like that just yet. Even though we’ve seen the rise in other European nations, like the Spaniards of Team Heretics, making their way to the CWL Pro League – the success still hasn’t matched that of the dominant North Americans. Our list, which features both online and offline winnings from the console section of the esportsearnings.com, includes players that have starred for organizations like Splyce, Unilad and more over the years. The list also includes some rising talents who have scored event wins in more recent history when prize pools have been higher than ever. Long-time Splyce player Jordan ‘Jurd’ Crowley tops the list after earning a career-high of over $90,000 in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. He is closely followed by former teammate Ben ‘Bance’ Bance who is now orgless and played under the UNITS tag at Anaheim following the teams split from Denial Esports. The full top 20 list, which includes some names that you won’t have seen competing in Call of Duty for quite some time, can be found below. Top 20 Highest-Earning European Call of Duty Pro Players – Updated June 17 2019 This article was last updated on June 17 2019 at 11:16 am EST.

Top 20 highest earning Call of Duty: Warzone players Aydan / 100 Thieves / Twitter: @HusKerrsAs Warzone 2 tournaments get underway in Al Mazrah, here’s a full look at the top 20 highest-earning Warzone players. While the high-level, $100k+ tournaments might have slowed down throughout Caldera and into Warzone 2, players are still earning some serious cash by competing across Al Mazrah. We’ve seen incredible records set, a host of celebrities get involved, and a variety of high-stakes, big-bucks tournaments to line pockets. Groundbreaking events like the $150k The Last Dance in Verdansk and the $400k World Series of Warzone saw big competitive names taking out the lion’s share of major prize pools. With Warzone now in full swing, we’ve already seen notable shifts among Warzone’s top stars. Updated March 2, 2023. Contents Warzone’s top earners Using data from warzoneearnings.com, let’s take a look at the top 20 Warzone players in terms of overall tournament winnings. We’ll take a more in-depth look at the top 3, and then provide a full list of the top 20. 3. Almond – $391,177 Breaking into the top three in 2022 is none other than Minnesota ROKKR’s star streamer Almond. Having remained among the top three highest-earners for much of Warzone’s first few years, HusKerrs was replaced by Almond shortly after the introduction of Caldera. Shortly after, Almond pushed into second place as he passed above Aydan. Alongside Tommey and Newbz of the TBE crew, Almond has mostly dominated Warzone tournaments since Caldera launched. The Trio quickly became a force to be reckoned with on the Pacific-era map, kickstarting the new chapter with a lengthy win streak across both custom lobby and kill-race events. 2. Aydan ‘Aydan’ Conrad – $401,274 In second place for much of Warzone’s first year, Aydan finally eclipsed HusKerrs and took the first spot back on March 14. While he was the first pro to pass the $300K mark in Warzone earnings, he soon slipped to second place once again as Tommey began to dominate, then third as Almond narrowly passed him by in 2022. From Fortnite to Warzone, Aydan has been a longstanding figure in the battle royale sphere. But, for those unfamiliar with Epic Games’ third-person shooter, the charming beatboxer truly made his mark on Verdansk by proving that his head is worth appreciating for more than its infamous dent. An absolute demon, Aydan has comfortably shifted from duos with MuTeX and ZLaner to winning a ton of tournaments with Rated and others. His top-tier performances have continued into Warzone 2 as well, keeping him well above all but one other player on the highest-earners list. 1. Thomas ‘Tommey’ Trewren – $428,485 As a former competitive CoD pro, Thomas ‘Tommey’ Trewren was among the first veterans to dive head-first into Warzone upon release. Quickly finding his footing, Tommey has exploded into one of the scene’s biggest personalities and accomplished streamers. Engaging with just about every tournament since Warzone’s release, Tommey broke into the top three early in 2021. Consistent performances in September saw Tommey then cruise through into second place. The momentum didn’t stop there, however. After months of impressive finishes and event wins, Tommey managed to earn the number-one spot in January, 2022 and hasn’t lost the lead since. Top 20 Warzone players: Highest earnings (January 2023) The full top 20 highest-earning Warzone players are listed below. Those are the top Warzone earners as of March 2023. Be sure to check back for frequent updates as this list for the highest-earning players continues to change over time.

Top 20 highest earning Call of Duty pros of all time Professional Call of Duty players have won tens of millions of dollars in collective prize money over the years, but who has won the most individually? With the fifth Call of Duty League season finally over, here are the 20 players who have earned the most throughout their careers. Over the last decade, Call of Duty has seen a steady rise in prize money awarded, with players earning hundreds of thousands of dollars thanks to their feats in the popular first-person shooter. It’s no surprise that winning teams take center stage, with players from the dominant dynasty rosters taking home the biggest prizes. With Champs 2024 now in the rearview mirror, and OpTic Texas etching their names in the history books, here’s the updated list of the top 20 highest-earning COD players of all time. *Note: Some players have also earned money in Halo. However, these winnings have been deducted from the table below to only show winnings in Call of Duty. The list includes prize money only and not salary earnings. Figures may not be completely accurate but are as close as possible. Top 20 highest-earning Call of Duty players List updated Monday, June 19, 2023 The Modern Warfare 3 season is finally over, with OpTic Texas taking the victory at the 2024 Call of Duty Championship Weekend, earning $250,000 apiece. With prize money continuing to rise, this list will continue to evolve in 2025, especially as the younger players rise and start to dominate, while the veteran legends fall down the standings. Source: EsportsEarnings This article was last updated on July 22, 2024.

Top 20 best selling games of 2018 – Black Ops 4, RDR2 and more The NPD Group has unveiled the top selling video games of 2018 in the U.S., with some expected and not-so-expected results, as the battle for sales between Call of Duty and Red Dead Redemption finally settles. Take Two Interactive scored a massive hit with the sequel to the 2010 classic Red Dead Redemption, with the second entry achieving the single biggest opening weekend in entertainment history. Raking in $725 million in retail sell-through during its first three days, it beat out Black Ops 4’s $500 million in that same time handsomely – but could it keep up with Call of Duty as 2018 came to a close? Although Rockstar may have won the opening weekend battle, Call of Duty was expected to maintain higher sales over the holiday period, bringing the race almost neck and neck. Sports games also continued to do well, with both Take Two’s NBA 2K19 and EA’s Madden NFL 19 just coming in below the leaders in 2018. NBA 2K has taken the highest selling sports game for three years in a row now. PlayStation 4 exclusives also performed strongly, with Marvel’s Spider-Man and God of War both making it into the top 10. Top 20 Best Selling Games of 2018 in the U.S. Grand Theft Auto V, despite initially being released in 2013, still makes it to the 11th spot, while Battlefield V sales will have disappointed EA, coming in at 14 overall, although its delayed release date until November 20 likely affected this. Making Red Dead Redemption 2’s result more impressive, is that it’s still not available on PC. A PC release is expected, although not officially confirmed yet. However, Black Ops 4’s digital sales on PC were not tracked, perhaps evening out the competition somewhat. NPD’s Mat Piscatella said the race for number one was “very close”. The race to the best-seller position in Software was very close. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 digital sales on PC are not currently tracked by The NPD Group and made all the difference to the rankings. — Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) January 22, 2019

Top 10 Warzone weapons with highest K/D in Season 2 ActivisionEver wondered what the best weapons for Warzone are in terms of kill/death ratio? Well, new stats have revealed the best K/D weapons for Season 2, and it might shock you just a little. When Warzone first released back in March of 2020, the meta was strictly about snipers and assault rifles that had thermal scopes attached. As the game has grown, and updates have been rolled out, the meta has constantly changed. Players are still using snipers and assault rifles on a regular basis, but SMGs are deadly too. Plus, you’ve also got the fact that tactical rifles are all the rage now in Black Ops Cold War Season 2. Different weapons fit different playstyles, but if you’re all about getting your kill/death ratio to be up there with the best around, you might want to consider a switch now that new stats have revealed the 10 best weapons for that. The new numbers come from WZRanked, a website that tracks everything from personal stats to popular loadouts and has leaderboards for Warzone, showing the deadliest weapons for Season 2. Read More: When is Warzone Season 3? – It should come as no real surprise that the MAC-10, AMAX, and FFAR occupy the top three spots. They’re just incredibly popular in Warzone. However, seeing the Grau just outside the top 10 might be a bit of a shock to some. As noted, the wave of popularity for tactical rifles has helped propel the AUG up the ranks, and the M16 just makes it in too. Old faithful choices like the Kar98 and DMR make it in too, so expect to see a bit more of them in Warzone. What is pretty surprising, though, is the RAM-7’s position. It is a weapon that is used in Warzone infrequently, but it ranks up there with some of the best in terms of K/D. Of course, these stats will change as the meta evolves yet again, and it’ll be interesting to see what else comes to the forefront as we move forward.

Top 10 Plays | CDL Stage 2 Week 2 The second week of CDL Stage 2 is in the books with teams jostling for their place in groups and individual players creating incredible clutches and multikills to keep their org on top. While we usually count on CoD veterans to pull their team ahead, this week’s top plays came from a ton of rookie talent. Group B is already getting interesting with Season 1 Champions Dallas Empire already dropping a game, as well as OpTic Chicago who lost against Minnesota RØKKR and Florida Mutineers. Our Top 10 plays start with two London Royal Ravens, Zach ‘Zed’ Denyer (he makes two appearances on our list) and Paul ‘PaulEhx’ Avila, who were beaming against the LA Thieves and New York Subliners, respectively. Then there’s players like Subliners’ Conor ‘Diamondcon’ Johst who popped off against LA Guerrillas in a 3-1 win to stay high in the Group A standings. The undefeated Atlanta FaZe were scary in week 2, led by Tyler ‘aBeZy’ Pharris who got a monstrous 8-kill spree in the opening map versus the LA Thieves that perfectly teed off their 3-0 domination. Read more: CDL Guerrillas Home Series (Stage 2, Week 3) – Not to be outdone, the Season 1 MVP Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro came in at number 2 after laying waste to the RØKKR and pulling off an incredible juke against Lamar ‘Accuracy’ Abedi. But Accuracy had something to say in the next map against the Empire when he aced them on S&D. The RØKKR would eventually take the series 3-2. The CDL has a ton of players with highlight potential. As the season goes on, you can look forward to more top plays from week to week.

Top 10 most viewed Warzone 2 Twitch streamers: December 2022 Activision/TwitchIn December 2022, Warzone 2 continued on after its highly anticipated launch but with a lack of fresh content and updates, interest on Twitch certainly declined. But which streamers were leading the way for Warzone viewership to round out 2022? Since Warzone launched in March 2020, it has propelled a number of creators to new heights they couldn’t previously have imagined. The likes of Swagg, Aydan, NICKMERCS, and TimTheTatman have frequently found themselves atop the mountain, though with switches to other titles or even streaming platforms, this has changed a lot over time. The charts change each month, and while certain names are mainstays at the top, there are also some that pop in and out of the top 10, and December 2022 was no different. Contents Most watched Warzone 2 streamers on Twitch (December 2022) Throughout the final month of 2022 it was Symfuhny who led the charge as the most-watched Warzone 2 streamer on Twitch. While the game itself was absent of any fresh updates in December, that didn’t stop the BR staple from streaming more than 260 hours on Twitch, with tens of thousands tuning in daily to watch his progress. Also cracking into the top 10 this month were the likes of TeePee and Nadeshot, both former CoD pros still keeping themselves engaged in the scene to this day. Here were the most-watched Warzone streamers in December, 2022 according to SullyGnome’s stats: With Season 2 on the horizon, we’re sure to see numbers increase once again on Twitch as viewers flood into Warzone 2 streams in the weeks to come. Previous best Warzone 2 streamers Most watched Twitch Warzone 2 streamers (November 2022) Most watched Twitch Warzone streamers (October 2022) Stay tuned to find out who the most-watched Warzone Twitch streamers are in the new year as January, 2023 rolls on!