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Warzone Has a New Frank Woods Cutscene — Finally Making a Crucial Moment in Call of Duty Black Ops Lore Canon

A new Warzone cutscene shows Black Ops protagonist Frank Woods dishing out orders from a wheelchair, appearing to confirm a Black Ops 2 ending as canon and offering our first look at the character in the upcoming Black Ops 6.

The intro, added to the battle royale ahead of Microsoft’s big reveal of the upcoming Black Ops 6, sees fan-favorite character Woods talk about the discovery of a “mole”, presumed to be Russell Adler from Black Ops Cold War.

But it is Woods’ appearance in a wheelchair that has caught the attention of the Call of Duty community, and sparked excited discussion about the storyline running through the Black Ops series.

First, some background: in 2012’s Black Ops 2, Woods is tricked into killing his best friend and fellow soldier Alex Mason during a mission set during the 1980s. Woods is then shot in both legs, consigning him to a wheelchair. The game later shifts to the year 2025 and we see an older Woods in a wheelchair.

This new intro suggests Woods will appear in the Black Ops 6 campaign, rumored to be set during the ’90s Gulf War. The cutscene also acts as our first look at Woods in Black Ops 6. Perhaps Woods serves the function of being an ‘intel guy’ in the campaign, dishing out information to the player ahead of, and maybe even during, missions over comms.

There are some unanswered questions, however. Black Ops 2 has two different endings, one in which Alex Mason survives, the other in which he is dead. Perhaps Black Ops 6 will resolve this by making one of the two endings canon.

As for the Woods intro, Warzone players are currently trying to work out what causes it to appear. It seems random, but there may be some mechanic underpinning its appearance. Meanwhile, there are a number of Black Ops 6-related challenges in Warzone right now, encouraging players to jump in to connect the dots between releases.

Microsoft will fully unveil Black Ops 6 during its Xbox Showcase event on June 9. Microsoft has confirmed Black Ops 6 is the first Call of Duty to launch straight into subscription service Game Pass.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

XDefiant Y1S0.2 Update Blocks PS5 Players From Using Activities to ‘Sneak Into Places They Shouldn’t’

XDefiant developer Ubisoft San Francisco has issued an update for the free-to-download shooter, targeting a range of issues across all platforms.

The XDefiant Y1S0.2 patch (Ubisoft uses a patch naming convention based on the year and season from now on) fixes issues across social play and other parts of the game. As has become XDefiant’s style, Ubisoft has had a bit of fun with the patch notes, below, picking out a change on PlayStation 5:

  • Fixed a thing on PS5 where people could sneak into places they shouldn’t via PS5 Activities.

XDefiant launched its pre-season last month and Ubisoft’s Call of Duty competitor appears to be off to a decent start, earning praise from competitive shooter fans hankering for an old-school experience. IGN’s XDefiant review returned a 7/10. We said: “The fundamentals of XDefiant are good, but conflicting ideas and mechanics stop it from standing above a crowded shooter field.”

Ubisoft San Francisco has said it plans to fix a number of issues with the game as development continues, including the busted hit registration.

XDefiant is not available on Steam, so we do not have an idea of concurrent player numbers, but according to a report from Insider Gaming, XDefiant hit 1.5 million players within just a few hours of launch. Of course, Ubisoft’s hope is XDefiant proves popular enough long-term to make its free-to-play live service a money-spinner throughout the rest of 2024 and beyond, with Activision reportedly preparing Call of Duty Black Ops 6 for release in late October.

XDefiant Y1S0.2 patch notes in full:

Social

  • While in a party, we now display the most restrictive Crossplay setting among the party members, as it applies to the whole party. Also fixed an issue where party members with differing Crossplay settings couldn’t matchmake.
  • Fixed an issue with displaying incorrect player names on some Social screens.
  • Fixed a crash caused by spamming open/close View Party Invites, but who would even do that, calm down.
  • On consoles, Ubisoft Connect party invites could display as if they were coming from Xbox or PlayStation Network friends. Fixed that, along with some other weird invite-related things.

Miscellaneous

  • Fixed some missing terrain textures when players joined matches in progress on some maps.
  • Input-Based Matchmaking setting status now updates correctly after changing it on Xbox.
  • Fixed a thing on PS5 where people could sneak into places they shouldn’t via PS5 Activities.
  • Security improvements, various.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

IKEA Will Pay People £13.15 an Hour to Serve Meatballs at Its Virtual Roblox Store

Furniture store IKEA will pay people £13.15 / €14.80 per hour to work in a virtual store it’s opening inside Roblox.

The Co-Worker Game, as it’s called, will let players “experience working in IKEA’s virtual universe”, the company said. “Fans will be able to live their home furnishing dreams and get paid for it, with a limited number of paid roles available,” IKEA continued. Applications run to June 16, with the game itself launching June 24.

“The immersive experience gives players the opportunity to experience IKEA’s unique approach to careers where non-linear career journeys are the norm and lateral moves across departments are commonplace,” IKEA said. It is IKEA’s first foray into mainstream gaming.

There are paid shifts on offer for 10 successful applicants. They’ll help customers and get promoted to move departments, working in different sections of the store like the Showroom and Bistro, helping people choose their furniture, and even serving meatballs.

“We’re excited to be the first brand to launch paid work on Roblox to showcase how we do careers differently, bringing our unique careers philosophy to life,” commented IKEA’s Country People and Culture Manager, Darren Taylor. “At IKEA, there is no set route to career progression. Our co-workers are able to change roles, switch departments, and grow in any direction they choose, both in the game or in the real world. There are many ways to learn and grow at IKEA, and that’s what IKEA on Roblox is all about.”

Digging into the detail, virtual interviews for shortlisted applicants take place for the fully remote virtual role between Thursday, June 14 and Tuesday, June 18. Each successful applicant will be paid an hourly IKEA Co-Worker rate for their time on the game. You have to be 18+ and in the UK or Republic of Ireland to apply. Successful applicants will be paid £13.15 (approx $16.78) per hour, the IKEA hourly rate of pay for a London member of staff. The wage matches the London Living Wage set in the UK, rather than the lower National Living Wage.

Roblox, which has an incredible 77.7 million daily active users, is used by a number of companies to promote their brands with virtual experiences. But the platform and the company behind it has been accused of “exploiting” children who develop many of the experiences available to play. Roblox has denied this.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

MultiVersus Tournament Player Sees Their Main Character Pulled From the Game Mid-Bracket, Wins Anyway

A MultiVersus players had to react fast after the developer pulled their main character out of the game in the middle of a tournament.

A post on the MultiVersus X/Twitter account signaled the removal of Iron Giant from the recently released brawler due to various issues with the character, which players believe include overpowered combos and an infinite chain grab. Garnet was added to the Preview Rotation in response.

Fair enough, you’d think. But for one MultiVersus player the removal of Iron Giant couldn’t have come at a worse time. As revealed in an X/Twitter post by @NickSF_SSB, co-owner of No Style eSports, a player going by the name of ‘FlaSHFReeeze’ was in the middle of a bracket when their main, Iron Giant, was pulled from the game. Cue bemused conversation between the two players. Brilliantly, FlaSHFReeeze switched character and won the set anyway, proving that fighting game players always need a backup in case of emergency.

This week, developer Player First Games said a number of missing features are on their way back to MultiVersus. After close to a year long hiatus, the Warner Bros. brawler featuring Gizmo from Gremlins, Rick and Morty, Lebron James, Batman, Arya Stark, Bugs Bunny, Shaggy, Tom and Jerry, Jason, and more returned in May 2024 to many players and many complaints.

“Some of the missing settings and features from the open beta are incoming,” wrote game director Tony Huynh on X/Twitter. “Team colors, end of game stats, swapping side and neutral attack, adjustable input buffer settings, etc.”

Huynh then said the team didn’t have time to add these features during Multiversus’s offline period. “Many of these features are currently implemented and are in testing and we had planned, but were left out due to time as we had to rebuild every screen and feature again to support our new netcode and Unreal Engine 5 switch,” he explained.

No timeframe for the features was given, though as Huynh said more information is coming soon, the actual release may not be imminent.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Steam Hit Content Warning Reaches 2.2 Million Sold After 2 Months

Steam viral hit game Content Warning has sold 2.2 million copies in two months, with a console version possibly waiting in the wings.

That’s up from the one million sold in mid-April, itself an impressive figure that came after an eye-catching free launch period.

Publisher Landfall released Content Warning for free for the first 24 hours, signaling that it planned to charge for the game after the launch period. The Lethal Company-style co-op survival horror saw an impressive peak concurrent player number of 204,439 on Valve’s platform off the back of the promotion, but some questioned whether it would prove successful in the long run.

Landfall said this week that over 8.8 million players own Content Warning on Steam two months after launch. 6.6 million players got the game for free on launch day, Landfall explained. There was also a tease for a console version in response to a user question on X/Twitter, although an announcement has yet to be made.

It’s a remarkable success for Content Warning, which was developed by just a handful of people and released on April 1 as part of Landfall’s tradition of releasing a game on April Fools’ Day. Take a look at IGN’s Guides for all the info we’ve gathered so far on the monsters, useful items available to purchase, and our tips and tricks for maximum views.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Like a Dragon: Yakuza Live-action Series Announced for Amazon Prime Video This Fall

Amazon has announced an original live-action series for Prime Video based on Sega’s successful Like a Dragon game series, previously known as Yakuza.

Simply titled Like a Dragon: Yakuza and including six episodes, this original series is directed by Masaharu Take, best known for the drama series The Naked Director. Made in Japan, the series stars the hugely popular Japanese drama and stage actor Ryoma Takeuchi in the role of Kazuma Kiryu.

Like a Dragon: Yakuza will be available on Amazon Prime in over 240 countries and territories worldwide, released in two batches on October 25 and November 1, 2024.

A new story loosely based on the original Yakuza

The live-action crime-suspense series is based on an original screenplay loosely inspired by the first game in the series, 2005’s Yakuza. It will be set mainly in the Kamurocho entertainment district, straight from the games, and follows Kiryu and three of his childhood friends in two time periods, 1995 and 2005.

Similar to the games, protagonist Kiryu is described in the show’s press release as a “fearsome and peerless Yakuza warrior with a strong sense of justice, duty, and humanity”, and the story will deal with the repercussions of his actions in the two time periods. Takeuchi commented that the show will include “​​intense fighting scenes”, alluding to the wild action the series is famed for.

The series was announced today at a press conference at the picturesque Hotel Gajoen Tokyo. At the event, Takeuchi and Take discussed the process of adapting the acclaimed game series for a live-action drama.

Speaking of the tattoo on his back and sculpting his body for the role, as seen in the key visual image released today, Takeuchi said, “You can’t play Kiryu Kazuma without getting into shape, so I knew I had to throw myself into it. This was a job not only for me but also for the costume and makeup teams. It took two and a half hours just to prepare for this shot.”

He added, “It’s partly Kiryu Kazuma and it’s partly me. I got so close to the part that it was hard to distinguish where he ended and I began. That included getting into shape for the part, the costume and so on. Rather than acting the part of Kiryu, I feel like he became part of the family.”

Director Take said, “Having someone with such a large physical presence as Takeuchi makes all the difference. I understood that he knows his body better than anyone, so I left it to him to get into shape. Takeuchi did all the action himself as well. It was impressive.”

Of Kiryu’s place in the story, Take said, “In 1995, the protagonist is still young and he makes a lot of mistakes, and these lead to him spending a decade in prison and the consequences he faces when he gets out in 2005. I tried to show those differences in the two time periods, and the cast helped to achieve this as well.”

Taking their positions in front of a golden folding screen emblazoned with a dragon reminiscent of the tattoo on Kiryu’s back, the actor and director made a symbolic prayer for the show’s success.

Meet the new Kazuka Kiryu

Takeuchi broke through with his role as Shinnosuke Tomari in multiple Kamen Rider projects. His credits include a cameo in 2019’s Detective Pikachu movie adaptation as a Pokémon trainer, as well as providing the voice for Justice Smith’s character Tim Goodman in the Japanese dub. He also has a successful career in stage acting, and before that was a budding soccer player.

In a press release, Masayoshi Yokoyama, head of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and executive producer of the new drama series, said, “While the games let you experience their world through the subjective lens, this adaptation will be the ultimately objective way to enjoy the show. I have no doubt that fans of the series will be drawn to how it brings the games to life and adds new surprises. Newcomers, I’m sure, will find themselves invested simply in the gritty realism of the show.”

The Like a Dragon game series is developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega. The first game, upon which the Amazon series will be partly based, was released in 2006 in the West, with IGN praising its story and awarding it 8.2/10. The game spawned a globally successful franchise, with multiple sequels and spinoffs, a movie adaptation directed by Takashi Miike in 2007, and a remake of the first game titled Yakuza Kiwami in 2016.

The series was renamed Like a Dragon in 2022, and the most recent entry, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, was released globally in January 2024, receiving 9/10 scores from both IGN and IGN Japan.

Daniel Robson is Chief Editor of IGN Japan. Find him on Twitter here.

Here’s What We Know Won’t Be at Summer Game Fest

The final countdown to a week of game announcements, trailers, updates, in-person activities in Los Angeles, and general shenanigans is upon us. One of the major lynchpins holding it all together is Summer Game Fest, a showcase put together by Geoff Keighley with the aim of uniting the game industry around a summertime shebang of video game news. But as he does every year before this and other hosted events like Gamescom Opening Night Live and The Game Awards, Keighley is trying to temper wild fan expectations by clarifying some of the things we absolutely will not see at Summer Game Fest on Friday.

In a live question and answer session hosted on Twitch over the weekend, Keighley answered some burning questions from fans about the upcoming showcase, including a long list not just of what we should expect to see on Friday, but also what we shouldn’t.

As far as what will be there, Keighley confirmed we’ll see plenty of updates to existing games, such as Palworld and Kingdom Come 2: Deliverance. We’ll also see trailers for already-announced games, including Supermarket Simulator, Monster Hunter Wilds, Metaphor: Refantazio, Batman: Arkham VR, and Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO. He also confirmed we’ll be getting something from Blumhouse Games, and a new trailer for the Among Us animated series.

But in an interest of keeping surprises to himself, it’s no surprise that the list of what won’t be there is a bit longer:

No new GTA 6 trailer

Sorry, but anyone who was expecting another GTA trailer so soon after the last one needs to bring the expectations waaaaay down.

No Kingdom Hearts 4

Keighley said that a lot of people have been asking him about this for some reason, but that those expecting such a thing are “setting themselves up for failure.”

No The Wolf Among Us 2

No new news on this, but Keighley says it won’t be at SGF. Last we heard, it was delayed, and a collaboration with Deck Nine to work on a pre-production script for the game was cancelled. The game is still in production at Telltale, as of earlier this year.

No Def Jam game

This question came out of nowhere, but no, Keighley won’t be showing one.

No Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Unlikely from the jump given Keighley’s criticisms of Konami.

No Judas

We saw Ken Levine’s next game revealed at The Game Awards in 2022, but Keighley doesn’t have an update at this year’s show. If you’re hungry to see more of Judas, though, we did run an extensive gameplay overview on IGN this past March.

No Beyond Good and Evil 2

Keighley claims he doesn’t know any more than we do about where this game, announced way way way back in 2017, went. Even if it were going to be announced during this time, Ubisoft has their own show they’re almost certainly want it in.

No Five Nights at Freddy’s

Help Wanted 2 came out last year, and non-VR ports are still planned for later in June, so that’s probably the main attraction in that universe for now.

No Hollow Knight: Silksong (probably)

Keighley actually didn’t directly say this, but when it came up on stream, he chuckled and said, “I think it’s gonna be a while.” So that doesn’t sound exactly promising. Don’t get your hopes up.

Probably no Nintendo games

Keighley didn’t specifically say Nintendo wouldn’t have anything in this showcase, but he did chat briefly about Nintendo’s ongoing absence from Summer Game Fest despite historically being interested in The Game Awards, and his tone definitely points to another Nintendo no-show. Nintendo usually has some sort of digital showcase of its own in June, so while we shouldn’t expect anything at SGF, there’s probably plenty to come later this month. And SGF will almost certainly have third-party games that will be available on the Switch…or whatever its successor ends up being.

No music acts, No Josef Fares, no “one more thing”

Though not explicitly games, Keighley confirmed a few other elements SGF would not be using. There won’t be any musical acts (save that for The Game Awards), and the notorious Josef Fares won’t be showing up to make any spicy, clippable remarks. We also won’t get a “one more thing,” an industry tradition of sorts where showcases conclude with a “and now, we have one more thing to show” remark from a host followed by a massive, exciting announcement to wrap things up. Keighley doesn’t care for this trend.

So that’s what we know, leaving four days left to wildly speculate about what we don’t know. For more info on how to watch Summer Game Fest, check out our guide, as well as our guide to all the other events around Summer of Gaming.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Just Cause Developer Avalanche Shuttering Two Studios and Laying Off 50 Workers

Just Cause franchise developer Avalanche Studios is laying off 50 employees as it moves to shutter its New York and Montreal locations in what it calls an “exceptionally difficult decision.”

The company announced the news in a post on its website, saying that the layoffs in these areas affect nine percent of its worldwide workforce. It says the decision is “necessary to ensure a stable and sustainable future for the company.”

“Our focus is now supporting all Avalanchers through this challenging time,” the studio says. “We’re grateful for the invaluable contributions of those leaving and remain committed to creating incredible gaming experience for our players.”

It’s currently unclear how Avalanche will be supporting those affected. The closure of its New York and Montreal spots leaves three remaining office locations in Stockholm, Liverpool, and Malmö. Its Montreal location opened only about eight months ago in October 2023, and its New York location opened in June 2022.

A Damaging Trend Continues

Layoffs at Avalanche, which is also responsible for helping create games like 2015’s Mad Max, Rage 2, and the upcoming Xbox-exclusive Contraband game, add to a growing list of layoffs sweeping the industry over the last year. It’s estimated that more than 10,000 developers lost their jobs in 2023 alone, with gaming giants like Sony, Microsoft, Riot, and EA going on to lay off large numbers of staff in 2024 as the year rolls on.

More recent examples saw Take-Two Interactive laying off 579 workers in April and Microsoft closing Bethesda’s Arkane and Tango Gameworks studios in May while Square Enix prepares for its own cost-cutting moves in the U.S. and Europe.

Meanwhile, 100 Avalanche developers managed to join Swedish trade union Unionen last October, and in April, the company agreed to sign a collective bargaining agreement with those who have unionized.

For more, you can read up on why some developers think layoffs have hit as hard as they have over the last year. Then be sure to learn more about the people they layoffs are affecting most.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

The Games Leaving Xbox Game Pass in June 2024 Have Been Revealed

Xbox Game Pass is losing High on Life and more on June 15, Microsoft has announced. Revealed on the Xbox website, High on Life is one of five games leaving the platform in June in the regular rotation of games available on the subscription service. Here are some of the most notable departures.

High on Life

High on Life is a bizarre first person shooter where players take on the role of an intergalactic bounty hunter that uses living, foul-mouthed guns to fight aliens. It launched straight onto Game Pass and quickly proved popular, immediately breaking three records for the biggest launch of 2022, the biggest third-party game launch ever, and the biggest single-player launch of all time.

Rune Factory 4 Special

Rune Factory 4 Special is a very different kind of video game with farming, dungeon crawling, romance, and more. “With dozens of hours of gameplay (and the option of playing well after the story ends) Rune Factory 4 is definitely a good time,” IGN said in our 8/10 review.

Bramble: The Mountain King

Also leaving this month is Bramble: The Mountain King, which joined Game Pass in June 2023. This adventure horror game inspired by Nordic folklore sees players embark on a journey through the dark world of Bramble and encounter towering bosses along the way.

In addition to the games listed above, Xbox Game Pass is also losing Spacelines from the Far Out and The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales. Those who want to play the handful of games should therefore do so before June 15, 2024, though all Game Pass titles can be bought outright and kept for good for 20% off their normal price.

For more, check out our guide to the Xbox Game Pass plans as well as all the rest of the biggest games coming out in 2024.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Helldivers 2 Players Win the Day and Birth a New Black Hole, But a Creeping Worry Is Overcoming Some

Helldivers 2 players have succeeded in their mission to destroy a Terminid supercolony by turning its host planet into an all consuming black hole, but are now growing concerned at what might step through.

The creation of the black hole has been brewing since Helldivers 2’s first major order — large scale missions which shape the game’s overall narrative — as it saw players “liberate” a string of planets from the claws of a bug-like alien race known as the Terminids.

This mission, dubbed Operation Valiant Enclosure, allowed for the creation of a network of termicide-dispensing towers which were later activated in a March campaign that was also, seemingly, successful.

But the introduction of the termicide forced the aliens to evolve and create a super colony on the world of Meridian, where they reproduced at an uncontrollable rate. Super Earth’s brightest decided the only measured and reasonable way to stamp out the colony was to inject masses of weaponized “dark fluid” deep into the planet’s crust, where it would merge to transform the world into a fledgling black hole.

Many in the community have taken to social media to celebrate the the birth of their new cosmic child, but others have been left pondering if their latest win will come back to bite them in the long run. Super Earth’s campaigns have an unpleasant habit of accelerating the arrival of an ever greater, previously hidden threat, after all, and some are even questioning whether the dark expanse is even a black hole at all.

Those unsettled players have pointed out the suspected black hole is missing certain elements seen in its real life counterparts, such as a ring of glowing debris known as an accretion disk or a photon ring. Others have theorised that, black hole or n, it may even be a portal through which a new enemy could emerge.

Its impossible for anything to emerge from a black hole’s event horizon in real life, of course, but the existence of legions of murder robots, instantaneous travel between star systems, and countless other sci-fi elements have shown that developer Arrowhead Studios and its galaxy master Joel aren’t necessarily bound to realism.

The portal theory seems perfectly plausible in that regard, and even more so when considering the “dark fluid” used to create the black hole was a form of synthesised exotic matter recovered from a technologically advanced alien race called the Illuminate, who featured in the original 2015 Helldivers title but have yet to make an appearance in its sequel. Many in the Helldivers 2 community are adamant the Illuminate’s reveal is imminent after the appearance of mysterious blue beams sniping players out of nowhere (and a series of leaks revealing enemy models).

Joel only knows what will happen next, but for the time being Helldivers will likely be asked to return to Automaton controlled space to win back the planets lost last month. Super Earth scientists are working on a new and improved termicide formula in the meantime, because why learn from the mistakes of the past?

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer