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Watch a Twitch stream to unlock 'Black Ops 4' battle royale PC beta
PC players on the fence about Call of Duty Black Ops 4 can get an early taster of the game's Battle Royale mode today -- the same day as those who paid for a pre-order. All you have to do is sign up to Blizzard's desktop gaming hub, Blizzard.net, and watch an hour of Twitch broadcasts from partnered streamers Ninja, Shroud, Summit1G or TimTheTatman between 10AM PT/1PM Eastern and 2PM PT/5PM Eastern. Then early access will be sent straight to your Battle.Net account.
Evil Geniuses win 'record-setting' Call of Duty World League tourney
If you needed evidence that Call of Duty is still a big deal in the esports realm, you just got it. Well-known team Evil Geniuses just took home $600,000 as the winners of the 2018 Call of Duty World League Championship, solidly taking down Team Kaliber in a variety of COD: WWII game modes. The win caps off a "record-setting" season where a hefty $4.2 million in prize money was up for grabs (the largest ever in the League), $1.5 million of it in the Championship alone.
How a blind 'Call of Duty' player is racking up thousands of kills
Some folks love video games so much, they find ways to play despite prohibitive disabilities. One such gamer took to Reddit last week to boast about scoring more than 7,500 lifetime kills in the first-person shooter Call of Duty: WWII -- entirely without eyesight. He goes by the handle 'tj_the_blind_gamer' and uploads gameplay to his YouTube channel, which he created after discovering there weren't any other sightless Call of Duty streamers. He plays for his own enjoyment -- but streams it to show the world that blind gamers are out there, racking up kills.
It's peak esports season: Here's how to watch the games
Happy esports season! Summer is the ideal time to sit back (with a glass of lemonade in one hand and a burrito in the other in an air-conditioned room) and watch the best video game players in the world battle it out for millions in prize money. However, diving into this digital world can be daunting, since each game has its own schedule and unique set of rules. Here we offer a handy viewing guide for upcoming matches in five major esports titles: Overwatch, League of Legends, Fortnite, Arena of Valor and Call of Duty. It's nearly championship time for most of these games, so matches are primed to be extra exciting. Sit back, take a big ol' bite of that burrito, and watch some esports with us:
America's love affair with firearms bleeds into gaming culture
Gaming culture is rife with graphic representations of gun violence and has been since arcade goers first blew aliens out of Space Invader's skies. You'll be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of AAA titles designed for adults (sit down Rayman) that don't rely on firearms, or use gore in substitution, either as a primary tool for the gameplay or as a thematic element.
'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4' on PC is all about the customization
Call of Duty is no stranger to the PC. Previous versions of the game have been available on the platform before this year's Black Ops 4, but Treyarch is putting way more energy behind the PC edition than it has in the past. That means a much larger team is working on this version of the game. There's much more attention to detail, customization and other features specifically for the PC faithful.
'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4' tweaks a familiar multiplayer formula
Call of Duty: WWII was a breath of fresh air after the weirdness what was Infinite Warfare. The return to historical battles was a welcome change after a (thankfully) brief trip to space. For 2018, the series is back in the hands of Treyarch, which means a new installment of Black Ops. The studio, along with publisher Activision, already took the wraps off the game a few weeks ago. Perhaps most importantly, the duo revealed that the single-player campaign would be replaced by a PUBG-esque battle royale mode. Of course, the popular CoD multiplayer isn't going anywhere, and that's what Activision is showing off at E3 this week.
‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’ ditches campaign for battle royale
The fourth installment of Call of Duty's Black Ops franchise has abandoned single-player in favor of a multiplayer-only focus...including a battle royale mode. Yes, the series is cashing in on the last-player-standing mode made popular by Fortnite and PUBG, but it's also got more Zombies experiences and traditional multiplayer content. And like Destiny 2 before it, Activision's latest game will run online play through Blizzard's Battle.net platform. The game is slated for release on October 12th.
Alexa can help improve your ‘Call of Duty: WWII’ K/D ratio
Amazon has been adding some pretty mainstream entertainment skills, like recapping NBA and NHL scores. But now you can ask the voice assistant how you did in your last Call of Duty: WWII match, too. The new skill, available in beta, will use AI and machine learning to give personalized tips to improve your play in, of course, a soldier-sounding voice.
Retired at 24: The life of a pro 'Call of Duty' player
Matthew "Burns" Potthoff retired when he was 24. He'd spent 11 years building a career as a professional Call of Duty player, and when he realized his time in front of the screen was up, he made a graceful transition into eSports management. Today, he's 26, and he works behind the scenes with eUnited, a North American eSports squad with teams across Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, Gears of War, Smite and PUBG. Potthoff's story sounds more suited to someone in their 50s or 60s -- traditionally, retirement is something that happens after decades of work in a chosen field. However, eSports is a new, rapidly evolving industry, largely staffed by young people with big dreams. Potthoff's career mirrors eSports' recent rise to mainstream fame, but it also serves as a cautionary tale for new players, many of whom are diving into the scene straight out of high school -- or even before.
'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4' hits consoles and PC October 12th
If you're a fan of military-style first person shooters sometimes set in the future that have zombie DLC modes, you're in luck. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is headed to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on Friday, October 12th. Developer Treyarch announced the date in a short post on the Activision blog while also teasing a "community reveal event" you can watch on May 17th.
LA man charged with involuntary manslaughter over 'CoD' swatting
The man who was arrested last month in conjunction with the Kansas swatting incident that resulted in a fatality has now been charged. Tyler Barriss was arraigned in a Kansas court today and hit with three charges -- giving a false alarm, interference with law enforcement and involuntary manslaughter -- the latter of which carries a maximum prison sentence of 36 months and a fine of up to $300,000.
LAPD arrested a 25-year-old suspect in Wichita 'swatting' case
Thursday night Wichita police killed Andrew Finch after responding to a call claiming a man at his address had shot someone and was holding others hostage. That call was a hoax, commonly referred to as "swatting," and in this case, it's apparently linked to a Call of Duty match, where one player passed a fake address to another before someone called the police to it. Now NBC News reports that police in Los Angeles have arrested 25-year-old Tyler Barriss, who is believed to have made the call inciting the incident. Barriss may be the "SWAutistic" who tweeted about making the call and later participated in a phone interview with the DramaAlert show on YouTube. An LAPD spokesperson confirmed to Engadget that Barriss is in custody, no bail has been set, and that they are working with Wichita police on the case. The LA Times reported in 2015 that he had been arrested for calling in a bomb threat to a TV studio, and in the YouTube video, SWAutistic claims to be responsible for bomb threats that interrupted an MLG Call of Duty event in Dallas earlier this month.
Alleged swatting hoax ends in the death of a father of two (updated)
Yesterday evening, a 28-year-old Kansas man was shot by police after the station received a call about a hostage situation taking place at the man's residence. "It was a shooting call involving hostages," Deputy Police Chief Troy Livingston said during a press conference last night. "The original call, we were told that someone had an argument with their mother and dad was accidentally shot. And that now that person was holding mother, brother and sister hostage. We learned through that call that a father was deceased, and had been shot in the head. That was the information we were working off of." But that information turned out to be wrong and shortly after the incident, reports began to surface online that the call was part of a "swatting" stunt -- a hoax wherein someone makes a false police report in order to fuel a large law enforcement response.
‘CoD: WWII’ Thanksgiving double XP event started early
It's that time of the year when those of us in the US start thinking about what we're thankful for, and game developers are no exception. Starting today (one day early) at 10 AM PT (1 PM ET), Call of Duty: WWII gamers will receive Double XP for all MP modes as a thank you for fans' support of the game. It will continue through 10 AM PT (1 PM ET) on Monday, November 27th.
Humvee maker sues Activision for using its trucks in 'Call of Duty'
The maker of Humvee is suing the publisher of the Call of Duty series for using its military vehicles in the games without permission, reports Reuters. In its lawsuit, AM General LLC accused Activision Blizzard Inc of reaping "billions of dollars" by using both the Humvee and HMMWV trademarks in the games, and related toys and books.
Respawn teases realistic VR warfare on Oculus Rift
Respawn Entertainment might be going back to its historic stomping grounds. In virtual reality. A quick tease from the Oculus Connect stage revealed that the team that made Call of Duty is working on what very well may be a VR take on wars of the past. Studio director Peter Hirschmann writes that it isn't Titanfall in VR, nor is it related to Star Wars, the game Respawn is working on for EA. "We really want to depict being a soldier in combat in a more fully fleshed-out and realistic way," CEO Vince Zampella says in the video below. No other details are available (not even a name) but the clip ends with a big "2019." Respawn has had a Rift development kit since at least 2013, so that could very well be a realistic release window.
'Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare' has a Halloween bash of its own
Halloween is always a fun time for gamers. This year, Overwatch fans get their second annual seasonal update in a day or so, while Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare players can jump into a month-long event dubbed "Willard Wyler's Halloween Scream." There are four weeks of creepy events scheduled, including free supply drops, themed loot, the "Carnage" multiplayer map with double XP and character skins to add to your fun. Starting October 13th, you can drop into themed boss battles, with new baddies added the following two weeks. Plus, there's a weird new mode called "gesture warfare" so you can crush your opponents with hand movements.
Xbox One’s ‘Intelligent Delivery’ system will free up hard drive space
Microsoft has been working on a new feature for Xbox One and Xbox One X that stands to save users a ton of storage space, Eurogamer reports. Called Intelligent Delivery, the system allows for game data to be sorted into chunks allowing players to delete bits they don't need and free up space on their hard drives.
Playing professional 'Call of Duty' with half a thumb
Ian Wyatt doesn't remember the moment he lost half of his thumb. He was 1 year old, sitting in his family's driveway against the side of an exercise bike while his 7-year-old brother played with the pedals, pumping them around and around to make the wheels fly. Wyatt, unaware of the laws of physics, stuck his tiny hand into the bike's chain. It cleanly sliced off half of his right thumb. "To be honest, I got quite lucky," Wyatt says.
