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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 launches today, December 6, and with it comes sweeping changes to the first person shooter.

Activision released the Season 1 patch notes in a blog post, which reveals a number of balance changes, fixes, and improvements for the game.

On the Multiplayer side, highlights include the addition of new maps, new killstreaks, a new perk, and new modes. There are also three brand new weapons, new Aftermarket Parts, new operators, new events, and of course, a new battle pass.

There’s plenty new with Zombies, too, including Act 4 and a new story mission, Dark Aether Rifts, and a new Wonder Weapon.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 Patch Notes:

NEW MAPS

Look for the Meat 24/7 Playlist to debut during the first week of Season 1, with other exciting Playlists expected in the weeks ahead. Another all-new 6v6 map, Rio, is expected to launch in-season

• Greece
  • Test your mettle in a once-idyllic coastal town, where waters at the shore lap at the hull of a burning yacht, signaling disaster.
• Meat
  • Deploy to the West Coast for some fast-paced butchery, in a compact map centered around the East Bay Meats slaughterhouse.
• Training Facility (Gunfight)
  • Challenge another duo within the remains of an old warehouse, now repurposed as part of Konni Group’s training facilities.

NEW KILLSTREAKS

Do you have what it takes? Two all-new Killstreaks are available to dominate the battlefield in Season 1.

• EMP
  • Electromagnetic pulse to disrupt enemy killstreaks and equipment.
  • Earned via 13 Kills, 1,625 Score, or Care Packages.
• Swarm
  • Deploys a large number of mosquito drones to provide blanket coverage over the entire area.
  • Earned via 15 Kills, 1,875 Score, or Care Packages.

NEW PERK

The Assassin Vest is a powerful new addition to Loadouts in Season 1, but be wary, each Vest comes equipped with critical tradeoffs.

• Assassin Vest
  • Kills don’t display skulls. Immune to UAV and enemy radar effects (including while stationary).

NEW MODES

Two fan-favorite Modes return at the start of Season 1! Gunfight is even equipped with its own selection of new and Carry-Forward Maps. Look for additional Modes throughout the Season.

• All or Nothing
  • Players start with Throwing Knives and an empty Pistol. Perks are earned by eliminating other players and staying alive.
• Gunfight
  • Small team, multi-round cage matches. First team to reach the round limit wins.

GLOBAL

NEW WEAPONS

The following Weapons are new to the entirety of the Modern Warfare III offering as of Season 1.

• RAM-7 (Assault Rifle)
  • Exceptionally compact, this bullpup assault rifle sports a lightweight, polymer frame and is chambered in versatile 5.56.
  • Unlockable via Sector A7 of the Season 1 Battle Pass
• XRK Stalker (Sniper Rifle)
  • Stalk your prey and lay them out with this tactical sniper rifle chambered in .50 Cal.
  • Unlockable via Sector A4 of the Season 1 Battle Pass
• Stormender (Launcher)
  • This state-of-the-art weapon system fires a localized EMP on a slight delay. Destroys tactical and lethal equipment and temporarily disables other electronic devices.
  • Unlockable via Sector A12 of the Season 1 Battle Pass

NEW AFTERMARKET PARTS

In addition to new weaponry, players will see brand new Aftermarket Parts earned via the Battle Pass, Armory Unlocks, and Weekly Challenges.

• JAK Purifier
  • An underbarrel flamethrower. What more needs to be said? Burn it all down.
  • Compatible with: MTZ-556, Holger 556, DG-56, SVA 545, RAM-7, MTZ-762, BAS-B, Sidewinder, Riveter
• JAK Ettin Double Barrel Kit
  • This kit creates two stacked barrels that fire simultaneously. This offers twice as much down-range damage at the cost of some accuracy.
  • Compatible with: AMR9 (Submachine Gun)
• JAK Thunder LMG Kit
  • Dominate lanes and hold objectives with this LMG conversion kit that brings a large capacity magazine and ramps in fire rate the longer you hold down the trigger.
  • Compatible with: Sidewinder (Battle Rifle)
• JAK BRB
  • This compensator borders on excessive, offering a phenomenal reduction to recoil while significantly increasing muzzle report, resulting in an extended red dot on enemy radars.
  • Compatible with: Many Assault Rifles, Submachine Guns, Battle Rifles, Marksman Rifles, and Sniper Rifles.
• JAK Bullseye
  • Very low-profile dot Optic. Limited interference from framework offers an exceptionally clear sight picture.
  • Compatible with: Most weapon categories
• JAK Glassless Optic
  • This small, glassless reflex Optic offers a crisp and clear sight picture for snappy target acquisition.
  • Compatible with: Most weapon categories
• JAK Signal Burst
  • A conversion kit designed for accuracy and controllability with four-round bursts.
  • Compatible with: Holger 556 (AR)
• JAK Beholder Rifle Kit
  • A long and heavy barrel that offers the best increase to range. Improves recoil control and damage range, converting this Handgun into a single-shot Rifle.
  • Compatible with: TYR (Handgun)
• JAK Headhunter Carbine Conversion
  • Rival Assault Rifles with this three-round burst conversion kit that excels at mid range combat.
  • Compatible with: Rival-9 (Submachine Gun)

NEW OPERATORS

Nolan and Dokkaebi, two KorTac Operators, lead the charge in the Season 1 offering… But a mysterious force, known only as Abolisher, looms in the background.

• Abolisher BlackCell (SpecGru)
  • [Redacted]
• Dokkaebi (KorTac)
  • Ari was born in South Korea to a family of gifted engineers. Tired of hiding from North Korean agents, she hacked into the South Korean Military’s private contacts and found the global Kortac Faction.
• Nolan (KorTac)
  • Recently anointed as Vladimir Makarov’s right hand man, Captain Andrei Nolan executes both plans and enemies with ferocious precision in the name of igniting a long-awaited war between East and West.

NEW EVENTS

We’ll be talking about what Zombie Santa is bringing to town in patch notes that will release closer to when the event launches over the holidays. Stay tuned!

NEW BATTLE PASS

A brand new Battle Pass arrives with the Season 1 bringing a variety of Operator Skins, Weapon Blueprints, and more.

For more information about the full Battle Pass offering and Black Cell Bundle, check out the full breakdown on the official Call of Duty blog here.

NEW PC FEATURES

GeForce RTX gamers can activate pre-game full ray tracing, also known as path tracing in pre-game lobbies, enabling you to see your characters, skins, vehicles, and weapons in an entirely new light.

All GeForce RTX gamers can activate Path Tracing via the Video options menu, and doing so will automatically enable NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 with DLSS Ray Reconstruction.

MULTIPLAYER

UIX

• New Features & Quality of Life
  • Player health and stamina are now represented by dynamic bars on the HUD.
    • Note: This feature is only available in Multiplayer and Zombies.
  • Faction assignment will now appear as a splash at the start of each match.
  • Added Upper Legs Damage and Empty Reload Quickness statistics to the Details widget in the Gunsmith.
  • Increased decimal precision of the Flinch Resistance stat in the Details widget in the Gunsmith.
  • Added icons in the Gunsmith to represent which title an Attachment originates from.
  • Reduced volume of the Multi-Kill and Medal splash sound effects.
• Bug Fixes
  • In Search and Destroy, hovering a bombsite on the Tac-Map will no longer reveal when a player is actively defusing.
  • Addressed multiple issues in Private Matches that caused players to be kicked back to the Main Menu.
  • Hovering an equipped Killstreak will no longer kick the player back to the Multiplayer menu.
  • Resolved a font rendering issue that caused text to be improperly displayed.
  • Improved performance of Social features for players with large Friend counts.
  • Resolved an issue in which the incorrect Weapon would be featured in the overlay of Killcams.
  • Kill Counter will now properly function with streaks beyond 120 Kills.
  • Reduced hitching that infrequently occurred while transitioning between menus.
  • Addressed an issue that caused the application to freeze while editing a Loadout.
  • Resolved a crash that could occur prior to viewing an After Action Report.
  • Addressed an issue that caused a crash while reporting a player.
  • Lockpick (Operator) can now be equipped, where available, without using the Quick Equip option.
  • Scrolling menus while in splitscreen will no long result in the cursor appearing off-screen.
  • Improved readability of the timer below the Event tab.

GAMEPLAY

• Movement
  • Added a delay following multiple rapid stance transitions to prevent exploitable repetition.
    • Crouch to Stand: 150ms
    • Prone to Stand: 600ms
• Spawns
  • Improved spawn protection against enemy Equipment and Killstreaks.
  • In Hardpoint, several adjustments have been made to improve the flow of combat and increase control of team-owned areas.

We’ve introduced a delay to stance transitions to combat a movement exploit commonly referred to by players as “snaking.” We’ll monitor the impact of these changes and continue to address feedback where appropriate.

WEAPONS & ATTACHMENTS

• Decreased hipfire spread penalty incurred while firing/moving for all Submachine Guns.

» Assault Rifles «

• MTZ-556
  • Increased maximum hipfire spread while standing by 10%.
  • Increased maximum hipfire spread while crouched by 6%.
  • Increased hipfire spread penalty incurred while firing by 10%.
  • Increased hipfire spread penalty incurred while moving by 4%.
  • MTZ Natter Heavy Short (Barrel)
    • Decreased hipfire spread benefit by 5%.
  • Bruen Thunder V9 (Stock)
    • Decreased hipfire spread benefit by 6%.

» Battle Rifles «

• BAS-B
  • Increased damage multipliers in semi-auto fire type to intended values.
    • Lower-Torso: 1x to 1.2x
    • Arm & Hand: 1x to 1.35x
• Sidewinder
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 280ms to 265ms (-5%).
  • Tempus Predator Precision (Barrel)
    • Increased gun kick control benefit by 5%.
  • Huntsman Series-R Integrated Suppressor (Barrel)
    • Increased gun kick control benefit by 7%.
  • RB Borealis Grip (Rear Grip)
    • Increased gun kick control benefit by 5%.

» Submachine Guns «

• Striker
  • Decreased sprint to fire time from 110ms to 100ms (-9%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 230ms to 215ms (-7%).
  • Striker Stubby (Barrel)
    • Added 9% aim down sights time benefit.
• WSP Swarm
  • Decreased sprint to fire time from 110ms to 88ms (-20%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 190ms to 175ms (-8%).
• Striker 9
  • Decreased sprint to fire time from 110ms to 100ms (-9%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 225ms to 205ms (-9%).
  • Striker Stubby (Barrel)
    • Added 9% aim down sights time benefit.

» Shotguns «

• Lockwood 680
  • Tac-Stance will no longer reduce damage pellet count.

» Marksman Rifles «

• MCW 6.8
  • Equipping the Full-Auto Conversion Kit and 60rnd Drum Magazine will no longer result in a broken aim down sights animation.

» Melee «

• Riot Shield
  • Increased melee damage from 50 to 75 (+50%).
  • Added a 10% movement speed penalty while stowed.

» Attachments «

• S-37C DL Breacher Device (Muzzle)
  • Decreased hipfire spread benefit by 14%.
  • Resolved an issue that prevented one-hit melee kills in round-based Modes.
• Bruen Tactical Vertical Grip (Underbarrel)
  • Decreased hipfire spread benefit by 8%.
• Hollowpoint (Ammunition)
  • Decreased inflicted sprint penalty time from 800ms to 200ms (-75%).

Modern Warfare II (Carry-Forward)

• Increased reserve ammunition for all Weapons to MWIII standards.
• Decreased hipfire spread benefit of Underbarrel vertical grips by 5-12%.
• Decreased hipfire spread benefit of applicable Lasers by 2-5%.

» Assault Rifles «

• M4
  • Increased maximum damage from 28 to 35 (+25%).
  • Decreased head and neck damage multipliers from 1.37x 1.1x (-20%).

» Battle Rifles «

• TAQ-V
  • Increased lower-torso, leg, and foot damage multipliers from 0.8x to 1.1x (+38%).

» Submachine Guns «

• Vaznev-9K
  • Increased near-medium damage from 29 to 30 (+3%).
• ISO 45
  • Increased maximum damage from 30 to 33 (+10%).

» Shotguns «

• KV Broadside
  • Increased far-medium damage range from 9m to 10m (+8%).
  • Decreased aim down sights spread slightly.

» Light Machine Guns «

• RAAL MG
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 470ms to 390ms (-17%).
  • Decreased sprint to fire time from 375ms to 320ms (-15%).
  • Decreased tactical sprint to fire time from 496ms to 416ms (-16%).
• 556 Icarus
  • Increased maximum damage from 28 to 34 (+21%).
  • Decreased head damage multiplier from 1.4x to 1.1x (-21%).

» Marksman Rifles «

• SP-R 208
  • Increased maximum damage range from 15m to 20m (+28%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 370ms to 340ms (-8%).

» Handguns «

• Basilisk
  • Increased maximum damage range from 5m to 7m (+35%).
  • Increased near-medium damage range from 6m to 15m (+140%).
  • Increased far-medium damage range from 17m to 23m (+32%).

PROGRESSION

• Corrected unlock requirement descriptions for multiple Weapon Attachments.
• Revised conditions for multiple unlocks that caused Attachments to be unavailable at the expected Weapon level.
• Associated weaponry will now be properly included in the Camo unlock splashes.
• Player Rank
  • Increased Level cap from 55 to 250, enabling players to reach Prestige 5.
    • At each Prestige, a new animated icon is unlocked.

CUSTOMIZATION

• Increased animation rate of the Priceless and Interstellar Completionist Camos.

MAPS

• Derail
  • Swapped Attacker and Defender initial spawn positions in Control.
• Estate
  • Improved bullet penetration through the staircase in the Lodge.
  • Adjusted collision to prevent players can accessing an unintended location near the Front Entrance of the Lodge.
• Highrise
  • Improved ambient audio reverberation in the Mechanical Room.
  • Deprioritized spawn points distant from the objective in Hardpoint.
• Karachi
  • Players will now spawn on the correct side of the map assigned to their team in Cutthroat.
• Quarry
  • Added collision near the Offices to prevent players from reaching unintended locations.
  • Addressed an issue that caused players to spawn in unfavorable conditions in the Hardpoint game mode.
• Skidrow
  • Enemy player nameplates are no longer visible through certain surfaces in the Apartments.
• Terminal
  • Added additional spawn points in Free-for-All mode to improve player experience.
  • Improved ability to gauge spawn selection quality in all Modes.
  • Relocated a spawn point that placed players outside of the playable area.
• Scrapyard
  • Reviewed objective capture points to prevent players from capturing from unintended locations in Hardpoint and Control modes.
  • Added additional spawn points in Free-for-All mode to improve player experience.
• Sub Base
  • Improved ambient audio reverberation in the Power Station.
  • Swapped Attacker and Defender initial spawn positions in Control.
• Orlov Military Base (Ground War)
  • Improved AI Bot ability to navigate the environment in Invasion mode.
• Operation Spearhead (War)
  • Added collision near the Hotel to prevent players from exiting the playable area.
  • Added collision near the Corner Shop to protect players in their spawn area.
  • Addressed an exploit involving environmental turrets that allowed players to reach unintended locations.

MODES

• Ground War
  • Pre-game lobby countdown timer will no longer reset when a player leaves.
• Search and Destroy
  • Increased Player XP earned for several score events.
    • Kill: 500 XP
    • Assist: 200 XP
    • Shield Assist: 400 XP
    • Headshot: 1,000 XP
    • Plant: 1,000 XP
    • Defuse: 1,000 XP (+ 250 XP for Last Alive)
    • Ninja Defuse: 1,250 XP (+ 250 XP for Last Alive)
• War
  • Players who join an in-progress match can no longer be placed on a full team.
  • Decreased tank escort phase time limit from 6m to 5m.
  • Joining an in-progress match during the ending cinematic sequence is no longer possible.

EQUIPMENT

• Throwing Star (Lethal)
  • Addressed an issue that allowed one-hit kills without a Headshot.
• EMD Grenade (Tactical)
  • Prompt to remove tracker will no longer persist after death.

FIELD UPGRADES

• Deployable Cover
  • Previous deployments will now be destroyed upon new deployment as the maximum has been limited to 1.
• Trophy System
  • Mosquito Drone (Killstreak) will no longer be targeted.

KILLSTREAKS

• Juggernaut Recon
  • Addressed an exploit that allowed players to fire Loadout Weapons with unlimited ammo.
• Precision Airstrike
  • Players will now properly look through the binoculars in third-person view.
• Remote Turret
  • Implemented safeguard measures to prevent players from becoming stuck with the tablet in hand.

VEHICLES

• NSTV
  • Increased traction control to improve handling on muddy surfaces.
• Razor Tank
  • Decreased maximum forward speed by 14%.
  • Increased maximum reverse speed by 20% to match forward speed.
  • Increased turn speed by 40% to allow for tighter turns.
  • Increased ability to accelerate on sloped surfaces.

ZOMBIES

SEASON 1 CONTENT

Story Act and Mission

• Act IV and a new Story Mission are immediately available for all players at the start of Season 1.
• A massive gateway has appeared in the Exclusion Zone. Investigate the area and engage in new end-game content.

Dark Aether Rifts

• Dark Aether Rifts bring rewards to those who brave their challenges.
  • These otherworldly labyrinths are located inside the Dark Aether, where players and their squad have a limited time to complete a series of increasingly chaotic objectives to earn exceptional rewards. Find Sigils to enter the Dark Aether Rifts and face a new level of challenge!
• Dark Aether Rifts are unlocked by solving a hidden quest, which activates after completing the new Season 1 Story Mission.

Wonder Weapon: V-R11

• The V-R11 has been added to Modern Warfare Zombies.
  • Shoot zombies and transform them into humans, or blast humans to mutate them into friendly zombies.
  • Players receive a buff when shot.
  • The V-R11 has been added to the Mystery Box in Modern Warfare Zombies.
  • V-R11 Weapon Cases are now available via loot.

Acquisitions and Schematics

• Dog Bone
  • Consume the Dog Bone to summon the strongest friendly Hell Hound companion. The pet Hellhound will follow you and attack nearby threats until its health runs out.
• Golden Armor Plate
  • Consuming the new Golden Armor Plate replaces the Armor Carrier with Plates that automatically repair over time, in addition to providing the user additional damage resistances.
• Aether Blade
  • The Aether Blade is a special Throwing Knife with infinite ammo and a boomerang-like combat style. After striking an enemy, the Aether Blade locates the next nearest enemy to hit before returning to its Operator.

Prestige Challenges

• Season 1 allows you to level up past Rank 55 into Prestige Ranks that persist across seasons.
• Beginning in Season 1, reaching Rank 56 will unlock Prestige 1. Achieving this unlocks rewards and a set of challenges in Modern Warfare Zombies — complete those challenges to unlock multiple exclusive Calling Cards.
• For more details on Prestige Challenges, visit the Challenges and Seasonal Progression section of the Season 1 Announcement Blog.

Season 1 Battle Pass Weapons

• The XRK Stalker, RAM-7, and Stormender are available in Modern Warfare Zombies loadouts once unlocked via the Season 1 Battle Pass.

Global Changes

• Season 1 updates are not limited to just Zombies! Please reference the Global Section above for weapon balancing changes and more.

MAPS

Urzikstan

• Various visual map fixes.

WEAPONS

» Wonder Weapons «

• The Scorcher
  • The Scorcher’s launch ability will automatically fire when a player reaches their maximum charge under low ammo conditions.

» Assault «

• DG-58
  • Addressed an issue that prevented camos from applying in the customization tab in loadout menus.

» Weapon Cases «

• All Weapon Cases
  • Closed a duplication exploit.

MISSIONS

Hostile Takeover

• Addressed an issue that prevented some safes from progressing this Mission.
• Adjusted the description of this Mission in the Mission Select menu to state that Greene wants Players to hit “Terminus” instead of “Deadbolt.”

Merc Cleanup

• Mercenaries killed from long distances inside Merc Camps will now progress this mission.

Shocked

• This Mission now requires players to shock five separate Special zombies instead of shocking the same Special zombie multiple times.

Storm the Castle

• The required mission item will always drop when the Warlord is killed.

GAMEPLAY

Contracts

• Defend Ground Station
  • Addressed an issue that prevented the timer for the Defend Ground Station contract from appearing if players previously completed the same contract in a single session.
  • Mercenaries will now continue to fight Players after completing the Defend Ground Station contract.
• Eliminate Bounty Target
  • HVTs lured far away from their original spawn location in an attempt to exploit their behavior will now return faster to their spawn and heal more.
• Outlast
  • Enemies no longer spawn if players are not progressing the contract.
• Raid Weapon Stash
  • Enemies no longer spawn if players are not progressing the contract.
• Spore Control
  • Adjusted Spores to prevent them from spawning on a player, resulting in an instant death.

Acquisitions

• General
  • Addressed an issue where players could store more Acquisitions in the stash than intended.
• Aether Tools
  • Addressed an issue that prevented Aether Tools from applying if a player was driving a vehicle.
• Ammo Mods
  • Addressed an issue that prevented Ammo Mods from applying if a player was driving a vehicle.
• Perk-A-Colas
  • Tombstone Soda
    • Addressed an issue where Tombstones could spawn under the map.
    • Addressed an issue where Tombstones could spawn in the center of the map instead of where a player previously died.
    • Addressed an issue where sometimes players would not obtain their essence when interacting with a Tombstone.
    • Closed various duplication exploits associated with Tombstone Soda.
• Ammo Mods
  • Brain Rot
    • Players will now receive essence when a Brain Rotted Zombie kills other Zombies or dies.

Looting

• Various fixes for locations on the map where players could not loot items.

Exfil

• Launch
  • More formidable enemies have been added to the Exfil experience in all zones.
  • Addressed a rare issue that prevented the Hilltop Exfil helicopter from landing.
• In-Season
  • All exfils will increase the number of enemies spawned, with the Final Exfil receiving a significant boost to enemy count and enemy types.

General

• Ammo Caches will now always fully refill applicable player ammo reserves.
• Addressed an issue that allowed players to die instantly if they ran and slid into a Dog House.
• Players will no longer be able to hide inside a Dog House.
• Closed an out-of-bounds location that allowed players to stay alive outside the playable space.
• Addressed an issue where Player selected Operator skins would change upon entering a vehicle.

ENEMIES

Zombies

• Disciples
  • General
    • Addressed multiple issues that allowed Disciples to behave erratically, such as becoming stuck high in the air or on objects.
  • The Stormcaller
    • Addressed an issue that allowed The Stormcaller to die instantly from the Blood Burner’s Aether Pulse.
• Hell Hounds
  • Hell Hound flame particles will disappear if a Hell Hound does not spawn.
• Zombies
  • General
    • Adjusted spawns to prevent Zombies from spawning on top of fences.
    • Adjusted pathing to address exploits or incorrect pathing.
  • Light Armored Zombies
    • Addressed an issue that allowed Light Armored Zombies to receive more headshot damage than intended.

EQUIPMENT

Lethal Equipment

• Experimental Gas Grenade
  • Damage against Aether Worms has been reduced.

Tactical Equipment

• Decoy Grenades
  • Reduced the number of Decoy Grenades that can be stacked or equipped from 3 to 2.
  • Reduced Decoy Grenade duration from 8 seconds to 6.

KILLSTREAKS

Juggernaut

• Addressed an issue where players could destroy an Exfil helicopter by calling in a Juggernaut suit crate on top of it.

Sentry Turret

• Players can no longer kill themselves or others when placing down a Sentry Turret.

CUSTOMIZATION

Camos

• Borealis (MWIII) and Bioluminescent (MWII) Update.
  • Increased the animation rate of the Borealis and Bioluminescent Completionist Camos

UIX

• Player health and stamina are now represented by dynamic bars on the HUD.
• Addressed an issue that prevented pings on looted items in caches from disappearing automatically.
• Addressed an issue where players who attempted to equip a Mission Reward in the Gear tab would sometimes equip the wrong item.
• Addressed an issue where objective titles would occasionally not display while loading into a match.
• Addressed an issue where objective text would occasionally display outside its panel while loading into a match.
• Addressed an issue where players would be returned to the lobby screen when selecting “Activate Armory Unlock” on a locked Tactical or Lethal equipment item.

PROGRESSION

Achievements

• The First Step
  • Players can now unlock “The First Step” for reaching level 55 in Modern Warfare Zombies. Previously, players would need to enter the Multiplayer menu to obtain the achievement.

Camos

• Completionist Camos
  • Golden Enigma (MWIII) & Golden Ivory (MWII) Update
    • We’ve released a fix that allows Players to complete the Golden Enigma and Golden Ivory Completionist Camos with Blueprint weapons and Custom Mods.

AUDIO

Battle Chatter

• “Friendly Fire” Operator chatter will play less frequently.

STABILITY

• Adjustments have been made to better ensure players keep their loadout and rucksack inventory if they do not successfully deploy into a match.
• Added various crash and stability fixes.

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.

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Navigate to:

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• DualSense Controller Deals
• Best PS5 SSD Deals
• Best PS5 Video Game Deals (Physical)
• When Should I Buy a PS5?

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While Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals have largely passed at this point, you can still find a couple of DualSense controllers discounted at the moment. Options like the Midnight Black and the standard White version are down to $69, which is a nice 8% off, or you can save a couple bucks on the Gray Camo controller.

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Get 33% Off Elden Ring for PlayStation 5

If you’re still hoping to find great deals on games ahead of the holidays, we have good news! There are still quite a few games discounted at the moment. One of our favorites is this deal on Elden Ring for PS5, which is available for $39.97, but you can find more great deals below.

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PlayStation Deals: Budget to Best

It doesn’t need to have a massive discount to be a good deal, so we thought it would be a great idea to pick out our absolute favorite PS5 and PlayStation offerings that would be relevant to buy no matter the time of year, or the sales going on. From the latest DualSense controllers, to the very best PS5 SSDs on the market, we’ve got it all right here.

More PS5 Budget to Best Picks

• Pulse 3D Wireless Headset for $99.00
• DualSense Charging Station for $29.96
• WD_BLACK 1TB P50 Game Drive SSD for $179.99
• PowerA Twin Charging Station DualSense for $19.99

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Get 20% Off the Razer Kaira Pro Gaming Headset

There’s no shortage of PS5-compatible headsets. If you’re constantly having to turn down the volume when you play, you might want to pick up one of these, then you can listen to your games as loud as you darn well please. And if you’d like to see even more options that are worth buying, check out our collection of the best gaming headsets.

More PS5 Gaming Headset Deals:

• SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless Gaming Headset for $92.26
• Astro A10 Gaming Headset Gen 2 for $54.00

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When Should I Buy a PS5?

Availability has significantly improved for PS5 consoles this year. This means you no longer need to wait for specific sale events like Black Friday to make your purchase, as retailers such as Amazon are likely to offer the same console bundles during various sales throughout the year. Therefore, if you are in need of a PS5, there’s no real reason to delay your purchase and you can take advantage of any available sale.

If you’re desperate to pick up a console before the likes of Spider-Man 2, go ahead and buy one as they’re now regularly available. However, it’s worth noting that during sales Black Friday, there may be new unique bundles and promotions for the PS5 that are not offered at any other time of the year, such as the God of War Ragnarok bundle for $499 that is now out of stock and not available at the time of writing.

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2023, we’re trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We’ve got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as Switch and Xbox, and keep these updated daily with brand new offers. If you’re trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.

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Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

There’s something about over-the-top, old-school shooters that you just won’t find in AAA FPSs today, and that’s perhaps best exemplified by the likes of the Tribes series. Sure, they might not achieve the same visual perfection, but when you’re skiing across maps and using a jetpack to capture a rival team’s flag while performing midair drive-bys on anyone who tries to stop you, who really cares how slick the textures look? Hi-Rez Studios’ upcoming Tribes 3: Rivals aims to revive the whimsical and hilarious bloodsport that soaked up countless hours in my youth, but with a tighter focus owing to matches with significantly fewer players. After a couple nights going hands-on with an alpha build, playing a shooter that breaks the mold from modern shooters of the day can be a great time, but with somewhat claustrophobic maps and tiny teams, I worry it may be veering a bit too far from what made its predecessors so beloved.

The best thing Tribes 3: Rivals has going for it is that it doesn’t feel like every other modern first-person shooter, and instead of sprinting around tight corners with automatic weapons, you’re gliding down hillsides to pick up speed, then boosting into the air with your jetpack to fly across the map while firing silly Hasbro-looking weapons that shoot brightly colored projectiles. Advancing cautiously or hiding behind the environment in hopes of avoiding enemy fire will almost always get you killed in a matter of seconds, and even having played other Tribes games before, it took me a couple hours of getting hopelessly destroyed by the competition before I was able to break myself of bad habits learned from more mundane shooters and embrace pure chaos once more.

Gaining and maintaining momentum at all times and learning how to handle mostly inaccurate weapons made worse by said momentum definitely take some getting used to. But that learning curve is definitely worth the trouble, because Tribes 3 does a great job at recreating the excessively fast and disorderly combat that has few dull moments. And like previous titles, capture the flag remains the primary game mode, which makes all that focus on movement even more valuable when you’re stealing a flag or chasing after a would-be thief in a footrace where every second counts. Every match has at least one or two nail-biting moments where whoever can keep their skis sliding along the fastest will win the day. Moments like that are just downright good fun.

But Tribes 3: Rivals also makes some bold redesign decisions that deviate pretty significantly from the series’ established formula – namely, that matches only have five players on each team: a massive reduction from the 32-player matches in Tribes: Ascent and 128 players in Tribes 2. This means maps are smaller and the action is much less chaotic, which felt pretty out of place for the next entry in a series that has historically been a huge fan of massive multiplayer headcounts. That’s not to say that matches were particularly dull, though. Quite the opposite, I found a pretty consistent flow of intense encounters with other players that kept me on my toes, but the drastic change in tone and scale definitely still felt a bit out of place.

It’s clear that Hi-Rez hopes the series can reinvent itself with these changes, and there are without a doubt some advantages to smaller team sizes. For example, I definitely felt like my personal contribution mattered a whole lot more, and my ability to play a role in the success or failure of my team was great. There’s also the matter of matchmaking and lobby wait times, which are sure to be reduced with you only needing 10 players to start a match versus 32 players from the last game – and with old-school shooters not usually drawing the same massive player bases as the likes of Call of Duty, that might end up mattering a whole lot to the game’s long-term health.

Tribes 3: Rivals is still in the early stages of its development, and so far there’s a whole lot to like about its unique, refreshingly over-the-top action. Only time will tell if this classic shooter will be able to reinvent itself and stand out with a modern audience.

Batman: Akrham Trilogy on Nintendo Switch pays tribute to voice actor Kevin Conroy who passed away in November 2022.

As reported by Eurogamer, once credits role on the first game in the trilogy, Batman: Arkham Asylum, a black and white drawing of Gotham appears with the text: “In memory of Kevin Conroy.”

Conroy starred as Batman himself in the Arkham trilogy, but was beloved beyond video games as the voice of the Caped Crusader in the 1990s Animated Series, The Killing Joke animated special, and more. He passed away on November 10, 2022 following a short battle with cancer.

Lovely touch putting this at the end of Arkham Asylum #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/qn2Un5r29y

— Ewan Moore (@EMoore_) December 4, 2023

Batman: Arkham Trilogy arrived December 1 as the games’ first release on Switch, though not the first time on a Nintendo console as Batman: Arkham City appeared on Wii U.

While IGN hasn’t reviewed the Switch versions, all three games were well-received upon their original launches, with Batman: Arkham Asylum setting a new precedent for superhero games. “Batman: Arkham Asylum is the greatest comic book videogame of all time,” IGN said in our 9/10 review at the time.

It’s sequel earned a 9/10 too, as IGN said: “Batman: Arkham City isn’t just better than Batman: Arkham Asylum, it’s better than most games on the market.” The final game received the same score: “Batman: Arkham Knight is an impressive game on almost every level, with non-stop variety and great action.”

Image Credit: Pacific Press/Getty Images
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Activision has published the Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 patch notes as part of the launch today, December 6, and just like the update for Modern Warfare 3, Warzone’s update makes significant changes.

The battle royale gets the new Urzikstan map and a new battle pass as part of the game’s first big update following Modern Warfare 3’s release.

Urzikstan is a new large map that contains Warzone’s first controllable mobile point of interest, Urzikstan’s new drivable train, complete with forward and backward engine controls, a horn, and a handbrake in the caboose (rear carriage) for tactical braking.

Meanwhile, Ziplines are a brand new traversal mechanic that allow rapid horizontal navigation across Urzikstan. There’s a brand new one versus one Gulag, too.

One month after a major round of layoffs impacted roughly 100 Bungie employees of 1,200, those remaining at the Destiny developer say the cuts, as well as other cost-cutting measures, came alongside an apparent scramble by studio leadership to avoid a total Sony takeover.

As it currently stands, Bungie is (on paper) a fully independent subsidiary of Sony. But its board of directors has been divided since the takeover in July of 2022. Among its current members are PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst, Sony senior VP Eric Lempel, Bungie co-founder Jason Jones, Bungie CTO Luis Villegas, and Bungie CEO Pete Parsons. The board as a whole is split between Sony and Bungie representatives, with Parsons serving as a tiebreaker vote. But speaking to IGN under condition of anonymity, multiple current and former Bungie employees described a department meeting that took place shortly after the layoffs, in which leaders hinted that this shared power may not last forever.

Sony did not respond to IGN’s request for comment on this piece. Bungie declined to comment.

Declaration of Dependence

While the exact details of Sony’s deal to acquire Bungie remain unknown to the public or employees, sources say they were told by leaders that the current split board structure is contingent on Bungie meeting certain financial goals. If Bungie falls short of its revenue goals by too great an amount, Sony is allowed to dissolve the existing board and take full control of the company. And with Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape delayed into the next fiscal year and Bungie still investing heavily on Marathon, many employees understand that Bungie is struggling to meet the necessary targets to keep its last vestige of freedom. Such a takeover wouldn’t necessarily be shocking given its 2022 acquisition, but it would nevertheless be a stunning development for a company that has historically prided itself on its independence.

It was with this threat looming that Bungie leadership – not Sony, according to Parsons – made the choice to lay off roughly 100 employees last month. But the cost-cutting at Bungie isn’t limited to just personnel. Multiple current employees confirmed to IGN that the company has implemented numerous other cost-cutting measures recently, including a studio-wide hiring freeze, reduced travel budgets, elimination of holiday bonuses, keeping its annual Bungie Day virtual, delaying its weeklong company “Pentathalon” event to next December, and reducing numerous morale events such as cooking and knitting classes from monthly to quarterly. Bungie is also pausing or fully ending benefits like annual employee compensation adjustments to meet market rates, its new hire lunch program, employee donation matching, its peer recognition program, and gift cards for employees birthdays. And yearly studio performance bonuses this year will only be the contractually obligated 80% minimum, after being above 100% for good performance several previous years running.

Along with the recent layoffs, this has resulted in a massive decay in morale within the company, according to IGN’s sources, one of whom told us that the mood within the studio has been “soul-crushing” over the last month. And it doesn’t sound like management is making any significant efforts toward improving the atmosphere, either. According to those still with the company, employee frustration and sadness in the days and weeks following the layoffs was met with a surprising amount of indifference or even outright flippancy or hostility from management. Several people we spoke to told us that leaders had reiterated, across multiple meetings, that they couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be more layoffs, with two specifically recalling chief people officer Holly Barbacovi outright stating that layoffs were a “lever” the company would pull again.

“We know we need Final Shape to do well,” one source told IGN. “And the feeling at the studio is that if it doesn’t we’re definitely looking at more layoffs.”

Others said they were rebuffed repeatedly and discouraged from even discussing the layoffs whenever they tried to ask questions. Employees in one department recalled a post-layoffs Q&A session where a department head was asked if leadership taking salary cuts to prevent layoffs had been considered, only to respond that Bungie was “not that type of company.”

What’s more, sources we spoke to pointed out that many of the Bungie employees who were laid off were beloved community leaders within the studio, including many who had spearheaded employee inclusion and support efforts. Several people we spoke to expressed anger at the layoff of Bungie general counsel Don McGowan, who played a key role in Bungie winning an historic suit against a player who harassed a Bungie developer. Others laid off included a noticeable number of members of Bungie’s DE&I clubs, including co-heads of Pride@Bungie, Women@Bungie, and Accessibility@Bungie. When combined with other recent resource cuts, these dismissals have led to fears these clubs might be shut down. While researching this article, IGN noted that the public news articles announcing Women@Bungie and Accessibility@Bungie on its official blog were no longer accessible on the Bungie website, though it’s unclear exactly when or why this happened, or if it’s just an unintentional, recurring bug with the blog.

“I’m angry. I’m upset. This isn’t what I came here to do,” one person said. “It feels like many higher ups aren’t listening to the data and are like, ‘We just need to win our fans back, they still like us.’ No. They don’t…We got rid of some of our most knowledgeable beloved folks who have been here for 20+ years. Everyday I walk in afraid that I or my friends are next. No one is safe.”

Bungie, Eroding

Another anxiety sources discussed with us was that many of the reductions made at Bungie recently were part of a broader move toward outsourcing. Multiple individuals across various departments told us they’d heard discussions within their teams of plans to increase outsourcing both before and in the wake of the layoffs.

One team where those discussions have already become reality is in Quality Assurance [QA]. While outsourcing QA is extremely common practice industry-wide, Bungie historically has also enlisted an army of in-house, embedded QA testers working within individual teams. It’s a set-up the studio has prided itself on for years now, but QA sources within the studio are now afraid that strategy is on its way out. We previously reported that Bungie’s QA team saw a rash of mysterious departures in the months before the layoffs, and also noted a team-wide culture shift toward a general pool of testers consisting of both in-house and outsourced individuals. Former and current QA department members at Bungie tell us that in the last year, the team has seen increasing workloads and responsibilities, with more and more disciplinary actions taken for seemingly minor infractions. They also perceive growing hostility from team and company leadership, including a meeting in which QA was said to be referred to by leaders as “non-developers.” In total, sources tell us that over 10% of Bungie’s internal QA department was either fired or laid off between early October and early November, including both the reported layoffs and the departures leading up to them.

In a year that will go down in gaming history due to the sheer number of layoffs and studio closures, Bungie’s situation nonetheless stands out, and not for good reasons. It’s a well-known, long-standing studio that, despite historic culture problems, had managed to cultivate an increasingly positive community of fans around a beloved game while improving its own internal culture by gradual degrees. But in the wake of an acquisition that shocked many Bungie employees we’ve spoken to, and which seemed out of character with the studio’s independent streak, it feels to many like that’s all falling apart. Beloved colleagues have been laid off, benefits are vanishing, and many feel the “more people-oriented” (as one source put it) culture of recent years is being torn to pieces by the very Bungie leaders that touted it for so long. And seemingly all so those same leaders can retain a vestige of control over a company that’s already been sold away anyway.

“Folks still there are very much feeling ‘us vs them’ between leadership and workers,” one person said. “That trust has been eroded.”

Given their recent actions, the question of whether or not Sony will finally manage to swallow Bungie whole in a few months seems less and less important than the question of what Bungie’s current management will do to lead the company forward today.

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

Disney Lorcana: Into the Inklands is a brand new expansion headed to the trading card game in 2024 that will add locations for the first time alongside cards from such beloved properties as DuckTales, Treasure Planet, 101 Dalmatians, TaleSpin, and more.

Into the Inklands will be released first at local game stores on February 23, 2024, and will then arrive at mass market retailers on March 8, 2024. While it’s always great to get new character cards, the location cards are the big game-changer this time around.

While more details will be revealed on exactly how they work in the future, the team at Ravensburger has teased that fans will be able to collect such locations as Motonui from Moana, the Jolly Roger from Peter Pan, and Maleficent’s Castle from Sleeping Beauty.

What was shared, however, is that “some give bonuses when characters visit them, while others provide benefits just by being in play.”

In total, Into the Inklands will add over 200 new cards to Disney Lorcana, and some of the highlights shared are Pluto, 101 Dalmatian’s Perdita, DuckTales’ Scrooge McDuck, TaleSpin’s Kit Clouldkicker, and Treasure Planet’s Jim Hawkins and the RLS Legacy crew.

Lorcana’s lore will also grow with Into the Inklands, as narrative can be learned through the quotes and descriptive text on the cards. As for the story so far, Lorcana tells the tale of us players a.k.a. Illumineers as we are transported to this realm of Lorcana.

The First Chapter told that part of the story, and the most recent expansion, Rise of the Floodborn, followed what happened after we accidentally unleashed a flood of mixed ink that spread lore throughout the realm. The Illumineers then worked to return this lore to the Hall of Lorcana as a threat of an “ominous shadow storm” inched ever closer.

For more, check out how Goofy became Lorcana’s strongest card, the ‘Dark Magician’ Winnie the Pooh and more from Rise of the Floodborn, and the card that shows what would have happened if Beast never broke his curse.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

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

Buying new video games, hardware, and accessories for your preferred console doesn’t need to make a massive dent in your wallet. In fact, deals happen all the time for items like these, so you can save money while investing in your favorite hobby.

TL;DR – Our Favorite Video Game Deals

These sales even occur outside of events like Prime Day, Black Friday, or publisher events like Nintendo’s eShop sale in the summer or PlayStation’s Days of Play. And while we’ll always keep you up to date on those sales and what’s included in them, here, we’ll provide you with year-round deals that are worth taking advantage of. Whether you play on PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, or PC, you’ll find the very best deals listed below.

How to Avoid Xbox’s Game Pass Price Hike ($44.99 for 3-Months of Ultimate)

By securing 3-months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $44.99, you can actually avoid the hiked up Game Pass price. We recommend securing your current subscription for as long as possible. You can stack up to a maximum of 36 months of Game Pass, meaning you have the option to accumulate 3-month subscriptions up to 12 times.

Admittedly, this approach might put a strain on your wallet, totaling $539.88 if you purchase the 3-month package from the link above. However, when you compare it to the new cost of Game Pass Ultimate for 36 months at $16.99 per month, amounting to $611.64, you’ll realize you’re saving $71.76 on your subscription for the next three years. Otherwise, secure your membership for at least a year to lock in at least some savings overall.

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Amazing PS5 SSD with Heatsink for Just $58

Could your PS5 use more storage? Prices have been plummeting since Sony started letting people upgrade their SSDs. Right now you can get a TeamGroup T-Force A440 Pro 1TB for $58. It’s hard to beat the recent Prime Day and Black Friday we had, and this doesn’t match the best 1TB deal at $50 during the former’s sale, but it’s pretty close.

More PS5 SSD Deals:

• ADATA 2TB Premium SSD for $129.90
• Crucial P5 Plus 2TB (No Heatsink) for $138.65
• Silicon Power 4TB XS70 for $245.99
• Silicon Power 2TB XS70 for $119.97
• Silicon Power 1TB XS70 for $71.99
• SAMSUNG 980 PRO 1TB SSD for $76.86
• XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade 1TB SSD for $79.99
• Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2TB for $119.99

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Perfect Steam Deck or Switch SD Card for $28

The best Steam Deck SD card should be fast, reliable, and as future-proof as possible. Therefore, you’re going to want to opt for the latest in SD card tech, which is a micro SDXC UHS-I U3 A2 V30 memory card. That’s a lot of random letters, so to save you a bit of time we’ve left our top suggestions and deals here for your convenience.

More Micro SD Card Deals

• 256GB Samsung Evo Select A2 Card for $14.99
• 1TB Teamgroup Pro A2 Card for $54.99
• 128GB TeamGroup Go A1 Card for $8.99
• 128GB Amazon Basics A2 Card for $17.13

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Tears of the Kingdom Is On Sale Right Now (Save $17)

This is an excellent price for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, saving you $17.92. It’s available at Walmart for $52.07. Make sure to jump on this offer quickly, though, as prices fluctuate all the time. You can also pick up Dying Light 2: Stay Human for Xbox Series X at a discount on Amazon for $21.29, 65% off its usual price of $59.99 and the Dead Space Remake Digital Deluxe Edition is currently down to just $8 if you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Member. Check out those deals and even more below.

More Video Game Deals:

• Marvel’s Midnight Suns Enhanced Edition (PS5) for $27.81
• Atomic Heart (Xbox Series X) for $59.38
• A Plague Tale: Requiem (PS5) for $35.95
• Sonic Origins Plus (Nintendo Switch) for $34.80
• Yakuza: Like A Dragon – Xbox Series X for $17.99
• Mortal Kombat 1 – PlayStation 5 for $58.99
• Diablo IV – Xbox Series X for $54.99
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – US Version – Nintendo Switch for $54.95

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Get 39% Off the Anker 737 Power Bank

If you’ve been looking to pick up a power bank to use with your favorite devices, you can never go wrong with options from Anker. To see even more excellent power bank options, check out our picks below.

More Power Bank Deals

• Baseus 65W Power Bank for $45.99
• Anker 537 Power Bank for $59.99

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Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Official Guide for $27 (Save $18)

With these, you’ll have a detailed overview of Hyrule, a helpful walkthrough to get you through the game, and much more. Not only that, but they have gorgeous covers as well, especially the Collector’s Edition. The Standard Edition has an MSRP of $29.99 but is on sale for $18.74, and the Collector’s Edition normally runs for $44.99, but you can get it for $26.85. Plus, if you want to complete the set, the Breath of the Wild guidebook is also down to just $23 right now as well.

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2023, we’re trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We’ve got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as Switch and Xbox, and keep these updated daily with brand new offers. If you’re trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.

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Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Similar to PS5 and Switch consoles, the best time of year to buy an Xbox Series X is over Black Friday or the weeks following the sale. Not only that, but we’ve continued to see some impressive discounts over the past few days — especially for those looking for the best Xbox Series X deal going. The most impressive deal going right now (while it is limited to location and YMMV), is the Walmart Xbox Series X Diablo 4 bundle for just $349. For more Xbox deal updates, ensure you’re following @IGNDeals on Twitter/X.

Best Xbox Series X Deal: $349 at Walmart

This is a staggeringly good offer, and well worth considering if you can secure one from your local store. Our top tip on this: try changing your shipping to pickup if see your local store has one! There’s also the standard Xbox Series X available for $349 with similar caveats, so it’s worth trying on both to see if you can secure the best deal possible.

Please Note: As we’ve mentioned the Xbox Diablo 4 bundle is only available in select locations. If it’s not available for you, there’s also an Xbox Series X console (non-bundle) that’s also available for $349. It’s not as good as the Diablo 4 bundle, but it’s still better than any Xbox deal we saw during Black Friday (~$399)

Best Xbox Series S Deal

While we haven’t had any deals quite as good as we saw during Black Friday, these Xbox Series S deals are still mighty impressive as far as we’re concerned. Our favorite right now is on the Xbox Series S + 3-months Game Pass + an Extra Xbox Wireless Controller for just $289.99. Overall that’s a saving of about $80 overall – not bad at all.

Best Xbox Deals: Xbox Core Wireless Controller for $34.99

Need a second controller? Lenovo has the official Microsoft Xbox Core Wireless Controller for for Xbox Series X|S consoles for only $34.99 after you apply a $5 off coupon code “MXBOXWH” in your shopping cart. Only the Robot White color is available at this price. This was the lowest price we saw for an official Xbox Core wireless controller during Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Other notable gaming deals right now include Star Wars Jedi Survivor for $32.99, Assassin’s Creed Mirage for $34.99 and Dead Space Digital Deluxe Edition for $7.99 for those with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

How to Trade in Your Old Xbox

If you’re looking to trade in your old Xbox consoles, you can do so at select retailers in-store and online. Often, the most widely available retailers are GameStop and Best Buy. However, you can also trade your used devices online at retailers such as Amazon and Microsoft.

Some retailers will offer you cash for your used goods, while others may provide you with a gift card that can be used in-store and online. This is a great way to offload your old gaming gear and get some money that you can put towards a newer console and games.

While trading devices in at retailers will often net you the lowest amount for your used consoles, there are also online marketplaces such as eBay, Craigslist, and OfferUp that may fetch higher prices, but you’ll often be responsible for packing and shipping costs, or be required to meet someone in person for the transaction, the latter of which poses its own risks.

Where to Trade in Xbox Games

Similar to Xbox console trade ins, you can also trade your existing games in at specific retailers. The most widely available retailer accepting used video games is GameStop, but they are notorious for giving you pennies on the dollar for your pre-owned titles. However, if you’re looking for an easy way to offload some of your library for cash or in-store credit, this is a convenient option. You can always look up the expected trade-in value on GameStop’s website before heading into a store, so you know exactly how much you’ll receive. Additionally, you can trade in your used games online through Amazon in exchange for an Amazon gift card.

Best Xbox Holiday Gift Ideas for 2023

Buying gifts for Xbox owners can sometimes be a challenge. Whether they’re a newcomer to the platform or a seasoned veteran, there are a wide variety of options out there to choose from. Do you go for a wireless headset? Or maybe some brand-new video games? Or maybe you set them up with an Xbox Game Pass subscription? No matter what kind of gift you’re looking to buy, we’ve got you covered with some of the best options available right here and ready for the festive holiday season.

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Get an Xbox Series X or Series S and access to hundreds of games, including day one releases, with 24 months of Game Pass Ultimate included—all for one low monthly price.

Check Out These Amazing Xbox-Themed Gifts

For the devoted Xbox enthusiast, their passion for the gaming console can become a defining aspect of their every day life. Well, there’s no better way to express that dedication by adorning their space with an array of enticing collectibles. Imagine having a jaw-dropping Master Chief action figure or a stunning statue that comes equipped with the iconic Grappleshot and Energy Sword.

You can also transform your gaming sanctuary with Xbox-themed lighting, casting a warm, radiant glow as you unlock those coveted achievements, or proudly display the iconic Xbox logo itself. Additionally, don’t miss out on the sheer thrill of owning the NERF Halo Needler Replica, which stands as a remarkable gift choice for any fervent Xbox or Halo fan in your life. These additions can help you further immerse yourself in the captivating world of Xbox and make your gaming haven truly exceptional.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.