Ever since 2007, Netflix has been one of the biggest players in the world of streaming, offering high-quality shows and movies like Stranger Things, Squid Game, Black Mirror, and so many more. It may seem like everyone has Netflix, but things have changed a bit since the streamer started cracking down on people sharing their accounts with people outside of their home. Its also true that there are so many other streaming services and bundles these days that many people rightfully need to be picky about their subscriptions to avoid a horrifying monthly bill. If you need to downgrade your plan or cancel your Netflix subscription, it's worth looking at the prices below.So, whether you are considering signing up for Netflix for the first time, want to come back for a specific show or movie, need to finally get your own account after sharing one for years and years, or whatever else, this guide will let you know everything you need about Netflixs current plans to help make that decision as easy as possible for you.What's on Netflix in May 2024As of January 2025, Netflix has three plans - Standard with ads, Standard, and Premium - each plan has its pros and cons in regard to features and price, and we will break down each one below, first in a quick bulleted list from Netflix and then in a more detailed version from us below that. Netflix used to have a Basic plan as well for $9.99/month, but the company removed it for new/rejoining users back in July. However, those who were subscribed to the Basic plan before it was scrapped can keep it until they either switch plans or cancel their account.Netflix Plans and Prices (As of January 2025)Netflix rang in the new year with yet another round of price hikes. These prices took effect starting January 21, 2025: 1. Standard with Ads - $7.99/monthAd-supported, all but a few movies and TV shows available, unlimited mobile gamesWatch on 2 supported devices at a timeWatch in Full HD2. Standard - $17.99/monthUnlimited ad-free movies, TV shows, and mobile gamesWatch on 2 supported devices at a timeWatch in Full HDDownload on 2 supported devices at a timeOption to add 1 extra member who doesn't live with you ($7.99/month)Add extra member slots for $7.99 each3. Premium - $24.99/monthUnlimited ad-free movies, TV shows, and mobile gamesWatch on 4 supported devices at a timeWatch in Ultra HDDownload on 6 supported devices at a timeOption to add up to 2 extra members who don't live with you ($7.99/month per user)Netflix spatial audioAdd extra member slots for $7.99 eachDoes Netflix Have a Free Trial?Unfortunately, if you're looking for a free trial of Netflix, you won't find one. Netflix doesn't do free trials of it's service. You can check out these other free trials below of some decent Netflix alternatives:7-Day Free Trial Paramount+ Free-TrialSee it at Paramount+30-Day Free Trial Hulu Free TrialSee it at Hulu5 Days Free DirecTV Stream Free TrialSee it at DirecTV StreamNetflix Subscriptions Tiers, ExplainedStandard with Ads - $7.99/MonthThe lowest-priced Standard with Ads plan was one that had been requested for many years, and Netflix finally released it on November 3, 2022, in the US, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, and the UK.The Standard with Ads plan costs $7.99/month and is an ad-supported plan that includes all but a few movies and TV shows'' and unlimited mobile games like Oxenfree and Spiritfarer. It also allows for subscribers to watch on two supported devices at a time, which means you can be watching two different shows (or the same one!) on two different devices, which is especially useful if you live with other people.Subscribers of this plan will be able to stream their content in 1080p (Full HD), which is a bump up from the 720p (HD) offered in the basic plan.Standard - $17.99/monthThe Standard plan is Netflixs most popular as it gives the best options for those who live in homes with multiple people and like to watch their content at a higher resolution.While it does come with a hefty price hike of $10/month over the Basic plan, it does give some important upgrades that make it worth a look. First up, it includes ad-free access to all of Netflixs content, and subscribers to the Standard plan will be able to stream that content at a resolution of up to 1080p (Full HD). Sure, its not the 4K offered in the highest-tier plan, but 1080p is good enough for a lot of people who dont necessarily care as much about the tech behind streams and just want content that looks good, which it does at 1080p!The Standard plan also lets subscribers watch Netflix on two devices at once and download content to two of those devices at a time. This tier also allows you to add one member who lives outside of your home at $7.99/month, which is a good option now that Netflix is cracking down on account sharing. This is very useful, especially if you have family members or friends who dont live with you that you are supporting or simply just want to gift the treat of Netflix to them.Its also important to note that the members you invite outside of your home will use their own Netflix account and password, you simply just pay to let them use it.Premium - $24.99/monthThe Premium plan is Netflixs most expensive tier and offers all the best features the streamer has to offer. Alongside obviously giving subscribers access to Netflixs entire library, it allows them to watch the content at resolutions up to 4K (Ultra HD), which is great for those who have the latest and greatest TVs.The Premium plan also allows for four devices to watch Netflix at a time, which is beneficial for those living with big families or a bunch of friends. It also has the benefit of letting you download Netflix content on up to six devices at once, meaning four people can watch Netflix at once and two others can still watch their downloaded content without anyone running into any errors or getting kicked off.One of the other bigger selling points of the Premium plan is Netflix spatial audio, which, according to Netflix, enhances sound without the need for surround sound speakers or home theater equipment. Think of spatial audio as a type of 3D audio that makes it so sounds appear in more precise locations and not just from left or right stereo channels.Lastly, you have the option to add up to two extra members who dont live with you for $7.99/month per user.Best Sci-Fi Movies On NetflixFor more from the world of Netflix, check out our list of the best Netflix movies you can watch on the streamer right now, as well as our best of lists for the genres of anime, horror, action, and sci-fi. You can also read our review of Netflix, where we said, Netflix continues to sit atop its competitors in the streaming wars with its robust library of original content, plus a still-healthy amount of licensed movies and shows, all presented by a best-in-class user interface thats sleek and easy to navigate no matter what device youre viewing on. More Streaming Service GuidesIf you're looking for even more streaming service guides, explore the below plans in 2025:Streaming Netflix With a VPNIf youre traveling or planning to travel and trying to watch Netflix, a VPN can help. Our top VPN service pick right now for streaming Netflix is NordVPN (with pricing starting at $3.69 per month). See our full VPN expert-picked list for a breakdown of trusted VPNs for streaming in 2024.Adam Bankhurst not only writes news, reviews, previews, features, and more for IGN, but he also helps run the homepage. Adam was born in Cleveland, OH, and now lives in Columbus with his incredible wife and 3-year-old son. He is an aficionado of all things Disney, Star Wars, Marvel, Lord of the Rings, Nintendo, Final Fantasy, Mass Effect, and so much more.

The Hunter Becomes the Hunted: Black Ops 6 Season 02 is Here!As Sevati Sev Dumas toasts a new era of Avalon, her short-lived victory over the Luttazzi crime family comes to an abrupt end. During a celebration in the French Syndicate Penthouse, an urgent notice arrives for all attendees: the Luttazzis have placed a lucrative bounty on the entire Rogue Team as payback. This is the price for working with criminals: In the dog-eat-dog world of Avalon, will money speak louder than loyalty?Now the Rogue Team is on the run, doggedly pursued by an anonymous and lethal assassin. Who can they really trust, and where can they hide? This season, the hunter becomes the hunted.Nows the time to draw your line in the sand and bring in your targets and bounties dead or alive.Gear up for a huge drop of free and premium content when Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 02 goes live on Tuesday, January 28 beginning at 9AM PT across all platforms.Call of Duty: Black Ops 6: Season 02MULTIPLAYER CONTENT SUMMARYFive Maps: Deploy to three brand-new maps at Season 02 launch: Revel in the opulence of an Avalon crime bosss penthouse in Bounty; turn high-end vehicle theft into black market gains in Dealership; and fight for your life on a stolen yacht in the Lifeline Strike map. Later in the season, board a high-speed train for revenge in the new Bullet Strike map, and catch some air with the return of Black Ops IIs Grind.New Modes and Valentines Day LTMs: Buff up your Operators by landing eliminations in Overdrive and test your skills across randomized Loadouts in Gun Game. For lovers and fighters, try your hand at Third Wheel Gunfight and Couples Dance Off.Additional Equipment: Broaden your tactical horizons with the new Slipstream Perk and War Machine Scorestreak, plus track down your next target with the Hunters Instinct Perk and replace your Dedicated Melee slot with a Launcher using the new Flyswatter Wildcard, both arriving in-season.Season 02 Ranked Play, Major I Announcement: Expect a new season of Multiplayer Ranked Play, with all-new rewards to earn. Plus, get info on the upcoming Major I Call of Duty League tournament!Bounty (Launch)Brand-New, Core, 6v6, Medium-SizedDeploy at sunrise to the top of an Avalon skyscraper, surging into the penthouse suite of a local crime boss. The Rogue team are here to celebrate their previous victories, but the party is short-lived, as friends turn into enemies, and chaos reigns. From the starting point of a pristine Patio, move inside an opulent, gold-plated Nightclub and Lounge where top-shelf entertaining was provided to a variety of rich guests. Ambush enemies by jumping over the light fixtures hanging over the Lobby below.The party is in the front, but business is in the back; the rear Office is seemingly still under construction, but on closer inspection, this is the place where those displeasing the crime boss were tortured, as indicated by some particularly unpleasant evidence. Race over the tarp and battle between the unfinished walls or move out to the Rooftop for a tactical breath of fresh air. Shoot the glass out from underneath your enemys feet on the Skylight, or race along the outer Ledge, jumping over the top of a neon sight to reach the other side, as Bounty has plenty of routes to learn if you arent scared of heights.Dealership (Launch)Brand-New, Core, 6v6, Medium-SizedFor Avalons wealthy clientele, nothing compares to the luxury vehicles on display at the Pallasar car dealership. However, this dealership is a front, and in reality serves as a lucrative black market for the criminal underworld where vehicles are traded for guns, ammunition, and other unsavory valuables. Rogue team flee Bounty, looking for friendly contacts in the vicinity, but are met with vicious retaliatory skrimishes at every turn.Battle around the wreckage in the Car Lot and Showroom, pushing the fight into the interior Commissary and Lounge or out on the Courtyard and once offered an idyllic vista. Open the sliding doors to either side of the Garage for a quick ambush or close them to stall incoming enemies. For the best sights over the Garage and Sales room, head into the Admin office and bounce between the two windows overlooking the areas, controlling the center of the map. For the ultimate element of surprise, equip the RC-XD and drive through the floor vent, exploding in the enemys face on the other side.Lifeline (Launch)Brand-New, Strike, 2v2/6v6, Small-SizedExpect high stakes on the high seas as Rogue team focus on escaping by boat, and battle onto the aptly named Lifeline, a small, high-end yacht still ablaze after a successful boarding by Sev and her allies. Currently chopping through the waves at high velocity, pursued by enemy gunboats, enemy evasion is certainly not guaranteed.This small-sized Strike map funnels Operators directly into the fight. Smoke billows from its flaming hardtop while the fight rages on below. From Bow to Aft, it wont take long to collide in the center Bar and gambling den, the disco room, or along the steps on Portside and Starboard. Keep your head on a swivel or risk getting thrown overboard.Bullet (Mid-Season)Brand-New, Strike, 2v2/6v6, Small-SizedAfter regrouping and learning of the location of the Luttazzi Godmother responsible for placing the bounty on the Rogue team in the first place Sev and her team go on the offensive and drop onto the rapidly-moving bullet train to gain the upper hand, as well as neutralizing a key enemy target.This mid-season Strike map presses the fight up close along its narrow interior carriages. Race through the automatic sliding doors separating each car, from the first-class lounge through the dining car, second-class seats, and up to the cab where the fallen conductor dispels any hope of reaching the destination in one piece. When things get too hot inside, try your luck via a roof hatch up top; watch your step or risk being thrown from the train.Grind (Mid-Season)Remaster, Core, 6v6, Medium-SizedThe infamous skatepark first introduced in Call of Duty: Black Ops II makes its Black Ops 6 debut in the mid-season! Shred your enemies across the indoor stadium and pro shop or soak up the sunshine in the huge skate bowl and halfpipe outdoors. Use the ramps for cover and to get above the competition and bust out your best tricks like the 360-corkscrew one-shot. Also expect an additional surprise related to this map, later in the season.A new Mode and a returning fan-favorite match type start the season off with a bang, in the days leading up to a new and enhanced Ranked Play later in the month.Overdrive (Brand New, Launch)Kick into Overdrive in this charged-up twist on Team Deathmatch. Teams compete to be the first to reach the maximum number of stars. Earn these stars by executing the following maneuvers:Earn 1 star for Basic Eliminations like finishing off an enemy with body shots.Earn 2 stars for Core Medal Eliminations like headshots and melee attacks.Earn 3 stars for completing Distinguished Medal Eliminations, reserved for only the most impressive takedowns.Rack up stars to unlock special Operator abilities that will greatly aid you in battle and keep that streak going to reach Overdrive! If you get eliminated, or the elimination timer runs out before you take out another target, youll start the process over again. Operators attempting Overdrive can expect the following improved capabilities:1 Star: Awakened Senses: See enemies through walls and replenish your health after eliminating a target.3 Stars: Physical Enhancements: Increased movement and reloading speed.6 Stars: Augmented Handling: Improved hip-fire accuracy and improved sprint-to-fire and ADS speeds.Earn all three buffs to activate Overdrive! This allows you to earn double the stars when eliminating enemies.Gun Game (Launch)The fan-favorite Gun Game returns! Compete in a free-for-all mode where all Operators begin the match with the same starting weapon and cycle through the same set of 20 weapons, varying from match to match. Eliminate enemies to advance to the next weapon, testing your skills across a variety of weapon types.To keep the action moving, frequent radar sweeps reveal the last known location of all Operators on the map. The top two performing players and their current progress are also displayed on-screen. If someone starts pulling too far ahead, try taking them out with a melee attack to set them back to the previous weapon. The first Operator to cycle through all 20 weapons wins the match!Valentines Day Limited Time ModesShow your love with two limited-time modes for couples and third wheelers alike.Third Wheel Gunfight (In-Season)Not everyones hungry for love. Some people just want to do things their own way. In Third Wheel Gunfight, you can now bring along that untethered friend and duke it out 3v3.Couples Dance Off (In-Season)This ones strictly for duos. Compete in a moshpit of 2v2 Face Off modes including Face Off Team Deathmatch, Face Off Domination, and Face Off Kill Confirmed.Enhance your tactical planning with two new Perks, a Wildcard and an even wilder Scorestreak, all coming to Season 02 Multiplayer.New PerksPerk: Slipstream (Event Reward)Perk Slot: 3Type: Enforcer (Red)Raises your base sprint speed at the cost of removing Tac Sprint.Perk: Hunters Instinct (Mid-Season)Perk Slot: 2Type: Enforcer (Red)Eliminating an enemy marks the next closest enemy.New WildcardWildcard: Flyswatter (In-Season)Allows a player to replace their Dedicated Melee weapon with a Launcher.New ScorestreakScorestreak: War Machine (Event Reward)Type: LethalScore: 1,300Mastery Badges: YesPowerful burst-fire grenade launcher with grenades that explode on impact. Large magazine.The deadly War Machine is back! This gives players the ability to launch explosive clusters into the enemy line for those with a penchant for heavier weapons. The War Machine comes equipped with 30 rounds, firing in three-round bursts. When you need to clear an area fast, there are few better options than this destructive armament.In addition to the new content coming on day one of Season 02, Treyarch has prioritized several quality of life improvements and playlist updates to release this Season, including:Access a Weapon Camo or Calling Card challenge and simply select Add to Tracked (in the bottom-left corner of your menu screen).Challenge Tracking & Near Completion (MP and Zombies)Manually track up to 10 Calling Card Challenges and 10 Camo Challenges per mode to easily keep track of Challenges youre progressing.If you have fewer than 10 Calling Card Challenges or 10 Camo Challenges tracked, your nearest Challenges to completion will display in those slots instead. This should help players discover and identify Challenges they are close to completing.The top Tracked or Near Completion Calling Card Challenge and Camo Challenge both appear in the Lobby, as well as in-game via the Options Menu.Unique HUD Presets per mode (MP and Zombies)Players will be able to set the HUD Preset settings they prefer for both Multiplayer and Zombies, keeping a unique setup per-mode without needing to change settings when switching between modes.General Quality of Life updatesReduced collision with teammates to improve maneuverability around tight spaces and doorways with nearby teammatesWeapon balance pass and bullet penetration updatesFurther reducing weapon motion when jumping, sliding, and diving with the Dexterity Perk equippedImproving player visibility in Kill Confirmed by reducing the height of dog tags on the mapSimplifying and/or expanding requirements for several Calling Card Challenges, as well as fixing bugged ChallengesExpanding the number of Featured Playlist slots to allow for more marquee playlists on the main menuFor more details on updates to RICOCHET Anti-Cheat, Call of Duty: Warzone, Multiplayer, and Zombies, click here for the Community Update Blog.Ranked Play Playlist MapsProtocol (Hardpoint, Search and Destroy, Control)Skyline (Hardpoint, Search and Destroy)Vault (Hardpoint, Search and Destroy, Control)Red Card (Hardpoint, Search and Destroy)Hacienda (Hardpoint, Search and Destroy, Control)Season 02 Ranked Play OverviewFor players joining Black Ops 6 in the new year, Multiplayer Ranked Play offers competitive Multiplayer matches using the same settings, maps, modes, and weapon restrictions used by the Call of Duty League. Progress through the Ranks by earning SR (Skill Rating) by accumulating Ranked Play match wins.Earn a variety of career rewards that can be earned throughout the lifespan of Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Ranked Play, including Rank Skins and Win Challenge rewards. Each season comes with its own seasonal rewards as well that can only be earned throughout the duration of that season, including:Season 02 Ranked Play RewardsGet 10 Wins: Pro Issue Jackal PDW BlueprintGet 100 Wins: 100 Season 2 Wins Large DecalSilver: Ranked Season 2 Silver Calling CardGold: Ranked Season 2 Gold Calling Card Platinum: Ranked Season 2 Platinum Calling CardDiamond: Ranked Season 2 Diamond Calling Card Crimson: Ranked Season 2 Crimson Calling Card Iridescent: Ranked Season 2 Iridescent Calling Card Top 250: Ranked Season 2 Top 250 Calling CardTop 250 #1 Overall: Ranked Season 2 Top 250 Champion Calling CardSeason 02 Ranked Play Rank CamosAdditionally, players can earn Camos to represent any Ranked Play Rank achieved in Season 02 of Black Ops 6 Ranked Play:Gold: Start in/above or reach Gold at any point in Season 02Platinum: Start in/above or reach Platinum at any point in Season 02Diamond: Start in/above or reach Diamond at any point in Season 02Crimson: Start in/above or reach Crimson at any point in Season 02Iridescent: Start in/above or reach Iridescent at any point in Season 02Top 250: Finish Season 02 in the Top 250Major I, the first LAN event of the 2025 Call of Duty League season, is just around the corner! Taking place at the Caja Mgica in Madrid, Spain from January 30 - February 2, the tournament is your chance to see the best players in the world compete in Black Ops 6.Catch the action on YouTubeas all 12 League teams compete across four days of insane action in pursuit of being crowned the Major I champion.Plus, rep your favorite teams this season with the 2025 Call of Duty League Team Packs, featuring Home and Away Operator Skins plus a team Weapon Camo, Charm, Calling Card, Emblem, and Stickers.Call of Duty: Black Ops 6: Season 02 ZombiesZOMBIES CONTENT SUMMARYThe Tomb: Cursed catacombs guard a gateway to the Dark Aether. Follow in the footsteps of a doomed explorer as your search for the fabled Sentinel Artifact continues.Additional Gameplay Content: Keep all threats in sight with the addition of the Death Perception Perk, including new Augments to research to further enhance its abilities. Plus, chew on three new GobbleGums and wield the mighty War Machine for an explosive attack.New Enemy Type, Wonder Weapon, and More: Face off against the electrifying Shock Mimic, wield the deadly Staff of Ice, utilize a new type of player-controlled hazard with Aetheric Lanterns, and pierce your enemies with the Arrow Trap.New Quality of Life Updates: Co-op Pause, Challenge Tracking, Bespoke HUD Preset settings, and more are coming to Season 02.Following the events at Citadelle des Morts, Weaver, Maya, Carver, and Grey must take the amulet secured at the Citadel to a cursed dig site and the ancient catacombs within. Professor Krafft indicated that the elusive Sentinel Artifact may be found in the tunnels below. Reports of paranormal phenomena go back centuries, possibly related to the presence of the artifact. If the team can secure it, there may yet be hope in releasing Samantha Maxis from her imprisonment in the Dark Aether.In this enthralling new adventure, follow in the footsteps of a doomed explorer and explore a long-forgotten dig site while seeking out a door to nowhere. What lurks behind this door? Youll find out when brand-new Zombies map launches at the start of Season 02 on Tuesday, January 28, at 9AM PT.A shiny hapenny to the lucky blighter who finds that door first!- Sir Archibald Fotherington-SmytheYoull need all the guidance you can get to navigate the dark and dusty passages of the cursed catacombs within this Romanesque dig site. Aiding you on this adventure is S.A.M., Ravenov, Peck, as well as Raptor One and the increasingly erratic Strauss. Adding to the oddities are reports of audible anomalies in the form of echoes of a former British explorer who led an ill-fated 1908 expedition into the earthworks.Bolster your knowledge of The Tomb before attempting to survive its many dangers with this abridged and narrative-focused overview of its main locations. What of the Tombs many secrets? These are left for you to discover!Dig SiteThe surface-level Dig Site is your entryway to the rest of the map. Strange glowing runes mark certain alcoves, perhaps gateways to the subterranean regions beyond. A large, partially uncovered stone face lies at the pit of the site, roped off and long forgotten, a nearby fallen pillar. Scale the stairs and scaffolding to further explore the area. Dont linger too long, lest you end up like the headless statue on the upper tiers of this archeological area.Neolithic Catacombs and OssuaryExploring the Neolithic Catacombs, you may notice how far back the area goes, both physically as well as through layers of ancient cultures and civilizations. Cave paintings adorn the cavernous walls, while winding pathways lead through the natural hollows of the earth. In the Ossuary, stacked with the skulls of the long dead, the cavern gives way to the stone architecture of a later age, its bone piles and altars lending an ominous presence throughout.TombsStatues of ancient warriors line the Tombs in alcoves along the walls along with depictions of shielded hoplites engaging a charging bull. Though the vault has long crumbled into disarray, the remnants of pristine architecture are on clear display, illuminated through the patch of sunlight falling through a crumbled hole in the ceiling.Shrine of the HierophantsAncient priests charged with interpreting the sacred mysteries, the hierophants seem to have uncovered more than they were bargaining for. The candlelit, vaulted ceiling marks the resting place of important figures, a frieze sculpted into the wall showing a fierce battle between opposing forces. Arrow Trap installations line the stairway down into the shrine, flanked by skulls on chain pullies.Subterranean Temple and Deep ExcavationDescend into the catacombs to reveal the huge, cavernous Subterranean Temple, where the stone architecture leads downward to a rocky outcropping peninsula known as the Deep Excavation. Scattered pillars encircle a place of worship below, the murky depths illuminated via faint shafts of what appears to be sunlight entering from a natural space in the rock above.Doorway to Nowhere and Dark Aether NexusTake your expedition deeper still, seek out the Doorway to Nowhere, and [[REDACTED]].[[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]] [[REDACTED]].[[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]] [[REDACTED]]. [[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]] [[REDACTED]] [[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]].[[REDACTED]] [[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]] [[REDACTED]]. [[REDACTED]] [[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]] [[REDACTED]].Often disguising themselves as useful items, these shocking creatures break out of the illusion on approach, grabbing victims with their tentacles and razor-sharp claws, pulling them in for an electrifying bite. This hits harder than expected, and the distortion camouflage the Shock Mimic emits disrupts your radar as well as your eyesight.Other Entities of The TombThe inhabitants of The Tomb represent a swath of laborers, worshipers, and armored guards from eons past, heavily rotted, some mummified, and many with a more skeletal appearance than previously encountered undead. Alongside the familiar enemies youre bound to encounter throughout, these ancient undead reveal the importance of the site. But what they were digging up, and perhaps more ominously, who or what they came to worship, remains to be discovered.This masterpiece of ancient technology fires a withering blast of frost and can generate healing energies to resuscitate allies from a distance. Origins unknown.Rumors of a magical staff promise exceptional power to anyone who can get their hands on the devastating weapon. Known as the Staff of Ice, this offers an exceptional blast that can slow and freeze enemies in place, as well as a more devastating area-of-effect attack. This archaic Wonder Weapon is also imbued with the power to revive teammates with a precision-shot restorative blast.The Tomb: Additional ContentMain Quest and Quest Rewards: The Main Quest for The Tomb goes live when the map releases alongside the launch of Season 02 on January 28. Complete the Main Quest to earn the X91 Ice-Pike Wonder Weapon Skin a Project Janus facsimile of the Staff of Ice as well as 5,000 XP and a unique Calling Card awarded to players who complete the Main Quest before Directed Mode is released for The Tomb.Arrow Trap: Got a horde of zombies on your back? Activate the Arrow Trap to send out darts of damaging energy from the wall, devastating its targets on contact. If you need to backtrack, run and slide to avoid getting shot by your own trap.Aetheric Lanterns: Dark Aether chandeliers and light sources give off a pale glow over their surroundings. With the correct projectile and aiming confidence, you can use these dynamic hazards to rain down Aetheric fire, damaging anything that shambles through the flames.And More: Dig deeper into the lore of the ancient site with Intel in the form of Audio Logs, Documents, and Artifacts to discover while exploring the map.Access the following new content within The Tomb as well as on Citadelle des Morts, Terminus, and Liberty Falls.Additional Perk-a-Cola: Death PerceptionAvailable: In-Game at Perk MachineReturning since its original introduction in Black Ops 4, Death Perception gives players the ability to detect enemies through obstacles and walls via outlines of their bodies, plus new abilities for its Black Ops 6 debut. When navigating the tight confines of The Tomb, theres no better Perk for anticipating danger around the next corner. Research its Augments to further empower Death Perception, ensuring that nothing escapes your notice!Death Perception is available within The Tomb, along with the nine previously accessible Zombies Perks. Note that some of these Perks are only available via a Der Wunderfizz machine.Death Perception is available on Citadelle des Morts, Liberty Falls and Terminus maps via the Der Wunderfizz machine.Death Perception: Major AugmentsResearch the following Augments to further customize the Perk.Treasure HunterSpot items others can miss from loot containers as well as Special and Elite kills.Death StareYour Elemental Weakness damage has a chance to kill an enemy that is low on health.Critical EyeSmall chance that a body shot becomes a critical shot.Death Perception: Minor AugmentsBirds Eye ViewThe minimaps scan rate is increased.Extra ChangeFind extra Essence under more locations.Further InsightIncrease perception radius.New GobbleGumsChew on three new GobbleGums, all available at Season 02 launch across all maps once acquired and equipped in your GobbleGum Loadout Pack.Dead Drop (Epic): Drop rates of Salvage and Equipment are greatly increased. Lasts five minutes.Modified Chaos (Legendary): Greatly reduce all Ammo Mod cooldowns. Lasts two minutes.Quacknarok (Whimsical): Zombies move around in rubber ducky inner tubes. Lasts three minutes.Additional Support Weapon: War MachineSalvage: 2,500Give the undead an explosive taste of their own entrails with the semi-automatic War Machine grenade launcher arriving in the Support section of the Crafting Table.The Tomb: Directed Mode and EventsFor the explorers who need an extra hand in completing the Main Quest on The Tomb, stay tuned for the arrival of Directed Mode planned to arrive at Mid-Season.Look for more announcements in the mid-season update, including a special Limited Time Mode you wont want to miss.Want to know how far youre off from unlocking Nebula on your PPSh-41? Access a Weapon Camo or Calling Card challenge and simply select Add to Tracked (in the bottom-left corner of your menu screen). See the Multiplayer section of this blog for more details.In addition to the challenge tracking and per-mode HUD Preset features listed above in the Multiplayer section, the Zombies team is also bringing new quality of life updates to the mode, including:Co-op PauseIn matches where everyone is in the same party, the party leader will now be able to pause the game for everyone to regroup on strategy or take a snack break during those high-round runs.AFK Kick Loadout RecoveryIf a player gets kicked for going AFK for too long in a co-op game, their loadout, Essence, and Salvage will now be restored after they rejoin the match in progress.For more details, click here for the Community Update Blog.Call of Duty: Warzone: Season 02 ContentWARZONE CONTENT SUMMARYSeason 02: A focus on gameplay tuning, quality of life improvements, and addressing ongoing bugs.New Perk: Regenerate your armor via the new Reactive Armor Perk at launch. In the mid-season, get the Low Profile Perk, improving your movement speed when crouched, prone, and downed.Season 02 Ranked Play: Prepare for a new season of Battle Royale Ranked Play, including all-new rewards.As announced in the recent Community Updates blog, weve made the decision to prioritize focus on gameplay tuning, adding more quality of life improvements, and addressing ongoing bugs. This means that in order to deliver meaningful improvements to our players, new content originally planned for Season 02 has been shifted to create bandwidth to address foundational issues. These improvements wont come all at once rather, theyll be staggered across the season and with quite a few quality of life changes coming mid-season. Our priority is having the most solid foundation that Battle Royale can offer and are excited for players to see it all live.Rest assured, a full selection of content is still accessible, with access to our maps (Area 99, Urzikstan, Rebirth Island) and modes (Battle Royale, Resurgence, Plunder) available at Season 02 launch, and with BR Ranked coming during the launch window. Call of Duty: Warzone players will also be part of The Terminator and Shadow Hunt Events during the first few weeks of the season, and access all the shared Season 02 content, including the new base weapons.For more details on updates to RICOCHET Anti-Cheat, Call of Duty: Warzone, Multiplayer, and Zombies, click here for the Community Update Blog.Additional EquipmentFight to gain the upper hand with the help of two new Perks coming in Season 02.Perk: Reactive Armor (Launch)Perk Slot: 2Your armor will regenerate up to 50% if you havent taken damage in the last 5 seconds.Perk: Low Profile (Mid-Season)Perk Slot: 1You are able to move more quickly while crouched and prone. Move slightly faster when downed.Season 02 of Warzone brings a wave of key updates aimed at tuning gameplay, improving quality of life, and addressing persistent bugs.Weapon reload and swap speeds, jump mechanics, parachute transitions, and audio clarity have been fine-tuned to bring Battle Royale closer to our intended experience. This extends further with adjustments to default perks, equipment count, and body shield behavior.Were also introducing new quality of life updates, including being able to ping buy back flares and improvements to the stat tracker font for better legibility,Regarding Ranked Play, players will see a refinement to the amount of SR required and adjustments to deployment fees.To round it all off, we are deploying important bug fixes that target issues with map visibility, weapon interaction, and several perks.Compete in a second season of Battle Royale Ranked Play, earning the following seasonal rewards as you progress:Season 02 BR Ranked Play RewardsFirst Season Win: Elimination CharmGet 25 Eliminations: Elimination StickerGet 100 Eliminations: Elimination Weapon CamoGet 250 Eliminations: Elimination Weapon BlueprintSilver: Ranked Season 2 Silver EmblemGold: Ranked Season 2 Gold Calling Card, Emblem, and Weapon CamoPlatinum: Ranked Season 2 Platinum Calling Card Emblem, and Weapon CamoDiamond: Ranked Season 2 Diamond Calling Card Emblem, and Weapon CamoCrimson: Ranked Season 2 Crimson Calling Card Emblem, and Weapon CamoIridescent: Ranked Season 2 Iridescent Calling Card Emblem, and Weapon CamoTop 250: Ranked Season 2 Top 250 Calling Card Emblem, and Weapon CamoCall of Duty: Black Ops 6: General Content (MP, ZM, WZ)GENERAL CONTENT SUMMARYWeapons Detail: Grab more than six new Weapons across Season 02, with four armaments revealed today, including the Cypher 091 Assault Rifle, PPSh-41 SMG, Feng 82 LMG, and TR2 Marksman Rifle. Expect a melee-focused set of new weapons to be revealed at mid-season! Plus, unlock new weapon attachments including the Underbarrel Crossbow, Belt-Fed Magazine, and more.Battle Pass and BlackCell: The brand-new Season 02 Battle Pass delivers an impressive amount of new content, including free tiers and three base weapons alongside rewards like new Weapon Blueprints, Operator Skins, Calling Cards, Finishing Moves, Emotes, and more.Season 02 Operators: The teched out Vortex headlines as the BlackCell Operator, accompanied by Battle Pass Operator Nocturne, a lethal assassin who ruthlessly hunts down his targets. Plus, take control of the cybernetic assassin The Terminator arriving in the Store alongside other incredible Bundles.Primary Weapon: PPSh-41 (Launch)SMG, Battle Pass Page 6 HVT Tier Reward, Page 14 Battle Pass BlueprintLevels: 35MAGS: 4MAG SIZE: 32Mastery Badges: YesAttachments: Optic, Muzzle, Barrel, Underbarrel, Magazine, Stock, Laser, Fire ModsCustomize Options: Skins, Reticle Unlocks (MP, ZM, WZ), Accessories (1), Decals (1), Stickers (3).Full-auto submachine gun. Fast fire rate with impressive damage and high recoil. Moderate handling.Make mincemeat out of the competition with the return of the fan-favorite World War II era PPSh-41 SMG, boasting an incredibly fast fire rate that makes short work of enemies at close range. Tame its unpredictable recoil by firing in bursts or empty the whole clip in hip-fire engagements. Consider the Extended Mag, Assault Pack Field Upgrade, or the Scavenger Perk to keep from running dry in long fights and keep pushing forward maximize your damage.Primary Weapon: Cypher 091 (Launch)Assault Rifle, Battle Pass Page 8 HVT Tier Reward, Page 11 Battle Pass BlueprintLevels: 42MAGS: 3MAG SIZE: 30Mastery Badges: YesAttachments: Optic, Barrel, Underbarrel, Magazine, Rear Grip, Stock, Laser, Fire ModsCustomize Options: Skins, Reticle Unlocks (MP, ZM, WZ), Accessories (1), Decals (1), Stickers (3)Full-auto assault rifle. Slower rate of fire balanced by great handling and excellent mobility.For versatility, few weapons outshine the Cypher 091. With excellent range, handling, and mobility, the weapon performs well in a variety of engagements. With clear front mounted iron sights, minimal muzzle smoke, and controllable recoil, this AR makes for easy target acquisition even without an attached Optic. To top it off, its fast reload speed reduces downtime between mags, getting you straight back into the fight.Primary Weapon: Feng 82 (Launch)LMG, Battle Pass Page 3 HVT Tier Reward, Page 10 Battle Pass BlueprintLevels: 48MAGS: 5MAG SIZE: 30Mastery Badges: YesAttachments: Optic, Muzzle, Barrel, Underbarrel, Magazine, Rear Grip, Stock, Laser, Fire ModsCustomize Options: Skins, Reticle Unlocks (MP, ZM, WZ), Accessories (1), Decals (1), Stickers (3)Full-auto light machine gun. Very slow rate of fire with great damage and handling.Possessing the best accuracy and handling in its class, the Feng 82 LMG offers a more aggressive, frontline option for players looking to stay in the thick of the fight without losing the LMG firepower expected of the weapon type. While the base magazine size is lower than its peers, the five magazines provided ensure that youll still have a lot of ammo to chew through before running low.The weapon features a reliable three-to-four shot elimination out to 50 meters with moderate upward recoil that can be mitigated via controlled bursts as well as several Gunsmith attachments offering improved vertical recoil control.Primary Weapon: TR2 (Launch)Marksman Rifle, Event RewardLevels: 39MAGS: 3MAG SIZE: 20Mastery Badges: YesAttachments: Optic, Muzzle, Barrel, Underbarrel, Magazine, Rear Grip, Stock, Laser, Fire ModsCustomize Options: Skins, Reticle Unlocks (MP, ZM, WZ), Accessories (1), Decals (1), Stickers (3)Semi-auto marksman rifle. Great rate of fire and respectable handling.Featuring best-in-class handling, this semi-auto Marksman Rifle is ideal for fast-moving sharpshooters seeking to combine mobility with precision and power. Its rapid re-centering speed encourages quick follow up shots without losing sight of your target, eliminating unarmored enemies in three-to-four shots out to 100 meters. Whether you opt for a long-range Optic to engage enemies at a distance or prefer a closer fight, the TR2s ease of use promises a good outcome in the hands of a trained Operator.Additional Ordnance (Mid-Season)Season 02 offers an incredible choice of armaments for those Operators favoring close-combat takedowns! Expect to fill your Melee Loadout slot with multiple additional hand-to-hand weapons coming at mid-season... plus a rip-roaring projectile armament coming later on. Expect more information in the Season 02 Reloaded Blog.Crossbow Attachment (Launch)Assault Rifles, SWAT 5.56 and AEK-973 Marksman Rifles, Underbarrel Attachment, Battle Pass Page 7 RewardAdd some flare to your Primary Weapon with the Crossbow Underbarrel Attachment. The three explosive tipped bolts detonate shortly after impact for an explosive finish, even if you hit just wide of the mark.Full Auto Mod (Launch Window)AEK-973 Marksman Rifle, Fire Mod Attachment, Event RewardConvert the AEK-973 into a fully automatic weapon chambered in 5.45x39mm. The change gives the Marksman Rifle a steady upward kick; press slightly downward through sustained fire to stay on target.Binary Trigger (Launch Window)Tanto .22 SMG, Fire Mod Attachment, Event RewardAlter the weapons typical full-auto firing mode to a specialized semi-auto function that fires a bullet when the trigger is pulled and when its released for rapid fire capabilities. Blocks Barrel and Underbarrel attachments.Belt-Fed Attachment (Mid-Season)Three Attachments, LMGs, Magazine Attachment, Event RewardAdd an extreme amount of ammo thats continuously fed to the weapon through sustained fire. The weapon may overheat, so allow it to cool off now and then before resuming your barrage of damage.Expect an assortment of scheduled Events across Multiplayer, Zombies, and Call of Duty: Warzone. Earn rewards such as a new Primary Weapon, Melee Weapon, a razor-sharp Launcher, new special attachments, and more.Event: The Terminator (MP, ZM, WZ)Activation Dates: February 6 to 20Total Rewards: 13, including Full Auto Mod for the AEK-973 Marksman Rifle and a PP-919 SMG Weapon BlueprintCollect skulls to unlock rewards. Skulls are earned via eliminations in Multiplayer and Zombies, and by eliminating players and opening caches in Call of Duty: Warzone. Earn bonus skulls for eliminating enemies with explosive or fire damage.Event: Shadow Hunt (MP, ZM, WZ)Activation Dates: February 13 to 20Total Rewards: 7, including Binary Trigger Fire Mod for the Tanto .22 SMG and the TR2 Marksman RifleTo join Nocturne, you must first complete the challenges he has laid out before you. Dont fail him.Event: St. Patricks Day: Clover Craze (MP, ZM, WZ)Activation Dates: March [[REDACTED]]Total Rewards: [[REDACTED]]Collect four-leaf clovers for landing eliminations in Multiplayer and Zombies, and by eliminating players and opening caches in Call of Duty: Warzone. Redeem for rewards.More in the Mid-Season: Expect even more events and rewards arriving in the mid-season, with full coverage in the Season 02 Reloaded announcement.Operator Nocturne Leads the Season 02 Battle PassDispatch your enemies swiftly and efficiently with the new Nocturne Operator, a highly trained assassin who never fails to eliminate any assigned targets. Purchase the Season 02 Battle Pass for 1,100 COD Points or the Season 02 Battle Pass Bundle for 2,400 COD Points to immediately unlock the Instant Rewards Page of the Battle Pass, including the following items:10% Battle Pass XP BoostThe Champ EmoteThe Shared Fate Legendary Blueprint for the XM4 Assault RifleThe Scarred Legendary Weapon StickerThe Nocturne Operator and Skin, along with the Nocturne BlackCell Skin for those who purchase BlackCellThe Season 02 Battle Pass includes over 110 pieces of unlockable content (excluding BlackCell) including three new Base Weapons, an Underbarrel Crossbow Attachment, new Operator Skins and Weapon Blueprints, and a whole lot more. Read on for more BlackCell intel and stay tuned for a deeper dive with the BlackCell, Battle Pass and Store Bundles blog prior to Season 02 launch for a deep dive into the massive offering.BlackCell OfferingsDeploy as the master assassin and new Operator Vortex headlining the Season 02 BlackCell content. Equipped with the latest technological advancements in stealth warfare, the Vortex Operator and animated Operator Skin emits black and red smoke from his arms and twin-sword handles. Vortex joins an exciting lineup of BlackCell content, including Operators well equipped to complete their mission, whether as assassin-themed hunters or unlucky targets on the run.BlackCell owners can access the Season 02 Battle Pass via the exclusive BlackCell Page, instantly unlocking the following items:20 Battle Token Tier Skips1,100 COD PointsThe Boneshard Mastercraft Blueprint for the Jackal PDW SMGThe Blacksmoke Weapon Blueprint for the AMR Mod 4 Sniper RifleThe Hounds Tooth Finishing MoveThe BlackCell Clan Tag (showcased in Lobbies and Winners Circles).The Vortex BlackCell Operator Skin for the new Vortex OperatorAdditionally, BlackCell owners can expect to access page after page of additional rewards within the Season 02 Battle Pass. These include:Seven BlackCell-exclusive skins for Nocturne (two Skins), Rossi, Marshall, Grey, Stone, and Toro.Six BlackCell-exclusive Weapon Blueprints for the AK-47 (Assault Rifle), DM-10 (Marksman Rifle), Feng 82 (New LMG), Cypher 091 (New Assault Rifle), ASG-89 (Shotgun), and PPSh-41 (New SMG).Over 130 item rewards (Battle Pass and BlackCell related) for those who fully complete the Season 02 BlackCell Battle Pass.As usual, players who upgrade to BlackCell after purchasing the Battle Pass will also receive 1,100 COD Points back.BlackCell Stackable XP Boost: Players who purchased Season 01 BlackCell and go on to purchase Season 02 BlackCell will earn a permanent 10% Player and Weapon XP boost! The 10% Player XP and Weapon XP Loyalty Bonus is for purchases of subsequent BlackCell seasons (up to 50% for BO6 seasons only).The Season 02 Battle Pass brings two new base Operators to Crimson One along with multiple Operator Skins for both factions, accessible within the Operators menu once acquired.Vortex (BlackCell, Crimson One, Launch)Vortex Skin: BlackCell Instant Reward PageTheres no escaping this master assassin, known only under the alias Vortex. All biographical information for this Operator has been [[REDACTED]].Nocturne (Battle Pass, Crimson One, Launch)Nocturne and Obsidian Skins: Battle Pass Instant Reward Page, Battle Pass Completion PageNowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. NocturneA bountys been activated on the Rogue Black Ops team, and Nocturne is here to collect. Other than his incredible lethality on display, all biographical information for this Operator has been [[REDACTED]].The Terminator (Bundle, Crimson One, In-Season)Store BundleIll be back. The TerminatorThe ultimate killing machine arrives as The Terminator deploys from the future to decimate its enemies across Season 02. This brand-new Operator comes with two Ultra Skins inspired by the original movie. Take control of the cyborg assassin who first crashed onto the silver screen in 1984, releasing as a Store Bundle shortly after Launch.Get a look at some of the top Bundles coming to the Store in Season 02 before we offer an even deeper dive in our Season 02 BlackCell, Battle Pass, and Bundles blog arriving prior to Season 02 launch.Tracer Pack: The TerminatorSent by the supercomputer Skynet to crush the human populations chance at survival, The Terminator stands ready to annihilate anyone in its way in the Tracer Pack: The Terminator Operator Bundle. The Bundle includes a new Operator featuring two Ultra Skins: the humanlike T-800 and the cyborg Titanium Core.To get the job done, the cyborg comes packing with four Red Tracer-equipped Weapon Blueprints based on classic armaments from the 1984 film in addition to the "T-800 Style Finishing Move, Tracking...Tracking... Emote, "What Pain? Emblem, and Lookin Fly Calling Card.As part of our efforts to help support and provide relief in the wake of the devastating fires in Los Angeles County, Activision is donating $1 million combined to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Foundation and Direct Relief.Available now for a limited time, we are also releasing the LA Fire Relief Pack to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone. One hundred percent of Activisions proceeds from each purchase of the LA Fire Relief Pack across all platforms will go directly to the LA Fire Department Foundation and Direct Relief for local fire relief efforts and support in Southern California.As a company with roots deeply tied to the Los Angeles area, our hearts go out to our friends, colleagues and residents impacted by the devastating fires.Other Incoming BundlesStay on the lookout for plenty of other exciting content arriving in the Season 02 Store, including the Tracer Pack: Mission Redacted Reactive Bundle, the Tracer Pack: Death Mosh Mastercraft and Ultra Skin Bundle, and the Tracer Pack: Satin Smoke Reactive Bundle. Expect a closer look at the seasons upcoming Bundles and more in the Season 02 BlackCell, Battle Pass, and Store Bundle blog.Black Ops 6 is available now, and theres never been a better time to experience the spy action thriller Campaign, the in-depth tactical chaos of best-in-class Multiplayer, and soak in the gory glory of an incredible round-based Zombies experience! Click here to Purchase Black Ops 6. 2024 - 2025 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY WARZONE, CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS, CALL OF DUTY LEAGUE and the CALL DUTY LEAGUE logo are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.Audio and Film Clips courtesy of MGM Media Licensing.THE TERMINATOR 1984 Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.For more information, please visitwww.callofduty.comandwww.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow@Activisionand@CallofDutyon X, Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow@CODUpdateson X.

SummaryOver 70 games are now on offer as part of the annual THQ Nordic and HandyGames Publisher Sale.Games like Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, Darksiders III, AEW: Fight Forever and more are on sale.Head to the THQ Nordic and HandyGames Publisher Sale hub on the Microsoft Store to browse the full range.Were back again, with even more fantastical worlds to jump into at the lowest prices ever on Xbox!Shape your adventure with the stroke of a brush in beautifully recreated platformer Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed (50% off), fend off the forces of Hell with the lash of your whip in Darksiders III (75% off), or conquer the wrestling world with a bevy of elbow drops and suplexes in AEW: Fight Forever (60% off) and thats just for starters.Want to hang out with the worlds most famous foul-mouthed kids and save their snowy mountain town? Weve got you covered with South Park: Snow Day and its Season Pass (both 40% off). Perhaps mud-caked multiplayer racing is more your speed? Wreckfest (75% off) and MX vs ATV Legends (70% off) are just an engine rev away. What about honing your tracking skills in globetrotting hunting adventure Way of the Hunter Ultimate Edition (15% off)?With ARPG epic Titan Quest II on the horizon, now is the best time to catch up on all the mythological adventures youve been missing with a whopping 80% off the first Titan Quest or, if youre after some more recent alternate history, get vaporizing those pesky homo sapiens in Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed (50% off).Of course, it wouldnt be our annual sale without an appearance from a certain pineapple-dwelling sponge and his starfish friend, and weve made it easier than ever to get acquainted with the denizens of Bikini Bottom, with 65% off SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated and 55% off SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake.We hope to see you in one of our virtual worlds soon until then, all of us at THQ Nordic and HandyGames wish you a 2025 full of memorable gaming experiences!

Google DeepMind spinoff Isomorphic Labs expects testing on its first AI-designed drugs to begin this year, as tech startups race to turn algorithmic magic into actual treatments.Well hopefully have some AI-designed drugs in clinical trials by the end of the year, the firms Nobel Prize-winning CEO Demis Hassabis told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Thats the plan.The potential of AI-powered drug discovery is huge. Instead of spending years or even decades testing chemicals by hand, machine learning algorithms can sift through mountains of data to spot patterns and predict which molecules could make the next miracle drug. This could lead to faster drug development, cheaper costs, and new cures.By one estimate, there are over 460 AI startups currently working on drug discovery, of which over a quarter come from Europe. Globally, more than $60bn has been invested into the space so far, and the funding flood isnt showing any signs of letting up.Yet discovering the drugs is merely one step in the process. its only when big pharma decides theyre worth manufacturing, marketing, and distributing that itll make a real difference to the likes of you and me.Thats what makes some of the recent hookups between pharma behemoths and AI startups particularly exciting.Last year, Isomorphic Labs inked a $45mn deal with Eli Lilly to collaborate on AI-based research into small molecule therapeutics. Under the agreement, Isomorphic is also eligible to receive up to $1.7bn in performance-based milestones. The company also signed a similar collaboration with Swiss biotech Novartis.Were already working on real drug programs, Hassabis told Bloomberg Television in an interview shortly following the announcements. I would expect in the next couple of years the first AI-designed drugs in the clinic.Exscientia, which spun out from Dundee University in 2012, was among the first to apply AI to drug discovery. In 2024, the company advanced its first AI-designed drug candidate into human clinical trials, achieving this milestone in just 12 months a process that typically takes around five years. US rival Recursion acquired the Oxford-based company for $688mn in November.These are two big examples of an AI-driven drug discovery market thats booming, and increasingly, consolidating. However, there are also plenty of early-stage companies working on more niche applications of the technology. These include Cambridge, UK-based CardiaTec, which is using AI to find new drugs to treat heart conditions, and London-headquartered Multiomic Health, which is working on formulas to treat metabolic diseases.Despite all the potential though, AI isnt a silver bullet for drug discovery. While it can drastically speed up finding the right compounds needed to make new drugs, the most time-consuming steps like wet lab tests with physical samples, clinical trials, and FDA approvals arent going anywhere. Still, AIs real power lies in that critical first phase: zeroing in on targets that mightve otherwise slipped through the cracks, saving researchers time and possibly even unlocking new treatments. Story by Sin Geschwindt Sin is a climate and energy reporter at TNW. From nuclear fusion to escooters, he covers the length and breadth of Europe's clean tech ecos (show all) Sin is a climate and energy reporter at TNW. From nuclear fusion to escooters, he covers the length and breadth of Europe's clean tech ecosystem. He's happiest sourcing a scoop, investigating the impact of emerging technologies, and even putting them to the test. Sin has five years journalism experience and holds a dual degree in media and environmental science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Get the TNW newsletterGet the most important tech news in your inbox each week.Also tagged with

I got an early, hands-on look at the new Samsung S25 lineup, most importantly the S25 Ultra. I was curious to see what the best of the best from Samsung was like compared to the Apple counterpart, the iPhone 16 Pro Max. What really stood out to me about these phones is that we have seemed to reach a peak when it comes to form factor. The rectangular, candy bar design breathes a lot of similarities across both devices and so do the internal specs. So the only thing left here to truly compare is going to be the software, user experience, and, of course, their AI. Lets get into.If you want to get a true hands-on look at the S25 Ultra and compare it to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, I highly recommend checking out the video below.Design comparisonAgain, from a design standpoint, you are going to see a ton of similarities between these two phones. Samsung made some changes to their new S25 Ultra compared to last year. They shrunk the bezels ever so slightly to go from 6.8in on the screen to 6.9in on the screen (sound familiar?). They also curved the side railings a bit to make it a bit less cumbersome to hold. Additionally, Samsung was able to reduce the weight of the device by about 15g, which is pretty noticeable.Both phones use titanium materials for the chassis, have the highest-quality glass, have a triple camera array and feel exceptionally premium in the hand. The biggest visual difference is that the S25 Ultra has more squared-off corners while the iPhone is rounded off. So, it just comes down to visual preferences.A18 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Elite for GalaxyI just wanted to give a quick breakdown of the internal specs of each of these. S25 UltraiPhone 16 Pro MaxSingle Core Geekbench30493539Multi Core Geekbench97938772Total Cores86Total RAM12GB8GBOperating System OneUI 7iOS 18.XSo, at a glance, you can see that these are going to be very similar. The single-core score goes to the iPhone, but the multicore score goes to S25 because it has 2 additional cores. Again, these are just numbers, but in reality, when it comes to day-to-day tasks, both of these phones will be able to do it all and do it super efficiently. In my video, I tested how fast apps open and how quickly you can mash the shutter button to take images, and both did great. Viewing content on these is going to be the best of the best. So still, this truly comes down to preference and familiarity. But what both of these chips enable is going to be all the AI features that are coming. Some other specs to consider of the S25 Ultra:3NM processor40% NPU Increase37% CPU increase30% GPU Increase40% increase in ray tracing18% FPS increase Galaxy AI vs Apple IntelligenceI want to caveat this section by saying that Apple Intelligence is still not out in its fullest form as of writing this. We are currently on iOS 18.2 with only a few of the Apple Intelligence features available. Many of the promised features from WWDC 2024 are still missing, most importantly, the ability to take action for you. And that is where Galaxy AI shines. Cross-App actionsThis is what I found the most exciting and where I think Apple could take a point or two. Galaxy AI allows for cross app actions to take place. There are a few examples they gave but the gist is that you can actually pull up the Galaxy AI assistance and tell it to do something for you even when it involves multiple applications.Ex: Looking for next football game hey find when the next football game is, put it in my calendar, text it to my friendsIn this instance, it will take you all the way to the final step, which would be to send the text to friends. One thing to note is that it will not actually send the message without asking for permission or prompting you to do it but it will do everything else. There are instances where it does go all the way in completing the entire task though. Here is another example.Ex: Looking at recipe video, Ask Galaxy AI agent to pull ingredients from the video and add it to the notes apThis one is cool because you can pull up a recipe video and without even having to watch it you can ask Galaxy AI to extract all the information needed and put it in a note to view later. I can see a ton of use cases for this. As of right now, this will work with all first-party Google and Samsung apps, and there is an APK for third-party developers to add this to their flow. Similarities to Apple Intelligence Both of these phones have the capability to use for fun features like creating images from a sketch or generating an emoji. Both are also better at conversational awareness, so even if you stumble over your words it will still be able to get the context and understand what you are trying to do. Samsung has Generative Edit; Apple has Image PlaygroundsSamsung has Sketch to Image; Apple has Image WandSamsung has Audio eraser; Apple has its own Audio editing ScreenshotScreenshotConcluding thoughts on AIAs it stands today, I would give the edge to the S25 Ultra from an AI perspective. It can just do more, and you will feel more confident using it. I tested a few simple prompts, and Galaxy was usually faster and always gave the correct answers. It also seems more contextually aware and can use information from other apps to give you a more tailored answer. Apple is trying to slowly roll out all of its aspects of Apple Intelligence, which will allow Samsung and Google to be a step ahead. Also Google assistant has just always been a bit better than siri and this is no different. Last tidbitsI wanted to include some other cool tidbits that Samsung introduced with their new S25 line. new 50MP Ultrawide with Macro mode4k LOG video supportAudio eraserVariable digital aperture Buy Now Pay Later for Samsung PayTap to pay across different devices (even Samsung to iPhone)ScreenshotFinal takeAs I mentioned in my intro, we are now at a time when internal and external hardware are all at a very high level. Material science and hardware capabilities have all been mostly commoditized. So it truly comes down to two things: software(AI) and ecosystem. As it stands today, I would give the leg up to Samsung and OneUI 7 when it comes to AI integrations and actually useful use cases and features. The Apple intelligence situation still has a ways to go in order to be as useful as I and even Apple want it to be. I am sure it will get there before the new iPhone 17 lineup comes out. But if you asked me to switch to Samsung to use as my main device, I personally cannot do it because of my ecosystem investment. I have an iPhone, an iPad, an Apple Watch, a Mac mini, Homekit accessories, an Apple TV, a Homepod; the list goes on. All of these hardware devices are purpose-built to talk to each other seamlessly. Introducing a non-Apple phone to my ecosystem would probably make my experience worse. But if I was already in the Samsung ecosystem, then this S25 Ultra is something that would excite me.The S25 Ultra is available for pre-order today starting at $1299What do you think? Do you think Apple will eventually be able to compete from an AI perspective? Would you make the ecosystem switch? Lets discuss this below!Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. 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Apple Intelligence officially is only supported on compatible iPhones, iPads, and Macs, but the Apple Watch also gains select features when paired with a modern iPhone. Here are two key AI features available on your Watch.#1: Notification summariesOne of my favorite Apple Intelligence features (and also the most controversial) is notification summaries.Essentially, AI analyzes the contents of an incoming message, news alert, and more, and can summarize that info in a short, sweet notification.Its especially nice for stacks of notifications from, say, Messages or Slack, because you can get a single AI-summarized notification that informs you about all the things happening in that stack.Apple Watch benefits from notification summaries too, and Ive found it an especially useful feature on my wrist.When I get a notification, I want to be able to glance down quickly, get the info I need, then go about my day.Notification summaries make that easy to do, saving me time and minimizing interruptions. Speaking of which#2: Reduce Interruptions Focus modeAnother supported AI feature on Apple Watch is the new Reduce Interruptions Focus mode.This feature first arrived in iOS 18.1 as a way toyou guessed itreduce the interruptions in your life.Heres how Apple describes the newest Focus mode:When Reduce Interruptions is active, intelligently allow important notifications to interrupt you and silence notifications determined not to be important.The way it works is that Apple Intelligence understands what notifications are generally about, and will only surface ones that seem particularly important. Anything that seems non-urgent will be kept silenced.You can still explicitly allow or silence certain apps if youd like, but by default Reduce Interruptions will let your Watch and Apple Intelligence do all the work for you.Apple Watchs AI features: wrap-upTheres a lot of potential still untapped for Apple Intelligence on the Apple Watch. However, these two initial features provide a great start. Each enables you to go throughout your day with fewer big interruptions from technology, and thats a valuable addition.What do you think of these Apple Intelligence features? Do you use them on your Watch? Let us know in the comments.Best Apple Watch and iPhone accessoriesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

"They dont actually have the money."Funding Not SecuredMulti-hyphenate billionaire Elon Musk has broken stride with his tight confidante Donald Trump lobbing criticism at Trump's lucrative $500 billion AI infrastructure project, seemingly because he was left out of the deal.Earlier this week, OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and UAE-backed investor MGX pledged to pour up to $500 billion into building AI data centers in the United States as part of an initiative dubbed "Stargate."There's a lot we don't know about the joint venture and whether it has any chance of ever being realized.AndMusk, strikingly isn't convinced; late on Tuesday evening, he took to his social network X-formerly-Twitterto mock the plans."They dont actually have the money," he tweeted just hours after the project was announced, tagging OpenAI."SoftBank has well under $10B secured," Musk wrote in a followup an hour later. "I have that on good authority."The comments mark yet another early sign that a storm may be brewing between the mercurial entrepreneur and Trump. Experts have long suggested that it's only a matter of time until disagreements between the two could snowball into an all-out fight. Two astronomically-sized and power-hungry egos in the same room are bound to result in some friction and before their current alliance, the two were bitter sparring partners.Trouble in ParadiseMusk's animosity towards the project is also likely symptomatic of his antipathy toward OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk cofounded the ChatGPT maker in late 2015 alongside Altman. But in 2019 Musk quit, citing disagreements over the group's direction. Since then, we've found out that Musk attempted to take over the former nonprofit.In March, Musk sued OpenAI and Altman, accusing the company of hiding its AI models' secrets from the world. That's despite advocating in 2017 to have OpenAI be turned into a for-profit entity, as emails published by OpenAI following the lawsuit revealed.Could Musk's animosity toward Altman explain his latest comments? Or does he indeed know more about the amount of cash the companies are able to scrounge up for Stargate?Musk also runs his own AI company, xAI, which doesn't appear to be linked to Stargate in any way.The latest tweets signal that Musk isn't afraid to question Trump's actionspublicly, even after swearing fealty to himand agreeing to lead a so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" in a building that's a short walk from the White House.It's also not the first sign of tension between the two. In November, Musk floated that Trump transition co-chair Howard Lutnick should be treasury secretary in the Trump administration.Trump ended up ignoring his suggestion, picking economic advisor and longtime investor Scott Bessent instead. The disagreement eventually sparked a "massive blowup" fight between Musk and Trump's lawyer Boris Epshteyn at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in November.More on Stargate: Elon Musk Sues OpenAI for Doing For-Profit AI, Which He's Also DoingShare This Article

With Donald Trump firmly in place as president, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is finally off to the races.As such, its brand new website DOGE.gov launched yesterday. And as we couldn't help but notice, it was adorned with a graphic of an AI-generated Shiba Innu waving amangled American flag that featured 11 stripes and a deformed mush of about 37 stars.As any patriotic American knows, the current design of the US flag is codified by a 1948 executive order specifying that it features 13 stripes, representing the original colonies, and a number of stars equal to the current number of states; in 1948 that figure was 48, and since the addition of Alaska and Hawaii, it's risen to 50.Just compare that elegant design document to this AI-generated slop in addition to the butchered flag, get a load of the wriggly typography and weird artifact on the dog's snout which may well mark the first time that shoddy AI art has appeared on an official website of the US government.True to its name, the DOGE website certainly takes an austere approach to web design. American taxpayers loading the government website won't find themselves burdened by wasteful copy or reckless hamburger menus, but rather a single landing page."An official website of the United States government,"it currently reads. "Department of Government Efficiency. The people voted for major reform."As of today, the site has been stripped of the image but not before snapshots of it were saved to the Internet Archive, hopefully preserving this blip of American history for centuries to come.The AI carnage is an early illustration of Musk's many conflicts of interest in his new government role. After years of fearmongering about AI and first cofounding before dramatically falling out with OpenAI as an effort to guide its development he has now founded his own AI multi-billion dollar startup, xAI, and integrated its offerings into X-formerly-Twitter, which he purchased in 2022.For what it's worth, Trump has previously called for prison time for "if you do anything to desecrate the American flag."And for anyone who's been following the DOGE saga, the site's bizarre rollout is about as apropos as it gets. Yesterday, it was widely reported that DOGE "co-czar" and GOP tag along Vivek Ramaswamy had officially stepped down from his previous responsibilities with DOGE, whatever those were.Ramaswamy's departure is no surprise he's been notably absent from the public stage following a rift with Elon Musk over the tricky ethics of migrant-slave labor but signals a new era for the two moguls, who had previously moved in lockstep prior to Trump's inauguration with the aim of slashing federal funding.With only Musk remaining at the helm, it remains to be seen how austere the federal spending cuts are going to get as he attempts to fulfill his promise of cutting government spending by trillions of dollars. The big question? What federal programs will be on the chopping block and whether Musk might lead by example and cut himself off from his own government welfare.More on government spending: Elon Musk Throws Tantrum, Ordering Congress to Shut Down GovernmentShare This Article

Jan 22, 2025Ravie LakshmananCybersecurity / National SecurityThe new Trump administration has terminated all memberships of advisory committees that report to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). "In alignment with the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security, I am directing the termination of all current memberships on advisory committees within DHS, effective immediately," Acting Secretary Benjamine C. Huffman said in a January 20, 2025, memo."Future committee activities will be focused solely on advancing our critical mission to protect the homeland and support DHS's strategic priorities."This includes members of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA) Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB), which last year issued a scathing report excoriating Microsoft for a "cascade" of avoidable errors that led to its infrastructure being abused by a China-based nation-state group called Storm-0558 to breach dozens of organizations in July 2023.In July 2022, it published its findings into the vulnerabilities associated with the Apache Log4j library, and the steps taken to mitigate them. It also described the Log4Shell flaw as an endemic weakness that will continue to plague organizations for years.Then in August 2023, the board examined the intrusions linked to the LAPSUS$ cybercrime group, calling out its "effectiveness, speed, creativity, and boldness" and its ability to weaponize a "playbook of effective techniques."CSRB was established in February 2022 as a public-private initiative to assess significant cybersecurity events, and provide recommendations on improving cybersecurity and incident response practices. It's currently not clear how the investigatory body will be restructured.According to independent security journalist Eric Geller, the CSRB is said to have been in the middle of an investigation into a recent spate of cyber attacks targeting telecom providers in the U.S. The activity has been linked to a Chinese hacking group named Salt Typhoon.Some of the other advisory boards that have been disbanded include the Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board, Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council, National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, National Infrastructure Advisory Council, and the USSS Cyber Investigations Advisory Board."This is a massive gift to the Chinese spies who targeted top political figures," U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said in a post on Bluesky. "Killing the board that pressured Microsoft to up its cybersecurity looks for all the world like payback for Microsoft's million dollar gift to Donald Trump's inaugural committee."U.S. President Donald Trump has also revoked the Biden administration's executive order on artificial intelligence (AI) safety, which, among other things, advocated for the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of the technology.Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

Weird body horror. Pointed commentary about the haves and have nots of the world. Intense bursts of violence. Extremely dark comedy. Theyve all been trademarks of Korean auteur Bong Joon-hos movies fromMemories of Murder toThe Host toSnowpiercer to his Oscar-winnerParasite, which opened in theaters in 2019, and everything in between.Five years later, Bong finally has his follow-up film, and it definitely looks like its of a piece with the rest of his work.Mickey 17stars Robert Pattinson (and also Robert Pattison) in a sci-fi satire about a dystopian future where the only way to improve yourstation in life might be to agree to become an expendable i.e. human cannon fodder doomed to die and then be resurrected as a clone only to die again in the service of humanitys space colonization efforts.The new trailer looks really bleak and really funny and really Bong Joon-ho. Watch it below:READ MORE: The Best and Worst Oscar Winners EverThe firstteaser for Mickey 17was fine, but this one looks even better. The social satire seems way more pointed, the effects look sharper, the gags are funnier, and Pattinson looks like hes having a lot of fundoingthe old one-actor-playing-twins trope.This does not look like the sort of film thatdeserves to be pushed around the schedule multiple times by its distributor. (The movie was originally scheduled to open in March of 2024, then January of 2025, then April of 2025, and nowMarch of 2025.)Here is Mickey 17sofficial synopsis:From the Academy Award-winning writer/director of Parasite, Bong Joon Ho, comes his next groundbreaking cinematic experience, Mickey 17. The unlikely hero, Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) has found himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job to die, for a living.Mickey 17 is now scheduled to open in theaters on March 7.Get our free mobile appGood Movies That Won Razzie AwardsThe Razzies are supposed to be awards for the worst in cinema. So why did they give awards to these titles?!?