June 13, 20255 min readFive Climate Issues to Watch When Trump Goes to CanadaPresident Trump will attend the G7 summit on Sunday in a nation he threatened to annex. He will also be an outlier on climate issuesBy Sara Schonhardt & E&E News Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | The world’s richest nations are gathering Sunday in the Canadian Rockies for a summit that could reveal whether President Donald Trump's policies are shaking global climate efforts.The Group of Seven meeting comes at a challenging time for international climate policy. Trump’s tariff seesaw has cast a shade over the global economy, and his domestic policies have threatened billions of dollars in funding for clean energy programs. Those pressures are colliding with record-breaking temperatures worldwide and explosive demand for energy, driven by power-hungry data centers linked to artificial intelligence technologies.On top of that, Trump has threatened to annex the host of the meeting — Canada — and members of his Cabinet have taken swipes at Europe’s use of renewable energy. Rather than being aligned with much of the world's assertion that fossil fuels should be tempered, Trump embraces the opposite position — drill for more oil and gas and keep burning coal, while repealing environmental regulations on the biggest sources of U.S. carbon pollution.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Those moves illustrate his rejection of climate science and underscore his outlying positions on global warming in the G7.Here are five things to know about the summit.Who will be there?The group comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — plus the European Union. Together they account for more than 40 percent of gross domestic product globally and around a quarter of all energy-related carbon dioxide pollution, according to the International Energy Agency. The U.S. is the only one among them that is not trying to hit a carbon reduction goal.Some emerging economies have also been invited, including Mexico, India, South Africa and Brazil, the host of this year’s COP30 climate talks in November.Ahead of the meeting, the office of Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, said he and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva agreed to strengthen cooperation on energy security and critical minerals. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would be having "quite a few" bilateral meetings but that his schedule was in flux.The G7 first came together 50 years ago following the Arab oil embargo. Since then, its seven members have all joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. The U.S. is the only nation in the group that has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, which counts almost every country in the world as a signatory.What’s on the table?Among Canada’s top priorities as host are strengthening energy security and fortifying critical mineral supply chains. Carney would also like to see some agreement on joint wildfire action.Expanding supply chains for critical minerals — and competing more aggressively with China over those resources — could be areas of common ground among the leaders. Climate change is expected to remain divisive. Looming over the discussions will be tariffs — which Trump has applied across the board — because they will have an impact on the clean energy transition.“I think probably the majority of the conversation will be less about climate per se, or certainly not using climate action as the frame, but more about energy transition and infrastructure as a way of kind of bridging the known gaps between most of the G7 and where the United States is right now,” said Dan Baer, director of the Europe program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.What are the possible outcomes?The leaders could issue a communique at the end of their meeting, but those statements are based on consensus, something that would be difficult to reach without other G7 countries capitulating to Trump. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that nations won’t try to reach a joint agreement, in part because bridging gaps on climate change could be too hard.Instead, Carney could issue a chair’s summary or joint statements based on certain issues.The question is how far Canada will go to accommodate the U.S., which could try to roll back past statements on advancing clean energy, said Andrew Light, former assistant secretary of Energy for international affairs, who led ministerial-level negotiations for the G7.“They might say, rather than watering everything down that we accomplished in the last four years, we just do a chair's statement, which summarizes the debate,” Light said. “That will show you that you didn't get consensus, but you also didn't get capitulation.”What to watch forIf there is a communique, Light says he’ll be looking for whether there is tougher language on China and any signal of support for science and the Paris Agreement. During his first term, Trump refused to support the Paris accord in the G7 and G20 declarations.The statement could avoid climate and energy issues entirely. But if it backtracks on those issues, that could be a sign that countries made a deal by trading climate-related language for something else, Light said.Baer of Carnegie said a statement framed around energy security and infrastructure could be seen as a “pragmatic adaptation” to the U.S. administration, rather than an indication that other leaders aren’t concerned about climate change.Climate activists have lower expectations.“Realistically, we can expect very little, if any, mention of climate change,” said Caroline Brouillette, executive director of Climate Action Network Canada.“The message we should be expecting from those leaders is that climate action remains a priority for the rest of the G7 … whether it's on the transition away from fossil fuels and supporting developing countries through climate finance,” she said. “Especially now that the U.S. is stepping back, we need countries, including Canada, to be stepping up.”Best- and worst-case scenariosThe challenge for Carney will be preventing any further rupture with Trump, analysts said.In 2018, Trump made a hasty exit from the G7 summit, also in Canada that year, due largely to trade disagreements. He retracted his support for the joint statement.“The best, [most] realistic case outcome is that things don't get worse,” said Baer.The worst-case scenario? Some kind of “highly personalized spat” that could add to the sense of disorder, he added.“I think the G7 on the one hand has the potential to be more important than ever, as fewer and fewer platforms for international cooperation seem to be able to take action,” Baer said. “So it's both very important and also I don't have super-high expectations.”Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.

WTF?! When the president of the United States and the world's richest person have a falling out, the ramifications can be widespread. Since Musk and Trump went from friends to enemies, $152 billion has been wiped off Tesla's share price, and Musk has threatened to decommission the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that NASA relies on to deliver crew to and from the International Space Station. Musk has also said that Trump appears in files relating to Jeffrey Epstein. When he left the White House last week, Musk blasted those who said he'd had a falling out with Trump. The CEO insisted his departure was due to his scheduled 130 days as a government employee coming to an end. But Musk had been publicly criticizing Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Act, warning it would increase the budget deficit. After learning that an electric-vehicle tax credit that would help incentivize Tesla purchases was not included in the bill, Musk called it "a disgusting abomination" on X and urged Americans to call Congress to have the bill killed. On Thursday, the two men used their respective social media platforms to throw insults at each other. At one point, Trump threatened to "terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts" as a way to slash billions of dollars from the budget. The warning sent Tesla's shares down just over 14%, wiping around $152 billion off its valuation – and almost $100 billion off Musk's total net worth. In response to Trump's threat to cancel Musk's government contracts, Musk said SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately. The craft, which NASA relies on for transport missions including ferrying astronauts to the ISS, is under contract worth roughly $4.9 billion. The capsule is the only US spacecraft capable of flying humans into orbit. The only other crewed spacecraft that sends astronauts to the ISS is Russia's Soyuz system. However, after an X user told him to "cool off," Musk wrote, "Ok, we won't decommission Dragon." // Related Stories As the war of words has grown, Musk said Trump's controversial tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year. But his "really big bomb" was an allegation that Trump appears in the files of pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial. Musk has also shared a post calling for Trump's impeachment and posted a poll asking if a new political party should be created in the US that "actually represents the 80% in the middle." 81% of the 4.4 million respondents have voted yes. One has to wonder if Musk believes his time in the White House was worth it. Beyond his reputational damage, his companies have suffered by association. Tesla sales were down 50% last month, and there have been protests and attacks on dealerships. The company's share price is down 40% from its all-time high on December 17, 2024, before Musk was part of DOGE.

Lately I’ve been playing a new job sim game, Crime Scene Cleaner, while also watching BBC’s comedy series The Cleaner, both of which focus on the aftermath of gruesome murders – sometimes you just need some cosy viewing to take the edge off the day. In the TV show, Greg Davies plays Wicky, the acerbic employee of a government-endorsed clean-up company, while Crime Scene Cleaner’s lead character Kovalsky is a lowly janitor, mopping up blood and disposing of trash to cover up for a mob boss named Big Jim.The crime scenes in both are laughably over the top. Or are they? I’ve never actually seen a real-life murder scene, so perhaps copious blood sprayed over walls and ceilings and the masses of broken furniture is completely normal.Take the edge off … Greg Davies as Wicky in the BBC’s The Cleaner. Photograph: Tom Jackson/PAStepping into Kovalsky’s plastic overshoes, the aim is to leave each location exactly as it was prior to the … um … incident. Unlike Wicky, who has to constantly deal with annoying homeowners and neighbours, Kovalsky has no living humans for company; just the dead ones that he hauls over his shoulder before slinging them unceremoniously into the back of his pickup truck. Each scene plays out in silence, save for the occasional brief chat with Big Jim and Kovalsky’s own pithy self-talk. Both Kovalsky and Wicky are world-weary labourers, doing what is necessary to get through each blood-splattered scene. But there are differences between the two men: Kovalsky swipes cash and valuables to boost his bank balance (he’s saving up to pay his daughter’s medical bills) while Wicky just wants to get finished in time for curry night at the pub.Crime Scene Cleaner is a weird concept for a game, the unnatural offspring of PowerWash Simulator and Hitman. But despite the macabre premise, I’ve come to appreciate the quiet, contemplative and satisfying process of cleaning up, as Kovalsky stuffs fragments of glass, pizza slices and broken crockery into his bin bag before hurling it into his truck and getting started on all the blood spatter with a microfibre mop, pushing sofas and tables back and returning ornaments to their rightful spot on the shelves afterwards. It’s immensely satisfying, despite the game’s realistic yet tiresome insistence on continually wringing out your mops and sponges.No living humans for company … Crime Scene Cleaner video game. Photograph: President StudioExploring increasingly bizarre locations is also a common theme between the two: Crime Scene Cleaner has a pizzeria, a museum and a spooky smart house; The Cleaner takes in an ice-cream parlour, theatre and stately home. I love that the game gives me a chance to become a more sedate version of The Cleaner’s Wicky without the interference of coppers, maniacal novelists or even the killer themselves (as brilliantly portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter in the show). With his daughter ensconced in a medical clinic, Kovalsky’s only (living) companion is his playful German shepherd. Its name? Dexter. Of course.At the end of each clean-up, I find myself standing back and admiring the scene, content with a job well done. Crime Scene Cleaner and The Cleaner both tap into the very essence of black comedy, where horror becomes amusingly banall. In both, the crimes have already happened, the worst has been done and all that remains is… the remains.

Ideas don’t wait for the perfect moment. For design students, inspiration can strike anywhere—in a busy studio, during a critique, or mid-lecture. The right note-taking tool can turn scattered sketches and fleeting thoughts into the seeds of your next breakthrough. In a world where creativity blends analog and digital, the tools you use should be as flexible and inventive as you are. Whether you prefer the satisfying swipe of a marker on a whiteboard, the convenience of a digital tablet, or the playful versatility of reusable sticky notes, there’s a solution that fits every creative workflow. The best note-taking tools do more than capture words and images—they nurture ideas, encourage experimentation, and keep your process organized as your projects evolve. Here are five excellent tools perfect for design students ready to take notes beyond the ordinary. 1. Personal Whiteboard Design students thrive on the freedom to jot, sketch, and iterate without limits. The Personal Whiteboard brings that freedom to life with a single-page whiteboard notebook that’s endlessly reusable. The act of writing on a surface that wipes clean after every use encourages risk-taking and iteration, making it easy to brainstorm, mind-map, or sketch a quick wireframe. Snap a photo to archive your ideas in the cloud, then erase and start over — every fresh page is a new beginning. The multi-functional cover enhances the experience, serving as an eraser, built-in stand, and storage pocket for a marker. The innovative Mag Force system turns the cover into a handle and pen holder, keeping your tools close at hand. Compatible with any regular whiteboard marker, this notebook is perfect for those moments when inspiration strikes in class or at the studio, supporting rapid ideation and spontaneous creativity. Click Here to Buy Now: $49.00 What we like Infinitely reusable, reducing paper waste. Multi-functional design with integrated stand and eraser. What we dislike Only one page means no multi-page reference. Must have a marker and phone handy to save notes. 2. MagBoard Clipboard The MagBoard Clipboard reimagines the classic clipboard for the modern design workflow. Its magnet and lever mechanism secures up to 30 sheets, allowing you to add, remove, and rearrange pages without hassle. This flexibility lets you work non-linearly, organizing sketches and notes in the order that matches your process. The hardcover design makes it easy to sketch standing up, perfect for crit sessions or on-the-go brainstorming. With its minimalist aesthetic, the MagBoard Clipboard eliminates the distractions of pre-printed layouts or rigid bindings. Loose sheets mean total freedom over format and medium, from tracing paper to heavy sketch stock. The water-resistant and easy-to-clean surface ensures durability through every project, making it ideal for design students who value both structure and adaptability. Click Here to Buy Now: $45.00 What we like Holds various paper types and sizes securely. Easy to reorganize or remove sheets as needed. What we dislike Loose pages can be misplaced if not careful. No digital backup unless manually scanned or photographed. 3. Rocketbook Reusable Sticky Notes Rocketbook’s reusable sticky notes reinvent the classic sticky for the eco-conscious creative. These notes can be written on, wiped clean, and reused endlessly, making them a sustainable companion for design students juggling ideas, reminders, and critiques. Each note is compatible with the Rocketbook app, allowing you to scan and organize notes digitally before erasing for the next round of inspiration. The familiar format of sticky notes fits right into any workflow, whether you’re mapping out a project timeline on your wall or annotating a design portfolio. The ability to reuse them means you can experiment without worrying about waste. These sticky notes truly shine in collaborative settings, where feedback and ideas are constantly evolving and being refined. What we like Reusable, reducing waste, and ongoing costs. Syncs easily with digital platforms for archiving. What we dislike Requires specific pens for best results. Can be lost or misplaced like traditional stickies. 4. Levitating Pen 3.0 A tool that’s as much a conversation starter as it is a writing instrument, the Levitating Pen 3.0 brings a sense of wonder to every workspace. Its aircraft-grade construction and seamless casing feel substantial in hand, offering a precise and smooth writing experience for quick notes, sketches, or brainstorming sessions. The pen’s mesmerizing levitation and gentle spin capture attention, sparking inspiration during those moments between tasks. For design students, the act of picking up a pen with such a playful, futuristic design can break creative blocks and encourage out-of-the-box thinking. The Levitating Pen’s pedestal serves as a visual reminder that every idea has the potential to break free from gravity, while the balanced ballpoint tip makes writing and drawing feel effortless. This is a pen for those who want their tools to reflect their imagination. Click Here to Buy Now: $129.00 What we like Inspires creativity with stunning design. Durable, precise writing feel. What we dislike Needs the stand to levitate, so not pocket-friendly. Premium price point for a single writing tool. 5. BOOX Go 7 and Go Color 7 Gen II The BOOX Go 7 and Go Color 7 Gen II e-readers blur the line between digital reading and instant note-taking. With an integrated stylus, design students can annotate articles, highlight inspiration, or sketch directly onto e-books and PDFs. The e-ink display is gentle on the eyes, making it ideal for long study sessions, while the compact size makes it easy to carry from class to studio. This tool is especially powerful for those who consume large volumes of reference material, allowing seamless transitions between reading and note-taking. The notes can be exported, organized, and referenced later, supporting research-heavy design projects. The addition of color capabilities on the Go Color 7 adds another layer for visual thinkers who want to mark up images or diagrams. What we like Combining reading and note-taking in one. Lightweight and portable for everyday use. What we dislike Requires regular charging. Not ideal for heavy sketching or detailed drawing. The post 5 Best Note-Taking Tools & Gadgets For Design Students To Perfectly Capture Ideas first appeared on Yanko Design.

Disruption has become a popular brand strategy as start-ups, challengers and even established brands seek to stand out in crowded categories. Disruptive brand building subverts a consumer’s perceptions through narrative and tone. But, while disruption is often associated with boldness and audacity, its true power lies in challenging category norms in unexpected ways. This is achieved not only through striking visuals or provocative messaging, but by fundamentally redefining what a category can mean, and the experience a brand can deliver. One newly launched brand that’s aiming to defy its category conventions is mud, an emerging petcare company that is setting itself apart by embracing mess, mud and natural animal instincts. The brand’s Everyday Wash for Dirty Dogs is marketed for “dogs who were meant to get dirty”. The brand’s brown, grey and black colour palette is inspired by different shades of dirt, and its founders describe it as “a small act of rebellion against the sanitised world of modern pet care.” Angelina Pischikova and Karina Zhukovskaya’s identity for their mud pet care brand. While it’s too early to predict mud’s ability to disrupt its category, its mission is certainly thought-provoking. If successful, disruptor brands can not only capture market share from established competitors, they can shift industry dynamics and open up a new market for consumers seeking alternatives. Think Liquid Death, the US brand which made canned water cool with its irreverence and punk/heavy metal aesthetics. Or Oatly, which turned oat milk into a cultural statement with witty long copy and an anti-advertising aesthetic. “Being pioneering isn’t always about ripping it up and starting again.” When a disruptor brand is so successful that it brings about positive change, it’s often because that category is ripe for disruption. Prior to the arrival of disruptor brands like The Ordinary and Glossier, the beauty industry had thrived on creating a feeling of exclusivity, mystery and luxury, with glossy celebrity-fronted advertising and products making vague promises at inflated prices. The sector was entirely upended by the arrival of The Ordinary, which democratised skincare by championing science over celebrity and enabled a much wider group of consumers to access high-quality skincare. Stunts like selling “ordinarily-priced” eggs for $3.37 at the height of the American inflation crisis, or dumping a stack of dollar bills in a store window, cleverly highlighted its no-frills proposition and flew in the face of typical beauty marketing by taking swipes at influencer endorsement. Glossier was another hugely influential agent of change because it built its brand around user-generated content and real customer feedback, rather than top-down beauty ideals. But with disruption comes risk. A disruptor brand can seem inauthentic if its brash, bold branding doesn’t fully align with its ethos. WeWork’s tactics backfired massively when its “changing the world” narrative collapsed under scrutiny. Its demise also demonstrates that moving fast and breaking things isn’t necessarily the best approach to disruption. The company promised a variety of flexible office spaces catering to different needs, but ultimately failed to deliver because of its focus on global expansion at breakneck speed – a strategy that proved unsustainable. Also, disruption stops being disruptive when everyone’s doing it. When luxury fashion first shifted online and onto social media, many fashion houses pared back their logos, incorporating the clean, minimalist typefaces favoured by tech brands like Google and Microsoft. This minimalist branding style became so popular among brands, from Saint Laurent to Celine, they all started to look the same. Even Liquid Death’s success has had its limitations. Despite becoming a sensation in the US, it didn’t create any significant ripples in the UK water market and exited after less than two years – showing that disruptive brand activity can get lost in translation. What works in some markets and cultures, may fall flat in others. For legacy brands, the stakes are particularly high because a major identity shift can erode established brand equity. Old Spice successfully moved away from its “dad’s aftershave” image through ironic humour. By contrast, Aberdeen Group’s attempt to reach new audiences backfired dramatically after its rebrand to Abrdn in 2021 was met with a torrent of mockery. Earlier this year it announced it was reinstating the missing e’s. Being pioneering isn’t always about ripping it up and starting again. Brands don’t need to reinvent themselves or tear down the competition to make an impact. You can be just as innovative by quietly committing to long-term, incremental change. Sustainable fashion brands are a case in point here. Companies like Finisterre and Reformation are leading a slow fashion movement by committing to eco-friendly and ethical practices, offering consumers a high-quality alternative to fast fashion. To truly disrupt, a brand must have ambitions beyond being brash and attention-seeking. Disruptors need to stay true to their brand essence as well as strategically differentiated from rivals. Before adopting a disruptive stance, consider what consumers really want and analyse whether your rivals are delivering on that need. You must also ensure your branding resonates with your target audience and connects to a broader cultural shift. In this way, you can help ensure your disruption strategy gets people talking for all the right reasons. Polly Hopkins is managing director of FutureBrand London.

Jonathan L. Zittrain is a law/public policy/CS professor at Harvard (and also director of its Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society). He's also long-time Slashdot reader #628,028 — and writes in to share his new article in the Atlantic. Following on Anthropic's bridge-obsessed Golden Gate Claude, colleagues at Harvard's Insight+Interaction Lab have produced a dashboard that shows what judgments Llama appears to be forming about a user's age, wealth, education level, and gender during a conversation. I wrote up how weird it is to see the dials turn while talking to it, and what some of the policy issues might be. Llama has openly accessible parameters; So using an "observability tool" from the nonprofit research lab Transluce, the researchers finally revealed "what we might anthropomorphize as the model's beliefs about its interlocutor," Zittrain's article notes: If I prompt the model for a gift suggestion for a baby shower, it assumes that I am young and female and middle-class; it suggests diapers and wipes, or a gift certificate. If I add that the gathering is on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the dashboard shows the LLM amending its gauge of my economic status to upper-class — the model accordingly suggests that I purchase "luxury baby products from high-end brands like aden + anais, Gucci Baby, or Cartier," or "a customized piece of art or a family heirloom that can be passed down." If I then clarify that it's my boss's baby and that I'll need extra time to take the subway to Manhattan from the Queens factory where I work, the gauge careens to working-class and male, and the model pivots to suggesting that I gift "a practical item like a baby blanket" or "a personalized thank-you note or card...." Large language models not only contain relationships among words and concepts; they contain many stereotypes, both helpful and harmful, from the materials on which they've been trained, and they actively make use of them. "An ability for users or their proxies to see how models behave differently depending on how the models stereotype them could place a helpful real-time spotlight on disparities that would otherwise go unnoticed," Zittrain's article argues. Indeed, the field has been making progress — enough to raise a host of policy questions that were previously not on the table. If there's no way to know how these models work, it makes accepting the full spectrum of their behaviors (at least after humans' efforts at "fine-tuning" them) a sort of all-or-nothing proposition. But in the end it's not just the traditional information that advertisers try to collect. "With LLMs, the information is being gathered even more directly — from the user's unguarded conversations rather than mere search queries — and still without any policy or practice oversight...." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I really like the iPhone's Dynamic Island, the pill-shaped cutout near the top of the device's screen. It's an aesthetically pleasing way to check your battery percentage, record voice notes, and control music playback, among many other things. Since many MacBooks have a display notch too, you can use an app to bring an iPhone-like Dynamic Island to your laptop. Doing this makes the cutout look like a useful design feature rather than an abrupt gap in the screen, and some apps even let you move the giant volume and brightness adjustment popups to the Dynamic Island. Alcove brings the Dynamic Island to your Mac Credit: Pranay Parab I've been using Alcove on a MacBook without a notch and I'm still finding it pretty useful. This app's developer is known to focus on design, just as they did with Klack—an app that makes your Mac's keyboard sound vintage. Alcove's neat status updates highlight useful information in a slick interface. It takes over your Mac's volume and brightness adjustment popups and moves those to the notch. This is a better implementation than Apple's giant popups, which hide a significant part of the screen temporarily—a problem they've since fixed on iOS.You can also use Alcove to keep a tab on Focuses, changes in songs, and access playback controls. The app can even show some of these changes on your Mac's lock screen. I also like the app's animations, from the small visualizer that shows up when you play music to the different themes of the brightness and volume sliders. If you choose the Glow theme for the volume slider, the color of the slider changes from green to red when you exceed 80% volume.  Credit: Pranay Parab This app supports gestures, so you can use horizontal two-finger swipes on your MacBook to skip to the next song or go back to the previous song. You can use vertical swipes to expand playback controls or to dismiss live activities that show up in the notch. You can try all of the app's features for a couple days without paying, and once the free trial is over, you'll have to pay $17 to continue using the app. The price may be a bit steep for someone who just wants music playback controls and nothing else, but Alcove is among the few apps that truly recreates the iPhone's Dynamic Island on your Mac, right down to all the delightful animations.Other useful notch appsThere are lots of other apps that make good use of the MacBook's notch, but these are my favorites:Notchnook ($25): This is another well-designed app and offers a few more features than Alcove and costs a bit more. You get more widgets, shortcuts, and even a mirror that lets you check your frame before a video call. Notchnook's file tray lets you quickly AirDrop files or store them in a temporary shelf, which makes it easy to move files around.Mediamate (€7): You can use this app for music controls, to slim down the massive brightness and volume controls, and to choose where to place those control sliders. You can place them in the notch or use slimmer sliders in the middle of the screen.Tuneful ($4): This one is a music-focused notch app, which lets you connect to both Apple Music and Spotify. You can use it to show playback controls and the currently playing song in the notch, but it also includes gesture-based playback controls. In case you don't want it in the notch, you can enable its mini player to show the album art and playback controls in other areas of the display.

The author (not pictured) has taken many flights, but was nervous to fly with a baby. Juanmonino/Getty Images/iStockphoto 2025-05-22T23:24:01Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? My baby has been on eight flights and isn't even a year old yet. Our first flight was short, which helped us learn how to make future, longer flights a success. Now I know a travel stroller is essential for maneuvering in the airport and worth the investment. As a person who travels quite a bit, I'll admit I was nervous about traveling with my first child. What if they cried? What if we disturbed nearby passengers? What if there was a diaper blowout? There was a lot to be anxious about.Our first fight was just 90 minutes, but we survived it. Now, my baby is has already been on eight flights — domestic and international — and they aren't even a year old yet. Our goal has been to keep our baby safe and comfortable, while making sure the flight is peaceful and enjoyable for ourselves and the people around us. My family has accomplished this by following these simple strategies.We started with a short flightWhile this may not always be possible, it helped my family quite a bit that our first flight with a baby was a shorter one, just 90 minutes long. This allowed us to get our bearings, while introducing our baby to flying. Plus, it helped us to see if there was anything we might need to adjust for future, longer flights.We always wear a baby carrierIf there's one item I wouldn't get on a flight without, it would be my baby carrier. There are many styles, but for flights, I prefer a wrap-style carrier for it's comfort and compactness.I appreciate the hands-free experience through the airport, and, more importantly, they make it more comfortable to hold your baby throughout the flight if they are flying as a lap infant. My own bag is super organizedLuggage organizing pouches are my best friend on a flight. I have several in my own carryon bag so I can keep snacks, headphones, sanitizing wipes, and more neat and organized. When everything is in its own bag I don't have to dig around searching for it when I need it, which can be a lifesaver.On our last flight, my baby was asleep on my chest, but I desperately wanted my Kindle, headphones, and a snack. It was easy for me to snag them from my bag without waking the baby. The writer (not pictured) packs carryon items in individual travel pouches so they're easy to fish out of her bag, even if she's only got one hand free. miniseries/Getty Images A travel stroller is essentialOn our first trip, we didn't have a travel stroller. I didn't want to spend extra money on more gear and I thought we would be fine without it. That was a big mistake. Now we have an affordable model that is easy to use. It isn't as bulky as our usual stroller, but it's perfect for maneuvering through the terminal and provides an extra place to stash essentials while at the airport.We check, and double check, our diaper bagI always make sure we're set up for success with extra outfits that are warm and comfortable just in case we run into any delays or something gets dirty while we're traveling. A travel diaper changing mat is a must-have item that allows us to change our child no matter where we are. On our international flight, our baby had a diaper that desperately needed changing, but we were stuck in our seats. Thanks to our travel mat, we were able to get the baby back into a clean diaper right away. And, as all parents know, extra wipes and diapers are never a bad idea.We don't skimp on toysOf course, packing comfort items, books, and fun toys is a great way to redirect restlessness on a flight. I try to keep to items that are small, mess-free, and not too noisy and always add in a few new items that my child hasn't seen before.We take advantage of early boardingAs soon as we get to the gate, one of us makes a beeline for the gate agent. We double check that our seats are all together and ask for any necessary accommodations. Many airlines let those traveling with young children board early, and we always take advantage of this. It's a lot easier to get down the narrow plane aisle with all of our stuff and a baby if other passengers aren't in the way.We try to plan around naps and feeding timeThough this isn't always possible, we try to line up flights so they happen when our baby is ready for a nap. Recently, we selected a flight time not based on our typical preference, but based around our baby's sleep schedule, and it really paid off. Ideally, I'll be able to feed the baby during takeoff, which keeps them comfortable and happy and then they will settle into a nice slumber for the flight. We've used this strategy for a few flights, and it's been successful every time.We do our best to stay calmIt may be easier said than done, but staying in a good headspace is what has helped me and my husband the most during these flights. We've both still had stressful moments, and that's when we try to help one another to take a step back and regroup. Our child picks up on our feelings and moods, so if we're anxious, they might be, too. Taking deep breaths, not rushing, staying calm has helped make the eight flights we've already been on a success and we can't wait to take more.

Huawei just shattered our expectations of what a laptop can be. The new MateBook Fold Ultimate Design doesn’t just push boundaries. It obliterates them. Designer: Huawei Unveiled on May 19, this groundbreaking device introduces the world’s first 18-inch foldable display in a laptop form factor. But calling it merely a laptop feels almost reductive. When unfolded, you’re looking at a stunning 18-inch canvas that somehow weighs less than many 13-inch ultrabooks. When folded, it transforms into a compact 13-inch device that slides effortlessly into a bag. What makes this design achievement particularly impressive isn’t just the folding display itself. It’s how Huawei solved the countless engineering challenges that have prevented others from creating something this ambitious. The innovation extends beyond mere technical specifications. Huawei has reimagined the fundamental relationship between users and their computing devices, creating something that adapts to various workflows rather than forcing users to adapt to rigid form factors. Engineering Marvel: The Hinge The hinge deserves special attention. Stretching 285mm across the device, Huawei calls it the “world’s largest basalt water drop hinge.” This isn’t marketing hyperbole. The three-stage shaft with mortise and tenon structure delivers a 400% increase in hovering torque compared to standard designs. What does this mean for users? Exceptional stability at viewing angles between 30° and 150°, while maintaining smooth operation at shallow angles between 0-20 degrees. When unfolded, the MateBook measures a mere 7.3mm thick. For perspective, that’s thinner than many smartphones. Even when folded, it maintains a relatively svelte 14.9mm profile while weighing just 1.16kg. The exterior combines premium leather and metal elements, available in Black, Blue, and White colorways. The integrated kickstand on the rear panel adds another dimension of versatility. Position the device in landscape or portrait orientation at various angles for different use cases. Present to clients, watch content, sketch ideas, or type documents. The physical form adapts to your needs rather than forcing you to adapt to it. This level of engineering precision didn’t happen overnight. Huawei claims thousands of prototypes were tested before arriving at this final design, with particular attention paid to the durability of the folding mechanism. The company promises the hinge will maintain structural integrity through thousands of folding cycles. Display Technology But the true star is undoubtedly the display itself. The dual-layer LTPO OLED panel delivers an immersive visual experience with a 92% screen-to-body ratio. When fully expanded, you’re looking at an 18-inch canvas with 4:3 aspect ratio and 3.3K resolution (3296 × 2472 pixels). Fold it, and you have a more conventional 13-inch display with 3:2 aspect ratio (2472 × 1648 pixels). This isn’t just any OLED panel. Huawei implemented the first commercial laptop application of LTPO (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide) technology, reducing power consumption by 30% while enabling adaptive refresh rates. The 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio ensures deep blacks and vibrant colors across the P3 wide color gamut, while peak brightness reaches an impressive 1600 nits. For those concerned about eye strain during extended use, the screen incorporates 1440Hz high-frequency PWM dimming and carries TÜV Rheinland Eye Comfort 3.0 certification. Color accuracy hasn’t been overlooked either. Huawei claims each display is factory calibrated to achieve a Delta E of less than 1, making it suitable for professional creative work. The anti-reflective coating helps maintain visibility even in challenging lighting conditions. Thermal Innovation The revolutionary design extends beyond the visible elements. Cooling such powerful components in an ultra-thin chassis required innovative solutions. Huawei engineered diamond aluminum dual fans and an ultra-thin antigravity vapor chamber heat sink. The copper-steel composite 3D vapor chamber and distributed component layout optimize thermal performance without excessive fan noise. Traditional cooling systems simply wouldn’t work in a device this thin. Huawei’s approach involves separating heat-generating components across the chassis to prevent hotspots. The vapor chamber technology efficiently transfers heat away from critical components to maintain performance during intensive tasks. Fan noise has been carefully tuned to remain below 28dB during typical usage scenarios. This makes the MateBook Fold Ultimate suitable for quiet environments like libraries and meeting rooms where traditional laptop fans might prove distracting. Performance and Connectivity Despite its slim profile, performance hasn’t been compromised. The MateBook Fold Ultimate comes equipped with 32GB of RAM and storage options of either 1TB or 2TB SSD. While Huawei hasn’t explicitly confirmed the processor in all materials, some sources indicate it uses their own Kirin X90 chipset, a fully Chinese-manufactured ARM processor. A 74.69Wh battery powers the device, with support for fast charging through the included 140W USB-C charger. Connectivity includes strategically placed USB-C ports, one on top and one on the side, along with dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. The decision to position USB-C ports on different edges of the device shows thoughtful design consideration. This arrangement allows for convenient charging regardless of how the device is positioned or folded. The absence of legacy ports might disappoint some users, but reflects the forward-looking design philosophy behind the entire product. Audio-Visual Experience The audio experience matches the visual excellence with six speakers in total. Three 2W speakers work alongside three 1W speakers, enhanced by Huawei Sound technology. For video conferencing, an 8MP front-facing camera works alongside four microphones to ensure clear communication. Speaker placement has been carefully considered to maintain audio quality regardless of the device’s orientation. Whether used as a tablet, laptop, or in presentation mode, the sound remains clear and directional. The multi-microphone array uses AI-powered noise cancellation to isolate voices from background noise during calls. The camera quality represents a significant upgrade from typical laptop webcams. The 8MP sensor captures more detail than the standard 720p cameras found in most laptops, while the wide-angle lens ensures you stay in frame even when moving during calls. HarmonyOS 5: A New Computing Paradigm Perhaps the most intriguing aspect beyond the hardware is the software. The MateBook Fold Ultimate runs HarmonyOS 5, marking the first time this operating system appears on a Huawei laptop. This represents a significant departure from Windows, offering users a third major OS option alongside Windows and macOS. HarmonyOS 5 is designed specifically for this unique form factor. Intuitive gestures include three-finger swipes to move windows across screens and five-finger spreads to maximize applications. When positioned at a 90-degree angle like a traditional laptop, the bottom half can function as a virtual keyboard with customizable skins, adjustable key spacing, and haptic feedback through a linear motor. The operating system adapts intelligently to different usage scenarios. When folded, it automatically adjusts the interface for a more traditional laptop experience. When fully opened, it transforms into a tablet-like environment optimized for touch interaction. This contextual awareness extends to connected peripherals as well, with the interface changing based on whether the physical keyboard is attached. Input Options For those who prefer physical keys, Huawei includes an ultra-thin 5mm wireless keyboard weighing just 290g. This keyboard features 1.5mm key travel, lasts up to 24 days on a single charge, and magnetically attaches to the back of the device when not in use. The keyboard design deserves special mention. Despite its ultra-thin profile, Huawei has managed to deliver a surprisingly satisfying typing experience. The keys offer tactile feedback that rivals much thicker keyboards, while the full-size layout prevents the cramped feeling often associated with portable keyboards. Touch input has been optimized as well. The display supports 10-point multi-touch with pressure sensitivity, making it suitable for digital art and note-taking. Palm rejection technology works remarkably well, allowing users to rest their hand on the screen while writing or drawing without causing unwanted input. Versatility and Use Cases The versatility of the MateBook Fold Ultimate is perhaps its greatest strength. It transitions seamlessly between tablet mode, laptop configuration, and presentation setup. The built-in kickstand allows positioning at various angles in both portrait and landscape orientations. Creative professionals will appreciate the large canvas for digital art and design work. The 18-inch display provides ample space for complex projects, while the foldable nature means you can still take this capability on the road. Business users can leverage the presentation mode for client meetings, with the large screen eliminating the need for external displays in many scenarios. Students might find the combination of note-taking capabilities and full-size keyboard particularly appealing. The ability to fold the device partially creates a natural reading angle for digital textbooks, while the performance specifications handle research and productivity applications with ease. Market Position Priced at CNY 23,999 (approximately $3,300) for the 1TB model and CNY 26,999 (roughly $3,700) for the 2TB variant, the MateBook Fold Ultimate Design positions itself firmly in the premium market. It will initially launch in China on June 6, with international availability planned for later dates. While foldable laptops aren’t entirely new, Lenovo pioneered the concept years ago, Huawei’s implementation represents a significant leap forward. The larger screen, thinner profile, innovative hinge mechanism, and comprehensive ecosystem integration through HarmonyOS demonstrate what’s possible when design and engineering excellence converge. The pricing strategy places this device in competition with high-end laptops and creative workstations rather than mainstream consumer devices. Huawei is clearly targeting professionals and enthusiasts who value cutting-edge technology and are willing to invest in unique capabilities not found elsewhere. Future Implications The MateBook Fold Ultimate Design doesn’t just represent another iterative step in laptop evolution. It reimagines what portable computing can be. Whether this specific implementation becomes the new standard remains to be seen, but Huawei has undoubtedly expanded our understanding of what’s possible in mobile computing design. As with most breakthrough technologies, we can expect the concepts pioneered here to eventually trickle down to more affordable devices. The engineering solutions developed for this premium device will likely inform future products across various price points, potentially making foldable displays a common feature in laptops within the next few years. The introduction of HarmonyOS to the laptop form factor also signals Huawei’s ambitions beyond smartphones and tablets. Creating a cohesive ecosystem across all computing devices could position the company as a more comprehensive alternative to established players in the personal computing space.The post Huawei’s MateBook Fold Ultimate Design Redefines Mobile Computing with World’s First 18-inch Foldable Display first appeared on Yanko Design.

Old Enemies, New Alliances: Black Ops 6 Season 04 is Here! Though he once had the chance to end Vikhor “Stitch” Kuzmin’s reign of terror, Adler spared his nemesis after they met at the culmination of Black Ops Cold War. Latest intel reveals Kuzmin was later captured and locked up in an Icelandic CIA black site until he might prove useful. Following the events and evidence uncovered by the deceased CIA Agent Jason Hudson, that day has come, and in an unlikely team up, Adler and team have broken Stitch out from his confinement, seeking his help to crack the codenames needed to find the Pantheon moles. With Verdansk once again an area of operations for deployment, what other plans might Stitch have in store? For now, Adler needs him to complete the mission at hand.  To succeed, the two must put their past behind them in pursuit of a new goal. Get in on the action when this stacked offering of free and premium content comes to Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6, launching in Season 04 on Thursday, May 29 at 9AM PT across all platforms. Nomenclature Note: Throughout the blog, you’ll see references to when gameplay content launches. Here are what these various suffixes mean: “Launch”: Expect to access this content immediately at the Season launch “Launch Window”: Expect to access this content between launch and up to 72 hours after launch.  “In Season”: Expect to access this content during the season, but before either the mid-season or next season arrives. “Mid-Season”: Expect to access this content at Mid-Season or later. All content timing may be subject to change. Multiplayer Content Summary Five MP Maps: Drop into Icelandic AOs with three new maps at launch including the Shutdown and Fugitive 6v6 Core maps and the Blitz Strike map. In the mid-season, party it up in Eclipse and play a reimagined Fringe. New and Returning Modes: Pick up dog tags to drain the enemy’s reserves in Team Elimination, a fun new twist on the Kill Confirmed formula. Make every bullet count with the return of One in the Chamber and get festive in the Party Ops Limited-Time Mode. Additional Equipment: The Grim Reaper Scorestreak returns from the original Black Ops, offering an explosive payload that’s guaranteed to blow the competition sky high. Season 04 Ranked Play: Challenge the best of the best, get those wins, and climb the Ranks in a new season of Multiplayer Ranked Play, with all-new rewards and bragging rights. Shutdown (Launch) Brand-New, Core, 6v6, Small-Sized Before breaking out Stitch, Adler and team first need to cut off the power to the black site prison, bringing them to a hydroelectric plant built on the rugged volcanic terrain of Iceland. Fight in and around the central building housing the now wrecked Turbine or dive down the Sluice into the Lake, its waters hugging the plant’s south end by the Transformers. Jump up by the red container to target enemies from far out or swim back onshore to reach the Atrium and Parking. Head to the north side to fight in the rugged Yard, away from the shoreline and bookended by the Pumphouse and Canteen. It’s a quick run to the Turbine from here, giving you good map coverage down the middle. If things get too hot, you can always drop down the Chute and swim your way to safety.  Fugitive (Launch) Brand-New, Core, 6v6, Medium-Sized Deploy to a secret CIA black site in a remote part of Iceland, the very location where Stitch has been imprisoned until Adler brings him in as an unlikely ally for an urgent operation. With the power out, Adler and his crew seize their chance to infiltrate the prison, climbing, zipping, and battling their way through the frozen compound. Upon reaching their target, Adler and Stitch strike a deal. Following the jailbreak, the alarms are blaring and warnings of a power failure light up the Cell Block. Though the area may appear smaller than expected when first glancing at the minimap, the prison’s intricate layout presents multiple levels and shortcuts to the various outside areas including the Checkpoint, Courtyard, and Recreation Yard. In the upper Cell Block, newly opened cells present the danger of ambush. Be on guard and look for ziplines for quick access to your next target. Blitz (Launch) Brand-New, Strike, 6v6/2v2, Small-Sized Traffic comes to a halt as Pantheon reinforcements race toward the prison but get ambushed by the Rogue team. Leave the road and seek out targets over the rugged terrain of the Cliffside or move inland, ambushing enemies at the Waterfall. To approach the battle head on, move down the central Bridge, using the scattered convoy for cover. Jump down from the center to move underneath the Bridge, a great means of pivoting to a new location. Though a small map overall, Blitz’s long lanes leave room for marksmen to shine. Eclipse (Mid-Season) Brand-New, Strike, 6v6/2v2, Small-Sized Stitch and the team arrive in Avalon, slipping into the shadows of an underground nightclub to discuss business. The neon lights flicker as they form a plan to break the Pantheon codenames, but the meeting is cut short when Pantheon agents storm in. Show off your best moves on the dance floor, dodging shots and flanking targets down the sides where seating offers party goers a chance to rest and order a drink from the bar. Ambush passing enemies from the DJ booth and then break through the broken façades on the walls, escaping into the halls. Fringe (Mid-Season) Remaster, Core, 6v6, Medium-Sized Revisit Fringe from Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, reimagined for the first time ever in Black Ops 6. Attend the grand opening of the Rolling Hills distillery, established in an idyllic setting with several navigable buildings and the surrounding grounds. Battle along the main Road or dive into the Bar for a closer fight. Watch for sharpshooters in the upper Barn and along the Bridge and relive the thrill of trying to make it out alive through the narrow Loading route. The first half of Season 04 brings two exciting Multiplayer modes: Team Elimination and One in the Chamber. In the mid-season, loosen up in the Party Ops Limited Time Mode. Team Elimination (Launch) In this twist on Kill Confirmed, two teams are given a limited amount of lives each round as they fight to be the last surviving team. Players drop a dog tag on death that can be picked up by the enemy to confirm the kill or by a teammate to deny the opposing team. Survive longer than the other team or hold the most remaining lives when the timer ends to win the round. Balance aggression and defense as you seek out enemy dog tags while preserving your life. Dig in with your teammates to counter enemy attacks and then ask for cover while you collect the droppings. Picking up tags is a great way to earn your next Scorestreak, so stay aggressive and keep up the momentum. Once your team’s life pool is drained, your remaining teammates can still revive you where you were last killed in a last-ditch effort to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. One in the Chamber (In-Season) Another Black Ops fan-favorite mode returns as One in the Chamber shows up in Season 04! In this free-for-all mode, each Operator is given one pistol, one bullet, a knife, and three lives. Precision is king, as bullets always eliminate on impact and the only way to earn another bullet is to get an elimination. Stay cool, aim true, and preserve your lives while aiming for the highest score. UAV scans keep the action moving, so don’t try to hide. At the end of the match, the top three scoring Operators will step up to the Winner’s Circle. Party Ops (Mid-Season) Get the party started with a new Limited-Time Mode arriving later in the season: Compete in a randomized set of party themed minigames. The player with the highest score at the end of the match wins it all. The devastating Grim Reaper Scorestreak is back from the original Black Ops, unleashing massive hits on other Operators and Scorestreaks alike. New Scorestreak Scorestreak: Grim Reaper (In-Season) Type: Lethal Score: 725 Mastery Badges: Yes Powerful semi-automatic launcher that can fire up to four rockets in one load. Wield the Grim Reaper, a quad tube loaded Launcher capable of inflicting heavy damage on enemies. Whether targeting Operators or locking on to enemy Scorestreaks, the Grim Reaper’s payload delivers a huge explosion. The weapon is lost if you’re taken out, so save it for the right moment and bring backup to ensure you have the protection needed to unleash havoc.  Season 04 Ranked Play Overview Prove you’re the very best by dedicating your Multiplayer match time to Ranked Play, using the same settings, maps, modes, and weapon restrictions used by the Call of Duty League™. Win matches to earn SR (Skill Rating) and progress through the Ranks while earning career rewards like Rank Skins and Win Challenge rewards. As usual, match wins ensure you progress through the Ranks throughout Season 04 to earn new seasonal rewards like a new Pro Issue Weapon Blueprint, Rank-themed Calling Cards, Ranked Charms, and more: Season 04 Ranked Play Rewards Get 10 Wins: “Pro Reissue AMES 85” AMES 85 Weapon Blueprint Get 100 Wins: “Ranked Season 4 – 100 Wins” Large Decal Silver: “Ranked Season 4 – Silver” Calling Card Gold: “Ranked Season 4 – Gold” Calling Card and Charm Platinum: “Ranked Season 4 – Platinum” Calling Card and Charm Diamond: “Ranked Season 4 – Diamond” Calling Card and Charm Crimson: “Ranked Season 4 – Crimson” Calling Card and Charm Iridescent: “Ranked Season 4 – Iridescent” Calling Card and Charm Top 250: “Ranked Season 4 – Top 250” Calling Card and Charm Season 04 Champion: “Ranked Season 4 – Top 250 Champion” Calling Card Note: Multiplayer Events: Check the General section later in this blog to uncover the full complement of events for this mode across Season 04. Zombies Content Summary Grief Returns! Drop into this epic 4v4 competitive battle on all maps, outlasting the opposition while securing Capture Zones to debuff and Grief your opponents. The last team still standing wins! Additional Gameplay Content: Crack open the armored undead and create area-of-effect explosions with the Shatter Blast Ammo Mod, chew over the impressive effects of three new GobbleGums, and create even bigger explosions with the Grim Reaper Support launcher. New Modes and More: Unlock hidden rewards with more Dark Ops Challenges, then prepare to face down a powered-up Abomination, survive as long as you can in the Starting Room LTM, and prove your Leaderboard worth by zombie slaying for bragging rights and rewards! 4v4 competitive mode where two teams outwit and outlast each other. Capture zones to debuff enemies. No damage against other players. Respawns every third round. Available Maps: Liberty Falls, Terminus, Citadelle des Morts, The Tomb, Shattered Veil. Restricted: Wonder Weapons, GobbleGums: Exit Strategy, Idle Eyes, Wonderbar!, Time Out, and Flavor Hex (Season 04 GobbleGum).  Not seen since Black Ops 2, Grief returns to Zombies! This fan-favorite mode pits two teams of four against each other, with both sides vying to out-survive the other. As the battlelines are drawn between S.A.M. and Director Richtofen, each team pledges their support to one of these rivals at the start of a match, subsequently receiving handler comms support from one of them throughout the ensuing chaos. Indirect PvP Combat The action is almost immediate as both teams drop into either side of the same Grief Arena within the chosen Zombies map, and indirect PvP combat comes into effect: The two teams of four players can’t outright kill members of the enemy team, but can interact with them by body-blocking, or slowing them  by using melee, bullet-based weapons, or projectiles.  Victory Conditions: The winning team is the one that manages to “Grief” their rivals into being killed or entering a downed state. As long as one or more team members are upright, the match continues! Grief Arena Features The action is constant and can get incredibly chaotic, due in part to your proximity to your opponents and the hordes of undead encroaching on your team, thanks to the Arena being a sub-section of the main Zombies map. These are known as “Grief Arenas.” Within a Grief Arena are a variety of features: An Open Environment: Grief Arenas are clearly defined areas where any critical doors have already been opened, and the power will already have been turned on. All other Door Buys are inactive. Both teams spawn on opposite sides of the Arena, each in a group of four. Player Respawning: Any team members that are downed – provided one or more of their team are still alive – can be revived at any time, though rival teams, undead enemies, and Shock Charges can hamper this action! Additionally, a Wave Respawner triggers every third round, automatically reviving any eliminated teammates from both teams. Join In Progress: Any player not in the game can join up until Round 10 has been completed and has a small grace period to orient themselves before they’re swarmed by zombies. Additionally, if a team has won back-to-back Capture Zones (see below), join-in-progress is not available. Essence and Salvage: Unlike in Standard playlists, Salvage pickups in Grief are worth 100 Salvage, visible to all players, and can only be picked up by the first player to grab it. Zombies: Rounds will progress faster than usual and the amount of zombies per round has been increased to account for 8 players! All undead entities – except for bosses – are to be expected. If players fail to kill zombies, the round will turn. Core Mechanics: The Arsenal, Pack-a-Punch, Mystery Box, Crafting Tables, Perk machines, GobbleGum machine (with Exit Strategy, Idle Eyes, Wonderbar!, Time Out, and Flavor Hex restricted), Armor Wall Buys, and Der Wunderfizz machine are available in a Grief Arena where they normally reside, or in a new location if they don’t normally exist in this portion of their respective maps. Note: While the current GobbleGum restrictions are in place to keep matches dynamic yet balanced, additional restrictions may be made in the future as the developers keep an eye on game balance, similar to Ranked Play. Capture Zones: Appearing at a regular cadence during a match, these are smaller areas within a Grief Arena where players are required to stand and earn specific types of kills to trigger a Grief  on the opposing team. Plan A: Survive! Plan B: Capture Zones! Keeping your team upright and focused on undead slaying for longer than your rivals is the main plan in this mode. However, there’s an important secondary focus you need to plan for: Capturing zones and “Griefing” your rival team! Capture Zones appear at regular intervals throughout a match, and after stepping through the glowing perimeter, you and your team can secure the Zone by staying inside it and dispatching zombies. Beckon your crew into a Zone to quicken the zombie slaying, and once your kill count meets the requirement, a Grief is triggered on the opposition. Note that if neither team reaches this requirement within the countdown inside a Capture Zone, the Grief is applied to both teams. What is a Grief? It’s a temporary debuff, penalty, or negative gameplay mechanic that you can inflict on your rival team at a Capture Zone. The type of Grief is shown at the objective tracker within a Capture Zone. Here are the possible Griefs you’re aiming to inflict on your foes: Weapon Nerf: The affected players inflict considerably reduced damage to zombie enemies. Ammo Drain: All ammo-based weapons, including those stowed, receive an ammo drain with bullets or shells being removed constantly while the Grief is active. Zombie Ambush: An Elite zombie is summoned, and it solely focuses its killing power on the enemy team until either the Elite or the team are defeated, or the timer runs out. Weapon Carousel: The rival players’ weapons are randomly swapped every few seconds. Frozen: This Grief reduces the enemy players’ movement, along with frost and ice coating the characters. Griefs and Capture Zones also introduce new score types, including: Capture Zone Kill: Awarded to a player who defeated a zombie type during a successful Capture Zone completion. Capture Zone Win: Awarded to all players on a team who successfully commandeer a Capture Zone. Capture Zone Elite Kill: Awarded to a player who slays an Elite spawned in a Capture Zone. Available Grief Arenas (11 Arenas, Launch) A total of 11 different Grief Arenas are available in this mode. Here’s a list along with a brief description of the points of interest within each one: Liberty Falls Arena 1: Pump & Pay, Motor Lodge, and Fuller’s Liberty Lanes Liberty Falls Arena 2: Dark Aether Church, Cemetery, Hilltop Terminus Arena 1: Bio Lab Terminus Arena 2: Crab Island  Citadelle des Morts Arena: Courtyard, Ramparts, and Entrance Hall The Tomb Arena 1: Dig Site, Mausoleum The Tomb Arena 2: Dark Aether Nexus Shattered Veil Arena 1: Garden Pond, Lower Terrace Shattered Veil Arena 2: Upper Terrace, Shem’s Henge, Motor Court Shattered Veil Arena 3: Mansion Foyer, Overlook, East Foyer, Library Shattered Veil Arena 4: West Hallways, Southwest Balcony, Bottlery Access the following new content within all five Zombies Maps (unless otherwise stated) throughout Season 04: Dark Ops Challenges (Launch) A mysterious new set of hidden Calling Cards and bounteous amounts of XP are available at the start of Season 04, thanks to a fresh drop of Zombies Dark Ops Challenges. Who knows... maybe there’s even one for Grief. All further information is [[REDACTED]]. New LTM: Starting Room (Mid-Season) Inspired by the starting room in the classic “Moon” Zombies map, drop in with up to three of your Zombies crew into a more straightforward but challenging experience where you’re locked into the first zone of a map. Raptor One is gone, and those undead hordes are only getting stronger, but all doors in the initial zone are locked. Survive to the highest round you can! New LTM: Abomination Challenge (Mid-Season) Enter a warped version of Liberty Falls during this new Mid-Season Event, and hunt down an ultra-powered-up Abomination. Perhaps it’s wise to bring backup. Wreck even the most battle-hardened undead threat with the explosive power of the Shatter Blast Ammo Mod, then drop even more devastating firepower on the hordes with the Grim Reaper Support launcher. There’s three new chewables, too! Ammo Mod: Shatter Blast (Launch) Available: Augments Menu, and In-Game (Pause Menu) “Bullets deal explosive damage. Each bullet has a chance to create an explosion that destroys armor.” Modify your ammunition to explode the toughened armor of certain normal and Special undead enemies. This mod also has a second benefit, creating an area-of-effect blast radius at the same time, whether any armor is shattered or not.  Due to the somewhat chaotic nature of this modification, there is a random chance of the Shatter Blast effect triggering, and it won’t happen every time you fire. Also expect a cooldown period after the effect. Note that Shatter Blast doesn’t directly affect Elite enemies (pending some Augment research!), but area-of-effect explosions can still damage them. You are wise to wrangle your undead into hordes so they’re near each other, to really inflict some damage! Shatter Blast: Major Augments Research the following Augments to further customize this Ammo Mod. Big Game Shatter Blast can be used against Elite enemies. Expect an impressively sized explosion. Blast Chain On explosion, three additional explosions occur in rapid succession. Blast Repair For every enemy that has its armor destroyed by Shatter Blast, armor health will be restored for the player. Shatter Blast: Minor Augments Blast Zone Increase the size of the explosion. Blast Boost Increase the explosion damage. Blast Wave Normal enemies are knocked down by the explosion. New GobbleGums (Launch) Crack your teeth on three new GobbleGums, available across all maps once you earn or unlock them and equip them in your GobbleGum Loadout Pack. Explosive Flourish (Epic): Reloading your weapon creates an explosion around you. GobbleGum lasts 2 minutes. Flavor Hex (Legendary): Activates a random Ultra GobbleGum. Rainburps (Whimsical): Zombies killed belch sparkly rainbow bubbles. Lasts 3 minutes. Additional Support Weapon: Grim Reaper (In-Season) Available: Rivals Event reward Salvage: 2000 Hammer away at the Crafting Table and assemble a powerful semi-automatic launcher known as the Grim Reaper, which deals out lethal damage to the undead with up to a quartet of missiles fired in one load. With a capacity to carry up to a dozen rockets, and the ability to fire them individually or as a quartet of devastation, this can level a courtyard of undead with a single launch! Unlock this Support weapon once you’ve earned it via the Rivals Event. Note: Zombies Events: Check the General section later in this blog to uncover a first look at events for this mode across Season 04, including the King of the Dead Leaderboard challenge! Call of Duty: Warzone Content Summary New Point of Interest: The towering skyscraper known as The Overlook comes to Downtown Verdansk, with ziplines, cranes, and an impressive interior to explore. New and Limited Time Modes: Clash mode – the massive 52v52 Verdansk Deathmatch – is back! Join 51 other Operators in a chaotic firefight to claim domination points and defeat foes. Then compete in a specially themed area of Verdansk in a match with rule-bending modifiers in Havoc Royale. And drop into Rebirth Island for a spot of Resurgence Casual human and bot combat. Doubling Down on Ranked Play: Call of Duty: Warzone doubles down – literally – with two separate Ranked Play modes; Battle Royale: Ranked (Verdansk) at launch running throughout the entire season, and the return of Ranked Play to Rebirth Island at Mid-season. New Features: Cranes and horizontal ziplines Downtown. Lobby Lockdown in The Overlook. Look up and look out!  Dominate foes with a gigantic new skyscraper point of interest, available to Operators within the vicinity of Downtown! The old tenement blocks, Burger Town, and SKN Comm tower have been demolished, and construction crews are finalizing a sprawling skyscraper that dominates the landscape! Look for a full recon tour below. Recon Tour: The Overlook As construction nears completion on this behemoth of a skyscraper (more than twice the height of any previous building within the Verdansk conurbation), it’s worth gaining a tactical advantage on this monolithic new point of interest. The Overlook Footprint: The “Diamond” and Perimeter Security Checkpoints Drop into the grounds of The Overlook, and you’ll immediately see the grounds of the new skyscraper under construction stretch in a rough diamond shape around the location of the old SKN Comm Tower. Flanked by two massive cranes, the building plot perimeter runs from the corner of the main bank, clockwise past the Post Office, passing the Rothwynn Donna building, northeast to the Museum/Art Gallery, and follows the road around to City Hall.  All the older structures (the Burger Town, low-rise tenement blocks, the building site, and the small coffee shop and bar across from the Museum) have been bulldozed in the name of progress! Perimeter Security Checkpoints Military-style security checkpoints have been set up on the corners and roads of the plot of land within the footprint of the structure. Most aren’t secure enough to impede vehicular progress, and some have ramps to allow airborne access. These serve as helpful visual cues that you’re entering the new POI, The Overlook.  Ground Level: Construction Sites Most of the groundwork around the skyscraper is in its final stages of completion, but there are plenty of barriers, fencing, canopies, and containers to use as cover in the area below each of the two giant cranes north and south of the structure. Ground Level: Restaurants Burger Town: Fans of the famous Burger Town Double Cheeseburger will be thrilled to know the fast-food chain has relocated a few meters further down the road from its previous location and is contained within the massive footprint of The Overlook. This outlet also serves as a lower entrance into the grand foyer interior of the building. Sushi Bar: Diagonally opposite the Burger Town, on the northwest side of the POI, is a small Sushi bar, within the footprint of the tower itself. Nestled in the stepped courtyard, you can quickly advance to the north crane or main lobby entrance. It’s also worth pointing out that the sight lines around this POI have significantly changed since Season 03, with much greater visibility across familiar POIs within Downtown and the surrounding districts. North and South Cranes Two huge cranes flank the north and south side of the monolith and are another way to traverse into The Overlook at great height. With five separate platforms attached to the mast to land on (two at ground, and three at height), use the vertical Ascender built into the crane’s mast and take an eight-second ascent to a platform just below the jib that extends out to the main winch, and the hoist allowing a jump to The Overlook roof. Operators who aren’t challenged by vertigo will have wild and panoramic views that extend to all of Verdansk’s POIs (except Quarry)! Both cranes are also functional, and providing you’ve found the necessary controls in the vicinity (both on and off the cranes’ superstructures), cargo on the hook block and hoist can be summoned and moved to various locations around the tower and nearby Downtown buildings, in case you or your team needs a daring lift! Zip Lines and Additional Rooftop Cover Increasing the ways you can quickly traverse and gain (or lose) great height in your tactical positioning near The Overlook exterior, zip-lines provide a diagonal route to and from the surrounding Downtown building rooftops.  Each also has a small billboard or other protective cover as you reach the zipline mechanism. Access to and from Overlook at the following locations: South: Post Office rooftop to Skydeck. West: Rothwynn Donna building rooftop to Skydeck. Northeast: Art Gallery/Museum rooftop to Skydeck. East: City Hall dome rooftop to Skydeck.  The Overlook: Entrance and Lobby Lockdown The Overlook has a substantial exterior and interior presence, mainly tiered fountains, planting, and stairs up to forecourts and shuttered entrances to the north, east, south, and west, all leading to a central interior lobby. If you find the main entrances shuttered, it means the lobby is experiencing a lockdown. Perhaps there’s a way to breach this security? Are there other ways to get in? The interior lobby has a coffee shop, mezzanine office, stairs, a variety of cover options, and other areas to investigate, not least the marginally terrifying 18-storey elevator ascenders to the northeast and southwest, and even those only get you halfway up the inside of the tower. The Overlook: Atrium and Skydeck (Interior, Exterior) Just above the midway point within The Overlook tower is a five-floor interior with exterior Skydeck. Depending on your use of ziplines, you’re able to access a large Atrium with concrete tile and planters and an abundance of plant life. Around the perimeter are rooms, stairwells, and two new elevator shafts, all enabling you to reach the exterior Skydeck. Known by some locals as the “cyclops” tower, due to this large central upper opening you can fly a helicopter through, the Skydeck features a small glass pyramid, some windswept seating, and infiltration to the floors above.  The large, rectangular holes on all four sides provide zipline access around Downtown, as well as daring helicopter maneuvers through the gaps. The ascent doesn’t end here; enter any of the four pillars holding up the roof of the skyscraper for another elevator ascender ride. The Overlook: Penthouse (Interior), Roof (Exterior) The remaining upper floors of The Overlook are nearing completion, meaning health and safety rules aren’t being observed as stringently as you’d like. Top floors up from the Skydeck is the roof. Missing windows, exterior gantries without railings, and exposed exterior ladders mean you’ll be thankful for your parachute.  Depending on which of the tower corners you’re fighting through, this offers another five floors to investigate, including rooms that are fully furnished.  These include a security and server room, a two-floor penthouse level with opulent bedroom, kitchen, and games area, and that’s before the more perturbed of Operators learn the secrets of the [[REDACTED]] room!  As well as the usual Battle Royale and Resurgence playlists across Verdansk and Rebirth Island, major modes – Clash and Battle Royale: Ranked Play – return to the game, with the intriguing Havoc Royale and the arrival of Resurgence: Ranked Play on Rebirth Island at mid-season! Clash LTM (Launch) 104 players (52v52), 15-minute matches 52v52 Team Deathmatch chaos is back in Call of Duty: Warzone! First introduced into Call of Duty: Warzone during Season Five of Black Ops Cold War back in September 2021 as a revamped version of the original “Rumble” mode, Clash is back, bigger than ever, and now includes some impressive, game-changing equipment and power-ups only available in this mode. But what is Clash Mode? This is Team Deathmatch and Domination on a massive scale! Overview, Win Conditions, and Scoring This action-packed team-based mode takes place in and around a specific POI within Verdansk, and pits two teams of 52 players (divided into 13 Quad Squads per side) against each other. With no Circle Collapse, no last stand benefit for the Survivor Perk, and your Loadouts available immediately, the plan is simple; your side needs to acquire 500 points by the end of the 15-minute time limit. These are mainly gained by slaying enemies (sometimes aided with power ups you can acquire within a match), completing contracts, and participating in the in-game Public Events, as well as the following: Scoring: 1 point per enemy elimination 2 points per enemy elimination with Double Down Power Up 5 points per Contract completed 10 points for capturing a Domination Point (Flag) 10 points for capturing a Bonus Crate or a Cash Crate Clash: Available Locations Expect Clash matches to occur across a sub-section of the main Verdansk map, incorporating several adjacent areas around the following POIs: Quarry Boneyard Farmland Promenade (East) Clash: Available Vehicles With the impetus to reach the enemy forces never more important, expect heavy use of vehicles throughout a Clash Match. The full complement of currently available ground and air vehicles are as follows: Heli Cargo Truck LTV (Light Tactical Vehicle) Polaris RZR Pro R 4 Available Contracts There are three available Contracts to complete in Clash Mode: Scavenger Search and Destroy Recon The Scavenger and Recon Contracts work in the same way as they do in Battle Royale Matches. In addition to the usual rewards and in-game cash, you receive five team points for each Contract completed. Search and Destroy Contracts (Clash Mode Only): Everything must go with this new contract, where one team plants a bomb on a Buy Station, and on detonation, they can earn impressive rarity weapons and items from the Buy Stations’ inventory. The other teams can defuse the bomb to earn a Fire Sale for a major discount from the Buy Stations.  Expect the Search and Destroy Contract to be available in Battle Royale, Resurgence, and Plunder Modes, at Mid-Season. In-Match Events and Domination Points During a Clash match, expect several in-match Events to occur. These are like those in Battle Royale Matches, though Clash Events are timed throughout the match rather than related to the Circle Collapse. The available Events are: Domination Points Bonus Points Crates Clash Firesale Cash Crates Power Surge Domination Points Event: Up to three single capture Dom Points (flags) appear on the map, and these respawn throughout the match. Much like the Multiplayer Mode of the same name, a team that reaches and captures one of the Dom Points receives a reward; in this case, 10 team points. Bonus Points Crates Event: A cargo plane flies across the center of the map, and up to four crates are dropped. Teams are likely to head to the crates as they float to the ground, as capturing a crate awards you with 10 team points. Clash Firesale Event: For the next two minutes, all players can take advantage of a Firesale as two Portable Buy Stations are dropped into the backfield of each team (a total of four). Additionally, all loot crates are restocked and cash found in crates is also increased.  Cash Crates: Capture one (or more) of the three Cash Crates that drop during this event also nets you 10 team points. Power Surge Event: For the next two minutes, there’s an increased drop rate of Power Ups when you dispatch an enemy player or loot any ground caches. Clash Mode Gameplay Features As well as the previously mentioned new Search and Destroy Contract, Clash comes loaded with features unique to the mode. Here’s the full run-down of what to expect: Buy Stations (Clash Mode only): Expect Buy Stations to be scattered across a Clash map and roughly split between each team’s area of operations. Portable Buy Stations are also available during the Firesale In-Match Event. Here’s what you can purchase: Armor Plate: $500 Munitions Box: $1,000 Trophy System: $1,500 Counter UAV: $3,000 Sentry Turret: $3,000 Hand Cannon: $4,000 Bunker Buster: $4,000 Cluster Strike: $4,000 Precision Airstrike: $6,000 Specialist Perk: $10,000 New Field Upgrade: Door Barricade (Clash Mode at Season Launch): Control access points more easily during mid or close-quarter combat scenarios and delay enemy incursions with the Door Barricade. Fit a barricade to a close single or double door, and a heavy-duty lock attaches to (and is visible on) both sides, preventing the opening or access through the door. This is until the barricade is either removed (only by the Operator or squadmates who fitted it), or destroyed, usually by using explosives, though gunfire and melee equipment is also an option. Expect the Door Barricade to be loot in Battle Royale and Battle Royale Casual Modes, via the new Care Package Killstreak, all coming at Mid-Season. New Killstreak: Hand Cannon (Clash Mode at Season Launch): This high-powered pistol Killstreak, originally available in Multiplayer during Season 01, is available in ground cache as rare loot. Expect a slow rate of fire and finite ammunition, but good handling, and improved hip fire accuracy with faster hip-fire shooting speed. Expect the Hand Cannon to be rare loot in Battle Royale, Battle Royale Casual, Resurgence, and Plunder Modes, via the new Care Package Killstreak, all coming at Mid-Season. Feature: SAM Turrets (Clash Mode only): Chopper and drone pilots take note; Clash mode maps feature SAM Turrets in various tactical positions across the environment. Spend $1,500 of in-match cash to activate these anti-air missile batteries and use them up to four times to target any aircraft and drones in the area. If you’re flying in the Heli on the receiving end of a SAM barrage, now’s the time to utilize flares to counter the incoming missiles! Train (Clash Mode only): If a Clash map features a portion of the large, circular railroad track that the train travels along, then this hulking engine and loot-filled carriages are parked and available to use as added cover and looting opportunities. UAV Towers (Clash Mode only): Providing you have the $2,000 in-match cash to activate them, teams can head to and capture a few scattered UAV Towers, allowing pinging of enemy movement across the local area. Clash Mode Powerups  Clash Mode features five differently hued in-match Powerups that are automatically used when found. Available as a possible loot drop or sometimes appearing as dropped loot near the body of an eliminated enemy Operator, these Powerups are color-coded and offer temporary benefits to the Operator who grabs them. All five can be obtained in a single match and expect the frequency of available Powerups to be significantly increased if the in-match Power Surge Event activates (usually in the final stages of a match). Here’s what each of the five Clash Powerups grant you: Hunter (Red Aura): Highlights enemies and allies in red and blue respectively. Allies are visible through walls. Applies Tracker and High Alert Perks. Speed Boost (Yellow Aura): Prevents fall damage and provides approximately 20 percent speed boost to your movement. Regeneration Aura (Green Aura): Refills your health and armor at roughly 20 percent per second. Allies within a small radius around you also receive this benefit. The effect does not stack. Double Down (Blue Aura): Grants you two points per enemy Operator elimination instead of one. Kill Mag (Purple Aura): Refills your active weapon magazine after a kill and quickens your reload. Havoc Royale LTM (Mid-Season) 44 players (Quads), 15-minute matches Compete in a Call of Duty: Warzone match like no other, where rule bending modifiers twist the realities of the usual Resurgence gameplay in chaotic and game-changing ways.  Drop into a specially themed area of Verdansk with your Loadout. Every new gas circle activates a different modifier. Adapt fast to sudden changes as Havoc modifiers may impact you, the environment, and even the gameplay rules. Survive the Havoc, be the last team standing, and claim victory! Expect a full rundown of this game mode in the Season 04 Reloaded blog, just prior to Mid-season. Resurgence Casual (Mid-Season) 44 Players, Players & Bots Infil into Rebirth Island with your squad and commit to winning using the regular Resurgence ruleset, but with one important twist; some of your adversaries aren’t human! Whether facing down a bot or not, Resurgence Casual is a great mode to drop into whether you’re warming up, teaching a new player about the game, or you’re wanting a Resurgence match that isn’t quite as extreme as normal. As with Battle Royale Casual or Call of Duty: Warzone Bootcamp, game progression is limited in this mode and results will not count towards or against your stats. This mode also doesn’t count towards your eligibility to accessing Resurgence Ranked Play when it arrives at Mid-Season. Grind your way towards a coveted position in the Top 250 as Battle Royale: Ranked Play becomes the first of two Ranked Play variants to drop in Season 04 within Call of Duty: Warzone. Harness the competitive spirit and earn new rewards for ranking up and advancing through the Skill Divisions, unlocking the following rewards as you go: Season 04 BR Ranked Play Rewards First Season Win: Weapon Charm Get 25 Eliminations: Elimination Sticker Get 100 Eliminations: Elimination Weapon Camo Get 250 Eliminations: Elimination LR 7.62 Weapon Blueprint Silver: “Ranked Season 4 – Silver” Emblem Gold: “Ranked Season 4 – Gold” Emblem and Decal Platinum: “Ranked Season 4 – Platinum” Emblem and Decal Diamond: “Ranked Season 4 – Diamond” Emblem and Decal Crimson: “Ranked Season 4 – Crimson” Emblem and Decal Iridescent: “Ranked Season 4 – Iridescent” Emblem and Decal Top 250: “Ranked Season 4 – Top 250” Emblem and Decal Season 04 Champion: “Ranked Season 4 – Top 250 Champion” Emblem Ranked Play: Resurgence (Mid-Season) Trios, Rebirth Island Craving some real competition on Rebirth Island? Then squad up with your winning Trio, and attempt dominance over the very best players as Resurgence Ranked Play makes its triumphant return! Expect the same rules set you remember during the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® III era, and an expanded look at this returning, fan-favorite mode in the Season 04 Reloaded blog, just prior to Mid-season. Ranked Play Notes: Battle Royale: Ranked Play (Verdansk) runs from Launch Window throughout the entirety of Season 04. Resurgence: Ranked Play (Rebirth Island) begins at Mid-Season, and runs alongside Battle Royale: Ranked Play, meaning you can play one or both Modes when they are active. The ranking is separate from Battle Royale: Ranked Play. A new Contract, Field Upgrade, Killstreak, Perk, and ATV are all set to drop into Verdansk during Season 04: Clash Mode Features Expansion (Mid-Season) After an evaluation period in Call of Duty: Warzone’s Clash Mode, expect the following new equipment to become available across additional modes at mid-season. Here’s what to expect: Contract: Search & Destroy: Battle Royale, Resurgence, Plunder. Field Upgrade: Door Barricade: Battle Royale, Battle Royale Casual Modes. Available via Care Package. Killstreak: Hand Cannon: Battle Royale, Battle Royale Casual, and Plunder Modes. Available via Care Package. Killstreak: Care Package (Mid-Season) Open ground loot caches for a rare chance to obtain the Care Package, a throwable Killstreak that, when lobbed, explodes into trail of smoke, after which a loadout-sized crate falls from the skies. Open this crate for a chance to obtain rare loot including rare equipment, the Specialist Perk, and more. New Perk: Loot Master (Mid-Season) Available only as Ground Loot during Resurgence and Plunder matches, the Loot Master Perk allows you to maximize your scavenging potential and gear up faster by increasing the amount of loot you find while opening caches. Gain the early advantage or sustain yourself during prolonged engagements. Expect an increased drop rate for equipped weapon ammo, a higher chance to find tacticals and lethals, more cash, and a greater chance at field upgrades, killstreaks, and other high-tier gear. ATV: Polaris Sportsman XP 1000 (Launch) Added to the vehicle pool is the Polaris Sportsman XP 1000, a real wild ride allowing you to hit the Verdansk goat trails in comfort with legendary suspension, great clearance and traction, and versatility for positioning up to three Operators on the surface of the vehicle. Compared to the current ATV, the wheelbase and size of the Sportsman XP 1000 offers more stability than ever before.  Note: Call of Duty: Warzone Events: Check the General section later in this blog to uncover the full complement of events for this mode across Season 04. General Content (MP, ZM, WZ) Call of Duty: General Content Summary (All Modes and Games) Weapons Detail: Five new weapons arrive in Season 04, including two at launch: the LC10 SMG and FFAR 1 Assault Rifle. Later in the season, get your hands on the , Essex Model 07 Marksman Rifle, Olympia Special weapon and Pickaxe Melee weapon, and change up your playstyle with new attachments. The Events Horizon: Season 04 is packed with Events, including Rivals, Ballerina (From the World of John Wick), and even more coming mid-season.. Plus, prove your worth across the Zombies leaderboards and become King of the Dead! Battle Pass and BlackCell: The Season 04 Battle Pass brings Stitch and brutal BlackCell Operator Omen to the forefront alongside new Weapon Blueprints, Operator Skins, Calling Cards, Finishing Moves, Emotes, and more in a mix of free and premium tiers. Free tiers include two new base weapons and the G-Grip Tactical Foregrip. Season 04 Operators: Stitch returns after being freed from prison, headlining the new Battle Pass next to the sinister Omen leading BlackCell. Plus, deploy as assassin Eve Macarro in a collaboration with Ballerina, followed by much more at the mid-season. CDL Announcements: Major IV is almost here! Find out where to watch, plus the in-game rewards you can unlock, just for tuning in! Primary Weapon: LC10 (Launch) SMG, Battle Pass Page 3, Page 14 Battle Pass Blueprint Levels: 38 MAGS: 4 MAG SIZE: 34 Mastery Badges: Yes Attachments: Optic, Muzzle, Barrel, Underbarrel, Magazine, Rear Grip, Stock, Laser, Fire Mods Customize Options: Skins, Camos and Reticle Unlocks (MP, ZM, WZ), Accessories (1), Decals (1), Stickers (3). Full-auto submachine gun. Excellent accuracy and range, with a moderate rate of fire. Average mobility and very slow handling for its class. Returning after its debut in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the LC10 SMG spits out rounds fast coupled with good accuracy and range, moderate damage, and a quick reload to get you back into the fight. The weapon performs well off the hip or down sights, with 34 rounds in the base magazine for a hefty ammo supply. Via Gunsmith, equip a variety of improvements such as a Laser for improved hipfire spread and an updated Barrel to further extend the weapon’s respectable damage range. Primary Weapon: FFAR 1 (Launch) Assault Rifle, Battle Pass Page 6, Page 11 HVT Tier Battle Pass Blueprint Levels: 42 MAGS: 3 MAG SIZE: 30 Mastery Badges: Yes Attachments: Optic, Muzzle, Barrel, Underbarrel, Magazine, Rear Grip, Stock, Laser, Fire Mods Customize Options: Skins, Camo and Reticle Unlocks (MP, ZM, WZ), Accessories (1), Decals (1), Stickers (3).  Full-auto assault rifle. Very high rate of fire and excellent CQB power, but slower handling and mobility. Boasting a blazing fast fire rate that rivals the SMG weapon class, this bullpup Assault Rifle is designed for taking down targets fast. The somewhat unpredictable recoil favors burst fire when tackling distant targets, but once you’re locked on it’s all over for them. Supporting a variety of Underbarrel Launcher attachments, use Gunsmith to add greater versatility to the weapon. Running low on ammo? Grab an Extended Mag while you’re at it. Primary Weapon: Essex Model 07 (In-Season) Marksman Rifle, Event Reward Levels: 38 MAGS: 3 MAG SIZE: 8 Mastery Badges: Yes Attachments: Optic, Muzzle, Barrel, Underbarrel, Magazine, Lever, Stock, Laser, Fire Mods Customize Options: Skins, Camo and Reticle Unlocks (MP, ZM, WZ), Accessories (1), Decals (1), Stickers (3). Lever-action marksman rifle. High damage potential. Balanced by slower rate of fire and handling. Inflict heavy critical point damage with this lever-action tactical rifle. An ideal tool for the new sheriff in town, this classic armament offers smooth handling with shots that quickly recenter after kicking up. Choose from a variety of Levers to further customize the weapon’s action, improving ADS speed, sprint to fire speed, and other movement abilities.  Special Weapon: Olympia (Mid-Season) Special, Event Reward Levels: 30 MAGS: 8 MAG SIZE: 2 Mastery Badges: Yes Attachments: Barrel, Stock Customize Options: Skins, Camos (MP, ZM, WZ), Accessories (1), Decals (1), Stickers (3). Double-barrel shotgun. Very high damage and respectable range but requires frequent reloading. The double-barrel Olympia – not seen since Black Ops 3 – makes its debut in Black Ops 6, returning as a Special Weapon that makes for the perfect backup when entering tight spaces. The Olympia holds two shots at a time, each spraying multiple pellets when your Operator pulls the trigger. Light customization via the Short Barrel and Cut-Off Stock attachments gives you some control over the weapon’s playstyle, but the fundamentals remain the same: get up close and make your shots count. Fire down the sight for a tighter pellet spread or shoot off the hip to inflict damage over a wider area. Melee Weapon: Pickaxe (Mid-Season) Melee, Event Reward Levels: 30 Mastery Badges: Yes Attachments: None Customize Options: Skins. One-hit kill. Medium attack speed. Short range. Without a Pickaxe, you’ll be lost in the tundra. Bring the right tool for the job when deploying to Iceland in Season 04’s Multiplayer maps, starting with this deadly Melee weapon that downs unarmored enemies with brutal severity. Though its range is short, the Pickaxe’s combination of rapid slashes and overhead swipes will keep enemies frozen in their tracks. Close the distance and say farewell. G-Grip (Launch) SMGs (except PP-19), Assault Rifles, Battle Pass Page 7 Reward Vertical foregrip with integrated laser for improved firing stability, horizontal recoil control, and tightened spread when transitioning between hipfire and aiming down sights. Beam: Blue. Blocks Laser attachments. Stryder .22 3-Round Burst Mod (Launch) Stryder .22 Pistol, Event Reward Convert the Stryder .22 into a 3-round burst. Drastically improves fire rate and maintains manageable gun kick but alters the weapon’s damage profile outside of the effective range. SVD Full Auto Mod (In-Season) SVD Sniper Rifle, Event Reward Convert the SVD from semi-auto to full-auto functionality, ramping up the speed of your damage output and drastically improving recoil and handling. TR2 CQB Auto Conversion (In-Season) TR2 Marksman Rifle, Event Reward Alter the TR2 Marksman Rifle to fire handgun caliber rounds, resulting in a Marksman Rifle with a compact frame and fully automatic capabilities that rival fire rates of an SMG! Stitch Returns to Action in the Season 04 Battle Pass Stitch returns to the fray, leading this season’s Battle Pass content in a shocking team up with Adler. Purchase the Season 04 Battle Pass for 1,100 COD Points or the Season 04 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 Boost The new “Supermax” Stitch Operator and “Supermax BlackCell” Stitch Operator Skin for those who purchase BlackCell The “Lock Up” Legendary Blueprint for the Feng 82 LMG The “Try Me!” Emote The “Untamable” Large Decal Start to unlock up to 1,100 COD Points as you progress through the Battle Pass The Season 04 Battle Pass includes over 110 pieces of unlockable content (excluding BlackCell) including two new Base Weapons, the G-Grip Tactical Foregrip Attachment, and several unlockable mil-sim style skins for Bailey, Payne, Grey, Caine, Brutus, Toro, Adler, Nazir, and Marshall. Stay tuned for the BlackCell, Battle Pass and Store Bundles blog prior to Season 04 launch for more details. BlackCell Offerings When the job needs to get done, summon Omen, the otherworldly Operator leading BlackCell content in Season 04. The menacing Operator and his three-headed guard dog are joined by a cast of infected, black and purple-hued Operator Skins and Weapon Blueprints earned exclusively through BlackCell. BlackCell owners can access the Season 04 Battle Pass via the exclusive BlackCell Page, instantly unlocking the following items: The “Omen” BlackCell Operator and Skin 10% XP Boost 1,100 COD Points The “Guard Dog” Companion Finishing Move The “Hellblock” Mastercraft Blueprint for the Ladra SMG The “Kill Tally” Gun Screen The “BlackCell” Clan Tag (showcased in Lobbies and Winner’s Circles) BlackCell owners get access to page after page of additional exclusive rewards within the Season 04 Battle Pass, including: Seven BlackCell-exclusive skins for Stitch (two skins), Bailey, Payne, Caine, Brutus, and Adler.  Seven BlackCell-exclusive Weapon Blueprints for the Krig C (Assault Rifle), XMG (LMG), SWAT 5.56 (Marksman Rifle), ASG-98 (Shotgun), FFAR 1 (Assault Rifle), Model L (Assault Rifle), LC10 (SMG) Over 130 item rewards (Battle Pass and BlackCell related) for those who fully complete the Season 04 BlackCell Battle Pass. As usual, players who upgrade to BlackCell after purchasing the Battle Pass will also receive back the COD Points they spent. BlackCell Daily Challenges: Players with BlackCell will receive additional Daily Challenges throughout Season 04 for Multiplayer, Zombies, and Call of Duty: Warzone, giving even more chances to rake in the XP during your play sessions! BlackCell Loyalty Bonus: Players who purchased BlackCell in a previous Black Ops 6season and go on to purchase Season 04 BlackCell will earn a permanent 10% Player and Weapon XP Loyalty Bonus, up to 30% for players who purchased Season 01, Season 02, and Season 03 BlackCell! The return of Stitch signals a shift in the battles ahead, requiring new Operators to meet the demands of the intensifying conflict. Predict a swift demise for your opponents with Omen leading BlackCell, joined by Stitch at the head of the Battle Pass plus a special appearance by Eve Macarro from Ballerina. Omen (BlackCell, Crimson One, Launch) “Omen” Operator: BlackCell Instant Reward Page It’s time for lockdown. Omen is a presence who strikes fear even in the world’s most dangerous criminals, with an almost preternatural ability to keep even the most sinister prisoners in line. Stitch (Battle Pass, Rogue Black Ops, Launch) “Supermax” and “Yard Dog” Skins: Battle Pass Instant Reward Page, Battle Pass Completion Page Until recently, Stitch was assumed dead. Instead of eliminating his enemy, however, Adler sent him off to a black site prison. Now the time has come, and following a daring jailbreak, Stitch is once again free. Adler needs his help cracking the codenames that will finally lead to the Pantheon moles, but at what cost? Ballerina (Bundle, Crimson One, In-Season) Store Bundle Seeking revenge for her slain father, Eve Macarro embarks on a relentless mission against the High Table’s most feared opponents in Ballerina, the highly anticipated new action film from the World of John Wick. Deploy as the elite assassin in one of two looks in the Ballerina Bundle arriving in Season 04. Participate in a new round of scheduled Events across Multiplayer, Zombies, and Call of Duty: Warzone. Earn rewards like new weapons, special attachments, and more. Here’s a first look at the Events to come (with more announcements in the Season 04 Reloaded blog): Event: Ballerina (MP, ZM, WZ, In-Season) Activation Dates: June 5 to June 12 Total Rewards: 10 (+ One BlackCell reward) Enter the world of John Wick with the new Ballerina Event. Prove your capabilities as a supreme assassin by slaying your way across Multiplayer, Zombies, and Call of Duty: Warzone. Rewards include the new Essex Model 07 Marksman Rifle and a Ballerina-themed Nunchuck Melee Blueprint for BlackCell Owners. Event: Rivals (MP, ZM, WZ, In-Season) Activation Dates: June 12 to June 26 Total Rewards: 15 (+ One BlackCell reward) Enemies become allies in the Rivals Event, when Stitch brings his code-cracking expertise to help uncover the real names of the final Pantheon moles in the CIA. The goal is simple; prove you’re the most proficient Operator by earning XP across all game modes and unlock a plethora of impressive free items. Dominate your enemies to become the first to unlock rewards including the Stryder .22 3-Round Burst Mod (Attachment) and Grim Reaper (Scorestreak). Events: King of the Dead, Master of Grief (Zombies, Mid-Season) Activation Dates (King of the Dead): June 26 to July 3 Activation Dates (Master of Grief): July 10 to July 17 King of the Dead: “Eliminate zombies in any Zombie mode to earn points to climb the leaderboard.” Master of Grief: “Collect Essence in Grief to earn points to climb the leaderboard.” Earn points by slaying all types of undead! As you’d expect, you receive more points for dispatching the harder zombie types. This, in turn, causes you to climb the Zombies leaderboard, and once the Event is over, rewards will be granted based on your leaderboard position. Everyone receives some kind of reward, but to obtain the really good stuff, it’s time to perfect your Special and Elite Zombies slaying!  Season 04 brings new Bundles to the Store, including a special crossover event with Ballerina. Get more intel in the Season 04 BlackCell, Battle Pass, and Bundles blog arriving before launch. Tracer Pack: Ballerina Choose one of two Operator Skins for Eve, a red sequin dress as “Eve Macarro” or a sleek black professional fit as the “Ruska Rogue.” Bring light to the darkness with three Legendary Weapon Blueprints featuring High Table Coin Tracers and High Table Coin Death FX: the “Relevé” AK-74 Assault Rifle, “Plié” Saug SMG, and the “Arabesque” 9MM PM Pistol. For a snazzier elimination, take them out with the “Dance With Death” Finishing Move. Balance lethality and elegance with additional Ballerina themed content, including the “Pirouette” Emote, “Keepsake” Weapon Charm, animated “Caged Grace” Emblem, animated “Pas de Duex Calling Card, and the “Take a Bow” Loading Screen. Tracer Pack: Ink and Smoke Reactive Ultra Skin Add some class to your deployments with the cel-shaded, black and greyscale “Hardboiled” Ultra Operator Skin for Weaver, accompanied by the Reactive “Lethal Inspection” AMES 85 Assault Rifle and “Personal Detective” ASG-89 Shotgun Weapon Blueprints, both featuring Noir Tracers and Ink Annihilation Death FX. For a closer finish, leap for their throats using the “Wire Cut” Finishing Move. When taking on the undead, equip the “Search Engine” Wonder Weapon skin for the Thrustodyne M23 and show off your Zombies credentials with the “Sidepiece” Weapon Charm, “Dead Noir” Weapon Sticker, “Evidence” Spray, “Greyscale” Loading Screen, and the consumable Time Out GobbleGum. Other Incoming Bundles There’s plenty more awesome new content arriving in the Season 04 Store, including the “Tracer Pack: Olympus Bolt Mastercraft Ultra Skin” Bundle, featuring an electrifying Mastercraft Weapon Blueprint for the new LC10 SMG alongside a divine Ultra Operator Skin for Caine. Also incoming is the “Tracer Pack: System Breach” Bundle, and the “Tracer Pack: The Goat Ultra Skin” Bundle with a Goat Companion Finishing Move. See more of the season’s upcoming Bundles and more in the Season 04 BlackCell, Battle Pass, and Store Bundle blog. Call of Duty League, the pinnacle of competitive Call of Duty, is bringing its fourth and final Major of the season to the DreamHack Dallas show floor. Guests with a CDL add-on ticket can watch Major IV live, where the 12 Call of Duty League teams will battle it out for the final CDL points to qualify for 2025 Call of Duty League Championship in June. Ensure you get into the action by tuning in and watching Major IV live on YouTube. Be sure to link your YouTube account with your Activision ID Account to earn some special viewership rewards (shown above). Click here for more intel. The event starts at 10:300 AM PT Friday, May 23, and continuing at 10:30 AM PT Saturday May 24 with the Finals beginning at 10:30 AM PT Sunday May 25.  Black Ops 6 is available now, and now’s definitely the time to experience the spy action thriller Campaign, the in-depth tactical chaos of best-in-class Multiplayer, and to soak in the gory glory of an incredible round-based Zombies experience with five maps and the brand-new Grief mode! Click here to Purchase Black Ops 6. © 2025 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY WARZONE, MODERN WARFARE, CALL OF DUTY LEAGUE, and CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com and www.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow @Activision and @CallofDuty on X, Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow @CODUpdates on X. ®, TM & © 2025 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. and related companies. All Rights Reserved.