Call of Duty has revealed Season 1 for Modern Warfare 4, slated to go live on November 6 at midnight ET. That breaks usual tradition for new seasons, and indeed, it's a 5am launch here in the UK. I won't be getting up that early, that's for sure.

While the intel drop is full of information on what DMZ and multiplayer fans can expect, for those still waiting on knowing more about what's coming to Warzone, there's still a wait to be had.

We know that there will be two new maps joining the rotation. Hajin, the DMZ map, will be joining the battle royale mode alongside the returning Verdansk. Whether it's an exact copy or will be tweaked in some way, we'll have to wait and see. Zodiac, the new Resurgence map we already saw during the beta, and it will join the (sigh) returning Rebirth Island.

Warzone fans will have to wait, though, to find out the full details on what the first integration with Modern Warfare 4 will look like, though.

"Play across two new maps in Call of Duty®: Warzone™ as the Season 1 update brings both Hajin and Zodiac, plus the return of Verdansk and Rebirth Island, additional game modes, gameplay features, and more as Modern Warfare 4 becomes fully integrated with the free-to-play game. Keep your eyes on the Call of Duty blog this Monday, November 2, for a separate post and Roadmapfully covering everything coming to Call of Duty: Warzone in Season 1."

The only other thing we know for sure is that before that time, Call of Duty: Warzone will go offline for good on Xbox One and PS4.

It was already confirmed earlier this year that due to Modern Warfare 4 not being available on last-gen consoles, those platforms would not be able to play Warzone once the integration happened.

Players who want to continue can, of course, still use Xbox Cloud Gaming or alternatives such as NVIDIA GeForce Now, and all their previous purchases in Warzone will be permanently applied to their Activision ID.

It'll be interesting to see what the player reaction to Warzone under Modern Warfare 4 is. DMZ has been received pretty positively, though the PvP elements still feel a little unbalanced in my opinion. But the new movement that came with Modern Warfare 4 definitely rewards a slower, more tactical style of play (for better or worse) but then, we all know that Warzone players love to fly around the map. So who knows?

Nevertheless, we'll know a lot more on November 2.

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Call of Duty has announced Season 1 for Modern Warfare 4 will begin on November 6 at midnight ET, and DMZ is already getting a new map.

Future locations have already been teased for DMZ before the launch of the game, but the first one is already arriving a mere two weeks post-launch.

But it's not just a new map; it's quite different to Hajin and is more reminiscent of Building 21 from the original DMZ.

"A previously undiscovered weapons facility — codenamed X01 — has recently been seized by enemy forces. Recent reconnaissance along the northern border of North Korea has determined an infiltration point, allowing for deployment through Hajin. Current data suggests this facility was a GRANIT Arms black site. It appears comprised of a dimly lit, labyrinthian network of passageways, tunnels, and linking chambers surrounding a clandestine weapons assembly line and other, more surprising locations. Appearing to be fully enclosed from the outside world, ground-penetrating radar has revealed multi-floored vertical traversals, where the only reliable edge you may have is the back-up of your squadmates."

Expect a fairly strong PvP experience, though apparently that's not the worst thing you'll encounter. We're told it "may be unwise to engage them in head-to-head combat" referring not to players, but to the 100 Spirits NK Faction that is active in the vicinity.

Ghost will act as our Watcher for infils into X01, and alongside the map will be new pages of DMZ Orders for players to complete.

X01 will also be home to a bunch of new enemy types, items, and equipment, though the first two are labelled as [CLASSIFIED]. So you'll need to take the plunge and go see for yourself. But it sounds like the best way to dominate X01 will be to plunder the loot within its walls.

Elsewhere, the FOB will be getting some upgrades, with something new and [CLASSIFIED] for the 3D Printer Station, new weapons and gear at the Vendor which apparently are linked to the BlackCell pass from Season 1 (which you also have if you bought the Vault Edition) and new Lieutenants and Commanders added to the Boss Board.

Season 1 for DMZ also promises two events: Threat Briefing and Resupply Run. The former will see you engaging with either The Captain or a Battle Tank, and in each case extracting parts of their respective armor. The more parts you get, the better the rewards.

Resupply Run is a bit like a trolley dash, but in Hajin, with enemies shooting at you. You'll be tasked with finding specific items to trade in for high-value gear such as Self Revive Kits and 3-Plate Armor Vests.

More events are promised throughout Season 1, but it's definitely a positive to see DMZ frontloaded with content so early on. It requires a decent investment of your time, but so far, it looks like it's well worth it.

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It takes a lot for me to get excited at the prospect of playing Shipment in Call of Duty again, but here we are. The original brainrot map has now landed in Modern Warfare 4.

And I am excited for it. But that's only because the first weekend of multiplayer has been hard. The launch maps are OK at best, the matchmaking makes every game feel like the Call of Duty League finals, and it just feels like hard work. Video games shouldn't feel like hard work.

While Infinity Ward can certainly fix it, for now, we turn to Shipment for some good old-fashioned brainless run and gun. For those chasing the mastery camos, it's definitely a welcome sight to speed up the process a little.

Even so, it's not perfect. The TTK feels too long for Shipment (in my opinion), and there's clear weapon balancing that needs to be done that will presumably not have a chance to happen until Season 1 starts next week.

But whether it's nostalgia or just the fact that the launch weekend has been absolutely mollywhopping you, Shipment 24/7 is live, and most of the game modes are available on rotation on the now smallest map in Modern Warfare 4.

After an incredible campaign, the debut of DMZ which mostly has been a great time (exfil campers aside), multiplayer has been a very mixed bag. Compared to the beta earlier this year, it just doesn't feel as, well, fun.

The maps are definitely not some of Call of Duty's best, though I have been enjoying Mumbai especially, and Cachette is pretty fun, too. But I also think the movement needs to be updated, because while being slower is fine, it feels too clunky and like you have to work hard just to get into and out of a gunfight.

But the gunplay, as in the beta, is really good, even if I think the TTK is still too high. Or maybe it's the weapon balancing that's off, as some, even on Shipment, feel like you're slapping someone in the face with a napkin from a little kid's birthday party.

But if you're camo grinding, go forth and rot thy brain in the name of Orion Reforged. May the shipping containers make your journey take a more profitable path.

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So you've seen the title and think I've lost my mind, right? Of course the backpack matters when you're looting in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 DMZ. How else do you carry those sweet rewards?

But it's not just about having a backpack; it's about having the right backpack and using it in such a way that it can protect your rarest rewards. One of the biggest thrills and disappointments of an extraction shooter like DMZ is that at any point you could get rinsed by another player and lose everything you worked so hard for.

But you can also protect items in your backpack in case of emergencies such as this. Even if you don't make it out, your precious items can. Here's what you need to know about the backpacks in Modern Warfare 4 DMZ.

The first good backpack is unlocked at DMZ Level 2

When you reach DMZ Level 2 and unlock the 3D Printer, the first good packpack is one of the initial recipes you'll unlock.

While the Small Backpack is the easiest one to craft, you should only consider using it if you're going on an ingredients run. It doesn't hold much, and it lacks the key feature we need for rarer, higher-quality items.

That would be the Secure Slot, and the rare-tier Medium Backpack is the cheapest one to craft that has at least one of these. The Secure Slot is where you want to place the most valuable item you find, because if you go down, that item will still be sent back to your FOB.

As an example, just last night I found another recipe early on in one of my DMZ matches. I put it straight in the secure slot, which was a good thing because as I left the building that I found it in, I was run over by another player. I lost my weapons, I lost my backpack, and I lost my consumables, but the recipe made it out and was unlocked on my 3D Printer.

The only slight downside is that weapons don't have a secure slot. There are backpacks that have weapon slots so you can stash more than just the ones you're carrying in your loadout, but you can't add weapons to secure slots.

But you can put recipes and manuals in them along with all sorts of other rare items to protect them should you fail to exfil.

How to get better backpacks in Modern Warfare 4 DMZ

There are various ways to get backpacks in DMZ, and one of them is just finding them out in the wild while you're playing. Like all the other loot, such as parachutes, you can get lucky and find a better bag. Or take one from a player you downed!

In terms of crafting, there are two recipes you can guarantee you can add to your 3D Printer. The Medium Backpack is unlocked at DMZ Level 2, while the Large Backpack unlocks at DMZ Level 34. At DMZ Level 61 you also unlock the recipe to craft the Medium Weapon Backpack.

The rest require you finding their recipes while playing DMZ, so you'll need to put in some work to find them all.

Scavenger backpacks are good for looting runs, such as stocking up on 3D Printer ingredients. Secure backpacks are good for targeting higher-tier items. There's plenty to choose from, but if you always try and run with at least a Medium Backpack if you find a recipe, you can guarantee it gets out safely.

You can also get a new backpack in the FOB from the Vendor in exchange for DMZ Cash, and from Survival Kits. If an item pops up in the Vendor that you don't have a recipe for, it's always a good idea to add to your stash, assuming you have the funds. I've bought a Large Backpack already for 10,000 DMZ Cash.

Recipes and manuals are key items you want to get in DMZ and running a backpack with a Secure Slot is the easiest way to make sure you always get them out safely.

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The gameplay loop in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 DMZ is a little different from other modes in the game and even previous extraction modes such as the DMZ beta, Modern Warfare Zombies, and Black Ops 7 Endgame.

You start out with nothing. Well, almost nothing. But the idea is you have to go out and scavenge for better gear, be that through doing missions, defeating world bosses, or even other players.

But there is a way to get high-tier weapons without spending DMZ Cash and without having to run the gauntlet of Hajin's battlegrounds. There is a catch, though. Well, technically two. But essentially it involves weapon blueprints you acquire for Modern Warfare 4, because you can craft them at the Gunsmith.

• I went hands‑on with Modern Warfare 4’s new DMZ mode — and it was nothing like I expected

Once you reach DMZ Level 10 the Gunsmith Station unlocks, which allows you to craft weapons you've found manuals for and extracted successfully. But it also allows you to craft blueprints you own, regardless of whether you have the manual or not.

Better still, the first time you craft one of these blueprints, it's completely free. But the catch is that it's only the first time. So, as an example, if you got the "Beta Forged" Han 86 blueprint from the Modern Warfare 4 beta, you can craft it once for free in DMZ and get a legendary tier weapon to add to your loadout.

To do so, you choose the "Builds" option next to the weapon and select the blueprint you want to craft. After this first time you can still craft them, but there will be a substantial DMZ Cash cost depending on the blueprint.

If you're playing during the earliest days of Modern Warfare 4, another catch is that unless you bought the Vault Edition, you won't have as many blueprints to choose from, and as a result, fewer free weapons to craft. As the game rolls into its post-launch content, you'll be able to add plenty to your stash, including a bunch from just levelling up. But out of the gate, those who paid more have more to choose from.

A quick tip as well to try and protect your higher tier weapons and gear is to make sure you have a backpack with a secure slot on it. Assign the thing you don't want to lose to the secure slot, and if you go down and fail to exfil, this item will at least make it out.

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One of the first things you may notice dropping into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 DMZ is that you don't have a parachute automatically equipped. I definitely didn't forget and die to fall damage early on and learn the hard way.

In fact, a parachute is one of the items that players must acquire, and even when you do, you may not be able to use it for long, and of course, if you fail to exfil, you'll lose it along with any of your other gear (I've definitely done this already).

There are a couple of methods to get a parachute in Modern Warfare 4 DMZ, but neither is particularly easy, at least in the early days of the game. But here's how you can go about finding yourself one.

How to find a parachute in-game in Modern Warfare 4 DMZ

The good news is that like pretty much everything else in DMZ, you can loot parachutes during a game. The bad news is that they're pretty hard to find. I've only found one so far as I write this, and I've played about 7 hours.

But you can find one as ground loot, and you can find one without having to go to any of the higher difficulty locations. While the more difficult the location, the better the quality of loot you'll find, it is still possible to find them just by searching.

For example, I found one in the first building I looted at the Russian Border Crossing part of the map in the far top left corner. A disposable parachute was just there inside one of the lockers. The rare tier parachute only has three uses, though, so use it sparingly.

Given the military nature of the item, it stands to reason that your best chance of finding one will be from locations like these. I was in a military outpost looking inside a locker, so it's likely you'll have a better chance here. I wouldn't expect to find a parachute inside a bag in a random residential building, for example. So hit the military locations often. Also Fire Station POIs are a good shout for finding a parachute or two.

Loot in Modern Warfare 4 DMZ has a theme and locations that have a better chance of dropping it. You can see this if you track ingredients for 3D Printer recipes in the FOB. Not always specific locations, but a type of location.

You can possibly find the legendary tier parachute around the map, too, though I haven't seen one. Higher-tier loot is rarer and usually requires being in higher-threat zones, but if you see something you can check for loot; don't run past it. Loot everything.

Also make sure you check the supply drops at the end of a Dynamic Ops mission. These drop various types of gear, and there's always a chance a parachute is inside one of them.

How to craft a parachute in DMZ at the 3D Printer in the FOB

You can also craft parachutes to take into the DMZ with you at the 3D Printer Station in the FOB rather than relying on finding one.

That's the good news. The bad news is that you can't do it right away.

To craft a rare-tier disposable parachute, you first need to increase your DMZ Level up to 55. This unlocks the recipe at the 3D Printer. Once unlocked, you can craft one for 30 Chemicals and 3 Rigid Synthetics. To get your level up as fast as possible, make sure you're actually doing missions inside DMZ. The more you do, the more XP you'll get. And don't forget to stick on a 2XP token if you have one available.

To craft a legendary tier reusable parachute, get your DMZ Level up to 69, one below the current cap. Once you have the recipe unlocked, you can craft one for 2 Turned Components, 5 Nylon Cloth, and 10 Rigid Synthetics. Again, though, it's not permanently applied to your Operator. If you don't manage to exfil, it's gone and you'll have to craft another.

For crafting, finding the ingredients isn't too difficult. By the time you unlock either of these, you've probably found a good stash just through naturally playing. But all 3D Printer recipes will tell you where you can find the ingredients you need. So check it out before you deploy and make sure you target the right areas.

Don't forget to check the Vendor Station

The last thing to do is always keep checking the Vendor Station in the FOB. This offers a rotating cycle of weapons and gear, so you might well see a parachute pop up in there.

You'll need to keep a good stash of DMZ Cash, but I've already been able to buy a legendary backpack and a durable gas mask from there inside the first full day of early access. So don't ignore it.

The pace of DMZ feels like it was designed without using a parachute, and that's OK with me. You shouldn't just be able to glide across the map for free. DMZ makes you earn your gear.

It means you just have to be a little more careful, because you could lose it at any time. But there's no denying having one will make some areas easier to navigate.

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Now that the early access period has begun for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 DMZ, so too has the camo grind. This year's is very different from the last two Black Ops games, with one big benefit being that a lot of it is global across multiplayer, DMZ, and Warzone.

In fact, you can unlock everything up to the Divergence completionist camo in any of the three modes before switching to each's dedicated Mode Mastery camos.

The early stages can be sped up a little, too. If you're playing DMZ already, you'll be working on the military camos, but you can also work on the special camos at the same time, which you may not have realized.

In Black Ops 7, you couldn't start on the special camos until you'd completed the headshot requirements for all the military-tier ones. In Modern Warfare 4, each special camo has a challenge requirement, such as kills with a suppressor attached, but it also has a weapon unlock requirement just like the military ones.

As I noticed last night, you can work on both military and special camos simultaneously, and this won't just apply to DMZ. I picked up a WZ.55 Striga SMG during a DMZ run and started using it and leveling it up.

Once I'd earned "19 more weapon unlocks" (and I'm not sure how many it needed because it looks like half the weapons I've used in DMZ were silently leveled up during the campaign), I was able to start working on the first special camo and get kills using a silencer. All while still having four more military camos left to unlock.

This is a pretty great way to help accelerate that early part of the grind before you get to the first completionist camo. So long as you pay attention to when the specials unlock and what their challenge is, you can work on them side-by-side with any remaining military camos.

For DMZ, an essential part of this is to get to DMZ Level 10 and unlock the Gunsmith station at the FOB. Because some of these challenges require using specific attachments, the easiest way to make sure you have them is by using the Gunsmith.

You can add attachments to weapons you find during your DMZ runs at the Gunsmith, too. It doesn't only apply to weapons you buy here. So if you extract with a weapon you don't have a manual for, you can still put on the necessary attachments and work on the special camos. Applying attachments does require DMZ Cash, though, so keep your bank balance high.

Of course the downside to DMZ is that if you die during a run, you could lose that weapon. But any progress is global, and while we don't know what the conversion rate is for progress in DMZ to progress in multiplayer or Warzone on these camo challenges, you can at least get a head start right now.

The final mode for Modern Warfare 4 to go live is multiplayer, and this begins on the global launch date, October 23.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 doesn't even launch fully until October 23, but one of the hardest challenges in this year's game has already been beaten.

Exhibiting truly heroic levels of degeneracy, the first players have cleared the hardest difficulty setting in the campaign and unlocked their reward. Not realism, of course; this year we've got YOLO.

The reward is a Calling Card that you're definitely not going to see all that many players showing off because of how difficult it is to acquire. And also you can't show it off until at least DMZ early access begins on October 20. If you don't know why this is so hard, let me set out the path you have to take.

• Beat the campaign
• Beat the campaign again on Realism to unlock YOLO.
• Beat the campaign with one life to unlock the Calling Card.

So you have to beat the campaign twice before you can even begin, because Realism difficulty isn't available until you've done one completion. At least it doesn't seem to matter which difficulty you do first to get the Realism unlock.

I've done my traditional first run on Regular to get it done quickly and get cracking with the achievements, and I've got Realism waiting to destroy me.

YOLO is a permadeath mode on Realism difficulty. You get one life. If you go down, your run is over, and you go back to the very beginning of the campaign. It is brutal. And yet we're already seeing the first players having completed it. Presumably they haven't slept much since Friday.

There is an apparent 'cheese' some folks have suggested works, which involves quickly restarting the current mission from the menu if it looks like you're about to go down. But I've also seen people say that you can't save and quit and do it over multiple sessions, because it warns you that you'll lose your progress.

Others have said they've been able to quit just fine and come back. If you know for sure, do please put it in the comments below, because who knows what's real on the internet these days.

The apparent Calling Card reward can be seen here, though since the Calling Card collection doesn't go live until DMZ early access, it could also be a troll. We'll soon know.

If you see this Calling Card pop up in one of your lobbies, though, know what you're dealing with. A player who doesn't sleep. Or a hacker. Either way, probably run the opposite direction.

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Fans of Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator are getting another new wheel to consider in 2027. It comes from Chinese brand, PXN, that already has a healthy ecosystem of racing wheels, flight sticks, and other assorted hardware for simulator fans.

The W TS may still be a little way off actually launching, but I spotted one at the SimRacing Expo in Frankfurt, where PXN was exhibiting. It was a non-working model, as in, I only got to see it on a table, but first impressions are pretty good.

I've really been getting into the truck simulator games this year, and moving onto a wheel for it is the next step. One thing that immediately stands out with PXN's truck wheel is the price I was told to expect it at.

I was told they're aiming around the €160 - €170 mark, which would undercut the existing competition by a good amount. It doesn't feel cheap, though, despite targeting a lower price.

The design is "Scania-influenced" which, without a license, is as close as it can get. I've also never driven a real Scania truck, so I've got no point of reference. But the wheel is trimmed entirely in leather, and it feels really soft and high-quality.

It's a typical 400 mm wheel design for truck driving and is packed with 34 buttons to do all of the things you want to do with your virtual truck cockpit. You would assume that it'll be plug and play with both SCS truck sims, since these are the target audience.

Obviously without actually using it, this is just a very quick first impression. But first impressions are good. The horn is nice and clicky, perfect for some virtual road rage.

It also looks like PXN will be selling a complete bundle to get you ready to start trucking. It'll include a set of Hall Effect pedals, a 6 nm direct drive wheelbase, and a clamp to adjust the angle so you can go full, authentic trucker. But I don't know how much this bundle is going to cost.

PXN is also pretty good at supporting other companies' wheelbases, so there's a good chance you'll be able to use it on your existing setup.

From what I've experienced of PXN hardware so far, it's a definite contender for the more budget-conscious, but without having to give up on features. The company has also debuted some more serious wheelbases, but for trucking, especially beginners, 6nm in the planned bundle will be plenty.

I'm also told that the PXN W TS is targeting a Q1 2027 launch. So you can't treat yourself for Christmas, but it's not too long to wait.

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Razer's original Kiyo webcam was the first I ever tried where content creators were the target audience. While its video quality didn't stand out, its built-in ring light was something unique and genuinely useful.

Fast forward to late 2026, and I'm again looking at a Razer webcam: the Kiyo V2 Pro. This is 100% a webcam designed for content creators, and at $300, it's a pretty serious investment, though it's still less than a good mirrorless camera and easier to use.

It's a product I was immediately interested in, not because I'm some big-time streamer, but because I was such a fan of what the Kiyo has done in the past. It looks impressive, and it boasts some top-end specs.

But having spent some time getting to grips with the Kiyo V2 Pro, my opinions are mixed. It's a good webcam, of that there's no doubt, but given its price and how it's been to use, it's harder to give a blanket recommendation. It says Razer on the box, but it doesn't feel completely like the Razer product experience I'm used to.

Razer Kiyo V2: Specifications

The Kiyo V2 Pro is a serious (and large) piece of hardware

There's no other way of saying it — the Razer Kiyo V2 is enormous. It has a clip on its base to hang it on the top of a monitor, but unless you have a giant monitor, don't even try it.

I slapped it on the top of one of my 24-inch monitors, and it wasn't very stable up there. There's absolutely no chance you can use this attached to a laptop lid. Realistically, you'll need to do as I have and mount it on a tripod.

That's fine, though; after all, it's targeted at content creators. The sort of person who takes their setup seriously enough to have all manner of things mounted around their setup. It does make it less portable, though. Even one of the renders I saw during a pre-brief showed a laptop user with the Kiyo V2 Pro at the side on a tripod.

But it's not exactly portable.

It's also not for you if you need a microphone to use for video calls, because it doesn't have one. The Kiyo V2 Pro is purely a camera. You'll have to supply the audio. Again, given the target audience, it's not necessarily a dealbreaker, but it's something to be aware of.

Despite the size, I do like the design, and I love the physical privacy shutter. You twist the ring on the front of the webcam, and the blades come across. Most satisfying.

The size also means some pretty serious hardware stuffed inside. Including, because it's 2026, AI. In this case, it refers to pretty basic stuff like auto framing, but it's all done on the camera, not in software, and as such doesn't use any of your PC's resources for it.

Also crammed inside and not remotely related to AI is an 8.3 MP Sony STARVIS 2 sensor with a 24 mm full-frame-equivalent focal length. In video terms, it means you can shoot 4K footage at up to 60 FPS, and you'll be well framed even without applying any zoom or crop. It's wide enough to include your well-designed streaming backdrops, but not so wide that you look lost.

The L-frame base also gives you some easy adjustments to its position, without having to faff about tweaking a tripod. It's far easier to raise and tilt a little with this, and it's sturdy enough to hold the hefty 380 g body securely.

I do have one fairly pressing concern, though. Our Editor-in-Chief, Daniel Rubino, and I have this webcam, and both of us have experienced the same issue with making it work at all.

The long and short seems to be that it works fine with the Razer cable that comes in the box. But with others, it's not as simple. The webcam will fire up for a short period of time and then disable. Synapse won't see it, and Camo Studio gives an error message that the USB port isn't delivering enough power.

I've tried it with every suitable cable I have, and it's the same result every time. Razer has confirmed to me that it should work fine with a minimum USB 3.2 spec USB-C cable that can handle 5 Gbps data and above. But the USB-C cable lottery seems to be a thing, so look after the one it comes with for sure.

The Kiyo V2 Pro needs software to get the best from it (but not Razer's)

Away from the hardware is where the experience falls a little flat for me. I use a lot of Razer products, and I'm used to having all the customizations I need inside the Synapse app. Set it up, close it, and forget about it.

The Kiyo V2 Pro isn't like that, though. It is supported by Synapse, but with only a very basic feature set (despite what the spec sheet may say). To get the best from this webcam, you need to use third-party software, such as Camo Studio, which you get an included lifetime Pro license for with the Kiyo V2 Pro.

On one hand, it operates a little like the camera on your smartphone. It's a piece of hardware with an app, but it also has lots of things that other apps can tap into. Normally, Razer makes a full package to stand out; in this instance, it relies on others to make its hardware shine.

Camo Studio is a good app, and it's one I already used to make a far lesser-quality webcam, slightly less terrible. There are a ton of options to tweak, including ISO, exposure, zoom, white balance, and saturation — basically anything you'd want to adjust on a regular camera. It is fantastic, and all you need to do is select "Camo" as your webcam in OBS Studio or any other app.

You can also build out your own profiles for different purposes. For example, I use the 1080p profile for work calls because Google Meet doesn't seem to support 4K, so it's wasted. When I capture game content in OBS, I record at 1440p because that's what I play at, so it makes sense to have a matching webcam profile. Whatever you need, you can build, and your visual customizations will automatically apply to whichever you have selected.

But you really do need to spend some time dialing it in. Out of the box, it'll just look like video from any webcam. Compared to my ancient Logitech C922, default settings make it hard to tell which is which. The Kiyo V2 Pro has better colors and is sharper, but it's not a slam dunk. I still haven't really perfected it, but there's no shortage of tweaks that can be made.

Should you buy the Razer Kiyo V2 Pro?

So, should you buy a Razer Kiyo V2 Pro? It's not a simple yes or no and depends on what you really want from your camera.

A couple of years ago, it would have been an easy "yes." But there's a lot of competition out there (some of which we'll be featuring on the site soon enough), and it's priced at the highest end.

Some may see Razer's passing off of software duties as a plus for the best manual control, but others may lament that there's less plug-and-play aspect to it. Unless you're prepared to get in the weeds a bit, you won't get the result you're looking for.

But where it does stand apart from much of the competition is that the Kiyo V2 Pro can not only do 4K, but it can do it at 60 FPS. A lot of 4K webcams top out at 30 FPS, and for content creators, that might just be the edge they need. The Kiyo V2 Pro has the same sensor Elgato uses in the Facecam 4K but with a wider aperture and handles low light better.

So the answer to whether you should buy it leaves me saying that you shouldn't avoid the Kiyo V2 Pro. It's very deliberately a niche product, and if you're looking for a camera that can give you 4K60 video straight into your PC, then go for it. Likewise, if you're looking for manual controls, jump right in. You'll be very happy.

It won't look as good as a mirrorless camera, say, but it's less expensive and easier to live with. And that last part gets my vote every single time.

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This PC case from Thermaltake isn't a brand-new release; it's already been on sale for a little while. But hanging out at the SimRacing Expo in Frankfurt, I stumbled across it for the first time and instantly fell in love.

It's called the Retro 360, and for obvious reasons. Thermaltake has fully embraced beige nostalgia, with a PC case that looks the part while still being suitable out of the box for modern hardware.

I've long considered the idea of putting my PC into a classic case, but being terminally lazy, I think I've just found the solution. A PC case that's built for modern hardware (and that shows it off) while having an aesthetic that reminds me of some of the earliest Windows PCs I used.

I think that's what makes it for me. I love the retro styling, and I love that it doesn't need modifying to fit my RTX 5090 inside it properly.

The CD ROM and floppy drive impressions on the front of the case are just that. Inside the Retro 360 there is no capacity to install an optical drive at all; it's just for show. But you can also substitute it for Thermaltake's 6-inch display panel if you like your retro look with a modern twist.

It supports ATX motherboards, including those with rear-facing connectors, and up to a 360 mm radiator in either the roof or at the side of the motherboard. There's also space for three 120 mm fans above the PSU compartment, sucking air in from the bottom, and another pair of 120 mm or 140 mm fans mounted to the front panel.

It's not a particularly large PC case, but it has serious capacity for cooling. And large GPUs.

The other bonus over an actual retro case is that the front panel IO is all modern, too, without having to retrofit anything. In this case, USB-C 3.2 and USB Type A 3.0.

Another retro-themed bit of kit you can add into your modern but old-school-looking PC build is Thermaltake's Retro 360 Ultra AIO cooler. It matches the beigeness of the PC case on the fans and the radiator and has a CRT-style LCD display that sits atop your CPU.

The display can be customized with just about whatever moving imagery you want using the companion software. But it has to be something retro, right?

All in all, I just love the mix of old and new. Thermaltake PC cases have often stood out to me (and I have owned some in the past) as products where the visual appeal matters as much as the features.

It hits the right mark without trying to do too much and is designed to easily house the latest and greatest hardware. The price point is also as enticing as the design.

The Retro 360 Case comes in at $89.99, which is perfectly reasonable for all this beige goodness. There's also a slightly smaller version, the Retro 260, for microATX and miniITX builds. This one also costs a reasonable $79.99.

The Retro 360 AI cooler is a little more at $149.99 and is compatible with AMD AM4 and AM5 sockets and a whole bunch of Intel ones. But doesn't it just look the absolute business?

Were it not for the business of getting a PC case onto a plane, I'd be going home with one. But I'm pretty positive I just found the new PC case I've been looking for.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 was always going to be a tough launch. After back-to-back releases on Xbox Game Pass, this year's Call of Duty isn't, and of course, it comes out less than a month before GTA 6.

In the latest race to secure your pre-order for Modern Warfare 4, Activision has announced today that two-thirds of the game will now be playable early. But only if you've pre-ordered it in time. And only if you've digitally pre-ordered it. Physical copies will still have to wait until the main launch date.

Campaign early access begins on October 16, and four days later we'll now be able to drop into DMZ on October 20. The game actually releases on October 23, but at this point, that only now means multiplayer.

We're at the end of a weeklong drop of intel on the DMZ mode, which it's fair to say is the one that people who are planning to play Modern Warfare 4 are most interested in.

During the beta we got a chance to try out the multiplayer and play through a campaign mission, but nobody has yet touched the extraction shooter mode, DMZ.

It's not the first time Call of Duty has dabbled with an extraction shooter. The first DMZ (which you can still play) was a free-to-play expansion of Modern Warfare 2. Then a year later came Modern Warfare 3 Zombies, which utilized the Ursikstan Warzone map for an entirely PvE extraction experience.

Black Ops 7 also had Endgame, another purely PvE extraction mode, but with the return of DMZ, it'll be back to PvPvE action.

It looks extremely promising, though. There will be missions to complete and narratives to unravel, rewards to be earned, and what looks like a fairly deep and substantial progression system.

DMZ will also have its own Mastery Camo grind, which will certainly require some forward planning based on the gameplay loop. If you lose a weapon in the DMZ, you'll need to get another, or acquire it through the FOB, which also requires extra steps.

Nevertheless, if you're looking forward to DMZ, get your digital pre-order in now at the Xbox Store (with Xbox Play Anywhere), Steam, PS5, or Battle.net.

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While I'm a Razer DeathAdder kid at heart and always will be, when it comes to gaming it's hard to top the Basilisk. I actually switched to using the Basilisk V3 Pro last year, and it's been an incredible mouse.

Not just for gaming, because it's so ergonomic, it's a fantastic mouse to use all day everyday for work, too.

It's going to be hard to top, but the Basilisk V4 Pro is now here, and as you'd expect, it's packed with improvements and new features.

On the surface it looks a lot like its predecessor, but there are some thoughtful improvements that help to elevate it a little further.

Equally, there are some choices I'm not as fond of, not least an out-of-the-box button binding for AI, which we'll talk about later. Overall, it's still an incredible package, though.

This review was conducted with a Basilisk V4 Pro provided to Windows Central by Razer. The company had no input in nor saw the contents of the review prior to publication.

What's new in the Razer Basilisk V4 Pro?

Rather than break down every little design feature, I'm going to try and keep it brief by outlining what's new and changed from the previous Basilisk V3 Pro 35K that I've been using every day.

The overall design has been very subtly changed, but for the better. Especially if you have smaller hands, like myself. Side-by-side with the previous Basilisk, it's very slightly shorter, but still noticeable. This makes the main mouse click buttons also a hair shorter, and they do sit better under my fingers.

The left mouse button also has a friend on the Basilisk V4 Pro, taking a little notch out of it but still positioned in such a way that you won't accidentally press it. This is the profile cycling button, moved up top from underneath on the Basilisk V3 Pro 35K, and a much more sensible location for it.

Now, say, if you have profiles for work and profiles for gaming, you can just effortlessly go between them without having to flip the mouse over and press until you get the right one.

The buttons on the left-side of the Basilisk V4 Pro are much better on this year's model, too. There are now three, and the HyperShift button has been repositioned and redesigned and is easier to click with your thumb. Two of the others are vacant out of the box to be mapped to your own functions. But I love that they're smaller and more defined than the buttons on the older Basilisk.

In total there are 14 customizable buttons on the Basilisk V4 Pro, which, combined with HyperShift and the four profiles you can store on the mouse, leaves more space than most of us will ever need to set the perfect layout.

The sensor gets an upgrade, of course, to Razer's Gen-3 Focus Pro 50k optical sensor. But it's not this that is most exciting; it's Frame Sync. The Basilisk V4 Pro will align both the sensor scanning and the mouse's polling rate. This reduces motion latency when it's communicating with the PC but, crucially, also helps improve battery life, as there's no wasted reporting.

That leads to up to 200 hours off the charger (up to 275 hours on Bluetooth), though I haven't been able to push it that far. I haven't had it long enough, but it's not run out of battery yet, and it's going strong.

I'm far from a pro gamer, too, but I love using the Basilisk V4 Pro. It's so accurate; I feel better than I actually am. In some games you also have a built-in 'cheat' since you can map a button to do an instant 180-degree turn. I pass no judgment, but it's there.

When you do need to top up, if you already have one of Razer's wireless charging mousepads, the Basilisk V4 Pro is compatible. The charging puck is pre-installed, and it also works with the new mouse dock. It's an optional purchase, but you just drop the Basilisk V2 Pro on top, and it charges it up. If you use the mousepad, you'll never have to worry about running out. I've never once charged my Basilisk V3 Pro 35K manually.

Despite better battery life, the Basilisk V4 Pro is even lighter than its predecessor. While it's not a massive amount, it is noticeable, especially when you're actually moving it about the desk.

The best performance comes naturally wired or using the 2.4 GHz dongle, but you can also pair the Basilisk V4 Pro up with three additional Bluetooth devices. You're able to cycle between them with the button on the bottom, with each having its own color code to help you distinguish them.

I also want to shout out the Precision Tactile setting on the scroll wheel. As someone who's constantly scrolling through large chunks of text, it's really made this so much more pleasant to do.

Overall, though, I really like the changes made to the Basilisk V4 Pro. Not all of them, but as a package, it's such a nice mouse. Packed with features, insane levels of customization, and the performance we've come to expect, all wrapped up in a stellar soft-touch finish with better battery life.

What I don't like about the Razer Basilisk V4 Pro

Let's talk about AI. Yes, groan.

I should say up front, this feature is optional. You can make it go away. But out of the box, it's configured, and I don't like it one bit.

One of the three buttons on the side of the mouse launches the "AI Prompt Master." This opens a chatbot window, built by Razer but using ChatGPT to execute. You have pre-built options to compose emails, summarize, rewrite, and create images, with modifiers for what you want the results to look like, and you can create your own template.

My question, though: Why?

Razer is a company founded on gaming. Its core customers are gamers. This is the best gaming mouse the company has ever made, but by default, it has a hardware button bound to an AI chatbot. Not even one that lets you change the AI engine it uses (right now at least). And it even sits above all your open windows, even if you're not actively using it. Awful.

If you don't have Synapse installed on a PC, it won't work. And yes, you can remap the button to anything else you want. I just don't understand why it's even here. Gamers are not typically receptive to AI being shovelled into their gaming setups. We've been there already with Microsoft and its Gaming Copilot.

That's basically all I don't like about the Basilisk V4 Pro. I know it can be made to go away; I'm just really disappointed that a company I've used for gaming hardware for so long has gone down this path. And with a pretty bad app for it, too.

I should also mention the price. This is the top of the line, so it comes with a price tag to match at $169.99. But if you're looking for the best of the best, it's worth it.

I'd also maybe like to have seen more than just Razer's own wireless charging accessories able to charge the mouse. I get it, from a business perspective, and controlling the experience. But if you have a wireless charging pad for your phone already, I can't deny it'd have been nice to be able to use that with the Basilisk V4 Pro as well.

Should you buy the Razer Basilisk V4 Pro?

AI shenanigans aside, the Basilisk V4 Pro is a ridiculously good gaming mouse. If you've ever used a Basilisk before, you'll know why.

The core remains largely unchanged, just updated for 2026 with performance oozing out of it. Like its top controllers, you can top out at an 8,000 Hz polling rate, and with Frame Sync, it's one of the most accurate gaming mice for competitive players.

Whether you should buy one or not depends on which mouse you're currently using. If you're on a Basilisk V3 Pro 35K, as I have been, it's a harder sell. It's a little bit better, but I'm not sure you should be first in line.

If you're on anything older or from another manufacturer, it's far easier to recommend. It's ergonomic, so you can use it all day for work or play. The improved battery life means you can actually take it on the road with you for multiple weeks without having to worry about it even if you're using it heavily, and it's absolutely killer for gaming.

It's hard to make great products greater, especially when you already have one of the best gaming mice on the planet. But Razer managed it with the Basilisk V4 Pro.

The Razer Basilisk V4 Pro is available starting October 8 for $169.99, alongside the Mouse Dock V2 Pro, which costs $69.99.

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While a lot of the Microsoft Surface/NVIDIA co-event is talk of AI, and indeed RTX Spark isn't being marketed as a gaming platform so much, gaming still got a pretty big mention.

One of Microsoft's biggest franchises, Call of Duty, will be available on RTX Spark devices at some point in 2027. At first that might not sound like a big deal; after all, it's a Microsoft game on a Microsoft-powered platform.

But as with the Steam Deck and the Qualcomm Snapdragon X platform, the big sticking point has been anticheat support. Lots of games can be played on Windows on Arm already, and surprisingly well. But anticheat support is still in its infancy, and this news means that Activision's Ricochet is being developed to run on ARM64.

What can we take from this? Well, the view I'm taking as a Call of Duty player is that this is a pretty significant development for the future of the franchise. Sure, folks buying RTX Spark laptops and desktops in the foreseeable future are likely developers or AI enthusiasts first, but people still like to game.

Folks can talk about whether Ricochet is any good or not until they're blue in the face, but it's required to play modern Call of Duty titles on PC. Today, that means AMD and Intel-powered systems only because of the kernel-level anticheat.

Coming to RTX Spark means Ricochet is being developed to support ARM64, and in the longer term, that surely means not only systems using NVIDIA's chip. I still long to see a world where Snapdragon and RTX Spark chips are powering future handhelds, and I want those devices to be able to play my favorite game my hopeless addiction.

Failing that, at some point I know I'll be moving to Windows on Arm fully. Even if it's not for some years, given the price of everything, it's going to happen, and I want all my games on there.

Ricochet joins the likes of Epic's Easy Anti Cheat, Denuvo, and Battleye, all of which have plans to support Windows on Arm.

The other thing we can take is that it was very deliberately announced as "Call of Duty." Not Modern Warfare 4, which is the next game to launch on October 23 this year. 2027 is a big window of time, so it is possible it could take until next year's game to get everything up and running.

Then there are the legacy titles that also use Ricochet. Will these be included, or just the most current release at the time?

In any case, I'm glad to hear this news. Even if Windows on Arm isn't going to be a true gamer's platform for a while yet, we have to start somewhere. And this is a big step in the right direction.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is just over a couple of weeks away (less if you get the early access to the campaign), but there's still time to get your pre-order in before that.

If you're ordering on Xbox Series X or PS5, then there's a strong case to order a physical copy, because you can get some free stuff with your purchase.

If you grab Modern Warfare 4 at Amazon, you'll get five hours of 2XP tokens to use in the game. If you're a collector, head over to Best Buy where you can get an exclusive steelbook. Modern Warfare 4 costs the same at either, with the standard edition running for $69.99.

After a bit of a slow start, there's actually a lot to look forward to in Modern Warfare 4. DMZ has finally had a full reveal, and there's still more to come. But it looks extremely promising, turning Call of Duty into a serious extraction shooter.

The campaign is a return to normality after the unusual one we had in Black Ops 7, with the Korean setting looking absolutely glorious from what we've seen so far.

As ever, we'll be jumping into a new Mastery Camo grind, and there will be all manner of calling cards, blueprints, and other items to unlock, and no shortage of things to do.

It's also worth remembering that Modern Warfare 4 will not be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch. After back-to-back releases, the title has since been removed, and we don't expect to see it added to the library until October 2028 at the earliest.

So if you want to play, you need to buy like the old days. So you may as well get some added bonuses for yourself while you're at it.

If, like me, you've been playing Black Ops 7 all year, you probably have a good stash of 2XP tokens already, so I'd definitely go for the steelbook. That and I'm a sucker for a steelbook. But if you've had time away, those 2XP tokens will certainly help you burn through the early levelling process a bit quicker.

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Razer controllers have been my personal go-to on Xbox and PC for years now, and the company isn't resting on its laurels. Announced today is the Razer Wolverine V4 Pro, alongside a less expensive but still similar Wolverine V4 Tournament Edition.

At first glance the Wolverine V4 Pro looks a lot like both the Wolverine V3 Pro and the PC-exclusive Wolverine V3 Pro 8K. I reviewed both, and I still use both, but the Wolverine V4 Pro now mixes the best of each into one package while making some meaningful upgrades to the tech and its features.

For starters, we're not talking about TMR sticks anymore. Razer has already moved beyond that, building the Wolverine V4 Pro with capacitive sticks. But what does that actually mean?

"Powering the Wolverine V4 line’s asymmetrical thumbstick layout are two new capacitive sensors, the next step in contactless sensor design, offering superior resolution, power efficiency and resistance to magnetic interference over TMR and Hall Effect counterparts, while maintaining the drift-resistant performance of both. Paired with a 16-bit ADC chip, the sensors register approximately 3,000 steps1 of movement for smoother tracking, reduced jitter, and overall higher accuracy for dominant FPS play. "

In real-world use it'll be hard to actually quantify, but it should help contribute towards better battery life. One of the biggest drawbacks with the Wolverine V3 Pro was its battery life, so we'll certainly take any improvements we can get.

The other big performance-related improvement in the Wolverine V4 Pro is also the 8,000 Hz polling rate on PC. On Xbox it's still limited to 250 Hz, but there's nothing Razer or anyone else can do about that. It's an Xbox limitation. But for players who play on both Xbox Series X|S and PC, you can now have all the best in a single package.

8,000 Hz is not essential, but if you play competitive games like Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and the like, you want the best sticks and the fastest polling rates you can have. It's becoming increasingly common to get such high polling rates, but previously you'd need to own two of Razer's controllers if you wanted this as well as Xbox compatibility.

Improvements have also been made to the actual thumbsticks. There are now six total thumbcaps to choose from, as well as magnetic rear paddles that can easily be removed if you don't want to use them.

These, along with the additional bumper buttons, can still be remapped to whatever you want them to do, and as with previous controllers, you can store them in up to four different profiles on the controller itself. The Razer Synapse app will also allow you an insane level of customization, as always.

The incredible clicky face buttons are still here, too, as are the near-instant mouse click trigger stops. New for this year's controller, though, is a removable faceplate. It attaches with magnets for ease of use, and it's got a pretty slick translucent design behind it if you want to play without it on at all.

There are no custom faceplates at this point, but having the feature, it seems inevitable that there will be some kind of collaborations in the future. Oh, and haptics are back. But you can turn them off, of course.

It's not all add, though. Razer has decided this time around not to include one of its excellent controller cases. Even if you don't actively put your controller in the case, they've always been really good quality, and it's a nice way to keep your additional sticks and the wireless dongle organized, so it's a little sad to see it go.

The Wolverine V4 Tournament Edition keeps much of the same goodness but comes in a lot cheaper. For one, it's only available wired, but you still get the new capacitive sticks, the 8,000 Hz polling rate on PC, and the same design. The rear paddles aren't removable, however, and neither is the faceplate.

Both the Razer Wolverine V4 Pro and Wolverine V4 Tournament Edition go on sale today, October 6. The former will cost $199.99/£199.99 and the latter $99.99/£99.99.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 doesn't have the range of game modes to play when compared to Black Ops 7, but we are getting a return of DMZ.

Previously tried in the Modern Warfare II era, DMZ is back without a beta tag, and we've had our first detail drop on what's going down.

Infinity Ward is using this entire week to drop intel on DMZ, and the first has arrived with an overview of the mechanics and the Hajin location. A second drop is planned later this week with a full tour of the Forward Operating Base (FOB). But here's a brief summary of what we know so far.

What is DMZ in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4?

DMZ returns as Call of Duty turns its hand to an extraction shooter once more. The original DMZ first touched on this, and then subsequent attempts were made with Modern Warfare 3 Zombies (MWZ) and later Endgame in Black Ops 7.

Unlike MWZ and Endgame, DMZ returns to the PvPvE gameplay loop of the original DMZ, much like other popular extraction shooters such as Marathon and Arc Raiders. Unlike those two, however, there is currently no planned PvE-only mode.

DMZ gets its own map, Hajin, where operators will drop into the Exclusion Zone. The basic loop is drop in, complete objectives, earn loot, and extract with your spoils. As it's PvEvP, though, you'll encounter both AI enemies and real-world players.

DMZ will also have its own progression track (though you'll still be able to earn overall player and weapon XP), leveling up to 70. Progression through the levels will unlock new FOB stations and crafting recipes among its rewards, so the higher you get, the better equipped you'll be. Pretty standard.

The Forward Operating Base (FOB) is your DMZ command center

More is to come later in the week regarding the full tour of the FOB, but we do at least already have a basic overview of what it is and how it'll work.

Essentially this is your base of operations for all DMZ runs. The FOB "evolves with you" as you progress, turning from nothing into your own personal stronghold.

From the off you'll have five stations available, which will help you manage your operators, your stash, your mission directives, a firing range, and survival kits, which are "themed packs of loot items" used for crafting or gearing up. I'm hoping that these kits are acquirable via means that don't revolve around paying money, but we'll have to wait for the full intel drop to know more.

There's also the Deploy station that is permanently available, as you'll use it for the pretty obvious task of deploying into Hajin.

As you progress through DMZ, there are a further seven stations to unlock, some of which will track progression and offer a little vanity, others for crafting and acquiring better gear using resources or the mode's dedicated currency, DMZ cash.

• Every FOB Station in Modern Warfare 4 DMZ and what you need them for.

DMZ deployment objectives and progression

Each run in DMZ will follow a fairly regular pattern, albeit always with the threat of other players derailing you.

Progression relies on exploration, combat, and completing objectives across the various POIs. And looting, of course. Part of this can be influenced by the 3D Printer at your FOB, which will give you a heads-up on which parts of the map will drop items that you're specifically looking for.

Side Ops are the lower-stress objectives that will allow you to explore Hajin a little more, gather materials, and get intel on some boss locations. Dynamic Operations will reward DMZ Cash, XP, and Supply Drops that scale up in quality based on how many you've completed.

Looting will remain key, though, as besides stocking up on essential consumables such as armor plates and bandages, you'll also be on the lookout for special items, like keys to unlock better loot rooms. There are also apparently a bunch of underground entrances to locate from the more rural areas of Hajin.

You're also guided by DMZ Orders, which will help you both get to grips with DMZ and guide you on the right path to progression, as well as further the narrative.

After every DMZ deployment, you'll be presented with an After Action Report, whether you managed to exfil or not. Ratings go from F (I'm definitely getting plenty of those) all the way up to S++. It'll show you how you did on your run, as well as the XP progress you've made on your DMZ rank as well as your Dog Tag level. The latter will help you upgrade your operator's traits, so it's one to pay close attention to as you start to attempt the more difficult content.

The Hajin map for DMZ is a sizeable location packed with POIs of varying difficulty. If you've played MWZ or Endgame before, you'll have a basic idea of how it goes. The low-threat zone is where you'll start out, find your feet, and do some looting, and gradually you'll begin making your way into the higher-threat zones where the more difficult objectives (and better rewards) lie.

There is a lot more to digest as we head towards the launch of Modern Warfare 4 on October 23. I have plenty of my own questions that can't be answered until it's actually here, like how it's going to play out for solo players, how 'sweaty' the PvP will get, and such. But the initial impressions are pretty good.

In the "From the Ward" video (which you can see above) there's also a brief tease of what's to come via seasonal content, including new bosses, and, apparently, new maps, or at least, new parts of Hajin.

I want DMZ to be good, and I want it to be stacked with content throughout the lifespan of Modern Warfare 4. With only multiplayer or Warzone to play otherwise, I'm banking a lot on this mode. I'm probably not alone there, either. I can't do a full year on multiplayer alone.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is finally launching on October 23, and the mode that's probably most hyped is DMZ. It's been teased for some time, but as we get closer to launch we're finally getting more information on what it is, how it's going to play, and the mechanics we're going to be experiencing.

One of the key parts of DMZ will be the Forward Operating Base (FOB). This is essentially your command center before and after your runs, and crucially, it will evolve as you play the game and progress further.

The FOB will be made up of a number of different Stations, some more crucial to how well you're going to do than others. You'll start out with some, and as you level up, you'll unlock more, as well as be able to upgrade them.

At a glance

• The FOB is your pre- and post-match hub where you'll manage every aspect of your DMZ deployments.
• It's divided into FOB Stations, some of which are available immediately; others will unlock as you progress.
• The Stations will help you manage loadouts and your stash, craft better gear, track your objectives, and even show off a little.

All Modern Warfare 4 DMZ FOB Stations and what they do

When you begin, your FOB will be far from complete. Some Stations will be available straight away; others you'll need to unlock by leveling up through your DMZ progression.

Some will be essential to success in future runs. Others seem purely for your own vanity. Here are all the currently announced FOB Stations for Modern Warfare 4 DMZ, which are available immediately and which you can unlock as you progress, as well as what they can do for you.

Immediately available FOB Stations

• Operators (Active Duty): Manage available operators, their status, upgrade traits, and choose one for deployment.
• Stash/Loadout: The stash allows you to store gear you've looted from previous runs in DMZ, including weapons, gear, crafting materials, and more. When you extract from a run, you're able to offload items into your stash and then use the Loadout menu to equip weapons and gear for your next one.
• DMZ Orders: The place to see your Mission Directives that will help guide you through DMZ, tell the story, and help you master the Exclusion Zone.
• Firing Range: A Call of Duty staple for testing your weapons before dropping in for a run.
• Survival Kits: Themed packs of loot that can be used to craft items or as part of your next loadout.

Unlockable FOB Stations

• 3D Printer: This is used for crafting items and upgrading other FOB Stations once you have the right items. Printer Resources and Ingredients can be found during deployments in DMZ.
• Gunsmith: Spend DMZ Cash to buy attachments for weapons you've looted or craft new ones from scratch. Attachments are based on the level of the weapon and the shared attachments you've unlocked. Extracting Weapon Manuals increases the selection of weapons you can craft.
• Vendor: A daily rotation of items you can buy with DMZ Cash.
• Bounty Leaderboard: Tracking the most successful PvP players in the Exclusion Zone.
• Boss Board: Buy intel on Lieutenants, and additional information on Commanders.
• Dog Tag Case: Show off the dog tags you've collected from defeating other players during your deployments.
• DMZ Progression: Monitor your DMZ progression track and the rewards unlocked at their corresponding levels.

Always available FOB Station

• Deploy: Does what it says on the tin. You'll go here to drop into Hajin for a new DMZ run.

We're promised a further intel drop on the FOB soon, including a full tour. As we know more about the FOB Stations in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 DMZ, this post will be updated with all the details you need to know.

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2025 saw the long-awaited return of official NASCAR video games, after years in the wilderness that came after some lacklustre efforts under a previous publisher.

NASCAR's video game is now handled by iRacing, a team that knows how to do things right. It's not a simple rip of the NASCAR aspect of the iRacing sim; it's a tailored, dedicated experience, built to be enjoyable on console and PC, and importantly, with a controller.

NASCAR 26 is the second attempt by iRacing, and as you would certainly hope, it's an improvement. The core remains, but with some new features that make the package that bit better.

The short version is that I wish all console racing games had what makes NASCAR 26 good. It combines the licensing with a healthy dose of NASCAR razzle-dazzle, real-world personalities, and the incredible iRacing tech underneath that gives it its realistic feel.

Even if you're not a particularly big NASCAR fan but you like good racing games, you should definitely give this one a try.

This review was produced using a copy of NASCAR 26 Gold Edition on Xbox Series X provided by iRacing. Nobody from the company had any input in nor saw the contents of this review prior to publication.

NASCAR 26 looks as spectacular as the real thing

I am a big NASCAR fan. Watching it live from the UK takes serious commitment, but through hell or high water, I'm there (almost) every weekend in the small hours.

As much fun as I've had in past NASCAR games and on iRacing, it takes a complete package like NASCAR 26 to bring everything together. And it starts with the presentation.

For starters, you've got real-world NASCAR personalities playing a part in the game. When you fire up your first career mode season, you've got Dale Jr. securing you a contract. Former crew chief turned broadcaster Steve Letarte makes plenty of appearances, Jamie McMurray will help you learn the ropes, and TJ Majors is in your ear as the all-important spotter.

That real-world crossover applies to the cars and their drivers and all the circuits you'll visit behind the wheel. I've only one point of comparison I can make myself, that being Charlotte Motor Speedway, but that looks just as spectacular in-game.

NASCAR 26 does such a good job at capturing the atmosphere of the race tracks, as well as how good the cars look (until they inevitably get banged up).

Part of this is the new dynamic lighting, which for night races especially really does make it feel like you're racing at night. Not some kind of fake interpretation of night.

The NASCAR 26 career mode doesn't have any surprises, but it's thorough

I don't want to dwell too much on the career mode, because for the most part if you played NASCAR 25, it'll feel very familiar.

The trajectory is predictable; you start at the bottom and make your way up to the NASCAR Cup Series in hopes of winning the big prize. As in NASCAR 25, and a change from some older games, the ARCA series is where you begin, not on dirt.

You're responsible for performing well on the track, earning reputation, and getting points that will help your team's workshop keep ticking over. Prize money is important, too, as without it you can't hire better staff. It's straightforward enough. Build a better team, become a better driver, hire better people, and get more lucrative sponsorships.

If you prefer a shorter experience, you can jump into The Chase, a mode that mimics the returning format for the final 10 races of the real-world season. Even running short races and doing a complete career mode (and then enough seasons to unlock the achievements if you're going after that new Mythic unlock) will take a serious investment of time.

NASCAR 26 feels like a 'lite' sim racer you can actually play with a controller

Beyond just trust in iRacing to look after the NASCAR brand, the reason I was always most excited for the new games was the tech that would be underneath.

iRacing employs actual race engineers. It laser scans tracks. While NASCAR 26, as with its predecessor, isn't a simple copy and paste of the PC sim, I genuinely think that it has the best physics of any console racer. Compared to, say, Forza Motorsport, it just feels so good.

Cars behave how you'd expect them to behave. They bounce around and wobble at speed. When you leave pit road on cold tires, the rear will just snap around on you if you try and accelerate too quickly. Changes you make to the setup feel meaningful. If you dial in some changes because you're too tight, you'll feel it. You'll also feel it if you go too far in the wrong direction.

Drafting is essential at Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta. As in the real thing, if you lose the draft, you're going nowhere. And on other ovals, you're rewarded for finding your own fastest line. Road courses are a riot, too, because a NASCAR racer is big and heavy, and it doesn't like turning on a dime. I can fly around Watkins Glen in other games, but in NASCAR 26, it suddenly feels challenging.

New for this year, too, is the fact that tracks will change. Through the course of a race, rubber will lay down on the surface, and just as in reality, that affects where you can go and how fast you can go when you're there. It's not just a visual change designed to make it look more realistic. Combined with tire degradation and fuel consumption, it provides a realistic experience, but the track changes still feel very subtle.

The AI drivers are also, mostly, some of the best I've come across in a track racing game. There are moments when it just descends into chaos, and sometimes the back of the pack behaves irregularly as you come to lap them. But when you're up front battling, it feels like you're actually battling.

Beating and banging is fair game; there's no iRacing-esque safety rating to worry about, but I'm amazed at how easy it is to actually race properly against the AI drivers and how much of a challenge it can be to get round them. In the old days of NASCAR Heat, you could pretty much just weave in and out and go from the back to the front in any race. You can't do that here.

I've had so much fun chasing down the AI drivers, having to experiment with different lines, sometimes even just fully sending it, and hoping I get clear. You're able to tweak the AI strength quite substantially, too, so as you get better, you can make the challenge harder.

All of this is perfectly achievable using a controller, too. The best experience will always be with a wheel, but NASCAR 26 doesn't feel overly twitchy or fake when using a controller, and the settings in the game allow you to customize your inputs to get it feeling just right for you.

The spotter also deserves highlighting. It's pretty good, which is useful because if you're driving in cockpit view, it is essential. Calls are clear and informative, and most of all, accurate. If he says you're three wide, you can believe it. If he calls a car inside but you can't see any hint of it, oh, it's there.

Other quick hits

• You have full crossplay in NASCAR 26. You can choose to just be console-only, full crossplay, or turn it off and only play on the same platform.
• Multiplayer is a mixed bag, but that's not necessarily the fault of the game. People race like clowns, and you're just going to have to deal with that. It would be nice to have online series and leaderboards to play as well.
• While the level of customization for your setup and your input devices is welcome, it can also be overwhelming.
• The career mode may be extensive, but outside of it there's not a whole lot to do if you're not a multiplayer fan. You can run endless quick races, but over time it gets repetitive. I'd like to see future incarnations of the NASCAR game think a little outside the box, perhaps with regular special challenges. I'm not suggesting full live service, but something fresh on a regular basis to keep us engaged.

NASCAR 26 is an iteration, but a good one, and a strong racer

I don't think any of us expected anything drastically different, and NASCAR 26 is a definite iteration. But it does make some meaningful improvements that are small in their own right but add up to a better overall package.

But the core experience is still one of the best track racers out there, whether you're a NASCAR fan or not. Cars feel alive and fun to drive, and when the AI works, it produces some of the most fun racing you can get.

I'd like to see more non-career mode content, and honestly, I'd like to see future games drop earlier in a season. We're a handful of races out from the 2026 NASCAR season ending, having spent most of it on last year's game with last year's cars.

Open-world racers like Forza Horizon 6 get most of the attention these days, but iRacing continues to prove that when done right, there's still room for good track action. NASCAR 26 is one of the best out there right now, and it certainly bodes well for next year's Indycar game.

NASCAR 26 launched on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC via Steam on September 18, 2026.

As Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 approaches on October 23, the PR machine is really getting into full swing. Whether it's reactive or not is irrelevant, so long as players are being given worthwhile features.

It looks like Modern Warfare 4 is going to fix one of the biggest points of irritation I have with Call of Duty in general: burning through 2XP tokens while you're sat in the lobby, or tweaking your loadout, or hell, even checking on your Camo challenges.

Announced today is the news that this will not be the case in Modern Warfare 4. 2XP tokens will now only count down in-game time, not from the very second you apply them, as happens right now.

I don't know if there's panic setting in, if these ideas were always planned, or if players are actually being listened to. But this is twice in recent days that we're getting some positive news about features for Modern Warfare 4.

The 2XP token update comes after the news that from Season 1, when Warzone is integrated with Modern Warfare 4, players will have a toggle to turn off all the goofy legacy skins and see default MW4 operators instead.

I'm not sure this is enough to make me want to play Warzone outside of doing the Mastery Camo, but still, it's another big W from Call of Duty for its players. Even though I only tolerate Warzone for the barest minimum time, there are some truly heinous cosmetics going back as far as Modern Warfare 2.

In isolation each of these may seem small, but both are actually significant quality of life increases. I can now work on the Warzone Mastery Camo without seeing Beavis and Butthead or American Dad, and I can do so knowing I'm not losing my 2XP tokens while waiting on matchmaking.

There are still plenty of improvements that could be made, though. I don't really have a dog in the SBMM fight, but plenty of players do, even if it doesn't look like it's going away. The anticheat will also be a big focus, again, and Activision talks a big game, but players are only going to be happy when they see it working.

But I'm happy to take the wins wherever they come. I've got about 50 hours of 2XP and 52 hours of 2XP weapon tokens to burn through when Modern Warfare 4 comes out. I'm glad that will at least translate to in-game hours and not losing half of it outside of matches.

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