This is what the end looks like. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2's final DLC, Apocalypse, comes to PC September 26, marking the final batch of new content for developer Treyarch's latest entry in the venerable shooter series, according to a press release. The DLC includes four multiplayer maps and a new zombie level full of enemies that mix the robotic with the supernatural.

Two of the four DLC landscapes are brand-new maps and two are re-skinned, re-worked versions of maps from previous Treyarch CoD games. The first new map, Pod, drops you and your team into the remnants of a failed Taiwanese utopian community from the 1970s. The second new map in this DLC package, Frost, introduces a frigid European backdrop separated by an iced-over canal and bridge that should create a choke-point during a variety of game modes. In what has become a classic tradition in Call of Duty games, the two re-imagined maps, Takeoff and Dig, are re-tooled versions of Stadium and Courtyard from the first Black Ops and World at War, respectively.

The new zombie set-piece, Origins, puts you in a French countryside that's seen a dieselpunk treatment, bringing to the battle tanks, drones, and giant robots. Thankfully you'll also have some supernatural weapons to unload on any undead, diesel-powered enemies you encounter.

Even as Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Ghosts looks set to bring its own vision back to the market this fall, for a short time at least, Apocalypse's dieselpunk nightmare will be state-of-the-art Call of Duty. You can pick up the new DLC individually or as part of the Black Ops 2's season pass program.

The Black Ops 2 development train is pulling into its final station. Soon it'll be replaced with Call of Duty: Ghosts, with its more advanced, mo-capped dog and intelligent fish. Before then, though, there's the small matter of the Apocalypse: the ultro-shooter's last DLC farewell. The "launch" trailer gives us a quick overview of the new maps, including zombie mode's Origins. Because even if it's the digital store of your publisher's greatest rival, developers can't stop using that name.

On the plus side, the Origins mode is described via a pretty excellent sentence: "An alternate-reality Dieselpunk Zombies experience that transports players to the undead-infested trenches of a World War I battlefield." Good work, video games.

The other maps include a failed '70s utopia, an archaeological site, a chilly European city, and a remote launch pad. All of which are descended upon by violent military men, because reasons. As is now customary, the packs have launched early on Xbox 360. A PC release will follow in the coming weeks.

It's become a tradition now for Call of Duty DLC to offer re-skinned, re-worked versions of classic levels and the final Black Ops 2 map pack is no exception. And in another nod to a deeply-held pastime, the new DLC—Apocalypse—releases August 27 first for Xbox Live customers, "with other platforms to follow," according to a press release.

Two of the four new multiplayer maps echo previous entries in the annual series and sit alongside a brand-new zombie playground right out of a steampunk nightmare. Longtime COD players should recognize Takeoff and Dig from previous Treyarch titles Black Ops and World at War, perhaps giving them a head start when the maps eventually release on PC. The two completely new maps, Pod and Frost, take us to a broken-down utopian commune in Taiwan as well as a snow-covered European locale, respectively.

The new zombie map—Origins—does give us all a look at some aesthetic innovation, at least for Call of Duty, in that we're getting a "dieselpunk"-zombie mashup with "1,000-foot, mechanical giants striding across the landscape," according to the game's executive producer Jason Blundell.

For a guided tour of the new maps or just to whet your appetite for that classic Call of Duty atmosphere, check out Blundell and Treyarch studio design director David Vonderhaar in the preview video below.

Treyarch design director David Vonderhaar has received death threats and threats of violence on Twitter, after patch notes for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 revealed that three of the game's guns were to be rebalanced slightly. Yes, that is a thing that has actually happened. The guns in question are the AN-94, which now does a bit less damage, and the DSR 50 and the Ballista, which have both had their rate of fire reduced a bit. If this news makes you want to hurl abuse at someone, I suggest you seek professional help.

"Not sure these fractions of seconds are worth the threats of violence," a magnificently patient Vonderhaar tweeted in response to the backlash, which is too horrible to quote. "Guns have powerbands and learning curves. Over time, both change. As one goes up, so does the other. That's the short answer to 'why now'."

Activision blogger Dan Amrich spoke out against the backlash, something that seems to occur with horrible regularity. "This has happened with every Call of Duty game that’s come out for the last few years, and it will continue to happen - a gun’s stats being adjusted should not be a surprise to anybody at this point.”

“Yet Vahn often gets told he should die in a fire or kill himself or is a horrible person," Amrich continued. "If anybody thinks for a second that this is okay, it is not."

“If you enjoy your games, have a little respect for the people who make them — and stop threatening them with bodily harm every time they do their job.”

Thanks, PCGamesN.

Treyarch design director David Vonderhaar has received death threats and threats of violence on Twitter, after patch notes for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 revealed that three of the game's guns were to be rebalanced slightly. Yes, that is a thing that has actually happened. The guns in question are the AN-94, which now does a bit less damage, and the DSR 50 and the Ballista, which have both had their rate of fire reduced a bit. If this news makes you want to hurl abuse at someone, I suggest you seek professional help.

"Not sure these fractions of seconds are worth the threats of violence," a magnificently patient Vonderhaar tweeted in response to the backlash, which is too horrible to quote. "Guns have powerbands and learning curves. Over time, both change. As one goes up, so does the other. That's the short answer to 'why now'."

Activision blogger Dan Amrich spoke out against the backlash, something that seems to occur with horrible regularity. "This has happened with every Call of Duty game that’s come out for the last few years, and it will continue to happen - a gun’s stats being adjusted should not be a surprise to anybody at this point.”

“Yet Vahn often gets told he should die in a fire or kill himself or is a horrible person," Amrich continued. "If anybody thinks for a second that this is okay, it is not."

“If you enjoy your games, have a little respect for the people who make them — and stop threatening them with bodily harm every time they do their job.”

Thanks, PCGamesN.

Will vengeance be yours? Really, that depends on whether your think Vengeance is a Black Ops 2 map pack, and not, say, some planned retribution on an international coffee chain for putting the wrong syrup in your morning drink. For the former, you'll now only have to wait until August 1st - the announced date for the PC version of the DLC. The latter? Oh they'll find out soon enough.

As is tradition for these things, Vengeance adds four new multiplayer maps to the Blops sequel, along with a new zombie scenario. Here's a video that explains the features of Cove, Detour, Rush, Uplink and Buried.



Why would you make a paintball arena, and then just have the players use standard guns? That's not particularly sporting.

Zombies mode is also getting a new feature in the Ray Gun Mark 2, which will be available in all zombie levels, not just the new wild-west themed map.

UK e-sports is about to get its largest tournament prize pool to date. Gfinity London 2013 will split £110,000 between League of Legends and Call of Duty: Black Ops II, with both competitions boasting top professional teams from across Europe and North America. The invitational is being held in an undisclosed location, with fans able to take part through a live Twitch.TV stream starting this Saturday, July 13th.

League of Legends will feature eight teams, including Team Dignitas UK, Animate eSports and Curse Academy, while Black Ops 2 will boast ten teams, from All Authority and Complexity, to EnVyUS. Both tournaments will feature a round robin group stage, before an elimination knockout stage, leading to the grand final.

The whole thing is being streamed for free from the Gfinity Twitch channel. Subscriptions are also available, securing access to full 1080p broadcasts. You can find more information at the Gfinity website.

Ah, it’s that time of year again. The birds are chirping, the squirrels are frolicking, and the best StarCraft II, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and League of Legends players are warming up their clicking fingers for the 2013 MLG Spring Championship.

The clash of champions starts today at 5 pm on the Major League Gaming website (or in Anaheim, CA if you’ve snagged tickets), and lasts until the sun sets on Sunday, June 30. MLG’s streaming the tournament for free, so don’t fret if you didn’t have the time, money, or patience to reach the Anaheim Convention Center.

You might think it’s a little strange seeing StarCraft II on that list considering Blizzard and MLG parted ways just a few days ago, but that seems to only apply to the World Championship Series Blizzard has been touting.

So sit back, relax, and try not to think about how the 2013 MLG Spring Championship is happening during the summer.

Image via majorleaguegaming.com

Is this a poster for the next Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 DLC? Maybe. That's certainly the impression it wants to give you, with its hexagonal map thumbnails and vaguely aggressive sounding name. If it's to be believed, the follow-on map-pack to Revolution and Uprising will be titled Vengeance, and will include four multiplayer maps, one zombie map, and a bonus Mark II Ray Gun.



The poster first surfaced as a German YouTube video containing a series of static images. It teases new maps Detour, Uplink, Rush, and Cove, and zombie map Buried.

Of course, it could just be complete bobbins. Either way, it'll be a long road before Vengeance - or whatever the next pack might be called - makes its way to PC, first having to run the gauntlet of an Xbox 360 exclusivity period.

Thanks, MP1st.