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EA FC 26 World Cup Mode Release Date Confirmed

EA Sports has confirmed the release date for the World Cup update coming to EA FC 26. The mode, titled The World’s Game, will go live on June 4, 2026, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which kicks off on June 11.

The confirmation came from an unlikely place. PlayStation’s official blog post for the Days of Play 2026 event included a note about EA FC 26 content for June. Tucked into the PlayStation Plus games lineup section, the blog confirmed: “Available in-game from June 4, The World’s Game update introduces a brand-new international tournament mode with 48 national teams and new authentic stadiums to play in.”

No FIFA License, But a Full Tournament Mode

EA Sports does not hold an official license for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. So The World’s Game is EA’s own version of the tournament, separate from FIFA’s branding. Since EA couldn’t get the FIFA licensing, it won’t be an official World Cup game mode. Instead, expect a generic international tournament with the same format and teams as the official summer tournament.

That said, the update still brings a lot. 48 national teams will be playable in the new update, a 19-team boost from the currently available 29.

What’s Included in The World’s Game Update

The update introduces a brand new international tournament mode with 48 national teams and new authentic stadiums to play in. Players can also take on international-themed Manager Live Challenges and step into Player Career with new international ICONs and Heroes.

National teams will be playable across multiple modes, including quick matches with friends, online matches, and Ultimate Team.

The update also adds new stadiums, official Adidas match balls, and legacy faces for dozens of players. Brazil has already been confirmed as one of the teams joining the game with the update, with more announcements expected before June 4.

FC Mobile Gets It First

The World’s Game update for FC Mobile was confirmed to launch on May 27. The mode on mobile features more than 50 authentic national teams and includes the World’s Game Tournament, EA’s own version of the World Cup. All national teams will be playable in Quick Match with friends, online matches against other players, and Ultimate Team mode.

The console release follows on June 4, giving players a full week before the real tournament starts.

EA FC 26 Available Free on PlayStation Plus Through June 16

EA Sports FC 26 will remain available as a PlayStation Plus Monthly Game through June 16. That means PS Plus subscribers who haven’t tried the game yet can pick it up for free and have The World’s Game update ready to go as soon as it drops.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins June 11 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Valorant Rogue Skin Bundle Revealed: All Cosmetics, Price, Release Date, and More

Riot Games has officially unveiled a new skin line coming to Valorant in the near future, and the community is already excited as it stirs memories of an all too familiar skin line we’ve seen in the past.

The new Valorant bundle, named the Rogue collection, features a sleek, tactical aesthetic combining dark metallic surfaces, glowing light strips, and clean geometric silhouettes with subtle sci-fi detailing across each weapon body. The melee skin, Push Daggers, closely resembles the iconic Shadow Daggers from Counter-Strike 2, but with more animations.

In this article, we’ll go through everything you need to know about the Valorant Rogue bundle, including all its skins, price, release date, and more.

Valorant Rogue Bundle: All Skins

As we can see in the official trailer for the bundle, the Valorant Rogue collection will include the following skins:

  • Rogue Bandit
  • Rogue Bucky
  • Rogue Vandal
  • Rogue Operator
  • Push Daggers Melee

The bundle includes four different color variants: red/black (default), blue/white, green, and orange.

The design of the Rogue collection in Valorant is highly reminiscent of that of the Recon skin line, alongside a touch of Phaseguard. There’s also an interesting Finisher where the drones that appear can be shot to make them explode.

Valorant Rogue Bundle Release Date

While Riot Games has yet to confirm the release date for the Rogue bundle in Valorant, it’s expected to hit the in-game store on May 26, 2026.

This date coincides with the Valorant 12.10 release date, and it would make sense for Riot to ship out the new skin bundle on the same date.

Valorant Rogue Bundle Price

The Rogue collection is likely to sit in the higher-end tier of Valorant bundles, with individual weapon skins expected to be priced around 2,175 VP each, while the standout push dagger melee may cost you around 4,350 VP. Players looking to grab the full bundle can expect to pay 8,700 VP for the complete collection.

As always, these prices are estimates, so hold off on opening your wallet until the bundle hits the store. But if the reveal is anything to go by, Rogue looks like it could easily be one of the better buys of the year.

BMPS 2026 Round 4 Preview: No More Promotion or Relegation, Just Pure Seeding Pressure

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The BMPS 2026 Qualifiers Stage has wrapped up Round 3, and the final round is now sitting on the calendar with all the weight of an actual playoff. Round 4 runs from May 28 to May 31, and the rules have changed in a way that quietly makes things scarier, not safer.

There is no more promotion. No more relegation. Wherever a team is sitting right now is where they will play out the round, and whatever they finish at is what locks their path through the rest of the tournament.

What the new Round 4 format actually does

Every group plays six matches over four days, same as before. The difference is everything underneath the surface. In the earlier rounds, a bad day could still be repaired with promotion and relegation, since groups reshuffled after every six-match block. That BMPS 2026 promotion and relegation system has been a defining feature of the qualifier stage this year. Round 4 strips it out entirely.

Now every match is purely about seeding. Where a team finishes in their group decides whether they go straight to the Grand Finals in Jaipur, fall into the Semifinals, drop into the Survival Stage, or in the worst case get knocked out of the tournament altogether. Six matches. No second chances. The mistake margin has basically disappeared.

The Group A advantage is genuinely unfair

This is the part that explains why teams spent the entire qualifier stage clawing their way up to Group A in the first place.

If a team finishes inside the top 8 of Group A in Round 4, they go straight to the BMPS 2026 Grand Finals. No Survival Stage. No Semifinals. Just a confirmed seat. And here is the kicker: even the bottom 8 in Group A still get a free pass to the Semifinals. Survival is not even a possibility for any team in this group. Group A has, in effect, already escaped the worst-case scenario before Round 4 even starts.

That is why the season-long fight to reach the top group was as ruthless as it was.

The Group A roster reads like a final-day bracket: 4TR Official, 7Gods Esports, 8Bit, Divine Gaming, GodLike, Meta Ninza, Nebula Esports, Orangutan, RNTX, Team Soul, Team Tamilas, Vasista Esports, Victores Sumus, Welt Esports, WindGod, and Wyld Fangs.

Team Soul are in scary form heading into this. Their coordination through the qualifier stage has looked sharper than anyone else’s, which tracks given they walked in as BGIS 2026 champions. Godlike, working with a rebuilt roster after Jonathan’s exit, have done the impossible job of staying competitive through a transition cycle. Orangutan have been quietly consistent, sitting at the top of the Global Points table on pure cumulative output. RNTX bring LAN experience that most lobbies cannot fully simulate.

The most interesting fight in this group will not be at the bottom. It will be the eight teams scrapping for the top half, because one bad day in six can drop a Grand Finals seat to a Semifinals slot.

Group B, C, and D are not built the same

Group B has top 8 going to Semifinals and the bottom 8 routed into the Survival Stage. Names in Group B include Autobotz, Genesis Esports, Gods Reign, Godsent Esports, Higgboson, Jaguar Esports, Madkings, MYSTERIOUS 4, Myth Official, Naqsh Esports, Rapid Chaos, Reckoning, Team H4K, True Rippers, White Walkers, and Zero Ark. That is the layer where serious teams who slipped during qualifiers find themselves, which means the top half here is going to brawl.

Group C is where it gets brutal. All 16 teams in Group C are heading directly into the Survival Stage regardless of how they finish in Round 4. There is no shortcut left for this group. The team to watch is Team Apex Gaming, Jonathan’s new organisation making its BMPS debut. Jonathan himself has been on individual MVP form this season, but team consistency has been the gap, and now the path forward goes through Survival no matter how well TAG plays in Round 4.

The rest of Group C is Ares Esport, Aura x Esports, DCxSCR Esports, Esports Social, HADX Esports, K9 Esports, Lastade Esports, LEFP, Quantum Sparks, Riot Nationz, Rising Esports, Team Aryan, Team RedXRoss, Team Versatile, and Troy Tamilans.

Group D is the most dangerous spot to be sitting in. The top 8 advance to the Survival Stage. The bottom 8 are out of BMPS 2026 entirely. There is no in-between. Group D includes 7ACESxTRB, Blink Esports, Futurise x Empire, GENxFM, Godsent Legions, Jaapi Esports, Likitha Esports, NoNx Esports, Oops Official, Phoenix, Santa Esports, Someones Dream, T7xOrion, Team Doxy, Flying Esports, and Thundergods.

For a group where elimination is the bottom-half consequence, every point matters in a way that the rest of the tournament has not really tested yet.

The wider stakes

Beyond the Grand Finals seeding, there is the Esports World Cup 2026 ticket sitting at the top of the prize pool. The BMPS 2026 champion gets a direct flight to Riyadh. A second EWC 2026 slot is tied to the KIE Global Points leaderboard, which means even teams who are not realistically winning the trophy still have something to play for through Round 4 and beyond.

The schedule for Round 4 puts Group B and Group C in action across the first two days. Group A and Group D close out the round across days three and four, which is exactly how KRAFTON has structured every previous round of the qualifier stage. All matches will stream on the official KRAFTON India Esports channels.

What to watch

Honestly, the storylines this qualifier stage have been everything a competitive fan could ask for. Team Soul looking like the most complete unit in the lobby. Godlike making a comeback when the new roster could have collapsed. Jonathan’s individual gameplay carrying the conversation around TAG even when results have been mixed. Punk’s redemption arc. Younger players like DhruvOG and SarwarOG breaking out. Round 4 is the round that decides which of those stories carries into Jaipur and which one runs out of road.

BMPS, historically, has not just been a skill test. It has been a mentality test. And the four days starting Thursday will sort that out the hard way.

KRAFTON India Wins Big at Abby Awards 2026 and Kyoorius: BGMI Campaigns Sweep Both Festivals

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KRAFTON India came out of last weekend with one of the strongest creative-awards runs an Indian gaming brand has put together. The publisher picked up serious metal at both the Abby Awards 2026 at Goafest and the Kyoorius Creative Awards 2026 on the same weekend, with the announcement landing on May 25.

The numbers, briefly

At Abby, KRAFTON India says it took home 34 wins in total: 3 Gold, 19 Silver, 8 Bronze, and 4 Merits. The publisher describes this as making it the second most-awarded brand of the night. The Gold for The Great In-Game Wedding in Brand Experience & Activation was the centrepiece. Industry coverage from Storyboard18’s Abby 2026 wrap separately confirmed Gold wins for The Great In-Game Wedding (via 22Feet Tribal Worldwide) and BGMI Career Mode (via Leo India).

Kyoorius was even more lopsided in the publisher’s favour. KRAFTON walked away with 1 Grey Elephant and 15 Blue Elephants. The Great In-Game Wedding alone took seven Blues plus the Grey. Everyone Loves a Good Fight added five more. BGMI South Regional Films picked up two. BGMI Career Mode rounded it out with one.

That is a lot of metal for one brand in one week.

The wedding campaign, for anyone who missed it

This one is worth knowing about even if you only follow the competitive side of BGMI. Two players, Jaspreet and Tanupreet, known in-game as OnFireXVeronica and OnFireXHades, met in BGMI lobbies, fell in love, and decided to get married. KRAFTON and 22Feet Tribal Worldwide turned the actual ceremony into an event hosted inside the game, with the public invited to attend.

The underlying pitch was sharp. Players spend roughly 3x more time in BGMI lobbies than in actual combat, which makes the lobby less of a waiting room and more of a social space. The campaign has been picking up hardware for months. It earned Cannes Lions 2025 shortlists in Entertainment Lions for Gaming and has been entered again for Cannes 2026.

Most brands would have killed the idea in the pitch room. KRAFTON greenlit it. The metal count is the receipt.

What the other three winning campaigns did

Everyone Loves a Good Fight picked up five Blue Elephants at Kyoorius. BGMI South Regional Films, which is exactly what it sounds like, took two more, and the South India focus is worth flagging because that audience has quietly become a much bigger slice of the BGMI player base than metro-centric coverage usually admits.

The one to circle is BGMI Career Mode. Gold at Abby, one Blue Elephant at Kyoorius, and built entirely in-house by KRAFTON India’s own creative and product teams. No agency on the credits. The campaign is described as an AI-powered psychometric experience, which sounds like a buzzword sandwich until you see the awards record. In-house creative work winning at India’s top festivals is rare in any category. In gaming, it is almost unheard of. KRAFTON India is clearly treating internal creative as a real capability, and the inaugural KRAFTON India Awards earlier this year suggests that ambition is not stopping at marketing.

The agency stack behind it

The wins came out of a multi-agency setup that includes 22Feet Tribal Worldwide, Enormous Brands, Leo India, and KRAFTON India’s own team. Leo India itself was named Creative Agency of the Year at Abby 2026, so KRAFTON tying its work to that pipeline is part of why the metal count sits where it does.

KRAFTON India says BGMI has now won at five consecutive global and national creative festivals in the past 12 months: ADFEST 2026, Cannes Lions 2025, Spikes Asia 2025, One Show Asia 2025, and now Abby and Kyoorius 2026. Most consumer brands in the country would trade salary bands to put that streak together.

The bigger story underneath the wins is positioning. BGMI has spent years fighting the “addiction and violence” perception bucket, the same fight that cost PUBG Mobile its India presence in 2020. Every campaign in this winning slate is aimed at the social, communal, human side of the platform. The wedding, the regional films, the lobby insight that powered the whole thinking. None of it is shooting-game advertising. All of it is about who shows up to play.

It is also happening at a moment when the BGMI competitive scene is on a serious upswing, with BMPS 2026 running a Rs 2 crore+ prize pool and two Esports World Cup 2026 slots up for grabs. The marketing wins and the esports push are not separate projects. They are the same brand argument hitting the audience from different angles. KRAFTON India’s BGMI esports ecosystem pulled over 930 million views in 2025, so the audience is plainly there to catch the message.

The open question is what every other Indian gaming brand does about it. They have been quiet at Goafest for years. They will not be able to stay quiet for many more.

BGMI M416 Glacier Redeem Codes July 2026: Latest Free Rewards, Skins & Collectibles

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KRAFTON India has announced another major redeem code release for BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA (BGMI), featuring the return of the fan-favourite M416 Glacier rewards alongside a new lineup of exclusive in-game items and collectibles. Building on the excitement surrounding the recently launched 4.4 update, the ongoing redeem code campaign continues to give players more opportunities to unlock sought-after rewards and personalise their gameplay experience through limited-time daily drops.

Redeem codes are valid until July 9, 2026, and will be released daily on BGMI’s official channels.

M416 Glacier Redeem Codes:

  1. LHZBGZENU5JFHPTM
  2. LHZBHZWAGTMFM4A4
  3. LHZBIZBQ65BVCM8K
  4. LHZBJZFPCR5UWAFH

Redeem Codes:

  1. KQZCZP5H9CN99N3U
  2. KQZDZP5HXDQJMSMK
  3. KQZEZH55U3R7FUCR
  4. KQZFZ9HTUPJE8G9W
  5. KQZGZ89NNXG4J49G
  6. KQZHZH6496VWDEKV
  7. KQZIZDNJMG87VQNQ
  8. KQZJZDWRCFD4PB8R
  9. KQZKZQXTMU3NDPKC
  10. KQZLZ3H6DBFW58XQ
  11. KQZMZP3SECNDBKE9
  12. KQZNZM9BTAHCGEFX
  13. KQZOZH8B376CWBMC
  14. KQZPZCSQBH9KC7CR
  15. KQZQZDVMB5977NJ4
  16. KQZRZXSJ7U6D4UMW
  17. KQZVZRD9WQ84DNQP
  18. KQZTZFUSXPNHJPWQ
  19. KQZUZN95M45RW3FU
  20. KQZBAZJN9XWNNAPE
  21. KQZBBZEW3B4FEAHF
  22. KQZBCZ578M9436FR
  23. KQZBDZPVQ9SWQJK8
  24. KQZBEZSXF3FT68MP
  25. KQZBFZ5MJVWWRRCW
  26. KQZBGZQHPJUTKQPK
  27. KQZBHZ6MXTBQH8XX
  28. KQZBIZCMG9SFM4BD
  29. KQZBJZ4QMDVWEHTE
  30. KQZBKZ4QRKW79QH9
  31. KQZBLZ6HMHRTRB9E
  32. KQZBMZPQVP5JK8CN
  33. KQZBNZGXTNRH58KW
  34. KQZBOZ3GJW9D5ETD
  35. KQZBPZJXDCTANBRG
  36. KQZBQZ5G68Q8HBUQ
  37. KQZBRZUHNJV3BA65
  38. KQZBVZTWFV7HPW5R
  39. KQZBTZHP4EPUU6VB
  40. KQZBUZ47KH85ARFD
  41. KQZCAZR8WDGM89A5
  42. KQZCBZBNHR5UPQUD
  43. KQZCCZSEA5W7H86A
  44. KQZCDZT8Q7S4C4EG
  45. KQZCEZGUV8M5XVUN
  46. KQZCFZEDN45XFH9T
  47. KQZCGZNDQKDNJETB
  48. KQZCHZWUVSK3F345
  49. KQZCIZBGNGF8VHXR

Steps to redeem:

Players can follow these simple steps to claim their rewards:

  • Step 1: Go to the Redeem section on BGMI’s official website www.battlegroundsmobileindia.com/redeem
  • Step 2: Enter your Character ID
  • Step 3: Enter the Redemption Code
  • Step 4: Enter the verification/ Captcha code → A message will confirm ‘Code redeemed successfully’
  • Step 5: The reward will be delivered via in-game mail

Rules to Remember:

  • A maximum of 10 users can redeem each code on a first-come, first-served basis
  • A user cannot redeem a code twice
  • If a player is among the first 10 users to successfully redeem the code, a message will confirm ‘Code redeemed successfully’. If not, users will see ‘Code expired’ or a similar expiry message
  • Each user account can redeem only one code per day
  • Redeem codes cannot be used via guest accounts
  • Rewards to be claimed within 30 days from receiving the in-game mail post which the mail gets deleted.

The bigger picture: 4.4, BMPS, and a busy summer

The redeem code campaign is not happening in a vacuum. KRAFTON India just rolled out the BGMI 4.4 “Hero’s Crown” update on May 20, bringing a Greek-mythology themed mode, the new Roadster vehicle, and significant changes to Erangel hotspots like Ruins and Ferry Pier. Daily reward drops on top of a fresh patch is the kind of one-two punch that keeps a player base of 260 million-plus BGMI accounts refreshing in-game mail every morning.

There is also BMPS 2026 in the background. The Battlegrounds Mobile India Pro Series is heating up with EWC 2026 qualification slots on the line, and KRAFTON keeping the casual side engaged with free skins is the kind of move that protects daily active numbers when competitive attention shifts to the pros.

For the latest updates, follow BGMI’s official YouTube, Instagram and Facebook pages.

IEM Beijing 2026 Announced: Dates, Venue, Prize Pool & More

ESL has officially announced IEM Beijing 2026, marking the return of top-tier competitive Counter-Strike to China’s capital for the first time since 2019.

After seven years away, Beijing is back on the IEM map, and based on what has been revealed so far, it’s all set to be a tournament to remember.

The last time IEM took place in Beijing, the legendary Astralis lineup took home the trophy in a dominant fashion after taking down 100Thieves 3-0 in the grand finals. It has set an incredibly high bar for the Chinese CS2 community, who will undoubtedly be keen to see whether this edition can match the legacy.

“Over the past years, we’ve experienced the incredible passion and energy of Chinese fans first-hand,” Marc Winther, Director of CS2 Esports at ESL-FACEIT group, said in a statement. “With IEM Beijing 2026, we’re excited to take things to the next level.”

CS2 IEM Beijing 2026 Dates

As confirmed by ESL, IEM Beijing 2026 is scheduled to kick off on November 2, 2026. The tournament will see six full days of intense CS2 action before coming to an end on November 8th. It will mark one of the last major events for the shooter this year.

CS2 IEM Beijing 2026 Venue

The IEM Beijing 2026 CS2 event will be held at the Bloomage Biotech Biohyalux ECM Arena in Beijing. The games will be played in front of a live audience for all six days of play, and the event will feature a 360-degree stage design.

CS2 IEM Beijing 2026 Prize Pool

The IEM Beijing 2026 tournament will see 16 elite CS2 teams competing for a share of the $1,250,000 USD pool. This makes IEM Beijing 2026 one of the highest-paying events in the entire IEM series.

Needless to say, IEM Beijing 2026 has every ingredient needed to be a landmark event, and the CS2 community will undoubtedly be looking forward to seeing some of the best competitive CS played in one of the world’s most iconic cities when November rolls around.

IEM Cologne 2026 Major Stage 1 Pick’Ems: Road to Diamond Coin

With the highly anticipated IEM Cologne 2026 CS2 Major just a few days away, hardcore fans of the shooter have already started submitting their Stage 1 Pick’Ems in hopes of upgrading their tournament coin.

Similar to previous CS2 Majors, any player can choose to participate in the IEM Cologne 2026 Pick’Ems. However, only the Cologne 2026 Viewer Pass owners will be able to get rewarded for getting correct picks in the form of tournament coin upgrades and some juicy tokens that can be spent in the Major shop.

By default, every CS2 player who gets the Major Viewer Pass will start with a Bronze Cologne 2026 Coin. This coin can be upgraded to Silver, Gold, and Diamond, respectively, by progressing through various Challenges and getting correct picks in the Pick’Ems.

Every time you upgrade your Cologne 2026 coin, you’ll also be able to get 300 tokens to spend in the Major shop to buy stickers or convert your skins to souvenirs.

In this article, we’re gonna try our best to reach that fabled Diamond coin for Cologne 2026 by attempting to get at least 5 correct picks during Stage 1 of the event. Getting at least 5 correct picks in Stage 1 will upgrade your coin to Silver, considering you finish your other challenges, and keep you in contention for the Diamond coin.

CS2 Cologne 2026 Major Stage 1 Pick’Ems

The opening Stage of every CS2 Major is perhaps the most difficult to accurately predict, thanks to the uncertain nature of BO1s and unpredictable matchups. Despite that, the Cologne 2026 Major Stage 1 seems to have some clear favorites.

IEM Cologne 2026 Stage 1 will require you to predict two teams going a perfect 3-0, two teams crashing out with a 0-3 record, and six teams that advance 3-1 and 3-2.

Below, we have included some of the best picks that you can make on your IEM Cologne 2026 Stage 1 Pick’Ems. Before locking in your picks, note that these are my suggestions as well as my own picks, but do your Pick’ems at your own risk since BO1 matches are notoriously unpredictable.

Best Stage 1 Picks for Cologne Major 2026

Here are all our picks for the IEM Cologne 2026 Major Stage 1 Pick’Ems:

  • 3-0 Picks: GamerLegion, BB Team
  • 0-3 Picks: THUNDER dOWNUNDER, Sharks
  • Qualifying Picks: BIG, MIBR, B8, NRG, Heroic, M80

The 3-0 category can be the most prone to upsets, but GamerLegion and BB Team have an edge due to easier first matchups and overall strong recent form.

All the teams in the 3-1 and 3-2 categories have repeatedly proven themselves to be strong contenders. However, teams like Liquid, Tyloo, or Lynn Vision can also make their way to this category.

The 0-3 teams we have included are some of the weakest teams in the IEM Cologne 2026 roster.

Lastly, if you’re planning to participate in the IEM Cologne 2026 Pick’Ems, be sure to activate your Viewer Pass before the Stage 1 picks lock in 8 days. Once the picks lock, you won’t be able to receive your rewards even if you activate your Viewer Pass afterwards.

Legacy Wins CS Asia Championship 2026

Legacy has pulled off the impossible, beating the Falcons with a 3-1 scoreline in the Grand Finals of the CS Asia Championship 2026 and successfully defending their title. Having lost the opening map, Legacy not only stopped Falcons for 3 maps in a row, but they dominated them in ways that the latter failed to secure double digits in any of those maps.

Following a rough start to the opening map, Nuke saw Falcons suffer on their offense before they managed to edge out a difficult end to the map. As the Falcons managed to open the series with a win, they suffered a disappointing defeat in their own map pick, leading to a levelled scoreline before the series headed to Legacy’s pick, Mirage. A poorly structured defense suffered heavily against a fast-paced Legacy offense, as another poor offense from the Falcons gave an easy win to Legacy to take the lead in the series. The final map saw the Falcons get outclassed on one of their best maps to fall behind a 9-3 deficit, only to fail miserably in the second half to give Legacy their first tier-1 trophy of the season.

This was the Falcons’ final to lose, and boy, did they get dominated in one of the upsets of the season. Karrigan was brought in to steer the team away from playoff woes, but this match has just exposed the gaps within the Falcons’ ranks. Having beaten the same team earlier in this tournament, this was arguably the worst showing by the Falcons in the Grand Finals, and one could argue in favor of Kyxsan as the IGL for this team.

Legacy defending their trophy against one of the best teams in the world goes to show that they are ready to take on the big names in the big stages. With a fine blend of talent and experience, the team is in a position to make some upsets in the Major. This event will definitely serve as a confidence booster for them, but only time can tell if they will build off it.

Valve Releases Deadlock May 23 Patch Notes

Valve dropped the Deadlock gameplay update on May 23, 2026. It is one of the bigger patches the game has seen in recent months. The Soul Urn got a full mechanical overhaul, a new T1 Vitality item called Grit was added, and a long list of hero and item changes went live.

Here is everything that changed.

Deadlock May 23 Patch Notes

Check out the official patch notes:

[ General ]

– Base HP reduced by 10 for all heroes

– HP per boon reduced by 3

– Guardians scaling resistance from +75%->-50% over 12 minutes to +50%->-50% (takes more damage early)

– Medium neutrals initial spawn time reduced from 6 minutes to 5 minutes

– Breakables spawn time increased from 2 minutes to 3 minutes

– Shrines are now invulnerable until one pair of Base Guardians are destroyed

– Backdoor removal linger duration reduced from 20s to 14s

– Knockup durations are now affected by debuff reduction

– Removed two jump pads from around the middle of the map that point to outwards (to the left and right respectively)

– Sliding no longer resets sprint speed

– Stamina Regeneration is reduced by 25% for 5s after using a Wall Jump. This does not trigger when out of combat or when mantling soon after.

– Bullet Velocity now stacks additively rather than diminishingly

– Medic trooper heal duration increased from 2s to 4s (same overall heal amount)

– When receiving multiple of the Medic trooper orb the duration will now be added ontop rather than stacking directly (so picking up 4 in a row will give the regen over 16s instead of over 4s, overall heal is the same just slower)

– Medic Trooper heal increased from 12% missing hp to 13%

– Fixed Parry FX not always matching state

– Base Guardian Bullet Resistance increased from 10% to 20%

– Shrine Bullet Resistance increased from 10% to 20%

– Tier 2 Bullet Resistance increased from 25% to 35%

– Midboss now starts spawned at the beginning of the game

– Total Damage Reduction debuffs now stack diminishingly rather than additively (Inhibitor, Fire Scarabs, etc)

– Movespeed diminish point increased from 11 to 12 (very slightly less aggressive diminishing scaling)

– Weapon Investment Bonus now has a 6.4k line, changed from 4.8k/7.2k/9.6k/16k to 4.8k/6.4k/8k/11.2k/16k with bonuses from 46/55/70/85 to 46/54/62/74/86

– Vitality Investment Bonus now has a 6.4k line, changed from 4.8k/7.2k/9.6k/16k to 4.8k/6.4k/8k/11.2k/16k with bonuses from 38/42/46/50 to 38/42/46/50 (final two tiers shifted up by +4)

– Spirit Investment Bonus now has a 6.4k line, changed from 4.8k/7.2k/9.6k/16k to 4.8k/6.4k/8k/11.2k/16k with bonuses from 38/48/57/66 to 38/45/52/59/66

– Fixed various item barrier durations not scaling with duration increases

– Walkers will interrupt a rocket barrage during the 1s windup if stomp becomes an option.

– Fixed a bug where walkers were spinning while lasering.

– Smoothed zipline grabbing to fix some jitter

– Added ropes to zipline binding (so if a player rebinds zipline to something other than SPACE it will also apply to mounting/dismounting ropes)

– Removed delay on ziplines when using alternative key binds

– Fixed the following abilities taking you out of zoom temporarily when cast: Blasted, Gloom Bombs, Shining Wonder, Call Bell, Luggage Cart, Stalker’s Mark, Rejuvenating Aurora, Charged Shot, Powder Keg, Bounce Pad, Spirit Lasso, Napalm, Ice Path, Flog, Spectral Wall, Rake, Fire Scarabs, Scorn, Sand Blast, Time Wall, Paradoxical Swap, Barrage, Flying Cloak, Pillow Toss, Lightning Ball, Entangling Bola, Go For The Throat, Vexing Bolt, Consecrating Grenade, Gut Shot, Snap Trap, Ira Domini, Pain Battery, Jump Start, Flight, Crow Familiar, Lethal Venom, Petrifying Bola, Alchemical Flask, Card Trick, Capacitor, Restorative Locket, Healing Nova, Silence Wave, Magic Carpet, Refresher

– Fixed the following items and abilities not working through veils: Heroic Aura, Healing Rite, Healing Nova, Rescue Beam, Divine Barrier, Kudzu Connection, Cube, Tag Along, Lil Helpers, Guardian Ward, Scourge, Plot Armor

[ Soul Urn ]

– We are experimenting with an alternate set of Urn mechanics. Please give us your thoughts on this after you’ve played with it some.

Primary Rules:

– To pickup the Urn, rather than standing in place to channel, you now light or heavy melee the Urn to pick it up.

– The Urn is now always dropped off on top of the bridge on the middle of the map.

– Once dropped off, the Urn will go into a “Depositing” phase for a set amount of time, depending on which team the urn favors (3s/5s/10s for Favored/Neutral/Unfavored).

– While in the Depositing phase, the enemy team can Heavy Melee the urn to have their team claim it and cause it to switch sides. This adds +1.25s to that team’s timer.

– If the urn is Favored or Unfavored (in a comeback state), then the Favored team will get +50% Bullet and Spirit Resist in a 60m radius around the urn while it is being carried, dropped or deposited.

Other Details:

– After 35s (aggregate time held per team), the carrier will start taking 5% Max HP damage per second (previously was 45s and 0.15% Max HP damage).

– Urn damage is lethal

– Like before, when the Urn is fumbled, it will wait 13s if there is a player within 25m. However afterwards, with this new version, it can no longer be picked up anymore and will very quickly run back to its spawn position.

– No longer silences you while carrying. You are still disarmed and movement silenced.

– No longer grants +30% Bullet and Spirit Resist while carrying it

– Area around deposting the urn is revealed (urn runner is also revealed as usual)

– The rules for Favored/Unfavored remain the same (+15% soul difference for the first urn at 10:00, +10% for all future urns)

– Souls are all instant after the deposit is complete

– All rewards are the same. The last person to contest the urn gets the +3 Golden Idol buffs, falling back to the original carrier if nobody contested it.

[ Items ]

– Added a new T1 Vitality Item, Grit. Active grants you 200 Barrier for 4s duration. Innate grants 1 Out of Combat Regen. Cooldown: 60s. Upgrades to Weapon Shielding, Spirit Shielding, Reactive Barrier (these do not inherit the manual cast active) and Guardian Ward.

– Restorative Shot: NPC Healing increased from 15 to 20

– Melee Charge: Cooldown reduced from 7s to 5s

– Active Reload: Lifesteal increased from 14% to 16%

– Weakening Headshot: Now works vs NPCs

– Fleetfoot: Now grants +6% Weapon Damage

– Fleetfoot: Active slow resistance increased from 35% to 40%

– Opening Rounds: Spirit Power reduced from +7 to +4

– Slowing Bullets: Dash Distance slow reduced from -25% to -22%

– Mystic Shot: Spirit scaling increased from 1 to 1.2

– Recharging Rush: Cooldown increased from 24s to 25s

– Tesla Bullets: Proc cooldown reduced from 0.25s to 0.2s

– Alchemical Fire: Damage per Second spirit scaling increased from 0.152 to 0.2

– Ballistic Enhancement: Now upgrades from Mystic Expansion

– Ballistic Enhancement: Ability Range increased from +20% to +22%

– Weighted Shots: Dash Distance slow reduced from -25% to -22%

– Weighted Shots: Debuff resistance increased from 20% to 22%

– Shadow Weave: Duration increased from 10s to 13s

– Shadow Weave: Ambush Fire Rate increased from 20% to 25%

– Shadow Weave: Ambush Spirit Power increased from 20 to 25

– Shadow Weave: Ambush Melee Damage increased from 20% to 25%

– Escalating Resilience: Max Ammo increased from 30% to 35%

– Escalating Resilience: Weapon Damage increased from 15% to 18%

– Heroic Aura: Radius increased from 30m to 35m

– Sharpshooter: Now upgrades from High-Velocity Rounds (in addition to Long Range). Grants +60% Bullet Velocity.

– Sharpshooter: Long range weapon damage reduced from 70% to 60%

– Sharpshooter: Now has innate 10% Weapon Damage (from components)

– Hunter’s Aura: Fire Rate reduction increased from -14% to -15%

– Cultist Sacrifice: Weapon Damage increased from 8% to 10%

– Cultist Sacrifice: Weapon Damage boon scaling increased from 0.7 to 0.8

– Cultist Sacrifice: Bonus Souls increased from 170% to 180%

– Toxic Bullets: No longer builds up from melee attacks

– Capacitor: Proc cooldown reduced from 0.25s to 0.2s

– Crushing Fists: Cooldown reduced from 7s to 5s

– Crushing Fists: Melee damage increased from 20% to 22%

– Frenzy: Triggered debuff resistance increased from 30% to 40%

– Crippling Headshot: Now works vs NPCs

– Spiritual Overflow: Spirit Lifesteal moved from Active to Innate (reduced from 16% to 13%)

– Spiritual Overflow: Now builds from Spirit Lifesteal (gains the innates it has)

– Glass Cannon: Max Health reduction reduced from -15% to -13%

– Silencer: Spirit Resistance reduced from 15% to 12%

– Spellslinger: Cooldown Reduction reduced from 6% to 5%

– Healing Rite: Spirit scaling increased from 0.93 to 1.1

– Extra Regen: Regen reduced from 3 to 2.5

– Extra Regen: Out of Combat regen increased from 1 to 1.5

– Rebuttal: Parry cooldown reduced from -2s to -1.75s

– Debuff Reducer: Now grants +90 Health

– Return Fire: Duration increased from 6s to 6.5s

– Healing Booster: Fixed various abilities and items not being boosted correctly

– Restorative Locket: No longer has a minimum of 1 stamina restore

– Restorative Locket: Max stamina restored reduced from 4 to 3

– Reactive Barrier: Now grants +1 Out of Combat Regen (from components)

– Spirit Shielding: No longer grants +1.75m Move Speed on activation

– Spirit Shielding: Proc now also temporarily grants +18% Spirit Resistance (for the 8s duration)

– Weapon Shielding: No longer grants +1.75m Move Speed on activation

– Weapon Shielding: Proc now also temporarily grants +18% Bullet Resistance (for the 8s duration)

– Guardian Ward: Barrier increased from 200 to 250

– Guardian Ward: Cooldown increased from 45s to 60s

– Guardian Ward: Now grants +1.5 Out of Combat Regen (from components)

– Bullet Lifesteal: Now grants +6% Weapon Damage

– Battle Vest: Weapon Damage increased from 15% to 18%

– Dispel Magic: Cooldown increased from 40s to 45s

– Spirit Lifesteal: Bonus Health increased from +70 to +90

– Fury Trance: Active duration increased from 6s to 6.5s

– Fury Trance: Gains the +6% Weapon Damage (from component)

– Fury Trance: Fire Rate increased from 30% to 32%

– Majestic Leap: Now grants +50% air control for the duration of the barrier

– Majestic Leap: Barrier boon scaling increased from 8 to 12

– Fortitude: Move speed increased from 1.25m to 1.5m

– Veil Walker: Heal per boon increased from 6 to 8

– Veil Walker: Invisibility duration increased from 7s to 8s

– Counterspell: Spirit Power reduced from +8 to +5

– Divine Barrier: Now grants +1.5 Out of Combat Regen (from components)

– Juggernaut: Fire Rate reduction increased from -36% to -40%

– Juggernaut: Move speed bonus increased from +2m to +2.5m

– Spellbreaker: Now grants +90 Health (from components)

– Indomitable: Barrier scaling increased from 1.8 to 2.0

– Indomitable: Now has +2 Out of Combat Regen (from components)

– Indomitable: Bullet Resist increased from 8% to 10%

– Indomitable: Spirit Resist increased from 8% to 10%

– Witchmail: Spirit Resist increased from 20% to 22%

– Unstoppable: Cooldown reduced from 65s to 60s

– Infuser: Duration increased from 6s to 7s

– Infuser: Gains +6 Spirit Power (from components)

– Vampiric Burst: Duration increased from 4.5s to 5s

– Vampiric Burst: Now grants +6% Weapon Power (from components)

– Leech: Updated bonus HP to match the components

– Golden Goose Egg: Permanent buff from every 100 souls to every 80

– Mystic Regeneration: Regen duration increased from 6s to 7s

– Rusted Barrel: Bonus health increased from 50 to 60

– Cold Front: Radius reduced from 12m to 10m

– Cold Front: Damage height increased from 5m to 7m

– Bullet Resist Shredder: No longer grants +65 Bonus Health

– Bullet Resist Shredder: Bullet Resist increased from 8% to 9%

– Bullet Resist Shredder: Now grants +9% Weapon Damage

– Mystic Slow: Bonus Health increased from +30 to +50

– Arcane Surge: Fixed various interaction bugs with different abilities

– Surge of Power: Imbued Spirit Power increased from 24 to 25

– Spirit Snatch: Bonus damage spirit scaling increased from 0.744 to 0.84

– Spirit Snatch: Spirit Power Steal increased from 20 to 28

– Decay: Cooldown reduced from 32s to 30s

– Disarming Hex: Duration increased from 4s to 4.25s

– Torment Pulse: Melee Resist increased from 15% to 18%

– Radiant Regeneration: Regen duration increased from 6s to 7s

– Rapid Recharge: Spirit Power for Charged Abilities increased from +10 to +14

– Magic Carpet: Now innately grants -15% Gravity and Air Control by +25%

– Arctic Blast: Slowed targets now have their stamina regen frozen for the 4s slow duration

– Arctic Blast: Radius increased from 12m to 16m

– Arctic Blast: Damage height increased from 5m to 7m

– Arctic Blast: No longer does 15% damage amp

– Arctic Blast: Immobilize increased from 0.75s to 1s

– Focus Lens: Duration increased from 4s to 4.5s

– Scourge: Debuff resist increased from 15% to 17%

– Mercurial Magnum: Base Bullet Damage spirit scaling increased from 0.465 to 0.49

– Vortex Web: Fixed the debuff losing gravity modification when upgraded from Slowing Hex

[ Heroes ]

– Abrams: Infernal Resilience T1 changed from “+1.5 Health Regen” to “+200 Max Health”

– Abrams: Infernal Resilience T2 changed from “200 Max Health” to “+18% Melee Lifesteal” (40% effective vs non-heroes)

– Abrams: Seismic Impact T2 increased from +0.7s Stun Duration to +0.8s

– Abrams: Seismic Impact T3 Unstoppable duration increased from 5s to 6s

– Apollo: Improved the hero’s hitboxes (easier to hit)

– Apollo: Base regen reduced from 2 to 1

– Apollo: Riposte no longer automatically dashes. It now grants you a sub ability immediately to target the hero you want to jump to for a brief duration (can target the enemy before the parry to buffer it). Cast range is 25m.

– Apollo: Riposte no longer triggers on damage auras (things like Flame Dash)

– Apollo: Riposte no longer triggers off of objective damage

– Apollo: Flawless Advance hitbox reduced by 10%

– Bebop: Bullet damage per boon reduced from 0.139 to 0.115

– Bebop: Exploding Uppercut T2 weapon damage reduced from +40% to +30%

– Bebop: Sticky Bomb T2 increased from +75 Damage to +85

– Billy: Health per boon increased from +48 to +59

– Billy: Bullet damage per boon reduced from 0.165 to 0.142

– Billy: Rising Ram cooldown increased from 30s to 32s

– Billy: Rising Ram T2 increased from +0.3s Duration to +0.4s

– Billy: Rising Ram T3 increased from -10s Cooldown to -13s

– Calico: Gloom Bomb T2 changed from “+75 Damage to Barriers” to “-5% Melee Resist for 5s Per Bomb” (stacks)

– Celeste: Improved the hero’s hitboxes (easier to hit)

– Celeste: Stamina cooldown increased from 4.5s to 5s

– Celeste: Radiant Daggers T2 changed from “-18s Cooldown and +70 Damage” to “-22s Cooldown and +80 Damage”

– Celeste: Shining Wonder T2 increased from +50 Damage to +70

– Doorman: Call Bell radius reduced from 6m to 5.5m

– Doorman: Call Bell T3 radius increased from +4m to +4.5m

– Doorman: Call Bell explosion damage spirit scaling reduced from 1.4 to 1.3

– Doorman: Call Bell inaccuracy debuff no longer diminishes from 100% to 0% over 1 second (the rest of the debuff is 4s)

– Doorman: Call Bell inaccuracy debuff reduced from -100% to -40% (lasts the full duration)

– Doorman: Doorways close sub ability now starts on cooldown for 8s

– Doorman: Doorway is no longer unsilenceable

– Doorman: Fixed recent bug causing Luggage Cart not being dispelled

– Drifter: Rend T3 no longer increases scaling by 0.4

– Drifter: Rend T3 now also deals Heavy Melee Damage (0.55 scale)

– Dynamo: Kinetic Pulse T2 reduced from -18% Bullet Resistance to -15%

– Dynamo: Kinetic Pulse spirit scaling reduced from 1.65 to 1.55

– Dynamo: Quantum Entanglement T3 changed from dispelling non-ult debuffs to reducing the duration of non-ult debuffs by 50%

– Graves: Sprint speed increased from 1.6 to 2.2

– Graves: Grasping Hands now spawns a ghoul in the base ability (T3 still increases it by 1)

– Graves: Updated dash ranges for Deadheads to be calculated from the center of Graves when they are following her

– Graves: Fixed Fire Rate buffs for Deadheads not being applied to their next attack, but only on subsequent attacks

– Graves: Fixed Deadheads being unable to dash through veils

– Graves: Fixed Deadheads being unable to dash to targets at the very end of your attack range when they are in follow mode

– Graves: Fixed Deadhead’s damage taken from bullets being unaffected by fall-off

– Graves: Added 0.1s buffer duration for Deadheads losing line-of-sight before they stop following an enemy

– Graves: Fixed Deadheads becoming inactive if Graves dies while they are following her

– Graves: Jar of Dead spirit scaling reduced from 0.35 to 0.31 (they are better at dealing damage now)

– Graves: Increased speed & acceleration of Deadheads only when they are following Graves – doesn’t affect in-combat

– Graves: Fixed certain projectiles (i.e Gray Talon’s Bird) colliding with Deadheads

– Graves: Update Grave’s melee to also set the dash target for Deadheads

– Graves: Bullet damage and growth reduced by -10%

– Grey Talon: Rain of Arrows cooldown reduced from 30s to 22s

– Grey Talon: Rain of Arrows cast delay reduced from 0.5s to 0.2s

– Grey Talon: Rain of Arrows duration reduced from 7s to 4s

– Grey Talon: Rain of Arrows moving ability in air improved

– Grey Talon: Rain of Arrow stamina distance changed from being -9% to +25%

– Grey Talon: Rain of Arrows Weapon Damage bonus reduced from +4 to +3

– Grey Talon: Rain of Arrows T1 changed from “-14s Cooldown” to “+3 Weapon Damage and +30% Slow for 1.5s”

– Grey Talon: Rain of Arrows T2 changed from “+5 Weapon Damage and +40% Slow for 1.5s” to “-13s Cooldown” (Total CD from 16s to 9s)

– Haze: Fixation T3 increased from +0.12 to +0.14

– Holliday: Base bullet damage increased from 18.8 to 19.7

– Holliday: Health regen increased from 1 to 2

– Infernus: Bullet size increased from 3 to 4

– Infernus: Concussive Combustion T3 increased from +0.75s Stun Duration to +0.9s

– Kelvin: Frost Grenade damage spirit scaling reduced from 0.7 to 0.6

– Kelvin: When interrupted on Ice Path, it no longer creates an ice path below him and instead lets him fall to the ground

– Kelvin: Arctic Beam DPS spirit scaling reduced from 0.5 to 0.38

– Lash: Bullet damage per boon reduced from 0.341 to 0.31

– Lash: Ground Strike damage per meter spirit scaling increased from 0.0372 to 0.04

– Lash: Grapple T2 bonus damage no longer stacks with itself, but instead refreshes the duration

– Lash: Grapple T3 now also grants +1 Charge

– McGinnis: Bullet damage per boon increased from 0.17 to 0.18

– McGinnis: Fixed Heavy Barrage not triggering Diviner’s Kevlar

– McGinnis: Medicinal Specter radius increased from 5.5m to 6m

– Mina: Innate -8% Debuff Resist

– Mina: Fixed Rake sometimes not working with high ping

– Mina: Love Bites T3 increased from -4s Cooldown to -5s

– Mina: Love Bites no longer applies the flat on hit damage to abilities (was doing 20% of its value on Nox Nostra)

– Mina: Nox Nostra T3 reduced from 1% Current HP to 0.5%

– Mirage: Updated Djinn’s Mark visuals

– Mo & Krill: Getting hit with a melee no longer knocks you up when you are burrowed

– Mo & Krill: Sand Blast T3 increased from +1s Duration to +1.5s

– Paige: Bookwyrm T2 improved from -8s Cooldown to -12s

– Paige: Rallying Charge T3 increased from +135 Damage to +160

– Paige: Rallying Charge now has half cooldown if it hits no allies or enemies

– Paradox: Time Wall T1 duration increased from +2.5s to +3.5s

– Paradox: Time Wall T3 increased from +1 Charge to +2

– Paradox: Time Wall T3 Charge Delay reduced from 4s to 2s

– Paradox: Kinetic Carbine T3 increased from +50% Max Damage Scaling to +55%

– Paradox: Paradoxical Swap damage increased from 125 to 150

– Pocket: Flying Cloak T2 weapon damage duration reduced from 8s to 6s

– Pocket: Affliction cooldown increased from 140s to 150s

– Rem: Pillow Toss charge time reduced from 9s to 8s

– Rem: Pillow Toss T3 increased from +90 to +100 Damage

– Rem: Tag Along burst heal now also applies to secondary allies that you jump to

– Rem: Tag Along lingering heal duration reduced from 3s to 2s (values rebalanced to be the same overall heal just faster)

– Rem: Tag Along T2 Barrier and Item Duration/Range effectiveness increased from 25% to 35%

– Rem: Tag Along T3 now also increases Missing Health Heal from 0.03 to 0.05 and Regen Per Second from 0.66 to 1.0

– Rem: Tag Along can now be cast through veils

– Rem: Reduced lockout period after ejecting from Tag Along from 1s to 0.3s

– Rem: Tag Along time to fly to your ally is now 50% faster

– Rem: Tag Along heal duration is now displayed on the hud as well as the healthbar icon

– Rem: Tag Along fixed specific abilities/items that could kill Rem while he’s napping

– Rem: Tag Along now allows friendly auras to affect Rem

– Rem: Tag Along eject is no longer affected by debuff resistance and now launches upwards slightly more to prevent hitting the ground

– Rem: Tag Along eject no longer briefly restricts movement abilities and input

– Rem: Naptime now provides +30% damage reduction in the base ability (T3 still adds +50%)

– Seven: Bullet damage growth reduced from 0.374 to 0.337

– Seven: Crit reduction increased from 35% to 55%

– Shiv: Slice and Dice T2 reduced from -8% Spirit Resist to -6%

– Shiv: Bloodletting Deferred Damage Cleared reduced from 40% to 35%

– Shiv: Bloodletting T3 increased from +45% Deferred Damage Cleared to +50%

– Shiv: Killing Blow cooldown increased from 105s to 125s

– Shiv: Killing Blow full rage damage bonus reduced from 14% to 12%

– Shiv: Killing Blow T2 increased from +8% Full Rage Damage Bonus to +10%

– Shiv: Killing Blow T2 now also reduces cooldown by -30s

– Silver: Bullet Cycle Time reduced from 0.9s to 0.85s (overall DPS adjusted to remain the same)

– Silver: Entangling Bola no longer prevents you from jumping and mantling

– Silver: Entangling Bola T2 changed from “+0.75s Duration” to “-5s Cooldown”

– Silver: Entangling Bola T3 changed from “-5s Cooldown and Ricochet to 2 additional targets” to “+0.75s Duration and Ricochet to 2 additional targets”

– Silver: Lycan Curse Fire Rate reduced from 80% to 65%

– Silver: Lycan Curse Fire Rate spirit scaling increased from 0.25 to 0.45

– Venator: Health increased from 790+43/boon to 830+48/boon

– Venator: Hex-Lined Snap Trap T3 increased from +25% Damage Against Revealed Targets to +30%

– Venator: Hex-Lined Snap Trap T3 now also grants +1 Charge

– Victor: Bullet damage reduced from 13+0.3135 to 12+0.26

– Victor: Jumpstart T3 spirit scaling increased from +0.6 to +0.9

– Victor: Aura of Suffering now does 50% damage to objectives

– Viscous: Puddle Punch T1 now also increases damage by +20

– Viscous: Puddle Punch T2 no longer increases damage by +30

– Viscous: Puddle Punch T2 now also grants +40% Lifesteal (1/4th against non-heroes)

– Vyper: Screwjab Dagger T2 bullet resist per stack from -5% to -6%

– Vyper: Screwjab Dagger T3 now also increases max stacks by 2

– Warden: Bullet damage per boon reduced from 0.38 to 0.34

– Warden: Willpower T3 debuff resistance now retroactively applies to existing debuffs when cast

– Warden: Binding Word T2 no longer increases cast range by +12m

– Yamato: Power Slash post cast time reduced from 0.4s to 0.2s

– Yamato: Power Slash spirit scaling increased from 1.86s to 2.1

– Yamato: Flying Slash range increased from 25m to 30m

– Yamato: Flying Slash T2 no longer grants +20m Cast Range

– Yamato: Flying Slash T3 now also grants +15m Cast Range

– Yamato: Flying Slash T3 increased from +1 Charge to +2

– Yamato: Fixed Crimson Slash not being able to hit anything if the player is aimed too high or low

– Yamato: Shadow Transformation T1 increased from +5 Weapon Damage to +7

[ Street Brawl ]

– Fixed the following Enhanced Items not maintaining their stats from components: Opening Rounds, Tankbuster, Kinetic Dash, Radiant Regeneration, Burst Fire, Veil Walker, Arcane Surge, Fury Trance, Leech

Microsoft Pays $250 Million to Settle Activision Blizzard Acquisition Lawsuit

Microsoft has agreed to pay $250 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit tied to its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The agreement was filed in Delaware’s Chancery Court and resolves claims that former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and other board members signed off on a discounted transaction to escape the sexual harassment crisis surrounding the company.

The case had been running for nearly four years.

Who Filed the Lawsuit and Why

The lawsuit was filed by Sjunde AP-Fonden, a Swedish pension fund also known as AP7, which alleged the deal was rushed by Kotick to avoid fallout from reports of sexual misconduct at Activision and protect his own payout from the deal.

Court documents showed that shareholders accused Kotick of rushing the merger so he could retain his job and $400 million in change-of-control benefits. The plaintiffs also claimed the $95-per-share takeover price was too low from the start, and that the price only looked worse as Activision’s performance improved during the 21-month regulatory approval process.

A Delaware judge let the case move forward against Kotick and the board in October 2025, though she rejected allegations that Microsoft had exploited the scandal by colluding with them to drive down the deal price.

What the $250 Million Covers

The settlement amounts to roughly $0.30 per share for eligible Activision shareholders, on top of the $95.00 per share they received when the merger closed in October 2023, plus $1.46 in ordinary dividends paid during the deal’s regulatory review period.

The $250 million will go to Activision shareholders affected by the deal. Court approval is still required before any money changes hands.

The settlement also ends all related legal actions, including countersuits previously filed by both Kotick and Microsoft.

Microsoft and Kotick Both Deny the Core Allegations

Neither side is admitting wrongdoing. Microsoft stated it entered the settlement solely to avoid the burden and expense of continued litigation, and does not substantiate any allegations of systemic or widespread workplace misconduct at Activision, or that senior executives ignored or tolerated a culture of harassment, retaliation, or discrimination.

Activision Blizzard had previously paid $54 million in 2023 to settle a separate California lawsuit alleging the company discriminated against female employees. That settlement included similar language denying that any court or independent investigation had substantiated claims of systemic harassment.