Black Ops 6 Season 2 Reloaded launches Thursday, February 20, adding new maps, some new weapons, as well as a set of iconic tie-in skins. This means that later this week, players will have a whole host of new features to check out, whether that's in Zombies, Warzone, or core Multiplayer.
Even without extra Season Two Reloaded content, we're still having a blast with Black Ops 6, landing it a place on our list of the best FPS games to play in 2025. This upcoming midseason refresh adds a new Strike map set on a bullet train, as well as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-themed map called Grind Ooze.
Here's what we know about Black Ops Season 2 Reloaded so far, including a closer look at tomorrow's confirmed release time, as well as what's set to be added. It's worth noting that times do vary depending on your time zone, so be sure to check out the information below for when Season 2 Reloaded launches in the US, UK, Europe, Australia, and Japan.
Black Ops 6 Season 2 Reloaded release time in your time zone (Image credit: Activision)The Black Ops 6 Season 2 Reloaded release time is Thursday, February 20 at 9AM PST / 12PM EST / 5PM GMT. Here are some more specifics related to the release schedule per your timezone:
Activision has now announced what'll be added to Black Ops 6 as part of Season 2 Reloaded. This includes new maps, weapons, and modes, as well as updates to Warzone. Here's a brief summary of what's being added:
For a full breakdown of Black Ops 6 Season 2 Reloaded, head on over to the Call of Duty blog. This includes some limited-time modes that'll be available to enjoy over the holidays.
You Might Also Like...Microsoft is apparently working on a way to make it easier for Windows 11 users to make the move from an old PC to a new computer that’s just been purchased (or built).
This is a ‘Migration’ app which is purportedly part of Windows 11’s existing Backup app, and will transfer all your files and settings across wirelessly from the old PC to the new one, providing the devices are in close proximity.
There are a few people to credit for spotting this via a recent Windows 11 preview build, as reported by Windows Latest, who noticed Dongle, an X user, had flagged up the feature in the below post.
Migration app, build 22635.4945 (UI reconstruction)Courtesy of @phantomofearth for discovering the feature and @AhmedWalid605 for providing the decompiler.1/4 pic.twitter.com/XdGRvpdJgdFebruary 17, 2025
Dongle further credits regular leaker PhantomOfEarth on X for digging around and uncovering said feature, and also AhmedWalid605 for providing the decompiler used to reconstruct what this new feature might look like (based on the interface clues found by PhantomOfEarth in the preview build).
The screenshots of the Migration app in the X post are mocked-up by Dongle (a best guess of what it’d look like), but the functionality is correct going by the clues dug up from the inner workings of Windows 11.
As noted, the transfer of files happens wirelessly, and Dongle guesses that the feature might use Nearby Sharing, which is essentially Microsoft’s take on AirDrop, requiring both machines to be on the same Wi-Fi network, and near to each other.
(Image credit: Getty Images) Analysis: A sound and handy alternative to a cloudy pathRemember that what’s presented in this X post is just a mock-up and so the end version of Migration could look (or work) very differently. Indeed, because this is just code buried in Windows 11 and not even enabled in testing yet, it’s possible this is a capability Microsoft is toying with, but may yet abandon. In short, don’t get your hopes up too much.
In theory, though, the Migration feature is a sound idea and plugs a gap in the existing functionality that the Backup app delivers. Backup already provides a way to transfer your old PC data over to a new system, but that’s facilitated via the cloud (files are uploaded to OneDrive to make the backup, which is then extracted from the cloud and onto the new PC at setup).
The trouble is that if you’re looking at a hefty Windows 11 installation, and a ton of files, that could be sluggish to download from the cloud – especially if you don’t have a decent internet connection. Or indeed you may not have enough cloud storage space on OneDrive in the first place.
Clearly, there are scenarios where the cloud is a less-than-ideal solution, so the idea with Migration is to facilitate a local transfer that doesn’t need anything aside from both PCs being next to each other (and being able to connect to the same local Wi-Fi network). That’s going to be a convenient and useful option to have for a good few folks, I’d imagine.
As Window Latest observes, the hope is that Migration might also cater for third-party apps (and not just Microsoft Store apps, as with Backup), which would be a really nifty addition. Fingers crossed on that front, though I wouldn’t place any bets.
There are, of course, other options for migrating your stuff from one PC to another aside from Microsoft’s official methods included in Windows 11.
You may also like...The wait for Rockstar Games' next installment of its most successful franchise, Grand Theft Auto, has spanned just over a decade now, and its publisher Take-Two Interactive recently reaffirmed that Grand Theft Auto 6's launch is still late 2025 for consoles - and now, new reports suggest PC gamers could also be seeing Grand Theft Auto 6 sooner than expected.
According to Corsair (the PC hardware manufacturer) CEO Andy Paul, GTA 6 could be making its way to PC gamers in early 2026 (as reported by Wccftech) - this comes amid the ongoing concern among fans that the highly anticipated title could face a delay regarding its console release.
While there's still plenty left to be unveiled about what GTA 6 has to offer, Paul suggested "it's going to come out in the fall [of 2025] for console, and then early 2026 for PC", during an investors call - and we've seen a similar case with Take-Two's CEO Strauss Zelnick, who hinted at Rockstar potentially repeating a familiar staggered release pattern for other platforms after the game's console launch.
Despite its first reveal in late 2023, there has been radio silence on Rockstar's end ever since as many anxiously await a second GTA 6 trailer. Based on this, there's no guarantee that the slated late 2025 release date will go as planned, especially if marketing doesn't start soon…
We're so close, but yet so far... (Image credit: Rockstar Games) The wait is exhausting, especially as a PC gamer...Let me make one thing clear: we've waited a long while for GTA 6, which is arguably the most anticipated game of all time, so surely we can wait a little longer for more information.
That being said, as a PC gamer the wait is painful as there's currently no confirmation of its existence on PC. I know it's clearly going to make its way to the platform at some point (as GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 did years later after their console debuts), but even so, alongside Corsair CEO's comments, I doubt we will see it any time soon.
I get that it takes time to optimize PC ports - there's been a litany of poorly optimized PC ports at launch recently, and I certainly don't want that for a title this monumental. However, I feel that I'll have no choice but to purchase it on my PS5 and then do the same later down the line on PC - a new entry in Rockstar’s beloved franchise is a once in a lifetime experience, one that I’d hate to have spoiled for myself while waiting for an enhanced PC version.
If cross saves were more common, I'd have less qualms about waiting - but knowing you'll likely have to start from scratch when playing the better version visually (whilst paying twice for the same game), is frustrating to say the least...
You may also like...Making sense of priorities in your work calls could soon be a lot more straightforward, thanks to an AI-assisted update coming to Google Meet.
The video conferencing service has announced it will now be using Gemini to create a checklist of "next steps" following the end of every call, collating the key actions that need attention going forward.
And in order to make sure nothing important gets missed, Google Meet is also making any live captions generated during your calls available for up to 30 minutes after they're created, rather than instantly disappearing when the conversation moves on.
Next steps on Google Meet (Image credit: Google Workspace)The "next steps" feature is an expansion to the existing "Take notes for me" tool launched for Google Meet back in August 2024, which aimed to identify key points in the discussion and send a recap email after a call, saving users time.
Now, next steps and follow-up points will be "automatically identified and organized within the meeting notes document," with users able to review and edit as needed, and assign tasks to particular people.
"This latest note-taking enhancement will help ensure important follow-ups aren’t missed and keeps everyone aligned on what happens next after your meeting," a Google Workspace updates blog post announcing the launch noted.
(Image credit: Google Workspace)Users will also now be able to scroll back through live captions, including translated captions, for up to 30 minutes. Google says this will be particularly helpful if you’ve missed a portion of the conversation or you want to review specific details mentioned earlier in the conversation, with the feature available for all Google Workspace customers, as well as users with personal Google accounts.
Both features are rolling out to rapid release domains now, although the "next steps" feature will take more time to be available for most as Google says it wants to "carefully monitor performance and quality."
Next steps will be available to users on Google Workspace Business Standard and Plus tiers, along with Enterprise Standard and Plus users. It will also be available with the Gemini Education Premium add-on, as well as to anyone who previously purchased the Gemini Enterprise or AI Meetings & Messaging add-ons.
You might also likeIf you're looking to use Google Gemini on iOS you'll find that, as of today, it's no longer accessible through the Google app, where it has lived since its launch on iPhone. Instead, if you don't already have it, you'll need to download the dedicated Gemini app on the App Store to use Google's AI chatbot on the best iPhones and take advantage of everything it has to offer.
Gemini's new 2.0 Flash model goes head to head with ChatGPT, and it's a seriously impressive chatbot that can help you organize your life, create AI images, and even access Gemini Live, one of the most impressive AI voice assistants we've tested so far.
2.0 Flash isn't the only new Gemini addition for 2025, with Google announcing that Deep Research, its research model that can analyze and create reports similar to ChatGPT Deep Research, is also now available on iOS.
While Gemini is free to download from the App Store, you can subscribe to Gemini Advanced for more features via an in-app purchase which costs $18.99 / £18.99 / roughly AU$30. With Gemini Advanced you can take advantage of the aforementioned Deep Research, as well as Gemini integration with other Google apps such as Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail, just to name a few.
The best place for GeminiI've been using the Gemini app since it launched in November last year, and it's been excellent. Removing the AI chatbot from the Google search app will make it less convoluted for people to access Google AI, as before the launch of the Gemini app it was often overshadowed, hidden in plain sight. Gemini is a well-designed app with everything Google AI has to offer, and thanks to the AI functionality offered by the iPhone 16's Action button you can seamlessly integrate it into your life instead of, or alongside, Apple's first-party tools.
Gemini might be ruling the roost alongside ChatGPT as the best AI chatbot on iPhone at the time of writing, but Apple Intelligence will give Siri a major upgrade in iOS 18.4 set to launch in the next few months. Siri's major upgrade will bring personal context and on-screen awareness to Apple's voice assistant which should make it more approachable and beneficial to users.
Until then, Gemini is one of the best chatbots for AI right now – you may just need to download a new app in order to access it from now on.
You might also like...If you're an A24 fan, you'll be pleased to hear that Queer is making its streaming debut on Max in the US this March, but sadly other territories will have to wait for a confirmed release date.
The movie has received an impressive 77% Rotten Tomatoes score from the critics so far, so it's worthy of a spot on our best Max movies round-up, joining other popular A24 titles. In my opinion, the studio rarely misses to the point I'm among the minority who actually think that Alex Garland's Men is a good movie. But that's for another article.
As for Queer, it's certainly had an impression on viewers. Director Luca Guadagnino has been having a great time lately, considering the success of Challengers, which is currently one of our best Prime Video movies, and soon, you'll be able to stream his more recent hit Queer when it arrives on Max on Friday, March 8.
Recently, the Queer trailer made TechRadar's Rowan Davies want to stream his favorite forbidden romance movie on Netflix, and funnily enough, it's another Guadagnino movie. So his work is widely available across the best streaming services at the moment and we're happy about that.
What is A24's Queer about?Guadagnino's Queer follows William Lee (Daniel Craig) who becomes obsessed with a younger man, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey) in 1950s Mexico City. The movie is based on the novella of the same name by William S. Burroughs, with Craig playing a fictionalized version of him.
There's a stellar supporting cast here including Jason Schwartzman, Lesley Manville, and Ariel Schulman, the latter of whom I have loved ever since the original Catfish documentary, so it was great to see him among the cast list.
You might also likeLast night, Marvel Rivals developer NetEase Games laid off an unspecified number of staff from its Seattle design team.
This included one of the game's directors, Thaddeus Sasser, who posted about the layoffs on his LinkedIn page. "My stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise," he said.
"... and were just laid off!" He then explained his desire to help the affected staff find new jobs, spotlighting the contributions of former level designer Garry McGee.
The layoffs certainly seem unexpected, in no small part thanks to the apparent massive success of Marvel Rivals. It was rated highly in our review, with praise leveled at its impressive roster of varied heroes and overall fun factor. It's been a mainstay of the Steam charts since it launched back on December 6, 2024.
NetEase has commented on the layoffs in a statement to PCGamer, claiming that they were made "to adjust Marvel Rivals’ development team structure for organizational reasons and to optimize development efficiency for the game."
It also stated that the main development team, which is located in China, is still "fully committed to delivering an exceptional experience" with "new super hero characters, maps, features, and content" on the way.
NetEase also made cuts at its other western studios throughout last year. This included stopping funding for the recently-founded Worlds Untold studio, the closure of Jar of Sparks, and major layoffs at Visions of Mana developer Ouka Studios. This could suggest that the company is planning to shift its focus more heavily towards its Chinese developers.
You might also like...Juniper Networks just released a patch for a critical vulnerability that allowed threat actors to take over Session Smart Routers (SSR).
In a security advisory, the company said that during internal testing, it discovered CVE-2025-21589, an authentication bypass vulnerability with a severity score of 9.8/10 (critical). This issue affects Session Smart Router, Session Smart Conductor, and WAN Assurance Managed Router - the affected endpoints include:
Session Smart Router:
from 5.6.7 before 5.6.17,
from 6.0.8,
from 6.1 before 6.1.12-lts,
from 6.2 before 6.2.8-lts,
from 6.3 before 6.3.3-r2;
Session Smart Conductor:
from 5.6.7 before 5.6.17,
from 6.0.8,
from 6.1 before 6.1.12-lts,
from 6.2 before 6.2.8-lts,
from 6.3 before 6.3.3-r2;
WAN Assurance Managed Routers:
from 5.6.7 before 5.6.17,
from 6.0.8,
from 6.1 before 6.1.12-lts,
from 6.2 before 6.2.8-lts,
from 6.3 before 6.3.3-r2.
Juniper said that there are no workarounds for this issue, and that the only way to safeguard the endpoints is to apply the patches: SSR-5.6.17, SSR-6.1.12-lts, SSR-6.2.8-lts, SSR-6.3.3-r2 and subsequent releases.
“In a Conductor-managed deployment, it is sufficient to upgrade only the Conductor nodes and the fix will be applied automatically to all connected routers,” Juniper explained. “As practical, the routers should still be upgraded to a fixed version however they will not be vulnerable once they connect to an upgraded Conductor. Router patching can be confirmed once the router reaches the “running" (on 6.2 and earlier) or “synchronized” (on 6.3+) state on the Conductor".
Devices that operate with WAN Assurance, connected to the Mist Cloud, are automatically updated. The routers should still be upgraded, it was said.
So far, there is no evidence of the flaws being abused in the wild.
Via BleepingComputer
You might also likeDaredevil: Born Again's release schedule (most of it, anyway) has been revealed, and it's immediately sparked discussions among fans about its unusual episodic release format.
A direct continuation of the beloved Daredevil TV show that originally ran on Netflix from 2015 to 2018, Born Again is one of the most highly-anticipated Marvel projects in years. And, with its launch is fast approaching – Marvel confirmed Daredevil: Born Again would arrive on March 4 (US) and March 5 (UK and Australia) in October 2024 – fan excitement has stepped up a notch in recent weeks.
That excitement turned to curiosity yesterday (February 18), though, after the release schedule for its first six episodes was revealed. In a Disney press release outlining Disney+'s March 2025 line-up, fans were immediately drawn to the fact that Born Again's fifth and sixth episodes will arrive on the platform on the same day – that being March 25 for US audiences, and March 26 for British and Australian viewers.
Why is Daredevil: Born Again getting a two-episode release midway through its first season? Born Again will reunite us with Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney Plus)It's not unusual for Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) shows to receive two-episode premieres on Disney+. Many of its predecessors, including Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Agatha All Along similarly launched with dual episode drops on release day. Disney+'s latest press blast confirmed Daredevil: Born Again is getting the same treatment.
This is the first time that a Marvel TV show will get a two-episode drop mid-season, though. It's even more bizarre when you realize that other episodes follow the traditional Marvel TV show weekly release format, too. For example, episodes 3 and 4 will be released on March 11 (US) / March 12 (UK and Australia) and March 18 (US) / March 19 (UK and Australia).
So, why is Marvel experimenting with a dual episode mid-season release here? I have two big theories and, given what I've read online since this information came to light, other MCU fans are thinking along similar lines.
The first hypothesis is a story-based one. Daredevil: Born Again's first season comprises nine episodes and it's possible that, if the narrative playing out across episodes 5 and 6 is essentially a two-parter, it makes sense to release them together. Why make fans wait a week to find out what happens if episode 5 ends on a cliff hanger? Sure, it would generate plenty of discussion post-episode 5's release, but that might not be in the best interests of the story that one of the best Disney+ shows (potentially, anyway) is trying to tell.
Marvel fans think Andor season 2's forthcoming release is also behind Born Again's unusual release schedule (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)The other and more likely reason, however, is that Disney doesn't want this Marvel Phase 5 production to clash with another eagerly-anticipated series that'll debut on one of the world's best streaming services in the near future. The program in question? Andor season 2, which is one of the best-rated Star Wars projects of the last five years.
Last November, Disney confirmed Andor's second and final season would premiere on April 22. If Daredevil: Born Again followed the usual Marvel TV show release format after its two-episode premiere, its season 1 finale wouldn't land on Disney+ until April 22. That would pit it against the two-episode premiere of Andor's sophomore outing. It would be a baffling movie if Disney released those three episodes on the same day and subsequently cannibalize each series' viewing figures.
But, what do you think? Am I and my fellow Marvel devotees on the right track about Born Again's mid-season dual header? Or have you come up with another theory? Let me know in the comments! Once you have, get the complete lowdown on everything we know about Daredevil's first standalone MCU adventure by reading my dedicated Daredevil: Born Again guide.
You might also likeMore evidence has emerged from the rumor mill that AMD is setting up a mid-range GPU showdown between its RX 9070 and Nvidia’s RTX 5070.
VideoCardz brings us what’s purportedly the review embargo date for RX 9070 models, which is March 5, ahead of a theoretical March 6 on-sale date (all AMD has officially said, though, is that these graphics cards will go on sale in early March).
However, as review embargoes tend to fall a day (or maybe two) ahead of the arrival of GPUs on shelves, this does further suggest that the RX 9070 on-sale date might in fact be March 6 as rumored.
What’s also telling about March 5 is that it’s a huge date in Nvidia’s own launch diary – this is the day that RTX 5070 graphics cards officially go on sale.
So, the plan would appear to be for AMD to trigger a flood of reviews of RX 9070 GPUs, no doubt comparing them to the RTX 5070 (which will already have been reviewed at that point). And presumably the hope for Team Red is that this could dampen the enthusiasm for Nvidia’s graphics cards as they hit the shelves.
(Image credit: PowerColor) Analysis: Pricing cards on the table, please, AMDOf course, all this depends on how these reviews pan out, and the rival graphics cards actually stack up to each other. But thus far, the leaks around the RX 9070 paint a promising picture, and you’ve got to think AMD must be reasonably confident to have set up an (almost) head-to-head launch here.
At any rate, I can’t wait to find out, and obviously I’m not alone there – anyone looking for a good mid-ranger at a (relatively) more affordable price is doubtless as keen as I am to discover where the final performance of these AMD and Nvidia GPUs will lie.
While we know the asking price for Nvidia’s RTX 5070 – which is $549 / £539 – what we don’t know is where AMD is pitching its RX 9070 and 9070 XT. So far, Team Red is playing its pricing cards close to its chest, but I’m hoping we will finally find out the MSRP at the big launch event AMD has planned for February 28.
Another interesting point here is that VideoCardz observes that when the embargo material supposedly provided by AMD talks about that big launch at the end of February, it calls the event an “RX 90x0 announcement” not an RX 9070 affair. That further suggests we will get details on other RDNA 4 desktop graphics cards, perhaps the specs of RX 9060 models, too? Or at least something of a teaser for those more wallet-friendly GPUs.
You might also like...Attention, virtual farmers. Thrustmaster has just launched the SimTask FarmStick X, a bespoke joystick that's designed with Farming Simulator 25 in mind.
This is a follow-up to last year's SimTask FarmStick which was only compatible with PC. Now, the SimTask FarmStick X has compatibility with Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC, bearing the official 'Designed for Xbox' seal of approval.
The Thrustmaster SimTask FarmStick X features the company's H.E.A.R.T. tech (that's short for Hall Effect AccuRate Technology) which is also the selling point of the Thrustmaster Heart controller. This means you can likely expect a drift-resistant and precise thumbstick that won't wear out any time soon.
You're also getting 33 customizable buttons on the stick, including two rocker switches, two triggers, a smaller mini stick, and a thumbwheel. There is also a dedicated 'Combo' button which appears to let you bind multiple inputs to a single button press, though this only seems to work on PC.
On top of all this, it looks like you won't have to worry about any kind of complex setup process, as Thrustmaster assures the SimTask FarmStick X is a "plug and play" device for Farming Simulator 25, meaning it'll work with your game right out of the box. It can also be paired with some of the best racing wheels including the Thrustmaster T248.
The Thrustmaster SimTask FarmStick X is available to buy now for $129.99 / £99.99 (around AU$204). You can pick one up yourself over at Thrustmaster's official website.
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