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The New Digital Salons: How Online Communities Are Recreating Third Spaces in the Metaverse and Web3

Our Culture Mag & Partners
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The New Digital Salons: How Online Communities Are Recreating Third Spaces in the Metaverse and Web3

The Disappearing Third Space

Ray Oldenburg’s concept of the “third place” refers to neutral gathering spaces, such as coffeehouses, libraries, and parks, where people form meaningful connections outside of their homes and workplaces. These spaces reduced isolation, strengthened social ties, and encouraged civic engagement. However, traditional third places have been disappearing, replaced by commercialization and suburban sprawl. Meanwhile, communities in the metaverse and Web3 are emerging as new third places for the 21st century, fulfilling the fundamental human need to belong.

Understanding Third Spaces in the Digital Age

What defines a true third place? Ray Oldenburg identified eight characteristics: neutral ground; leveling of social status; conversation as the main activity; accessibility; a core group of regulars; a playful atmosphere; a low profile; and a “home away from home” feeling. These spaces serve crucial functions, such as reducing loneliness, creating democratic forums for exchanging ideas, and strengthening communities through meaningful interaction.

Traditional third places offer something that social media platforms do not. Facebook and Instagram lack genuine neutrality when algorithms prioritize corporate interests over authentic connection. They lack the quality of spontaneous gathering since connection is mediated by platforms designed to maximize data extraction rather than foster community. Decentralized platforms and immersive virtual worlds have stepped into this void, returning governance and ownership to participants.

The Metaverse as the New Third Place

For those unfamiliar with the term, the metaverse refers to immersive 3D virtual worlds where users exist as persistent avatars. It enables genuine community formation through embodied presence. Unlike traditional social media, the metaverse facilitates synchronous interactions, making people feel truly present with one another. As a result, they form attachments faster and experience genuine social bonds.

Decentraland hosts virtual art galleries, concerts, and cultural events, and uses DAOs for democratic governance. The Sandbox emphasizes user-generated creative content, allowing communities to actively construct their spaces. VRChat operates as an endless series of digital hangout spaces where regulars gather daily, much like in physical coffeehouses. Roblox operates on a massive scale, boasting 111.8 million daily active users and hosting events to create persistent communities.

These platforms enable shared cultural experiences that transcend geographic boundaries. Virtual concerts draw hundreds of thousands of simultaneous attendees. Museum exhibitions open to worldwide audiences of avatars. Friendships form between strangers united by shared interests. Attending these events requires no travel, ticket purchase, or geographic proximity, making the barrier to entry dramatically lower than physical events.

Web3: Decentralization and Community Ownership

The metaverse provides immersion, while Web3 introduces decentralized governance. Platforms like Lens Protocol and Farcaster allow users to own their social graphs, meaning their connections remain theirs even if they leave a platform. Mastodon exemplifies this concept with its federated instances, which have distinct cultures yet are connected to a larger network.

The most sophisticated communities employ DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations), where members hold governance tokens and vote transparently on decisions. This creates a genuine democracy where every member has an equal voice, regardless of status or geography.

Social tokens and NFT communities establish membership structures in which token holders receive exclusive access and voting rights. These mechanisms facilitate direct relationships between creators and fans, bypassing corporate intermediaries. This allows creators to monetize supporter commitment while maintaining community independence.

Specialized Digital Communities Finding Their Space

Gaming communities on Discord bring players together based on shared interests, creating spaces where newcomers and veterans can converse as equals. Professional and learning communities facilitate networking and skill-sharing across geographic boundaries.

Entertainment-focused communities extend beyond gaming to music streaming events, digital art galleries, and creative collectives. These communities gather people across continents around shared entertainment experiences. Culturally engaged audiences build relationships within these platforms, whether Discord servers dedicated to gaming lounges or communities organized around casino Betandplay offering live dealer experiences. These digital venues function as social anchors where regular participants develop reputations and form lasting connections, much like physical counterparts. In these specialized entertainment communities, people discover others who share their interests and values, creating what researchers call “affinity spaces” where genuine connection flourishes.​​

Enabling Technologies

Avatars enable authentic self-expression, free from physical constraints. Research on the “Proteus effect” shows that avatars can profoundly influence behavior and social interaction.

Blockchain and decentralized identity systems enable users to own their digital identity across platforms while maintaining privacy and proving credentials. AI-powered moderation helps manage communities at scale, and AI personalization surfaces genuine connection opportunities rather than outrage designed to maximize engagement.

Challenges and the Path Forward

There are still significant barriers: expensive VR hardware creates digital divides, blockchain literacy can be intimidating to newcomers, and digital immersion can pose well-being concerns if it is not balanced with the physical community. Decentralization creates challenges in moderation, and pseudonymity enables scams.

The deepest challenge, however, is philosophical: Can virtual spaces truly replace physical third places? The answer is likely to be complementary rather than binary. For people who are geographically isolated or marginalized by physical communities, digital third places offer genuine connection. For others, they supplement physical spaces.

The future is phygital, combining digital and physical elements. For example, a concert venue might host both physical and virtual audiences in a shared space. Physical third places might integrate AR elements to overlay digital community information.

Community Reinvented

Although traditional third places are disappearing from the physical landscape, they are not disappearing entirely but they are transforming. The metaverse and Web3 provide an opportunity to rebuild third places for an era of remote work, isolation, and digital connection. These digital spaces recreate essential features of traditional third places, transcending geographic boundaries and enabling the expression of authentic identities.

Neither physical nor digital communities alone suffice. The future of belonging integrates both. A person might find community on a Discord server and still cherish their local coffee shop. A teenager might explore their identity in VRChat while playing soccer at the park. The technology is ready. What remains is the intentional use of these tools in service of genuine human connection.

The digital salons are open. The question now is what kind of communities we will choose to build within them.

Between Working and Dreaming

Kahyun Lee
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Between Working and Dreaming

Byung Chul Han has argued that twenty-first-century society has shifted to what he calls an ‘achievement society (Leistungsgesellschaft)’, departing from Foucault’s disciplinary society.1 According to Han, the achievement society chases endless productivity and engraves the drive to maximise production in the social unconsciousness. The result is a loop of self-responsibility, leading individuals to voluntarily work and perform, thereby allowing for auto-exploitation. In a contemporary world revolving around relentless productivity 24/7, sleep becomes a troubled ground. It is this terrain that Qishan Li investigates. In their ongoing inquiry into sleep, Li explores the anxieties and desires surrounding the ‘sleep economy’. 

Li’s practice is grounded in the writings of Jonathan Crary, 24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep, which discusses non-stop processes of capitalist production and ubiquitous consumerism. Through interviews with Chinese citizens across age groups and occupations, from students to doctors, Li captures how individuals understand and position sleep in their daily lives. From these conversations, Li uncovers the entangled relationship between economy, education, cultural values, and sleep manifested through individual stories.  

In the recent project Y3, Li turns to the process by which consumerist logic packages and markets sleep as a commodity. Specifically, the work starts from Li analysing the growing market for sleep-enhancing products like high-end mattresses, earplugs, eye-masks, promising a high-quality rest. Sleep becomes a purchasable and obtainable luxury good, yet only available to those with a certain income and class.

Qishan Li, Y3 (still), 2024, single-channel video, 39”.

Li constructs a dreamlike space, interweaving images of high-end mattress advertisements circulated digitally. The snapshots of mattresses, digital clocks, carts, and receipts are stitched together, forming an endless scroll. With the constant tick-tock sound of the clock in the backdrop, a meticulously deconstructed mattress lies in the centre. The mattress is divided into multiple layers like a geological strata, claiming its undisputable comfort – latex, memory foam, mohair, horsehair, springs, and coils. Above it hangs a silky drapery suspended from a lavish tester canopy, signalling a privileged life. Below it sits an exhausted worker, dressed in a white outfit resembling PPE gear from factories or labs. The worker is drained of all colours. Her hair has turned entirely white, hinting at extreme stress. In contrast to the extremely pale complexion, her skin under the eyes turns almost blue and green from fatigue. Yet, on her lap, a laptop continues to glow with emails and advertisements, trapping her to the screen.

Qishan Li, Y3 (still), 2024, single-channel video, 39”.

In the glitching dreamscape of Y3, the worker is suspended between the ceaseless cycles of labour and algorithmic churn fuelling consumption. The worker appears both anonymous and simultaneously ubiquitous in contemporary society. The whiteness in hair, clothes, and shoes yields an empty blank. The figure void of all shades offers a placeholder for the viewers to fill in and accordingly project themselves. As their heartbeat syncs to the mechanical ticking of a clock, the workers encounter a stark self-portrait of themselves – an overworked body, scrolling through targeted contents (un)consciously, perched on a luxury mattress for optimal rest.

About the Art Critic:

Kahyun Lee is an independent curator and researcher whose work frames curating as both a critical practice and a mode of alternative knowledge production, extending beyond the boundaries of visual arts. Driven by an interest in conditions and formations of dominant narratives, Lee’s curatorial practice questions the structural frameworks such as institutions, national borders and identities. Through the language of exhibitions and programmes, Lee aims to cultivate a collective space that reflects on the past, examines the present and reimagines the future.

Currently, Lee is a doctoral researcher at the Royal College of Art London and Tate Modern supported by an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded Collaborative Doctoral Partnership. Lee’s research explores transnational curating and curatorial narratives of East Asian contemporary art at Tate Modern. Lee also delivers public programmes at the Design Museum London, making design accessible to all and fostering collective insights into the world through the lens of design. Lee previously curated exhibitions and programmes at the Museum of Contemporary Art Busan and the British Library. 

8 Albums Out Today to Listen To: Oneohtrix Point Never, Tobias Jesso Jr., Keaton Henson, and More

Konstantinos Pappis
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8 Albums Out Today to Listen To: Oneohtrix Point Never, Tobias Jesso Jr., Keaton Henson, and More

In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on November 21, 2025:

Oneohtrix Point Never, Tranquilizer

Tranquilizer coverAs far as Oneohtrix Point Never records go, Tranquilizer’s most immediate antecedent is Replica, an album that’s almost a decade and a half old. While that collection saw Daniel Lopatin wistfully repurpose sounds from bootleg DVDs compiling TV commercials from the ‘80s and ‘90s, Tranquilizer mines from a set of commercial sample CDs preserved on the Internet Archive. The flimsiness of that maintenance – the page was taken down, then suddenly came back – is part of what inspired the producer and differentiates his follow-up to Again, the way swathes of potentially soulful music can be lost to and resurface through time. Read the full review.

Listen on
Apple IconApple
Spotify IconSpotify
Bandcamp IconBandcamp
Physical IconPhysical

Tobias Jesso Jr., s h i n e

s h i n e coverTobias Jesso Jr. has returned with his first new album in over a decade. s h i n e, the understated, demo-ish follow-up to the singer-songwriter’s 2015 debut Goon, was announced just a week ago and features no more than eight tracks, including the previously released ‘I Love You’. The record was mixed by Shawn Everett. “The eight songs are about himself, his mom, his son, a breakup and his life at this moment in time,” according to a press release, “with some help from Danielle Haim, Eli Teplin, Julian Bunetta, Justin Vernon, Rosie Hamilton, Tommy King and a psychic.”

Listen on
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Spotify IconSpotify

Keaton Henson, Parader

Parader Artwork“Prior to being a mostly quiet musician I played in hardcore and emo bands,” Keaton Henson notes in the press release for his new album Parader. Though his lyrics remain as introspective as ever, he pays homage to those heavier sounds, going as far as to enlist Wednesday collaborator Alex Farrar on production. He also collaborated with Ratboys’ Julia Steiner on the early single ‘Lazy Magician’. “It’s not me pretending to be anything I’m not,” Henson explained. “I think it’s just me accepting that part of me is this. It’s louder and brasher, but not from a performative point of view. Maybe I’m just accepting that that is all part of me as well.”

Listen on
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Sharp Pins, Balloon Balloon Balloon

Balloon Balloon Balloon cover artKai Slater has had a busy year. He had his 2024 debut as Sharp Pins, Radio DDR, reissued by K Records’ Perennial imprint, and his other band Lifeguard also released its debut album. Slater is closing out the year with Balloon Balloon Balloon, another collection of lo-fi power-pop gems – 21 of them, to be exact. “I recorded this album basically whenever I had time, which was not that much, compared to the average Joe,” he told Rolling Stone, using guitars he described as “a fake Vox Phantom” and “a fake Rickenbacker,” as well as a boombox-style cassette deck brought to its breaking point.

Listen on
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Physical IconPhysical

WRENS, Half of What You See

Half of What You See Brooklyn jazz-rap outfit WRENS have unveiled their playful, audacious new record, Half of What You See. It follows their 2023 debut, alligator shoes [on flatbush]. “There’s a long-standing aroma around the concept of the sophomore album that, for some, triggers involuntary vomiting of ‘what if it’s not’’s and similar brown notes,” Ryan Easter reflected. “The interesting thing about WRENS, same with many ensembles that are rooted in a constant through-line of reactive improvisation, is that the very essence of what is heard is rooted in three things: how good are they on their own, how good are they at knowing each others’ individuality, and what did they eat that day? This record is, as decided by the casually grown men involved, sinister.”

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De La Soul, Cabin in the Sky

cabin in the skyDe La Soul have dropped their first album since the 2023 death of David Jude Jolicoeur, the group’s founding member also known as Trugoy, Dave, and Trugoy the Dove. The vibrant 20-track effort features production contributions from DJ Premier, Super Dave, and Pete Rock, as well as guest spots from Killer Mike, Little Dragon’s Yukimi, Common, Nas, and the Roots’ Black Thought. “Cabin in the Sky lives in that space between loss and light,” Posdnuos said in press materials. “It’s about the pain we carry and the joy that somehow still finds us. This album is therapy and celebration at the same time. There’s a vulnerability in these songs, because everything we’ve been through has brought us to this moment, to this album, honoring what we’ve lost and lifting up what still remains. That duality. That’s life, and that’s De La.”

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Rough Trade IconRough Trade

Haley Heynderickx and Max García Conover, What of Our Nature

What of Our Nature Cover“What do you want me to believe, and what can I not?/ What of our nature have we done forgot?” Haley Heynderickx sings on ‘to each their dot’, a haunting highlight off her new collaborative album with Max García Conover. A pensive, revolutionary spirit runs through What of Our Nature, the follow-up to Among Horses III (Fifth Edition), which the pair released in 2023. Produced by Sahil Ansari, the record was tracked directly to tape in five days in a barn in Vermont, using nothing more than their guitars, voices, and some found percussion.

Listen on
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Spotify IconSpotify
Bandcamp IconBandcamp
Physical IconPhysical

Glitterer, erer

erer. Cover Glitterer – the band led by Title Fight’s Ned Russin – have followed up last year’s Rationale with a new album called erer. Out now via the band’s own Purple Circle Records, the record once again finds them working with producer Arthur Rizk and features artwork by Andrew Peden. It was led by the single ‘Stainless Steel’, which encapsulates the mood of the album: “How am I supposed to create change/ I want to see?/ It’s not enough/ To sit around and worry/ While the world is blowing up.”

Other albums out today:

Dendrons, Indiana; Shygirl, ALIAS is ME; Twin Shadow, Cadet; S.C.A.B., Somebody in New York Loves You!; Charlotte de Witte, Charlotte de Witte; Lawrence English & Stephen Vitiello, Trinity; Anthony Moore, On Beacon Hill; Glyders, Forever; Sub Focus, Contact; ILUKA, the wild, the innocent, & the raging; SUDS, Tell me about your day again.; The Futureheads, Christmas; doris dana, wild at heart; Tristan Perich & James McVinnie, Infinity Gradient; Ella Eyre, everything, in time; Ioa Beduneau, Mélodies pour Clairons; Gabriel Zucker, Confession; Stray Kids, Do It; Ani Zakareishvili, Neither in the sky nor on the ground.

Album Review: Oneohtrix Point Never, ‘Tranquilizer’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Album Review: Oneohtrix Point Never, ‘Tranquilizer’

As far as Oneohtrix Point Never records go, Tranquilizer’s most immediate antecedent is Replica, an album that’s almost a decade and a half old. While that collection saw Daniel Lopatin wistfully repurpose sounds from bootleg DVDs compiling TV commercials from the ‘80s and ‘90s, Tranquilizer mines from a set of commercial sample CDs preserved on the Internet Archive. The flimsiness of that maintenance – the page was taken down, then suddenly came back – is part of what inspired the producer and differentiates his follow-up to Again, the way swathes of potentially soulful music can be lost to and resurface through time. Lopatin was also more concerned with the totality of the work, a fact that lends itself well to the track-by-track review format to which we’ve committed. “Replica is this incredible thing of these blasts of music,” he said in a recent interview, “and Tranquilizer you get that too, but you can sit down and experience it as a whole in a way that I wasn’t personally able to do with Replica.” The effect is not quite sedative – more often stupefying than chill, but more emotional than heady, it’s an album that blissfully gives itself over to the slipperiness of time, trance-like yet intent on helping you sit through it all.

1. For Residue

A pitched-down voice relays the only words we hear on the album, which are right there in the title of the opening track. It seems to frame the album as a celebration of things past, or haphazardly preserved from the drain of ephemerality. The introductory pad is soulful and calm, but all around it varyingly organic sounds swell and woosh and trickle down until Lopatin hits snooze.

2. Bumpy

It made sense for OPN to release the first three tracks as an early preview of Tranquilizer; ‘Bumpy’ seeps pretty directly out of ‘For Residue’ but takes more liberties with its dizzying layers of instrumentation. Though the rhythm never fully settles, glitching out intermittently, there is a pulse for its ethereal tones, from shimmering piano to chimes to reverberant bass, to contract themselves around. The creaking of a door seems to rupture its lush, if jittery, veneer, like a housemate checking if you’re still asleep.

3. Lifeworld

Tranquilizer finds a real groove on ‘Lifeworld’, one that seems to expand towards the cosmic as clicky, incessant percussion guides one of the most blissfully hazy melodies on the album. There is an abundance of life here, tiny when you put it into perspective, and the cloud wafting over it just a small expression of its beauty.

4. Measuring Ruins

The track rests atop soft, humble pads, though not for long enough to bring the record to a lull; the atmospheric field blossoms at lightning speed, leaving you awestruck before cutting itself out.

5. Modern Lust

The track lumbers ominously, and, if we’re to follow the suggestion of the title, seductively, taking its time as it moves between different pleasure spots. The strings and trumpet momentarily heighten the sense of romance, but it’s the blast of a perfectly-pitched synth that really elicits ecstasy. It relishes a bit longer, switching between synth tones as if fine-tuning the hum of desire.

6. Fear of Symmetry

The tentative piano riff on ‘Fear of Symmetry’ implies a few fears besides that of perfect equilibrium. As it gets swallowed up by the digital current, it seems to melt into it rather than crumble. After another shot of climactic bass, the tinny beeping synth sounds almost counterintuitive, cheesy but too pure to be discarded.

7. Vestigel

The torrent of ‘Vestigel’ is more unpredictable than the record’s previous songs, which makes sense as it ventures into a vast, uncompromising middle ground. It gives the impression of sudden displacement, data burning up in the void or a person falling deep into slumber. The human sounds we hear are so jarring because they seem to emanate directly from this subconscious, like sleep talk.

8. Cherry Blue

The pianos are bubbly and opaque at the start, then sharpen as the track settles into an almost reggae pulse, like a mind forced into alertness. The more elements gather around it, the warmer it becomes, until it falls into a different kind of languid trance.

9. Bell Scanner

The prettiness of ‘Bell Scanner’, which starts out like a lullaby, is quickly haunted and abstracted, overtaken by buzzing noise and hyperactive synths. In the world of Tranquilizer, no twinkling sounds can survive for more than a few breaths.

10. D.I.S.

After the relatively unassuming ‘Bell Scanner’, ‘D.I.S.’ is as explosive as ambient music can get, at one point conjuring a sound mirroring that of an operatic voice; in this setting, it’s startlingly emotional. But the emotion struggles to find language: as the track winds down, you almost hear words coming through over plaintive piano, but the message is chopped and distorted, merely confirming someone’s on the other line.

11. Tranquilizer

The title track keeps throwing you off rather than attempting to encapsulate the album’s spirit, more outwardly ominous than most of the material on it. A low rumble tries to relay something over and over; it gets lost in the ether.

12. Storm Show

As Lopatin leans into his most filmic tendencies, technological and weather patterns converge on ‘Storm Show’, whose titular event doesn’t seem to arrive until about halfway through. Swelling synths obliterate everything in their way, giving way to birdcalls and, eventually, a stab of machinery: the cycle repeating.

13. Petro

The track coasts on a two-chord pattern you could almost doze off to; it’s the sonic equivalent of waiting in line, as heard through a mind that converts every beep and chatter into music.

14. Rodl Glide

‘Rodl Glide’ is the only track on Tranquilizer that I can really call soothing – of course, Lopatin himself seems hyper-aware of that characterization, ushering in the most dynamic shift on the record as the second half spirals into a corroded techno rave-up. It says something that he integrates these sensibilities instead of splitting the song in two, and it’s an undeniable standout.

15. Waterfalls

The fact that the album’s two final tracks are also its longest doesn’t sound like a coincidence; Lopatin seems to have reached a point on its journey where the ideas flow undeterred – and unselfconscious about just how sonorous they are. The beauty of ‘Waterfalls’ is obviously natural and winkingly sincere, no longer drifting along the current of time but fully suffused in it. And though there might have been an urge to sleepily draw the album to a close, to have this be the song that finally snaps your eyes shut, it draws attention to every sound – harpsichord, rainsticks, sax – rushing to let the light back in. Muted, weary, relaxed – but never fully dark.

Ladytron Announce New Album ‘Paradises’, Share New Song

Konstantinos Pappis
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Ladytron Announce New Album ‘Paradises’, Share New Song

Ladytron have announced a new album, Paradises. The follow-up to 2023’s Time’s Arrow is slated for release on March 20 via Nettwerk. Today’s announcement comes with the release of the new single ‘Kingdom Undersea’, which finds vocalists Helen Marnie and Daniel Hunt dueting over a groovy piano riff. Check it out below.

Paradises was produced by Hunt and mixed by longtime collaborator Jim Abbiss. “When I heard the demos for Paradises, I was truly blown away,” Abbiss commented. The variety in songwriting and arrangements reminded me of Witching Hour, but with its own unique atmosphere, sonics, and attitude.” Marnie added, “It was like a homecoming. We just fit. His enthusiasm is contagious, and having that in the room really creates a kind of magic.”

The album took shape across Liverpool, São Paulo, Montrose, and Dalston. It was completed at Dean Street Studios in Soho, London. “I wanted to write from that perspective and channel that fun feeling of first working together back in the late ’90s when we had nothing to lose,” Mira Aroyo reflected.

“Every time I went into the studio, I’d come out after an hour with a new track,” Hunt said. “The key motivation was fun. Everything became fun again. There’s an itch we never scratched, which is that despite our origins in the DJ world, we never actually made a ‘disco’ record. Albeit, ‘disco’ in our context has a somewhat different meaning.”

Paradises Cover Artwork:

Ladytron_Paradises

Paradises Tracklist:

1. I Believe in You
2. In Blood
3. Kingdom Undersea
4. I See Red
5. A Death in London
6. Secret Dreams of Thieves
7. Sing
8. Free, Free
9. Metaphysica
10. Caught in the Blink of an Eye
11. Evergreen
12. Ordinary Love
13. We Wrote Our Names in the Dust
14. Heatwaves
15. Solid Light
16. For a Life in London

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 – All Prestige Rewards Explained

Shubhendu Vatsa
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Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 – All Prestige Rewards Explained

It wouldn’t be a Call of Duty game without the classic Prestige system, and Black Ops 7 has kept the tradition alive. Although entirely optional, Black Ops 7’s Prestige Mode becomes available once you reach the highest multiplayer rank in the FPS game, which means you’ll have to grind through a lot of matches to get there. As soon as you hit Military Level 55, you can start the Prestige process in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 whenevery you want. Once you start Prestige in Black Ops 7, your military rank will reset, but in return, you will get access to exclusive rewards as you climb up the ladder again. A nice bonus this year is that Activision has also brought back the Weapon Prestige in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 for the first time since Black Ops 4, giving you even more reason to hone your favourite weaponry in multiplayer. If you’re curious what all of the awards are, here’s a full list of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Prestige rewards.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 – All Prestige Rewards Explained

As we already mentioned, you can start your Prestige journey in Black Ops 7 once you reach Rank 55. Prestiging will reset your rank back to 1, forcing you to seriously commit; thankfully though, the rewards make the grind worth the effort (and your time). The game has ten Prestige levels, and with Weapon Prestige making its way back, you can upgrade any weapon to Level 250 to unlock its final camo. Each weapon now has two Prestige levels, and even though attachments reset until you re-earn them, your camo progress and optics are saved. 

Every time you Prestige up, you’ll receive a Prestige Icon to show off your progress, as well as a Permanent Unlock token that will let you unlock one weapon, equipment, or perk from Rank 1. With that out of the way, here’s the full list of every Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Prestige reward, from Prestige 1 to Prestige Master:

Prestige Level Reward Cosmetic Type
Prestige 1 Level 1 Echo Veil Operator Skin
Level 1 Permanent Unlock Permanent Unlock Token
Level 10 Static Prison Loading Screen
Level 20 Mind Breach Large Decal
Level 30 Always Watching Emblem
Level 40 Brain Rot Weapon Charm
Level 50 Cypher Wrap Weapon Blueprint
Prestige 2 Level 1 Permanent Unlock Permanent Unlock Token
Level 10 Armor Breaker Loading Screen
Level 20 Shark Chase Large Decal
Level 30 Fireproof Emblem
Level 40 Hot Toss Weapon Charm
Level 50 Core Burn Weapon Blueprint
Prestige 3 Level 1 Permanent Unlock Permanent Unlock Token
Level 10 Crimson Shelter Loading Screen
Level 20 Last Touch Large Decal
Level 30 Heartline Emblem
Level 40 Zap Unit Weapon Charm
Level 50 Lifebringer Operator Skin
Prestige 4 Level 1 Permanent Unlock Permanent Unlock Token
Level 10 Silent Canopy Loading Screen
Level 20 Fangstrike Large Decal
Level 30 Dark Watcher Emblem
Level 40 Venom Crown Weapon Charm
Level 50 Mudline Weapon Blueprint
Prestige 5 Level 1 Permanent Unlock Permanent Unlock Token
Level 10 Aether Depths Loading Screen
Level 20 Rotjaw Large Decal
Level 30 Neon Death Emblem
Level 40 Aether Relic Weapon Charm
Level 50 Raveger’s Rise Operator Skin
Prestige 6 Level 1 Permanent Unlock Permanent Unlock Token
Level 10 Strike Vector Loading Screen
Level 20 Death Above Large Decal
Level 30 Ba-Da-Boom Emblem
Level 40 Skewer Fall Weapon Charm
Level 50 Thunder Coil Weapon Blueprint
Prestige 7 Level 1 Permanent Unlock Permanent Unlock Token
Level 10 Silent Entry Loading Screen
Level 20 Silent Cut Large Decal
Level 30 Night Slash Emblem
Level 40 Strike Claw Weapon Charm
Level 50 The Unseen Operator Skin
Prestige 8 Level 1 Permanent Unlock Permanent Unlock Token
Level 10 Death Protocol Loading Screen
Level 20 Quad-Blade Large Decal
Level 30 DAWG Walk Emblem
Level 40 HKD Prowl Weapon Charm
Level 50 Command Link Weapon Blueprint
Prestige 9 Level 1 Permanent Unlock Permanent Unlock Token
Level 10 Pathogen Lab Loading Screen
Level 20 Infection Large Decal
Level 30 Toxic Cycle Emblem
Level 40 Blood Hazard Weapon Charm
Level 50 Patient Zero Operator Skin
Prestige 10 Level 1 Permanent Unlock Permanent Unlock Token
Level 10 Final Watch Loading Screen
Level 20 Underworld Howl Large Decal
Level 30 Death’s Touch Emblem
Level 40 Deathglass Weapon Charm
Level 50 Reaper’s Mark Weapon Blueprint
Prestige Master Level 1 Hellborne Operator Skin
Level 1 Prestige Master Prestige Master Title
Level 1 Orange Level Color
Level 60 Summoning Gating Loading Screen
Level 65 Death’s Grind Large Decal
Level 70 Hell Flame Emblem
Level 80 DJ Inferno Weapon Charm
Level 90 Sigil Fire Weapon Blueprint

 

And that’s about every Prestige rewards you can currently get in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. But if this doesn’t do it for your and you want some serious bragging rights, then there’s even more rewards (and grind) waiting for you. When you reach Prestige 10, Prestige Master will open up, which is the final tier with an astounding 1,000 levels to work through. Every 100 levels, you’ll get a new set of classic Prestige Icons, pulled straight from past Call of Duty titles. Activision has even added a new “Level Colors” option in Black Ops 7 that lets you customize the color of your in-game moniker to show exactly how far you’ve climbed up the ladder. Here’s a complete list of every Prestige Master reward you can get in Black Ops 7:

Level Reward
56 Hellborne (Jurado Operator Skin)
56 Prestige Master (Title)
56 Orange (Level Color)
60 Summoning Gate (Loading Screen)
65 Death’s Grin (Large Decal)
70 Hell Flame (Emblem)
80 DJ Inferno (Weapon Charm)
90 Sigil Fire (AK-27 Blueprint)
100 Prestige Master Icons
100 Prestige Master Title Challenges
100 Navy (Level Color)
125 Forest (Level Color)
150 Brick (Level Color)
175 Grey (Level Color)
200 Prestige Master Icons
200 Prestige Master Title Challenges
200 Brown (Level Color)
225 Red (Level Color)
250 Green (Level Color)
275 Ruby (Level Color)
300 Prestige Master Icons
300 Prestige Master Title Challenges
300 Windswept (Level Color)
325 Blue (Level Color)
350 Yellow (Level Color)
375 Relaxed (Level Color)
400 Prestige Master Icons
400 Prestige Master Title Challenges
400 Teal (Level Color)
425 Purple (Level Color)
450 Fresh (Level Color)
475 Pastel (Level Color)
500 Prestige Master Icons
500 Prestige Master Title Challenges
500 Hologram (Level Color)
525 Slick (Level Color)
550 Holly (Level Color)
575 Natural (Level Color)
600 Prestige Master Icons
600 Prestige Master Title Challenges
600 Ocean (Level Color)
625 Lime (Level Color)
650 Synthwave (Level Color)
675 Haze (Level Color)
700 Prestige Master Icons
700 Prestige Master Title Challenges
700 Fire & Ice (Level Color)
725 Cyan (Level Color)
750 Lemon & Lime (Level Color)
775 Candy Cane (Level Color)
800 Prestige Master Icons
800 Prestige Master Title Challenges
800 Bumblebee (Level Color)
825 Pink (Level Color)
850 Mainframe (Level Color)
875 Patriotic (Level Color)
900 Prestige Master Icons
900 Prestige Master Title Challenges
900 Inferno (Level Color)
925 Banana (Level Color)
950 Noir (Level Color)
975 Rainbow (Level Color)
1000 Legacy Prestige 10 Icon Set
1000 Ultimate Master Titles: Gunslinger, Wizard, Executioner, Mad Scientist, Undead, Elite
1000 Dark Matter (Level Color)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7- All Dark Ops Challenges Explained

Shubhendu Vatsa
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7- All Dark Ops Challenges Explained

“What are all the Dark Ops challenges in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7?” If that’s been on you’re mind too, then you’re in good company. Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 brings back a slew of fan favourite game modes and challenges, including one of the most notorious Dark Ops challenges. Call of Duty Dark Ops challenges are delibirately hidden set of challenges that’ll never show up in any in-game menu until you manage to complete them. This may sound frustrating (and it is) because how is anyone supposed to complete a challenge they don’t even know in the first place? So, instead of leaving you to come across them on your own, we’ve put together a full list of every Dark Ops challenge in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7: All Dark Ops Challenges

Black Ops 7 features a total of 22 Dark Ops challenges spread across Zombies, multiplayer, and the co-op campaign. Once you finish a Dark Ops challenge, it will show up in your in-game menu and also reward you with an unique Calling Card that keeps track of your achievement across Zombies, multiplayer, and the new co-op campaign. Below is the full list of all Black Ops 7 Dark Ops challenges:

Every Black Ops 7 Campaign Dark Ops Challenge

Dark Ops Challenge How to complete/earn
Overpowered In Endgame, earn 1,00,000 total Power
Undaunted Survive the horde of Fears in Mission: Suppression
Pest Control Defeat the Endgame Final Boss
Exotic Arsenal An Endgame exclusive, this DarkOps challenge requires you to get an elimination with 6 different Exotic Weapons

 

Every Black Ops 7 Multiplayer Dark Ops Challenge

Dark Ops Challenge How to complete/earn
Nuked Out Earn a Nuke in free-for-all mode without using Scorestreaks
Ultra Killer Get 7 Rapid Kills without dying
Gift Horse Kill an enemy with the Scorestreak you stole from their Care Package
Same Day Delivery Get 2 or more kills with a single Body Shield explosion
Castled Get 10 kills without leaving one Objective zone
Trip Cap Capture all three Objectives in Domination for three consecutive minutes
Mega Killer Get 6 Rapid Kills without dying
Frenzy Killer Get 5 Rapid Kills without dying
Relentless Killer Earn a Relentless Medal
Brutal Killer Earn a Brutal Medal
Nuclear Killer Earn a Nuclear Medal
Extreme Precision Get 5 headshots with a Sniper Rifle without reloading or dying
Reverse Card Kill an enemy with the explosion caused by shooting an enemy piece of Equipment or a Field Upgrade

 

Every Black Ops 7 Zombies Dark Ops Challenge

Dark Ops Challenge How to complete/earn
Social Distancing Reach Round 20 without taking any damage
Countdown Kill an elite enemy by launching it with a Jump Pad
Harbinger of Doom Get 100 kills with a single Scorestreak
Box Addict Get 30 different guns from the Mystery Box in a single match
Another Round Reach Round 100
Armed to the Teeth  Have 3 Pack-a-Punch Level 3, Legendary Rarity Weapons equipped with ammo mods and 8 active perks
Lucidity Complete the Tank Dempsey side quest on Ashes of the Damned
New Main Kill 1,000 Zombies with each of the eight dedicated Crew Operators
Zombies Dark Ops Master Complete 15 Dark Ops challenges
Ingenuity Reach Round 50 with the Dragon Wings and Lawyer’s Pen Relics active

After you complete a Dark Ops challenge in Black Ops 7, you’ll notice a pop-up displaying the Calling Card you just earned. If you want to check out all the Dark Ops Calling Card in Black Ops 7 that you’ve unlocked, simply head on over to the Career tab, open Challenges, then pick Calling Cards and select Dark Ops on the left. You can also jump straight into this menu via the quick menu in the lobby. From there, you’re free to set any Dark Ops card as your main Calling Card or if you feel like showing off, add a few to your profile’s Calling Card showcase.

Skrillex Releases New ‘Hit Me Where It Hurts X’ EP

Konstantinos Pappis
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Skrillex Releases New ‘Hit Me Where It Hurts X’ EP

Skrillex has surprise-dropped a new EP, Hit Me Where It Hurts X. Spanning five tracks, the project features collaborations with Caroline Polachek and 100 gecs’ Dylan Brady, Varg2™, Nakeesha, and others. Take a listen below.

Earlier this year, Skrillex released the album F*CK U SKRILLEX YOU THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!! <3. The producer is nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album and Best Dance/Electronic Recording at the 2026 Grammy Awards.

Pokémon GO Introduces Dynamax Lugia for Max Battle Weekend

Prince Addams
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Pokémon GO Introduces Dynamax Lugia for Max Battle Weekend

Pokémon GO has just revealed that Dynamax Lugia is making its first-time appearance in the next Max Battle Weekend. The Dynamax arrival of this character also follows the earlier debuts of Eevee and Keldeo. In particular, trainers around the world will get the chance to face this legendary Pokémon in the popular AR mobile game. At the same time, the special event features bonuses and fun activities.

Dynamax Lugia Soars in from the Skies

According to developer Niantic, players will be able to face Dynamax Lugia in Pokémon Go for the first time. Specifically, the Psychic/Flying-type Pokémon appears in five-star Max Battles in the event. Lucky trainers can even find a shiny one during the weekend.

Max Battle Weekend Bonuses and Free Timed Research

The announcement also said that the special event will come with many bonuses to help players.

  • Earn Max Particles with only 1/4 Adventuring distance
  • Get 8× Max Particles from Power Spots
  • Higher limit of 1,600 for Max Particle collection
  • More frequent refreshing of Power Spots

To get the bonuses, trainers need to explore each day and collect all Max Particles in the Nearby menu.

Aside from the rewards, players can join in Free Timed Research ahead of the Max Battle weekend. The task rewards players with a Dynamax Gastly encounter, Gastly Candy, Max Particles, and more. It aims to help trainers power up their battle team before facing Dynamax Lugia.

Pokémon GO Campfire and Max Battle Boost Box

Campfire will be accessible during the event, says Niantic. It makes players find Max Battles and other trainers easier.

In the same way, they can buy the Max Battle Boost Box for $9.99 on the Pokémon GO Web Store.

Availability and Important Reminders

The Max Battle debut of Dynamax Lugia in Pokémon GO runs from November 29 (6 AM) until November 30 (9 PM) local time. Meanwhile, the Free Time Research starts on November 25.

As with any event by Niantic, the team said players should be aware of their surroundings. At the same time, trainers must follow local health guidelines to ensure a safe gaming experience. Event details may change, so the developers invite players to enable push notifications and follow official social media accounts.

Looking Ahead

Pokémon GO continues to keep trainers engaged with one event after another. The upcoming Max Battle Weekend will overlap with the latter half of the Final Justice Event, which takes place from November 25 to November 30. After that, the Community Day 2025 kicks off on December 6 and 7. More exciting in-game events are also confirmed for the mobile game through February next year.

Your Granny Called – She Wants Her Floral Prints Back: The New Grandma-Insiped Fashion Trend

Vera Adamidou
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Your Granny Called – She Wants Her Floral Prints Back: The New Grandma-Insiped Fashion Trend

You know those painfully loud florals that used to haunt your grandma’s living room, sticking to the walls like glue, wrapping themselves around sofas stiff as a board, and sparkling off disco-ball-level shiny pillows? Bonus points if they were Slavic or Balkan enough to make you question reality. Yes, the uglier the better. There’s just something about that objective, retro ugliness that the fashion industry can’t let go of, especially when it goes hand in hand with a pinch of nostalgia. Just give it a little time and you’ll start spotting grannycore florals everywhere. I’m confident that we’ll get the full trend package sooner or later, fits, kicks, bags, you name it. Even Demna gave Gucci a little taste of it on his debut.

 

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Over the past few days, I saw my wallpaper trauma in shoulder pads and printed boots. Fashion loves a bit of shame embossed into prints, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I loved it just as much. Ugly has never looked so intentional. Maybe it’s just me missing my grandma? But it could just be the grannycore effect. It’s not a hashtag for influencers anymore, it’s what people next-door choose to express themselves with, okay perhaps fashion-conscious people. Mix those florals, add stripes and a touch of tartan or military print and you’ve got yourself the 2025 streetwear uniform.
I need headscarves under caps, boxy brocade blazers and knee-high boots drenched in this print by Spring. Maybe a corset dress too after Suki Waterhouse’s appearance at the “Die My Love” NYC premiere.

Call it grannycore, call it culty, doesn’t matter. And honestly, I don’t think flowers matter either. Maybe all of this is less about prints and more about permission. The permission to like what you like, embrace the weird and the ugly. Somewhere between my grandma’s home and Fashion Week’s runways, I’ve found a spot in my closet that’s been empty for far too long. A place for the messy, ironic and sentimental outfits, and I couldn’t be happier for that empty spot finally having a reason to exist.

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