Patrick Kelly remembers the pitch meeting vividly. The room full of developers and Activision executives had convened at Infinity Ward's offices in Woodland Hills, California, in early 2018. It was time for Kelly and his longtime colleague Dave Stohl, who together serve as co-studio heads for Infinity Ward, to pitch their big idea. The project was code-named "Magma." And the plan was to create the biggest ever battle royale, one tied to the world of the studio's planned 2019 release, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare." Upon completion, the project would be re-christened as "Warzone." "Okay, so here's the thing," Kelly said, reenacting his pitch to the room.

"Soft language" in a new agreement governing international armed drone exports could give foreign companies an advantage over U.S. industry, according to analysts. The administration on Wednesday announced that 44 nations had signed a joint declaration overseeing the sale and use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles. The new document requires the countries to commit to the "responsible export" of armed UAVs and continue conversations about standards for drone use and sales, the use of drone strikes in accordance with "international law" and the effort to increase transparency. Rachel Stohl, a senior associate at the Stimson Center, said U.S. companies are often subject to higher standards than their international competitors with respect to drone exports. "This declaration could continue [to] result in other countries and foreign companies having an edge over U.S. companies for drone exports," Stohl said via email.