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When the PC version of Far Cry 3 launches this week in Europe and next week in North America, players will need to download a “critical” patch to fix a number of issues with Ubisoft’s new action-shooter. Patch 1.01 fixes a range of bugs across the game’s single- and multiplayer modes, and more.

The update brings improved stability and performance to Far Cry 3’s multiplayer mode, as well as added options to the game’s online leaderboards. In addition, the patch fixes a voice chat issue that would mute players by default.

Concerning the game’s cooperative mode, patch 1.01 for Far Cry 3 fixes graphical issues on loading screen hints and issues that would prevent maps from showing up the first time a user enters Public co-op. Additionally, the patch makes it so flare gun kills are not considered assist kills and that “health regeneration option no longer has inverted functionality.”

Lastly, Far Cry 3’s day-one patch for PC adds improved stability and performance for the game’s single-player campaign and fixes issues related to “flickering” on certain water textures. Additionally, the update adds a new sound when players zoom in and out of the camera with the mouse scroll button.

For the full Far Cry 3 patch 1.01 notes, check out the official Far Cry 3 website. It is not clear if the same patch will be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. A Ubisoft representative was not immediately available to comment.

Far Cry 3 will cast players as Jason Brody, a man stranded on a strange tropical island similar to the setting of the first Far Cry. Gamers will head out into this “savage paradise” and “slash, sneak, and shoot” to survive in a world that has “lost all sense of morality.”

The game was originally targeted to launch in September, but was delayed to December 4 in North America over the summer. It is due out across Europe this week. For more on Far Cry 3, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.

When Electronic Arts officially announced Dragon Age III: Inquisition in September, the company did so without specifying platforms. Now, it has been suggested that the upcoming role-playing game, officially due late 2013, could land on still-unannounced next-generation systems from Microsoft and Sony.

The LinkedIn resume of an EA Shanghai employee (spotted by Superannuation) states the scope of Dragon Age III: Inquisition has changed, and it is now planned for next-generation consoles. Additionally, this employee says the game has been “postponed” to 2014.

An EA representative declined to comment.

Dragon Age III: Inquisition is the third entry in BioWare’s role-playing game series. It follows 2009’s Dragon Age: Origins and 2011’s Dragon Age II. In all, the series has sold more than 8 million units.

Last month, BioWare released concept art for Dragon Age III: Inquisition, followed by the first, albeit blurry, screenshot earlier this month.

The Grand Theft Auto franchise has now shipped 125 million units life-to-date. Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed the milestone today during his presentation at the Credit Suisse 2012 Technology Conference. This figure is up 11 million units from the 114 million Take-Two announced in September 2011.

Zelnick did not provide further details on how that figure breaks down between installments. A Take-Two representative confirmed the figure with GameSpot today, noting that 2008’s Grand Theft Auto IV alone shipped 25 million units.

Zelnick also explained why he believes the Grand Theft Auto series is so popular, likening it to that of the long-running James Bond film franchise, which marks its 50th anniversary this year. He said much in the same way that a new Bond film is not typically released every two years, the same can be said for Grand Theft Auto games. This release schedule keeps the series “special,” he said.

But what about the year-in year-out success of the Call of Duty brand? Zelnick praised Activision CEO Robert Kotick and the multiple development squads needed to release a “quality product” every year, but he said this business model has risks Take-Two is unwilling to take.

“IP that is annualized eventually seems to hit the wall and we don’t want our IP to hit the wall.”

“It’s our view that if you want intellectual properties to be permanent, then you run the risk in that circumstance of having consumers fall out of love with that franchise. [Activision] obviously views the world differently.”

To prove his point, Zelnick said it is his understanding that Call of Duty: Black Ops II did not perform as well as last year’s game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, a sign that the series is beginning to slow.

“That’s never been the case with one of ours,” he said. “Ours do better each time. Our view is it’s hard to make permanent intellectual properties if you annualize it, with the exception of sports titles. So far that’s proven to be the case. IP that is annualized eventually seems to hit the wall and we don’t want our IP to hit the wall.”

Microsoft had a happy Black Friday. The company announced today that it sold more than 750,000 Xbox 360 consoles in the United States during the period (November 18-23). Sales of this level exceeded internal forecasts, the company said without sharing what its forecasts actually were.

Additionally, Microsoft said Halo 4 sales during the week also exceeded expectations, notching “impressive sales,” according to internal data. Further, Xbox Live Gold subscription card sales jumped more than 50 percent year-over-year, though no specific sales figure was divulged.

Microsoft also revealed that on Sunday alone, more than 14 million people logged on to Xbox Live across the world. These users tallied in excess of 72 million combined hours of use on this day alone. Lastly, entertainment application usage in the US on Xbox Live during Black Friday week rose 43 percent over last year’s figure.

Microsoft was not the only company to divulge Black Friday sales. Nintendo sold a total of 1.2 million hardware units during the week, including 400,000 Wii U consoles.

Halo maker Bungie have released an official screenshot from their upcoming game, rumoured to be titled Destiny.

The screenshot, posted on Bungie’s official site, came as a response to a leaked marketing document reportedly provided to IGN by a reader, which outed story details and concept art from the upcoming game.

According to IGN, Bungie has confirmed the document was prepared by an advertising agency and that it provides authentic details surrounding the game’s plot.

“We weren’t quite ready, but we will be soon, and we can’t wait to finally show you what we’ve really been up to,” Bungie wrote on its official site. “Stick around, we haven’t even started yet.”

The leaked document describes Destiny as a “fun and accessible” game with a “deep, tangible and relatable” universe that is compared to the Star Wars franchise. The game is also described as “social at its core”.

A Bungie spokesperson commented on the leaked document, telling IGN: “We’re not quite ready to take the wraps off our next universe, but in light of recent events we thought we’d give fans something a little more official over at Bungie.net. Feel free to drop by and say hello! There’s much more to come.”

According to the document, Destiny’s plot revolves around an alien ship bent on destroying Earth and the “knights” tasked with defending what’s left of humanity. The document also shows images bearing the Destiny logo along with Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 icons and the URL Destiny.com (currently password-protected).

Destiny is Bungie’s first project as part of a 10-year publishing deal with Call of Duty company Activision. Legal documents from May suggested that the game will be released for the Xbox 360 in 2013, with a 2014 release slated for the PlayStation 3.

Rockstar Games is inviting players to experience Max Payne 3 Painful Memories next week, the company announced today. The game’s Painful Memories expansion arrives December 4 and is free for those with a $30 Rockstar Pass. The content can be purchased separately for $10 on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and PC.

The Painful Memories downloadable content for Max Payne 3 includes four new maps (Roscoe Street Subway, Marty’s Bar, Shoot First, and Canal De Panama) for the game’s multiplayer component. In addition, the expansion adds the IMG 5.56 and UAR-21 assault rifles, new avatars and items, as well as the Hangover Burst. This causes enemies to respawn with fuzzy vision, and reduced stamina and health.

Max Payne 3’s Painful Memories DLC follows previously released expansions Local Justice, Hostage Negotiation, and Disorganized Crime. The fifth and final map pack for the game–Trickle Down Economics–is slated to arrive at a later date.

For more on Max Payne 3, check out GameSpot’s review.

Gearbox Software is supporting Wii U with its upcoming shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines, said to be the best-looking version of the game. However, that is the only Gearbox game or franchise in development for Nintendo’s new system.

Fans may be wondering why Gearbox is not planning to bring its popular Borderlands franchise to the Wii U. According to CEO Randy Pitchford, it’s due to Gearbox not having yet found a compelling way to use the system.

“We get asked if there is going to be a Wii U version of Borderlands, and the reason why there’s not is because we couldn’t think of a ‘natural, obvious OMG-I-want-that-for-what the-Wii-U-brings-to-the-table feature,” Pitchford told GamesMaster (via Nintendo Everything).

On the other hand, bringing Aliens: Colonial Marines to the Wii U was an easy decision for Pitchford.

“But with Aliens, the first thing we thought was ‘Holy sh*t, I can have a motion controller in my hands!’ When it’s there in my lap it feels like I’m part of the movie,” he said.

Borderlands is not the only established series that has elected to skip the Wii U. Dead Space 3, Resident Evil 6 and Metro: Last Light will not appear on the console. Additionally, it is not clear if Crysis 3 or Battlefield 3 will ship for the system.