Treyarch design director David Vonderhaar has received death threats and threats of violence on Twitter, after patch notes for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 revealed that three of the game's guns were to be rebalanced slightly. Yes, that is a thing that has actually happened. The guns in question are the AN-94, which now does a bit less damage, and the DSR 50 and the Ballista, which have both had their rate of fire reduced a bit. If this news makes you want to hurl abuse at someone, I suggest you seek professional help.

"Not sure these fractions of seconds are worth the threats of violence," a magnificently patient Vonderhaar tweeted in response to the backlash, which is too horrible to quote. "Guns have powerbands and learning curves. Over time, both change. As one goes up, so does the other. That's the short answer to 'why now'."

Activision blogger Dan Amrich spoke out against the backlash, something that seems to occur with horrible regularity. "This has happened with every Call of Duty game that’s come out for the last few years, and it will continue to happen - a gun’s stats being adjusted should not be a surprise to anybody at this point.”

“Yet Vahn often gets told he should die in a fire or kill himself or is a horrible person," Amrich continued. "If anybody thinks for a second that this is okay, it is not."

“If you enjoy your games, have a little respect for the people who make them — and stop threatening them with bodily harm every time they do their job.”

Thanks, PCGamesN.