Everyone’s noticing how the industry is shifting — including major A-Listers like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who recently opened up about the fact that Netflix wants to change how films are being made.
During a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast promoting their new Netflix film The Rip, Damon revealed that the streamer wants to make it so that action set pieces in films occur during the beginning section of the runtime because audiences give a “very different level of attention” to movies at home versus in theaters.
“The standard way to make an action movie that we learned was, you usually have three set pieces. One in the first act, one in the second, one in the third,” Damon explained on the podcast. “You spend most of your money on that one in the third act. That’s your finale. And now they’re like, ‘Can we get a big one in the first five minutes? We want people to stay. And it wouldn’t be terrible if you reiterated the plot three or four times in the dialogue because people are on their phones while they’re watching.’”
However, Affleck noted that there are still successful projects that don’t adhere to those new rules, projects like the acclaimed miniseries Adolescence, which consists of episodes shot in one continuous take.
“But then you look at Adolescence, and it didn’t do any of that shit,” Affleck said during the appearance. “And it’s f—king great. And it’s dark too. It’s tragic and intense. [It’s about] this guy who finds out his kid is accused of murder. There are long shots of the back of their heads. They get in the car, nobody says anything.”
Damon called this kind of project the “exception” to Netflix’s new way of thinking, while Affleck affirmed that the success of the show “demonstrates you don’t have to do” what Netflix wants in order to draw audiences in and keep them there. Many films prove this theory right every day, and ultimately, it comes down to having a well-crafted, unforgettable story at the center of your project — that’s the only thing that will truly make audiences see the merit in the work, the only foolproof method.
Damon and Affleck’s new film, The Rip, was written and directed by Joe Carnahan and stars Teyana Taylor, Steven Yeun, and Kyle Chandler alongside the Good Will Hunting stars. The movie is now available to stream on Netflix.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
DC Universe chief James Gunn has suggested fans won’t get an update on the Brave and the Bold Batman movie until after The Batman 2 comes out next year.
The Batman 2, starring Robert Pattinson in the title role, is set to launch five-and-a-half years after The Batman, on October 1, 2027. Writer-director Matt Reeves has said he set out to make a trilogy of Batman films as part of his Batman Epic Crime Saga, and as of 2024 that plan was still on.
The Batman films exist in a universe separate to the ongoing DCU, and given Gunn has ruled out Pattinson’s Batman crossing over, we’re set for a new actor to play the Caped Crusader for the Brave and the Bold.
It’s a film with a great deal of expectation behind it, but it seems a long way away. Asked on social media when fans can expect to see a Brave and the Bold update, Gunn indicated that nothing will be released until after The Batman 2 is done and dusted.
“I'm dependent on when there's an actionable script ready so there is no way of me guessing this,” he said. “Also, frankly, we're well into Batman 2, and I wouldn't want to cloud the Batsphere until after that.”
Given The Batman 2 comes out October 2027, it looks like we won't get an update on The Brave and the Bold until early 2028 at the earliest.
Gunn then committed to never releasing two Batman movies in the same year. “I think both Batman and WW [Wonder Woman] are incredibly important,” he said in response to another fan. “But I'm also not going to have two Batman movies come out in the same year.”
Gunn finds himself having to navigate two takes on Batman at the same time. If Reeves gets to make his third Batman film, we could see The Brave and The Bold sandwiched between a pair of Robert Pattinson Batman movies, potentially confusing the audience.
While promoting the rebooted DCU kickstarter Superman last year, Gunn admitted: "Batman's my biggest issue in all of DC right now." As of February 2025, The Brave and the Bold was said to be in “very active development,” and the story was “coming together very nicely.” But is The Flash director Andy Muschietti still directing? At the time, Gunn and Safran were said to be developing the script, and planned to show it to Muschietti "when we have it in a place where we think it's ready to go... and see if it's a fit for him.”
As for The Batman 2, in an update last year, Reeves acknowledged how long it was taking to get the sequel in a position to start filming. “It’s been a journey that is taking longer than I would’ve wanted for a lot of reasons, a lot of personal reasons,” Reeves told The Hollywood Reporter. “But [the] most important reason is getting it to a place where I just felt like it was the best script we could possibly write.”
Reeves also spoke about Pattinson’s response to the script — which, believe it or not, was mailed to him in a privacy pouch complete with coded entry (that Pattinson almost couldn’t open, mind you) to keep all of the exciting details completely under wraps.
“He’s Batman, and if he doesn’t like it, not good,” the Cloverfield director said of Pattinson’s feelings on the script. “I was super excited. I thought that he really would [like it] because the things that it does for his character, for Batman and for Bruce, have never been done before in this way. I had a feeling that he would respond in this way, but the fact that he did was incredibly encouraging.”
He added: “Obviously because of what the first movie was and what this movie is, which is so much a detective story, the idea of trying to protect the secrets of the movie is super important because it’s a mystery. It would be an extra level of heartbreak if that part of it started getting out.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Nintendo allegedly expressed dissatisfaction at Sega during the development of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, after seeing Sonic's foot placed ahead of Mario's.
The incident has come to light in an Arcade Attack Retro Gaming Network interview with Sega veteran Ryoichi Hasegawa, who worked on the Wii and Nintendo DS sports minigame classic ahead of its release back in 2007.
According to Hasegawa, Nintendo insisted that Sega change artwork set to be used for the game's cover that depicted Mario's foot placed behind that of Sonic's.
"There was one funny story," Hasegawa recalled of the game's development. "There was artwork of Mario and Sonic, and you know, other characters standing on the field. And those artworks were used for the package, the instruction manual cover, and the cartridge label, and things like that...
"There was one small error and Sonic's foot was in front of Mario's foot, " he continued, "and Nintendo demanded us to change the priority."
Asked if Sega agreed to the change, Hasegawa said the game's developers "of course" made the change for Nintendo. "We were like 'oh my god' we have to change it," he concluded, "or there will be no deal."
Nintendo has frequently been reported to be a stickler for its characters appearing exactly as it wants — another infamous example is the company sending notes to Disney to describe how Bowser should hold his teacup during a brief cameo in Wreck-It Ralph.
As it was, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games was a smash hit for Sega, selling 10 million copies and spawning a string of sequels. Alas, the franchise ended after its final game in 2020, when the International Olympic Committee chose not to renew its licensing deal with Sega and Nintendo, and instead pursue partnerships based around mobile gaming and NFTs.
"Basically the IOC wanted to bring [it] back to themselves internally and look at other partners so they would get more money," producer Lee Cocker, who worked on the series while at marketing company ISM Ltd, previously confirmed.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
We already knew that Bungie’s delayed extraction shooter revival, Marathon, was toying with a March 2026 release window and a $39.99 price point, but it seems as though an advertisement on the Xbox Store has prematurely announced the big day: March 5, 2026.
It was Redditor TheJuiceBaba who spotted it first, providing a recording of a now-deleted Marathon teaser trailer on Xbox, which ended with: "Coming March 5, 2026. Pre-order now."
In news unlikely to surprise you, shortly thereafter the trailer was yanked from Xbox, and TheJuiceBaba's post is nowhere to be seen (if not quite before people were able to rip and mirror it), giving us our strongest hint yet that the trailer could be authentic.
Marathon has certainly endured a troubled development and has suffered multiple delays. At the end of last year, parent company Sony said Bungie had failed to meet its sales and user engagement targets, resulting in a $200 million impairment charge, and the studio found itself battling yet more accusations of plagiarism back in May after an artist accused Bungie of lifting aspects of her artwork for Marathon (the issue has since been resolved).
Last June Marathon was delayed into 2026 as Bungie worked to respond to feedback from playtests. Things went dark until Marathon re-emerged in October, when Bungie announced the extraction shooter was ready for a limited, invite-only playtest for players in North America and Europe across PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and Steam.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Amazon is continuing its hot streak of tidy TCG deals, and this week has blessed us with a fairly outstanding $100 discount on the Pokémon TCG: Mega Charizard X ex Ultra Premium Collection that launched alongside Phantasmal Flames at the end of last year.
You can pick it up for just $149.99 ($100 off its $249.99 list price) while stock lasts at Amazon, which is pretty much bang on its current market price (i.e., what most folk are prepared to pay for it/ what it can be reliably sold for).
That being said, you can also pick it up for around $145 at the trusted resale marketplace TCGplayer right now as well, if you're so inclined to save that extra $8.
You'll need to pay for delivery on top, bear in mind, but it's still a good choice if you're not already packing some Amazon gift cards. Also, if we're making comparisons, Amazon will likely deliver this bad boy faster, especially if you have Prime.
So, now that you're packing all the information you need, you can make an informed decision and come away happy. If you're keen on picking it up while the discounts last, here’s a complete list of what’s included in the collection:
Note, in my opinion, there’s nothing inherently wrong with what’s here, but the selection of booster packs feels just a tiny bit tired. More Phantasmal Flames, or even Mega Evolution packs, would have gone a long way.
Instead, the heavy reliance on Surging Sparks and Journey Together makes the whole thing feel a step behind where it should be. Still, if that isn't an issue for you, than this is the best value going for the latest Ultra Premium Collection online right now.
If you're looking to just chase cards, however, I'd also recommend checking out how much some of the best single chase cards are going for right now, to pick up individually. Or, to consult after you've cracked open all your packs. Good luck!
There's a whole lot more Phantasmal Flames goodies up for grabs right now, at more reasonable prices. But, I'd still recommend checking on TCGplayer to ensure you're getting a good deal, or even just ordering from there altogether, as it often has the best prices.
According to marketplaces like TCGPlayer, certain Phantasmal Flames cards have already skyrocketed further in price, and, following up from our Mega Evolution round-up, we’ve ranked the ten most expensive cards so far just above. From aggressive Mega attackers to powerful evolution support, Phantasmal Flames brings a fiery mix of competitive threats and high-demand pulls.
Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN's resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.
Ex-Assassin's Creed boss Marc-Alexis Côté is suing Ubisoft for CAD $1.3 million in lost severance pay and damages following his shock exit from the company last year.
Radio Canada broke word of the lawsuit, which Coté has filed against his former employer due to the manner in which he left the company — an "unacceptable demotion" that constituted a "disguised dismissal."
Côté's departure from Ubisoft last October came as a surprise to fans and the company's thousands of Assassin's Creed developers, just weeks after the brand became part of Ubisoft's new Tencent-backed business entity Vantage Studios. Côté had served more than 20 years at Ubisoft and worked on a string of Assassin's Creed hits, before his promotion to head up the flagship brand in 2022.
Ubisoft told staff of Côté's departure via an internal email that discussed the need for Vantage Studios' leadership team to be "aligned" with its core goals. At the time, IGN reported that Côté had been offered a role as part of Vantage Studios' leadership, but declined.
Côté's lawsuit claims that he was essentially replaced in his role early in 2025 by Vantage Studios' newly-installed leadership, Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot — the cousin and son of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. With this layer of management now above him, Côté claims he then learned over the summer of 2025 that Vantage was now seeking to hire a new Assassin's Creed franchise boss, too.
Radio Canada's report suggests that Côté enquired about the role but was told he was not suitable and would not be supported by Yves Guillemot, as the position was to be based in Ubisoft's base in France, rather than in Canada, where Côté is based and every major Assassin's Creed title has been led.
Côté's lawsuit allegedly claims that he was offered a "Head of Production" role, reporting into the incoming new "Head of Franchise", and then alternatively the chance to lead another business unit, working on second-tier Ubisoft franchises.
During a two-week period of reflection on what to do next, Côté told Ubisoft his exit from the company would require severance pay. It was at this point that Ubisoft allegedly told Côté not to show up for work as expected on October 13 and await a formal response. The following day, October 14, Ubisoft announced that Côté had departed.
In an internal note to Ubisoft staff obtained by IGN at the time, Derennes said he was "disappointed" by Côté's decision, but that the former leader "had his own expectations and priorities related to Vantage Studios' creation and future."
"Following the organizational restructuring announced in March 2025, Marc-Alexis Côté has chosen to pursue a new path elsewhere outside of Ubisoft," a Ubisoft spokesperson said in a comment to IGN at the time. "While we are saddened to see him go, we're confident that our talented teams will carry forward the strong foundation he helped build."
Now, Côté's lawsuit alleges his exit from Ubisoft constituted an abuse of power and resulted in damage to his reputation. The amount he is seeking — CAD $1.3 million — is the sum of two years' salary and a further CAD $75,000 in damages. Côté is also seeking for Ubisoft to lift his non-compete agreement, which currently limits his ability to work elsewhere.
Representatives for Côté have confirmed the lawsuit. IGN has contacted Ubisoft for comment.
Côté, known to colleagues by his initials as "Mac", joined Ubisoft in 2005 as a software engineer, before working as a lead engine programmer on Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. From there, he joined the Assassin's Creed series in time for Brotherhood, working as a lead level designer, before serving as a game director on Assassin's Creed 3.
As creative director, Côté led development on a string of projects built at Ubisoft Quebec, the talented team which made Assassin's Creed: Black Flag DLC Freedom Cry, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, and then Assassin's Creed Odyssey, for which he served as senior producer.
In March 2022, as Quebec worked on Assassin's Creed Shadows and Ubisoft sought to relaunch the series with a more consistent story focus via the Animus Hub (a project then envisioned under the title of Assassin's Creed Infinity), it was Côté that took the reigns on the entire franchise, laying out a Marvel-style slate of upcoming projects that included the forthcoming Assassin's Creed Hexe, which still lacks a release date. The next release in the franchise is widely-expected to be an Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remaster, meanwhile.
Image credit: Andrej Ivanov/AFP via Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Games Workshop has published a Warhammer lore explanation for the existence of female Custodes following a new miniature range announcement on Friday.
During a preview livestream, the British company behind tabletop wargames Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 revealed new models for the Adeptus Custodes, a faction made up of genetically-engineered, functionally immortal transhumans who work as the Emperor’s bodyguards on Terra. The Custodes are not Space Marines. Indeed, they are bigger, faster, and more powerful than the average Space Marine. And, as we shall explore, they are created in a very different way.
Games Workshop showed off new, eye-catching Custodes models during the livestream, and alongside the male types are female types. While female Custodes had been mentioned in previous Warhammer 40,000 material, and even starred in an official Warhammer animation, their debut in miniature form was enough to set off complaints online from some who accused Games Workshop of retconning the established lore. These people believe the Custodes should remain male only because, they insist, this is what the lore had set out. Some also accuse Games Workshop of pandering to a "modern audience" with the female Custodes, echoing the so-called “anti-woke” rhetoric.
Perhaps mindful of this reaction, Games Workshop had a lore article ready to go following the reveal. In it, the company explained how female Custodes are made possible and how they differ from Space Marines, which remain male only. The gist, according to this article, is there is no retcon.
“Lore wise, Space Marines are made from human males, willing aspirants or unwilling conscripts on the cusp of adolescence,” Games Workshop explained. “They are subjected to a series of horrific trials, and the strongest emerge as remorseless killers, their humanity stripped away so they can serve as living weapons in the Emperor’s armies. There are no female Adeptus Astartes.
“Custodes are not Space Marines. Other than the obvious point that they are both towering, gene-enhanced warriors, the similarities pretty much stop there. Custodes are taken as infants and recrafted by ancient science.The process is arcane and bespoke to each individual. The Emperor himself retained oversight of the process (at least until that whole Horus Heresy thing went down).”
Games Workshop also addressed the belief that all the Custodes are made from the sons of Terran noble houses, as set out by Custodes lore established for the 8th Edition of Warhammer 40,000. While some Custodes are made this way, that was not the only source of recruitment, Games Workshop explained.
“Other methods might have been equally overt, others far more secretive,” the company said. “Noble daughters could also have been taken, and at some point, you run out of noble houses — even after you’ve conquered all of Terra, the inexorable war machine of the Imperium still requires a constant churn of recruits.”
Games Workshop concluded: “all Custodes, male or female, embody the pinnacle of the genetic and cellular engineering the Emperor employed when creating his armies. They are all flawless creations, pushed beyond the limit of human potential. There is no difference in combat efficacy between a male Custodian and female Custodian.”
It’s safe to say the weekend has been packed with ‘discourse’ following the Custodes reveal. YouTube comments, social media, and subreddits do indeed have many comments from people complaining about the mere existence of these female Custodes models. Some are so upset they’re threatening to leave the hobby behind over it. But it’s important to note that there is a significant pushback on this sentiment from many Warhammer 40,000 fans who have no problem whatsoever with female Custodes and dismiss any retcon concerns.
It’s worth remembering that, for all the complaints about retcons, Warhammer 40,000 “lore,” such as it is, has always been an unreliable thing. Indeed, it is built upon the idea that all we know of what was, what is, and what will be comes from a certain point of view. Crucial events are often delivered from a character’s perspective, and that character may have an agenda of their own. The Imperium itself — a rotting, fascist regime built upon 10,000 years of propaganda — twists the facts, if we can even call them such. There is little in the Warhammer 40,000 universe that can be relied upon. That is kind of the point.
And we’ve been here before. The Necrons — now one of the most popular xenos factions in the setting — were once mindless automatons all. Now, we have novels about individual Necrons with more personality than your average agent of the Inquisition. We don’t call the Imperial Guard the Imperial Guard anymore (well, we’re not meant to!). We are to refer to the Guard as the Astra Militarum and not to say another word on it thank you very much.
From the same 8th Edition Custodes codex that stated all the Custodes are made from the sons of Terran noble houses:
Not even the most knowledgeable of the Imperium’s scholars can say when the Emperor fashioned the Custodians. The truth is hidden in fragments of the past, accounts of figures appearing in crude hieroglyphs and cave etchings, stasis-locked scads of parchment and gene-sealed tomes that no man now can open.
And:
The method by which such remarkable individuals are created has always been known only to those of the Imperial household, and is carried out by the most accomplished chirurgeons and bio-alchemists of Terra within gilded laboratories locked away from the sight of Humanity’s masses. With the Adeptus Custodes fighting only for the Emperor himself, and beholden to the commands and scrutiny of no other, the secrets of their recruitment have never been revealed, for not even the High Lords of Terra have the right to demand them.
Games Workshop had laid the groundwork for the introduction of female Custodes by mentioning Custodes Calladayce Kesh in the latest Custodes codex back in April 2024 (some didn’t like the way this was done, or the tweet Games Workshop put out about it back then, and at the time there were no female Custodes models to go alongside the lore reveal).
Since the first of the Ten Thousand were created, there have always been female Custodians.
— Warhammer Official (@warhammer) April 14, 2024
Then, in September 2024, fans were treated to a Warhammer animation starring a female Custodes called Tyrith Shiva Kyrus, who spent her time ripping tyranids to shreds and staring down Space Marines in the way only a Custodes can.
Tyrith Shiva Kyrus was Games Workshop's first portrayal of a female Custodian since the lore revelation that Custodians could be any gender just a handful of months prior. "This fact came as a real surprise to many, since it wasn’t something previously explored," Games Workshop said at the time. "That, in and of itself, isn’t a particularly unusual thing for Warhammer 40,000 and its lore; there are simply loads of things the Warhammer Studios have never expressly stated, whether that’s ruling them in or out. Since the earliest conversations about bringing the Horus Heresy to the tabletop and Black Library fiction, the exact nature of the Custodians has been under discussion — after all, their origins and means of creation, unlike for example, the Legiones/Adeptus Astartes, are shrouded in mystery.
"A significant advantage to this portrayal is that it helps us to address a common misconception — that the Custodes are just bigger, better Space Marines. They aren’t. Space Marines were made through industrialised ritual to be mass-produced, brute-force weapons of conquest. And even 10,000 years after their creation, draped in self-assigned glory, that’s still true of them at their core. Each Custodian, on the other hand, is unique. Painstakingly made through peerless craft and arcane artifice, their physique, their psyche, their very soul, is a bespoke instrument of the Emperor they unquestioningly serve."
These "gaps" in the Warhammer lore, where things are left unsaid or unexplained, are "quite intentional," Games Workshop said as part of that same September 2024 explanation. "They let you as collectors, players, and fans fill the spaces with your own characters, stories and narratives — making the Warhammer hobby truly yours," the company continued. "They also allow us to revisit factions through miniatures, stories, and animations and offer something new and interesting. (Imagine how sad it would be if we ever said 'And that’s it. That’s everything you’ll ever see in this army. No new models ever.' – that’d be rubbish.)"
Now, we finally have female Custodes minis, which shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise at all. As redditor SchmittVanDean put it over the weekend:
“And it's increasingly embarrassing and weird, like people who still complain bitterly about the Necrons. Tithes Episode 2 is a really fun short story of a female Custodes and her Sister of Silence buddy and the characterisation of their motivations and interactions — especially with Space Marines — are fantastic; their depiction and the way they fight is just cool. The new models are exceptional. The lore rationale — the Custodes are created via a perfected form of the earlier mass production gene editing that could only produce male Space Marines — improves both Marines and Custodes conceptually as factions.”
Or, as redditor tghast said: “I truly truly truly could not think of something I give less of a shit about.”
Image credit: Games Workshop.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Far Cry Primal, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, and Far Cry 3 — the 2012 instalment starring Michael Mando as Vaas Montenegro in what is arguably the best game in Ubisoft's first-person shooter series — is getting a 60fps update on current gen consoles.
At least, that's what we thought was happening when developer/publisher Ubisoft delivered the news not by a press release but instead via a cryptic tweet and a bundle of emojis, as you can see below:
— Far Cry (@FarCrygame) January 16, 2026
From what we can see, the top line reads, Far Cry [Tree] + 60 [Pair] Second, the middle, Far Cry: Blood Dragon + 60 + Frames [Pear] Second, and the bottom one, Far Cry Primal + 60 + Frames [Purr] Second.
Thankfully, Ubisoft confirmed the news with a follow-up tweet without emojis over the weekend, giving us a sun-soaked glimpse of the "once-in-a-lifetime" vacation and confirmation that "everything runs smoother at 60 FPS on current gen consoles. Pack light. Things escalate fast".
As PushSquare reminds us, Far Cry 3: Classic Edition has a patch coming later this week — Wednesday, January 21, to be precise — which could be when the FPS changes go into effect. It also looks like the same changes will come to Blood Dragon and Primal around the same time, too.
IGN's Far Cry 3 review returned an Amazing 9/10. We said: "Far Cry 3 is important for the same reason as Far Cry 2. It’s a shooter that considers shooters thoughtfully, both in the way they’re designed and the way we play them, and then asks us to do the same. Should massacring hundreds be a great way to entertain ourselves? Maybe not. But it is."
For more, find out where Far Cry 3 sits in our ranked list of the best Far Cry games, and how Far Cry's iconic villains were created.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Fire services attended the offices of Grand Theft Auto 6 developer Rockstar North this morning and secured "structural damage" following a reported boiler explosion.
Seven vehicles were mobilized to attend the main Rockstar North building in Edinburgh, Scotland at 5.02am local time (just after midnight Eastern), following an incident that local news outlet Edinburgh Live described as an "explosion in a boiler room."
Crews remained on-site for over four hours but have now left the scene, Scottish newspaper The Herald has reported.
"We were alerted at 5.02am on Monday, 19 January to attend an incident on Holyrood Road, Edinburgh," a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said. "Operations Control mobilised three fire appliances and specialist resources to the scene, where firefighters worked to secure structural damage at a commercial building.
"There were no reported casualties and crews left the scene at 9.21am."
Rockstar Games' Edinburgh office has long served as the heart of the company, with development of every major Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption game taking place within its walls. Most recently, the building has been the site of protests over Rockstar's sudden firing of workers amid an increasingly bitter dispute that the layoffs were due to the employees' union membership — a claim that Rockstar itself has vehemently denied.
It's believed that office remains shut today, though it's too early to say how this setback might impact the release of the twice-delayed GTA 6. Rockstar's hugely-anticipated game is currently set to launch on November 19.
IGN has contacted Rockstar Games for more.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Marvel stars Idris Elba, Wumni Mosaku, and Martin Freeman seemingly won't appear in Avengers: Doomsday, as "not everyone" from the past phase of movies is being brought back for the team-up movie.
During an appearance on the BBC's Graham Norton chat show, the trio were asked by the host if they are set to join Doomsday's already-enormous cast, for the Marvel movie that "everyone's in." After a moment's silence, Freeman responded to say: "Apparently not, not everyone."
Freeman plays Everett Ross and has appeared in three MCU movies to date, though was most recently seen in 2023's forgettable Disney+ series Secret Invasion. The suggestion here is that we won't be seeing him again anytime soon.
Idris Elba, Wumni Mosaku and Martin Freeman were asked if they’d be returning for ‘AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY’
— Avengers Updates (@AvengersUpdated) January 17, 2026
“Apparently, not. Not everyone’s [in it].” 😂
(via @TheGNShow) pic.twitter.com/HD2ph4AR3b
After Norton corrected himself to say that "most people are in" the film, Wumni Mosaku responded, jokingly, by simply saying: "Rude." Mosaku plays Hunter B-15 in Loki, and reprised the role on the big screen in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine.
Of the three, her absence in Doomsday would be the biggest surprise, as her character is currently head of the TVA, Marvel's multiversal enforcement agency. Of course, we know that Loki himself will appear in the movie, and that Doomsday's story seemingly deals with the ramifications of the Avengers' multiversal tampering to date. It would be odd if the TVA didn't factor in somehow, and we didn't see its leader appear — especially after that Deadpool & Wolverine cameo.
"My character died," replied Elba, who appears in the MCU as Asgardian warrior Heimdall. Norton then jokingly told Elba that "they all f***ing die" to suggest that Heimdall's death wouldn't preclude his involvement. (And Norton is right, as Heimdall already popped up post-death in Thor: Love and Thunder — plus the extent to which characters in Valhalla are fully dead is up for debate.)
None of the three actors were named by Marvel as being in the movie as part of the company's big chair reveal stream a year ago, and there has been no leak or report so far to suggest they have filmed scenes in secret. But the possibility remains that they have done so and simply can't say, or will do in the future as part of Doomsday's upcoming reshoots that are set to take place this spring.
Last week, Marvel announced that its recent flurry of Avengers: Doomsday teaser trailers had passed a combined 1 billion views, though Doomsday's directors are adamant that the clips are neither teasers nor trailers but instead clues to the movie itself. What clues could be hidden inside? One fan believes they've cracked the code via hidden timestamps that relate to specific moments within Avengers: Endgame — a theory that's certainly gaining traction.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
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