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Black Panther director Ryan Coogler has linked the stories of upcoming Disney+ spin-off series Ironheart and Marvel’s next mega blockbuster Avengers: Doomsday, as the show’s first three episodes launch today.

Speaking to Deadline, Coogler admitted that Ironheart was conceived before Marvel dramatically changed course on its plans for the next Avengers movie, and ditched Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror to instead bring back Robert Downey Jr., now playing Dr. Doom.

Still, Coogler evoked Dr. Doom to suggest that Ironheart had a similar focus — a mix of technology and magic that was symbolic of Marvel’s iconic masked villain.

“It’s so crazy to be putting this [show] out now, at the time where AI is on the front of everybody’s mind, technological ethics are on the front of everybody’s mind,” said Coogler, who holds an executive producer credit on the series.

“But also when the MCU is gearing up — we didn’t know it was going to be Dr. Doom in the Avengers when we first started, but he’s a guy in publishing who’s most famous for fusing technology and magic, so it’s a great sample of things that are to come in probably what’s going to be the biggest movie in Marvel history.”

The first half of Ironheart launches today, June 24, 2025 on Disney+, after an unusually long wait between filming and release. Filming initially lasted between June and November 2022, before reshoots reportedly took place between February to April 2024.

It’s interesting to compare this production schedule to what else was going on behind the scenes at Marvel around this time. Reports suggesting Disney was reconsidering its plans for Kang circulated throughout 2023, after Majors’ arrest in March of that year. Majors was formally fired in December 2023, immediately after he was found guilty of harassment and assault. By February 2024, what was Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was reportedly being rewritten. Finally, in July 2024, Marvel announced that its fifth Avengers film was now titled Avengers: Doomsday, with its focus shifted to Dr. Doom.

So, was there time amid all these changes for Ironheart to get retooled as an Avengers: Doomsday lead-in? Is that why the series took so long to arrive? If any clear sign of Doom does appear, it would suggest Marvel was already settled on its plans for the next Avengers film as early as the start of 2024, when Ironheart reshoots took place, months before the Russos and Robert Downey Jr. were formally announced to the world.

Or, perhaps, Coogler is just savvy enough to know that while this belated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever spin-off might be launching now, Marvel fans are already focused on December 18, 2026 — when Avengers: Doomsday finally arrives.

While Ironheart star Riri Williams is a technological genius, recent weeks have seen Marvel focus its marketing on the series’ magical side, evoking popular Disney+ shows like Wandavision and Agatha: All Along. Indeed, Marvel fans believe Ironheart is hiding a big magical secret — the debut of a character whose MCU arrival has been expected for some time.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Unlike the beloved sitcom of our youth Malcolm in the Middle, the iconic Everybody Loves Raymond will not be participating in the reboot trend, according to the cast of the series.

“There won’t be a reboot,” the show’s star Ray Romano recently told The New York Post while attending a 30-year anniversary celebration of the series at the Paley Museum in New York City. “The obvious is Peter [Boyle] and Doris [Roberts], and one of the kids — they’re no longer with us. We’re all heartbroken. They’re a big part of the show, the dynamic.”

He added: “Without them, I don’t know what the dynamic is. We love the show too much, we respect it too much to even try to do it.”

Microsoft has announced the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition, the first limited edition ever for the Quest virtual reality headset.

The company behind Xbox has yet to release a virtual reality headset of its own, but it seems happy to partner with Meta to expand Xbox cloud gaming on Quest.

In a post on Xbox Wire, Lori Wright, Corporate Vice President, Gaming Partnerships and Business Development, said the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is “crafted for Xbox fans.” It’s out now (see it at Meta) and costs $399.99.

The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition Bundle contents:

• Custom 128GB Meta Quest 3S in Xbox Carbon Black and Velocity Green
• Matching Touch Plus controllers and a limited-edition Xbox Wireless Controller
• Elite Strap
• 3 months of Meta Horizon+
• 3 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

You can pair any Xbox Wireless Controller, Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, or Xbox Adaptive Controller to Quest using Bluetooth, but the included limited-edition Xbox Wireless Controller will share the same look as the other accessories.

The Xbox app on Quest lets you access Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is available as part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Game Pass Ultimate members can also stream select cloud-playable games they own, even if they are not included with Game Pass Ultimate (there are over 100 supported titles in the Stream Your Own Game collection).

The marketing for the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition leans on Microsoft’s ongoing “This is an Xbox” campaign, which pushes the idea that Xbox isn’t confined to consoles, but playable on most things with a screen.

The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is available now at meta.com, Best Buy (USA), Argos (UK), and EE (UK), but quantities are extremely limited. “Once they’re gone, they’re gone,” Microsoft said.

Microsoft has so far resisted the temptation to release a VR headset of its own, even as competitors such as Sony went all-in. Back in 2019, ahead of the launch of the Xbox Series X and S, Phil Spencer confirmed that virtual reality wasn’t a focus for the consoles because there wasn’t enough demand for it.

“We’re responding to what our customers are asking for and… nobody’s asking for VR,” Spencer said at the time. “The vast majority of our customers know if they want a VR experience, there’s places to go get those. We see the volumes of those on PC and other places.”

Sony went on to release the PSVR2 for the PlayStation 5, which now appears to have been left behind.

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.

Microsoft and Meta have teamed up to release a limited-edition Xbox-branded version of the Meta Quest 3S. The virtual reality headset comes with 128GB of built-in storage and a custom “carbon black and velocity green” color scheme. The bundle also includes an Elite Strap, a limited-edition Xbox Wireless Controller, plus three months of Meta Horizon+ and 3 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is available starting today, June 24, for $399.99. Microsoft says “quantities are extremely limited. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.”

Buy Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition

Fans are warning others to be mindful of Nintendo’s new anti-piracy policy when buying a secondhand Switch 2 — or risk buying a console that’s permanently stuck offline.

As reported earlier this month, Nintendo fans suspect the company has begun blocking access to all online functionality on Switch 2 consoles that have used the MIG Switch flash card — a device used to play unofficial copies of games.

This tactic, which is seemingly permanent, leaves a Switch 2 console displaying the error code 2124-4508 when accessing any online functions. Impacted consoles are unable to download and play any digital games or Game-Key cartridges, access system updates or game updates, play using online multiplayer, communicate using GameChat, or use any Nintendo Switch Online functionality, including the subscription’s retro game catalogues.

If you’re buying a Switch 2, you likely want to do some of those things. And, unfortunately, someone has already reported the first instance of picking up a pre-owned Switch 2 at a discount and finding they have been sold a console that’s been banned.

Writing on reddit, user Bimmytung reported buying a pre-owned Switch 2 from Walmart, and checking the box in-store to ensure that everything physically looked as it should.

“Physically it’s fine, everything seems there,” Bimmytung wrote. “Notice that the Mario Kart code is scratched off. Hmm. Naturally wonder if the original buyer redeemed the code and returned the system. They knocked $50 off the price so I figured I’d roll the dice and at least have the hardware. Bought a Pro Controller 2 while I was at it.

“Get home and go to finish the setup – quickly get Error Code 2124-4508. A quick Google search shows me I’m screwed. FML. Thankfully my local Walmart accepted the return without any fuss but still… I wish nothing but enthusiastic double gonorrhea to the lowlife scum that did this.”

As word spreads of the MIG Switch card’s risk, and as more Switch 2 consoles get banned by Nintendo, the likelihood grows that further impacted consoles will end up on eBay, or in secondhand retail shops.

Fans have suggested that anyone buying a secondhand Switch 2 console should now ask for proof the device still has access to its online functionality, and an assurance the previous owner had not used a MIG Switch previously, in order to avoid being caught up in a later ban wave.

Back in May, ahead of Switch 2’s launch, Nintendo updated its Nintendo Account Agreement to make clear that any attempt to use “hardware or software that would cause the Nintendo Account Services to operate other than in accordance with its documentation and intended use” risked “the Nintendo Account Services and/or the applicable Nintendo device [becoming] permanently unusable in whole or in part.”

Still, reports that Nintendo was swiftly bringing down the ban hammer on users who had inserted a MIG Switch into their console came as a shock to many Switch 2 owners, who found their new purchases banned from accessing online functionality almost immediately.

IGN contacted Nintendo at the time to ask for more detail on the bans, but did not receive a response. IGN has asked the company today for detail on what impacted customers should do if they purchase a blocked secondhand Switch 2, whether Nintendo would acknowledge this situation and remove bans, and whether the console maker would issue guidance to retail chains that handle secondhand stock warning them of the situation.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Firaxis and 2K are committed to reversing the fortunes of Civilization 7 with an all-new update, much of which has been “influenced by the community.”

This month’s “hefty” Update 1.2.2 brings a raft of long-awaited features like Large and Huge Maps, expanded Advanced Game Options, and a community favorite: Steam Workshop support. There’s also new Town Specializations, City-State Bonuses, Beliefs, balance changes, UI improvements, and — best of all, of course — “a very pettable Scout dog.”

Players can also finish their current save under a previous version by using the legacy Steam beta branch. Backwards compatibility for existing saves is also available, although you should note that “some new abilities or effects may not appear until you start a new game or advance to the next Age in your current campaign.”

“For the best experience, we recommend starting a new game, or continuing your current game into the next Age,” Firaxis said.

Large and Huge map sizes — which I’m afraid aren’t available on Switch, along with Standard — default to 10 players, but multiplayer campaigns max out at eight people, inclusive of AI companions. The team hopes to expand Huge to accommodate 12 players eventually, but right now it “needs a bit more time to make sure increased player counts won’t compromise game stability or performance.” That said, because of the size, these maps have been spruced up with Pantheons (and two new ones have been added to Antiquity), Religious Beliefs, Discoveries, and City-State bonuses to “ensure there’s enough content for all the players in a game.”

“One of the best things about Civilization is how many ways there are to play,” the update added. “Some players are happy to peacefully build the biggest, best Cities while others want to ignore all that and go conquer the world (‘Yes, your amazing City does look great in my empire’). With 1.2.2, we’ve added several new advanced game setup options to give you even more control over how you play.”

This means you can now decide whether to enable, disable (or turn off entirely) Legacy Paths per Page, specific Crises, as well as disable Score Victory. AI difficulty can be amended, too, and you can bypass Civ Unlocks On Age Transitions now.

“We’ve had a lot of fun playing with different Legacy Paths on or off in each Age. While Legacy Paths that don’t lead to a Victory are always optional, sometimes it’s nice to just tune them out entirely and focus on playing into the unique strengths of your leader and civ,” Firaxis added. “For a fun sandbox game we’ve been playing in the office, try turning off Legacy Paths for Antiquity and Exploration, and setting the game to Abbreviated Ages. If you want to lean into the sandbox feel even more, try turning off Legacy Paths in Modern and the Score Victory, too.”

Feedback from fans about Religion has necessitated changes, too, with the team now adding new Beliefs and updating existing ones to give bonus incentives for converting your own Settlements. There are “bigger and bolder changes” also on the horizon for Religion, but we’ll find out more about those at a later date. You can also expect Town focus bonuses to help them feel more “impactful.”

“Urban Centers in particular have received a glow-up, and now gain access to many of the Buildings that were otherwise only available in Cities (like Libraries and Monuments in Antiquity),” the update explained. “Fort Towns gain the ability to purchase multiple walls so they can really lock down strategic chokepoints. We also introduced a new type of Town Focus: the Resort Town. These relaxing scenic retreats gain extra Gold and Happiness on Rural tiles with Happiness and increased Yields on Natural Wonders.

“Lastly, we felt massed Hub Towns were overshadowing some of the other options and gave them a slight nerf from +2 Influence per connected Settlement to +1 Influence. We’re going to keep our eye on them to see how they compare against the other newly buffed Towns.”

Players will also now be able to find and install mods from Steam Workshop. Oh, and there’s even a new loading screen, with rewritten and re-recorded narration from Gwendoline Christie.

There’s also an absolute smorgasbord of tweaks and fixes, but if I wrote all those out here, we’d be here until Christmas. You can head on over to the official website to see it.

Civilization 7 has had a rough launch on Steam — that much is clear. The strategy sequel has struggled for players on Valve’s platform ever since its launch in February. Despite a number of patches issued by developer Firaxis to reverse things, Civilization 7 finds itself in the unenviable situation of having fewer players on Steam than Civilization 6 and even the 15-year-old Civilization 5. According to Steam user reviews the game is ‘mixed,’ although the last 1,500 or so reviews has it falling to a ‘mostly negative’ rating.

Update 1.2.2 is out now, although Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 players will have to wait a little longer as the team works “diligently to get these updates through the additional Switch submission requirements.” Players still experiencing issues or bugs are encouraged to disable mods and make the team aware.

We thought Civilization 7 was ‘good,’ awarding it a fitting 7/10, writing: “Civilization 7’s improved warfare and added bits of narrative flair give me reasons to keep clicking one more turn late into the night, but the desire to streamline and simplify this legendary 4X series feels like it has also gone a bit too far, particularly when it comes to the interface.”

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.

Director Danny Boyle has discussed how Britain’s most iconic tree features in 28 Years Later — despite the movie being shot more than a year after vandals chopped it down.

Boyle’s post-apocalyptic 28 Days Later film series has always included a heavy focus on British culture, and new entry 28 Years Later is no different, with references to the children’s classic TV show The Teletubbies and a particularly notorious cultural figure who is best left behind a sizable spoiler warning.

But as British fans of the series flock to see the film, one other notable inclusion that’s been spotted is the tree at Sycamore Gap — an iconic location in the English countryside that dominated national headlines when the tree was illegally felled.

For those unfamiliar, the 150-year-old Sycamore Gap tree was positioned in a photogenic tourist hotspot in the northern English county of Northumberland, next to an ancient Roman structure, Hadrian’s Wall, that once divided the country from Scotland.

The tree gained particular fame from being featured in the 1991 Kevin Costner classic Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves — with some dubbing the sycamore as ‘the Robin Hood tree’ as a result.

In the early hours of September 28, 2023, the tree was cut down in an act deemed by police to be “deliberate vandalism.” Two men in their 30s who filmed themselves felling the tree on their mobile phones were later arrested and charged with causing £623,335 worth of criminal damage to both the tree itself and Hadrian’s Wall, upon which the sycamore had fallen. Both have since been found guilty, but await sentencing.

Back in March this year, game industry veteran Masahiro Sakurai received a lifetime achievement award at the 30th AMD awards. In an interview by ITMedia Business Online conducted at the time (recently republished on Yahoo Japan), Sakurai revealed why he doesn’t hire people, reflected on how the games industry has changed, and touched on the potential use of generative AI in development.

Sakurai is best known as the creator behind two of Nintendo’s big franchises, Kirby and Smash Bros. After working at game dev studio Hal Laboratories from 1989 to 2003, Sakurai became a freelance game creator, founding his own company Sora Ltd. in 2005. In 2022, he created the award-winning YouTube channel “Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games,” in which he shared insight and advice on all aspects of making a game.

Sakurai’s approach differs from that of many game creators who have gone on to form their own companies. “When a game creator becomes the president of a company, it is difficult for them to fully engage in creative activities,” explained Sakurai. “There was a conflict between making interesting games and making management decisions — the problem was that being overwhelmed by the duties of being a president made it hard to focus on the vital part, game creation.”

This led Sakurai to his current approach, which involves creating games without directly hiring or managing any employees. “Basically I work together with other game companies to avoid having to manage a company,” Sakurai explained. “This method has worked well so far. I am able to continue being creative and concentrate on making things without becoming extremely busy running a company.”

However, Sakurai noted that his method is not without its challenges. Working with different game devs means that Sakurai has to “build up trusting relationships and working styles from scratch every time. So, I think it is necessary to have a certain degree of flexibility.”

According to Sakurai, one of the most important elements when working with a team on a new project for the first time is to make sure everyone is on the same page and has a clear, shared vision of the game. “I make sure that many members of staff can share the same information at the same time, regardless of their job or whether they are designer or programmer.” Although this takes more time and planning, Sakurai said that in his experience, this approach “reduces the risk of information gaps” and misunderstandings. “Conversely, if I just conveyed my ideas to the producer, and then they assign work to various other people, then some kind of misunderstanding would occur, or even a 180 degree difference (in what was intended).”

However, when asked whether his approach would be the best for the game industry as a whole, Sakurai was hesitant. “It depends on the person. As for me, I had built up a track record and trust through working on Kirby and Smash Bros. titles in the past. If you don’t have this, if you don’t have any track record at all, then the work won’t come to you. This is a way of working that becomes possible through gaining more allies by continuing to make good games, and it is not a style of working that works well for everyone.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar wants the upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot to bring back the show’s original cast of characters — including “everyone who has died.”

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Gellar said her vision for the series would be that it offers a mix of storylines featuring both new and returning faces, and have a lighter tone than the original show’s Season 6 and Season 7.

As well as being an executive producer, Gellar will star in the series’ new pilot episode and then appear in a recurring role afterwards, as she passes the Slayer baton to new series lead Ryan Kiera Armstrong. But it sounds like she won’t be the only classic cast member returning when the Buffy reboot arrives.

“It will be lighter than the last few seasons of the original,” Gellar said. “We will try to find a balance between new and old characters. My dream is to bring back everyone who has died, but space will have to be made for new stories as well.”

Gellar’s comments are the first time we’ve heard of plans to bring back other classic characters as well as herself, and the suggestion that deceased characters could return as well opens up some intriguing possibilities.

Main character deaths in Buffy’s original run were rare, though later seasons saw fan-favourite witch Tara tragically murdered, while the show’s finale offed former demon Anya.

Buffy spin-off Angel killed off a slew of its cast characters, however, including several that debuted in its parent show. Cheerleader turned seer Cordelia sadly passed in the series’ later episodes, while Watcher turned rogue demon hunter Wesley fell in the series finale.

In the world of Buffy, death does not pose a huge problem for returning characters, with numerous actors reprising their roles — or beginning them — as characters who have died, become undead, or been resurrected. Buffy herself died several times throughout the series’ original run, and several of her closest pals (lovers) were vampires.

Gellar recently recorded a video reuniting with her former co-star Alyson Hannigan, who played Willow, putting to bed internet rumours of a feud. Fans had hoped this meant Hannigan’s character might also return — though there’s been no confirmation as yet.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer originally aired from 1997 to 2003, starring Gellar, Hannigan, Nicholas Brendan as Xander, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia, David Boreanaz as Angel and Anthony Stewart Head as Giles. The series was created by Joss Whedon, who is not connected to the reboot.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Mahershala Ali has issued a number of updates on Marvel’s M.I.A. Blade movie while promoting his new film, Jurassic World Rebirth, and none are particularly positive.

Blade was first announced at San Diego Comic Con back in 2019 and if all had gone to plan, the movie would have launched this November. But the troubled project has cycled through several directors at this point, and now, six years after it was announced, Blade starring Mahershala Ali is no closer to becoming a reality.

Indeed, it’s been eight months since Blade was removed from Marvel’s release schedule — and the studio has yet to confirm a new release date. That said, a month after the film was pulled from the calendar, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige insisted the company still planned to make a Blade movie happen at some point.

“We are committed to Blade. We love the character, we love Mahershala’s take on him. And rest assured: whenever we change direction with a project, or are still figuring out how it fits into our schedule, we let the audience know. You’re all up to date on what’s happening,” he said during an interview with Omelete in November 2024. “But I can tell you that the character will indeed make it to the MCU.”

But what does Mahershala Ali have to say about it? Speaking to Variety, the Oscar-winning actor issued a brief and vague update that will do little to convince fans Blade is on the way. “Call Marvel,” Ali said. “I’m ready. Let them know I’m ready.”

The Hollywood Reporter also asked Ali for an update on Blade. Here, he said a little more, but it still sounds very much like nothing’s happening any time soon.

“I would love for Blade to happen; we’ll see, I don’t know where Marvel is at right now,” he said. “I’m just looking for the next great part, I really am.”