Mass Effect developer BioWare never intended to make the now-beloved Garrus a romance option in the second game and was "blindsided" when fans asked for it.

In an "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit, Mass Effect writer Drew Karpyshyn was asked if the BioWare team always intended to bring Garrus and Tali back in the second game or if it was decided later as a response to players' positive reactions towards them.

"We always knew they'd come back as companions," Karpyshyn said. "I was a bit surprised fans wanted the romance options. Tali I could sort of see. You never saw her face, so it was easy to imagine something vaguely human (but she had those weird feet). Garrus blindsided me," he added. "But once we saw what fans wanted, we decided to deliver."

Though Mass Effect 2 was released more than a decade ago in 2010, conversations around the game were rekindled last year when the trilogy was released in one package as Mass Effect: The Legendary Edition.

BioWare has also been teasing more about the fifth game recently and revealed earlier in July that Guardians of the Galaxy and Deus Ex prequel writer Mary DeMarle had joined the team as its senior narrative director.

Mass Effect 5, for lack of an official title, was being "actively prototyped" as of February 2022 and first announced in December 2021. BioWare also released a new teaser image that includes a handful of secrets for fans to decipher and was later forced to address (and deny) an apparent leak that suggested original protagonist Commander Shepard was returning in the new game.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Solo star Aldren Ehrenreich has landed a "key role" in Marvel's upcoming Ironheart series at Disney+, though it's currently unknown which character he will be playing.

According to Deadline, Ehrenreich has become the latest member of the Ironheart ensemble and will star alongside previously announced cast members Dominique Thorne, Anthony Ramos, Lyric Ross, and Manny Montana. Thorne is headlining the series as Riri Williams, "a genius inventor and creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man."

The character made waves in the Marvel universe in 2016 in the pages of The Invincible Iron Man, and will now make her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever this November. Thorne is said to have shot her scenes for the upcoming sequel before reuniting with director Ryan Coogler on the Ironheart series, for which he serves as an executive producer.

As for Ehrenreich, he will next be seen in the Elizabeth Banks-directed thriller Cocaine Bear. He also recently wrapped production on Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer for Universal Pictures. Ehrenreich's past credits include Solo: A Star Wars Story, in which he played a young Han Solo, as well as the Coen brothers comedy Hail, Caesar! and Peacock's Brave New World.

While Marvel hasn't yet confirmed a release window for Ironheart, the studio has plenty of Disney+ projects on the horizon. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is coming up in August as the next live-action Disney+ series in the MCU following Ms. Marvel. There are also a few specials along the way in addition to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever landing in theaters in November.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

As Doom continues to be played on just about every piece of technology available, things have finally gone full circle as someone has now made Doom playable in, well, Doom.

As spotted by PCGamesN, YouTube user kgsws uploaded a video of himself modding the game into itself, before showing actual gameplay of him playing Doom within Doom on PC.

The 'inner' Doom replaces a wall within regular Doom and mimics any movements the player makes. By walking right up to it, the inner Doom therefore takes up the full screen and can be played in its entirety before players return to playing the main game.

While there's obviously not much practical use for this, it's just another fun and ridiculous way players have found to play the classic 1993 shooter. Other recent examples include playing Doom on a McDonald's kiosk, on Twitter, and even a pregnancy test.

They join a much longer list that includes a LEGO brick, an ATM, a potato-powered calculator, a treadmill, and more.

For those looking for a more modern and, dare we say, normal way to play Doom, the latest game in the franchise, Doom Eternal, would be a good choice. In our 9/10 review, IGN said: "Whether you're a new Doom fan or a veteran one, Doom Eternal is bound to delight & entertain you. It's gloriously fun."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Superhero fans have been wondering how mutants – and therefore the X-Men – would be introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since Disney purchased Fox in 2019, but that question has finally been answered thanks to the Ms. Marvel series.

Warning: The following paragraphs include spoilers for the Ms. Marvel Disney+ series.

Early on in the series we learned that the magic bangle worn by Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel herself, only activated something already within her, and we're later told that she's a djinn, a new type of supernatural being for the MCU.

In the sixth and final episode, however, Khan and Bruno discuss her genes further before he comments there's something different about her still, "like a mutation".

While this could still be open to interpretation given how many directions the MCU is currently going, a quick soundbite of the actual X-Men: The Animated Series theme song plays on top of the scene, making it pretty clear that Ms. Marvel is the first stepping stone towards a full mutant and X-Men introduction.

Marvel hasn't said anything about the X-Men's introduction to the MCU previously but it is focusing resources into the franchise elsewhere with the X-Men '97 series that's coming to Disney+ next year. One of Fox's other major franchises, The Fantastic Four, is being introduced as the final film in Phase 4, perhaps leaving Phase 5 wide open for a full X-Men introduction.

This would include characters including Wolverine (a role that's currently being pursued by Taron Egerton of the Kingsman franchise), Professor X (that featured briefly in one of the latest Doctor Strange film's alternate universe), and Magneto.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Twitter is following through on its promise to sue Elon Musk, filing suit against the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX in a Delaware court. Twitter says it wants Musk to follow through on the deal and to be "enjoined from further breaches, ordered to comply with their obligations to work toward satisfying the few closing conditions, and ordered to close upon satisfaction of those conditions."

The scathing complaint calls Musk a "model of bad faith," and claims that he is attempting to pass along the costs of the recent stock market downturn to stockholders. Twitter also dismissed Musk's claims that the social media giant failed to comply with its part of the agreement as pretexts that lack any merit.

"Having mounted a public spectacle to put Twitter in play, and having proposed and then signed a seller-friendly merger agreement, Musk apparently believes that he — unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law — is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away," the lawsuit reads.

Oh the irony lol

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2022

In response, Musk tweeted, "Oh the irony lol."

The lawsuit follows Twitter chairman Bret Taylors' vow to sue Musk, saying that the company is confident that it will prevail in court. Musk, for his part, has claimed that Twitter is obfuscating the true number of spambots and fake accounts it supports.

Musk first made a $44 billion offer to buy Twitter back in April. He seemed to feel buyer's remorse immediately after the deal was accepted, claiming that Twitter was failing to fulfill its obligations and claiming the company was in breach of contract. Twitter, for its part, moved steadily ahead with the deal, unaminously recommending that stockholders vote in favor of the merger.

Twitter is seeking a four-day trial in September, with a deadline of October 24 for the deal to be completed.

Blogroll image credit: Patrick Pleul/Pool/AFP via Getty Images.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Twitter is following through on its promise to sue Elon Musk, filing suit against the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX in a Delaware court. Twitter says it wants Musk to follow through on the deal and to be "enjoined from further breaches, ordered to comply with their obligations to work toward satisfying the few closing conditions, and ordered to close upon satisfaction of those conditions."

The scathing complaint calls Musk a "model of bad faith," and claims that he is attempting to pass along the costs of the recent stock market downturn to stockholders. Twitter also dismissed Musk's claims that the social media giant failed to comply with its part of the agreement as pretexts that lack any merit.

"Having mounted a public spectacle to put Twitter in play, and having proposed and then signed a seller-friendly merger agreement, Musk apparently believes that he — unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law — is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away," the lawsuit reads.

Oh the irony lol

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2022

In response, Musk tweeted, "Oh the irony lol."

The lawsuit follows Twitter chairman Bret Taylors' vow to sue Musk, saying that the company is confident that it will prevail in court. Musk, for his part, has claimed that Twitter is obfuscating the true number of spambots and fake accounts it supports.

Musk first made a $44 billion offer to buy Twitter back in April. He seemed to feel buyer's remorse immediately after the deal was accepted, claiming that Twitter was failing to fulfill its obligations and claiming the company was in breach of contract. Twitter, for its part, moved steadily ahead with the deal, unaminously recommending that stockholders vote in favor of the merger.

Twitter is seeking a four-day trial in September, with a deadline of October 24 for the deal to be completed.

Blogroll image credit: Patrick Pleul/Pool/AFP via Getty Images.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Chadwick Boseman's iconic career lives on. Today, the late actor, who passed away in 2020, received a posthumous Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance category for his role in Disney+ and Marvel Studios' What If...?.

Boseman reprised his acclaimed role as T'Challa for an episode of the animated series, which imagines different timelines and endings for MCU characters (and also received its own nomination for the Outstanding Animated Program category). What If...? notably aired after Boseman's passing and marked his last appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This isn't the first time Boseman's career has been recognized after his death. Earlier this year, Boseman also received a posthumous Oscar nomination and won a Screen Actors Guild award for his role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Boseman passed away in 2020 at the age of 43 after a four year-long fight against colon cancer. He was best known for his role as T'Challa in Marvel's Black Panther, which was the first superhero movie to earn a Best Picture nomination, though his career saw him take on numerous other leading roles such as Jackie Robinson in 42 and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall.

The Emmy Awards are slated to air on September 12.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.

Chadwick Boseman's iconic career lives on. Today, the late actor, who passed away in 2020, received a posthumous Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance category for his role in Disney+ and Marvel Studios' What If...?.

Boseman reprised his acclaimed role as T'Challa for an episode of the animated series, which imagines different timelines and endings for MCU characters (and also received its own nomination for the Outstanding Animated Program category). What If...? notably aired after Boseman's passing and marked his last appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This isn't the first time Boseman's career has been recognized after his death. Earlier this year, Boseman also received a posthumous Oscar nomination and won a Screen Actors Guild award for his role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Boseman passed away in 2020 at the age of 43 after a four year-long fight against colon cancer. He was best known for his role as T'Challa in Marvel's Black Panther, which was the first superhero movie to earn a Best Picture nomination, though his career saw him take on numerous other leading roles such as Jackie Robinson in 42 and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall.

The Emmy Awards are slated to air on September 12.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.

Nearly a year after Relic Entertainment and Sega announced Company of Heroes 3, the next entry in the beloved World War II real-time strategy series finally has a release date. Today, Relic Entertainment revealed that CoH3 is set to release on November 17, 2022.

According to a press release, the game will have four playable factions and two separate campaigns at launch: the more open-ended Italian Dynamic Campaign and the focused, narrative-based North African Operation.

These campaigns will also introduce players to new mechanics, including "side armor, enemy vehicle recovery and vehicle-towing, which lets you reposition your hard-hitting artillery like the German Flak 36 and British 17-Pounder."

While the game won't be out until November, Relic Entertainment is now promoting its community feedback program, which gives players the opportunity to test part of the North African Operation campaign, titled Mission Alpha. The mission, which is also free on Steam starting today until July 19, follows the "Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK) as they attempt to repel the British from their entrenched positions."

Last year, IGN previewed a pre-alpha version of the game. More recently, IGN was able to take part in a hands-on preview of Company of Heroes 3's North African Operation, and there were quite a few impressive differences between the game's varied settings.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.

Nearly a year after Relic Entertainment and Sega announced Company of Heroes 3, the next entry in the beloved World War II real-time strategy series finally has a release date. Today, Relic Entertainment revealed that CoH3 is set to release on November 17, 2022.

According to a press release, the game will have four playable factions and two separate campaigns at launch: the more open-ended Italian Dynamic Campaign and the focused, narrative-based North African Operation.

These campaigns will also introduce players to new mechanics, including "side armor, enemy vehicle recovery and vehicle-towing, which lets you reposition your hard-hitting artillery like the German Flak 36 and British 17-Pounder."

While the game won't be out until November, Relic Entertainment is now promoting its community feedback program, which gives players the opportunity to test part of the North African Operation campaign, titled Mission Alpha. The mission, which is also free on Steam starting today until July 19, follows the "Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK) as they attempt to repel the British from their entrenched positions."

Last year, IGN previewed a pre-alpha version of the game. More recently, IGN was able to take part in a hands-on preview of Company of Heroes 3's North African Operation, and there were quite a few impressive differences between the game's varied settings.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.