Star Trek: Picard has been forced to shut down production following a COVD-19 outbreak that has seen more than 50 crew members test positive for the virus.

As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, production is said to have been on pause since Monday. The show reportedly hopes to resume filming early next week.

COVID-19 has been wreaking havoc across Hollywood since fear appearing in early 2020. Vaccines and other measures raised hopes that the entertainment business could return to something resembling business as usual in 2022, but the emergence of the highly-contagious Omicron variant has forced productions to reevaluate.

The pandemic has forced further delays and other problems, with John Wick 4 among the movies to get pushed all the way into 2023 despite filming already being completed.

Star Trek: Picard last aired in early 2020, with Season 2 set to premiere on Paramount+ in Febuary. Star Trek: Picard is currently filming Season 3, which is expected to release in 2023.

Star Trek: Picard follows the adventures of Jean-Luc Picard as he comes out of retirement to solve new mysteries and battle forces threatening the Federation. In his review of Star Trek: Picard, reviewer Scott Collura called Season 1 "uneven," with a "rushed climax and some head-scratching moments." However, "thematically it all ties together quite nicely."

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

The ESA has canceled its in-person event for E3 2022, according to a statement shared with IGN by the ESA. But, while they point to upcoming announcements, the future of the show this year and beyond remains unclear.

"Due to the ongoing health risks surrounding COVID-19 and its potential impact on the safety of exhibitors and attendees, E3 will not be held in person in 2022," reads a statement sent to IGN by the ESA. "We remain incredibly excited about the future of E3 and look forward to announcing more details soon.”

This effectively means that currently, E3 2022's very existence is uncertain. With no dates set and no physical event planned, that would theoretically leave a possibility for a digital showcase. But in a follow-up communication with IGN, the ESA added that it could not confirm at this time whether or not there would be a digital event this year instead of the physical event, as there was in 2021.

The ESA’s announcement arrives in the middle of an ongoing, deadly, global pandemic that just saw a record number of new cases in the US. When the ESA made its announcement around a physical event last year, vaccinations were still slowly ramping up, and many observers believed that in-person gaming events at a larger scale would resume in 2022. They did, briefly, with a smaller PAX West taking place in the fall and The Game Awards in December happening without incident. But the rise of new coronavirus variants and ongoing concerns about testing availability and mask mandates have made prospects dicier for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, E3's future has been a question mark for some time now. Its 2022 show never had firm dates set and was never on the official LACC calendar, despite past shows’ physical and digital being scheduled over a year in advance. An in-person E3 2022 had been planned officially since the opening of last year's show, per a speech from LA mayor Eric Garcetii. But its official Twitter and website have been uncharacteristically silent since then, and multiple sources with ties to E3 speaking to IGN under conditions of anonymity suggested that the ESA had given up on trying to hold a physical show much earlier, possibly as far back as fall of last year. Other industry sources suggested that while they would typically have heard about formal plans for E3 by now — digital or physical — the ESA's silence on the matter had been deafening, and they are unsure what the plan is at all, if any.

Concerns about the show go beyond just its ability to hold a 2022 showcase, too. In August of 2019, the ESA leaked the private details of over 2000 journalists, YouTubers, and analysts who had attended E3. The following month, a GameDaily.biz report shared a pitch for an overhauled plan for E3 2020 as a "fan, media, and influencer festival" focused around "experience hubs" and featuring "queuetainment," or marketing targeted toward people stuck waiting in line. Just a few months later, Geoff Keighley announced he would no longer participate in E3 for the first time in 25 years and would not run its E3 Coliseum event. The month after that, Iam8bit resigned as the creative director of E3 2020.

The efforts since haven't inspired confidence either. The E3 2021 companion app garnered widespread criticism for being both barren and riddled with bugs. The digital event itself was crowded between numerous other similar digital events that publishers put on without the help of the ESA. Many of them had gotten test drives the prior year, when there was no E3 at all, leading former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé to suggest back in February in 2021 that if the ESA wasn't able to put all the elements together for a successful E3, that gap would be filled some other way — perhaps by Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest, which Keighley just announced will return this year. Multiple others we spoke to echoed that sentiment, with many remarking on the numerous successful digital events that took place without the ESA's support both in 2020 and 2021.

It currently remains unclear whether E3 in any form will take place in 2022, and if it does, what the show will look like or when it will even be.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

The ESA has canceled its in-person event for E3 2022, according to a statement shared with IGN by the ESA. But, while they point to upcoming announcements, the future of the show this year and beyond remains unclear.

"Due to the ongoing health risks surrounding COVID-19 and its potential impact on the safety of exhibitors and attendees, E3 will not be held in person in 2022," reads a statement sent to IGN by the ESA. "We remain incredibly excited about the future of E3 and look forward to announcing more details soon.”

This effectively means that currently, E3 2022's very existence is uncertain. With no dates set and no physical event planned, that would theoretically leave a possibility for a digital showcase. But in a follow-up communication with IGN, the ESA added that it could not confirm at this time whether or not there would be a digital event this year instead of the physical event, as there was in 2021.

The ESA’s announcement arrives in the middle of an ongoing, deadly, global pandemic that just saw a record number of new cases in the US. When the ESA made its announcement around a physical event last year, vaccinations were still slowly ramping up, and many observers believed that in-person gaming events at a larger scale would resume in 2022. They did, briefly, with a smaller PAX West taking place in the fall and The Game Awards in December happening without incident. But the rise of new coronavirus variants and ongoing concerns about testing availability and mask mandates have made prospects dicier for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, E3's future has been a question mark for some time now. Its 2022 show never had firm dates set and was never on the official LACC calendar, despite past shows’ physical and digital being scheduled over a year in advance. An in-person E3 2022 had been planned officially since the opening of last year's show, per a speech from LA mayor Eric Garcetii. But its official Twitter and website have been uncharacteristically silent since then, and multiple sources with ties to E3 speaking to IGN under conditions of anonymity suggested that the ESA had given up on trying to hold a physical show much earlier, possibly as far back as fall of last year. Other industry sources suggested that while they would typically have heard about formal plans for E3 by now — digital or physical — the ESA's silence on the matter had been deafening, and they are unsure what the plan is at all, if any.

Concerns about the show go beyond just its ability to hold a 2022 showcase, too. In August of 2019, the ESA leaked the private details of over 2000 journalists, YouTubers, and analysts who had attended E3. The following month, a GameDaily.biz report shared a pitch for an overhauled plan for E3 2020 as a "fan, media, and influencer festival" focused around "experience hubs" and featuring "queuetainment," or marketing targeted toward people stuck waiting in line. Just a few months later, Geoff Keighley announced he would no longer participate in E3 for the first time in 25 years and would not run its E3 Coliseum event. The month after that, Iam8bit resigned as the creative director of E3 2020.

The efforts since haven't inspired confidence either. The E3 2021 companion app garnered widespread criticism for being both barren and riddled with bugs. The digital event itself was crowded between numerous other similar digital events that publishers put on without the help of the ESA. Many of them had gotten test drives the prior year, when there was no E3 at all, leading former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé to suggest back in February in 2021 that if the ESA wasn't able to put all the elements together for a successful E3, that gap would be filled some other way — perhaps by Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest, which Keighley just announced will return this year. Multiple others we spoke to echoed that sentiment, with many remarking on the numerous successful digital events that took place without the ESA's support both in 2020 and 2021.

It currently remains unclear whether E3 in any form will take place in 2022, and if it does, what the show will look like or when it will even be.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

According to users following Genshin Impact's new 2.4 update, players can no longer claim Battle Pass rewards on other platforms if the pass was originally bought on PlayStation.

Genshin Impact supports cross-save between PlayStation and PC, and before this update, the cross-save feature included Battle Pass rewards. So players on PC and mobile could redeem Battle Pass rewards even if their accounts were created on PlayStation.

Now, however, those players will need to redeem those rewards through PlayStation Network. When trying to claim Battle Pass rewards, players will be met with a message that says "Unable to collect using the current platform. Please use the platform on which you made the purchase."

Cross-save PlayStation players got screw by miHoYo... pic.twitter.com/jsw1lHypYc

— Genshin Impact Guides (@WorldOfTeyvat) January 5, 2022

A Genshin Impact guides Twitter account @WorldofTeyvat provided a video going through the game's Battle Pass and the process of claiming rewards. The user used to play Genshin Impact on PlayStation, and when the game's cross-save feature launched, they migrated their account over to PC.

Fanbyte's Imran Khan pointed out that this feature here is effectively useless, as Sony has already received its cut of the player's money when they purchase the Battle Pass through the PlayStation Network Store. This new update only adds more hoops that players need to go through for just simply trying to redeem their rewards.

Khan also mentioned that redeeming rewards between PC and mobile still works fine, so this situation is a Sony issue.

PlayStation has had an interesting track record with cross-play during the PS4 generation. Being the market leader, Sony struck down any idea of cross-play with other platforms so that its userbase would continue playing within the PlayStation ecosystem for as long as possible. However, it wasn't until the cultural behemoth that was Fortnite that Sony had to relax its cross-play and cross-save policies.

Genshin Impact has a fervent fanbase as well, so time will tell whether Sony or developer MiHoYo addresses this. Genshin Impact's latest update brings two new characters in Shenhe and Yunjin, as well as the new Enkanomiya map.

IGN has reached out to MiHoYo for comment.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

According to users following Genshin Impact's new 2.4 update, players can no longer claim Battle Pass rewards on other platforms if the pass was originally bought on PlayStation.

Genshin Impact supports cross-save between PlayStation and PC, and before this update, the cross-save feature included Battle Pass rewards. So players on PC and mobile could redeem Battle Pass rewards even if their accounts were created on PlayStation.

Now, however, those players will need to redeem those rewards through PlayStation Network. When trying to claim Battle Pass rewards, players will be met with a message that says "Unable to collect using the current platform. Please use the platform on which you made the purchase."

Cross-save PlayStation players got screw by miHoYo... pic.twitter.com/jsw1lHypYc

— Genshin Impact Guides (@WorldOfTeyvat) January 5, 2022

A Genshin Impact guides Twitter account @WorldofTeyvat provided a video going through the game's Battle Pass and the process of claiming rewards. The user used to play Genshin Impact on PlayStation, and when the game's cross-save feature launched, they migrated their account over to PC.

Fanbyte's Imran Khan pointed out that this feature here is effectively useless, as Sony has already received its cut of the player's money when they purchase the Battle Pass through the PlayStation Network Store. This new update only adds more hoops that players need to go through for just simply trying to redeem their rewards.

Khan also mentioned that redeeming rewards between PC and mobile still works fine, so this situation is a Sony issue.

PlayStation has had an interesting track record with cross-play during the PS4 generation. Being the market leader, Sony struck down any idea of cross-play with other platforms so that its userbase would continue playing within the PlayStation ecosystem for as long as possible. However, it wasn't until the cultural behemoth that was Fortnite that Sony had to relax its cross-play and cross-save policies.

Genshin Impact has a fervent fanbase as well, so time will tell whether Sony or developer MiHoYo addresses this. Genshin Impact's latest update brings two new characters in Shenhe and Yunjin, as well as the new Enkanomiya map.

IGN has reached out to MiHoYo for comment.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Dead By Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive has announced it will remove a set of cosmetics for its "Cannibal" character (inspired by 1974's Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Leatherface) after Black players complained they were being used for racist harassment.

The cosmetics which were introduced several years ago, include a set of unlockable skins for the Cannibal that changes the "face" of his victim that he wears on his head, much like Leatherface's signature calling card. The skins reference the original four survivor characters that players could choose from, one of whom was a Black woman named Claudette.

Black Dead By Daylight players flagged that enemy players would frequently target them for harassment while wearing the Claudette Cannibal skin.

"Members of the community have shared their experiences with people targeting and harassing them while using some of these masks," Behaviour Interactive said in a blog post. "These reports were disheartening to hear, and we absolutely condemn this behaviour. We are not comfortable having these masks in the game when they are used as a tool to spread hate."

Behaviour Interactive will compensate players who unlocked the skins with 6,000 Iridescent Shards, the in-game currency used to unlock cosmetics.

Black players also brought up how Leatherface players wearing the skin of a dead Black person was uncomfortably close to the act of wearing blackface. Blackface refers to the act of a non-Black person wearing makeup to imitate a Black person. The act has historical roots in minstrel shows from the 1830s and throughout the mid-20th Century. In modern times, several politicians and public figures have come under fire for wearing blackface makeup in older pictures.

SistaKaren, a Dead By Daylight partner creator, compiled anecdotes from numerous Black content creators being harassed with the Claudette Cannibal skin.

One content creator by the name of MiladyConfetti described being harassed by someone who sent 500 bots to her channel to spam the N-word in her chat. MiladyConfetti says she was then given the runaround after submitting a support ticket, with neither Behaviour Interactive, Steam, or Twitch taking responsibility for the harassment.

"I understand the reporting system. I had to run into this person four more times in the game, and he knew who I was, and he did the same f****** thing over and over again," MiladyConfetti says in the video, visibly shaken. "I had to experience that. Why did it take four more times for me to run into this person before anything was done?"

MiladyConfetti and other Black streamers later began advocating for the removal of the skins, but the decision only came years after the start of their public campaign.

“I feel good that [Claudette Leatherface] is removed,” MiladyConfetti told The Verge. “It was long overdue, especially because this conversation started years ago.”

Eric Bourdages, an artist at Behaviour Interactive, praised the decision to remove the cosmetics.

"As the artist who made the bubba masks, I'm glad they are being removed," Bourdages said. "As cool as it would have been to have an easter egg for all survivors. The reality of it is there were many players using them in harmful ways. Gamers, no matter the game please treat others with respect."

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Dead By Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive has announced it will remove a set of cosmetics for its "Cannibal" character (inspired by 1974's Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Leatherface) after Black players complained they were being used for racist harassment.

The cosmetics which were introduced several years ago, include a set of unlockable skins for the Cannibal that changes the "face" of his victim that he wears on his head, much like Leatherface's signature calling card. The skins reference the original four survivor characters that players could choose from, one of whom was a Black woman named Claudette.

Black Dead By Daylight players flagged that enemy players would frequently target them for harassment while wearing the Claudette Cannibal skin.

"Members of the community have shared their experiences with people targeting and harassing them while using some of these masks," Behaviour Interactive said in a blog post. "These reports were disheartening to hear, and we absolutely condemn this behaviour. We are not comfortable having these masks in the game when they are used as a tool to spread hate."

Behaviour Interactive will compensate players who unlocked the skins with 6,000 Iridescent Shards, the in-game currency used to unlock cosmetics.

Black players also brought up how Leatherface players wearing the skin of a dead Black person was uncomfortably close to the act of wearing blackface. Blackface refers to the act of a non-Black person wearing makeup to imitate a Black person. The act has historical roots in minstrel shows from the 1830s and throughout the mid-20th Century. In modern times, several politicians and public figures have come under fire for wearing blackface makeup in older pictures.

SistaKaren, a Dead By Daylight partner creator, compiled anecdotes from numerous Black content creators being harassed with the Claudette Cannibal skin.

One content creator by the name of MiladyConfetti described being harassed by someone who sent 500 bots to her channel to spam the N-word in her chat. MiladyConfetti says she was then given the runaround after submitting a support ticket, with neither Behaviour Interactive, Steam, or Twitch taking responsibility for the harassment.

"I understand the reporting system. I had to run into this person four more times in the game, and he knew who I was, and he did the same f****** thing over and over again," MiladyConfetti says in the video, visibly shaken. "I had to experience that. Why did it take four more times for me to run into this person before anything was done?"

MiladyConfetti and other Black streamers later began advocating for the removal of the skins, but the decision only came years after the start of their public campaign.

“I feel good that [Claudette Leatherface] is removed,” MiladyConfetti told The Verge. “It was long overdue, especially because this conversation started years ago.”

Eric Bourdages, an artist at Behaviour Interactive, praised the decision to remove the cosmetics.

"As the artist who made the bubba masks, I'm glad they are being removed," Bourdages said. "As cool as it would have been to have an easter egg for all survivors. The reality of it is there were many players using them in harmful ways. Gamers, no matter the game please treat others with respect."

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

The CW, a network created in partnership between ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia, is going up for sale according to new reports.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed a memo was sent to CW employees informing them of plans to explore a potential sale for the network. The CW is home to shows like Walker, Riverdale, and DC shows like Batwoman and The Flash.

The CW is a joint venture between CBS and WarnerMedia that was formed in 2006 when the two companies combined UPN and The WB. Under this agreement, Warner and CBS would produce content for the network evenly, but the success of the DC Arrowverse meant Warner was providing most of the top shows like The Flash, Superman & Lois, Batwoman, and Legends of Tomorrow.

Despite the popularity of DC Comics, The Hollywood Reporter says The CW has never been profitable and that revenue was primarily generated from licensing shows to international markets and streaming services.

For a long time, The CW licensed shows like The Flash and Riverdale to Netflix but ended this deal in 2019 as Warner and CBS focused on their streaming platforms, HBO Max and Paramount+, respectively. As the two networks began to keep their content library for themselves, revenue from licensing and foreign sales dried up, potentially leading to The CW’s current situation.

In a memo to staff, CW CEO Mark Pedowitz confirmed that CBS and Warner are looking at “exploring strategic opportunities” for the network, but that for now, the channel will continue to provide original programming for the upcoming season.

Currently running on The CW are shows like The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Riverdale, Charmed, Batwoman, Nancy Drew, Stargirl, Walker, Superman & Lois, Kung Fu, and 4400.

Another superhero show, Naomi, is set to premiere this month and The CW recently announced another DC show called Gotham Knights.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

The CW, a network created in partnership between ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia, is going up for sale according to new reports.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed a memo was sent to CW employees informing them of plans to explore a potential sale for the network. The CW is home to shows like Walker, Riverdale, and DC shows like Batwoman and The Flash.

The CW is a joint venture between CBS and WarnerMedia that was formed in 2006 when the two companies combined UPN and The WB. Under this agreement, Warner and CBS would produce content for the network evenly, but the success of the DC Arrowverse meant Warner was providing most of the top shows like The Flash, Superman & Lois, Batwoman, and Legends of Tomorrow.

Despite the popularity of DC Comics, The Hollywood Reporter says The CW has never been profitable and that revenue was primarily generated from licensing shows to international markets and streaming services.

For a long time, The CW licensed shows like The Flash and Riverdale to Netflix but ended this deal in 2019 as Warner and CBS focused on their streaming platforms, HBO Max and Paramount+, respectively. As the two networks began to keep their content library for themselves, revenue from licensing and foreign sales dried up, potentially leading to The CW’s current situation.

In a memo to staff, CW CEO Mark Pedowitz confirmed that CBS and Warner are looking at “exploring strategic opportunities” for the network, but that for now, the channel will continue to provide original programming for the upcoming season.

Currently running on The CW are shows like The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Riverdale, Charmed, Batwoman, Nancy Drew, Stargirl, Walker, Superman & Lois, Kung Fu, and 4400.

Another superhero show, Naomi, is set to premiere this month and The CW recently announced another DC show called Gotham Knights.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

As Mass Effect and Dragon Age fans anxiously await concrete details about the new games currently in production, developer BioWare has provided a brief development update for both projects, along with a tease that will keep Mass Effect fans busy for a while.

In a new blog post about the state of BioWare, General Manager Gary McKay provided brief updates on both of its highly-anticipated RPG sequels, while also addressing the toll the pandemic has taken on development.

"And of course, we remain hard at work on the next iterations of Dragon Age and Mass Effect," McKay said. "I’m seeing some incredible work from both teams."

For Mass Effect fans, McKay encouraged players to take a look at the most recent poster revealed for the game.

"If you’re curious about Mass Effect, I’d encourage you to take a look at the poster we released on N7 Day," McKay said. "If you look closely, there are a handful of hidden treats; by my count, there are at least five surprises, all of which point to an amazing future in the Mass Effect universe."

The Mass Effect poster in question was revealed on N7 Day 2021, and the image depicts a ship touching down on a planet near a crater. Fans immediately noticed the crater resembled the Geth, a sentient AI species from the original trilogy. You can also see four characters exiting the ship below, which could hint at the party size in the new game. In our original story, we theorized the group exiting the ship could contain a Salarian, Turian, and Krogan from the first three games. With BioWare's tease of secrets hidden in this poster, fans will surely theorize about what hints it could hold for a long time.

McKay also addressed Dragon Age 4's development, saying, "we have a veteran group of talented developers working on the next iteration of the franchise. We are focused on a single-player experience that is built on choices that matter."

The confirmation of a single-player focus is likely a relief for some BioWare fans, after the studio's 2019 project — the multiplayer-focused Anthem, released to middling reception.

McKay said his goal upon taking the GM position at BioWare was to rebuild the studio's reputation. After the positive reception to Mass Effect Legendary Edition last year, McKay said their goal is for every game they release to live up to that quality. Both Dragon Age 4 and Mass Effect seem to be a long ways away, as there are no official titles, confirmed platforms, or release windows for either project.

The pandemic has been a challenge for every game development studio, and McKay addressed how BioWare is going to move forward with a new work model. He says BioWare will move forward with a hybrid approach to, "maximize collaboration and communication between onsite and remote people." BioWare will also begin hiring people all over North America, without an expectation for them to relocate to one of the studio's locations in Austin or Edmonton.

The new Mass Effect was first confirmed on N7 Day in 2020, and we know that multiple members of the original trilogy dev team are on board to tell the next chapter in the beloved sci-fi universe. The game was officially revealed at The Game Awards 2020, with a brief teaser trailer, and confirmation that the project was in "early production." The teaser didn't show much, but it ended on a shot of an Asari who appears to be Liara T'Soni from the original games.

If you need to catch up on the original trilogy before the next entry, you can do so with Mass Effect Legendary Edition, which is part of January's Xbox Game Pass lineup.

As for Dragon Age 4, the game was first teased back in 2018, before BioWare showed it off at The Game Awards 2020, with a teaser trailer that confirmed the return of a few characters. Thanks to a BioWare book, we know the next Dragon Age will take place in Tevinter, a location that's been mentioned in Dragon Age lore, but never visited within the games themselves.

Late last year, Dragon Age 4's creative director left BioWare. McKay said this change would not impact BioWare's commitment to the game, saying, "we will not ship a game that is not up to BioWare’s standards."

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.