EA has removed Manchester City left-back Benjamin Mendy from FIFA 22 while the player is awaiting trial.

The publisher confirmed to Eurogamer that the French national team and Manchester City player has been removed from both squads in FIFA 22 and that his card has been pulled from appearing in Ultimate Team packs while he is awaiting trial.

"As Benjamin Mendy has been removed from the active rosters of both Manchester City and the French National team, in FIFA 22 he has also been removed from respective rosters and suspended from appearing in FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) packs and Ultimate Draft while he is awaiting trial," EA told Eurogamer.

Club statement.

— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 26, 2021

The 27-year-old defender is accused of four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault that are alleged to have taken place at his home in Cheshire between October 2020 and August 2021. Last month, Manchester City released a statement confirming that Mendy had been suspended by the club pending an investigation.

This isn't the first time EA has removed a player from FIFA. In 2016, the publisher removed ex-footballer Adam Johnson from the franchise after he was found guilty of sexual activity with a girl aged 15. While more recently, the former Dutch national team captain Marco van Basten was pulled from FIFA 20 after he made Nazi comments during an interview at the time.

FIFA 22 doesn't officially come out until October 1, however, fans have been able to play the game since September 22 where EA Play subscribers could access a 10 hour trial of the game. EA's suspension of Mendy didn't actually come into effect until the day after the launch of the trial period, meaning that some players were able to find the suspended full-back in Ultimate Team packs when first playing FIFA 22.

Although EA's decision to remove Mendy from the game will be praised by fans, some may question why the player made it into the game in the first place - especially given that Manchester City suspended the player in real life four weeks earlier.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

A Donkey Kong-themed area will be added to Super Nintendo World in 2024 as part of plans to expand the Mario-themed section of Universal Studios Japan.

As confirmed in a press release by Nintendo, the new area will include further interactive experiences, a variety of stalls selling merchandise and food, and its very own rollercoaster when it opens in 2024. Nintendo has stated that the addition of the new ape-based area will increase the overall size of Super Nintendo World by 70%.

The expansion is set to be created as a collaborative effort between Universal Studios and Nintendo's creative team - with input from legendary game designer and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto.

"I am very happy to be able to make the world of Donkey Kong a reality following the world of Mario," said Miyamoto. "I am looking forward to creating a thrilling Donkey Kong experience with the amazing team at Universal. It will take some time until it is completed, but it will be a unique area for not only people who are familiar with Donkey Kong games, but for all guests."

Super Nintendo World currently has three main attractions: Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge, Yoshi's Adventure, and Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown. While each brings something different to the park, the Donkey Kong expansion is likely to turn a few heads with the addition of the area's first true rollercoaster.

Nintendo is yet to reveal details about the ride, however, promotional images for the new Donkey Kong area look to show a coaster-like track weaving through sections of trees before passing the great ape's golden temple.

Super Nintendo World opened at Universal Studios Japan in March. While waiting for the park's new Donkey Kong expansion, why not check out this article about Super Nintendo World's opening ceremony, which featured a guest appearance from Shigeru Miyamoto. Alternatively, make sure to check out our review of the Mario-themed area where we discuss the park's various rides and attractions in more detail.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Daniel Craig has recalled the moment that he broke Dave Bautista's nose on the set of the 2015 James Bond film Spectre before promptly fleeing the scene in fear.

Ahead of the upcoming release of No Time To Die, Craig appeared as a guest on The Graham Norton Show, where he divulged the details of some of the worst James Bond injuries he's experienced. The 007 actor recounted an incident that occurred on the set of Spectre while filming the memorable train fight sequence between Bond and Bautista's assassin Mr. Hinx.

"I broke his nose. I didn't do it deliberately. Clearly, it was a mistake," Craig said, reflecting on the choreographed clash. "He's a big guy, he's a professional wrestler. You really wouldn't mess with him. I threw this punch and hit him on the nose. I heard this crack and I was like 'Oh God no' and ran away. I thought he was going to come after me but he was so sweet."

"He's a lot tougher than I am," Craig said of Bautista, recalling how he set his nose back in place to continue production. The Bond actor admitted that Bautista was being "gentle" with him during one part of the fight scene, so he encouraged his co-star to be more forceful in the brawl, but it actually resulted in a serious knee injury that temporarily halted production.

"I ended up on the wall, but my knee was over here somewhere," Craig explained, gesturing some distance away from him. "I knew and it was horrible because if anyone's had an injury, you just know in your head that something is really wrong... I was out and then we went back and we re-filmed it. I had to film it with a brace on. It was a struggle to do it."

Craig first portrayed Bond in the 2006 film Casino Royale. He reprised the role in 2008's Quantum of Solace, 2012's Skyfall and 2015's Spectre, all of which have collectively grossed more than $3.1 billion at the worldwide box office. Craig is officially bidding farewell to the 007 franchise with No Time To Die, which is the longest James Bond movie to date.

The star has suffered numerous scrapes and breaks across the five films in which he has portrayed the 007 Agent, including No Time To Die. "I was literally walking down a plank," Craig said, sharing the story of his most recent ankle break. "I wasn't even running, I wasn't even doing anything action-based. I just walked down, slipped, and fell over. It was so stupid."

Craig's final outing as Bond is almost upon us, with the world premiere of No Time To Die set to take place at the Royal Albert Hall on September 28 following a number of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film will then feature its theatrical release in the UK on September 30 before releasing in the US on October 8 and in Australia on November 11.

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

Fans of DC's recent YA graphic novels like Teen Titans: Raven and Teen Titans: Beast Boy have plenty of reason to be excited. Writer Kami Garcia has two new books in the works, including a new Teen Titans story focused on Robin. Or should we say, Robins.

IGN can exclusively reveal the covers to Garcia's next two books. First, check out Teen Titans: Robin, which spotlights more than one of Batman's sidekicks:

Artist Gabriel Picolo is also returning for this new Teen Titans book, making it the fourth collaboration between the duo following Beast Boy, Raven and Beast Boy Loves Raven. This book looks to spotlight original Robin Dick Grayson as well as Bruce Wayne's son, Damian.

Next, Garcia is teaming with artist Isaac Goodhart (Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale) for Constantine: Distorted Illusions. Check out the cover below:

As you can see, Distorted Illusions offers a very different take on the trickster magician. Constantine is both younger and more handsome than he's looked in years. While we initially mistook the two women on the cover for Zatanna and Black Canary, they're actually members of Constantine's punk rock band, Mucus Membrane. In this new take on the Hellblazer mythos, a teenage John Constantine travels to the US, joins the band and begins dabbling in the dark arts.

Look for both books to show up in DC's January 2022 solicitations soon.

IGN recently spoke with Picolo about the appeal of making Beast Boy and Raven a couple and following the example of the Teen Titans animated series. Will the duo show up in Teen TItans: Robins? We'll just have to wait and see.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

For as much as streaming services love boasting about their record-breaking numbers, it’s still difficult to accurately gauge exactly how well a popular show performs. But today, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has shared a better set of data on the streamer’s top movies and TV shows yet than what the company has provided before.

At Vox Media’s Code Conference, Sarandos shared two slides that highlight two different metrics. One that measures “[Number] of Accounts” tracks the number of users that watched at least two minutes of a show or movie within the first 28 days of release. This is how Netflix has previously shared viewership metrics with the public.

The second chart measures total hours spent watching a show or movie within the first 28 days of release. This is not a metric Netflix has previously revealed to the public or press.

Show and tell from Netflix’s Ted Sarandon, right after dismissing Apple’s Ted Lasso as an “awards-y show” that likely has a small audience: Netflix shows ranked by viewers and viewing hours. pic.twitter.com/8ceTSHqr2c

— Peter Kafka (@pkafka) September 27, 2021

“We’re trying to be more transparent with talent, with the market,” Variety reports Sarandos telling the crowd at Code Conference.

Based on the different data above you get a few common titles that can be considered Netflix’s biggest hits including Bridgerton, Bird Box, and Extraction. Other top shows include The Witcher, Lupin, Money Heist, and Stranger Things.

These are shows Netflix has touted as some of the most successful on the platform, but the additional data helps contextualize the degrees of their success. The Spanish crime drama has long been known to be a popular international hit for Netflix, but in terms of hours viewed it beats shows like Stranger Things and 13 Reasons Why by considerable margins.

Similarly, Lupin appears to be a proper hit as well, beating Stranger Things by 10 million additional viewership accounts. Both Lupin and Money Heist are foreign-language productions but dominate Netflix’s metrics, putting the company’s aggressive expansion into foreign-language content into more context.

Sarandos reportedly said the South Korean hit Squid Game is on track to “be the most popular Netflix show ever[.]”

These metrics still don’t present the full picture and can be the result of factors beyond popularity. But as far as transparency goes, this data is more than we’ve seen before from Netflix and other streamers like Apple TV+. Hopefully, there's more of this in the future as well.

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

Activision Blizzard has settled the lawsuit filed earlier today by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission [EEOC]. In a release, Activision Blizzard promised to create an $18 million fund to compensate employees affected by discrimination and harassment. It also intends to upgrade its policies and practices to "prevent and eliminate harassment and discrimination" in the workplace, as well as to overhaul its performance review system.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick called the agreement "constructive" and promised to "be vigilant" against harassment. "There is no place anywhere at our company for discrimination, harassment, or unequal treatment of any kind, and I am grateful to the employees who bravely shared their experiences. I am sorry that anyone had to experience inappropriate conduct, and I remain unwavering in my commitment to make Activision Blizzard one of the world’s most inclusive, respected, and respectful workplaces."

The deal will see a third-party equal consultant review Activision Blizzard's new initiatives. In the meantime, any money not given as compensation will be divided between charities that "advance women in the video game industry" or "promote awareness around harassment and gender quality" as approved by the EEOC.

The original story can be found below.

Activision Blizzard is being sued by yet another government agency. This time it's the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC], which capped off a three-year investigation by filing a lawsuit earlier today.

The EEOC joins the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing in accusing Activision Blizzard of a culture of harassment and discrimination. It alleges that female employees were harassed, paid less, and retaliated against for complaining.

The lawsuit demands that Activision Blizzard compensate affected employees with back pay and damages. It also says that Activision Blizzard must "institute and carry out policies, practices, and programs to ensure equal employment opportunities, and which eradicate the effects of its past and present unlawful employment practices." You can read the full complaint here.

In reporting on the lawsuit, Wired reporter Cecilia D'Anastasio highlighted an investor release from last week in which Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said he "continues to productively engage with regulators" including the EEOC. The EEOC was said to be considering a settlement with Activision Blizzard, but seemingly decided to go ahead with the lawsuit after all.

FYI Activision Blizzard's investor site referenced the EEOC investigation last week. The complaint was filed today (9/27) https://t.co/tctEzVtSrT pic.twitter.com/C8QcsbtObm

— Cecilia D'Anastasio (@cecianasta) September 27, 2021

Activision Blizzard was first rocked by allegations of harassment and discrimination back in July. It was followed by numerous stories from employees, some of which were reported on IGN, as well as an employee walkout and the departure of Blizzard president J. Allen Brack. You can read the full timeline here.

The lawsuits and allegations have exacerbated the outflow of talent from Activision Blizzard, which has been ongoing for several years now. Blizzard's Chief Legal Officer departed the company just last week. With the Securities and Exchange Commission also getting involved, it seems unlikely that Blizzard's woes will end any time soon.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN.

The man behind Luke Skywalker himself is defending the Star Wars prequels in a new interview. Star Wars icon Mark Hamill was interviewed for Howard Kazanjian: A Producer's Life, a book on the producer of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. In the interview, as reported by IndieWire, Hamill gave some love to prequel defenders across the galaxy.

“I was impressed the prequels had their own identity,” Hamill said. “They were criticized because they were exposition-heavy and more cerebral and probably, like he said back in 1976, they weren’t as commercial. It’s a darker story."

Hamill went on to say he's shocked at how brutal people can be on social media, both in regards to their Star Wars opinions, and otherwise.

Debate over the Star Wars prequels and sequels has been reignited recently, thanks to Marcia Lucas' comments about the films. Lucas is the Oscar-winning editor behind the original trilogy, and George Lucas' ex-wife.

In the very same book as Hamill's latest comments, Lucas talked about how she felt after seeing The Phantom Menace, saying, "I remember going out to the parking lot, sitting in my car and crying. I cried. I cried because I didn't think it was very good."

Lucas was also critical of the controversial sequel trilogy, saying, "when I saw the movie where they kill Han Solo, I was furious... Absolutely, positively there was no rhyme or reason to it. I thought, 'You don't get the Jedi story. You don't get the magic of Star Wars.'"

Hamill has previously spoken out about the sequels, saying he didn't agree with how The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson handled Luke in the film. However, Hamill later said he regretted voicing his concerns to the public, saying on Twitter, "All I wanted was to make good movie. I got more than that — @rianjohnson made an all-time GREAT one!" Hamill later spoke to IGN on the weirdly tragic trajectory of Luke Skywalker.

For more, check out how Star Wars Visions fits into the canon of the galaxy far, far away.

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

Halo infinite's second multiplayer tech preview was this past weekend, and as you could guess, dataminers dug through the game and uncovered a lot of interesting images, from vehicle attachments to Spartan poses and even a render of the Scorpion battle tank.

First spotted by Redditor marcopolo444, the user posted a series of links and images, which show off a ton of content that did not make it into the latest technical preview for Halo Infinite. The post suggests that a lot of content will make its way into Halo Infinite at some point. This includes a helmet attachment that adds a Santa Claus hat on your Spartan, three images of maps we have yet to see in the technical preview, and a series of emblems that seem to take inspiration from famous memes.

Additionally, Twitter user @HaloCreation posted a video of playing the technical preview with split-screen enabled. Perhaps the most interesting thing from datamine this past weekend comes from Twitter user @HaloNoticiasMX, who tweeted a thread of various vehicles. Some were included in this weekend's tech preview, but some, such as the Scorpion was discovered.

[HILO] Vehículos de Halo Infinite Gameplay.

➡️Scorpion. pic.twitter.com/rOzsnIKJq0

— Halo Infinite Noticias & Filtraciones (@HaloNoticiasMX) September 26, 2021

Halo Infinite is scheduled to have another technical test beginning September 30 from October 4. According to the official schedule, the upcoming technical preview notes that Big Team Battle will be included in the weekend's multiplayer playlists.

Halo Infinite will release on December 8 for PC and Xbox. The multiplayer component will be free-to-play and both the single-player campaign and multiplayer will be available day one to Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.