Ghostrunner, the high-speed first-person action game, is teasing the announcement of 'The Ultimate DLC' – and you can sign up to play it in beta now.

A new teaser includes a cryptic set of images that show a mixture of action, shots of a lab-like environment, and a stirring figure inside a cryo-chamber like case. The teaser is accompanied by the words:

"You're in a dream. A child approaches you and asks you for directions. While the child is talking, you notice a snake in the grass about to strike them. What do you say?"

We'll learn more on November 30 but, in the meantime, you can register to be a part of a closed beta already.

Previous Ghostrunner DLC packs have included new cosmetics and weapons, as well as brand new modes, but the phrase "Ultimate DLC" would imply that this is more substantial an addition.

We awarded Ghostrunner an 8/10 review, saying that its "lightning-fast gameplay makes for a short-lived but memorable action game with some incredible moments."

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

The senior creative director on Dragon Age 4, Matt Goldman, has left BioWare. He had been senior creative director on Dragon Age since 2017.

As reported by Kotaku, Goldman's departure from BioWare was announced in a recent staff email written by studio General Manager Gary McKay. In the email, McKay explains that the creative director has agreed to leave the developer after the two parties "mutually [agreed] to part ways."

"I’m writing to inform you all that Matt Goldman is leaving BioWare," said McKay in the email. "We have mutually agreed to part ways, and his last day is today."

"We understand that Matt’s departure has an impact on you, as well as the game’s development," the email continued. "Rest assured our commitment to a high-quality Dragon Age game has not waivered, and we will not ship a game that is not up to BioWare’s standards."

EA have since confirmed to Kotaku that Goldman has departed the company. "Matt Goldman is no longer working at BioWare," the publisher said in a statement. "He leaves the next Dragon Age game in excellent hands, with the team here at the studio who will carry forward our vision for the game."

Goldman originally started work at the studio in 1998, when he worked as an artist on a number of BioWare games including Baldur's Gate and previous entries into the Dragon Age series. Following a spell working on Halo Wars at Microsoft's Ensemble Studios, Goldman returned to BioWare and in 2017 was appointed the role of senior creative director on Dragon Age 4.

While Goldman's departure from the studio may be its latest, he isn't the first notable figure to have left BioWare in recent memory. Last December former general manager Casey Hudson and Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah both parted ways with the studio. In February, EA CEO Andrew Wilson was keen to reassure investors that BioWare still had a bright future ahead.

"I think that from the outside world there have been some blips in [BioWare's] delivery over the last couple of years, but that has come as a result of them pushing deeply into innovation and creativity, and we feel very, very confident about their future roadmap," he said at the time.

Goldman's replacement at the studio is yet to be confirmed by EA. For more on Dragon Age 4, make sure to check out this article detailing how the series owes its title (and dragons) to a random name generator.

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

The senior creative director on Dragon Age 4, Matt Goldman, has left BioWare. He had been senior creative director on Dragon Age since 2017.

As reported by Kotaku, Goldman's departure from BioWare was announced in a recent staff email written by studio General Manager Gary McKay. In the email, McKay explains that the creative director has agreed to leave the developer after the two parties "mutually [agreed] to part ways."

"I’m writing to inform you all that Matt Goldman is leaving BioWare," said McKay in the email. "We have mutually agreed to part ways, and his last day is today."

"We understand that Matt’s departure has an impact on you, as well as the game’s development," the email continued. "Rest assured our commitment to a high-quality Dragon Age game has not waivered, and we will not ship a game that is not up to BioWare’s standards."

EA have since confirmed to Kotaku that Goldman has departed the company. "Matt Goldman is no longer working at BioWare," the publisher said in a statement. "He leaves the next Dragon Age game in excellent hands, with the team here at the studio who will carry forward our vision for the game."

Goldman originally started work at the studio in 1998, when he worked as an artist on a number of BioWare games including Baldur's Gate and previous entries into the Dragon Age series. Following a spell working on Halo Wars at Microsoft's Ensemble Studios, Goldman returned to BioWare and in 2017 was appointed the role of senior creative director on Dragon Age 4.

While Goldman's departure from the studio may be its latest, he isn't the first notable figure to have left BioWare in recent memory. Last December former general manager Casey Hudson and Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah both parted ways with the studio. In February, EA CEO Andrew Wilson was keen to reassure investors that BioWare still had a bright future ahead.

"I think that from the outside world there have been some blips in [BioWare's] delivery over the last couple of years, but that has come as a result of them pushing deeply into innovation and creativity, and we feel very, very confident about their future roadmap," he said at the time.

Goldman's replacement at the studio is yet to be confirmed by EA. For more on Dragon Age 4, make sure to check out this article detailing how the series owes its title (and dragons) to a random name generator.

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

This story contains minor spoilers for the premier of Marvel’s Hawkeye, streaming now on Disney+.

In Hawkeye, the new Marvel Disney+ show that premieres today, Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton wears a hearing aid. It’s a nod to the comics, particularly the Matt Fraction and David Aja comics from which the show draws much of its inspiration, but the show’s producers also note that it’s an important aspect in showing that Hawkeye is not super human.

Talking to IGN, Hawkeye’s Executive Producer Trinh Tran said “There were certain details we really wanted to bring forth [from the comics], one of which is Clint’s hard of hearing.

“It's the realistic nature of having him being a human being with no super powers. He does get injured,” she said. “It's that human element that we wanted to bring forth. That they can get hurt, it can be life and death in some of the experiences that they get themselves involved in. He does put ice packs on him at the end of the mission. We wanted to show that 'behind the scenes', a part of which is the hearing loss that he has.”

In the TV series, Clint has his hearing aid from the very start of the show, and it is later shown that he has started using them to compensate for the toll many explosions have taken on his ears over his Avengers career (he was pretty much in the firing line of one of Endgame’s biggest booms, after all). It’s more of an ‘wear-and-tear’ damage approach compared to the comics, which first saw Hawkeye rendered deaf in 1983 when he burst his own eardrum with a sonic arrow in order to counter Crossfire’s sonic weaponry. Hawkeye’s ears were eventually healed, but the Fraction and Aja comics re-introduced his hearing aids, and later made him completely deaf by having him stabbed in the ears by the Clown. Stretches of the following issues are written in sign language, which we also see Clint and his son use in the show.

For more on Hawkeye, check out our premiere review, and why the idea for a Clint Barton solo movie was turned into a TV show.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

This story contains minor spoilers for the premier of Marvel’s Hawkeye, streaming now on Disney+.

In Hawkeye, the new Marvel Disney+ show that premieres today, Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton wears a hearing aid. It’s a nod to the comics, particularly the Matt Fraction and David Aja comics from which the show draws much of its inspiration, but the show’s producers also note that it’s an important aspect in showing that Hawkeye is not super human.

Talking to IGN, Hawkeye’s Executive Producer Trinh Tran said “There were certain details we really wanted to bring forth [from the comics], one of which is Clint’s hard of hearing.

“It's the realistic nature of having him being a human being with no super powers. He does get injured,” she said. “It's that human element that we wanted to bring forth. That they can get hurt, it can be life and death in some of the experiences that they get themselves involved in. He does put ice packs on him at the end of the mission. We wanted to show that 'behind the scenes', a part of which is the hearing loss that he has.”

In the TV series, Clint has his hearing aid from the very start of the show, and it is later shown that he has started using them to compensate for the toll many explosions have taken on his ears over his Avengers career (he was pretty much in the firing line of one of Endgame’s biggest booms, after all). It’s more of an ‘wear-and-tear’ damage approach compared to the comics, which first saw Hawkeye rendered deaf in 1983 when he burst his own eardrum with a sonic arrow in order to counter Crossfire’s sonic weaponry. Hawkeye’s ears were eventually healed, but the Fraction and Aja comics re-introduced his hearing aids, and later made him completely deaf by having him stabbed in the ears by the Clown. Stretches of the following issues are written in sign language, which we also see Clint and his son use in the show.

For more on Hawkeye, check out our premiere review, and why the idea for a Clint Barton solo movie was turned into a TV show.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Halo Infinite's first event - Fracture: Tenrai - is giving Spartans around the world the chance to earn free rewards like the samurai-inspired Yoroi Armor Core. Unfortunately, many have already run into issues with its gated progression and padded event pass.

The Fracture: Tenrai Event Pass is free to all players and contains 30 tiers of rewards. Unlike Halo Infinite's premium Battle Pass that requires XP to level up, players can only progress through the event pass by completing specific event challenges. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, some of the other factors surrounding it are causing frustration for certain players.

For one, the event pass can not be completed in this first week that ends on Monday, November 30, according to Halo marketing lead Noah Benesch. Instead, Fracture: Tenrai will return five more times throughout this first season to give players "plenty of opportunities to complete all 30 reward tiers." That is great for those who either don't have the time to dedicate a ton of time in one week to an event pass or may not even be available to play in a given week.

One of the biggest problems players have run into, however, is that the event pass appears to be padded with Challenge Swaps and XP Grants. So much so that only 10 of the 30 reward tiers are actual themed rewards.

"So there's 30 tiers, 10 of them being XP bonuses and 6 of them being challenge swaps," PN4R wrote on Reddit. "Out of the 14 tiers remaining which includes 'actual' content, 4 of them is a single emblem that you need to unlock 4 times to be able to use it everywhere.

"Out of the 10 remaining, you unlock 3 color palettes that are lock this specific armor [sp]. Out of the 7 remaining, you get 1 stupid callsign backdrop that most people will forget. So out of the 30 tiers for this event, you only get 6 armor parts, 2 of which are the same shoulder pad that you need to unlock 2 times for both shoulders. Meanwhile, 343 sells a 25$ armor set in the shop which actually looks pretty cool."

That armor set they spoke of is the Chonmage Armor Set, which is part of a bundle that can be bought with 2,000 in-game credits. As of this writing, that costs $17.99 USD. The shop also currently includes the Sentinel's Blades bundle that includes a Legendary Utility that can only be equipped on the samurai armor. Furthermore, you can't pay for tiers in the event pass, and you don't unlock the Yoroi Armor Core until level 5.

Compounding these issues is the fact that the event challenges are mixed in with standard challenges, so there may be times where you have to complete various standard ones to even get another event one.

Speaking of the event, it also comes with its own special mode - Fiesta - which is new to Halo Infinite but not to the franchise. In this mode, Spartans spawn with two random weapons and equipment, adding a bit of variety to the standard modes.

It's important to keep things in perspective, as Halo Infinite is a free-to-play game and this event pass costs you no extra to participate in. Sure, there are items locked in the shop that would be wonderful to be able to earn by simply playing through the event, but this is hardly the first game to do this. Although it is new to Halo, and it is a big change from the previous entries that were complete, paid packages.

To help ease players' woes, 343 Industries' community director Brian Jarrard has already responded to the outcry from these frustrated fans, saying they are "being heard loud and clear."

"Been traveling so slow to respond - but please know the constructive feedback is being heard loud and clear," Jarrard wrote. "Changes will take time and our priority this week is giving the team a much deserved break for the holiday after a long final stretch. Thank you for understanding."

It's also worth mentioning that Halo Infinite's multiplayer was not even set to be released until December 8 alongside its campaign. The team at 343 surprised fans during the celebration of Xbox and Halo's 20th anniversary by announcing that it would be available early.

This is the start of the future of Halo, and there will be bumps on the road. Luckily, 343 is committed to making this a game worthy of Master Chief, and it wants your constructive feedback to help make it so.

It has already proven it is ready to adapt, as it recently made changes to Halo Infinite's Battle Pass and promised that more changes will be on the way.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Halo Infinite's first event - Fracture: Tenrai - is giving Spartans around the world the chance to earn free rewards like the samurai-inspired Yoroi Armor Core. Unfortunately, many have already run into issues with its gated progression and padded event pass.

The Fracture: Tenrai Event Pass is free to all players and contains 30 tiers of rewards. Unlike Halo Infinite's premium Battle Pass that requires XP to level up, players can only progress through the event pass by completing specific event challenges. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, some of the other factors surrounding it are causing frustration for certain players.

For one, the event pass can not be completed in this first week that ends on Monday, November 30, according to Halo marketing lead Noah Benesch. Instead, Fracture: Tenrai will return five more times throughout this first season to give players "plenty of opportunities to complete all 30 reward tiers." That is great for those who either don't have the time to dedicate a ton of time in one week to an event pass or may not even be available to play in a given week.

One of the biggest problems players have run into, however, is that the event pass appears to be padded with Challenge Swaps and XP Grants. So much so that only 10 of the 30 reward tiers are actual themed rewards.

"So there's 30 tiers, 10 of them being XP bonuses and 6 of them being challenge swaps," PN4R wrote on Reddit. "Out of the 14 tiers remaining which includes 'actual' content, 4 of them is a single emblem that you need to unlock 4 times to be able to use it everywhere.

"Out of the 10 remaining, you unlock 3 color palettes that are lock this specific armor [sp]. Out of the 7 remaining, you get 1 stupid callsign backdrop that most people will forget. So out of the 30 tiers for this event, you only get 6 armor parts, 2 of which are the same shoulder pad that you need to unlock 2 times for both shoulders. Meanwhile, 343 sells a 25$ armor set in the shop which actually looks pretty cool."

That armor set they spoke of is the Chonmage Armor Set, which is part of a bundle that can be bought with 2,000 in-game credits. As of this writing, that costs $17.99 USD. The shop also currently includes the Sentinel's Blades bundle that includes a Legendary Utility that can only be equipped on the samurai armor. Furthermore, you can't pay for tiers in the event pass, and you don't unlock the Yoroi Armor Core until level 5.

Compounding these issues is the fact that the event challenges are mixed in with standard challenges, so there may be times where you have to complete various standard ones to even get another event one.

Speaking of the event, it also comes with its own special mode - Fiesta - which is new to Halo Infinite but not to the franchise. In this mode, Spartans spawn with two random weapons and equipment, adding a bit of variety to the standard modes.

It's important to keep things in perspective, as Halo Infinite is a free-to-play game and this event pass costs you no extra to participate in. Sure, there are items locked in the shop that would be wonderful to be able to earn by simply playing through the event, but this is hardly the first game to do this. Although it is new to Halo, and it is a big change from the previous entries that were complete, paid packages.

To help ease players' woes, 343 Industries' community director Brian Jarrard has already responded to the outcry from these frustrated fans, saying they are "being heard loud and clear."

"Been traveling so slow to respond - but please know the constructive feedback is being heard loud and clear," Jarrard wrote. "Changes will take time and our priority this week is giving the team a much deserved break for the holiday after a long final stretch. Thank you for understanding."

It's also worth mentioning that Halo Infinite's multiplayer was not even set to be released until December 8 alongside its campaign. The team at 343 surprised fans during the celebration of Xbox and Halo's 20th anniversary by announcing that it would be available early.

This is the start of the future of Halo, and there will be bumps on the road. Luckily, 343 is committed to making this a game worthy of Master Chief, and it wants your constructive feedback to help make it so.

It has already proven it is ready to adapt, as it recently made changes to Halo Infinite's Battle Pass and promised that more changes will be on the way.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

"Harassment, abuse, or mistreatment of any kind in the workplace is unacceptable and must never be tolerated," the Entertainment Software Association told GamesIndustry.biz today, joining Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox in the chorus of voices condemning the allegations consuming Activision Blizzard, but stopping short of directly calling out the publisher itself.

The ESA's response comes just a day after reports that Nintendo CEO Doug Bowser circulated an internal memo calling the harassment allegations "distressing and disturbing." In that same message, Bower said that Nintendo has been working with the ESA since last week to "strengthen its stance on harassment and abuse in the workplace."

The ESA did not specifically name Activision Blizzard in its statement, choosing instead to say that when "allegations arise, people impacted need to have their voices heard." The ESA went on to to say that any allegation "needs to be acknowledged, thoroughly investigated, and addressed with meaningful consequences."

"The vitality of our industry requires that everyone in the workplace - and in our — feels valued and respected. As an industry association, the ESA convenes its member companies to create dialogue and shape actions to ensure that these beliefs are realized," the ESA statement said.

The ESA is a lobbying group in which both Nintendo and Activision Blizzard are members. In a separate message to IGN, a Nintendo representative confirmed Bowser's statements, but did not offer further comment.

The Activision Blizzard controversy recently flared up again following a damning report by the Wall Street Journal alleging that CEO Bobby Kotick was fully aware of the company's culture of harassment, and personally intervened to block the removal of a high-level employee. Kotick remains at Activision Blizzard, but has said that he will step down if its problems weren't fixed "with speed." In the meantime, more than 1000 Activision Blizzard employees have signed a petition calling for Kotick's removal.

You can read our full timeline of the allegations here.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

"Harassment, abuse, or mistreatment of any kind in the workplace is unacceptable and must never be tolerated," the Entertainment Software Association told GamesIndustry.biz today, joining Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox in the chorus of voices condemning the allegations consuming Activision Blizzard, but stopping short of directly calling out the publisher itself.

The ESA's response comes just a day after reports that Nintendo CEO Doug Bowser circulated an internal memo calling the harassment allegations "distressing and disturbing." In that same message, Bower said that Nintendo has been working with the ESA since last week to "strengthen its stance on harassment and abuse in the workplace."

The ESA did not specifically name Activision Blizzard in its statement, choosing instead to say that when "allegations arise, people impacted need to have their voices heard." The ESA went on to to say that any allegation "needs to be acknowledged, thoroughly investigated, and addressed with meaningful consequences."

"The vitality of our industry requires that everyone in the workplace - and in our — feels valued and respected. As an industry association, the ESA convenes its member companies to create dialogue and shape actions to ensure that these beliefs are realized," the ESA statement said.

The ESA is a lobbying group in which both Nintendo and Activision Blizzard are members. In a separate message to IGN, a Nintendo representative confirmed Bowser's statements, but did not offer further comment.

The Activision Blizzard controversy recently flared up again following a damning report by the Wall Street Journal alleging that CEO Bobby Kotick was fully aware of the company's culture of harassment, and personally intervened to block the removal of a high-level employee. Kotick remains at Activision Blizzard, but has said that he will step down if its problems weren't fixed "with speed." In the meantime, more than 1000 Activision Blizzard employees have signed a petition calling for Kotick's removal.

You can read our full timeline of the allegations here.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

After a particularly difficult and divisive launch, EA and DICE are releasing a second update for Battlefield 2042 on November 25, followed by a "substantial" third update in early December, and a fourth update sometime before the holidays. The second and third updates aim to address various technical issues and gameplay balancing.

Here's what to expect in Update #2:

• Improved soldier revives, fixing an issue with not being able to revive a teammate when they die close to a wall or object.
• A "respawn protection system" that will address a bug that leaves players in a downed state for too long.
• Re-enabling Battlefield Portal's UAV-1 interaction after adjusting its overpowered state.
• Vehicle balancing for the LCAA Hovercraft and MD540 Nightbird.
• Dispersion reduced across all weapon types excluding shotguns, resulting in more consistent bullet spread.
• Additional "critical" changes to be detailed later.

Update #3 seems significantly larger in scope, and appears to address a common complaint that the transition from the end of a match to being booted back to the matchmaking menu was inconvenient. It also addresses common issues for player progression, rendering, and numerous balancing issues. The list is far too long to lay out here, but highlights include:

• Improvements to the user interface, including weapon attachment management, collection screens, player card screen, end of round summary screen, and adding "new" markers so you can more easily find items.
• "Improved the experience between EOR and the Main Menu"
• Improved the reliability of matchmaking and reduced failed matchmaking
• Introduction of weekly missions that reward cosmetic unlocks
• Fixed multiple issues with water graphics and rendering, plus stuttering and visual flickering issues.
• "Over 150" small changes across all maps
• A more descriptive interaction system that replaces a generic "interact" prompt with something more specific, like "call elevator."
• Reduced spread for weapons when ADS and moving, applied globally.
• Improved accuracy for stationary weapon ADS. Bullet spread is also reduced when you use single fire or burst fire instead of automatic.
• Added a new UI element that highlights teammates who can revive you when they're within 50 meters. Players who ping to signal they intend to revive you are also listed in a new UI element.
• Improved bot behavior for reviving, helicopter piloting, and combat/game mode behaviors.
• Audio mix improvements, including changes to enemies firing at a player.

Update #3 also includes balancing and technical changes for several specialists, gadgets, and melee combat. You can read the full patch notes here.

EA and DICE say they're also tracking issues related to servers and hardware. Chief among these are rare instances of servers not registering hit markers and rare instances of spawning without your intended loadout. On the hardware side, EA and DICE released a mandatory update for Xbox Series X/S players that addressed systems performing a power cycle during gameplay.

If it seems like an incredibly long list of fixes, that's because it is. The updates will hopefully address some of the most common technical and balancing complaints that have plagued Battlefield 2042 since launch, resulting in it becoming one of Steam's worst-reviewed games despite also being one of its most-played.

You can check out IGN's review of Battlefield 2042 for resident FPS wunderkind Stella Chung's opinion on what the new entry brings to the table and what's sorely missing.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/mobile blood bag for IGN.