The developers at Infinity Ward apparently already have a good idea for where they’d take a potential Call of Duty spinoff.

In an interview with IGN, Infinity Ward narrative director Jeffrey Negus and Modern Warfare 2 head writer Brian Bloom revealed their idea for a Call of Duty one-off, and it’d focus on a popular character from the series.

“Yeah, I’m going to say it. Ghost’s origin story,” Bloom says. According to both him and Negus, the two want to do a game starring Simon “Ghost” Riley, the British special forces and main character of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

“There are others who would like to do that too,” Bloom continues. “And we think that would be really interesting. And again, that’s kind of where this interview started, that there’s something about that character that’s iconic, but the mask and some of those more superficial elements, as we’ve attempted to build them out here in our current release, where did some of those things come from? And exploring that, and looking at that would be something I think the audience would love, and we would love to get into.”

Negus adds that the team cares deeply about Ghost and that the team constantly thinks about story ideas for Ghost. “It’s hard for us not to jam on like, ‘Man, wouldn’t that be cool?’”.

Ghost will be a primary character in Modern Warfare 2 and is featured in the box art. The game is a sequel to the 2019 Modern Warfare reboot and is set to follow the same special forces team as they take on the drug cartel known as Las Almas.

You can check out IGN’s full interview with Infinity Ward and be sure to check out IGN for our full coverage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

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

The developers at Infinity Ward apparently already have a good idea for where they’d take a potential Call of Duty spinoff.

In an interview with IGN, Infinity Ward narrative director Jeffrey Negus and Modern Warfare 2 head writer Brian Bloom revealed their idea for a Call of Duty one-off, and it’d focus on a popular character from the series.

“Yeah, I’m going to say it. Ghost’s origin story,” Bloom says. According to both him and Negus, the two want to do a game starring Simon “Ghost” Riley, the British special forces and main character of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

“There are others who would like to do that too,” Bloom continues. “And we think that would be really interesting. And again, that’s kind of where this interview started, that there’s something about that character that’s iconic, but the mask and some of those more superficial elements, as we’ve attempted to build them out here in our current release, where did some of those things come from? And exploring that, and looking at that would be something I think the audience would love, and we would love to get into.”

Negus adds that the team cares deeply about Ghost and that the team constantly thinks about story ideas for Ghost. “It’s hard for us not to jam on like, ‘Man, wouldn’t that be cool?’”.

Ghost will be a primary character in Modern Warfare 2 and is featured in the box art. The game is a sequel to the 2019 Modern Warfare reboot and is set to follow the same special forces team as they take on the drug cartel known as Las Almas.

You can check out IGN’s full interview with Infinity Ward and be sure to check out IGN for our full coverage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

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

The UK government has opened itself up to the public's opinion on Xbox's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, as it prepares to enter the final stages of its investigation into the proposed buyout.

As reported by GI.biz, the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) has now published its Issues Statement of the ongoing investigation, meaning any third party - including members of the public - are free to share their views. Those looking to submit their opinions can do so until October 28.

This stage of the process comes after the CMA has completed the first two phases of its investigation into Xbox's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. It began looking into the deal in July to find out if Microsoft owning the companies behind Call of Duty, Overwatch, and more could harm competition and consumers.

The process will then continue as the CMA considers the submitted evidence before publishing its provisional findings ahead of its final report, though this could still be months away.

Responding to concerns raised earlier in October, Microsoft essentially said that PlayStation is too big to fail even if it did acquire these games. "The suggestion that the incumbent market leader, with clear and enduring market power, could be foreclosed by the third largest provider as a result of losing access to one title is not credible," it said.

Microsoft's $68.7 billion deal has been scrutinised elsewhere as well, including by various U.S. senators, the city of New York, and the U.S. Justice Department, though Xbox boss Phil Spencer said he feels good about its progress.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The UK government has opened itself up to the public's opinion on Xbox's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, as it prepares to enter the final stages of its investigation into the proposed buyout.

As reported by GI.biz, the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) has now published its Issues Statement of the ongoing investigation, meaning any third party - including members of the public - are free to share their views. Those looking to submit their opinions can do so until October 28.

This stage of the process comes after the CMA has completed the first two phases of its investigation into Xbox's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. It began looking into the deal in July to find out if Microsoft owning the companies behind Call of Duty, Overwatch, and more could harm competition and consumers.

The process will then continue as the CMA considers the submitted evidence before publishing its provisional findings ahead of its final report, though this could still be months away.

Responding to concerns raised earlier in October, Microsoft essentially said that PlayStation is too big to fail even if it did acquire these games. "The suggestion that the incumbent market leader, with clear and enduring market power, could be foreclosed by the third largest provider as a result of losing access to one title is not credible," it said.

Microsoft's $68.7 billion deal has been scrutinised elsewhere as well, including by various U.S. senators, the city of New York, and the U.S. Justice Department, though Xbox boss Phil Spencer said he feels good about its progress.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Thanks to books like The Nice House on the Lake and Something Is Killing the Children, James Tynion IV is widely regarded as one of the best horror comic book writers working today. Can Tynion work that same magic in the film medium? That's a question Tynion and his collaborators hope to answer with "Room Service."

"Room Service" is a short film Tynion is developing alongside fellow comic book superstars Elsa Charretier (November) and Pierrick Colinet (The Infinite Loop). The film introduces a fearsome, masked villain known only as The Caretaker, a ruthless facilitator who offers to help the struggling protagonist escape his financial woes and earn a little payback against those who use their wealth to live in consequence-free luxury. Not unlike Get Out, it's a disturbing horror film with a healthy dose of social commentary.

"Room Service" features a script by Tynion and storyboards by Charretier, while Tonči Zonjić (Skulldiggers) designed the distinctive Caretaker mask. Colinet will direct the film, which is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter. IGN can exclusively reveal that the film will also be accompanied by a prequel comic called Room Service: The Comic Book #1, which sheds more light on the mysterious Caretaker and the horrific services he offers to his obscenely wealthy clients.

Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive first look at the comic and several of Charretier's storyboards for the film:

"My favorite part of any project is when the art starts rolling in," Tynion IV tells IGN. "That's when all the raw ideas stop feeling as abstract and I start to be able to feel what the finished project is going to look like. Seeing the way Elsa and PK picked up on the key thematics of my script and brought them to life in the storyboards was thrilling. The whole project elevated by every little piece they brought to the table."

"James' story is an absolutely killer of a concept. It has punch, rhythm, brutality, gore, strong characters, everything he's known for and that you expect from great human-driven horror. PK is a very different kind of artist with different, more introspective and poetic sensibilities," Charretier says. "It was a complete surprise and joy to witness two visions combining into something entirely unique that could only be born out of these two creators collaborating and already translates at the storyboard stage.”

"We've chosen to make a twist on the typical horror movie antagonist," adds Colinet. "The Caretaker is not a ghoulish creature or a massacring maniac wielding weapons of torture. He's a man in a red suit, who does a job. He's cold but not aggressive. He's faceless but polished and polite. But he will make sure people hold up their end of the grizzly transaction they made no matter if they cry, beg or scream."

"I'm not much of a horror person, but this movie's scares are subtler and closer to Korean cinema of ever-mounting suspense and dread, which I'm a big fan of, so it was both exciting and a challenge to come up with a simple design that still captured all these feelings," Zonjić says of The Caretaker. "A mask tailored on Savile Row, just like the suit would be. Once we had the shape, making it deep red was the perfect last touch towards that place of "elegant dread" which I'm really looking forward to seeing on screen."

The Kickstarter campaign for "Room Service" is live until November 17. The base-level $20 pledge will earn backers digital copies of both the film itself and the script. Higher tiers will add various bonuses, including Kickstarter-exclusive posters by Charretier and The Department of Truth artist Martin Simmonds, a hardcover artbook featuring Charretier's storyboards and other concept art, an illustrated prose story by Tynion and Charretier and even original artwork.

Tynion has certainly been keeping busy since signing a lucrative exclusivity agreement with Substack. Earlier this year Tynion launched a new horror anthology called True Weird, as well as a new Sandman Universe comic focused on the nightmarish villain The Corinthian.

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

Thanks to books like The Nice House on the Lake and Something Is Killing the Children, James Tynion IV is widely regarded as one of the best horror comic book writers working today. Can Tynion work that same magic in the film medium? That's a question Tynion and his collaborators hope to answer with "Room Service."

"Room Service" is a short film Tynion is developing alongside fellow comic book superstars Elsa Charretier (November) and Pierrick Colinet (The Infinite Loop). The film introduces a fearsome, masked villain known only as The Caretaker, a ruthless facilitator who offers to help the struggling protagonist escape his financial woes and earn a little payback against those who use their wealth to live in consequence-free luxury. Not unlike Get Out, it's a disturbing horror film with a healthy dose of social commentary.

"Room Service" features a script by Tynion and storyboards by Charretier, while Tonči Zonjić (Skulldiggers) designed the distinctive Caretaker mask. Colinet will direct the film, which is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter. IGN can exclusively reveal that the film will also be accompanied by a prequel comic called Room Service: The Comic Book #1, which sheds more light on the mysterious Caretaker and the horrific services he offers to his obscenely wealthy clients.

Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive first look at the comic and several of Charretier's storyboards for the film:

"My favorite part of any project is when the art starts rolling in," Tynion IV tells IGN. "That's when all the raw ideas stop feeling as abstract and I start to be able to feel what the finished project is going to look like. Seeing the way Elsa and PK picked up on the key thematics of my script and brought them to life in the storyboards was thrilling. The whole project elevated by every little piece they brought to the table."

"James' story is an absolutely killer of a concept. It has punch, rhythm, brutality, gore, strong characters, everything he's known for and that you expect from great human-driven horror. PK is a very different kind of artist with different, more introspective and poetic sensibilities," Charretier says. "It was a complete surprise and joy to witness two visions combining into something entirely unique that could only be born out of these two creators collaborating and already translates at the storyboard stage.”

"We've chosen to make a twist on the typical horror movie antagonist," adds Colinet. "The Caretaker is not a ghoulish creature or a massacring maniac wielding weapons of torture. He's a man in a red suit, who does a job. He's cold but not aggressive. He's faceless but polished and polite. But he will make sure people hold up their end of the grizzly transaction they made no matter if they cry, beg or scream."

"I'm not much of a horror person, but this movie's scares are subtler and closer to Korean cinema of ever-mounting suspense and dread, which I'm a big fan of, so it was both exciting and a challenge to come up with a simple design that still captured all these feelings," Zonjić says of The Caretaker. "A mask tailored on Savile Row, just like the suit would be. Once we had the shape, making it deep red was the perfect last touch towards that place of "elegant dread" which I'm really looking forward to seeing on screen."

The Kickstarter campaign for "Room Service" is live until November 17. The base-level $20 pledge will earn backers digital copies of both the film itself and the script. Higher tiers will add various bonuses, including Kickstarter-exclusive posters by Charretier and The Department of Truth artist Martin Simmonds, a hardcover artbook featuring Charretier's storyboards and other concept art, an illustrated prose story by Tynion and Charretier and even original artwork.

Tynion has certainly been keeping busy since signing a lucrative exclusivity agreement with Substack. Earlier this year Tynion launched a new horror anthology called True Weird, as well as a new Sandman Universe comic focused on the nightmarish villain The Corinthian.

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

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever writer and director Ryan Coogler has revealed how the film's script changed following the death of its star Chadwick Boseman - and what the movie would originally have centered on.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Coogler explained that Black Panther's sequel was originally a much more intimate, focused story on Boseman's T'Challa. Following his death in 2020, however, Marvel decided against recasting the character and Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole instead wrote a different script.

"The script we wrote before Chadwick passed was very much rooted in T’Challa’s perspective," Coogler said. "It was a massive movie but also simultaneously a character study that delved deeply into his psyche and situation."

The rewrite would take that original story, acknowedge T'Challa's death, and instead focus on a different - as yet unrevealed - character's point of view as they become a new Black Panther. “The Black Panther has existed in Wakanda for centuries, so the notion of someone else picking up the mantle didn’t seem inorganic,” said Wakanda Forever producer Nate Moore. “But once that had to become a reality, then it was, ‘OK, what makes the most sense for the story? Who actually makes the most sense to take this thing on?’"

Though we still don't have a confirmed name for the new Black Panther hero, the film will focus on their journey as Wakanda comes under threat once again. It doesn't ignore T'Challa's (or Boseman's) death though, as Lupita Nyong’o - who plays Nakia - said the script was rewritten to reflect the mourning of both actor and character.

"Ryan wrote something that so honored the truth of what every one of us was feeling, those of us who knew Chadwick," she said. "He created something that could honour that and carry the story forward. By the end, I was weeping."

As for who's taking on the role of Black Panther, a trailer from earlier in October alongside some leaked LEGO sets all but confirm who it will be, though Marvel has yet to make it official and likely won't until the film premieres next month.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever writer and director Ryan Coogler has revealed how the film's script changed following the death of its star Chadwick Boseman - and what the movie would originally have centered on.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Coogler explained that Black Panther's sequel was originally a much more intimate, focused story on Boseman's T'Challa. Following his death in 2020, however, Marvel decided against recasting the character and Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole instead wrote a different script.

"The script we wrote before Chadwick passed was very much rooted in T’Challa’s perspective," Coogler said. "It was a massive movie but also simultaneously a character study that delved deeply into his psyche and situation."

The rewrite would take that original story, acknowedge T'Challa's death, and instead focus on a different - as yet unrevealed - character's point of view as they become a new Black Panther. “The Black Panther has existed in Wakanda for centuries, so the notion of someone else picking up the mantle didn’t seem inorganic,” said Wakanda Forever producer Nate Moore. “But once that had to become a reality, then it was, ‘OK, what makes the most sense for the story? Who actually makes the most sense to take this thing on?’"

Though we still don't have a confirmed name for the new Black Panther hero, the film will focus on their journey as Wakanda comes under threat once again. It doesn't ignore T'Challa's (or Boseman's) death though, as Lupita Nyong’o - who plays Nakia - said the script was rewritten to reflect the mourning of both actor and character.

"Ryan wrote something that so honored the truth of what every one of us was feeling, those of us who knew Chadwick," she said. "He created something that could honour that and carry the story forward. By the end, I was weeping."

As for who's taking on the role of Black Panther, a trailer from earlier in October alongside some leaked LEGO sets all but confirm who it will be, though Marvel has yet to make it official and likely won't until the film premieres next month.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Square Enix has debuted two new Final Fantasy 16 characters that are both connected to pretty significant summons (known in this game as Eikons).

Revealed in a blog post that accompanied a new trailer (below), Square Enix introduced Dion Lesage as Dominant (a summon host) of Bahamut and Barnabas Thatmr, Dominant of Odin.

Dion is the crown prince of the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, one of Final Fantasy 16's six realms, and is also the leader of the Dragoons, its noblest order of knights. Combining his own abilities with the power of Bahamut, Dion is a lethal force in battle and is beloved by his people.

This might not be the case throughout all of the game, however, as Square Enix alludes to a darker turn of events. "Shadows are gathering in the Empire," it said, "and they may be enough to quell Bahamut’s light."

Another ruler, Barnabas controls the Kingdom of Waloed but didn't start in as high and mighty position as Dion. He "arrived on the shores of Ash as a wanderer with not land or title of his own. It was his skill with a blade that won him a kingdom," Square Enix said.

Barnabas used the power of Odin to conquer the entire Eastern continent for himself, and despite now having a colossal army to do his bidding, he still wants to be at the heart of battle.

Square Enix is in the habit of introducing new characters alongside each trailer for Final Fantasy 16, unveiling Kupka and Harman (Dominants of Titan and Garuda respectively) back in June.

The latest trailer shed more light on the game's overall story, seemingly centred around the land of Valisthea as its crystals slowly fade. It also shows off the aforementioned kingdoms in detail, including the Holy Empire of Sanbreque and Kingdom of Waloed.

Final Fantasy 16 is now playable from start to finish but Square Enix's all-star development team are taking until summer next year to get everything right. We're slowly but surely learning more about it, however, including its non-open world map, how summons work, and the name of its most popular puppy character.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Square Enix has debuted two new Final Fantasy 16 characters that are both connected to pretty significant summons (known in this game as Eikons).

Revealed in a blog post that accompanied a new trailer (below), Square Enix introduced Dion Lesage as Dominant (a summon host) of Bahamut and Barnabas Thatmr, Dominant of Odin.

Dion is the crown prince of the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, one of Final Fantasy 16's six realms, and is also the leader of the Dragoons, its noblest order of knights. Combining his own abilities with the power of Bahamut, Dion is a lethal force in battle and is beloved by his people.

This might not be the case throughout all of the game, however, as Square Enix alludes to a darker turn of events. "Shadows are gathering in the Empire," it said, "and they may be enough to quell Bahamut’s light."

Another ruler, Barnabas controls the Kingdom of Waloed but didn't start in as high and mighty position as Dion. He "arrived on the shores of Ash as a wanderer with not land or title of his own. It was his skill with a blade that won him a kingdom," Square Enix said.

Barnabas used the power of Odin to conquer the entire Eastern continent for himself, and despite now having a colossal army to do his bidding, he still wants to be at the heart of battle.

Square Enix is in the habit of introducing new characters alongside each trailer for Final Fantasy 16, unveiling Kupka and Harman (Dominants of Titan and Garuda respectively) back in June.

The latest trailer shed more light on the game's overall story, seemingly centred around the land of Valisthea as its crystals slowly fade. It also shows off the aforementioned kingdoms in detail, including the Holy Empire of Sanbreque and Kingdom of Waloed.

Final Fantasy 16 is now playable from start to finish but Square Enix's all-star development team are taking until summer next year to get everything right. We're slowly but surely learning more about it, however, including its non-open world map, how summons work, and the name of its most popular puppy character.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.