Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo want to make Secret Wars.

During an interview with Deadline, the directing duo revealed that it’s actually their dream Marvel project… but wouldn’t confirm whether it’s actually on the cards.

“Our love for Marvel is based on the books that we read as kids, the books that we fell in love with,” said Joe. “The one series that we adored growing up was Secret Wars.”

Secret Wars was first published in 1984 as a twelve-issue limited series, an ambitious comic book crossover event that teamed The Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and others as they were taken by an alien entity to a place known as Battleworld.

It also introduced the symbiote which would later become known as Venom.

How would all this transpose to the big screen? Well, it looks as though the Russos imagine it as a double feature, much like Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.

“It’s incredibly ambitious,” he added. “It would be bigger than Infinity War and Endgame. But it’s a massive undertaking. Those two movies were very hard to make. So, trying to imagine making another two movies even bigger than those two? We’re going to have to sleep on that.”

The Russo brothers have been asked about Secret Wars for years, often giving cagey answers that suggest there’s more to the idea than a mere suggestion.

But the fact that they now think of the project as “two movies” could be a giveaway that there’s something in the pipeline. Even if Kevin Feige is often quick to dismiss the rumors.

“I’ve seen those rumors as well,” said Feige. “Why is everyone talking about that now? That’s what I want to know. I think one person writes about it, and then another person writes about it, and then everybody’s writing about it, and then it’s happening.”

Still, he recently revealed that we’ll learn more about the MCU’s next big saga “in the coming months.” What that will be remains a bit of a mystery. But if it’s going to top the Infinity Saga, it’s got to be something big… and Secret Wars sounds like the perfect candidate.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

EA is officially removing BioWare Points as a form of currency in the Origin Store on PC. To make up for it, EA is now offering most DLC from Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 to all players for free.

The news was shared on Reddit from those like AircraftSam89 who received an e-mail from EA stating that these BioWare Points would be no more, and EA confirmed to IGN that they will indeed be gone from the Origin Store on October 11, 2022.

For those unfamiliar, BioWare Points were a form of currency players could purchase from EA on the Origin Store to purchase in-game content packs. BioWare Points were more prevalent during the days of the previously mentioned games, but EA stopped using them for games such as Anthem, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Mass Effect Andromeda.

The one group of DLC that won't be free will be Mass Effect 3's Multiplayer Packs, and those who wish to purchase these packs can do so with BioWare Points until October 11. After that date, Multiplayer Packs will "only be redeemable using credits you've earned in-game."

BioWare notes that other currencies like Crystals and Platinum will remain unaffected and all content previously purchased using BioWare Points will still be accessible.

BioWare is making these choices as it is in the middle of developing Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and the next entry in the Mass Effect series.

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.

Preorders are now open for those looking to buy God of War: Ragnarok in the UK, which has also revealed the pricing for the Jotnar and Collector's Editions of the game.

The Jotnar Edition will set buyers back £229.99, the Collector's Edition at £179.99, while PS5 copies cost £69.99, and PS4 £59.99. So, you can expect reasonably similar prices when buying in the US — preorders are expected to go live from 10 AM ET.

Preorders for both the Jotnar and Collector's Edition sold out exceptionally quickly in the UK, but there is more stock anticipated soon. At the time of writing PS Direct UK has not gone live with any preorders, but is expected to before the end of the day on July 15.

Graphical modes for the game have also seemingly been revealed via an email from UK retailer ShopTo. Details provided promise that the game will let you "switch between full 4K resolution at a targeted 30[fps], or dynamic resolution upscaled to 4K at a targeted 60fps."

Ragnarok will be available in four separate editions when it launches on November 9. The Collector's Edition is set to include a slew of additional physical and digital items for buyers, alongside a 16" replica of the famous Mjölnir hammer.

The Jotnar Edition of God of War Ragnarok is very similar to the Collector's Edition, but it will include a few extra premium items. There's also a Digital Deluxe edition that costs £79.99 / $79.99.

God of War: Ragnarok picks up from the Norse reboot for the classic action series, and a gameplay trailer showed us a familiar mix of fantasy combat, and family bickering. The game will finally introduce Thor, and will seemingly introduce some exciting changes to the action systems.

In other God of War news, Sony is reportedly developing a God of War series for Amazon, to go along with its other series productions, like the Horizon series on Netflix and The Last of Us for HBO.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Gremlins creator Joe Dante has accused The Mandalorian creators of "shamelessly" copying his Mogwai design for Gizmo to create the show's scene-stealing character, Grogu.

As reported by Variety, Dante recently reflected on the enduring popularity of his 1984 horror-comedy Gremlins and its 1990 sequel, telling the San Francisco Chronicle that he pins the success of the franchise on Gizmo. He recognized that the same could be said for The Mandalorian's pint-sized star Baby Yoda, who he thinks is a blatant ripoff of the Mogwai.

"I think the longevity of [the film] is really key to this one character (Gizmo), who is essentially like a baby," Dante told the publication. "Which brings me, of course, to the subject of Baby Yoda, who is completely stolen and is just out-and-out copied. Shamelessly, I would think."

When The Mandalorian debuted back in 2019, Baby Yoda was an instant hit. Everyone loved the little green fella who would eventually be called Grogu… but the team at Lucasfilm were not so sure in the beginning. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau ferociously debated the character, looking over various concept designs before one puppet design emerged as the frontrunner.

The real animatronic Grogu used on-set was eventually put together in three months, and required three or four puppeteers to bring to life. The time and effort that went into creating the creature paid off as the character quickly became an indelible pop-culture phenomenon, starring in GIFs and memes across the internet, and spawning lots of merchandise.

Yoda's species can live to be at least 900 years old and with Grogu at a spritely 53, the little guy seems to be primed to be part of Star Wars for a long, long time. Favreau recently discussed the possibility of using Grogu as a keystone figure as stories continue decades and centuries into the franchise's timeline, admitting that it's something they've thought about.

Meanwhile, the Mogwai are set to make a comeback in an upcoming HBO Max animated show that will center around the creatures who run amok when their caretakers are careless. The series, which is officially titled Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, will serve as a prequel to the movies, telling the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing first met Gizmo.

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

Spoiler Warning: This post contains spoilers for both parts of Stranger Things Season 4.

Stranger Things pulled no punches with its emotional moments in Season 4. Today, in an interview with Variety, Noah Schnapp confirmed something that fans have long speculated: Will is gay.

“It was hinted at in Season 1. It was always kind of there, but you never really knew, is it just him growing up slower than his friends? Now that he’s gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing. Now it’s 100% clear he is gay and does love Mike,” Schnapp said.

There’s been much speculation over the years about Will’s sexuality, including a scene in Season 3 that hints toward it. This most recent season, however, delivered a one two punch in an emotional scene where Will explains to Mike Eleven’s feelings, which actually mirror his own.

As the scene ends, Will turns away from Mike and sobs silently. It’s a heartbreaking, nuanced, and emotional scene that has resonated with many. Schnapp explains that he’s had fans come up to him and express their appreciation for Will’s character.

“People have come up to me [and said,] ‘This Will character made me feel so good. And I related to it so much. That is exactly who I was when I was a kid.’ That just made me so happy to hear. They are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle and they’re doing it so well.”

Schnapp teases he called the Duffer Brothers a few weeks ago and asked what’s next for Will, saying “Obviously, we hope for a coming out scene, and I also want to see them address this connection to the Mind Flayer and how that fits into the world.”

Based on some of the final moments in Season 4, we can expect Will to feature more heavily as we know he has some sort of connection to Vecna. Season 4 will have many questions to answer including what’s going on with Max, who was nearly killed off, and will the Upside Down’s hardest rocker Eddie Munson ever get his name cleared?

Casey is a freelance writer for IGN. You can usually find him talking about JRPGs on Twitter at @caseydavidmt.

Spoiler Warning: This post contains spoilers for both parts of Stranger Things Season 4.

Stranger Things pulled no punches with its emotional moments in Season 4. Today, in an interview with Variety, Noah Schnapp confirmed something that fans have long speculated: Will is gay.

“It was hinted at in Season 1. It was always kind of there, but you never really knew, is it just him growing up slower than his friends? Now that he’s gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing. Now it’s 100% clear he is gay and does love Mike,” Schnapp said.

There’s been much speculation over the years about Will’s sexuality, including a scene in Season 3 that hints toward it. This most recent season, however, delivered a one two punch in an emotional scene where Will explains to Mike Eleven’s feelings, which actually mirror his own.

As the scene ends, Will turns away from Mike and sobs silently. It’s a heartbreaking, nuanced, and emotional scene that has resonated with many. Schnapp explains that he’s had fans come up to him and express their appreciation for Will’s character.

“People have come up to me [and said,] ‘This Will character made me feel so good. And I related to it so much. That is exactly who I was when I was a kid.’ That just made me so happy to hear. They are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle and they’re doing it so well.”

Schnapp teases he called the Duffer Brothers a few weeks ago and asked what’s next for Will, saying “Obviously, we hope for a coming out scene, and I also want to see them address this connection to the Mind Flayer and how that fits into the world.”

Based on some of the final moments in Season 4, we can expect Will to feature more heavily as we know he has some sort of connection to Vecna. Season 4 will have many questions to answer including what’s going on with Max, who was nearly killed off, and will the Upside Down’s hardest rocker Eddie Munson ever get his name cleared?

Casey is a freelance writer for IGN. You can usually find him talking about JRPGs on Twitter at @caseydavidmt.

Former EA CEO John Riccitello has spoken up about microtransactions in video games, saying what while those who avoid implementing monitization early on in the creative process are some of the "most beautiful and pure, brilliant people," they are also "some of the biggest f****** idiots."

Riccitello is now the CEO of Unity Technologies and he spoke to PocketGamer.Biz about this topic following the announcement of Unity and ironSource's upcoming merger. When asked about the pushback that some developers have given regarding implementing monetization early on in developing a game, Riccitello did not hold back.

"Ferrari and some of the other high-end car manufacturers still use clay and carving knives," Riccitello said. "It’s a very small portion of the gaming industry that works that way, and some of these people are my favourite people in the world to fight with – they’re the most beautiful and pure, brilliant people. They’re also some of the biggest f****** idiots.

"I’ve been in the gaming industry longer than most anybody – getting to the grey hair and all that. It used to be the case that developers would throw their game over the wall to the publicist and sales force with literally no interaction beforehand. That model is baked into the philosophy of a lot of artforms and medium, and it’s one I am deeply respectful of; I know their dedication and care.

"But this industry divides people between those who still hold to that philosophy and those who massively embrace how to figure out what makes a successful product. And I don’t know a successful artist anywhere that doesn’t care about what their player thinks. This is where this cycle of feedback comes back, and they can choose to ignore it. But to choose to not know it at all is not a great call.

"I’ve seen great games fail because they tuned their compulsion loop to two minutes when it should have been an hour. Sometimes, you wouldn’t even notice the product difference between a massive success and tremendous fail, but for this tuning and what it does to the attrition rate. There isn’t a developer on the planet that wouldn’t want that knowledge."

Monetization indicators being a focus early on is very important to Unity as it has worked to say it has "democratized creation." This mission is part of the reason why Unity believes there is a "beauty in tools that let people find out that this is how they want to make their livelihood."

"Looking at ironSource, they came with the same ideas," Unity Create senior vice president and general manager Marc Whitten said. "Making feedback and publishing more transparent, as opposed to locked in a black box of marketing people. Now creators can look at minute information about monetisation and feedback in the same way they would look at load times or where they need to optimise their C# code."

Microtransactions have been and will continue to be a hot topic for the games industry, and there has been a constant battle between developers/publishers and customers as to what the right way to go about it is. EA, in particular, has been in the microtransaction hot seat in the past, and one of the most notable incidents was related to Star Wars: Battlefront 2.

For more, check out our look at how loot box and microtransactions addiction destroys lives and Valve's thoughts on microtransactions and their place in the industry.

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.

Stray is already promising plenty of feline hijinks and cuteness when it launches next week, but Travel Cat is ensuring that your own cat can get in on the fun with some real-life branded cat travel items – a Stray-themed backpack and a harness modeled after the one worn by the game's four-legged protagonist.

The bubble backpack, which can hold up to a 25lb cat, sports a colorful design and a Stray patch on one side. The bubble in the center allows your fluffy pal to get a good look at their surroundings while you're doing all the walking and they're doing what they do best – being lazy.

Meanwhile, the harness is a direct replica of the black and white one worn by the cat in Stray, though the listing states that it doesn't come with the game's robot companion B-12. Bummer. Even so, it also includes a 6ft nylon leash so that you can let your cat go sit in someone else's lap.

Both items are available for pre-order on the official Travel Cat website, and the first wave of shipments is estimated to go out by August 31, with a second wave expected on September 21.

Stray is shaping up to be quite a mysterious and engaging catventure through a cyberpunk world. In our hands-off preview, we feel "confident in the love and care the developers have for cats, and for translating that into a journey worthy of them."

Stray pounces onto PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC on July 19. It will be included at no extra charge for PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Premium members.

Billy Givens is a freelancer at IGN with over a decade of experience writing gaming, film, and tech content. His work can also be found on GameSpot, USA Today, Digital Trends, Tom's Guide, and more. You'll find him blabbering on about video games and more on Twitter at @mektige.

The Kenaissance is upon us. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight promoting his new film The Gray Man, Ryan Gosling spent some time dropping teasers for his role as Ken in the upcoming Barbie film.

Citing Gosling’s six pack abs in Barbie, ET's Lauren Zima asked which role he was more buff for. Gosling mused, “That Ken life is even harder than The Gray Man life, I think. He’s got no money, no job, no car, he’s got no house. He’s going through some stuff.”

In The Gray Man, Gosling is called a “Ken doll” by Chris Evans’ character as an insult but Gosling says that “is not an insult at all! I’m proud of that."

Major plot details have yet to be revealed about the film, but numerous set photos have leaked showcasing Gosling and Margot Robbie as Barbie in retro, throwback outfits inspired by Barbies from years past.

When asked about the set photos, Gosling said, “That’s nothing. I can’t wait for people to see the film. That's all I can say, otherwise Mattel will come in and box me up."

The film found its director in Lady Bird’s Greta Gerwig last summer. Earlier this year, Will Ferrell joined the film and will reportedly play the CEO of a toy company.

Since the film’s announcement, we’ve gotten one official look as Robbie as Barbie who took the role after Amy Schumer dropped out. Fans of Barbie might be disappointed to know that the iconic ‘Barbie Girl’ song by Danish pop group Aqua won’t be in the film. Despite that, if the official photos of Robbie as Barbie and Gosling as Ken are any indicator, the film is definitely embracing the campier side of things.

Casey is a freelance writer for IGN. You can usually find him talking about JRPGs on Twitter at @caseydavidmt.

Sony has clarified that its new PlayStation Stars loyalty programme will not reward members with NFTs. Speaking to The Washington Post, vice president of network advertising, loyalty, and licensed merchandise Grace Chen made clear that the "digital collectibles" on offer were absolutely not related to the controversial non-fungible tokens.

"It's definitely not NFTs. Definitely not," Chen said. "You can't trade them or sell them. It is not leveraging any blockchain technologies and definitely not NFTs."

Sony announced PlayStation Stars earlier today as a reward points programme that will allow players to earn points with real cash value.

For completing campaigns like playing a PlayStation game, winning tournaments, or being the first person to unlock a Platinum Trophy, players will earn points they can spend in a rewards catalogue. This will include PSN wallet funds and other PlayStation Store products, but also these new digital collectibles.

The description Sony offered did make them sound a little like NFTs, as it called them "digital representations of things PlayStation fans enjoy, including figurines of beloved and iconic characters from games and other forms of entertainment, as well as cherished devices that tap into Sony’s history of innovation."

Given Chen's response to the idea, however, this is seemingly far from the truth. New collectibles will be added regularly, and Sony said that some will be particularly rare and something for players to continuously work towards.

NFTs, on the other hand, aim to allow for ownership of digital items and some developers and publishers have already explored letting gamers own certain unlocks, such as Ghost Recon Breakpoint's limited edition Quartz gear.

The exploration of NFTs in games has been a widely controversial topic in the gaming sphere so far, however, though interest appears to have quietened down a little in the last few months. Companies such as GSC Game World and Team17 went all in on them before quickly cancelling those plans, while others such as PlatinumGames and Steam taking a stance against NFT implementation in games.

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