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00:00Welcome to Mojo Play's News Roundup where we bring you the biggest gaming news of the
00:10week.
00:15Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring
00:20the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:24NEWSBITES
00:25According to pre-orders, Sony's latest expensive gamble seems to be doing rather well.
00:30Real gamers, however, don't seem to be the ones scooping up these powerful new versions
00:34of the PS5 as scalpers worldwide are securing the pre-orders and then reselling them for
00:38exorbitant prices elsewhere.
00:40Well, Japan has come up with a rather ingenious solution to this.
00:44Potential buyers need to log into their PSN accounts to prove they've logged at least
00:4730 hours of playtime between February 2014 and September 2024.
00:52With gamers worldwide reporting scalpers to eBay for reselling the 30th anniversary
00:56PS5 Pro for upwards of $10,000 on the site, this is hopefully a step in the right direction
01:01to weed out potential scalpers and bots, and once again, before the players.
01:11After the resounding disappointment of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5, fans had given up on
01:15the franchise to make a return.
01:17However, in 2020, Activision gave fans hope of a half-pipe return with remakes of Tony
01:22Hawk 1 and 2 and the potential for more remakes to come.
01:25This seemed to be where the story ended, as Activision moved developer Vicarious Visions
01:29onto the Call of Duty machine to grind out more Warzone content.
01:33And yet, fans might have something to hope for once again, directly from the Birdman
01:37Tony Hawk's Instagram.
01:38In celebration of the series' 25th anniversary, Tony Hawk confirmed he's in talks with Activision,
01:43teasing fans with the closing statement,
01:45I'm not supposed to tease anything, but there will be a future.
01:48Whether this means more remakes of the earlier entries like Tony Hawk 3 and 4, or even the
01:52much-loved Underground entries, the fact that there's any hope at all is enough to make
01:56fans do a 720.
02:04Due to the colossal failure that was Concord, many fans have forgotten that Funtastic's
02:08The Day Before currently holds the record for fastest video game delisting in history,
02:12going dark only four days after launch.
02:15In addition to closing down the game, Funtastic also announced they were shutting down their
02:18studio entirely, citing a lack of funds.
02:21But now, somehow, Funtastic has announced their return via X with the caption,
02:25Everyone deserves a second chance, along with their new game Escape Factory.
02:29It is clearly a Fall Guys clone and the Kickstarter campaign is asking for $15,000 to complete
02:34the game.
02:35Proclaiming themselves Funtastic 2.0, obviously no one should donate any money to this next
02:40project.
02:41So far, almost no one has, with barely a handful of donations and Funtastic claiming without
02:45fan backing, they'll be unable to return to the gaming industry.
02:49And we are 100% okay with that.
02:54Longtime Yakuza or Like a Dragon fans have finally gotten their first proper look at
02:58the live-action adaptation for Amazon Prime and its near-perfect recreation of Kamurocho.
03:03Based on the insanely long-running and popular video game series of the same name, it follows
03:08fan-favorite character Kazuma Kiryu and his glorious suit chronicling his rise through
03:12the Yakuza.
03:13The series is taking a more realistic approach to the games but still looks to promise loads
03:17of violence, brawls and no shortage of crime-related activities.
03:21While it's unknown if the beloved karaoke sections will be making an appearance, fans
03:24won't have to wait long to find out as Like a Dragon Yakuza premieres on Amazon Prime
03:28on October 24th, 2025.
03:41Bethesda's Starfield might not have been the revolutionary experience many longtime
03:45Bethesda fans were hoping for, but it still offered a decent time exploring the galaxy
03:49between loading screens.
03:51With the release of the title's first major expansion, Shattered Space, Bethesda has scaled
03:54back the scope of the universe and offers players a more classic Bethesda experience.
03:59Rather than relying on procedurally generated worlds and quests, Shattered Space feels much
04:03more handcrafted and much closer to the golden days of Bethesda at its best.
04:07If you didn't enjoy the base Starfield, Shattered Space will be unlikely to change your mind
04:12but it's enough to give fans hope that Bethesda can still make quality content.
04:15Now all they need to do is abandon their decades-old engine and they'll truly be on the right track
04:20for the future.
04:22Ubisoft's Leap of Faith
04:28It's no secret Ubisoft has been in dire straits for quite a while.
04:40Following the announcement of their flagship holiday title being delayed from November
04:42to February 2025, the more we learn, the worse it gets.
04:46Not only did Star Wars Outlaws severely underperform, reportedly only selling 1 million units worldwide,
04:52it would seem that Skull & Bones was even more of a colossal failure and brought Ubisoft
04:56nearly to the brink of bankruptcy.
04:58Reportedly, the developers behind AC Shadows had been begging Ubisoft to delay the title
05:02for quite some time before the studio finally agreed, citing more time needed to polish
05:06the game and to ensure better historical accuracy after many fans and scholars had
05:11pointed out numerous inaccuracies in the game's marketing material.
05:14Supposedly, these issues stem from historical experts being brought in to consult on the
05:18title far later in development than usual, despite the game reportedly being in development
05:22since 2018.
05:23Alongside numerous studio closures and layoffs within Ubisoft, as well as the possibility
05:28that AC Shadows could be delayed even further if rumors proved to be true, and shareholders
05:33demanding to hold the developer accountable for their stocks and profits plummeting to
05:36an all-time low, things may only get worse for Ubisoft without the possibility of getting
05:40better.
05:47Blizzard Freezes Out Employees
05:58Another week, another round of layoffs.
06:00Microsoft announced that they intend to lay off roughly 400 Activision employees and developers
06:05the end of the year, specifically from Blizzard's Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 teams.
06:10Just this year, Microsoft has already laid off more than 1,900 employees following their
06:14acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion finalized in October 2023.
06:19Phil Spencer released a typical corporate word salad response to the layoffs, claiming
06:22they were necessary for the company's future and long-term success.
06:26With countless layoffs and studio closures becoming a weekly occurrence across the industry,
06:30including Sony's recent round of layoffs earlier this year, the games industry remains
06:34one of the most profitable forms of media in the world, but now also one with the lowest
06:38job security.
06:47This isn't the end of Blizzard in the news, however.
06:49The studio is reportedly once again attempting to create a shooter set within the StarCraft
06:53universe.
06:54This isn't the first time the studio has tried to branch off within the wildly popular StarCraft
06:58franchise.
06:59A few decades ago, Blizzard announced StarCraft Ghost for the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube, which
07:04would have been a stealth third-person shooter experience set within the StarCraft lore.
07:08However, the game never materialized despite strong showings and was placed on indefinite
07:12hold before ultimately being cancelled.
07:15While it's unknown if this title will fare any better, it does at least have some solid
07:19talent behind it with Dan Hay who previously worked on the Far Cry series at the helm.
07:24Time will tell, but we're always excited for some more StarCraft.
07:36THE BUSIEST MAN IN GAMING
07:45The father of the stealth genre, Hideo Kojima just keeps adding more projects to his already
07:49full plate.
07:50While attending the Tokyo Game Show, Kojima not only showed off new gameplay and cutscenes
07:54for his upcoming PS5 exclusive, Death Stranding 2 on the beach, he also unveiled the game's
07:59wildly ambitious new photo mode.
08:01Making incredible use of Kojima's unhinged genius and the Decima engine, Death Stranding
08:052's photo mode isn't just a way to show off the game's impressive graphics, but also ties
08:09directly into the gameplay according to Kojima himself.
08:12Showcasing various characters posing for the camera and also enacting numerous little skits,
08:17players will be able to pose multiple characters at once for group photos.
08:20Given the game's themes of connections, this could be how the game's photo mode will tie
08:23into the overall narrative.
08:25Similar to the like system in the original Death Stranding, players will likely be rewarded
08:29for these impromptu photo shoots with their relationships deepening with Sam the more
08:33photos they take together.
08:34And while we didn't get a solid release date, Kojima is confident the game will still release
08:38in 2025 despite only being 30-40% complete.
08:49Kojima also announced he would be doing a 10-minute weekly radio show on TBS Radio in
08:53which he would be discussing a new topic every week.
08:56This comes after Kojima entered what he calls the third phase of Kojima Productions after
09:00signing with Hollywood talent agency WME with plans to expand his creative vision to anime,
09:05movies and television.
09:07Given the creator's affinity for movies and his cinematic approach to storytelling in
09:10his games, it's more surprising it took him this long to finally make it to Hollywood.
09:14With other projects already in the works such as his upcoming horror title OD and his return
09:19to tactical espionage action with Phizant, Kojima proclaimed he can't die until the third
09:24phase of his projects are complete.
09:37Here's what's next!