GTA 6 Pre-Order Leaked! Price Reveal Soon?! - Kinda Funny Games Daily 05.14.26

Summary

Kinda Funny Games Daily – May 14, 2026

Episode Title: GTA 6 Pre-Order Leaked! Price Reveal Soon?!

Hosts: SnowBikeMike, Roger Picorny, Blessing Adeoye Jr.
Main Theme: Leaks, price speculation, and what’s next for GTA 6; Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO cancelled; Xbox’s new cloud gaming controller leaks; Crimson Desert’s massive success and more top gaming news.

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the Kinda Funny crew dives deep into the breaking news of the day: reports of imminent GTA 6 pre-orders and possible price reveal, alongside a flurry of other important industry headlines. Lively, candid, and tinged with signature Kinda Funny humor, the hosts unpack rumors, analyze business moves, and field community superchats.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

GTA 6 Pre-Order Leak & Price Speculation

[05:40 – 15:35]

• Main Story:
  Pre-orders for GTA 6 are rumored to begin Monday, May 18, as per emails to Best Buy affiliates. This may come with a new trailer and the finally revealed price.

  • Speculation points to a November 19 release.
  • Possible staggered launch: campaign first, online mode later.
  • A Bank of America analyst recently suggested an $80 price point “to help drive prices across the industry.”

• Panel Takes:

  • Roger: "I would not be surprised if it actually is $70... You get fucky with collector’s editions. Of course, that's where you can really get $100 out of a lot of people." [07:44]
  • Mike: “The hope is $70, Roger, to see Rockstar stay and maintain that for the industry at large.” [08:04]
  • Blessing: "Shut up, Bank of America." [06:52] (On $80 price suggestion)

• Trailer/Pricing Rollout Debate:

  • Rockstar is known for few leaks, but the affiliate pre-order news hints at a controlled marketing blowout soon.
  • Discussion of possible early access editions, bundled with in-game currency (like Shark Cards).
  • Roger’s Hot Take: “I do think there’s gonna be an $80 to $100 version of this game that gives you a week early.” [11:54]
  • Blessing: Expresses skepticism: "I think they like having the conversation all at launch day...I could see them not falling into this early access thing." [12:34]

• Community Superchat:

  • Growing fatigue about the ongoing GTA discourse.
  • Mike: “GTA is the biggest thing around. I can't wait to see more of it. I’ll talk about it 'til November, 'til the cows come home.” [32:50]

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Amazon Cancels Lord of the Rings MMO, AI in Game Dev

[15:37 – 26:52]

• Main Story:
  Multiple sources confirm Amazon has cancelled its in-development Lord of the Rings MMO, partly due to layoffs and a top-down internal push toward AI-powered projects.

• Notable Quotes:

  • Roger: "[Amazon] just do not understand what it takes to make video games... They just know how to be Amazon." [21:41]
  • Mike: “It is interesting ... They have so many titles drawn to their name... But the MMO space is already so difficult. I’d be making a totally different Lord of the Rings game.” [22:55]
  • Layoffs connected to a forced AI-focused initiative (“Project Trident”) led to more internal confusion and instability.
  • Roger: “They believed [AI] was a cheat code to make video games fast. That's not how this works.” [25:23]

• Panel Consensus:

  • Amazon's approach is scattershot and out of touch with both industry trends and talent management.
  • Instead of MMOs, more focused single-player or co-op Lord of the Rings titles make sense for the current market.

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Xbox Cloud Gaming Controller Leak

[36:09 – 43:06]

• Main Story:
  Leaked Brazilian regulatory images reveal a new, compact Xbox controller designed specifically for direct cloud gaming (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, rechargeable battery, compact form factor).

• Panel Opinions:

  • Roger: “Let’s just say 3, 2, 1—this looks ugly, right?” [38:22]
  • Mike: “I love the form factor of the Xbox controller… when I see [this], I do jump to the 8BitDo controllers…” [38:30]
  • Debate:
    • Is the small, portable controller actually necessary for Game Pass or cloud gaming, or is it a relic from an abandoned strategy?
    • Possibility that this could (or should) be just an add-on or come bundled with a Game Pass subscription.
  • Roger: “This does feel like a bygone era… This is not going to be the thing; it’s just a random thing you can buy.” [42:51]

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Crimson Desert’s Explosive Success

[43:06 – 47:54]

• Main Story:
  Crimson Desert has fueled a 419% YoY revenue increase for Pearl Abyss, with strong hints of upcoming DLC and ongoing support.

• Panel Reactions:

  • Mike: “Our friend Kevin Coel is 200+ hours in. This game is hot. This game sold very well...” [45:04]
  • Roger: “Big ol’ expansion. $40 expansion—that’s the vibe.” [46:13]

• Outlook:

  • Focus on capitalizing via DLC, though expansion work could delay Pearl Abyss’s other in-progress titles (DokeV, Plan 8).

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Moss: Forgotten Relic – Non-VR Version Announced

[47:58 – 50:07]

• Main Story:
  VR-underdog hit Moss (and Moss Book II) gets a new edition for PC and consoles, dropping VR headset requirements.

• Mike: “These are games I missed that I think I would love to play... So I would check this out.” [49:27]

• Roger: Expresses curiosity if the magic translates outside of VR, but is looking forward to the Switch 2 port.

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Wii News (Quickfire Headlines)

[50:14 – 59:10]

• Zelda Movie moved up to April 30, 2027.
• Subnautica 2 sells over 1 million copies and breaks Steam records: “That team is getting PAID.” (Roger, [52:06])
• Elden Ring Tarnished Edition for Switch 2 still set for 2026.
  • Panel: Expects a quick release, possible October.
• Marathon (Bungie) resets all player progress in Season 2: “That's sick, actually.” (Roger, [55:59])
• Indie showcases, retro games coming to Switch Online, and more.

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Community Superchats & Fantasy Critic Banter

[31:19, 59:29 – End]

• Superchats:

  • FSR 4.1 comes to handheld gaming soon.
  • Listeners express GTA 6 hype fatigue, call for gameplay reveals.
  • Price vs. development cost debate: “GTA should set a new bar,” says a chatter.
  • Discussion around Fantasy Critic—Mike and Roger scheme for victory, amid playful accusations of league tampering.

• On Industry Price Discourse:

  • Kyouff (Superchat): “Price conversation is difficult to swallow when some companies are bragging about how much money they're making to shareholders while cutting jobs. We need balance.” [62:09]
  • Blessing: “I hope GTA 6 … $60, reset the industry.” [63:08]
  • Roger: “Reset it all.” [63:13]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Roger: “Thank you, Bank Idiot.” [06:54]
• Mike: “When you go to Original Joe’s, you’re part of the family.” [03:47]
• Stretch of Game Industry Cynicism:
  • Roger: “I don’t think most people enjoy anything anymore. We are just full doomer-core…” [56:33]
• On Subnautica 2’s record:
  • Mike: "The game drops today and we're already 1 million copies sold. 30 minutes after launch..." [52:36]
• Fantasy Critic Chaos:
  • Mike: “Here we are, May 14th. Who here has thought about Fantasy Critic? Nobody…so let’s add a little spice!” [60:53]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• GTA 6 Pre-Order Leak & Price Rumors: 05:40 – 15:35
• Amazon Cancels Lord of the Rings MMO / AI Focus: 15:37 – 26:52
• Xbox Cloud Controller Leak: 36:09 – 43:06
• Crimson Desert Success/DLC: 43:06 – 47:54
• Moss Non-VR Port Announcement: 47:58 – 50:07
• Wii News (Quick Hits): 50:14 – 59:10
• Superchats and Price Debate: 31:19 & 59:29 – End

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Closing Tone & Final Thoughts

The crew maintains their signature blend of humor and insightful critique, balancing skepticism (especially with industry layoffs and pricing strategies) with genuine hype for games like GTA 6 and Crimson Desert. Community engagement remains high, with flowing banter, spicy superchats, and a playful spirit permeating the hour.

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If you want a punchy breakdown, here are the top three stories:

1. GTA 6 pre-order and price reveal seemingly imminent, $70–$100 price points debated, panel skeptical yet hyped for official news.
2. Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO canceled amid layoffs and confusion over AI game development priorities—Amazon’s direction widely panned.
3. Pearl Abyss’s Crimson Desert drives 419% revenue jump, DLC coming, proving the single-player RPG genre’s enduring power.

No need to scrub through ads, intros, or outros—this summary covers all you need to know and gives you the full Kinda Funny Games Daily flavor!

Transcript

[Sponsor Announcer]

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[Mike]

to patreon.com kindafunny Today's gaming news stories include GTA 6 pre orders reportedly begin on Monday, Amazon reportedly cancels the Lord of the Rings mmo, and a new Xbox controller has seemingly leaked. We have all this and more because this is Kind of Funny Games Daily. What's up, everybody? And welcome into another episode of Kind of Funny Games daily for Thursday, May 14, 2026. Of course, I'm one of your show hosts, Snowbike Mike, joined alongside my guy, Roger Picorney. Hello, Roger.

[Roger]

Where are we at in the ranking

[Mike]

you right now, Roger?

[Roger]

Yeah, tell me.

[Mike]

I missed you dearly yesterday.

[Roger]

So do I go up or down?

[Mike]

Because you went up. You were pretty high yesterday, but me and Nick had a really good bro moment. And then. Andy.

[Roger]

Andy, fuck you.

[Mike]

1.3. Nick, 1.1. Andy, 1.2.

[Roger]

Why is Andy out of me?

[Mike]

I don't know. Well, he promised to play Subnautica with me and Nick.

[Roger]

Oh, that is true.

[Mike]

And that's a big deal.

[Roger]

That is a big one.

[Mike]

You know, he's been up in his hightower, not playing games with us, and we finally get him to come down and hang out with me and Nick. It's a big.

[Roger]

That's exciting.

[Blessing]

Have you been up in your high tower playing games while, you know, he tries to invite you to go see a movie with him?

[Mike]

I'm not in the High tower. I'm in Hyrule. Watch out, everybody. You think I'm gonna go see Tom Cruise for the 17th time? I can reenact the entire plot of Top Gun Maverick in five seconds. I'm not gonna ditch that. I'm not gonna go to that. My boy Link.

[Blessing]

Okay, you made the right choice.

[Mike]

Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Of course, had a nice birthday dinner. You know, my birthday's all month. It's.

[Roger]

Yeah, I was gonna say every day. I took you to a birthday, went to lunch.

[Mike]

Original Joe's last night. You know my favorite spot.

[Roger]

Yeah.

[Mike]

And Daly City. Just the vibes were immaculate. Walk in.

[Roger]

What's the music like there? Because the issue with that, you know, what is it's a beautiful place, but then they just be playing like Bruno Mars can I tell you, you got to play some Frank Sinatra playlist.

[Mike]

Tell me the playlist is Frank Sinatra. Oh, like old school Italian songs mixed with America's top 40. So Rihanna, Bruno Mars all get spliced in there. It's like, ooh, the vibe isn't quite right. You know what I mean? But let me tell you what, the vibes were immaculate last night. Walk in, Lakers game is on right there. Or whatever some basketball game was on. Oh, Philadelphia. No, don't worry about it.

[Roger]

Yeah.

[Mike]

I look at the bar, packed. I walk up to the hostess stand, I go, hey, just a table for two. They go, guess what? Somebody just canceled. Let's put you in there. Where'd they put me? The birthday section. We got birthdays popping off at every table. We got Bethany's birthday, 79 years old next to us. We got Emily over there. She's turning 23. We got little Bruno in front of us. He's turning four. Mike, my birthday, I'm in the mix. Did you.

[Roger]

Are you the person that says, like, hey, it's my birthday?

[Mike]

Of course. I whisper. I go whispered to them.

[Roger]

You whispered to them? Yeah. Usually you let, like a third party.

[Mike]

No, no, no.

[Roger]

You got the fiance. You let the girlfriend do that. No, you.

[Mike]

Well, I got a cake. Okay, fantastic.

[Roger]

You're just doing it to game the system so you can get a cake.

[Mike]

It's a beautiful.

[Roger]

Every time you go to Original Joe's, doesn't matter what month you say, it's my birthday, it's my birthday. Because they don't check IDs.

[Mike]

They would never check my.

[Roger]

They would never check your id.

[Mike]

When you go to Original Joe's. You're part of the family. Hi, Roger. How are you? It's great to see you.

[Roger]

I'm feeling good, Mikey. The drought is over for me usually every maybe quarter. Yeah, it was every year. Now it's. It was every six months. Now it's every quarter. I think it's depression. I just. I'm like, I don't want to play video games. Yeah, I don't like video games. I hate video games, actually. Maybe I've never liked video games. I get uptight about it. And then now embargoed video game came around. I'm like, I think I like video. I think I like video games, everybody. So I'm back. I'm feeling good. I'm excited. I've been playing a game that isn't embargoed. Indiana Jones on the Switch 2.

[Blessing]

Okay.

[Roger]

Which recently came out. I don't know why I'M picking up on the switch too. I do have an Xbox. I have a PS5. All these consoles that look better on but for some reason just falling in love with it. Playing the first, you know, six hours again, having a great time. It doesn't look great on the handheld, but it runs fine enough.

[Mike]

Will you see it all the way through this time?

[Roger]

Yeah. I'll play this for six. I'll get. I'll get out of the Vatican and be like that was a long time. This should have been the whole game. Let's put it away.

[Mike]

Okay. Okay.

[Roger]

It's a good time.

[Mike]

We played a great game last night on the kind of funny stream. Myself, Joey and Nick played Gamble with Friends.

[Roger]

Oh yeah.

[Mike]

Friend slot party game. A blast.

[Roger]

Yeah, really.

[Mike]

We had so much fun and everybody kept bringing it up. We should get Roger to play with us.

[Roger]

I would be down.

[Mike]

Just know we'll put you on the list on the next one.

[Roger]

Love gambling, Roger. So fun.

[Mike]

We had a blast with that. Let's talk about today's gaming news, though of course, don't forget if you're watching live, be part of the show by super chatting on YouTube.com kind of funny games throughout today's show to get involved in the conversation. Of course we couldn't do this without our Patreon producers over on patreon.com kind of funny. So thank you to Carl Jacobs, Omega Buster and Delaney the Psalm Twining. Let's start off with what is and forever will be the Roper Report. It's time for some news. We have six stories today.

[Roger]

Baker's Dozen

[Mike]

Roger, let's just jump right into it. Story number one, GTA 6's price could finally be revealed soon as pre orders reportedly begin Monday. This coming from Eddie Machuk at Gamespot Grand Theft Auto 6. PRE orders are due to begin on Monday, May 18, according to emails being sent to Best Buy affiliate partners. The Cheap Ass Gamer account, a reputable, reputable page for all kinds of deals related to news for video games, received the email and shared the details online. The notice said Pre orders for GTA 6's physical edition and for the campaign specifically will begin on May 18. GTA 6 is expected to have an online mode too, but it may not release until sometime after GTA 6 launches on November 19th. If pre orders do indeed begin on May 18th, the then Rockstar will presumably reveal GTA 6's price by then as well. That's been a heavily discussed topic, with a Bank of America stock analyst recently saying Rockstar should price the game at $80 to help drive up prices across the wider industry.

[Blessing]

Shut up, bank of America.

[Roger]

Thank you, Bank Idiot.

[Mike]

People are speculating that Rockstar may release a new GTA 6 trailer timed with pre orders going live. But that's just speculation for now. Roger, hi. You received an affiliate link to see pre orders are getting ready. What do you think, Roger? Do we see this on May 18th?

[Roger]

I mean, you know, this week was the week, you know, I talked to you earlier at the beginning of the week where there was rumors, speculation, people were doing the thing of like, oh, like we just had an investor call for Rockstar and take two rather. And usually that means that you get some type of trailer and like people are trying to say like maybe Tuesday, maybe it's going to be Wednesday. I do think it's imminent. We have to do it sooner rather than later. Later. I am going to be very surprised even though it was my prediction, if this actually is like, hey, November is the date and we're going for the pre orders right now. But I this, I'm excited for it, man. And I'm excited to see that number because I would not be surprised if it actually is $70. I think that that's where my heart is. I think that you do get fucky when you have. I don't know if it goes up at the same time, but like the collector's editions, of course that's when I think you can really get $100 out of a lot of people.

[Mike]

I think that's an easy slam dunk, Roger. We'll definitely see that there will be some sort of collector's edition. They'll probably a physical collector's edition as well as you know, I still have my money bag, lock bag from GTA 5 right in my, my fun little poster. But I think we will see prices range. The hope is $70, Roger, to see Rockstar stay and maintain that for the industry at large. But as we've seen with bank of America trying to tell us, hey, maybe bank of America tier one, the price conversation a lot. And I do want to put a pin in that because we've talked about the price to death. I'm more interested in one. We always talk about Rockstar and like preventing Leagues being one of the most tight knit crews out there and all of a sudden a Best Buy affiliate link is getting sent out. Is that truly true? And then on the flip side, right, is this the big then GTA 6 blowout, right? We've kind of talked about it before and like what is the trailer kind of run up to November. And I think. Bear, remind me, I think you researched it for me. I thought it was six months ahead of time, which is like now they had the big hey, this is gta. This is the world. This is the world. Right? And so it's like, does that mean we're getting that here ahead of pre orders? And then I think you and I discussed as well, Bear. It went silent up until launch. There wasn't much else besides.

[Roger]

Yeah, there was a pre. There were some previews beforehand.

[Mike]

I'm. Yeah.

[Blessing]

If I remember correctly and it'll take me a couple of minutes to find it. I think that trailer of like this is the world of Grand Theft Auto 5. I think that actually dropped sooner, closer to launch.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Blessing]

I think that was maybe like a three trailers two months ahead of launch. But something with GTA 6 especially like we're talking about, like if they're actually looking to hit in November, now is probably the time. Especially because if we look at this trailer, trailer number two that came out last year, this came out May, so it's roughly around that time.

[Roger]

That's crazy.

[Blessing]

After a year of them finally looking

[Mike]

to talk, they got us really waiting out there. Yeah, that was May was trailer two

[Roger]

with the, with the delay of November.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Right.

[Roger]

So.

[Mike]

Holy cow.

[Roger]

Yeah, I, I don't know. I mean part of me, I know that they're, they're tight knit group but also there's so many, so many signs of smoke right now, especially with that. Also the reason why people were excited about potentially Tuesday happening was there were some posts of like, hey, I went on PlayStation and like they're saying that pre orders are up for, for GTA 6 even though they aren't. Right. Like so people are getting notified. This is like the second time that people have seen that pre orders are allegedly going up soon. So now we have a date, you know. Yeah, I do think it's time and I, I hope that it is the not just one trailer. It's like, no, here's the layout, right? Like next week, next week you're getting the, you know, you're getting the one character trailer. Next week you're getting the next trailer. Then we're going to talk about maybe around June GTA online what that looks like. Like I don't think you need to see too much more of the game, but I do think you need the, as we're alluding to what GTA 5 did, you know, we get the voice actor, we get the British lady in there and she says, yeah, know this is what GTA 6 is. And we go through it all and we. Here's a. Here's a five to six minute video of what this looks like.

[Mike]

So does that mean we need to see gameplay on Monday, May 18, we get the. Whatever. Whatever size trailer it is, but on Monday we get a trailer and then into pre orders, we wouldn't get one. Maybe tomorrow.

[Roger]

I don't think. Yeah, that's a weird one, right? Because I don't think you have a trailer. I was thinking about this. Like, I don't think you have a trailer that ends with pre orders up on this date. I think you just say pre orders now. You got to say pre orders now. I think it's a weird one, especially for, like, people go back to these trailers all the time. I don't know. It's a weird one to have like a date on top of another date, right? Like two dates. I don't know. I. I do think they have to be like, pre orders now trailer here. Here it is. Here it's dropping.

[Mike]

But have.

[Roger]

I've never talked about this. I know we don't want to talk about pricing too much because we've talked about.

[Mike]

Yeah, we. I mean, we've talked about pricing, but we can always talk about it.

[Roger]

I think the one thing that I. My weird prediction, which I do think could be this gray area. I think there's going to be a $70 version of this game, but I do think there's going to be an 80 to maybe $100 version of this game that gives you the game a week early. I think that that's the way that they get around this. I do. I think they're going to do the early access thing that fucking Soros is doing. I think Lego Batman's doing it like every big game is doing it now.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Roger]

So, like having a GTA version, I think a GTA version that's like 80 to $100, that is a week early. I don't know many people in my life that wouldn't buy that. Like, that wouldn't be like, fuck, man. I know it's. I know I can just wait a week, but it's GTA 6, man. But I, I like.

[Blessing]

I think they like having the conversation all like a launch day, you know, where everybody. It's similar. Like we talk about, you know, Silk Song being this huge thing in the indie space. Right. And that was even with reviewers. Everybody got it at the same time. And I think kind of thinking about Rockstar and, And. And what they like to promote I could see them going that route and not kind of like falling into this, like recent things that some people have been trying out.

[Roger]

Yeah. But I also think it's interesting, right, because it's like that moment is going to be whatever the most expensive, whatever the earliest version is. That's when the moment everyone's talking about GTA 6, right. Like if anything it just, it just drives even more sales of like if it's, you know, what is it? November, 8, 18th, 19th, 19th, 19th,. Right. Like if it is, you know, November 11th, right. Like that is the date that you're going to see everyone on the Internet being like, I'm playing GTA 6. Like fuck, how do I play GTA 6? I got to pay $100. Fuck, I'll do it. Like it doesn't matter. Like that is the moment that, that everyone will be excited about it. And I think the second moment that you do get everybody on one date is the GTA Online. That is the no matter what, like I don't think you do any form of like early access for that at all. You just say here it is, GTA Online this date at break the servers, let's fucking do it. Maybe you do, maybe you have to do at this point, which is going to be not a rockstar move, but also I think you have to do it as some type of server slam or beta. But having that moment where everyone turns it on for the first time, that's going to be like the communal experience on top of that.

[Mike]

Okay. Okay. Yeah. I think early selling, early access is a pre order or just ahead of the game. We've seen that many of times. They could definitely pull that lever. Shark cards will be a big one as well.

[Roger]

Sure.

[Mike]

Online monetization of like, hey, if you buy this for X amount of dollars, you're going to get this when the online kicks on, Right. It is kind of one of those of you're buying. If it was to say, hey, if you pre order this now for a hundred dollars or one hundred twenty for the super Edition, you get Shark cards. Then it's like, well, I have to wait until GTA Online goes. But they're going to be selling those regardless. It will be fun to see the rollout, especially now that we've seen what Grand Theft Auto is on the big stage with GTA 5. With Grand Theft Auto now online after 13 years, it is fun to say, what's the speculation of how they roll this out? What's the pricing? What will be the techniques that they use? It's going to be a very interesting one.

[Roger]

Yeah. And we can always have the same conversation we have every single time. When it's around June, does Jeff Keighley get it? Does he get any trailer? We always say this conversation.

[Mike]

I begged him. I say, Jeff Keighley and Rockstar finally team up together. They help him out, we have the biggest show on Earth. And Tim says no, Mike, they don't need.

[Roger]

And he say no, why not? And then of course, it never happened.

[Mike]

And then, and then, and then he won't, unfortunately, they will do this. If this is right, they'll do this on the 18th or a couple weeks before Summer Game Fest. It'll be close enough to Summer Game Fest where Jeff Keeley can come out and be like, how about that Grand Theft Auto trailer? Pretty cool. The industry is going to be in a great spot. Let's show you some more games, right? And like, that's a little layup right there.

[Sponsor Announcer]

You can have some fun. Super sad, Roger.

[Mike]

Let's move on to story number two. Amazon Reportedly Cancels Lord of the Rings MMO this coming from Sophie McAvoy at GI Biz. Amazon has reportedly canceled its Lord of the Rings mmo, according to sources familiar with the project. As Eurogamer reports, the cancellation occurred shortly after layoffs last October that impacted Amazon game division. Jeff Gaddis, Amazon's head of games, did not confirm or deny that the cancellation, but stated that the company is developing a quote, new game experience, end quote, set in the Lord of the Rings universe. Quote, our creative team continues to explore a compelling new game experience that does justice to Token's world. We are working closely with Middle Earth Enterprises and remain excited about the ip, end quote. Amazon announced a Lord of the rings MMO in 2019 in partnership with Liu Technologies. The project was canceled two years later for following Tencent's acquisition of Liu in 2020. In 2023, Amazon partnered with Embracer, owner of Middle Earth Enterprises, to develop the Lord of the Rings mmo. Amazon Games, Orange county, the studio behind New World, was leading development. New World is scheduled to go offline in January 2027. Layoffs affected teams were layoffs Affected teams working on both games, sources said. A thousand developers began transitioning from New World to the Lord of the Rings project months before the layoffs and the project was entering pre production when the cuts happened. An internal memo from Steve Boom, Amazon's vice president of audio, Twitch and games, said the layoffs resulted from halting a significant amount of first party game development, especially related to MMOs. Sources claimed the layoffs were due to an AI mandate introduced before the cuts. This included development of an internal project called Project Trident, which reportedly relies heavily on generative AI. Gattis denied that AI was the reason for the role reduction in the games division, stating that the changes were due to a, quote, strategic shift in Amazon's business, end quote quote from Gattis. Great games are made by talented people and we think AI should expand what's possible. Gattis said. We remain focused on using those technologies thoughtfully and responsibly, always guided by the creative and judgment of our teams. We're proud of what our teams are creating and we look forward to sharing more of what they've been building soon. End quote. Roger?

[Roger]

Yep.

[Mike]

Lord of the Rings MMO reportedly reportedly being canceled the use of AI at Amazon.

[Roger]

Yeah.

[Mike]

What do you think?

[Roger]

Yeah. This also goes off of an article from Eurogamer written over by Connor Maker. Going through kind of the Project Trident and all the woes over there and that required reading, uh, Blessing told us to read that and I was like very impressed by the reporting over there because it goes in depth of like what they were asked for and like the timeline of Project Trident, which I think goes hand in hand with the AI sensibilities that they're talking about here. Basically TLDR is that they were, there was like rumblings of AI, of course, like any big tech company of like, are they going to use it? What's going on there? And then there was like the top down mandate of like, hey, you have to figure this out. So Project Trident was a smaller game. They were kind of in this weird flux after new world of like what to do, you know. In the article they also say that like according to one source that there was only like three people like working on the Lord of the Rings mmo, which is like an absurd thing to hear about. Like this, this should be all hands on deck, everybody working on this thing. For a long time it was three people working on this thing, kind of ideating on it and then finally they had this big push and it just, it goes back to like, I feel like this is Groundhog Day. We've talked about Amazon Studios for so long of like what they're doing here in the gaming space. But like they just do not understand what it takes to make video games and to make them sustainable and they don't even know when it comes to their mandates. Right. This article is that I'm referencing from Eurogamer is pretty bleak in a lot of ways. Right. Of course you have the AI mandates, you know, coming in there and taking this Project Trident, which was this Shadow the Colossus type game that then ends up becoming this weird, like, LLM like, thing where you're talking to NPCs and it's like this comedy Nordic game. It's bizarre. Um, and they tried to make this into something and they were forced to make this game like, like this. They didn't want to make an AI game, and then they get all laid off. And there's a great quote at the ending where one of the developers that was laid off says, like, hey, like, you just basically forced us to make AI video games, right? We put all of our time and effort into making this, learning it being basically like some of the forefronting, forefront leaders in making AI video games, whatever the fuck that means. And we learned a lot. And then you just cut us, right? Like, we learned a lot of things that could have been useful to you even in your, you know, we can debate and talk about how bad AI is, which it is. And then these people are actually like experts in the field. And then you cut them.

[Mike]

Insane. We learned how to use it respectfully and, like, the right way. And we were like, we were on board of like, this is like, how it probably should go. And then, yeah, we just cut that.

[Roger]

You just cut it, right? So again, it shows. So, like, they don't know what they're doing here. And, you know, they have this Lord of the Rings MMO idea, which seems like a banger idea, right? But they are not like, hey, maybe it's a budget thing. Maybe it is. They can, they can see dollar signs and making something a little bit cheaper. Maybe a more single player experience. I know that there is rumors of that, the Kingdom Come Deliverance team and potentially working on something, right? So, yeah, I mean, it's heartbreaking. And it just shows that, like, Amazon, whether it's video games, movies, to a certain extent, like, they are a company that is trying to come into different mediums and different areas, and they don't really know how to best engage with it. They just know how to be Amazon.

[Mike]

Yeah, Roger, you did a great job running down that Eurogamer article and I would recommend everyone go read that because it is very interesting to kind of get a peek behind the curtain. There's a lot of, like, sources there that they reference. But it is a pretty wild run up of where Amazon kind of started and where they are now, right? And we talk about a couple of their hits in the MMO space, right? New world, a tournament out there you had thrown in Liberty, I believe you had one more that's escaping my mind Lost, Arkansas and those all. Each one of them caught a little fire, a couple of them caught real big fires, but they just couldn't sustain it. And it is interesting of like man, they have so many titles drawn to their name. Right. We're talking about Tomb Raider of course with Crystal Dynamics is still going on an IP like Lord of the Rings. What do you do with that? I do think that the MMO space is very difficult to crack and like sustain in. And so I, I can see them going, hey, we have the IP which could probably carry us. But at the same time the MMO space is already so difficult. I would be making a totally different Lord of the Rings game. I would be leaning in towards the Shadow of Mordor, the Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers. I would be going for more of a single player, maybe a fun co op like experience. But I wouldn't go into the MMO space.

[Roger]

That's a great call. I mean I do think that that shows maybe how dated their references are when it comes to game development. Right. I think they thought of like, hey, what are the best ways to like get people's interest and not do a Fortnite thing? Well, MMOs, you know, world of Warcraft, like that was that big gold rush for a while in the 2000s and now we're at this point where yeah, of course the, the, the big Amazon company coming in and making some pretty good mmos is going to catch fire in the people that are playing MMOs. Right. But like that is, the MMO has baggage right now in 2026 there is, there's a group of people that really like MMOs and group people that like will not touch an MMO and just because of what it is, of what they know that Time Sync is going to be and maybe the types of games that they're not usually interested in. So I agree with you. I do think that that was kind of a, a false hope right there of making a Lord of the Rings MMO be successful and be sustainable in 2026. But I just kind of, I feel so bad for all these developers of like making some really cool stuff, working within the mandates and the vision of vision, quote unquote of Amazon and what they think could be successful and rising to that occasion in some cases, especially with the AI video game and potentially with what they're working on with Lord of the Ring rings and like being laid off and being told like we fucked up, you're out. You're out of a job now. And it's just, it just shows like when these big companies come into fields that they don't fully know, they are going to fuck over a lot of people's lives and careers.

[Mike]

Yeah, it's unfortunate because you have to rely on the people that know the industry, know the business, and you get all these talented developers and you get them into the team. And as that article stated, right. When people were coming off of New World and then transitioning into the Lord of the Rings, they thought like, oh well, thousands of us will be moved over there, right? Or maybe hundreds. And that wasn't the case. And so that is pretty wild. You would think that's just like the logical step. Hey, we're going to round out New World. Let's move you over here. Let's start building this. But I just don't think they're ready for that. Amazon doesn't seem to be ready. From everything that we've read that we see, they're continued what they've been doing over the past three years. Right. I still think of Summer Game Fest that we went to a couple years ago where they had thrown in Liberty and New World and Lost Ark and it was like, they're going to make a splash here. And then that just didn't really carry over years later.

[Roger]

It's too many shifts too fast. Right. Like, you have to kind of focus in, on a lane in game development and like go with it and see it through. Because the way that they're maneuvering, it's like you're not going to see returns on a lot of these for a

[Mike]

very long, quick, cheap.

[Roger]

Exactly right. And that's the thing with the AI game that was so interesting reading this article of like, they believed that that was a cheat code to make video game fast. It's like that's not how this is going to work. Like, you can't just say AI and video game. I can make it in a year. And that just shows the, the understanding, level of understanding or the lack of understanding that Amazon has when it comes to game development and, and how fast these things are moving. I think that's why they are gravitating towards Snoop Dogg, AI Court, Video Game and Luna. Right. Like things that they can kind of license out or just, you know, have this platform that is based, based on us and their backend that is a little bit more, I would say, synergistic with their values and what they already have building. But like going in there like it's not like movies, like, even movies, they fucked up so many times with movies. And like, they just now have a big hit with Project Hill Mary. But like, before that they're making like Red One, like, you know what I mean? Like movies that no one's watching. You know what I mean? They're not hits. They're. They're putting out all this money into this. But even then, you can turn around and make a movie in two years, right? Like, you can turn around and make a movie really fast. Video games are in five, six years sometimes, right? Like, and that's sometimes the good outcome there for a triple A video game. So, yeah, they have a lot of learning to do. And I'm, I'm very, very trepidatious. I always say this with Tomb Raider. Like, Tomb Raider is like such an interesting thing to like, kind of hang the hat on and be like, wow. Like, I guess, you know, this is our big hope now. It's like, I just, I, I don't believe in it. I love Tomb Raider. I love that franchise. I just do not believe that this is going to be the turnaround for them that they, they want in terms of investment. So very, very, very cautious about that one.

[Mike]

Couple of big IPs tied up with them as well. You know, they just have some big names there, so we'll see where they go in the future. Roger. We're talking more game news, but we're going to give you a quick word from our sponsors and we'll be right back.

[Sponsor Announcer]

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[Mike]

Welcome back everyone. Roger. We ask you, the audience out there to come in and support us here at Kinda Funny by helping keeping the lights and mics on with your YouTube memberships, you, your Patreon memberships, of course, your Twitch subs and more. But we also say hey, if you want to get involved in the conversation, you can super chat on YouTube.com kind of funny games anytime we do a Kind of Funny Games Daily or gamescast. Roger, give me some super chats.

[Roger]

In the chat we got Jameson Peters over here is doing a great super chat saying AMD just announced FSR 4.1 is coming to rDNA 3 in the summer and rDNA 2 next year. Big news for handhelds like the ROG Ally. FSR 4.1 is very close in quality to DLSS. Very excited for that. I've been playing on my Rog Ally so I've been tinkering with all that. Even tinkering with some of the. The Lossless one, whatever, all the different versions of this, the intel stuff. So it's cool to see.

[Mike]

Nice.

[Roger]

I love that stuff.

[Mike]

That's great.

[Roger]

I love tinkering.

[Blessing]

This is how Sonic is going to look on with a FSR 4.1. Do we think all right, we're going

[Roger]

to have to ban. Can we turn off the tv maybe? Do we have to? Look, look at that disgusting Sonic.

[Mike]

Okay, that's pretty cool.

[Roger]

Stop looking at his look. Oh, his teeth. Human teeth. Aaron Lime super chats and says no shade to the Boys. But, man, I'm so tired of hearing about GTA 6 lol. I want to see some gameplay and then not hear about it until launch fair. I mean, we're. We're sick about talking about it, to be honest.

[Mike]

As you saw me push away from Roger. Like, we don't got to talk about the price today.

[Roger]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike]

I already took that on the chin last week with blessing. You know, we did that a bunch. We'll see how it goes. Roger. I mean, I love talking about gta and I'll talk. I will talk about the price all day long if that's the conversation. But, like, GTA is the biggest thing around. I can't wait to see more of it. I'll talk about it till November. Till the cows come home.

[Roger]

I mean, the thing. It's like we right now. Because it's been a year of us just dealing with this one trailer.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Roger]

As soon as we get a little bit more. Oh, we're excited about it.

[Mike]

You know, the cars.

[Roger]

Yeah. The side you give us, like, a little bit more about this. That's all it is.

[Mike]

We. We were talking about the foam in a beer bottle.

[Roger]

We're like, I think that's Modelo. I think that's. What a parody of it.

[Mike]

They're like, the. The development team on this is cooking. They got foam in a beer bottle. It's like, all right, we need some more content right away.

[Roger]

We need to figure this out. We're starved. That Matt Bauer says on a GTA 6 note, I'm pretty sure everyone is saying Leonida. Leonida. How do you say that one? Leon. Leonida. Leona. Because they're saying, wouldn't the Ida be like Florida? Eh. D. Duh. And Leon said, like the name Pizza. Bet that makes sense.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Roger]

I don't like. Yeah.

[Blessing]

Leonida.

[Roger]

Leonida. Leonida.

[Mike]

I hate that.

[Blessing]

Doesn't have a good mouth feel.

[Roger]

Leonida.

[Mike]

It's gonna be Leo.

[Roger]

They should have just called it Flo. Rida.

[Mike]

Love Florida.

[Roger]

I love Flo. Rider. Shout out to him unless he's problematic. I don't know. Benny, be good. Super Chat says Happy B Day, Mike. Sorry. They subscribed to become a member for 33 months. Happy birthday, Micah. Phil the trucker has been on a. On a tear right here. I'll get. I'll get. Bill's been super chatting a few times, but talking about the cost of developments. They said, cost development versus retail price of games is unsustainable. Can't complain about prices and cry every time a developer closes GTA should set a new bar. I don't know if I agree necessarily of like, they should set a new bar of like for the entire industry. But I mean, I, I understand a one off situation. Like GTA is the most expensive video game of all time.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Roger]

So, you know, if a software takes, you know, a billion dollars to make and they need. I, I understand that. I don't know if it's like a new bar for the entire triple A industry, but I do, like right now where we're at, where some games are $60, some games are $80, some $70. You know what I mean? Like, and we can play with, you know, $40. Right. Like, I think that's what we're going to have to be when it comes to this economy of like, there's going to be some games that are like, hey, we can really make a mark right here making a $40 video game right now. And people are going to be excited about that. Like that's just where you have to be.

[Mike]

Saw NBA the run come in at that, what I believe $30 price tag yesterday. We played Gamble with your friends yesterday. That was $7 on Steam. They've sold over a million copies in like nine days. Right. So like the pricing chart is like the scale is going up and down on all these sorts of games and it's really up to the teams out there, Right.

[Roger]

Yep.

[Mike]

What their budget is.

[Roger]

Ken TS Kitchen, super chats and says birthday tax. Homesick today, but I finally played mixtape. Happy to say I experienced but it's not for me.

[Mike]

Nice.

[Roger]

Love that.

[Mike]

Well, happy birthday, big dog. Way to knock out another game and have some fun and hopefully you're on to the next one. Let us know.

[Roger]

All right, one more before we have more super chats. We'll get to them at the end of the show. But Ed Reed Fan20 says Tuesday 519 is exactly six months until GTA 6 releases. Could that be the pre order day? That makes sense.

[Mike]

Not bad, not bad.

[Roger]

I like that.

[Mike]

Roger, let's talk Xbox. Okay, story number three. Leaked images show Microsoft's new Xbox cloud gaming controller. This coming from Tom Warren at the Verge. We'll have an image to show you if you're watching, but to all the listeners out there, this is from Tom Warren because he puts I at the beginning. I revealed earlier this year that Microsoft was working on a new Xbox controller that includes WI fi to connect directly to Xbox cloud gaming servers. It now looks like that controller has leaked thanks to some new images from Brazil's Anatel Regulator Technoblog published the images today showing a new, smaller Xbox controller that looks similar to the third party options from 8Bitdo and HyperX. The controller is made by Microsoft and includes 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 5.3 and USB C ports. There's al there also. There's also what appears to be some kind of pairing button at the top of the controller, as well as a D pad, bumpers and triggers. Both white and black models are pictured in the leaked photos. And it looks like this new controller with a will include its own rechargeable 5 milliamp battery. Microsoft's existing Xbox controllers, with the exception of the Elite series, use double A batteries or removable rechargeable packs. A new Xbox controller was originally planned for 2024 alongside the canceled Xbox Series X refresh. But this cloud gaming controller is separate and designed to complement Microsoft's expanded cloud gaming efforts with. With Game Pass, it will connect directly to Xbox cloud gaming servers to reduce latency, much like how Google Stadia's controllers used to work.

[Roger]

These images do look like they were like smuggled over the border.

[Mike]

Like they found you at.

[Roger]

Like someone had this inside of them and then they had to be like, these are the images.

[Mike]

What is, what is it you have to go across when you go to customs? Yeah, Customs found these at Mike's B bag. And now we're taking photos of them. That's right. Yeah.

[Roger]

Oh my God. Yeah. Let's just say 3, 2, 1. This looks ugly, right? Like it's ugly. It sucks. I mean, it's. It's not what I wanted out of this.

[Sponsor Announcer]

No.

[Mike]

I love the form factor and the look of the Xbox controller from this 360 to the one into the now, right? I think Xbox has nailed the controller form the factor. Like it all feels good, right? And so like when I see that, I do jump to the 8 bit dough controllers that I see Tim and Andy buy, right? And they range all different sizes and they're kind of like this.

[Roger]

I have the normal one, but they have the smaller ones.

[Mike]

They remind me of like the Super NES controllers, right? And it's like, I don't want that but like for the idea of it being on the go, right? When I think of those, apido has nailed it of like, that controller needs to fit in your back pocket. That controller needs to fit in your backpack and not take up a bunch of space because it's cloud gaming, right? Like it's just supposed to be pulled out and Play immediately. And I guess the Xbox traditional controller is too big.

[Roger]

Yeah. It's an interesting one because it's like, this does feel like a bygone era of, like, you know, Asha Sharman has come. Sharma has come in and, you know, taken away the. Everything's an Xbox, you know, and this feels like that initiative. Right? Like, this feels like a. Hey, like, people want to play video games everywhere, so here's the small little controller to pick up and put in your pocket. Like, I wouldn't. I mean, it seems like this is happening because it's, you know, from a regulator in a foreign country. So, like, these things are out there and being shipped. I do have a feeling, like, deep down, like, if Asha had this, had the chance, like, she would just be like, no, like, we're not. We're not doing this. Like, this feels like antithetical to what they've been building.

[Mike]

It does feel like, yeah, the current run right now is, like, not cloud gaming and not any. It's like, we're sticking with the console. We've touched on PC, but, like, it's console. The. They haven't really talked much about cloud gaming.

[Roger]

Yeah. I think that this would make more sense. I think gamers would be more happy with it if this was like a. Hey, you could buy this thing. It's, you know, 50 bucks or whatever. You know, put it in your pocket. Or we have an attachment for your controllers that then do the same thing.

[Mike]

Right.

[Roger]

You can use whatever controller you have. It's a little pack that, you know, maybe has some type of proprietary, you know, connection thing with, you know, WI Fi or Bluetooth, and, you know, it improves your latency when it comes to online.

[Mike]

That's what I would like, because that was the catch. We really like the Amazon Luna controllers that were directly connecting to the cloud server and not going through a couple of steps before that.

[Roger]

Right, exactly.

[Mike]

The catch of why it was.

[Roger]

So if we can figure out a way to get every single controller that I own connected to the cloud, you know, through, you know, the WI Fi or whatever, that works for me, but I don't want to have to buy this thing in order to now do this or maybe in the future they just refresh it where every controller has this built in. This is just like the smaller version of it.

[Mike]

Right.

[Roger]

This is just like the get up and go version. I don't know. This feels a little weird.

[Mike]

Okay. Do you think we see this, then?

[Roger]

Yeah, I almost feel like we don't see this at Summer Game Fest or Xbox's presentation. I feel like they would just put this out as the blog post. A blog post. Or maybe it is like a quick little montage of like Asha just like pulls it out of her pocket and be like, oh, by the way, out now. Or something like that. Like something super simple. Like, this is not a showcase.

[Mike]

You would tie this with a game pass subscription, right?

[Roger]

Yes.

[Mike]

When I buy this controller, I get three months, whatever, six months.

[Roger]

Or they just give you discount nitro, which basically has a version of. They just start giving out Discord nitro instead of giving out Xbox game pass.

[Mike]

Okay. Do you use these kind of controllers, Roger?

[Roger]

No, not really. I use the. I have the backbone. I've, I've. I only use it when I really need to. Like there's a weird scenario.

[Mike]

I finally have a new phone so I can use my back. Yeah, you can, because I had the old phone, but then I had the special backbone that only connects to the new phone.

[Roger]

Yeah, usbc.

[Mike]

That's a big deal.

[Roger]

It's a big deal for you. Just change his life, everybody. You saw that happen live. That was incredible. What are you going to play on it?

[Mike]

Xbox cloud gaming.

[Roger]

How many ways do you have to play Xbox games? You don't go anywhere. Like you're. You're streaming 24 7. Like, what are you gonna. Where are you playing that?

[Mike]

Nowhere. That's the problem.

[Roger]

You have an Xbox in your living room. You have an Xbox.

[Mike]

You have an Xbox now. I do it here at work. Did you see me with my X screen this week?

[Roger]

Yeah.

[Mike]

I brought my Xbox series s with my X screen to work every single day this week, plopped it right on my desk that has an Xbox and a television right there and just played on that instead. It was pretty great.

[Roger]

You're incredible. I love you.

[Mike]

I'm so excited. It's right. We'll see. I love new Xbox controllers. I don't love the look of that. We'll see.

[Roger]

Yeah. My instinct was like, oh, this is bad. But it's also. It's going to. It's not going to be a big deal. This is not going to be the thing that this is the future of Xbox. It's just a random thing. You could buy just like any of the 8 bit dough. This honestly might be an 8 bit dough controller. Honestly. Because I know they have some in action. This might be. This might. Yeah. They might have teamed up on this one.

[Mike]

Let's move the story. Number four, a smash success. Crimson Desert Boost. Pearl Abyss. Revenue by a whopping 419% company confirms it's thinking about DLC. This coming from Connor McCarr at Eurogamer. It's no secret Crimson Desert was incredibly popular. Was a an incredibly popular release this March. However, it has proven such a success that Pearl Abus has just announced a 419% increase in operating revenue compared to this time last year. And that it says means DLC could be on the way. This information comes via Pearl Abyss's Q1 2026 earnings letter, which is full of plenty of business insights into the company, as well as a lovely little drawing of a deep sea diver looking at a big Pearl. Crimson Desert success is big enough news that it makes the reports f first page. The company is saying outright that operating revenue and profit increase substantially thanks to the successful launch of Crimson Desert. More specifically, its operating revenue came in at around 220 million, an increase of 419% in year on year. As for Pearl Abyss's 2026 outlook, revenue for for Black Desert is expected to soften. And the same goes for Crimson Desert due to the nature of single player premium games. Still, the company has its eyes set on two titles that are still in development, Doi V and Plan 8, with hopes of releasing a new game every two to three years. The company is also looking into Crimson Desert DLC, which is certainly still something to look forward to.

[Roger]

Didn't sell 10 million copies. That was my prediction, Roger.

[Mike]

It sold incredibly well.

[Roger]

It could have been 10 million copies done that.

[Mike]

It sparked, the fire ignited. Yeah.

[Roger]

Feel it.

[Mike]

Our friend Kevin Coel is 200 plus hours in here at the studio. This game is hot. This game is sold very well. This game I'm sure is exceeding expectations for Pearl Abyss for who probably had big expectations already for it. But I think it is farther than that now.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Yeah.

[Roger]

And they're thinking about dlc. They're just thinking about it. They're just like, it's like a little rumination. Like what if we do DLC for the most popular video game out right now? Like what if they're so busy like

[Blessing]

updating it every other like day Updating it all.

[Mike]

Yeah, I mean they come off of a an MMO background. Right. With Black Desert, I, I would in my mind, from what I saw before, I would have to assume that they thought this is going to hit, like let's start preparing for that. But at the same time they took in fan criticism, they took in all the feedback, they made adjustments. They've been updating it weekly since launch. Right. Trying their best to keep fans engaged and make sure that they're happy with the product. And yeah, it leads up to like this big swell of, hey, everything is going right. You would assume dlc. I mean, you. That number's only going to keep going up.

[Roger]

Yeah. Big old expansion from this game. That's. That's the move.

[Mike]

$40 expansion.

[Roger]

$40 expansion. That's. That's the vibe right there for this game. I feel like it has the juice and being able to. To be like, hey, here's the big one right now. It's a. You know, what's the name of the game? Crimson Desert. Crimson dawn is the name of the. Is the name of the dlc.

[Mike]

On the flip side, though, they are looking at their other projects. Right. And we did talk about this on a story before yesterday, right. Doki v and Plan 8. Their goal is to try to release a game every two years. Now, we've seen Doki V. You might not have seen Plan 8. I had to show that to Blessing yesterday. We haven't seen much on that one, but we will see.

[Roger]

I've seen Doki, of course.

[Mike]

Now, when you talk about a DLC for Crimson Desert, how does that affect the others? Right. If we were planning on Doki V being the next two to three years, does that make it four years? If you do a Crimson Desert dlc, that's really how the team can evolve and do that.

[Roger]

I did think that all those names you read were code names. I did not realize the real video games that were announced in, like, are on. That's really crazy.

[Mike]

That's.

[Roger]

That's really sick.

[Mike]

I think we. The catch was yesterday we said we saw these in 2019. I want to say so. It's been a long, long time.

[Blessing]

This was 2021.

[Mike]

Was that 2021? Was that one. But I think they were like announced in 2019 or something like that. Or maybe they were made aware of it and then we saw this in 2021.

[Roger]

Sick.

[Mike]

So, yeah, I mean, we'll see. We know that development times can change and go different places. When you add dlc, I think we'll add on to Doki V. Probably you would think is the next one here. Probably add on more time to that.

[Roger]

Yeah.

[Mike]

But yeah, if you have such a. A big presence right now in the market and gamers are loving your game, you should probably attack that with DLC first.

[Roger]

Yeah, we got to get some DLC up in there. Another 100 hours for Koalo.

[Mike]

Let's move on to story number five. Moss, the forgotten relic announced for PC and consoles. No VR headset. Needed. This coming from Ryan McAffrey at IGN Polyarc, a studio founded by X Bungie developers that's made a name for itself with two stellar VR games in its Moss series and is bringing both games to PC and consoles. No VR headset needed in the form of Moss, the Forgotten Realm or Forgotten Relic. The puzzle platformer action adventure is due out this summer. Quote Our team has deep has a deeply personal connection with the world and characters of Moss, said Polyarc co founder and design director Danny Bula. Quote with the Forgotten Relic with We're excited to invite players to to into Quill's journey to share the wonder, mystery and heart at the center of Moss. In Moss the Forgotten Relic, you play as Quill, a mouse who quests through an ancient realm in search of adventure. You must guide her through environmental puzzles, combat, platforming challenges, and platforming challenges. The Forgotten Relic enhances and reimagines reimagines both Moss and Moss Book two into a single non VR experience. Cool.

[Roger]

That's fun.

[Mike]

That's pretty cool.

[Roger]

The one experience I like that these

[Mike]

are games that I missed that I think I would love to play because they were on the PlayStation VR and when I strap on the VR, it's always just beat saber and super hot.

[Roger]

Yeah.

[Mike]

So I'm, I would check this out.

[Roger]

Yeah, I, yeah, I, I, it's, it's cool to see this and it's like, it's interesting watching this. It's like, it does kind of have that VR feel to it still. Maybe just because I'm thinking about the version of it just with the camera of it all. Um, but I'm excited to try it out and see how it holds up outside of VR. Right. Because I think in my mind, and not to say these games aren't great, I haven't played these. Right. I just in my mind, when you're playing a VR game, it's like very special and it is like a very like, it's very singular experience. So once you take that off and make it a flat experience, I wonder how it holds up. I'm assuming, I'm assuming it does because it looks gorgeous and apparently the soundtrack is incredible. So I'm definitely gonna try this out in the Switch too, and seeing how it holds up.

[Mike]

Okay, we'll keep an eye on that. That's a, that's a big win, Roger.

[Roger]

That's a big win.

[Mike]

But Moss is also kind of small. The little baby Moss.

[Roger]

Yeah, a little mouse mouth right there.

[Mike]

Quill is kind of small, Roger. If I didn't want big news like the video game coming out and I want something small like Will. Where would I go?

[Roger]

You go. Our last story of the Wii news channel where we cover all the small news items you need to know about

[Mike]

we news from Miyamoto. The Legend of Zelda movie has been moved up to April 30th from May 7th, 2027.

[Roger]

Huge. I also saw some news they. They had got new actor for that movie. A cute little dog. Got a cute little dog on set.

[Mike]

They got a dog in that?

[Roger]

They got a cute little dog.

[Mike]

I haven't seen a dog. What kind of dog?

[Roger]

I don't know anything about dogs.

[Mike]

You don't know about dogs.

[Blessing]

Like a scruffy little snouser.

[Mike]

It's scruffy. Is it? Is it?

[Roger]

I will find the image of the dog. You.

[Blessing]

You just recently played Ocarina of Time. I'm thinking about the town square where

[Mike]

you have all the little dogs running out. Scruffy dog. Yep. Uhhuh. Or when I gambled on dog racing in that.

[Blessing]

Yep.

[Mike]

But it didn't ask to talk to the dogs. Yeah. Yeah.

[Roger]

Here it is. Here's the dog everybody. The dog on set looks like a cute little dog. Maybe from like Tears of the Kingdom. You've seen these dogs. I don't know how to describe.

[Blessing]

Accidentally opened up the link.

[Mike]

We're looking it up right now.

[Blessing]

Hold on.

[Mike]

He's figuring it out.

[Roger]

Everybody.

[Mike]

Looks like the breath of the wild and tick and Tears of the Kingdom dog.

[Blessing]

Yes. This looks like the. When you go to like the kind of like horse.

[Mike]

That is a cute dog.

[Roger]

Yeah, that's a cute ass dog.

[Mike]

That's a. That's a 10 out of 10 cute doggo right there. Put it on the list.

[Roger]

How would you describe this dog? So for my future reference I would

[Mike]

call it a maybe a. A shepherd. Like almost an Australian shepherd. Look. Short haired Australian shepherd.

[Roger]

The beautiful dog that was the car.

[Mike]

I just guessed. You know what I mean? Subnautica 2 has sold 1 million copies. Subnautica's 2 has surpassed 341K concurrent players on Steam 30 minutes after launch.

[Roger]

Yeah. That team is getting paid. That team is getting paid. That team is getting paid.

[Mike]

Don't forget the story that led up to this one. Don't. Don't ever forget the story that led up to this launch.

[Roger]

Who owns them? Who owns them again?

[Mike]

Craft on.

[Roger]

Yeah, never that.

[Blessing]

Craft on. Forget.

[Mike]

Don't.

[Roger]

Oh they won't because they're gonna have to call a big ass check. They're gonna go broke. Paying that check. And it's gonna be. It's gonna be.

[Mike]

Don't ever forget that. That was an epic story. Unbelievable story.

[Blessing]

Hey, AI, how do I not pay these?

[Mike]

The game. The game drops today and we're already 1 million copies sold. 30 minutes after launch. Almost half.

[Roger]

Yeah, they're cutting that.

[Mike]

Yeah. It's gonna be big. Gonna be a big team. And guess what, Chad, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I have to be real with you. We're gonna scrap tomorrow's party mode and we're gonna play Subnautica 2 to me, Nick and Andy. So I know you were looking forward to Pico Park. We love that with Tim. But Mike. Nick and Andy are taking a Mike Nick and Andy day and we're going to play together. It's gonna be a lot of fun.

[Roger]

It's gonna be a big one though. That's a party there.

[Mike]

You're gonna be a big deal. From Wario 64, the Dusk Bloods and Elden Ring tarnished edition for Switch 2. Still slated for 20.

[Roger]

20.

[Mike]

Kadokala. Yeah.

[Roger]

Nailed it.

[Mike]

Thank you. Thank you. Nice to hear that. Still for 2026. It's one of those of like, where are we with these games? Yeah. You would think Elden Ring was already coming out. I mean, I guess when we get to Summer Game Fest, Elden Ring gets dated for the switch to Duskbloods. Maybe end of the year.

[Roger]

Yeah. October. I feel. I feel in my heart for.

[Mike]

For I'm blowing.

[Blessing]

Do we think it still hits this year?

[Roger]

Yeah, I think so.

[Mike]

That we still think. Yeah.

[Roger]

I don't think this is a big game. I don't think this is a very like. I think this is EVP centric. I just. I'm saying I. In terms of like the grand scope of from software, I think this is a smaller experience.

[Mike]

Well, we said that about Night Ring and Night Rain. Night Rain really did a good job.

[Roger]

Sure. But also it wasn't. It wasn't mind blowing that too much that that game came out within the year.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

But also the difference between those two is that Miyazaki is directing one of them.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

And that is Dusk Bloods.

[Roger]

That is true.

[Blessing]

And like I don't think you have Miyazaki direct a small project for a year or two as like a small release.

[Mike]

And this is also. It is on the Switch two Trapped or not trapped, depending on how you look at it. But like this is a Switch 2 game. I'm excited to see it either way. I'm a big PvP guy. When it comes to the Souls games, I like the invasion system. I'm very intrigued on the idea of like how do players play when it is all of us running and like fighting NPC characters and then trying to see each other in battle. It's gonna be a lot of fun. I'm excited to see what they've created. So we'll see. But yeah, we're still slated for 2026. It's gonna be a quick turnaround time with some dates here. Hopefully from marathon on blue sky. End of season notice reset incoming. If you were waiting for a fair fight, this is as close as it gets. Full Season 2 reveal week of May 25th are you still playing Marathon? Are you prepared for the reset? This is a big deal in the extraction shooter genre. Roger. They have these resets where they clear everything out and kind of make you start from scratch again. So it isn't crew waiting for you with all of our gear gear Every time you jump in it is a hey, we're back to square one. Let's reset and then you re grind up.

[Roger]

So is it like a prestige situation? Like everyone's prestiged at the same time essentially reset. Or is it like most like some items are reset. Like what's the vibe here?

[Mike]

I would say that they clear out your entire. They clear out your. Your bank account.

[Roger]

Wow.

[Mike]

They say all these items, they're gone.

[Roger]

That's cool.

[Mike]

Start from zero.

[Roger]

That's sick. Actually I. With that heavy.

[Mike]

You like that?

[Roger]

I like that.

[Mike]

Would you jump in and try it?

[Roger]

I'll try for a day. If you want to set me up, set up a stream when season two starts.

[Mike]

I liked this game. I enjoyed this game. It's an interesting.

[Roger]

I don't know. The way you said that just made me laugh. I'm sorry. I like this game. I enjoy this game.

[Mike]

After this weekend's meltdown on Twitter that I saw from Jabron out there about video games and just discourse that we've had around video games for the past year. Plus it's like people seem to not be enjoying things and I want to make sure people enjoy things. So play the game.

[Roger]

I don't think most people enjoy anything anymore. We are just full doomer core. We are just like nihilism. No one wants to do anything. Everything's cringe. We're all going to go into our fucking computer rooms just rotten die.

[Mike]

It hurts me deep down inside.

[Roger]

Yep.

[Mike]

From now on on Ark Raiders. From now on, Arc Raiders will switch to two big updates a year and instead of monthly, the Update Frozen Trail. Frozen Trail is set for October. As the game continues its longer lifespan, you start to maybe reduce or implement bigger updates. Slash like, hey, let's make take more time to figure out what's really needed in the game. Game's still going big though. The Six. One Indie Showcase returns May 21st, airing on Ignition GameSpot and our YouTube channel. This coming from a blue sky. That's BS Tim.

[Roger]

Hell yeah.

[Mike]

Shout out to the 6180 crew. Congratulations. A May 21st showcase there and it's on IGN, GameSpot and YouTube. Congratulations, you guys.

[Roger]

And by our YouTube channel, not our YouTube channel. 618.

[Blessing]

Yeah, Mike was just reading off the.

[Mike]

I was reading off the post the B.S.

[Roger]

no. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike]

That's B.S. that's blue sky Roger.

[Roger]

That's a blue sky Roger.

[Mike]

Time Crisis is coming to PlayStation Plus Classics catalog starting May 19th. That's lit.

[Blessing]

I think we started that out yesterday.

[Mike]

Well, it's on here.

[Roger]

Well, now it's again.

[Mike]

Hell let loose. Vietnam launches June 18th. This is gonna be a fun game too. Remember that one right there? Order of the Sinking Star adds a Nintendo Switch 2 version alongside the previously announced PC version.

[Roger]

Puzzles.

[Mike]

Five more Virtual Boy games are coming to Nintendo Switch online expansion pack. We got Tetris, Jack Bros. Space Invaders, Virtual Bowling and Vertical Force.

[Roger]

Sorry, B. Tetris. B. Tetris.

[Mike]

I need I watch this. I said who the hell is playing

[Roger]

these old ads games people just love.

[Mike]

I remembered I'm playing old ass N64 games. So you know what? If you like these old play.

[Blessing]

No, don't categorize them as just old ass NC 64 games. You're playing some of the best games of all time.

[Roger]

Yeah, and also V. Tetris, another game that exists.

[Mike]

Well, I would also like Jack Bros. Your boy. So Mike, Mike on YouTube of course I watch just the recommended page where they've put me in a. They put me in a vintage video game mom and pop shop like algorithm. So I just watch people who own their own video game store and they go to different.

[Roger]

It's called Jack bro.

[Mike]

Well, Jack Bros. An old title worth a lot of money. Oh, a lot of money to buy this game. So now that it's on your virtual console, hey, you don't have to spend a bunch of money to play Jack Bros. Love. Roger. That is all of the Wii news I got for you today. Let's jump into you're wrong and super chats. Roger, hit me with some super chats while I get into your wrong.

[Roger]

Yep, we got James Waddington saying in our fantasy critic, one player in my league is about to hit 100 points. I'm currently on negative 3. Please send positive vibes for the second half of the year and halflife 3, I can still win. We believe in you, James. Our advice to you is just cheat. Just figure out a way to cheat. Get around the system for fantasy critic.

[Mike]

Find a friend to trade with. Roger, you need to trade. I'm here for you. Cuz our goal, they open it up here. Don't listen really quick. Our goal was for Roger to win this year cuz I won last year. Now we want Roger to win.

[Sponsor Announcer]

So.

[Mike]

So Roger, if you need anything.

[Roger]

You did fuck me over though. You completely fucked me over during the whole situation. When we were picking up the rules, you said that I went third or something like that. I did get GTA 6. I'm not too mad about it, but like I'm mad at you.

[Mike]

Well, you picked Trails in the Sky Chapter 2. So just remember that. I'll always remember that. Okay.

[Roger]

So do you want me to win or not?

[Mike]

That was my game.

[Roger]

You. What did you say? The nerds will resent you.

[Mike]

Yes.

[Blessing]

Sounds like a real fragile alliance here. Also we should probably check in with Blessing. Wasn't there something about trades and like maybe.

[Roger]

No, we could do it. That was the whole. Yeah, but like we're good. We're locked in.

[Blessing]

If there's an active. I'm trading to only benefit one team here and not because I believe in the trade.

[Roger]

But if you look at our. We should roll back that I believe in it.

[Mike]

We're gonna watch it.

[Roger]

A lot of replaying of 8, but you know what I mean. It's like the VHS is going to get broken.

[Mike]

Let's just say this. Here we are May 14th. Who here has thought about fantasy critic in our audience? Who has thought about fantasy critic at the table? No one. And guess what? Mike and Roger here to add a little spice. Bring back the fun of it. And we're going to get people talking about we're going to bring back insane

[Roger]

trade some type of musical.

[Mike]

We should have tried for to horizon ahead of all these reviews. Damn, it's reviewing.

[Roger]

Well, we can figure out a way to go back and forth. We got to like. I got to trade one thing. We should do Hot potato one day. We just keep on going with the game and just hope it happens. David Flores Superhead says Mike Marathon Stream idea. You play. You guys play bully with Barrett cosplaying Jimmy Hopkins and Mike cosplaying Algernon we tried that once.

[Blessing]

Not that exact idea but people were not as into us replaying Bully.

[Mike]

Yeah, Bullies a little bit on the older side. Bully and Grand Theft Auto games are a little bit harder on the stream side of things to do because they are so long and drawn out. Kind of old mission structures there. Not a lot of excitement happening. But I do love the idea. One day I would like to do that book club with Roger and Baird of like let's play the GTA ahead of the GTA release. Let's play Bully because I really love Bully. I like Bully a lot.

[Blessing]

I'll replay Bully.

[Roger]

I'm not replaying GTA games now. I want to do the GTA games. I think it'll be like one a month leading up to it. I think that'd be super fun.

[Mike]

Yeah. The Auto 3 is one of my

[Sponsor Announcer]

favorite of all time.

[Roger]

Kyouff Super Chats is our final. Super chat says price conversation is difficult to swallow when some companies are bragging about how about it, how much money they're making to their shareholders while cutting jobs. This doesn't apply to every publisher, but we need balance. I agree. I think that's like, that's also a big thing to say here. It's not just. It's like the conversation of like landlords, you know what I mean? Where it's like, well, landlords need to raise price because their, their expenses are going up. It's like is it really like, is it really for all landlords? Right. Is that like the majority of them or are you just cherry picking specific ones and using those cases to justify these massive corporations that are stealing from all these people, jacking up prices. Same thing with video games where it's like corporation make a big, a lot of money. They say, oh, biggest earnings ever. Also we're canceling this game. That's almost done. And also we got to fire a

[Blessing]

bunch of people and we also have to like raise our prices exactly as well. But you know, it's, it's not enough. It's never enough. Yeah, I hope GTA 6. I hope they announce on Monday.

[Mike]

Roger.

[Roger]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

$60 you.

[Roger]

Wow.

[Blessing]

$60 you to the rest of the.

[Mike]

Reset the industry.

[Roger]

Reset it all.

[Mike]

Everybody's got to do 60 Bang. Let's go over to you're wrong where we ask you to keep us honest throughout each and every show. Here at Kind of Funny Games Daily. You can write into your wrong anytime I screw things up. And of course I have one from Jeppo and Jeo. I acknowledge you. I see this. This is a message for blessing. So next time you write next time blessings here you write that exact message.

[Blessing]

No, Jeopo, stop.

[Mike]

No, here's the deal. It's a nice message from Jeo.

[Roger]

Okay?

[Mike]

It's a nice message from Jeopo. Jepo, this message is for blessing. You write this in when blessings there. No, you're wrong.

[Blessing]

I just know Jeo usually writes in with blessing chat.

[Mike]

This has been kind of funny games daily of course if you are watching live on YouTube and on Twitch we will be right back with the kind of funny games cast. A full Forza Horizon 6 review and then after that we're streaming a whole lot of fun things. We have a in review coming at

[Blessing]

you for big trouble in Little China.

[Mike]

Thank you Barrett. And then after that we have a gamescast plays of Mike and Blessing playing Forz Horizon 6 and answering all of your questions. On top of that we are not done for the week. We have fun Friday content coming your way. It has been our pleasure to serve you.