Wanted 2XKO Characters for Years 2-5

With Lux and Samira on their way, I am going to share the wanted posters for future 2XKO characters for 2027-2030 and my wish list of 2027 characters I have made. You know, instead of saying 2027-2030, I'm gonna say Years 2-5. I think you can connect the dots. Before I share them, let me make myself clear that the wanted posters don't confirm that the characters are coming to 2XKO. They represent characters I want. Now, let's get to the nitty-gritty of sharing the wanted posters.

Originally, I was supposed to have 25 wanted posters, but due to the things in the background referencing non-playable characters in stages and non-playable characters in the background of certain stages, there are now 30 wanted posters. But the Years 2-5 timeframe remains. How this works is that if one of the wanted characters is announced, I cross them out. Simple as that. I won't talk about all of them, but I'll be talking about the characters that I found interesting while picking the characters for my Year 2 wish list.

First off, I have to talk about the elephant in the room, Katarina. I put her as the most wanted character because she was Thanos-snapped from the game's earlier stages of development. To fix this, Arucelli submitted Katarina's concept art to the designers for her redesign stage. I want to add her to my Year 2 wish list, but I'll be let down again if she is not one of the Year 2 characters, so to play it safe, I think I'll leave her out of my Year 2 wish list. You know me. I always expect Katarina to be materalized on every trailer and get let down every single time. It is indeed synonymous to anyone always expecting Sora from Kingdom Hearts on every Smash reveal trailer and getting let down until he is materialized as the final DLC in Smash Ultimate.

But something hit me. Remember the Luigi trailer for SSF2 Beta? He was confirmed because they realized that they were one character short of the N64 cast. But what does the SSF2 Luigi trailer have anything to do with Katarina?

Well, here's a look at the list of confirmed characters so far in the Wiki. The list currently has 17 characters, but Lux and Samira are not out yet. That's why you're seeing the ??? to be replaced by a final archetype once it has been revealed on the week when their full trailers drop. If they realized that the list of characters is missing a character that starts with a K after Lux was revealed, there is evidence that Katarina could coincide with Samira's launch when she is teased at the end of the Samira trailer since they are Noxians. I think we can see our red-haired Noxian coincide with our stylish Noxian daredevil, which contributes to her being a Dante-like, courtesy of the buzz in 2XKO Pools at Evo. I'm not confirming anything, just saying it's a possibility.

Katarina was cut from the game in its earlier stages of development and she couldn't be materialized in the first place, but she will be, thanks to Arucelli making her a concept art and submitting it to the developers back in October. That's why I put her as the most wanted character. We want our red-headed Noxian to be materialized and it's something I'll be chasing for until she is materialized. If Katarina is shadow-dropped as the extra 7th Year 1 character to coincide with Samira, an extra update will be made.

Leona is gonna be peak in 2XKO with her giant shield, sword and starfire imbued powers. I'm not talking about a DC heroine. However, she could use Wonder Woman's playbook in Injustice. In fact, her picture is shown on the League of Legends homepage when you clicked on the Tank symbol, meaning that the Radiant Dawn is likely. For that, Leona deserves a guaranteed spot in my Year 2 wish list and she is likely to be a Bruiser. I love to see Leona make her way into 2XKO in some way, shape or form. She is, in fact, in the background of Kiramman Yacht donning her Pool Party skin just waiting to be playable.

Now, since Leona is a Targon character, she will come with a Targon-themed stage, like how Lux will come with a Demacia-themed stage at launch and Senna came with a Runeterra-themed stage, Abandoned Armory. However, Thresh launched, but didn't launch with a Shadow Isles-themed stage since it is coming out at the start of Season 3.

The boy and yeti wombo combo of the Freljord can really do well in a fighting game by being a Ferra/Torr-like to make Nunu stand or sit on Willump throughout the match. I know I have already talked about this in the past, but there is one thing I actually didn't not cover. It's how S1 and S2 specials would work for Nunu and Willump. S1 specials would focus on Willump while S2 specials would focus on Nunu. This can definetely work in 2XKO. It may be quite a balancing act.

See, Ferr/Torr's inclusion in Mortal Kombat X inspired other fighting games to have a small character and a big character wombo combo. Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite had Rocket Raccoon and Groot and Smash Ultimate had Banjo-Kazooie. So what will 2XKO answer with? Nunu and Willump.

Evo 2026 had a booth that sells Jayce cards at the 2XKO booth. That didn't confirm Jayce, and it's a good thing because they are done with Arcane characters for now because if they added another Arcane character this year, it'll defeat the purpose, so he'll probably come either in Year 2, 3, 4 or 5. Let's get to the main meat of how Jayce would perform in 2XKO.

I have talked about him, but there is one thing I did not talk about. That is his S1 and S2 specials. Since Jayce's hammer can shoot magic, S2 specials would focus on shooting magic out of his hammer while S1 specials would focus on physical hammer attacks, making him a All-Rounder. I do want to see Jayce in 2XKO, but his cards sold at the booth didn't even mean he's confirmed yet and they are done with Arcane characters for now. But do not worry, he will be at some point. This pitch to how Jayce performs in 2XKO is obvious.

• S1 specials to involve physical hammer attacks
• S2 specials to shoot magic from hammer

In the past, I have talked about Gangplank, but I did not talk about are his S1 and S2 specials, so I'm gonna highlight them now. Gangplank is known for having his cutlass, pistol and powder keg in his arsenal, so like how Teemo shoots his slingshot with S1 and places mushrooms with S1, Gangplank would shoot his pistol with S1 and place powder kegs with S2, classifying him a Trap character. What about Trial by Fire? Is it gonna be scrapped? No, of course not! Trial by Fire would come with a gauge that fills up from his cutlass attacks. Land a certain number of attacks and Trial by Fire would be activated for the remainder of the match. My pitch to how Gangplank would perform in 2XKO makes it clear.

• Normals to involve cutlass attacks
• S1 specials to shoot his pistol
• S2 specials to place powder kegs
• Trial by Fire to activate after landing a certain number of cutlass attacks

I have already talked about the red-haired pirate in the past, but there's something in regards to Miss Fortune to get off my chest. If Miss Fortune is revealed and her trailer drops, a teaser for Gangplank could be experienced at the end of the trailer to result in both Miss Fortune and Gangplank launching on the same day to honor the lore surrounding Miss Fortune taking Gangplank down, like how Senna and Thresh's simultaneous launch honored the lore behind Senna breaking out of Thresh's lantern to gain powers of the Black Mist's dark juju. I decided to put both Miss Fortune and Gangplank on my Year 2 wish list. It's not a guaranteed confirmation. It's a guess.

I mean, you got to admit, there are literally two Bilgewater-themed stages. Miss Fortune needs to be one of the Year 2 characters because of the tavern in Bilgewater, right? She is literally sitting right there in the background of Kiramman Yacht in her Pool Party skin with Leona just itching to be playable!

X's Grok written some information about me explaining how Sona would play in 2XKO, so I decided to lean more into her. If you don't know how Sona would perform in 2XKO, let me give you an example. Let's take Ulala from Space Channel 5. Ulala is essentially straight up confirmed to be a playable character in SEGA vs. Capcom, courtesy of FaRe'N'HiTe. A music based character with musical sounds that occur when landing hits. It's safe to say that Sona is likely, not certainly, likely to be the Ulala of 2XKO with sounds of landing hits played from her etwahl and musical moves that can give matches a lot of flair it needs and have a new archetype.

I know I said that Lucian is likely to be the 5th Year 1 character because of Senna. Well, it's not the case. See, what is really cool is that like how Miss Fortune could be a Noel Vermillion-like, it's highly likely that Lucian will be a Star-Lord-like in 2XKO since we are getting a Dante-like being Samira and that's the buzz I have been hearing when I was watching 2XKO Pools at Evo 2026. Now, because we have Senna and his lore mentioning Thresh slaying his wife, he earns a guaranteed spot in my Year 2 wish list, indicating that he is likely, not certainly, likely to debut to 2XKO as his wife did.

When Thresh makes his way into 2XKO, he became our first full-fledged villain to ever make it, so I think it's time we get another villain in the roster, and that is Veigar. The Tiny Master of Evil is gonna be peak with his dark magic. In fact, I like to see Veigar in 2XKO in some way, shape or form. S1 specials focus on his wand and S2 specials focus on using his right claw, which just might work.

Ashe will not be the only bow and arrow character I want in 2XKO because Vayne is the second bow and arrow character I also wish for. I have explained how Ashe would perform in 2XKO by having the same treatment as Caitlyn with the kicking, S1 to fire, cartwheel kick and fluid combos. However, Vayne would be different story because she has a wrist crossbow and a heavy crossbow, which can work in the specials department, so here's how the Night Hunter would perform in 2XKO.

Vayne's S1 specials would be for her wrist crossbow while her S2 specials would be for her heavy crossbow. While yes, it can be done because Vayne is a Marksman and she can have fluid combos accompanied by her punches and kicks, kind of like MvC3 Jill Valentine, who has fluid combos and it's something that Vayne would have. But her combos are gonna be more fluid and faster than Caitlyn's.

What is really cool is that like how Samira is classified as a Dante-like, Vayne could be classified as a Bayonetta-like since she is a Night Hunter. I have talked about this in the SEGA vs. Capcom post. Picture this, a 2XKO character that is a combination of MvC3 Jill Valentine and Bayonetta accompanied by fluid combos and being one with the night.

Riot said that they are done with Arcane characters for now. But that doesn't mean no more Arcane characters to come to the roster and Viktor is among them. Since selling Jayce cards at the booth didn't mean his confirmation at the time, decided to put Viktor in my Year 2 wish list. He will launch with an Arcane skin like others and is earned through purchasing the Ultra tier of the Battle Pass. I am choosing one Arcane character for my Year 2 wish list, which is Viktor.

With Luxanna Crownguard on her way to 2XKO as the first Demacia character, her brother, Garen Crownguard, is highly likely to come to 2XKO as his sister did and will be an All-Rounder, to bring in the might in 2XKO, something that Darius would do. It's a possibility for Garen to be in the 2XKO roster and have intro dialogues with his sister.

And then, something hit me. I went to Katarina's bio to look at the list of characters she is related to. And can you guess who is on the list of characters Katarina is related to? Garen. Huh, unreal.

I did talk about how the Dark Child would perform in 2XKO in the past. Talked about that Tibbers would be present throughout the match for S2 specials that would be for Tibbers to classify Annie a Carl Clover-like. However, after some thought, decided to change that.

Annie being a full-fledged Carl Clover-like will not work in 2XKO, so we have think her performance in League of Legends where Annie is alone and make her a partial Carl Clover-like. What do I mean by that? Annie would summon Tibbers with neutral S2, Tibbers would move when holding S2 and pressing S2 again while Tibbers is present makes Tibbers attack and is influenced by any direction and would disappear immediately. This is gonna classify her a Strategist like Thresh.

The pitch to how Annie performs in 2XKO sums it up with the bullet points.

• S1 specials for Annie herself
• S2 specials for Tibbers
• Pressing S2 summons Tibbers
• While Tibbers is present, pressing S2 and any direction makes Tibbers attack and holding S2 makes Tibbers move
• The above points classify Annie as a Strategist

Here is my 2XKO Year 2 wish list containing Leona, Lucian, Miss Fortune, Gangplank, Garen and Viktor. I wanted to have five characters in my Year 2 wish list, but in case if Riot decides to release six characters per year, I decided to put in six characters. I wanted to put an Ionian up there, but I had to choose the characters that are highly likely to debut.

For context, I put Miss Fortune and Gangplank next to each other because since they launched Senna and Thresh simultaneously to honor the lore surrounding the part where Senna breaks out of Thresh's lantern to gain dark juju powers of the Black Mist, they could launch Miss Fortune and Gangplank simultaneously to honor League of Legends' Bilgewater lore surrounding the part where Gangplank becomes a ghost after Miss Fortune killed him. I think this calls for a possibility of a match that has Senna and Miss Fortune against Thresh and Gangplank that is a battle of the sexes match. Pretty cool to experience that in 2XKO, huh?

You think I'll stop at showing you my Year 2 wish list? Well, think again because I also have my Year 3 wish list containing Ashe, Annie, Lee Sin, Kayle, Nunu and Willump and Jayce.

As I said before, the wanted posters don't confirm what characters are confirmed. However, there is one thing I can confirm. One that is obvious is that with Senna out, Lux on her way and the Demacia-themed stage having a statue of Kayle in the background, Garen, Lucian and Kayle now have a high likelihood because of it. Just hone in on the pieces of evidence for context.

This is just part one in regards to the wanted characters for Years 2-5. Expect subsequent posts to this post to be posted once all of the Year 2, Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 characters have been revealed. If the sequels are up, you can click the links to them below.

-Part 2 releases when all Year 2 characters have been revealed-
-Part 3 releases when all Year 3 characters have been revealed-
-Part 4 releases when all Year 4 characters have been revealed-
-Part 5 releases when all Year 5 characters have been revealed-

Joe's Monologues - 8/16/26

I'm back with a brand new Joe's Monologues that I felt passionate about doing. We are in the second half of 2026 and approaching autumn, the time when everything cools down and the forests change their color of the leaves to yellow and orange and they fall down to the ground on the way to winter. Let's get into the post.

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling

Let's kick it off with talking about something I did not do during my main playthrough on Bug Fables. On stream, I had to do something that I haven't done on my main playthrough in the first place. That is befriending Chompy. It is an optional companion not part of the main story, but it's a side quest. On stream, I have befriended Chompy and got the Tardigrade Shield. These are the two things I have not covered in my main playthrough. If I have befriended Chompy and acquired the Tardigrade Shield in the first place, then maybe I wouldn't have any problem beating the Everlasting King.

I am on the verge of uploading the rest of my Bug Fables Let's Play and I am closer to uploading every one of them. I also have planned to record and upload shorts in regards to this game on my gaming channel where gameplay shorts are being uploaded on it. I have uploaded one so far, but there are a lot more I have planned. Also, I'm about to upload a video that you'll never believe... 

As a reward for beating the game a while back, I have submitted my logo request for this game to Broken Saw. Guess what? My request has been fulfilled. Let's take a look at the video covering the logos.

SEGA vs. Capcom: The Next Level:

4CYDE Studios has released their fangame and I am amazed by all of their work they have done. But it was a terrible release because there are a few bugs like the one bug where Sakura Shinguji would not flinch when taking damage, and summon her mech like crazy. I have captured all of that and uploaded a short covering that on my gaming channel. Upon upload, it went viral despite not having my mic on. Thankfully, the bug has been fixed as they pushed out a hotfix before working on the next update that is certainly to have two new characters as you're seeing the slots with a question mark on it on the character select screen to indicate that they are coming soon.

Since Beat temporarily replaces Akira Yuki, it's likely that he's gonna return to the game in the next major update. The one on the Capcom side is unknown. It is only a matter of time before Season 1 gets into its post-Alpha glory. That's the Alpha phase they were referring to.

As you beat Arcade Mode, "To Be Continued..." appears. But what does it apply to? What does that exactly mean? Well, the game currently has 10 characters and will have more characters to come during the course of Season 1.

Here are the voice actors that voiced the respective characters. On the list, there are 12 of them. But something's not right. If we look at the bottom of the SEGA side of the cast, we can see that Sapphire is being credited for voicing Honey from Fighting Vipers, yet she is not even in the game yet. Why is it on there?

Well, a while back, 4CYDE Studios was looking for a voice actress to voice Honey for the main menu screen. Sapphire applied to be Honey's voice actress for the main menu screen. That's why it's on there. Ladies and gentlemen, we might be experiencing an indication that Honey from Fighting Vipers is confirmed to also be a playable character, which has me very excited for this.

Update Regarding Sony Ending Discs:

After Sony made and update that they are going to stop producing PlayStation discs for games that release in 2028 and onwards, it was met with record backlash, with the Change.org petition having over 500,000 signatures, the planned blackout boycott and multiple lawsuits. Then they posted after six days with the fighting stick, ignoring backlash like they are going to forget about the backlash-worthy announcement they made. Then over a month later, one Square Enix veteran believed that there is one benefit of ending discs. It can make PlayStation Store cheaper and easier to buy games. If PlayStation Store is gonna be cheaper by ending discs, what about games I played in my childhood?

I am ready for an all-digital future, but Sony should at least make digital purchases offer ownership licenses, not revocable licenses and we're all good. The lawsuit against Sony is going strong. Even Stop Killing Games is joining the rebellion against Sony's all-digital future. Let's see how this play out. But I still agree with the backlash, even though ending discs is gonna make digital purchases cheaper. I'm taking my digital purchases on Steam.

What am I Going to Do Next:

What am I doing next? Well, there's an indie game that I am planning a Let's Play series on, which I can't reveal yet. There's a post that contains wanted posters for future 2XKO characters in the works and it's what I'll probably post next. There's also a post in the works that I want get something off my chest. I tied up most loose ends for the 2XKO livestream to couple with the Sonic Racing CrossWorlds livestream and put $30 on hold for when I get paid next month to buy Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls on Steam and have my initial team of Magik, Star-Lord, Ms. Marvel and Green Goblin in the full game. The regular story is that I made Magik as leader of the team and the truth lies a little more than that. You'll see what I'm talking about.

Conclusion:

Well, this one has a lot to go through. I look forward to the next one. Have a wonderful day, everyone.

4CYDE Studios' NEW Game in the Works

As SEGA vs. Capcom's full-fledged launch is tomorrow, today, 4CYDE Studios has launched a website. We know that they have SEGA vs. Capcom in there, but they also have another project in the works. Let's jump right in.

Today, we're gonna talk about the official 4CYDE Studios website. That's right. 4CYDE Studios.

Here is the official header for the official 4CYDE Studios website with the "We create 4 U" slogan and the metal thing that moves with your cursor.

If you look closer, it shows that there are two games deployed and a number of players that refer to those who signed up so far. But how there are two games in there?

Here are the two games deployed so far. They are SEGA vs. Capcom: The Next Level and the untitled new game that is in the works.

Let's take a look at the mystery game's hub.

The picture that has the PS4 controller has the words "Coming Soon," indicating the untitled game is not yet revealed.

An untitled new game has some firm information. It is hinted as a fighting game to use the Ikemen GO engine and comes out in 2028 for PC and Mac.

It turns out that the untitled new game will also be Linux and Steam. SEGA vs. Capcom is also coming to the next two platforms.

Ladies and gentlemen, we might be looking at a potential new fighing game being in the works and I am very excited. I have to make this post because they have a new fighting game. SEGA vs. Capcom's full-fledged launch is tomorrow, so get ready for the next level, everyone. To download SEGA vs. Capcom and the untitled game and have access to them and their new patch releases, you can do so via the official 4CYDE Studios website and you will need to have a gamer account. Here's the link below.

https://4cydestudios.com/

Midway Was Great to the Gaming Industry

It has occured to me that Midway Games, the defunct Chicago video game company that was behind the iconic franchises. Then the majority of their assets were swept away by Warner Bros., including Mortal Kombat. They were great to the gaming industry for years prior to the date when they went defunct. Let's jump right in.

I'm back with a story post. So, Midway Games was an American game company in Chicago. However, they weren't always known for producing video games. As Midway Manufacturing in 1958, they were an independent manufacturer of amusement equipment founded by two people, Henry Ross and Marcine Wolverton. They started out as a developer of arcade games and made an alliance with Taito and Namco for distribution. When Bally came along to consolidate with Midway Manufacturing after buying them, Midway Manufacturing was renamed to Bally Midway to produce pinball machines.

Pinball machines were loved by many fans whose forte was amusement. That's where Williams Electronics came in to purchase Bally Midway. So far, pinball has been a most popular amusement back in the old days when arcade games were first invented and as kids, we insert coins into machines. Midway has produced arcade games by Williams and Atari, such as Robotron: 2084, Smash TV, Joust, Defender, Gauntlet and the Rush series. The games in particular became well-liked by many. Williams decided to offer its video game rights to Midway and was given the pinball rights in return. This caused Midway to stop using the Bally Midway label and live a life on their own.

As time went on, Midway knew that they can no longer bear the influence of WMS and Bally since they were working independently. It became a lucid dream for the company to become full-fledged. As a full-fledged company, Midway has teamed up with Acclaim Entertainment, who earned the home console rights to arcade titles by Williams and Midway, but led to a refusal clause. One person went on to say that they were working on arcade games with Williams and Atari. Midway wouldn't agree to Acclaim's decision because of the refusal clause in any of their arcade games. There it was that Acclaim decided to port the first Mortal Kombat to home consoles.

However, the move sparked controversy that it lead to 1992-1993 senate hearings on violent video games held by Joe Lieberman and Herb Kohl and the establishment of the ESRB. It has been a bone of contention surrounding video game violence since the backlash about porting the first Mortal Kombat to home consoles, so whoever did this, paid the price. Acclaim did not own Mortal Kombat. They helped Midway publish it to home consoles. That was before Midway renamed themselves to Midway Manufacturing to Midway Games, Inc. and Williams subsequently spun off the rest of the interest in Midway to its shareholders to make Midway the independent company for the first time in almost 30 years. Midway now has the power to work independently from Williams to have a focus on home video games.

During Midway's focus on home video games, they became a full-fledged video game company to produce games released on consoles that have 3D graphics. In the case of arcade sports games, Midway was responsible of NFL Blitz, NBA Ballers, MLB Slugfest and NHL Hitz under the Midway Sports name. This is where you might argue and say that NFL Blitz was released on the 5th generation consoles, so what am I talking about? While it is true, the first NFL Blitz was released on the 5th generation consoles. And when we get to the next era of gaming, MLB Slugfest, NHL Hitz, RedCard and NBA Ballers came in to join Blitz.

And as we get to the PS3 and Xbox 360 era, Midway has taken NFL Blitz to the next level with Blitz: The League, which my brother and I played together on the PS3. I pretty much loved it. Unlike its predecessors, the game was rated M due to graphic violence, drug use and explicit use of profanity. None of them are suitable for children under 17. That contributed to its ban in Australia because of drugs depicted as incentives. These factors show that this is definetely NOT a nice game for children because of explicit swearing and graphic violence in it.

Midway also had compilations of their arcade games with the entry of Midway Arcade Treasures for the 6th generation consoles because that's what they thought they did with Williams and Bally. While Mortal Kombat is nuanced, the golden age of the series is from the first Mortal Kombat to the fourth game that introduced a 3D space. This allowed Midway to have a trilogy of games that take place in the 3D space released on the PS2, GameCube and Xbox and introduced switching between three fighting styles and earning color-coded coins. But Midway could not understand that.

In 2006 and 2007, Midway lost a further $77 million and $100 million on sales of $166 million and $157 million. Midway just couldn't figure out what they were doing and even though they teamed up with Warner Bros., they still struggled with maintaining their revenue. And even in the case of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, planned DLC was scrapped due to Midway's financial troubles. This allowed them to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and subsequently sell most of their assets to Warner Bros. Games with the intention of them to purchase the Midway Games trademark.

The key takeaway is that Midway started out as an independent manufacturer for amusement equipment to develop arcade games with several companies and pinball machines. When became a focus to make games for home consoles, Midway shown their perseverance as a great company to the gaming industry.

This is where we get to something really exciting. Midway has been a nostalgic company that lasted and ceased operations on the 7th generation era of gaming. For the PlayStation Plus Premium news, this month's lineup came with a bombshell regarding wanting to play games that are produced by Midway Games.

Psi-Ops: the Mindgate Conspiracy is now available on classics catalog for the PS4 and PS5, so when you visit the game's hub, you'll see the "Warner Bros. Interactive" label, making it the first Midway game to ever come to the catalog. The label had to be shown because Warner Bros. Interactive owned most of Midway's assets, bought the company out and purchased the Midway trademark and used it to make most of the franchises be published under the WB Games name. The game was left off in a cliffhanger and a sequel was supposed to resolve it, but despite positive reviews, it never came into fruition due to the Mindgate Conspiracy's poor sales. If Warner Bros. plans to remaster this game to hit fans right in the heart, maybe they can develop the sequel if the remaster is sold well.

So, a precedent has spoken and been set. If a Midway title like Psi-Ops could make it to the classics catalog, then other Midway titles like Rampage, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, Area 51, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Midway Arcade Treasures, NFL Blitz and a lot more now have more of a chance since hubs for future Midway titles will carry the Warner Bros. Interactive label. This doesn't apply to PlayStation Plus Premium. This also applies to Nintendo Switch Online's GBA, N64 and GameCube catalogs. Neither of them hadn't got a Midway game yet, but they will have one at some point.

And that is my story about Chicago's video game company and how it became a great company to the game industry with news in regards to the classics catalog having a game by Midway. While I am sad that Midway had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after financial difficulties, they were not the first nor the only company to actually file for bankruptcy in the 2000s.

The first company that filed for bankruptcy in the 2000s was the 3DO Company. They declared bankruptcy after they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to their games' poor sales, but nobody purchased the 3DO trademark. Data East filed for bankruptcy and most of their games were acquired and the Data East trademark was purchased by G-Mode Corporation. Acclaim filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and sold their assets to multiple existing companies while executives purchased the the Acclaim trademark. And finally, THQ filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and sold all of their assets to multiple companies and Nordic Games, who would acquire mainline franchises and purchase the THQ trademark and use it to rename themselves as THQ Nordic.

The 3DO Company, Data East, Acclaim, Midway and THQ were the five companies that had to file for bankruptcy respectively and they are deemed as nostalgic. G-Mode, Warner Bros. Games and THQ Nordic purchased the Data East, Midway Games and the THQ trademarks and logos and used them to ensure growth while the 3DO trademark was left unacquired. Executives did purchase the Acclaim trademark and used it to relaunch the company as an indie publisher. That's why we don't see Warner Bros. Games, THQ Nordic or G-Mode as nostalgic since they exist in this generation.

I did a post that talks about how we experience Mortal Kombat forever because of both Warner Bros. and NetherRealm Studios and the competition between Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. Here's a link to the post if you're interesting in knowing more.

https://rpggameroom.blogspot.com/2026/05/how-mortal-kombat-changed-series-forever.html

The Gaming Industry Knows Better Than This...

Wow... just wow. I went digging on the internet and I came across something. Someone who has been accused of sexual harassment in the past is continuing to have a leverage in the game industry because somebody has given the dirtbag a second chance. Let's... jump right in!

Where do I even begin on this one? I was playing the Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Open Beta and it became a blast. I already came up with a team that consists of Magik, Star-Lord, Ms. Marvel and Green Goblin and that's gonna be my initial team for when I get the full game. See, I made Magik as leader because she is basically a combination of Nanase from Under Night In-Birth, Annie from Skullgirls, and Senna from League of Legends. Seems like an uncanny and chaotic combination, don't you think?

I'm probably gonna get the PC version. It's not just the fact that PlayStation is ending discs for games that release in 2028 in a way to shift to an all-digital format, but not for games that release prior to 2028. PlayStation Plus is a bit more expensive now because of ongoing market conditions and it was also met with backlash, but the level of backlash is not as strong as the one against ending discs in 2028. I'm getting the PC version so that I can have free online multiplayer. However, the PC version has some gameplay and performance issues during the Open Beta like the stuttering in logos, which can be fixed in the full game.

After the Marvel Tokon Open Beta ended, I have came across something that shocked me. This is in regards to the situation about someone who was accused in the past is involved in the development of Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game, an Aquapazza-like fighting game that is developed by Gameplay Group International. You might know that they are the same developers that made Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age. The PS5 and Steam versions are available to play, The Switch 2 version will release later on this year with the Standard Edition only. For the Xbox side of things, it has been delayed to September 3 due to unforseen circumstances.

Avatar Legends became the source of scrutiny earlier this month when Paramount Games confirmed that they found someone who is accused in the past working at Gameplay Group International as an individual contributor. Guess who Paramount found. Mike Zaimont. That is ridiculous. There's no way an accused individual like Mike Zaimont would have a future in the game industry after he destroyed Lab Zero with his refusal to leave the company, right? Well, I decided to go even deeper.

Six years later, Lab Zero Games posted a joint statement saying that Mariel Cartwright, Francesca Esquenazi and Mike Zaimont have agreed to resolve the lawsuit relating to the events at Lab Zero in 2020. The lawsuit was aborted and Mike remains passionate about game development and looks forward to continuing to create new games and contribute to the community through Lab Zero. I just can't wrap my head around this! I thought Mike Zaimont is not supposed to have a future in the game industry! Not especially since he sexually harassed his fellow employees. But how is that even possible?! There is one person who is responsible of this. That person is Christine Christina Seeyle. What did she do?

Back in 2023, three years after Mike was accused of sexual harassment, Seeyle was pressed by PC Gamer about his work on Diesel Legacy. Do you know what Seeyle has done? She approved Mike Zaimont's continued involvement in the game industry and his employment and defended her decision, acknowledging the validity of past allegations and went on to say that he "wanted the opportunity to have the redemptive arc that's in so many stories they love."

I just can't believe this... I just can't... Can you spare my G-rated rant and backlash because there are a few words to express how shocked I am about this.

During the One More Once stream in 2020, Mike Zaimont has caused the backlash by making a dark and sadistic "I can't breathe" joke following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Derek Chauvin. People had uninstalled Skullgirls in making calls to get it off Evo, until he apologized about making a much too soon joke. I understand what he meant by much too soon because he should've waited until the stream is over before making that sadistic joke. Then he sexually harassed the two gamer girls. But I don't want to put a slant on them because sexually harassing those who are not a part of the game industry is something I understand. Then he did that to his fellow employees! That caused his fellow employees to leave Lab Zero and establish Future Club in September. That's how extra stuff were scrapped for Indivisible.

Then Hidden Variable made a statement saying that they are no longer be working with Lab Zero Games and they plan to work with people who left Lab Zero to bring future Skullgirls content for years to come. In fact, Skullgirls stays alive because of the fact that a publisher like Autumn Games is the holder of the Skullgirls IP, which is a safe method. And despite the allegations, Mike Zaimont was involved in the development of the rollback netcode patch for Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core Plus and was suspended from it.

Three years later, do you know what happened? Christine Christina Seeyle given that blasted dirtbag a second chance in the game industry for redemption and defended her decision to do so! No wonder he is involved and employed in the development of Avatar Legends! How dare she use a redemption stick on a person who was accused of sexual harassment in the past! She should know that those who are accused of sexual harassment and destroyed the company SHOULD NOT be given a second chance at the game industry, period! This is bull! I can't believe this! That woman defended her decision to give a garbage person a second chance in the industry, like we're gonna forget about the part where he sexually harassed his fellow employees at Lab Zero? This is some messed up garbage fest right there!

You can compare and contrast the part where Mike Zaimont sexually harassed his fellow employees and the part where Joey Cuellar, former Evo president, was exposed a pedophile after the part in Mikey's story shown that he paid young boys tokens to take off their clothes and jump in water hazard pools in the miniature golf joint and Mikey $20 to show his... donkey in the restroom. Hearing Mikey's allegations made players and supporters to withdraw from Evo Online in solidarity with those who has spoken out against abuse, like MANE6, NetherRealm Studios, Capcom and Bandai Namco. But that was a couple months before Mike Zaimont sexually harassed his fellow employees. In fact, pedophiles are way worse than those who conducted sexual harassment towards their fellow employees since pedophiles don't deserve a second chance that they are more dangerous. Oh yeah! Joey Cuellar is way worse than Mike Zaimont! 

I can't believe Seeyle defended her decision to give an accused individual like Mike Zaimont a second chance despite allegations of sexual harassment! It was a horrible move to make! I just don't understand why Seeyle given the sexual harasser a second chance in the game industry. This is the unforseen circumstances Gameplay Group International was referring to. People are returning this game and the game's Xbox release had to be delayed just hours before release because they found out that Mike Zaimont, of all people, is involved in the development of Avatar Legends. They are not playing this game on his behalf. Not even me.

Seriously, how could she defend her decision to give that blockhead, of all people, a second chance in the game industry despite being pressed by PC Gamer? I know he didn't abuse minors like Joey Cuellar did, but still. Where is her freaking honor? I mean, there are a lot of people who are awesome and never been alleged of sexual misconduct like Isaiah Turner, Tom Cannon, Seth Killian and any of the other treasure trove of virtuous individuals that never sexually harassed anyone, but she turned around and employed that POS like Mike Zaimont to work on Diesel Legacy? No no no no! She should've known better than to use a redemption stick on a POS person!

I gotta calm down because that part I came across made me mad. I am basically passionate about this situation. Seeyle is responsible of giving Michael Zaimont a second chance and defending her decision. People are returning this game and/or not playing it on his behalf. I don't care if Joey Cuellar is way worse than him. When we say that Mike Zaimont SHOULD NOT be having a future in the industry, we mean it. However, I do have a scintilla of interest in getting Avatar Legends. It's three reasons.

One is because of being an Aquapazza-like fighting game. I played Aquapazza before. It was a really niche game for the PS3 with characters from the Aquaplus visual novels and I loved it. Avatar Legends became an Aquapazza-like fighting game in terms of gameplay and selecting playable and assist characters.

The second reason is an opportunity to play this game on the behalf of people who are never accused. Since this game is making a first appearance on Evo France like Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is, they will be playing it there, but not on Mike's behalf.

The third reason is to add this game and Marvel Tokon to my livestreaming arsenal with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and 2XKO. I am investing in an Ethernet cord to fight lag and have a stable online experience so that I can play my matches well in these games without experiencing any lag with the exception of the lag from the ISP.

See, I realized why I kept on experiencing the error screen in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. I was using Wi-Fi. Investing in an Ethernet cord remedies that and that's gonna be my new standard going forward, especially if its made to provide a stable experience until Wifi 8 comes out to provide stability as a wired conection. I didn't sign up for the Avatar Legends Closed Beta, but I did sign up for the Marvel Tokon Betas. The Open Beta was a blast that I even get to have my team of Magik, Ms. Marvel, Star-Lord and Green Goblin.

The point is... *sigh* those who are alleged of sexual harassment and killed the studio should not be redeemed. When I said that if a player like... I don't know... Hikari could win back to back Evo titles in a row, then anything was possible, I didn't mean Mike Zaimont should be showing his face in the game industry again, which he shouldn't. Not after he killed Indivisible with his refusal to resign from Lab Zero that made everyone left to form Future Club.

Seeyle, Seelye, Seeyle, please reverse your decision to redeem Mike Zaimont, because as I have said before, he shouldn't be having a future in the industry, period, especially since he killed the upcoming content and the planned Peacock adaptation for Indivisible.