Good morning. I’ve got some great news for you. Today, yes today, is Friday. Tell everyone you know. Spread the word. Friday is back, baby. And on this wonderful Friday, I welcome you to the latest edition of Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku’s daily round-up of video game news and other stuff you might care about. Today, we wonder what happened to a good Black Ops 7 map, learn more about why Hytale is skipping Steam, and ponder high console prices.
Used Xbox consoles are going for some wild prices
Over on Reddit, people are shaking their heads in disbelief at the state of used game console prices. In 2025, Microsoft is selling refurbished Xbox Series X consoles for $550. In 2020, I bought an Xbox Series X at launch for $500. Microsoft is also selling used Xbox Series S consoles for $330. At launch, the smaller machine was just $300, and you could often get it for less if you found a deal. These are absurd prices, but also not surprising when you consider how expensive consoles are in 2025, thanks to various factors like tariffs, inflation, AI squeezing demand, and every company trying to grow profits.
Regardless of why prices are so high, it sucks that this is the first console generation where PlayStation and Xbox machines are more expensive five years after launch. And prices are likely to keep going up for new and used consoles. I can’t wait to take out a small bank loan to buy a PlayStation 6.
A popular CoD: Black Ops 7 map has been mysteriously removed
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7′s first season is now live, and while it has added a lot of new content to the online FPS, it has also removed something: the fan-favorite map Blackheart. This was one of the original maps to launch with Black Ops 7 and quickly became one of its most popular. But it’s gone now. Activision says it was removed “temporarily” from both private and public map pools as it investigates an undisclosed “issue.” The map will return in a future, but-not-yet-specified update.
📢 Call of Duty: #BlackOps7
Blackheart has been temporarily removed from both Public and Private map pools while we investigate an issue. It will return in an upcoming update.
Details: https://t.co/rmpoklhguD
— Call of Duty Updates (@CODUpdates) December 4, 2025
Newly discovered fish species gets Dragon Ball-inspired name
As spotted by Dexerto, a new small fish was discovered deep in the ocean near an island off the coast of Japan. And, likely due to its bright yellow markings across its body, the fish has been given the scientific name of Vanderhorstia Supersaiyan. Yup, this is a Dragon Ball Z fish. You can read more about the fish here.
Newly resurrected Hytale won’t be on Steam at launch
Earlier this year, Minecraft-inspired survival game Hytale was canceled by Riot Games. Then, in November, the original creator behind the project was able to negotiate the rights back for the game, and now Hytale is back in development with some of the team that was working on it before it was canned. But when it launches in early access, you won’t find it on Steam.
As explained in a new FAQ on the game’s website, the devs are going to avoid Steam for a bit to focus on its existing community and improving the game instead of chasing “a flood of cold first impressions that could overcorrect the game’s direction.” The post clarifies that the team isn’t looking to avoid “bad reviews,” but I have to imagine that’s part of the reason the team is staying away from Steam until the game is in a good state. A game on Steam with negative or mixed reviews can be hard to overcome. I’ll be curious to see if more teams follow this move.
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