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‘Shogun’ Creator Says Season 2 ‘Defies Expectations’

‘Shogun’ Creator Says Season 2 ‘Defies Expectations’

The “game” in season 1 was an emotionally charged structure that made you want to take sides between the opposing political forces. In season 2, Marks says, the game shifts to “unpredictable surprises.”

An important piece in making this change happen is the presence of Ochiba no Kata, played by Fumi Nikaido. “In season 1, the role of the ballerina (Anna Sawai) played an important role and functioned as part of the English-language side of the story. In part 2, Ochiba’s character is placed at the center of the story,” Condou says.

Her role in the story, which is based on Yodo-kun, the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, goes beyond the confines of recreating history. This allows the political dynamics of the women to emerge as the main focus of the story, enhancing the scale of the political drama.

Shogun’s writers and producers also have to deal with issues unique to historical dramas. History buffs, and Japanese viewers in particular, are already familiar with the outcome of the battle of Sekigahara, and any deviation from this point would cause some raised eyebrows.

Still, Marks is confident about the production’s philosophy, which is to treat culture, history, and language as “structure” rather than “material.”

“We welcome fans and history buffs who are familiar with Japanese history. We are telling a fictional story based on real history. You will be amazed at how fact and fiction blend together.”

The preferred approach to making a modern historical drama is the re-editing of history as a story, rather than as a succession of “known facts.” The Shogun production process—where Sanada and other Japanese crew members are intricately involved—ensures the cultural and historical consistency necessary to make that approach work. “Mutual respect between cultures is more important than ever,” Marks says.

At the Disney Plus Original Preview 2025 held in Hong Kong in November, Marks, Condou, and star and producer Hiroyuki Sanada held a talk session.

Photograph: The Walt Disney Company

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#Shogun #Creator #Season #Defies #Expectations

Roblox says Q1 growth was “tempered by greater-than-expected headwinds” due to the rollout of its age-check features, which “slowed new user acquisition.” Russia’s December 2025 ban on Roblox also helped drive the number of daily active users down.

Earlier this month, Roblox expanded its age restrictions to include the types of games users in different age brackets can access, and the company will “implement additional improvements designed to facilitate age-appropriate access to content and product features” over the next few quarters. The company says its safety push will lower Roblox’s “expectations for topline growth in 2026.”

Thursday’s earnings report says 51 percent of global daily active users have gotten their age checked through the end of the first quarter. In the US specifically, 65 percent of active users have age-checked.

Roblox has also recently pushed to increase the number of games on its platform targeted at users who are older than 18. On Thursday, the company announced that it’s increasing its Developer Exchange rate by 42 percent for in-game spending from age-checked users over 18.

#Robloxs #daily #users #continue #drop #agechecks #slow #growthGaming,News,PC Gaming,Tech">Roblox’s daily users continue to drop as age-checks slow growthRoblox’s daily active users continued to slip last quarter due in part to its rollout of age checks on its platform. According to its latest earnings report, Roblox currently has 132 million daily active users globally, down from 144 million at the end of last year, which was a drop from 152 million in Q3 2025. In the US and Canada, the number of active users dropped by one million from the previous quarter, while Roblox’s revenue still grew to .4 billion.Roblox says Q1 growth was “tempered by greater-than-expected headwinds” due to the rollout of its age-check features, which “slowed new user acquisition.” Russia’s December 2025 ban on Roblox also helped drive the number of daily active users down.Earlier this month, Roblox expanded its age restrictions to include the types of games users in different age brackets can access, and the company will “implement additional improvements designed to facilitate age-appropriate access to content and product features” over the next few quarters. The company says its safety push will lower Roblox’s “expectations for topline growth in 2026.”Thursday’s earnings report says 51 percent of global daily active users have gotten their age checked through the end of the first quarter. In the US specifically, 65 percent of active users have age-checked.Roblox has also recently pushed to increase the number of games on its platform targeted at users who are older than 18. On Thursday, the company announced that it’s increasing its Developer Exchange rate by 42 percent for in-game spending from age-checked users over 18.#Robloxs #daily #users #continue #drop #agechecks #slow #growthGaming,News,PC Gaming,Tech

earnings report, Roblox currently has 132 million daily active users globally, down from 144 million at the end of last year, which was a drop from 152 million in Q3 2025. In the US and Canada, the number of active users dropped by one million from the previous quarter, while Roblox’s revenue still grew to $1.4 billion.

Roblox says Q1 growth was “tempered by greater-than-expected headwinds” due to the rollout of its age-check features, which “slowed new user acquisition.” Russia’s December 2025 ban on Roblox also helped drive the number of daily active users down.

Earlier this month, Roblox expanded its age restrictions to include the types of games users in different age brackets can access, and the company will “implement additional improvements designed to facilitate age-appropriate access to content and product features” over the next few quarters. The company says its safety push will lower Roblox’s “expectations for topline growth in 2026.”

Thursday’s earnings report says 51 percent of global daily active users have gotten their age checked through the end of the first quarter. In the US specifically, 65 percent of active users have age-checked.

Roblox has also recently pushed to increase the number of games on its platform targeted at users who are older than 18. On Thursday, the company announced that it’s increasing its Developer Exchange rate by 42 percent for in-game spending from age-checked users over 18.

#Robloxs #daily #users #continue #drop #agechecks #slow #growthGaming,News,PC Gaming,Tech">Roblox’s daily users continue to drop as age-checks slow growth

Roblox’s daily active users continued to slip last quarter due in part to its rollout of age checks on its platform. According to its latest earnings report, Roblox currently has 132 million daily active users globally, down from 144 million at the end of last year, which was a drop from 152 million in Q3 2025. In the US and Canada, the number of active users dropped by one million from the previous quarter, while Roblox’s revenue still grew to $1.4 billion.

Roblox says Q1 growth was “tempered by greater-than-expected headwinds” due to the rollout of its age-check features, which “slowed new user acquisition.” Russia’s December 2025 ban on Roblox also helped drive the number of daily active users down.

Earlier this month, Roblox expanded its age restrictions to include the types of games users in different age brackets can access, and the company will “implement additional improvements designed to facilitate age-appropriate access to content and product features” over the next few quarters. The company says its safety push will lower Roblox’s “expectations for topline growth in 2026.”

Thursday’s earnings report says 51 percent of global daily active users have gotten their age checked through the end of the first quarter. In the US specifically, 65 percent of active users have age-checked.

Roblox has also recently pushed to increase the number of games on its platform targeted at users who are older than 18. On Thursday, the company announced that it’s increasing its Developer Exchange rate by 42 percent for in-game spending from age-checked users over 18.

#Robloxs #daily #users #continue #drop #agechecks #slow #growthGaming,News,PC Gaming,Tech
After Sam Altman trash-talked Anthropic for gatekeeping its cybersecurity tool Mythos by only releasing it to select users, he confirmed that OpenAI would be doing the same with its competing tool, Cyber.

Altman said in a post on X on Thursday that OpenAI will begin rolling out GPT-5.5 Cyber “to critical cyber defenders” in the next few days. OpenAI has an application on its website where people submit information about their credentials and planned use in order to gain access.

Cyber can perform such tasks as penetration testing, vulnerability identification (and exploitation), and malware reverse engineering, the application implies. It’s intended to be a toolkit to help a company find security holes and test defenses. The fear is that the kit could be misused by the bad guys.

When Anthropic similarly restricted access to Mythos, Altman called the tactic fear-based marketing. Some critics also thought so, saying Anthropic’s rhetoric was overblown. Ironically, an unauthorized group reportedly managed to gain access to Mythos anyway.

OpenAI says it’s working to make Cyber more widely available by consulting with the U.S. government and identifying more users with legit cybersecurity credentials.

#dissing #Anthropic #limiting #Mythos #OpenAI #restricts #access #Cyber #TechCrunchAnthropic,cyber,Mythos,OpenAI">After dissing Anthropic for limiting Mythos, OpenAI restricts access to Cyber, too | TechCrunch
After Sam Altman trash-talked Anthropic for gatekeeping its cybersecurity tool Mythos by only releasing it to select users, he confirmed that OpenAI would be doing the same with its competing tool, Cyber.

Altman said in a post on X on Thursday that OpenAI will begin rolling out GPT-5.5 Cyber “to critical cyber defenders” in the next few days. OpenAI has an application on its website where people submit information about their credentials and planned use in order to gain access.







Cyber can perform such tasks as penetration testing, vulnerability identification (and exploitation), and malware reverse engineering, the application implies. It’s intended to be a toolkit to help a company find security holes and test defenses. The fear is that the kit could be misused by the bad guys.

When Anthropic similarly restricted access to Mythos, Altman called the tactic fear-based marketing. Some critics also thought so, saying Anthropic’s rhetoric was overblown. Ironically, an unauthorized group reportedly managed to gain access to Mythos anyway.

OpenAI says it’s working to make Cyber more widely available by consulting with the U.S. government and identifying more users with legit cybersecurity credentials.






#dissing #Anthropic #limiting #Mythos #OpenAI #restricts #access #Cyber #TechCrunchAnthropic,cyber,Mythos,OpenAI

trash-talked Anthropic for gatekeeping its cybersecurity tool Mythos by only releasing it to select users, he confirmed that OpenAI would be doing the same with its competing tool, Cyber.

Altman said in a post on X on Thursday that OpenAI will begin rolling out GPT-5.5 Cyber “to critical cyber defenders” in the next few days. OpenAI has an application on its website where people submit information about their credentials and planned use in order to gain access.

Cyber can perform such tasks as penetration testing, vulnerability identification (and exploitation), and malware reverse engineering, the application implies. It’s intended to be a toolkit to help a company find security holes and test defenses. The fear is that the kit could be misused by the bad guys.

When Anthropic similarly restricted access to Mythos, Altman called the tactic fear-based marketing. Some critics also thought so, saying Anthropic’s rhetoric was overblown. Ironically, an unauthorized group reportedly managed to gain access to Mythos anyway.

OpenAI says it’s working to make Cyber more widely available by consulting with the U.S. government and identifying more users with legit cybersecurity credentials.

#dissing #Anthropic #limiting #Mythos #OpenAI #restricts #access #Cyber #TechCrunchAnthropic,cyber,Mythos,OpenAI">After dissing Anthropic for limiting Mythos, OpenAI restricts access to Cyber, too | TechCrunch

After Sam Altman trash-talked Anthropic for gatekeeping its cybersecurity tool Mythos by only releasing it to select users, he confirmed that OpenAI would be doing the same with its competing tool, Cyber.

Altman said in a post on X on Thursday that OpenAI will begin rolling out GPT-5.5 Cyber “to critical cyber defenders” in the next few days. OpenAI has an application on its website where people submit information about their credentials and planned use in order to gain access.

Cyber can perform such tasks as penetration testing, vulnerability identification (and exploitation), and malware reverse engineering, the application implies. It’s intended to be a toolkit to help a company find security holes and test defenses. The fear is that the kit could be misused by the bad guys.

When Anthropic similarly restricted access to Mythos, Altman called the tactic fear-based marketing. Some critics also thought so, saying Anthropic’s rhetoric was overblown. Ironically, an unauthorized group reportedly managed to gain access to Mythos anyway.

OpenAI says it’s working to make Cyber more widely available by consulting with the U.S. government and identifying more users with legit cybersecurity credentials.

#dissing #Anthropic #limiting #Mythos #OpenAI #restricts #access #Cyber #TechCrunchAnthropic,cyber,Mythos,OpenAI

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