Eurogamer Podcasts

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we look ahead at 2025 on PlayStation 5, in the wake of last night's State of Play. If you tuned in for big games, you were well served. But if you wanted to see exclusive first-party PlayStation titles... well, it's clear there's something of a lull right now in Sony's pipeline. It makes for an interesting 2025 for Sony's console, which is set to benefit from Microsoft's cross-platform publishing push ramping up to new levels, just as PlayStation itself cancels several in-development live-service projects. And while the reveal of Saros, the next game from Returnal developer Housemarque, was a welcome high point of last night's show, it won't arrive until 2026. It seems likely we'll see Bungie's Marathon this year on PS5, alongside PlayStation's other confirmed big hitters: Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei. Fairgame$ hasn't been cancelled yet, and there's a chance Marvel's Wolverine makes it before 2026 too. But stack them against Age of Empires 2, Age of Mythology Retold, Forza Horizon 5, The Outer Worlds 2, Ninja Gaiden 4, Ninja Giden 2 Black and whatever else from Xbox's back catalogue Microsoft seems poised to confirm - and PlayStation Studios' plans for the year only seem quieter. Joining me this week to discuss all of that are Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the January 2025 Xbox Developer Direct, and its various games coming soon to Xbox... as well as PC, and nearly all on PlayStation 5 too. Microsoft's show featured the multiplatform Doom: The Dark Ages, Ninja Gaiden 4, the shadow-dropped Ninja Gaiden 2: Black and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, all of which proved the company's new mantra that everything is an Xbox. Only Compulsion Games' South of Midnight will be an Xbox console exclusive (at least for now). But does any of that matter, really - especially as on Xbox you can get all those games on Xbox Game Pass? And what were our thoughts about what was shown? Joining me this week are Ed Nightinale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss Microsoft's latest showing that promises a strong start from Xbox Game Studios to the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, there's only one story in town: Nintendo's long-awaited unveiling of Switch 2. Today's video laid out the bare bones of Switch 2, and it looked exactly as expected: like a slightly-larger Switch with an extra button and mysterious optical sensors. We also got a very brief look at a new Mario Kart, which looks... like a Mario Kart game. If anything, today's video only prompted more questions. What will Mario Kart 9's main new feature be? Today's gameplay snippet - while brief - offered up a couple of intriguing clues. And when will Switch 2 actually arrive? Well, between the announcement of a proper Nintendo Direct in April and the console's upcoming public hands-on tour, we think there's a relatively narrow window. Joining me this week to discuss everything we saw - as well as what we're still waiting to hear about - are Ed Nightinale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we round up the current deluge of leaks surrounding Nintendo's under-wraps Switch 2. Nintendo has now acknowledged the fact that dummy Switch 2 models are being publicly shown off by accessories manufacturers, and while these may not be based on access to the actual system, there's little doubt now that we've seen the gist. (Even Nintendo is saying the leaks are "not official" rather than simply inaccurate.) A full reveal now feels imminent. Also this week, we discuss the increasingly troubled Assassin's Creed publisher Ubisoft, which has just delayed the series' next entry for a second time while it issues cryptic messages suggesting the company is about to be taken private, sold, or something else just as monumental. What is going on - and how has Assassin's Creed Shadows become the most pivotal game in Ubisoft's history? Joining me this week to discuss are Ed Nightinale, Victoria Kennedy and Vikki Blake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ho-ho-hello! And welcome to our annual quiz for the festive season: Eurogamer's big News Quiz of the Year 2024. From lawsuits to layoffs to Switch 2 leaks, it has been another non-stop year. We've published nearly 4000 news stories since January began. But now, we've boiled it all down to this: 24 questions covering 2024. It's time to find out how much of this year you remember - and how Eurogamer's own news team did recalling the stories we all wrote. (Spoiler: once again, things get competitive.)  If you'd like to join along at home, please do! We begin with 12 questions based on stories this year - one from each month of the year, some general knowledge - also about video game news, and then a smattering of headlines from just the past few weeks for our contestants to try and fill in.  Joining me as ever are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Please enjoy, and we'll see you for much more news in 2025! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this week, news broke that Sony was in talks to buy FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa. A day later, Kadokawa acknowledged that takeover interest. Should it be accepted, this would likely be the biggest video game acquisition since Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard and Sony itself bought Destiny-maker Bungie. Eurogamer's news team discusses the possible consequences of this acquisition on this week's Newscast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Nintendo's big new hardware announcement - and no, it's not Switch 2. Despite months of frenzied rumour that Nintendo was ready to reveal its next-generation Switch, the company instead revealed... Alarmo, a new interactive alarm clock. It costs £90/$100, and is currently only available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Alarmo looks fun enough, and I love that Nintendo has wrong-footed everyone's expectations with a left-field new product once again. (Remember Ring Fit? Remember Labo?) On the other - what exactly is the point? Apart from the fact that alarm clocks are found on every smart device you already own, why is Nintendo launching this specific product? And why now? Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday Sony finally announced the long-rumoured PS5 Pro in a technical presentation hosted by Mark Cerny. The console is a more advanced version of the PlayStation 5 that boosts its graphics capabilities, and even improves backwards compatibility with some PS4 games. Yet the biggest catch of all is its £700 price tag. What's more, with this being a digital-only console, the £100 disc drive add-on is required for physical games, not to mention the additional £25 needed for the optional stand just to hold the console vertically. That's a total of £825 - without games, as well as the fancy TV necessary to really show off those extra pixels. The reaction so far has been overwhelmingly negative, predominantly thanks to that audacious price. Indeed, as Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell wrote, the PS5 Pro is "an argument against 'Pro' consoles altogether". It certainly seems more in-line with the expectations of PC players than console players. With all that in mind, then, what really are the benefits of this new console? Who is the target audience? And would we consider buying one ourselves? Joining me to discuss all things PS5 Pro in this week's Eurogamer Newscast are news reporter Victoria Kennedy, Digital Foundry's Tom Morgan, and managing editor Katharine Castle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the most dramatic few days for PlayStation in recent times. Sony's stunning decision to kill off live-service shooter flop Concord after less than two weeks sent shockwaves around the industry, setting a new precedent for how swiftly a troubled title from a major publisher could be given the axe. After eight years of work, the game has already disappeared from sale, and will soon vanish from people's game libraries, with refunds automatically given. It's a remarkable move - even if Concord does somehow get a second lease of life - and another nail in the coffin for Sony's overly-ambitious live-service plans that have already seen other projects shelved and delayed. And yet Sony has still ended this week on something of a high - riding a wave of love for Astro Bot, the company's platforming platform mascot and star of an excellent new game, and subtly-teasing one of the worst-kept secrets in video games right now: the imminent announcement of its souped-up PlayStation 5 Pro. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Vikki Blake, as we dissect the week, discuss what might be next for Concord, and where PlayStation goes from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How long have you been a Eurogamer reader for? Let me put that another way: how many different Eurogamer editors do you remember? The site has been around for a long time now - 25 years this week - so there have been a few different sets of hands at the tiller. I ask because, well, I've gathered those editors together again for a very special anniversary podcast, which you can listen to right now. With me on the podcast are Eurogamer's originating editor John Bye, better known to some as Gestalt, who edited the site from its foundation in 1999 through to 2002. Then we have Kristan Reed, who took over in 2002 and ran the site through to 2008, before passing the baton to Tom Bramwell who led through to 2014. Then Oli Welsh steered Eurogamer from 2014 to 2021, before Wesley Yin-Poole took over from 2021-2023. Unfortunately Martin Robinson and Tom Phillips - our more recent editors - were unable to join because they were at Gamescom when we recorded. We also have Ellie Gibson on the podcast, who was a hugely influential voice and personality on the site, and also briefly editor of it, in 2011.  It's been years since I've seen and talked to some of these people - I worked alongside almost all of them - and in most cases, it's been years since they've talked to each other, too. Despite that, it isn't long before we all settle into a familiar rhythm as stories are told and memories shared, and many laughs are had. I've missed these people. If ever you've been curious about the roots of Eurogamer and how the site became what it did, or if you just wondered what the former editors are up to now - or maybe you just want to reminisce - then I've got the conversation for you. A huge thank you to all of my guests both for joining the podcast and for helping make Eurogamer what it is today. Many happy returns! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Originally recorded for Eurogamer's 20th anniversary, five years ago, this podcast explores where the site's obsession with puns comes from. The podcast is hosted by Matt Reynolds and features Emma Kent, Wesley Yin-Poole and Christian Donlan - all of whom have since gone on to work elsewhere or as freelance. We'll be sporadically posting more podcasts from the archive as time goes on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the downsides and upsides of the video game battle pass. In a week where PlayStation live-service hopeful Concord trumpeted the fact it won't sell you a battle pass as a marketing beat, and Apex Legends dialled back (some of) its battle pass changes following fan fury, we consider the options available to video game makers hoping to ensure their latest releases keep being played - and paid for - well after release. Would more people play Concord if it was a free-to-play title with a battle pass? Or is it better served by being a £40 launch? Not everyone can promise they'll never sell post-launch content, as Stardew Valley's creator did this week. But there's clearly a balance to be struck to ensure players don't feel fleeced, particularly when full-priced launches like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League are getting in on the act too. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Microsoft's big changes to Xbox Game Pass. Xbox Game Pass for console is gone, unless you subscribe already. In its place: Xbox Game Pass Standard, which will no longer include new day one games from Microsoft, Activision, Blizzard and Bethesda. Oh, and everything's going up in price. Do these changes mark the end of Game Pass being a must-have subscription for Xbox owners? Or, after an impressive summer presentation painting a rosy picture of Microsoft's 2025 slate, are you now more likely to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, where day one launches will remain. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the cancelled Xbox project Keystone: Microsoft's plans to launch a relatively cheap streaming console. Keystone popped up yesterday in an old patent which detailed the prospective hardware in fresh detail, though we have of course seen it in the wild before - on Xbox boss Phil Spencer's shelf. Spencer has addressed Keystone's cancellation, and blamed it being shelved (literally) on Microsoft not being able to make it a cheap enough proposition. But does the end of Keystone mean Microsoft is abandoning its cloud gaming plans entirely? No, of course not - and Xbox Cloud Gaming remains. And in the future, as internet speeds improve and streaming games becomes more common, could we see Keystone Version 2? Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss everything shown at the Xbox Showcase last night: one of the best summer preview events in recent years, and one of Microsoft's best ever. On the one hand, perhaps the trove of upcoming titles should be expected. After all, this is what you should get when you spend nearly $100bn buying up swathes of the games industry. On the other, well, Microsoft has seemed to perenially exist on promising that next year's crop of first-party games will finally be where its acquisition spree pays off, where Game Pass truly hits the big time, and where it at last starts clawing back some market share. After watching the avalanche of announcements last night (Doom! Gears! Perfect Dark!) alongside everything else we knew was coming (Fable! Indy! More Diablo!) it's hard to see how the next 12 months couldn't make an impact - let alone the boost of launching Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 into Xbox Game Pass. Could Xbox finally feel like it's hitting its stride this console generation, after numerous misfires? Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we look back on the start of this year's June hype cycle, the period formerly known as E3, and now a potpourri of other events and announcement livestreams. PlayStation got the ball rolling last night with a look ahead at its rather meagre first-party plans for the remainder of 2024: a moderately buffed-up port of Until Dawn, online shooter Concord, and the charming Astro Bot. But, as our Ian wrote earlier, even the cute robot has got some people (VR fans) disgruntled. Still, as a flat-screen game, surely more people will now play it? And then there was Silent Hill Transmission or, this time around, basically just a longer look at the upcoming Silent Hill 2 and a chance for Konami to promote a load of tie-in tat. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Victoria Kennedy and Vikki Blake to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the future of Xbox after the announcement Microsoft is shutting a swathe of Bethesda game studios. Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall once seemed primed to benefit from being available via Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft's much-touted subscription service often seen as the best reason to own the company's console. Now, the studios behind both are gone forever. Last year, Microsoft's marketing mouthpiece Aaron Greenberg declared Hi-Fi Rush "a break out hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations". Redfall, meanwhile, despite being less-favourably received, had a multiplayer roadmap and a promise of single-player, with hope the Game Pass audience would still prop it up. But Microsoft's reasoning for closing Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin - to focus on bigger bets - suggests Game Pass is no longer a place where creativity can reign without fear of being too niche, and where fun-if-a-bit-mid multiplayer games can't be supported long enough to receive updates just days from completion. So where does this leave Xbox, and Game Pass, and studios like DoubleFine or Ninja Theory still making smaller-sized games? How secure does the team behind Hellblade 2 feel today, even if its game launches and is also dubbed a "break out hit"? I'm joined by Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, following the announcement of a new Batman Arkham game for Meta Quest VR headsets, we talk about the future of superheroes in video games. At a time when superhero films feel at risk of real burnout, could similar happen in the video game space as well? And are we already seeing that, with repeated flops such as Marvel's Avengers, Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League? Even the brilliant Marvel's Midnight Sons failed to move the needle. But is there hope on the horizon? With the live-service bubble burst, the next crop of games include single-player blockbusters such as Amy Hennig's Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra plus a new Iron Man project from Star Wars: Squadrons studio EA Motive. And certainly, Sony's Spider-Man games are managing to do the numbers. Joining me to discuss this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, after the success of Amazon's Fallout TV series, we discuss the TV and movie adapatations of video games we'd love to see next. Not every video game series fits an adaptation, and even the ones which do might need some work. You need to adapt the game's story well - such as in HBO's The Last of Us - or find space to tell your own narrative without contradicting the game's own. So which games do we think might fit the bill? Well, we have a few ideas - and how to go about them. Joining me this week to discuss are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. And if you're reading this, Jeff Bezos, please do give us credit whenever you're commissioning TV series with our ideas - thank you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the unannounced but widely-expected PlayStation 5 Pro, which looks set to launch later this year. With the PS5 Pro technical specs now out in the wild, there's been plenty of discussion around what these might mean for PlayStation games running on Sony's cutting-edge hardware. But even with improvements, are we tempted by what is likely to be a £600 upgrade? And how has it been four years since the regular PS5 launched already? And yet - we are now sitting at the likely mid-point of this console generation. For some, this is the best point to be thinking about console hardware, four years after the generation began and likely around four years from the "proper" next consoles arriving. And there will be those of course still yet to upgrade from PS4 at all. Is the Pro likely to be a tempting next step? Joining me this week to discuss are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss who might pick up the baton and develop a potential Baldur's Gate 4 - now that BG3 studio Larian has confirmed it is leaving the franchise behind. The rights to Baldur's Gate of course belong to Wizards of the Coast, who are free to enlist another studio to make further games in the Dungeons and Dragons universe - and even use Larian's characters. And considering how well BG3 has been received, it would seem financially prudent for a publisher to mount some kind of follow-up at some point. Perhaps BioWare might like to give it another go? Alternatively you could argue - and Larian's own Swen Vincke has done so - that there really shouldn't need to be a Baldur's Gate 4 at all. BG3 was great, but why does that mean there has to be more? Joining me this week to discuss are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we digest the last seven days of headlines from GDC 2024 - a conference that was unsurprisingly coloured by the past 18 months of industry turmoil. Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell was there, and joins us today to report back on what was being said on the ground. From this side of the pond, we saw the widespread anger at mass layoffs and the scepticism surrounding AI. But what was the mood at GDC 2024 really like - and how did game developers there actually feel? Chris fills us in on what he heard - and why, at a conference filled with dozens of developers presenting their best work, the mood wasn't exclusively doom and gloom. Take a listen to hear Chris' favourite moments from the show - plus renditions of a Mario power-up sound effect from him and Newscast regular Victoria Kennedy. Blup-blup-blup! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we talk about where Nintendo can take its moustachioed mascot next when he returns for the Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel. We heard confirmation of a second Mario film this week, though notably it was not confirmed this would be "The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2". Mario and friends will return, of course (the first film's billion dollar box office guaranteed that), but Nintendo was typically coy around what exactly this follow-up will focus on. Donkey Kong? Daisy? Yoshi? Birdo? We get our thinking Cappy's on to theorise where the Mushroom Kingdom's story might go next, and whether this is all leading to some kind of Avengers-esque Super Smash Bros. team up movie. Or, alternatively, whether none of this really matters as it's just a light-hearted film for families. With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the shocking news that the next big Pokémon game is mysteriously set to arrive in 2025. Hey, that sounds a lot like the intro to last week's episode, when we were discussing Switch 2! Say, could Pokémon Legends: Z-A also be set to arrive on Nintendo's next console? It's been a long time since Nintendo didn't launch a major Pokémon game or expansion in a calendar year, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A's arrival in 2025 certainly looks suspicious - as does yesterday's reveal of the game without any look at actual gameplay. So, have we just been given another piece of the Switch 2 puzzle? What do we expect to see in the mysterious Z-A when it is fully revealed? And how many bad French-themed Pokémon ideas can we come up with? With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Which is your favourite game map? Is there one that comes to mind straight away? Maps hold a curious kind of magic, but what is it? For this month's super-feature, our Bertie Purchese tries to find out. He speaks map-makers, game-makers, and people at the British Library, as he tries to pin-point what it is about maps that appeals to us. He also manages to follow the creation of one of the most famous fantasy worlds in doing so: Dragon Age's Thedas. Here, Bertie talks to deputy news editor Ed Nightingale about the piece itself as well as the process of writing it. Ed, you might remember, wrote the super-feature for January, about character creators in games. Read Bertie's super-feature about maps here: https://www.eurogamer.net/who-is-qualified-to-make-a-world-in-search-of-the-magic-of-maps Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the reports that Nintendo Switch 2 will now launch in 2025, later than its previously-expected arrival towards the end of this year. Nintendo itself is yet to say anything certain about its inevitable Switch successor, but its steady path towards launch has been tracked by numerous reports. Now, we discuss how this latest news unfolded, why we believe it has happened, and what this means for Nintendo across the rest of 2024. Plus: some fun speculation on what we'd like to see on Switch 2, and what we hope Nintendo will change for its new hardware (get rid of Joy-Con stick drift, please?) With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Microsoft's business update that brought us confirmation Xbox will launch four console exclusives - for now - on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. But why did Microsoft choose not to name those four games (even though Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Grounded and Sea of Thieves were immediately reported to be the titles in question)? What happened to the previously-reported plans to include larger games such as Starfield? And where will Microsoft draw the line for what to launch elsewhere? Right now, these four feel like something of a soft launch for Microsoft's multiplatform strategy, As well as all that, we also discuss the news nuggets Microsoft dropped for the Xbox faithful - including mention of new Xbox console hardware this year and the proper next-gen Xbox that's still years away. With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the bombshell news that some of Xbox's biggest exclusives are being mulled by Microsoft for release on PlaySation. Blockbuster games such as Starfield and the upcoming Indiana Jones title could no longer be Xbox exclusives, reports now claim, following whispers that smaller titles such as Hi-Fi Rush were being considered for PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. So what has prompted Microsoft to think bigger with its third-party publishing plans? And does this finally mean the console wars are over? (Fat chance.) Join us as we discuss the long-term factors at play - hardware sales, subscription service growth slowing - and more recent triggers such as the eye-wateringly large purchase of Activision Blizzard and the need to quickly see a return on that investment (also seen, sadly, in the recent decision to cull 1900 Xbox and Activision employees). We also consider Microsoft's next steps after all of this leaked - reportedly, by people within Xbox itself hostile to the very idea of Gears of War on PlayStation. With Tom Phillips this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss January's PlayStation State of Play and the latest game announcements. Sony showed off what's to come this year, including looks at Stellar Blade, Judas, and Silent Hill, plus reveals of Sonic x Shadow Generations, Until Dawn and Metro Awakening. Perhaps most exciting is the return of Hideo Kojima with not one but two games. We got a proper look at the forthcoming Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, as well as the announcement of a new action espionage game and movie project that definitely won't be called Metal Gear Solid. Ahem. Here to talk all things State of Play are the Eurogamer news team: Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy, and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss today's statement from The Pokémon Company that confirms it will investigate Palworld for possible intellectual property infringement. It's an unprecedented move by Pokémon to publicly call out Palworld as a game worthy of inspection - after 25 years of rip-offs and clones that have been quietly nuked or ignored. But it also feels inevitable, due to Palworld's enormous spike in interest - seen by its Steam success, and also the sizable controversy swirling around it. The game had simply become too big to ignore. So, what happens next? On the one hand, you'd think The Pokémon Company would be keen to act if any evidence of infringement can be found - it has to protect its intellectual property, or risk even cheekier Pokémon-style games trying harder in future. On the other, this announcement only feeds the controversy wave Palworld is riding, and risks blowback on Pokémon if the genuinely popular Palworld is unceremoniously removed from millions of people's Steam libraries. With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Microsoft's Xbox Developer Direct 2024, our first look ahead at the year to come from one of the big three console makers. The big draw was Indiana Jones and The Great Circle from Wolfenstein maker MachineGames, a blockbuster action adventure clearly set up to be Microsoft's answer to Uncharted. But there was also the brilliant-looking Hellblade 2, the eye-catching sequel from Ninja Theory we've been looking forward to for years. Then there's Avowed, a fantasy RPG to satisfy those waiting patiently for the next Elder Scrolls and who might prefer a bit more colour to their role-playing than in Starfield. Finally, we saw Visions of Mana from Square Enix and Ara: History Untold for PC. But was this enough to make for a satisfying show - and more importantly, set the tone for what is hopefully a better year of Xbox first-party launches than in 2023? I'm joined by Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ho ho hello! Christmas may already seem a distant memory, but we have gathered in our finest festive gear for one final treat - the Eurogamer Newscast News Quiz of the Year 2023. A now annual tradition, the news quiz sees us look back at some of the year's more oddball news headlines and argue over who deserves the most points for remembering them. From 50 Cent to Heinz ketchup to a video game breaking the Geneva Convention - 2023 has had it all. But do you remember why? Play along at home as we set Eurogamer's news elves - Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan - 23 questions looking back over 2023. Good luck to you all - and a very happy new year! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know her best as Amicia from the Plague Tale series. Charlotte McBurney was just 16 years old when she was cast in the first game, and everything about the recording experience was new. She would run home from college so she could fit a few hours of recording in. Jump forwards a few years to the sequel A Plague Tale: Requiem, though, and French developer Asobo is now well aware of what McBurney can do. So it expands her role. It makes it more emotionally demanding. And McBurney rises to it, delivering one of the standout performances in games in 2022, earning herself a BAFTA nomination in the process. With a Final Fantasy 16 credit also now to her name, McBurney has cemented herself as a future talent. Here, Bertie finds out how she ended up doing this, what it was like recording A Plague Tale, and what's next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the first ever trailer for GTA 6 which was finally released following a tease from Rockstar, after the trailer leaked online ahead of schedule. That means we've got a look at the game's two protagonists, its modern day Vice City setting, and the general vibe of the game's story. We also know it's set for release in 2025 across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles, with no news yet of a PC release. So what did we make of the trailer and the news? What are we hoping to see in GTA 6? And what's the future of GTA Online? Tom's away, so this week's podcast is hosted by me. I'm joined as ever by Eurogamer's Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan, as well as GTA Online expert Marie Pritchard from the Eurogamer guides team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss this year's various video game remakes and remasters, including the recently-announced The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, which is headed to PlayStation 5 in January. While TLOU2 was launched on PS4, it's still just three years on from that game's arrival. How do we feel about there already being a "Remaster", and are its DVD extra-style additions worth a £10 upgrade? We also discuss some of the other remakes to arrive (again) this year, including the excellent new versions of Dead Space and Resident Evil 4. It's good these games are finding new audiences, but are we in danger of focusing too much on the past, and on safe, known franchises? Joining me to discuss all that and more are Eurogamer's Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we share our hopes and fears for Nintendo's now-officially confirmed The Legend of Zelda live-action movie. The internet has leapt upon the announcement to suggest various names for Link, but who can you really see in the role - and can it not be Tom Holland, please? And definitely not Mark Wahlberg as an aged Link from the future. We also discuss the Zelda film's potential story, and whether we think it will adapt any particular Zelda legend or simply follow the Mario movie's example and go through the usual plot beats. Plus: the inevitable references Nintendo must include. And also... live-action Tingle? Joining me to discuss all that and more are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we share our warp pipe dreams for Mario Kart 9, as the final wave of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC gets its release date. Nintendo has elongated the lifespan of its Wii U Mario Kart creation to last the entirety of the Switch era - and now we've reached the point where pretty much every track from the series worth playing has been crammed inside. So what's next, if Nintendo can't simply go bigger? Fresh ideas are needed, we feel. When will the Mario Kart series get a course creator? Is this the time - so that Nintendo can hand over some creative control to the community, and run the game as more of a live service platform? How about changes to the game's characters, with special abilities to make different racers feel unique? And what about the idea of turning Mario Kart into more of a Nintendo Kart, with additional crossover franchises? Joining me to discuss are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss this week's Xbox Partner Preview showcase, which featured around a dozen intriguing titles coming to Microsoft's console in the near-ish future. Tomorrow's Alan Wake 2 got a final airing and it looks just as creepy as we'd have hoped. Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth has an Animal Crossing mode, and Liv in particular is delighted. Oh and Still Wakes The Deep - the spooky game from Everybody's Gone To The Rapture set on a Scottish oil rig, looks great. Opinion is a little more mixed on Metal Gear Solid Green Triangle: Snake Eater, with the visual style critiqued by some quarters of the internet today. Joining me to discuss the rest are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss what's next for Microsoft and Activision Blizzard now they have finally tied the knot. This week, Xbox boss Phil Spencer sounded a note of caution over how quickly we'd see the fruits of Microsoft's $68.7bn Activision Blizzard acquisition for ourselves. There will be no immediate drop of Activision classics on Xbox Game Pass, and no sudden insertion of Master Chief in Call of Duty. Long-term, though, Spencer is keen to hear from Activision's teams about what they want to make - whether that's a return to Guitar Hero, Skylanders or Tony Hawk games, or something else entirely. We also ponder Microsoft's plans for a mobile game presence, driven by Candy Crush maker King. Could Gears of War turn up on mobile? What about Viva Piñata? Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Giles Goddard is one of the few westerners who've worked inside Nintendo HQ in Japan. He went there as a young adult in the early 1990s, to help make Star Fox and the SuperFX chip that powered it, and he stayed ever since. Goddard worked at Nintendo for more than decade, and was instrumental not only in SNES games like Star Fox and Stunt Race FX, but also the creation of the N64. He made the Zelda 64 demo that wowed crowds at a Japanese game show in 1995, and he made the Mario face you pull around at the beginning of Mario 64. Goddard also made 1080 Snowboarding, which is a game idea he's come back to a couple of times over the years. Today, Goddard works at Chuhai Labs, a company he founded -as Vitei - many years ago. It's best known for Cursed to Golf, but is currently working on a new, multi-year game fans of Star Fox will apparently love... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Sony's newly-announced PlayStation 5 "Slim", which is set to launch in the US next month. Repeatedly leaked, the PS5 Slim's existence was not too much of a surprise, though word that its digital version would cost more in the US and that you now need to splash out £25 to stand the console upright still managed to raise some eyebrows. Rather than a proper mid-gen refresh, the Slim is more of a redesign - with no real incentive for existing PS5 owners to upgrade. Still, is a good resdesign? Does it position the console's digital edition as the PS5's main version? And most importantly, is standing your console vertical better? Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today is World Mental Health Day. This annual event is all about raising mental health awareness, with the aim to drive positive change for everyone's mental wellbeing. And, not that there ever needs to be an excuse to talk about mental health at any time of the year, but it is also a good opportunity for us to do just that. So please, join me, Victoria Kennedy, as I sit down with our own Bertie Purchese and Eurogamer alum Johnny Chiodini. In this episode, we swap stories about our own mental health journeys, the role video games can play in helping us understand mental health, and the games that soothe our souls on those days that can be harder than others. I hope you enjoy it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the topic of video game industry layoffs, something that seems to be rarely out of the headlines over the past few weeks and months. Layoffs are nothing new, of course, but this year in particular feels like a particularly tough time, at companies big and small. From tech giants such as Microsoft and Epic Games down to development studios such as Telltale Games, the bad news just keeps on coming. We discussed the job losses at Creative Assembly last week following the cancellation of Hyenas. Since then, we've heard of deep cuts at Team17, and more job losses on Dragon Age. We consider these examples and more, and consider whether each is part of a wider pattern, or a more individual example. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we bid farewell to PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, who has announced his departure from the company after almost three decades of service. We look back at Ryan's tenure at the top of Sony's console business, which included the launch of PlayStation 5 and the acquisition of Bungie. Sony has seen huge sales successes, of course, but is this down to the company's continued direction or simply an open goal from the last console generation? Announced just before we recorded this week's show, we also discuss the shock cancellation of Hyenas, the loot shooter from Sega's UK studio Creative Assembly that was being demoed to the public only last month. Such a last-minute scrubbing of a game launch is startling - we discuss why the decision may have been made. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we're discussing what feels like the biggest leak of Xbox gaming news in history, which has left Microsoft's plans to launch new hardware in 2024 and a new console generation in 2028 exposed. Next year's redesigned Xbox Series X is digital only, according to documents from 2022 that Microsoft presented to the FTC this year. It does not appear to boast a bump in processing power - something that gels with what Xbox boss Phil Spencer told me at Gamescom last month - but also ditches the ability to play older games on disc. How does that square with Microsoft's push for game preservation? Looking further ahead, Microsoft has pinned 2028 as the year we'll finally see the Xbox Series X's proper successor arrive. Is that too late? And what does it mean that the console will support "cloud hybrid" games? Joining me to discuss all that, along with leaked emails about buying Nintendo and the Xbox Game Pass release black hole left by Starfield's delay, are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss today's report by Eurogamer that Nintendo is showing Switch 2 tech demos to developers, including at Gamescom last month. The new hardware from the Big N now feels closer than ever - but when exactly will it arrive? More importantly, perhaps - for any Nintendo console - is what Nintendo game will it launch alongside? Will Switch 2's beefier specs be a smart time to finally launch Metroid Prime 4? Or does Nintendo go with the more mass market approach, and tap up its 3D Mario team? Finally, since it's out and it's probably going to be the biggest game of the year, we discuss the opening moments of Starfield - beyond the hour we all spend in the character creator. Joining me this week to share their thoughts on all that are Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we're back from Gamescom and scurrying around trying to let you know everything we saw. We chatted to Phil Spencer, we saw Starfield, we played Sonic and much more. But what else caught our eye? We sat down this week to chat about what we saw and ended up honing in on some of our personal favourites - games which may not have caught the headlines as much as that big new RPG everyone's going on about. Games which appealed specifically to us - because they felt authentically British - like the wonderfully Yorkshire Thank Goodness You're Here and the North Sea oil rig horror Still Wakes the Deep. I adored The Plucky Squire. Ed loved Black Myth: Wukong. Together with Victoria Kennedy, who held the news fort brilliantly back home in Blighty, we chat about the best of what we saw last week in Cologne. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we look ahead to the rest of 2023, and everything on the horizon we can't wait to play. Turns out, there's a lot to get excited about! Can you think of the top three games you're looking forward to over the rest of the year? It's a question three of us try and answer while juggling this autumn's bulging release schedule - from Starfield to Super Mario Wonder. Joining me this week are Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Newscast: Is Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition now a done deal? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we look back at a week of headlines from Microsoft's time in court arguing its case to buy Activision Blizzard with the FTC. In the video game industry, courtroom drama does not get much bigger than this. Microsoft's Phil Spencer and Satya Nadella, Sony's Jim Ryan and Activision boss Bobby Kotick have all given evidence as the US weighs up whether to allow Xbox's enormous Call of Duty buyout to procede. The week has brought us some eye-opening opinions from these top industry execs, as well as a treasure trove of emails to pore through - and some badly-redacted documentation. Today, we recap the biggest stories of the week, including who else was on Microsoft's studio shopping list, and why Bethesda is upset at Call of Duty not being platform exclusive. Joining me this week are Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss yesterday's Mario-packed Nintendo Direct and Microsoft's suprise price rises. For Nintendo, yesterday's online extravaganza acted like a shot of adrenaline to the Switch's aging heart. There had been questions around how much Nintendo might still have for Switch, post Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Now we have answers - and a release schedule busier than either Microsoft or Sony's for the remainder of 2023. Switch 2 certainly now feels even longer away. Microsoft, meanwhile, took advantage of the Elephant Mario in the room to announce it's long-suspected price rises for Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Series X. It was an oppurtune moment for Microsoft to deliver the bad news, with the value of Game Pass demonstrated last week at its well-receieved Xbox Game Showcase. Still, was it really necessary? Or could it just get away with it because PlayStation blinked first? Joining me this week are Ed Nightingale and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices