Podcasts about BioWare

On Tuesday, Electronic Arts stops being a public company. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners are closing a $55 billion all-cash buyout — the largest leveraged buyout of a public company in history — and PIF walks away with 93.4% of Madden, FIFA, Apex, The Sims, Battlefield and BioWare. So we spent half the episode on what that actually means: what going private does to a publisher, the $20 billion in debt that lands on EA itself, whether sports betting is the obvious way to service it, and what happens to queer characters in BioWare games under this ownership. Plus the question nobody answers honestly — is boycotting Madden a real position, or does it just feel good? Then the other half. Tarkov's first post-launch wipe and the Kord Breach seasons drop August 3, so we get into the state of the game right before it resets. Overwatch Champions Series is live in Paris, and the jetpack cat strat does not translate to Silver. And Baldur's Gate 3's new true third-person camera mod set the internet on fire — someone told modders to be nuked off the face of the earth over an optional camera angle in a single-player game. Jake wants a normal third-person view in everything. Raz is a Larian hipster who was there before BG3. WARDOGS Alpha hits Friday. 0:00 - Intro 0:50 - Pop Quiz: Name That Tarkov AI 2:41 - Patreon Free Trials & August Hangouts 6:37 - WARDOGS Alpha Drops August 7 8:43 - Escape From Tarkov: Back In It 10:50 - Raz Gets Mogged All Wipe Long 16:36 - Jake's Week in Tarkov 22:49 - Tarkov Is the Dark Souls of FPS 24:19 - Overwatch: Bronze 5 to Silver 3 26:12 - Overwatch Champions Series in Paris 27:11 - The Jetpack Cat + Bastion A-10 Strat 31:50 - Saudi Arabia Is Buying EA for $55 Billion 44:23 - Going Private: Actually Good for Games? 50:47 - The $20 Billion Leveraged Buyout 52:15 - The Sports Betting Theory 55:55 - Nobody Here Bets on Anything 1:00:15 - Tangent: The Intel Bet That Paid 500% 1:02:49 - $166 Billion Wagered in 2025 1:04:08 - Why Do People Watch Gambling Streams? 1:05:10 - Gambling Ads and Kids 1:07:23 - There Is No Moral Panic Here 1:15:53 - "Creative Control" and What It's Worth 1:18:29 - Khashoggi, Non-Disparagement, Game-Washing 1:22:10 - Queer Characters, BioWare, and Veilguard 1:26:02 - Would You Still Buy It? (Yes) 1:28:37 - Is Boycotting Madden a Real Position? 1:31:30 - The BG3 Third-Person Camera Mod 1:32:11 - What the Mod Actually Does 1:36:25 - The Two Camps 1:37:52 - Raz Is a Larian Hipster 1:40:06 - Genre Purism: Is Isometric Load-Bearing? 1:42:20 - Jake Writes Off Every Top-Down Game 1:45:11 - The Elden Ring Summons Crowd 1:47:27 - Divinity's Camera, Confirmed 1:48:05 - Larian Shot Down WASD Movement 1:55:35 - That Divinity Trailer 1:57:37 - Why DOS2 Combat Beats BG3 2:01:44 - Outro _Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._ The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

We've got Comic-Con Updates! Marvel did not disappoint, as it lit up the airwaves, DC brought the Lanterns, and Spaceballs went to ludicrous speed! PlayStation got a big reality check as to why going digital is bad. Rick and Morty gave President Curtis his own show. And I went back to Installation 04 on legendary!

Len sits down with Game Director Marv Gouw and Consulting Art Director (and Relic co-founder) J. Aaron Kambeitz to talk about ZeroSpace, a new RTS inspired by the greats of the genre with BioWare-style cutscenes and story decisions. We dig into the odd place RTSes find themselves in the industry right now, how the "Homeworld look" relates to typefaces, and how the changes in the games industry today echo those the film industry went through decades ago.

Nový Indian Showtime je nabitý novinkami z celého Summer Game Festu. Probereme dlouho očekávaný remake Resident Evil Code: Veronica, překvapivý spin-off God of War s Faye v hlavní roli, ambiciózní sci-fi RPG Exodus od veteránů BioWare i návrat Senuy v dosud největším dobrodružství od Ninja Theory. Dorazte na živé vysílání, kde Gelu s Honzasem rozeberou všechny nejžhavější herní novinky.

Jules, Michi und Gottimperator Maurice nehmen das packende Gameplay des kommenden Sci-Fi-Epos' Exodus unter die Lupe. Neben dem ambitionierten Rollenspiel der Bioware-Veteranen werfen sie außerdem einen Blick auf den neuen DLC zu The Alters sowie die spannenden Konzept-Titel Cordura und The Lift. Alle Links zum GameStar Podcast und unseren Werbepartnern: https://linktr.ee/gamestarpodcast

This podcast is historically accurate. You can attack its weak point for massive damage. The era of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii was a monumental one. The advent of high-definition visuals, the improvement of online play for consoles, and unprecedented console processsing power lead to seven-plus years of generation-defining video games. Naturally, we're here today to talk about the RPGs. Today, four RPGFan panelists compiled a list of ten RPGs that debuted on one or more of the above consoles, and they have a lot to say about them. So which panelist thinks highly of Folklore? How many BioWare games made the cut? How does Final Fantasy XIII figure into this? Listen for all that and more, in today's Retro Encounter! Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Aleks Franiczek, Ben Love, Matt Wardell; Edited by Zach WilkersonOpening and ending music by Miles MorkriGet in Touch:RPGFan.comRPGFan ShopEmail us: retro@rpgfan.comTwitter: @rpgfancomBluesky: @rpgfan.bsky.socialInstagram: @rpgfancomThreads: @rpgfancomFacebook: rpgfancomTwitch: rpgfancom

Its time to start your engines, because a new Forza Horizon is out and ready to be driven, and all in the shadow of Mt. Fuji. Plus XBOX may have to go back to exclusives, while PlayStation is ditching PC. HBO gave us our first real look at Lanterns ahead of its August release, and PlayStation is also hoping on the price increase train, as PS+ gets a hike.

Трое друзей уже десять лет рассказывают про технологии, игры, медиа, кино, ИИ, автомобили, фотоаппараты, вкусную еду и многое другое. В этот раз Дима, Тимур и Максим обсуждают слухи о будущих Far Cry 7, Assassin's Creed Hexe, новом Ghost Recon 2027, что покажут в iOS27, когда ждать новый Ape Escape, почему они не ждут “Одиссею” Нолана, классная ли Forza Horizon 6 и свои первые впечатления от Steam Controller.

Welcome back! This week, after the rigamarole (cognitive decline, calendars, maps, water), Ron wants to know when in the Star Wars timeline we would want to live; Chris thinks Fate of the Old Republic needs to nail things to keep Bioware alive. As always, please like, subscribe, and share with your friends. Come join the discussions on the Discord Channel (https://discord.gg/TbxA7gcUky) and follow us on BlueSky, @cltruitt22. Thanks and take care!

Head to http://factormeals.com/kindafunny50off and use code kindafunny50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box, with new subscription only, while supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details).Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at https://rocketmoney.com/kindafunnyExclusive $25-off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/KINDAFUNNY. Promo Code KINDAFUNNY Thank you for the support! Run of Show - 00:00:00 - Start00:04:39 - Nintendo Under Pressure to Raise Switch 2 Console Price, as Hardware Currently Sold at a Loss00:16:49 - Microsoft gives up on Xbox Copilot AI00:22:49 - Asha Sharma reveals Xbox's new boot up sequence00:26:37 - Ad00:29:49 - Is Valve Finally Getting Ready to Launch the Steam Machine?00:39:50 - Mina the Hollower launches May 2900:41:27 - Surprise: The studio making Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic is full of former BioWare devs00:45:59 - Ubisoft Announces Assassin's Creed Stage ShowUbisoft Announces Assassin's Creed Stage Show00:49:50 - Wee News!00:52:22 - SuperChats & You‘re Wrong Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Download MP3 | Watch Video Episode Full Timestamps: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTqG48oWLYnirgLokIhGoxkst5cqaJEFBxudtAEMKC4DVO4hpAUFx2726sJ1GSjjJRCZIrDPhDwS49C/pub Watch full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@CastleSuperBeastArchive First Words! Method Acting Racist On Set For The Bit Forbidden Solitaire & The Rise of Meta Narrative Indie Puzzle Games KOTOR vs Mass Effect Chrono Trigger vs FF6 Star Citizen: The Billion Dollar Cult Reggie In The Lab Limited-time Plushie Launches: May 11! https://www.makeship.com/products/reggie-in-the-lab-plushie - Go to http://buyraycon.com/SUPERBEAST to get 15% off. - Go to http://hellofresh.com/superbeast10fm now to Get 10 Free Meals + a Free breakfast for Life! - Sign up for your 1$-per-month trial today at http://shopify.com/superbeast - Exclusive $25-off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/SUPERBEAST. Promo Code SUPERBEAST Docket: The entire source code and all assets for Metal Gear Solid 2 HD just leaked on 4chan Author of Attack on Titan, Hajime Isayama's New Statement on Eren's Character Jason Schreier has published a new GTA 6 article: Strauss Zelnick says the expectations are so high and terrifying GameStop is preparing to make an offer to buy eBay. After DLSS 5 furore, Resident Evil Requiem director says fan criticism of Grace Ashcroft's AI-powered makeover means team 'got her design right' Is "really glad to see" the positive response to Grace. Melty Blood: Twi-Lumina announced for PS5, Switch 2, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC Valve says Steam Controller sold out 'faster than we anticipated' but previously told us it has knobs it can turn to get more Surprise: The studio making Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic is full of former BioWare devs Star Citizen is on course to reach $1 billion in player funding in 2026, and we still might not get to play its singleplayer campaign next year

Send us Fan MailIn which we wake up from a long Bioware hypersleep to roll up our sleeves and get down to some busywork.

In today's Daily Fix:Ubisoft has finally lifted the curtain on one of the worst-kept secrets in modern gaming: the remake of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Officially titled Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced, this is a single-player-focused game that does not include the Freedom Cry DLC or the multiplayer component of the original. But it does feature new crewmates, a refined combat system, and parkour movement more akin to recent AC games like Shadows. In other news, BioWare gave a brief update on Mass Effect 5, only to say that, yes, they're busy. Better than nothing, right? And finally, Toho is expanding their Godzilla universe with Godzilla World, an interconnected cinematic universe for their version of Godzilla (not the Legendary version, which is part of the MonsterVerse with King Kong).

Welcome to Active Reload! On this week's episode, James and Grant go through and make a tier list of current video game developers! From Capcom to Bioware and more!

Dylan and I finally started up our playthrough of Mass Effect 3, and we were able to convince Ethan to take a break from his homework and come chill with us. We discussed the progress on the anime Ethan and Dylan are watching together. As well as, how Dylan put all his points into melee for Shepard and how they are more dangerous than his guns.Our Links:Ian WolffeSend us Fan Mail

In this episode, Caitie and Jordan return from the void to keep talking about BioWare and all the things that have happened over the last year. We talk about the new General Manager at BioWare (exclusive news!), BioWare Austin closing, a Jason Schreier article from last year, the potential acquisition of EA by a Saudi-led group, Anthem's servers shutting down, and the current efforts of the remaining BioWare team. Also: happy birthday to, literally everyone who listens.

Join us for a new mini-series as we bring the excitement of BioWare's rich fantasy world of Thedas to the tabletop.

This week we talk about the DLSS5 demo that has everyone talking, Starfield's new DLC, a possible shakeup of leadership at BioWare, Ubisoft shuttering Red Storm Entertainment and much more. Click this link for my socials, all of my other content and ways to support: https://linktr.ee/baundiesel 

ABOUT THE EPISODE --Dan and Don RETURN to Reel Therapy to discuss the first season of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" by HBO Max. Is it a return to form for "Game of Thrones" or are we wishing that they bury the IP like a rotting corpse? We discuss that and more plus stick around for the end to hear Daniel and Donavon reminisce about Bioware's "Mass Effect".TABLE OF CONTENTS --00:00:00 - About the Episode00:00:40 - Greetings00:04:48 - A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - Season One Overview00:38:25 - Before We GoABOUT THE SHOW - A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms --Set nearly a century before the events of Game of Thrones, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms follows the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall (“Dunk”) and his young squire, Egg. Based on George R.R. Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, the series trades sprawling wars for intimate character-driven storytelling, exploring honor, loyalty, and political intrigue across the Seven Kingdoms. As Dunk and Egg journey from tourneys to courtly conflicts, their bond is tested against the quiet tensions brewing in Westeros long before dragons return to the skies.FIND US --For everything Reel Therapy and 241 Studios, check out our website:LINK: https://www.241studios.com/Follow us on:Instagram: @reeltherapy_podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/reeltherapypodTikTok: @reeltherapy_pod

Rushed through development in just a year to capitalize on the runaway success of its predecessor, Dragon Age II's writing team had only a few months to write an entire game before handing it off to voice acting and development. The result was an often ramshackle sequel featuring a smaller world, fewer companions, and repetitive quests—as well as some of the best characters, dialogue, and storytelling Bioware has ever put to screen. Based on new interviews with DA2 writers David Gaider, Jennifer Hepler, Lukas Kristjanson, as well as editor Karin Weekes, author Charlotte Reber tells the wild behind-the-scenes story of how a team at the top of their game made the best of an impossible assignment to create the series's first fully voiced protagonist, its charmingly unreliable narrator, and a crew of unforgettable party members to bother, befriend, and romance. From DA2's inception to its mishandled marketing campaign to its volatile reactions from players, Reber's book raises a mug of ale to the game that was—and the game that might have been. Charlotte Reber is a fiction writer and gamer with a fascination for telling stories and playing games in unusual ways. She has a handful of degrees in creative writing and children's literature from Wellesley College and Simmons University, and lives in Vermont with her family, several cats, and a suspiciously low number of dragons. Rudolf Thomas Inderst (*1978) enjoys video games since 1985. He received a master's degree in political science, American cultural studies as well as contemporary and recent history from Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich and holds two PhDs in game studies (LMU & University of Passau). Currently, he's teaching as a professor for game design and game studies at the HNU University of Applied Sciences Neu-Ulm, Germany, has submitted his third dissertation at the University of Vechta, holds the position as lead editor at the online journal TITEL kulturmagazin for the game section,  and is editor of the weekly game research newsletter Game Studies Watchlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on 1985's Ultima IV. We delve into dungeons, pilot ships all over, explore the later-game evolutions of the quest, and share some stories before turning to our takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Many hours more Issues covered: the literary help on the game, requiring 64K, having a consistent voice, how long a game it is, losing a ship, the Gate spell, needing to go back to every town, talking about towns and understanding the shrine quests, locking in elevations, getting later-game quest info, influencing the Triforce, keys without keys, naming dungeons to be the antithesis of the virtues, being unable to take risks like these, rich and dense theming and intricate reinforcing design, dungeons being near the virtues they oppose, requiring a ship to get to many dungeons, using the sextant to get latitude and longitude, mapping the dungeons, dungeon features, first-person hall crawl vs battle rooms, being penalized for fleeing combat, what preconceived notions do we enter with, feeling really dungeon crawly, elaborate battle map usage, The Crypt, getting stuck in a dungeon, describing an A bug, the uselessness of winds, a cove full of pirate ships, ship to ship fighting, finding the town Cove via whirlpool travel, filling in the blanks yourself, a consistent and elegant pattern, symmetry everywhere, design by programmer, leveraging your programming constraints in your narrative, the meta, what we're not, having a point of view about ethics, a procedural rhetoric, committing to the bit, breaking the traditional structure, all the mysteries you need to pay attention to, trusting the player, accessible mysteries, an extremely packed game with layers and meaning, an impactful and relevant game, not wasting your time, a Swiss clock, potential other connections. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Dungeons & Dragons, Ultima Underworld, Legend of Zelda (series), Diablo IV, Baldur's Gate III, Minecraft, Eye of the Beholder, Final Fantasy (series), Halo, LostLake, Calamity Nolan, Richard Garriott, BioShock, Mass Effect, BioWare, J. R. R. Tolkien, Karla Zimonja, Dark Souls, A Fool's Errand, Hitman, Dwarf Fortress, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. TTDS: 1:10:55 Next time: Commemoration Twitch: timlongojr and twinsunscorp YouTube  Discord  DevGameClub@gmail.com 

This week, Zak and Aaron sit down to chat with Ashley Ruhl, the Narrative Director at Broadsword Online Games, currently in charge of Star Wars: The Old Republic! She was kind enough to tell us a little bit about her role working on SWTOR before moving on to the... ahem, meat of the conversation: romance! Specifically, romance in video games, how it can be approached thoughtfully, and where we'd like to see it go in the future.Please, enjoy.Check out Ashley's recommended reading!Digital Love: Romance and Sexuality in Games - Heidi McDonaldPassion and Play: A Guide to Designing Sexual Content in Games - Michelle CloughListen to Beach Girl on SpotifyCheck Out MosscatMarket on Instagram

Full Video: https://open.spotify.com/episode/43eGHVCmHupgnI6XScc9xq?si=T5Ub_gNgQjyLcxFmHoRsPwLinktree: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠In this exclusive Notorious Mass Effect segment, host Analytic Dreamz dives deep into his all-time favorite game, Mass Effect 2—a masterpiece of sci-fi gaming available only to NME+ subscribers.Analytic Dreamz explores why BioWare's 2010 action RPG sequel remains legendary: revived Commander Shepard assembles a diverse squad for a desperate suicide mission against the Collectors. Improved third-person shooter combat, deep loyalty missions, branching Paragon/Renegade choices, romances, and permadeath consequences create unparalleled player impact. Imported saves from Mass Effect 1 carry over decisions, enhancing replayability in this 25-40 hour single-player epic.Critically acclaimed with a 96/100 Metacritic score, winning Game of the Year awards, and praised for unforgettable characters, voice acting, and cinematic storytelling. Originally on Xbox 360, PC, and PS3, it's now enhanced in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition with 4K visuals and all DLC included.Join Analytic Dreamz as he breaks down the plot, gameplay refinements, squad dynamics, and enduring legacy of this iconic title.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/exclusive-contentPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Ultima IV. We talk about the boat, we talk about dungeons (a tiny bit), we deep dive into NPCs and consequences, we talk about the quests and how everything is in the world, and answer some listener email. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: More of Ultima IV (Much more, in B's case) Issues covered: revisiting locations and finding new things, a game that does a lot with a little, everything existing in the world, getting to know the world, NPCs sharing sprites and being hard to remember, getting a ship and fighting your way on, broadside combat, dying to a waterspout, wanting to search the oceans, badly simulating tacking, riding a horse, being interrupted in any location, trying to replicate the tabletop experience, feeling like a "yes" game, whether what you do matters, can you be a thief, watering down a morality system, having a limited palette of options at any one time, layering frosting, taking out the friction and icky feeling, the niche audience of some RPGs, taking elements from older games and bringing them into modern games, asking questions of the player who is also the character, avoiding the uncanny valley, an aside into adventure mode, the horseshoe effect on NPCs, reaching the limits of what the human brain can contemplate, an aside into Dunbar's number, facing the same challenges, chunking chapters, feeling the anxiety of there being too much, coalescing your notes from time to time, the telescope moment and seeing the map, the lack of loot, preparing to do things, validating your assumptions, having to revisit everywhere, the friction of Pikmin, getting good controllers, handheld mode, the Wavebird, bouncing off character creation, character creation we've liked, wanting a story to wrap around a more specific character, the generic hero, having fun with a character creator, a freeing character creator. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Final Fantasy (series), Gold Box (series), Eye of the Beholder, Outer Wilds, The Witcher (series), Beowulf, Dungeons & Dragons, Wizardry (series), BioWare, Mass Effect, BioShock, Dishonored, CD Project Red, Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur's Gate III, Thief, Robin Hood, VtM Bloodlines, Undertale, Dark Souls, Land of the Lost, Dwarf Fortress, Planescape: Torment, Metroid / Castlevania, Richard Garriott, Sasha, Pikmin, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto, Switch, PlayStation, Analog Pocket, Ashton Herrmann, Monkey Island, Wing Commander, Morrowind, Fallout 3, Dragon Age: Origins, Bethesda Game Studios, Blizzard, World of Warcraft, Diablo (series), Metal Gear Solid V, Hideo Kojima, Saint's Row IV, Call of Cthulhu, Asher, Cuphead, KyleAndError, Hitman, FFSZilla, MGS: VR Missions, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.  Note: Because Ultima IV has very little music to speak of, I will be substituting music from later in the series in the openings to these episodes TTDS: 38:30 Links: Majuular Ultima IV video recommended by Chris  Next time: Finish Ultima IV Twitch: timlongojr and twinsunscorp YouTube Discord  DevGameClub@gmail.com 

Full Video: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6lZC8UJf5kULgQTKtprsAj?si=d6qihr3ET0eZbzDOX1K8mQLinktree: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠In this exclusive Notorious Mass Effect segment, host Analytic Dreamz dives deep into his all-time favorite game, Mass Effect 2—a masterpiece of sci-fi gaming available only to NME+ subscribers.Analytic Dreamz explores why BioWare's 2010 action RPG sequel remains legendary: revived Commander Shepard assembles a diverse squad for a desperate suicide mission against the Collectors. Improved third-person shooter combat, deep loyalty missions, branching Paragon/Renegade choices, romances, and permadeath consequences create unparalleled player impact. Imported saves from Mass Effect 1 carry over decisions, enhancing replayability in this 25-40 hour single-player epic.Critically acclaimed with a 96/100 Metacritic score, winning Game of the Year awards, and praised for unforgettable characters, voice acting, and cinematic storytelling. Originally on Xbox 360, PC, and PS3, it's now enhanced in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition with 4K visuals and all DLC included.Join Analytic Dreamz as he breaks down the plot, gameplay refinements, squad dynamics, and enduring legacy of this iconic title.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Was passiert, wenn Millionen-Budgets auf pure Inkompetenz, Größenwahn oder schlechtes Timing treffen? In diesem Talk tauchen Felix und Magdalena tief ab in den Trümmerhaufen der Videospielgeschichte. Alle Links zum GameStar Podcast und unseren Werbepartnern: https://linktr.ee/gamestarpodcast

Send us a textWe finally close the book on the Veilguard, and possibly all of Thedas.

Well, we've seen our fair share of Xbox earnings reports. As expected, there's a lot of negative discourse around it, but this time there are some more troubling facts resting within these underlying numbers. As we've seen Xbox's hardware has been down for almost two years now. That continues in this quarter, so it is not much of a shocker by this point. That is if you only consider the console and not the recently released Xbox Ally. When it comes to gaming revenue as well as content and services, they're down. This is significant because this is all based on the holiday window where we usually see spending go up. In a window where they had the likes of Call Of Duty, which became the number one selling game of the month in December, they still ended up with losses. The likes of Outer Worlds 2, Keeper, or Ninja Gaiden 4 couldn't do enough, nor should they be fully expected to make up that sort of difference. The sum of it all is despite this being one of Xbox's busier holidays, they couldn't escape a loss and that comes shortly after a Game Pass price hike. Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro0:05:04 - Snowy Dukes0:11:48 - Our workflow0:19:03 - A second Xbox Developer Direct in 2026?0:26:37 - Forza Horizon 6's pricey premium upgrade0:31:33 - State Of Decay 3 has a pulse0:39:00 - The Coalition opens up on Gears Of War: E-Day0:45:14 - Achievement overhaul inbound?0:50:53 - Xbox Q2 earnings are in1:04:48 - PS6 after 2028?1:18:45 - State Of Play and Nintendo Direct in February?1:22:57 - Beyond Good & Evil 2 has survived the Ubisoft purge1:30:26 - Indie publishers should be avoided1:42:37 - Emberville gets a release window1:45:16 - BioWare is quietly hiring for Mass Effect1:46:34 - Dragon Ball Age 1000 Announced1:56:13 - Resident Evil Requiem will not be open world2:01:17 - Code Veronica Remake is targeting H1 20272:03:31 - What We're Playing2:50:50 - Xbox realizes the most obvious thing ever3:05:22 - Brian Fargo opens up on Clockwork Revolution Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Send us a textIn which our gripes with the Veilguard reach their fever pitch.

Mass Effect: Andromeda Part 2 - Fable Three King Time Second Half Square Roots - Episode 497 Quest Log: 0:05:15 Level Up: 2:05:30 I keep hearing Vanessa say "cat" every time she says "Kett" in this action-packed, different timeline navigating BioWare adventure game, Mass Effect: Andromeda. Johnny loves the bouncy car. Jim disappears like a spooky ghost. Matt is bad at sudoku. Vanessa probably wants to marry the AI in her brain. Also: • Quit Putting Jared Leto in Movies * A Beanie and a Henley * Matt Establishes Masculinity Rules * Don't Ask About Matt's Poop-ons * You Can Blow Up A Library And I'd Know Who George Washington Is This Week: "Johnny, for notes say we'll play some of trail of hope, not all of it. I haven't pinpointed yet. But I there's a point when you can choose which planet to go to first, I went to Vold. So maybe we'll play Vold." Next Week: Finish the Mission "Trail of Hope" Our Patreon: http://patreon.com/squarerootspodcast Thanks to Steven Morris for his awesome theme! You can find him at: https://bsky.app/profile/stevenmorrismusic.bsky.social and https://www.youtube.com/user/morrissteven Contact Square Roots! Twitter: @squarerootspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/486022898258197/ Email: squarerootspodcast (at) gmail (dort) com

Full Video: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3s2Ooni5uxdUNe6hSNfCUG?si=eE4yUI02TiOL5U4cladl9QLinktree: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠⁠⁠⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠In this exclusive Notorious Mass Effect segment, host Analytic Dreamz dives deep into his all-time favorite game, Mass Effect 2—a masterpiece of sci-fi gaming available only to NME+ subscribers.Analytic Dreamz explores why BioWare's 2010 action RPG sequel remains legendary: revived Commander Shepard assembles a diverse squad for a desperate suicide mission against the Collectors. Improved third-person shooter combat, deep loyalty missions, branching Paragon/Renegade choices, romances, and permadeath consequences create unparalleled player impact. Imported saves from Mass Effect 1 carry over decisions, enhancing replayability in this 25-40 hour single-player epic.Critically acclaimed with a 96/100 Metacritic score, winning Game of the Year awards, and praised for unforgettable characters, voice acting, and cinematic storytelling. Originally on Xbox 360, PC, and PS3, it's now enhanced in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition with 4K visuals and all DLC included.Join Analytic Dreamz as he breaks down the plot, gameplay refinements, squad dynamics, and enduring legacy of this iconic title.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Full Video: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5AvtVY4bKesqpW3NV9ESxA?si=V-ROnK2EQpae6KiriDWpygLinktree: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠⁠⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠⁠⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠In this exclusive Notorious Mass Effect segment, host Analytic Dreamz dives deep into his all-time favorite game, Mass Effect 2—a masterpiece of sci-fi gaming available only to NME+ subscribers.Analytic Dreamz explores why BioWare's 2010 action RPG sequel remains legendary: revived Commander Shepard assembles a diverse squad for a desperate suicide mission against the Collectors. Improved third-person shooter combat, deep loyalty missions, branching Paragon/Renegade choices, romances, and permadeath consequences create unparalleled player impact. Imported saves from Mass Effect 1 carry over decisions, enhancing replayability in this 25-40 hour single-player epic.Critically acclaimed with a 96/100 Metacritic score, winning Game of the Year awards, and praised for unforgettable characters, voice acting, and cinematic storytelling. Originally on Xbox 360, PC, and PS3, it's now enhanced in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition with 4K visuals and all DLC included.Join Analytic Dreamz as he breaks down the plot, gameplay refinements, squad dynamics, and enduring legacy of this iconic title.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week we talk about Xbox's Developer Direct, BioWare prepping for Mass Effect 5 full production, Ubisoft making huge moves, Battlefield 6's Season 2 announcement and much more. Click this link for my socials, all of my other content and ways to support: https://linktr.ee/baundiesel 00:00:00 Intro00:01:11 Xbox Developer Direct00:19:44 Mass Effect 5 Full Production00:26:45 Ubisoft Restructure00:33:44 Battlefield 6 Season 200:36:25 Marathon Marketing Ramping Up00:40:37 Rockstar's Good Guy Move00:41:27 F*** AI00:43:38 Content Updates00:45:53 Wrap Up

BS Section and House Keeping Discord Server geekoholics.com/discord/ Whatcha Been Playing? The Plucky Squire Terminator 2D No Fate Battlefield 6 Marvel's Rivals - Deadpool News:  Cross Platform / PC / Misc. GameStop reportedly shuts hundreds of US stores as CEO strives for $35bn pay packet "A sad end to a sad story" - fond Anthem farewells begin as BioWare's Destiny-like game reaches last day of operation The Division 3 creative director has suddenly left to join Battlefield Studios Ex-Assassin's Creed boss Marc-Alexis Côté sues Ubisoft after his surprise and "disguised dismissal" Ubisoft Cancels Prince of Persia remake Nintendo  The first Lego Pokémon sets have been revealed, including a $650 Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur statue  Zelda: Ocarina of Time Lego set leaks, and Ganon looks fierce Nintendo's Japan dominance continues as Switch 2 fuels 40% market growth in 2025 Donkey Kong Country Returns HD has new Switch 2 update PlayStation Marathon releases March 5, new Limited Edition DualSense controller revealed   Xbox Forza Horizon 6's release date might have been revealed early, and it's allegedly coming sooner than anticipated | Eurogamer.net PSA's: Epic Games Store Freebies: Rustler - Grand Theft Horse (Styx currently) Free 4 All Alien: Earth 2 Best of 2025 lists are being released on the explosion Network Old Guard. Old Guard 2 K Pop Demon Hunters New PS5 Pro setup and transferred today   Help support the show: - Subscribe to our Twitch channel http://twitch.tv/geekoholics - Please review the show (bit.ly/geekoholics) on Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and to share with your friends. Reviews help us reach more listeners, and the feedback helps us to produce a better show. Join our Discord server: CLICK HERE

We have our post TGI Game Night discussion, this time recounting our adventures in Deep Rock Galactic. After chats of friendly fire and mining, Ryan finishes his journey through Final Fantasy VII Rebirth which includes a 30 minute YouTube video going over the "what is going on" ending. Since we were off last week, we have plenty of news to catch up on. Ubisoft restructures and cancels Prince of Persia Sands of Time, New World is shutting down next January, Anthem is no more, Mass Effect 5 is likely a long ways away now that Bioware is a one project studio, and LEGO unveils some new and EXPENSIVE Nintendo sets.Discussion00:00:00 - Deep Rock Galactic00:13:03 - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth00:49:20 - NewsImportant StuffSupport us on PatreonDiscord ChannelEmail the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Full Video: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5AvtVY4bKesqpW3NV9ESxA?si=V-ROnK2EQpae6KiriDWpygLinktree: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠⁠⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠⁠⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠In this exclusive Notorious Mass Effect segment, host Analytic Dreamz dives deep into his all-time favorite game, Mass Effect 2—a masterpiece of sci-fi gaming available only to NME+ subscribers.Analytic Dreamz explores why BioWare's 2010 action RPG sequel remains legendary: revived Commander Shepard assembles a diverse squad for a desperate suicide mission against the Collectors. Improved third-person shooter combat, deep loyalty missions, branching Paragon/Renegade choices, romances, and permadeath consequences create unparalleled player impact. Imported saves from Mass Effect 1 carry over decisions, enhancing replayability in this 25-40 hour single-player epic.Critically acclaimed with a 96/100 Metacritic score, winning Game of the Year awards, and praised for unforgettable characters, voice acting, and cinematic storytelling. Originally on Xbox 360, PC, and PS3, it's now enhanced in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition with 4K visuals and all DLC included.Join Analytic Dreamz as he breaks down the plot, gameplay refinements, squad dynamics, and enduring legacy of this iconic title.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Mass Effect: Andromeda Part 1 - Michael Rappaport's Crap Report Square Roots - Episode 496 Quest Log: 0:37:03 Level Up: 1:44:10 We're playing Mass Effect: Andromeda by BioWare for this year's BioWarey! So let's meet new friends! Explore new planets! And avoid having to recognize any of the four endings of Mass Effect Three! Also: • We Discuss What Games Are BioWare Games For Five Minutes * Jim Banks Hates Chris Isaak * The Adventures of Young Sheev * You Likka The Bigga Breasts * Touch Dadddy's Special Rock * TOO FAT FOR SPACE This Week: Play Mass Effect: Andromeda until you head to the mysterious planet of Eos! Next Week: "Johnny, for notes say we'll play some of trail of hope, not all of it. I haven't pinpointed yet. But I there's a point when you can choose which planet to go to first, I went to Vold. So maybe we'll play Vold." Our Patreon: http://patreon.com/squarerootspodcast Thanks to Steven Morris for his awesome theme! You can find him at: https://bsky.app/profile/stevenmorrismusic.bsky.social and https://www.youtube.com/user/morrissteven Contact Square Roots! Twitter: @squarerootspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/486022898258197/ Email: squarerootspodcast (at) gmail (dort) com

Its our 400th episode! We might be recording a day early but that doesn't mean the news stops. Apparently the Doomsday trailers are a story, not a cohesive one though. Jackass is returning to theaters, but at what cost? GameStop is closing stores, are you surprised? Plus reactions to the Golden Globes, and more!

It's the beginning of a brand new year for the CFG Games crew. What better way to start it than saying goodbye to a BioWare game. YouTube Subscribe: https://bit.ly/42gkuJKAudio Subscribe: https://apple.co/3UdcmaK.Join the Podcast live on Twitch.tv/CFGGames or Youtube.com/@thecfgCFGG

Full Video: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0KlKzVr2xK5IRLtTYvzAeW?si=1tFI4pQJRRa07f7MZJ1zBwLinktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠In this exclusive Notorious Mass Effect segment, host Analytic Dreamz dives deep into his all-time favorite game, Mass Effect 2—a masterpiece of sci-fi gaming available only to NME+ subscribers.Analytic Dreamz explores why BioWare's 2010 action RPG sequel remains legendary: revived Commander Shepard assembles a diverse squad for a desperate suicide mission against the Collectors. Improved third-person shooter combat, deep loyalty missions, branching Paragon/Renegade choices, romances, and permadeath consequences create unparalleled player impact. Imported saves from Mass Effect 1 carry over decisions, enhancing replayability in this 25-40 hour single-player epic.Critically acclaimed with a 96/100 Metacritic score, winning Game of the Year awards, and praised for unforgettable characters, voice acting, and cinematic storytelling. Originally on Xbox 360, PC, and PS3, it's now enhanced in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition with 4K visuals and all DLC included.Join Analytic Dreamz as he breaks down the plot, gameplay refinements, squad dynamics, and enduring legacy of this iconic title.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Send us a textWe get into the big, squishy middle of Bioware's big, squishy DRAGON AGE sequel.

Full Video: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0xoMZovIkcccO2abuQjoZ5?si=TZydOsOERI6hRatll5JDOQLinktree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠In this exclusive Notorious Mass Effect segment, host Analytic Dreamz dives deep into his all-time favorite game, Mass Effect 2—a masterpiece of sci-fi gaming available only to NME+ subscribers.Analytic Dreamz explores why BioWare's 2010 action RPG sequel remains legendary: revived Commander Shepard assembles a diverse squad for a desperate suicide mission against the Collectors. Improved third-person shooter combat, deep loyalty missions, branching Paragon/Renegade choices, romances, and permadeath consequences create unparalleled player impact. Imported saves from Mass Effect 1 carry over decisions, enhancing replayability in this 25-40 hour single-player epic.Critically acclaimed with a 96/100 Metacritic score, winning Game of the Year awards, and praised for unforgettable characters, voice acting, and cinematic storytelling. Originally on Xbox 360, PC, and PS3, it's now enhanced in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition with 4K visuals and all DLC included.Join Analytic Dreamz as he breaks down the plot, gameplay refinements, squad dynamics, and enduring legacy of this iconic title.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Support the show Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PSTrophyroom Discord: https://discord.gg/wPNp3kC  BSYK: https://tinyurl.com/3e24bn7y  Store: https://tinyurl.com/ktbsdw3s  This week on The Trophy Room:  A PlayStation Podcast hosts Teegan, Kyle, and Joe talk about The Games Awards 2025! All the big reveals like former Bioware's Casey Hudson making a Star Wars Fate of the old republic game, Divinity, Tomb Raider Catalyst, Tomb Raider Reboot, Warlock and so much more. As well as Clair Obscur Expedition 33 absolutely sweeping the awards as well as Game of the Year and playstations big presents as well!

Xbox's big bet for bringing PCs to the living room has officially been undercut. This week, Valve announced three (!) different pieces of hardware. First, there is the Steam Machine, which serves as the strongest competitor to consoles. While still very much a PC, the Steam Machine packs a lot of punch for a small device and could be a force if priced well. Second, a brand new VR headset in the Steam Frame. Despite Meta having massive first-party support, Valve has decided to challenge a space that many of us thought was finished growing. Third, and finally, is a Steam Controller. It's horrendous looking and makes the Duke look ergonomic. How does Valve's aggressive hardware plans disrupt Xbox and does any lingering appeal for the PC in the living room by Xbox remain? The Dukes unite and dive straight in. Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro0:08:49 - The Hair Crisis0:13:57 - Halo Infinite support is ending0:21:59 - Former Nintendo President opens up on Xbox and Switch 20:31:59 - State Of Play Japan reactions0:47:15  Arc Raiders is a smash hit0:57:04 - GTA 6 has been delayed1:09:02 - Take Two proves great narrative games sell well1:13:02 - Borderlands 4 sales are soft1:18:58 - Dispatch sells over 1 million copies1:20:47 - Ghost Of Yotei sells over 3 million copies1:23:00 - BioWare and EA recommit to Mass Effect1:42:28 - Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra has been delayed1:44:35 - Silent Hill 2's Xbox release date leaks1:48:42 - Nintendo first party are using game key cards1:51:07 - Square Enix undergoes layoffs and drops new roadmap2:03:02 - Trails In The Sky Remake 2 confirmed for 20262:05:54 - What We're Playing3:00:07 - Valve announces Steam Machine, Frame, and Controller3:28:55 - Todd Howard interview3:42:30 - Avowed 2 is in the cards, but not Outer Worlds 3? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Full Video: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5lkp7wgOzdLyPwzi6v5SVd?si=91HCpg99RHe-MDc2ojyEGgJoin The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Linktree: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/AnalyticOnly for NME+ subscribers—the time has finally arrived. Analytic Dreamz brings you an exclusive Notorious Mass Effect experience, diving deep into Mass Effect Legendary Edition. This limited-access playthrough takes listeners through the remastered trilogy with insightful commentary, detailed analysis, and a full appreciation for BioWare's legendary storytelling. Whether you're a long-time fan of Commander Shepard's journey or discovering the universe for the first time, this exclusive series delivers a premium look at one of gaming's most iconic franchises.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Eat smart at https://FactorMeals.com/kindafunny50off and use code kindafunny50off to get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year. Thank you for the support! Run of Show - - Start - First Question & Housekeeping - Kinda Feudy Round 1 - Round 2 - Ads - Round 3 - Round 4 - Round 5 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eat smart at https://FactorMeals.com/kindafunny50off and use code kindafunny50off to get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year. Thank you for the support! Run of Show - - Start - First Question & Housekeeping - Kinda Feudy Round 1 - Round 2 - Ads - Round 3 - Round 4 - Round 5 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eat smart at https://FactorMeals.com/kindafunny50off and use code kindafunny50off to get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year. Thank you for the support! Run of Show - - Start - First Question & Housekeeping - Kinda Feudy Round 1 - Round 2 - Ads - Round 3 - Round 4 - Round 5 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we talk about Electronic Arts, 3DO, and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.We also discuss Jared Kushner, leveraged buyouts, and loot boxes.Recommended Book: Bandwidth by Dan CarusoTranscriptElectronic Arts, often shorthanded as EA, was founded in 1982 in California by a former Apple employee named Trip Hawkins, who also went on to found the ill-fated 3DO company, which made video game hardware, and the somewhat more prolific, but also ultimately ill-fated casual game developer Digital Chocolate.EA, though, has been an absolutely astounding success. It's business model was predicated on the premise of selling video games directly to retailers, rather than going through intermediaries. This allowed them to gain more market share than their competitors right off the bat, and it helped them glean higher margins than their competitors from each direct sale, too.EA also established an early reputation for treating its developers really well. They were the first gaming company to feature their developers in advertising and to give them platforms, promoting them as video game artists, basically, and it shared the profits netted from those direct sales with these develops—which in turn meant all the best developers really wanted to work for EA, which led to a beneficial cycle where they created better and better, and more and more financially successful games.In the late-80s, they started deviating from this model somewhat, scooping up a collection of successful independent game development studios and deviating, at times, from the creative lead's vision when releasing their games. They also refocused a fair bit of their resources on franchises, like the immensely successful, as it turned out, Madden NFL series, and they branched out into producing games for the console market, including the still-new Nintendo Entertainment System, in 1990.That same year, EA went public on the NASDAQ, the company got new leadership when Hawkins decided to refocus on his far less successful 3DO hardware startup, and in an interesting twist, the arrival of the Sony Playstation in North America caused EA to drop support for 3DO hardware in the mid-90s so it could refocus on Playstation games, which were a lot more lucrative.By the mid-90s, EA had an astonishingly large and successful software library, including franchises like the aforementioned Madden games and the FIFA soccer games, but also celebrity-tied games like Shaq Fu, and military shooters like Jungle and Urban Strike.By the early-2000s, EA was making exclusive licensing deals with the NFL and ESPN, in order to stave off newfound sports game competitors, and it was the only video game company to consistently make a profit, most others experiencing feast and famine cycles, with periodic wins, but a whole lot of losses they had to cover with the profits from those wins. EA, in contrast, had a reliable stable of profit-sources, and it thus had a whole lot of leverage in terms of attracting and retaining talent, but also getting big names and brands on board, for collaborative projects.What I'd like to talk about today is what happened to EA during and following the 2008 economic crisis, and how and why it recently became an acquisition target for Saudi Arabia.—In 2008, when the global economy was collapsing, EA suffered a bad holiday sales season and fired 1,100 employees and closed 12 of their facilities early the following year. Later in 2009, the company announced the firing of another 1,500 employees, which was about 17% of their total workforce at the time, and in 2010 they acquired a gaming company that focused on mobile games, which were becoming increasingly popular, now that many people had touch-capable smartphones, which brought hot new franchises like Angry Birds under their brand umbrella.On the strength of that acquisition and all those downsizings, in early 2011, EA announced that it hit $3.8 billion in revenue in the financial year for the first time, and in early 2012, it announced it surpassed $1 billion in digital revenue during the previous year, which was a huge figure that early in the digital media landscape. It used some of those profits to scoop up another mobile-first gaming company, adding properties like Plants vs Zombies and Peggle to their library.EA completed another mass-firing in 2013, dismissing 10% of their employees under what they called a reorganization, around the same time they announced an exclusive license with Disney that would allow them to develop Star Wars games.Their stock value boomed in the following years, as a result of those cost-savings measures, and those new relationships, and emboldened by record-high stock valuations, in the mid-20-teens, the company started releasing big-name games, like Star Wars Battlefront 2, with random-content loot boxes and other sorts of microtransactions.This did not go over well with players, who decried these in-game purchasing options as ‘pay to win' mechanics, as players could pay more money to get better characters and equipment, and a lot of the content, even after paying for the expensive games, was still locked behind paywalls, requiring more payments to unlock that content. A bunch of gaming journalists cried foul on this shift as the game careened toward its full release, as did a whole lot of early players, and Disney complained, too, so by the time it hit shelves, the game's loot system was substantially changed, but that whole controversy spooked investors, and led to an 8.5% stock value drop in just a single month, knocking $3.1 billion from the company's valuation. As a result of that controversy, EA also became the face for a larger legal and legislative debate about in-game purchases and how it's kinda sorta like gambling, from that point forward.Soon after, EA experienced a series of bad quarters, including a huge drop of 13.3% to its valuation when a major entry in one of their larger franchises, Battlefield V, was released late, and received very mixed reviews when it was released, which led to a million fewer sold copies than anticipated. The game was also lagging in terms of gameplay behind smaller, nimbler competitors, including then-burgeoning Fortnite.The company saw an overall boost with the surprise success of Apex Legends, and the COVID-19 pandemic boosted sales dramatically for a while, since everyone was staying home, which allowed EA to gobble up a few more competing companies with successful franchises, and they knocked out a few more successful Star Wars games, as well.In early 2021, Saudi Arabia's public investment funds bought 7.4 million shares of EA for about $1.1 billion, which flew under the radar for most gamers, but that'll be important in a moment.Later that year, the company experienced a massive hack, a lot of its data, including the source code for games, stolen and sold on the dark web. EA bought some more competitors, but word on the street in 2022 was the the higher ups at EA were quietly shopping the company around, themselves looking to be acquired by a larger entity, on the scale of Apple or Disney.In early 2023, the company announced more mass-layoffs and launched another internal reorganization. It gutted several of its most popular gaming sub-brands, including BioWare, it cancelled an upcoming Star Wars game, and it announced that it would be shifting away from licensing agreements and refocusing on EA-owned IP.The pattern of layoffs leading to better financial fortunes didn't pay off this time, though. In early 2025, EA divulged that it expected to underperform in the coming year, several of its big-name titles not doing as well as expected; the company cast blame on the market, but players and journalists pointed at the company's gutting of its big-name studios, and the firing of many of its veteran developers to explain the reduced sales.EA had another mass-firing in April of this year, and followed by another in May, which paralleled an announcement that they would no longer be moving forward with a big, planned Black Panther game.In late September of 2025, EA announced that it had reached a deal, worth $55 billion, to go private, no longer selling shares on the stock market, with the financial assistance of a group of investors, which included Affinity Partners, which is led by Jared Kushner, US President Trump's son-in-law, Silver Lake, which is a US-based private equity firm that helps make these sorts of big sales happen, and the aforementioned Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.This deal isn't done yet, it still needs to get regulatory approval and a successful vote by stockholders, but it seems likely to go through, since the US regulatory environment is pretty lax at the moment, and because Kushner is involved, it's unlikely President Trump will take a personal disliking to it.But the big story here seems to be that Saudi Arabia is buying up not just a video game company, but one of the biggest and most successful video gaming companies in the world, which, although it's lost a lot of fan-credibility over the years, still owns some massively influential intellectual property and has just a stunning number of relationships and connections throughout the media world, alongside its huge valuation.If the sale does go through, and we should know for sure by sometime around June 2026, it would be the largest-ever leveraged buyout, which means the purchase was completed by using borrowed money that was borrowed against the asset being purchased; so those investors have taken out debt against EA itself, which is an increasingly common means of buying a large asset on the cheap, but it also typically burdens that asset with a simply astounding amount of debt which must then be recouped, often by selling off undervalued assets.When this happens to a newspaper, for instance, the buyer will often sell off the paper's real estate and fire all their employees, to make money and pay off that debt, and in this case, there's a chance that debt will be paid by throwing up a bunch of new paywalls and really leaning into those in-game transactions that nobody really liked, including politicians, back in the day, but which in this current regulatory environment would probably be allowed, and they would probably make some serious bank off of it initially, before players started getting wise and moving on to other games released by less predatory companies.The really interesting facet of this story, though, is the question of why Saudi Arabia wants a video game company.And to understand that, it's important to understand that, first, the country's Public Investment Fund is meant to help its economy shift away from purely extractive resources, like oil, and it has thus invested in all sorts of things, including luxury beach resorts, minority stakes in financial service companies like Citigroup, stakes in companies like Disney and Boeing and Meta, and increasingly, investments in companies run by allies of President Trump, like the aforementioned Affinity Partners, which was formed by Jared Kushner.So this is an economic play, but also a political play, almost certainly, by the Saudis, to get in good with the people who are in good with the US government.It's also been alleged that this might be an attempt by the Saudis to engage in what's being called game-washing, which is similar to greenwashing, but instead of trying to make a company seem green and sustainable by doing kinda sorta green things, but only as a veneer to cover up the opposite, in this case it means using sports and video games and the like to increase a nation's reputation with humanistic seeming things, despite, well, the truth being much more complicated.Just as when the Fund participated in buying a Premier League football, a soccer team, back in 2021, then, alongside their concomitant establishment of LIV Gold, a golf league meant to compete with the PGA, this investment in EA, and other investments it's made in video game companies like Capcom and Nexon, might be part of a larger effort to diversify the nation's brand, not just its economics. It's human rights record is abysmal, and it's possible they're trying to cover that up, make people forget about it, by creating more connections between Saudi Arabia and more positive things, like sports and games and the like.There are additional concerns about this purchase of EA, too, by the way, because Saudi Arabia's cultural values are very anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-liberal, democratic values. So there are fears that we might see less representation and fewer what we might call western values portrayed in the games released by these studios, as a result of this ownership.The folks running EA have said their core values will remain unchanged by the buyout, but it's expected, bare-minimum, that this will lead to another several restructurings and mass-layoffs throughout the company in the coming years, to help recoup all that debt, at the end of which even the people making those promises might be long gone.Show Noteshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Investment_Fundhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/business/dealbook/electronic-arts-buyout-jared-kushner.htmlhttps://www.wsj.com/business/deals/ea-private-deal-buyout-video-game-maker-808aefechttps://www.ft.com/content/61cef75e-ceba-43ee-80e3-040756c6154f?accessToken=zwAGQAMTiJKIkc9hzvdezrpD7tOA4wQHVsYVTw.MEUCIHND3WOT4rS4frIMIOoeXHQeil_Ma1yGrwOqUD2m306DAiEAtA_QLvpyObai9zoo_9GZSljJuJyTKxJgFHpQDcCcVsE&sharetype=gift&token=03dd6ca5-c34f-4925-8a3d-a89f4058ee80https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/ea-silver-lake-deal-jared-kushner-c145cd55?st=eZghQHhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Arts This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe