On this week's Podcast Unlocked, we're discussing the fallout of Fallout! Yes, the Prime Video TV show is a huge hit – and it's really fantastic to boot. We tell you (in spoiler-free terms) why we love it so much, and then talk about the positive effect it's having on the player counts in ALL of the other Fallout games, many of which are available on Xbox Game Pass right now. Plus: the next wave of Xbox Game Pass games has been announced, the gaming community is upset over Star Wars Outlaws'...

A new Fallout Show is receiving rave reviews. Xbox is "Full-Speed Ahead" on Next-Gen hardware. And reports say that an Xbox game preservation team is being built to keep the games we love for years to come. There's been a lot of positivity in Xbox news this week and we bring on Brad Sams and Parris Lilly to discuss the latest. In addition to all of this, Gears 6 rumors are swirling alongside a rumored June 9th Xbox Showcase that would definitely bring the hype. All that and more this week on...

Hollow Knight: Silksong has been the hot topic amongst its fans since its announcement back in 2019. This April Fools, a listing was made on the Microsoft store for Silksong with minimal details. We discuss whether or not this means there's hope on the near horizon for the sequel along with Microsoft's new chatbot AI testing, No Man's Sky updates, and the new gamepass games for April. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/unlockd Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back...

Based on a recent interview, it seems like Phil Spencer has been thinking a lot about a possible Xbox handheld. We discuss what we'd want from it – noting that we would VERY MUCH want it – and wonder if it could end up being a Switch-like replacement for the Series S in the next console generation. Plus: Elder Scrolls 6 is already playable at Bethesda, but we're hoping the team is doing some serious updating to the Creation Engine. And finally, we talk about Toys for Bob's new game deal with...

We've got a variety of topics to discuss on Podcast Unlocked topics this week, from Xbox Game Pass's killer month of March to three fun Halo stories about three totally different Halo properties to our headline topic: BioWare. We talk about how EA's hiring of a decorated new executive to oversee BioWare will hopefully help steer the renowned studio back to its former glory. Enjoy the episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, we're diving into the intriguing world of the Fallout TV series, as hinted by Bethesda's Todd Howard. With a directive to the show's creators to avoid elements planned for Fallout 5, the series is setting up an intriguing narrative canvas, spanning the aftermath of Fallout 4 and touching on the lore of New Vegas, all within the backdrop of post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. As Fallout 5 remains on the distant horizon, post-The Elder Scrolls 6, the anticipation builds for what...

We recorded this week's episode live, immediately following the conclusion of Xbox's Partner Preview livestream. We reacted to the event as a whole and called out our favorites from the 14 games shown. Plus: we discussed the killer wave of Xbox Game Pass games hitting the service this month, Toys For Bob's new studio independence, WB's head-scratching doubling-down on live-service games, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a slow news week, so we spend the whole show discussing something that's been on the community's mind lately, and that is the question of whether or not this console generation has been a disappointment. And, on the back of that, we discuss what our Xbox Game of the Generation is so far after the first three years, noting that cross-gen games like Elden Ring don't count. Thanks to Gamertag Radio's Danny Peña for joining us on this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

We open this week's podcast by discussing what first-party Xbox games might be next to get ported to the PlayStation or Switch as Microsoft officially announces the four games (Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, Grounded, and Hi-Fi Rush) heading to other consoles, and then we get into our main topic: a so-called Xbox Series X Pro. With rumors abound of a PS5 Pro, does Microsoft need to get a mid-gen upgrade (i.e. different than the Brooklin refresh from the FTC trial's roadmap leak) out there soon...

The Xbox leadership gave us its promised "business update" to tell us what changes were coming to how Microsoft handles its exclusives. It turns out that no, the big guns like Starfield and Indiana Jones won't be going anywhere, but older and/or smaller games like Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, Pentiment, and Sea of Thieves will be. We discuss what this means for the future of Xbox, including the next-gen hardware tease from Sarah Bond. Join us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

It's been a wild week in the world of Xbox. Community morale is as low as it's been since the Xbox One unveiling back in 2013, as rumor after report after rumor after report suggests that Microsoft is going to put some of its biggest games (like Starfield and Indiana Jones) on PS5. We spend the entire show discussing Microsoft's potentially earth-shaking new strategy, how poor their messaging has been both with this and going back many years now, and then what happens if indeed they're right....

There's unfortunately not a lot of fun to be had on this week's Podcast Unlocked. We open by addressing the layoffs across Microsoft's gaming division that were announced just after last week's Unlocked published, then follow that with another gut-punch layoff story, before Destin discusses his mixed feelings about Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League now that he's played almost the entire campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Palworld is the hottest game out there right now, and it's an Xbox console exclusive that's also on Game Pass! We welcome in ace IGN contributor and IGN Palworld reviewer Travis "The Tie Guy" Northup to discuss his thoughts on the game after 100 hours. Plus: Xbox Live Arcade-style indie game curation is finally back on Xbox, we discuss a few other big game releases on Xbox this week that aren't named Palworld, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We recorded this week's episode live, immediately after Xbox's Developer Direct. And we loved that Direct! Indiana Jones and the Great Circle had a fantastic reveal (it's FIRST-PERSON!) and reminded us of the original Xbox classic The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, Hellblade 2 looked incredible and we finally got the long-awaited release date, Avowed had gorgeous settings and meaningful character choices but didn't quite wow us in the combat department, and Visions of Mana...

Three huge topics dominate Unlocked this week: 1) Our excited reactions to the just-announced second Xbox Developer Direct. INDIANA JONES!! 2) Destin got to play Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and it didn't play nearly as well as we'd hoped. We've all got lots of thoughts on this one. And 3) New reports suggest that Hi-Fi Rush may be headed to Nintendo Switch and Sea of Thieves might go to Switch and PS5. Are we bothered by Xbox giving away some of its older exclusives? Should we be?...

Happy New Year! IGN's weekly Xbox show is back with a detailed discussion on what to expect from Xbox in 2024. We talk about what's locked in for the new year, what's a maybe, what's probably too early, our expected announcements, the possible announcements, and "WTF is going on with these games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our final episode of 2023 has us looking back on our six favorite Xbox moments of the year, that not coincidentally included a number of our favorite games. Plus: we remember James McCaffrey, the voice of Max Payne and Alan Wake 2's Alex Casey; and discuss the long-awaited departure of Activision CEO and game industry villain Bobby Kotick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The time has come for the Podcast Unlocked team to crown our Best Xbox Game of 2023! We start with five nominees, narrow it down to two, and, well...you'll see. We then spend the rest of the podcast discussing Xbox's excellent showing at last week's Game Awards, including the gorgeous new Hellblade 2 trailer, the star-studded reveal of Hideo Kojima's OD, and Arkane's unexpected team-up with Marvel to make a Blade game. 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:54 - Unlocked’s Best Xbox Game of 2023 00:21:38 -...

The first GTA6 trailer has arrived and we spent the entire show talking about it! From the technical marvels to the Bonnie-and-Clyde-like main characters to how GTA Online might integrate with Grand Theft Auto VI's online mode, we dive into EVERYTHING about the biggest game announcement this decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As The Game Awards season creeps up on us in December, Stella and Destin speculate with Kahlief Adams on what we could possibly see from Xbox in the coming weeks. We also dive into Baldur's Gate 3's upcoming Xbox release, yet another one of it's HUGE patches, and the incredible physical Deluxe Edition that's up on preorder! Finally, Bethesda responded to several negative reviews of Starfield on Steam and we've got some thoughts on it. What are yours now that you've had a lot more time with it...

We celebrate the Xbox's 22nd birthday this week, anticipate the imminent release of Baldur's Gate 3 on Xbox (bear sex and all), discuss the Xbox nominations (and Starfield's lack thereof) at this year's Game Awards, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Xbox Series X and S turn three years old this week, so we discuss how the latest Xbox console generation is going, both on its own and in comparison to the first three years of other Xbox consoles. Plus: we try to make sense of the new Mass Effect 5 teaser we got for N7 Day this week, and then we discuss the imminent Grand Theft Auto 6 announcement and whether or not it's going to happen at The Game Awards. Join us! 00:00:19:06 Intro 00:06:03:14 3 years of Xbox Series X|S 00:26:26:00...

The greatest Xbox podcast crossover ever happens now! IGN's Podcast Unlocked and Kinda Funny's Xcast have joined forces for an Xbox podcast tour-de-force. First we discuss the brilliance of Alan Wake 2 and the Max Payne 1+2 Remakes that Remedy is about to go into full production on before discussing Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski's recent comments about Gears needing a reboot. And then the main event: our Xbox first-party studio fantasy draft! Now that Microsoft's Activision-Blizzard...

We did the podcast live this week immediately following Xbox's Partner Preview livestream, and we spent the entire episode being pleasantly surprised by both the things Microsoft promised would be there (like Alan Wake 2, Ark: Survival Ascended, and Dungeons of Hinterberg), and the things that were surprises (like Metal Gear solid Delta, Still Wakes the Deep, and The Finals). Plus, we give some constructive criticism on Xbox's latest presentation format. Learn more about your ad choices....