CORE - Core Gaming for Core Gamers

Nerdtacular 2026 tickets holding at early bird pricing, plus a swag bag-only option now available at frogpants.com.
News:- NetEase pulls funding for Gang of Dragon — future of the game unknown- Valve still targeting 2026 for Steam Machines despite RAM shortages; rumored to be a factor in Sony/Xbox strategy shifts- EA lays off Battlefield staff post record-breaking launch- Jeff Kaplan on his Blizzard exit — plus his one Overwatch regret: making it too team-focused when players want to shine individually- Fortnite raising V-Buck prices- Timberborn hits 1.0- Xbox pushing "everything is an Xbox" / Project Helix, leaning into Windows 11- Valve reports 6,000+ games made over $100k on Steam last year
Shared Play: Slay the Spire 2 — all three played it, early GOTY contenderScott: WoW: Midnight (great time, nearly max level, campaign a little cheesy), Thysiastery (turn-based dungeon crawler, very positive on Steam). Also: The Instance now posting Fridays at frogpants.com/instance.Jon: Finished and 100%'d Resident Evil RequiemBeau: Slay the Spire 2, more Star Trek Voyageur, dipped into new Diablo IV season (may have bought the Doom skin)Feedback: Listener thinks he catches Scott being simultaneously terrified by AI and delighted by one-button AI rotations in WoW. And he is wrong about it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looks like Sony is officially getting out of the port business and going all Nintendo on us again. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake is indeed happening. Highguard is officially leaving in just a few days. MetaCritic got weird with AI over the last few days. The games we played, a lake correction, Zillow and WoW, and some Diablo 2 stuff!GAMES PLAYEDScott- World of Warcraft Midnight- RoadCraftJon- Resident Evil: RequiemBeau- Legend of Grimrock- Star Trek: Voyager- The Killing Stone- Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon- Overwatch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

March 2026 is shaping up to be a massive month for gaming, with big hitters like Crimson Desert, Marathon, Pokémon Pokopia, Slay the Spire 2, Solasta 2, Death Stranding 2 on PC, and the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection all loaded up. Also, Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are out at Xbox, while Sony raises a few eyebrows by signaling a potential end to PC ports. Our eyebrows are defiinately raised. Marvel's Wolverine finally has a September release date, and Valve finds itself in legal hot water as New York's Attorney General sues over alleged illegal gambling promotion to kids among other things. Also, Overwatch is going mobile with Overwatch Rush. Weird.GAMES PLAYED:Scott- Overwatch- UFO 50 (with Van)- Abathor (with Van)- Worms WMD (with Van)- TowerFall (with Van)- Duck Game (with Van)- Boomerang Fu (with Van)Jon- Biorand Resident Evil 2- Resident Evil 6- Resident Evil RequiemBeau- Darkhaven (demo)- Vampire Crawlers (demo)- Dead Spies (demo)- Pragmata (demo)- Wanderburg (demo)- Underkeep (demo)- Esoteric Ebb (demo)- Arms of God (demo)- Armatus (demo)- Wild Blue Skies (demo)- Farever (demo)- Rune Dice (demo)- Twilight Imperium (demo)- John Carpenter's Toxic Commando (demo)- Far Far West (demo)- Baldur's Gate 3 (Honour Mode)- Overwatch- Marathon Server Slam Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That ashes of creation thing is just getting messier and messier by the day. Also, Unity wants you to type your next casual video game. We will explain. GAMES PLAYEDSHARED PLAY THIS WEEK- Diablo 2 Resurrected – Infernal Edition- Overwatch- Dobbel DungeonSCOTT- Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp- No Man's Sky – Remnant Mode- Escape from Ever AfterJON- Mewgenics- TR-49 - Resident Evil 2- FortniteBEAU- Baldur's Gate 3 – Honour Mode- Star Trek Voyager Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our live watch-a-long AUDIO of of today's Sony State of Play.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we prep for the State of Play today, we talk about the games we played this week, and hit the news about all the Warlocks coming to all the Diablos. Highguard and 2XKO getting big layoffs, and the upcoming Baldur’s Gate 3 TV show!Games Played This WeekShared Play- Jon & Beau: MewgenicsScott- Animal Crossing (on Switch 2)- Goblin Sushi- V-Rally 4Jon- Mewgenics- Dragon Quest III HD-2D RemakeBeau- Yakuza 3- Marathon- Crimson Desert- Game with Balls- Ravenswatch (as Merlin)- Skate Story- Overwatch- Enshrouded (Solo)- Deadlock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Overwatch might be making a big play with some re-branding, a slew of new heroes, and loads more. Will it put things back on top for the team shooter to beat? We talk about that, plus the Ashes of Creation mess, Steam hardware talk from Valve, and what might be the end of all things Outer Worlds.GAMES PLAYED- The Midnight Walk (Scott)- Butcher's Creek (Scott)- LUNARK (Scott)- Resident Evil 2 (Jon)- Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (Jon)- Super Nintendo (Jon)- Pirate Yakuza (Beau)- Overwatch (Beau)- Valheim (Beau) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So, now that Highguard is out, what the hell is it? We have takes. Also, the games of Feb, new Mario trailers, Dispatch censorship worries, Hasbro up to no good, Bobby with a Mini Instance chat about the Midnight pre-patch and upcoming launch in WoW, all the games we played and more!Shared Play- Highguard Scott- V Rising- Caravan SandWitchJon- Final Fantasy VII: RebirthBeau- Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii- Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords- Cobalt Core- Jump Space- Enshrouded Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let’s talk about the Xbox showcase today, as well as the dust up over CDProjekt Red and VR mods. Plus RE getting yet another remake, Highguard getting a freebie, Marathon maybe doing ok afterall, and Nintendo getting you guy another weird toy. GAMES PLAYED:SCOTTStar Wars Dark Forces Remaster Fire Emblem: Engage Terra PitJONI Final Fantasy VII RemakeBEAU Elden Ring Shinobi Guild Wars Reforged Pirate Yakuza Heroes of the Storm Peak Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scott sits down with Warren Davis for a deep look at the creation of one of the great arcade games of all time, Q*Bert, as well as his direct impact on everything from the Joust seires to Mortal Kombat to Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Check out his book: ‘Creating Q*bert and Other Classic Video Arcade Games’! Some amazing insight in this episode with Warren, and we hope enjoy it!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where the heck is Highguard? Also, Kratos has been cast, RE:R got showcased today, Tomb Raider series gives us a look at Sophie Turner in the role, Ubisoft doing more Ubisoft things, we have an end date for New World, the end of Anthem this week, and more. We played Cozy Caravan, Marble's Marbles, Find my Buddy, OddCore, Trails in The Sky 1st Chap, FF VII remake, Yakuza Kiwami 2, FFI and IV, and a little Yakuza Pirates. Plus your emails and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

January Releases: Let's mostly focus on Animal Crossing and FFVII Remake for Switch 2, plus Code Vein 2 and Highguard. (yeah, we kinda forgot about Highguard too.)StarCraft Shooter coming to Blizzcon? It might be Blizzard’s third attempt at a SC shooter, reportedly an open-world project led by Dan Hay (Far Cry fame).Other stuff: Awesome Games Done Quick, a Starfield Star Wars conversion, and FF Tactics: Ivalice Chronicles hitting 1 million players.We discuss games we played this week, including PlippUp, Fallout 4/New Vegas, Trails in the Sky, The Séance of Blake Manor, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Voidigo and beating Powerwash Simulator 2.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for our anual personal and group awards for the games of the last year, and a few that are not. :) Join Scott Beau and Jon as they look back and forward and somehow up and down as well. Oh and this is the first time this gets called The osCORES. Big thx to Taz for the post art! Jump in! Full award notes: https://www.frogpants.com/corepicks2025  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Diablo IV: Both Scott and Beau are back in for Season 11. Scott’s "Hot Take" is that the game is officially "very good now”, and he does not care who knows it. (Paladin to 46); Beau claims it’s the best season of "Diablo 3" yet. (lol)Scott: Revisiting Overload (on sale), playing Escape Room Simulator 2, and starting Banquet for Fools.Jon: Reached the new area in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and is impressed by the visuals.Beau: Mostly Jump Space outside of D4 play. And a CRAP ton of your emails and texts for our last episode of 2025!POSSIBLE SPOILER POINTS 00:00:00.00 - 00:00:00.0000:00:00.00 - 00:00:00.00 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get your ‘500+ Episodes’ mugs at Frogpants.shop now before its too late!. We recapped The Game Awards: Jon loved Resident Evil Requiem, Scott is into Total War Warhammer 40k, and Beau liked Gang of Dragon. We mostly bounced off Highguard.News: Steam Winter Sale is live. Fallout Season 2 has started. We discussed Netflix buying WB (details at core.show). Supervive is shutting down after 7 months.Played: Scott is on Path of Exile 2 and Mutant Football League 2. Jon is trying demos like Pragmata and back in FFXIV. Beau is on Witcher 3 and other sick-friendly games this week.Ozzfudd notes Scott can finish Far Cry 4 and 5 in minutes via secret endings. Just another Nick suggests Super Fantasy Kingdom. Email us at SHOW@CORE.SHOW!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Audio edition of our watch-a-long! Listen along with us! Video version will be up on CORE.SHOW shortly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 500! Finishing Dispatch, loving Split Fiction, playing Demeo DND, and the Hordes of Hel! Plus Shinobi is underrated, Divinity still has a lot of stuff on the ground, Witcher 3, and a LOT of prep for tonight’s Game Awards. (coming in a separate post.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🎉 500 EPISODE MUGS NOW AVAILABLE!Get yours reserved before we hit the limit!https://frogpants.shop ⚠️ SPOILER POLICY CLARIFICATIONGoing forward:1. We'll do our best not to offer major spoilers on narrative elements2. We'll give ample warning to pause, skip ahead, or come back later3. We'll front-load discussions with spoiler-free content- Scott will play BGM over spoiler sections for podcast listeners- Jon is doing YouTube chapters ASAP once the episode postsNOTE: This has never been a spoiler-free show, but we're making extra effort for those asking. You have personal responsibility to avoid spoilers if they matter to you.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎮 MAIN TOPICTHE FEW GAMES OF DECEMBER 2025Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Octopath Traveler 0, Metroid Prime 4, Yakuza 0 Director's Cut, Terminator 2D: No Fate, & More.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━📰 NEWS ROUNDUP🐴 Indie Game "Horses" Keeps Getting BannedBanned from Steam, Epic, and now Humble. Still available on Itch.io and GOG.🎬 Justin Lin to Direct Helldivers MovieThe Fast & Furious director takes on the video game adaptation.🐺 SO MUCH WITCHER- Witcher 4 NOT coming in 2026- Witcher 5 and 6 also in the works- Witcher Remastered on the way🔞 WickedWhims Has 300K Daily LoginsSims' biggest sex mod sees massive daily usage🧛 Paradox Takes Blame for Bloodlines 2Publisher says responsibility for poor sales lies fully with them, not developers━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎮 WHAT WE'VE BEEN PLAYINGSCOTT⚠️ Possible Spoilers: Did I finish Dispatch? Have to wait and see!Split Fiction - Incredible co-op game. Most FUN game this year!PowerWash Simulator 2 - Still the best CHORE CORE of 2025.JONCyberPunk 2077 - Done everything in base game, Phantom Liberty awaitsMarvel Cosmic Invasion - Started and finishedSHINOBI: Art of Vengeance - Sleeper hit! (Scott confirms)BEAUWitcher 3: The Wild Hunt continuesNoobs Are ComingJump SpaceRocksmith 2014 - We're backStar Citizen - I forgot about it... sorry Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scott dropped a Patreon vs Core.show support comparison video—check it at Core.show for the breakdown. Also posted an article about RAM prices going absolutely bonkers right now. The advice? Wait it out. Don't be the person overpaying because you can't control yourself. News Roundup: WoW: Midnight Gets RealJon brought the news: World of Warcraft's next expansion drops March 2nd, 2026. Mark your calendars, prepare your excuses for missing work.Half-Life 3 Copium IntensifiesPeople—including "insiders"—still think HL3 is getting announced this year. Spoiler: It's not. It never is. Stop doing this to yourselves.CD Projekt Reality CheckNo Witcher 4 or Cyberpunk 2 at the Game Awards. Shocking absolutely no one.Cyberpunk 2077 hit 35 million copies sold, outpacing The Witcher 3's trajectoryCyberpunk 2 is still years away. Hang in there, chooms.GAMES PLAYEDScott's GamesDispatchMoonlighter 2: The Endless VaultNo Way HomeGuild Wars 2 MilestoneJackbox Party Pack 11Jon's GamesCyberpunk 2077?Beau's GamesClair Obscur: Expedition 33 - FinishedWitcher 3Total ChaosAnd LOTS MORE!Contact: show@core.show | Text: tenhams.comLinks: Frogpants.com/core Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Topic: Game Awards Nominees. Megabonk dev withdraws "Best Debut Indie" nomination (made previous games). Claire Obscur: Expedition 33 breaks record with 12 nominations. Notable snubs: ARC Raiders, Dispatch, Sonic the Hedgehog 3.Other NewsXbox Partners Showcase (Tides of Annihilation, Vampire Crawlers, Total Chaos)Epic/Unity partnership for Fortnite integrationKrafton AI controversy re: Subnautica 2 bonusesDispatch skill requirements discussionFirst live-action Zelda movie set photosOur Week in GamingShared: Dispatch progress (Beau completed, Jon restarted, Scott finished Episode 1)Beau: Claire Obscur Act 3, Slay the Spire boardgame, No Man's Sky Normandy unlock, Vampire Survivors VRScott: Forestrike (standout), Shelldiver (incremental gem), Advance Wars binge, Moonlighter 2 purchased, Cleared Hot, Guild Wars 2 reinstalledJon: Cyberpunk 2077 continuesFallout 4 pricing clarification from NickLandry - Anniversary Edition upgrade options explained, Xbox Play Anywhere support added.Links: Patreon.com/coreshow | CORE.show | frogpants.com/coreNew article on CORE.show: Vegas conversation about AI threats + why GoldenEye is the GOAT.CORE.show vs Patreon (frogpants.com/core)Episode 500 commemorative mug dropping at frogpants.shop this weekend! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.