Friends Per Second

Head to https://buyraycon.com/friends to get up to 25% off everything for the ultimate holiday gift. Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS! -- This week we're joined by a number of special guests. Michael Higham from IGN joins us to talk through STALKER 2. We've all played it and all have wildly different takes on it (for both technical and non-technical reasons). After that we're joined by Frederick Thylander and Drew Rechner of Ubisoft Massive, who right now are leading up efforts fix some of the core issues that plagued Star Wars Outlaws at launch. Finally, Alanah Pearce joins us to chat about PlayStation and Xbox handhelds, as well as what we've all been playing this past two weeks.  -- Timestamps 00:00 Intro 05:02 STALKER 2 43:15 Ad - Raycon 45:47 User Question 53:34 Star Wars Outlaws Interview 01:22:44 PlayStation and Xbox handhelds 01:38:58 User Question 01:47:54 What we've played 02:15:50 Show and Tell 02:31:20 Wrap up -- If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 here http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS! -- This week we're joined by John Linneman of Digital Foundry to discuss the PS5 Pro. It's been out for a few weeks now so we wanted to check in on how it's been doing post launch, how the library of games is performing and guess what the future holds. Plus we're lucky enough to be joined by Yevhenii Kulyk of GSC Game World, who right now is putting the finishing touches on STALKER 2. We talk through the challenging road to launch, what players should expect on day one and what the future holds for both STALKER 2 and the studio.  Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 05:15 PS5 Pro Discussion with John Linneman of Digital Foundry 45:48 AG1 (ad) 47:57 User Question 1 56:13 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Chat with Technical Producer Yevhenii Kulyk  01:12:20 User Question 2 01:20:55 What We've Been Playing 01:59:01 Show and Tell 02:12:09 Wrap Up -- If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Visit http://buyraycon.com/friends to get at least 15% of your purchase of the all new Everyday Earbuds.  -- This week we're joined by Paul Tassi of Forbes for a deep dive, spoiler free discussion on Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Paul liked it, Skill Up didn't, Lucy's kinda in the middle and Jake hasn't played it, so we cover a lot of ground from a lot of different perspectives. We're also joined by Ryan Payton, head of the studio that just put out the truly excellent Batman Arkham Shadow. He chats with us about his career, his thoughts on the VR industry and what it was like to follow in Rocksteady's footsteps.  -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:29 Dragon Age Discussion with Paul Tassi 49:18 Raycon (ad) 52:10 User Question 58:38 Batman Arkham Shadow with Ryan Payton 01:31:16 What We've Been Playing 02:01:25 Show and Tell 02:13:16 Wrap Up -- If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 here http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS! -- This week we do a spoiler free deep dive into Metaphor: Fantazio, and we're lucky enough to by joined by Jess Cogswell who reviewed the game for Gamespot (scoring it a perfect 10, no less). We're also joined by the one and only Shawn Layden, former President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. Shawn is in Singapore for Gamescom Asia and shares his thoughts on not only the rapidly evolving South East Asian gaming market, but also the broader gaming industry as it confronts things like rising development costs, declining console sales and the chase for the next live service white whale.  -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 05:29 Ralph's TGS Wrap Up 17:27 State of the Industry Chat with Shawn Layden  38:36 AG1 (ad) 41:31 User Question 51:13 Metaphor ReFantazio Chat with Jess Cogswell of Gamespot 01:31:33 What We've Been Playing 02:12:41 Show and Tell 02:28:08 Wrap Up -- If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Go to BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends TODAY to get twenty-to-FIFTY percent off, sitewide! That’s right, you’ll get up to FIFTY percent off everything on Raycon’s website when you go to BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends. BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends. -- This week we're joined by the charming Ben Hanson from @minnmax (a truly top tier gaming podcast, we don't mind telling you), plus Jason Schreier joins to discuss his recently released book: 'Play Nice: The Rise, Fall and Future of Blizzard Entertainment' -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro / Catch Up with Guest Host Ben Hanson of MinnMax 15:19 User Question 43:21 Raycon (ad)  45:29 Interview with Jason Schreier About His Book, "Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment" 01:26:54 What We've Been Playing 01:56:08 Show and Tell 02:02:44 Wrap Up -- If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 here http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS! -- Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode!  -- A big thanks to Austin and @MrMattyPlays for joining us this week, as well as members of the Ara History Untold dev team: Matt Turner and Gabriela Leskur.  -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 05:35 User Question 1 29:02 Dragon Age: The Veilguard Impressions with Austin and MrMattyPlays 58:37 AG1 (ad) 01:00:36 Dragon Age Wrap Up 01:04:55 User Question 2 01:14:46 Interview with ARA: History Untold team: Executive Producer Matt Turnbull and Narrative and Experience Lead Gabriela Leskur 01:39:27 Incogni (ad) 01:41:49 What We've Been Playing 02:11:24 Show and Tell 02:20:38 Wrap Up -- If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Head to https://buyraycon.com/friends for a limited time to get 15% off and free shipping on your Raycon order! Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS. -- This week we're lucky to be joined by Nicolas Doucet, game director of Astro Bot, for his first interview after the review scores went live. A big thanks to Jordan Middler of VGC for stopping by as well.  -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:46 Sony Kills Concord 36:34 Astro Bot Discussion 51:50 Raycon (ad) 53:57 Interview With Team Asobi Studio Director Nicolas Doucet 01:25:51 User Question 01:36:03 What We've Been Playing 02:23:22 Show And Tell 02:41:11 Wrap Up -- If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode!  -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 07:25 Show and Tell (With Gifts!) 16:23 Special Guests Alex Jordan and Ben Starr 53:59 Incogni (ad) 56:03 What We've Been Playing (Gamescom Impressions) 01:28:35 User Questions from the Audience 01:45:40 Wrap Up -- If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS. -- Head to https://buyraycon.com/friends for a limited time to get 20-40% off your Raycon order! Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS. -- If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 09:27 Bungie Layoffs with Jason Schreier  58:12 Raycon (ad) 01:01:20 User Question 1 01:10:32 Game Informer Closure with Marcus Stewart, Brian Shea, Alex Van Aken 01:59:54 AG1 (ad) 02:02:22 Plucky Squire Interview with Jon Biddle (Bidds) and James Turner 02:29:10 User Question 2 02:34:37 What We've Been Playing 03:02:21 Show and Tell 03:14:38 Wrap Up -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS. -- Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode!  -- If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 12:31 The Vibes Are Off 46:23 AG1 (ad) 48:05 Incogni (ad) 50:08 User Question 1 01:02:31 What We've Been Playing 01:40:49 User Question 2 01:48:50 Show and Tell 02:06:25 Wrap Up -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS. -- Head to https://buyraycon.com/friends TODAY to get 15% off your Raycon order, plus free shipping! Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS. -- If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 09:10 Xbox Game Pass Changes 27:10 User Question 1 37:15 AG 1 (ad) 39:59 What We're Excited For In 2024 (The Second Half) 01:10:26 User Question 2 01:20:06 Raycon (ad) 01:23:00 What We've Been Playing 02:15:17 Show and Tell 02:28:28 Wrap Up -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Head to https://factormeals.com/fps50 and use code FPS50 to get an exclusive 50% off your first Factor box, plus 20% off your next month! Thanks to Factor for supporting FPS. -- Head to https://manscaped.com and use code FRIENDS to get an exclusive 20% off + free shipping! Thanks to Manscaped for supporting FPS. -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:45 Catch Up 12:47 Elden Ring Expansion Chat With Mitchell Saltzman of IGN 01:00:18 Factor (ad) 01:03:10 Elden Ring Wrap Up Into User Question 01:17:05 Live QnA from the GameOn Cancer Charity Stream Featuring Alanah Pearce 02:06:28 Manscaped (ad) 02:09:27 What We've Been Playing 02:36:11 Show and Tell 02:49:22 Wrap Up -- Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS. -- Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode!  -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS. -- Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode!  -- This week, we're back where we started: together in LA. We're joined by Tam for a look at the highs and lows of Summer Games Fest 2024. We also got to chat with Julian Gerighty and Frederick Thylander of Ubisoft Massive, discussing the imminent release of Star Wars Outlaws.  Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:13 Summer Game Fest Recap 29:53 Ubisoft Forward Recap 42:44 AG1 (Ad) 43:37 Interview with Julian Gerighty and Fredrik Thylander about Star Wars Outlaws 01:12:49 Xbox Showcase Recap 02:15:36 Incogni (Ad) 02:17:54 What We've Been Playing (Play Days Hands On Impressions) 03:00:15 Wrap Up Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Go to BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends TODAY to get 15% off your Raycon order, plus free shipping! That’s right, you’ll get 15% off and free shipping at BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends. BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends. -- No guests this week - just us talking smack. Enjoy.  Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 05:28 SGF Predictions 11:16 User Question1  21:31 Call of Duty On Game Pass 42:26 Hellblade II Discussion 58:00 Raycon (ad) 01:01:10 IGN Buys Gamer Network 01:18:20 User Question 2 01:24:25 What We've Been Playing 02:03:21 Show and Tell 02:25:13 Wrap Up -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode! Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Head to https://factormeals.com/FPS50 to get 50% off your first FACTOR box plus 20% off your next! Thanks to FACTOR meals for sponsoring FPS. -- This week we're joined by two sets of guests. The first is Dom Mathews, Studio Head at Ninja Theory. They're set to launch Hellblade 2 this coming week, but much of the discussion around the game has been centred on Xbox's studio strategy and what 'success' now looks like for smaller games like Hellblade.  In addition we were joined by Ryan and Joe from Airship Syndicate. Wayfinders hit the rocks when it launched into early access, which cooincided with publisher Digital Extremes shuttering their entire publishing division. Airship are now pivoting Wayfinder to be an offline (peer to peer coop) game with no microtransactions, so we chatted with them about the journey to that decision.  Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:28 Xbox Talk 31:40 User Question 1 37:48 AG1 (ad) 40:22 Interview With Dom Matthews, Studio Head of Ninja Theory 01:10:57 Factor (ad) 01:17:16 User Question 2 01:24:24 Interview With Wayfinder Studio Airship Syndicate 01:55:56 Incogni (ad) 01:59:28 What We've Been Playing 02:22:41 Show And Tell 02:29:02 Wrap Up -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.  - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.  -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring the video. If you want to set up your own website (and get a discount while doing it), hit this link for more info: http://www.squarespace.com/skillup--Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code FRIENDS at https://manscaped.com ! That’s 20% off with free shipping when you use code FRIENDS. Thanks for sponsoring FPS!--It feels like Xbox is doing a soft-exit from the hardware business without saying it out loud, right? Alanah Pearce joins us for a discussion on the state of console platforms, plus we chat about Stellar Blade, No Rest for the Wicked, Dragon's Dogma 2 and more. We're also joined by Panic Co-Founder Cabel Sasser and famed indie developer Lucas Pope (Papers Please, Return of the Obra Dinn) to chat about the Playdate console and Pope's latest release: Mars After Midnight. Timestamps:00:00 Catch Up with Special Guest Host Alanah Pearce!13:19 The State of Xbox33:46 User Question 144:23 Squarespace (ad)45:52 Interview with Panic Co-Founder Cabel and Game Maker Lucas Pope01:25:30 Manscaped (ad)01:28:00 User Question 201:38:41 What We've Been Playing02:14:31 Show and Tell02:35:49 Wrap UpLet's meet our hosts!- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter:  @JakeBaldino- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. --Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecondFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcastFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Head to https://factormeals.com/FPS50 to get 50% off your first FACTOR box plus 20% off your next! Thanks to FACTOR meals for sponsoring FPS.--Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS.--We watched the Fallout show and can confirm that it's good (not X-Men 97 good, but still pretty good). Plus we're joined by Abubakar Salim to talk about his debut as a game director: 'Tales of Kenzaru: Zau'.Timestamps:00:00 Intro04:21 What Have We Been Doing? (Jake Vacation, Lucy BAFTA Awards)16:35 Fallout and Video Game Adaptation Discussion48:00 Factor (ad)51:00 User Question1:00:00 Interview with Abubakar Salim, Creative Director on Tales of Kenzera: Zau1:36:24 AG1 (ad)1:38:32 Creating Our Dream Video Game Hot Ones Interview 1:46:41 What We've Been Playing2:06:54 Show And Tell2:22:31 Wrap UpLet's meet our hosts!- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter:  @JakeBaldino- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. --Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecondFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcastFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring the video. If you want to set up your own website (and get a discount while doing it), hit this link for more info: http://www.squarespace.com/skillup--Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code FRIENDS at https://manscaped.com ! That’s 20% off with free shipping when you use code FRIENDS. Thanks for sponsoring FPS!--Oh shit - NakeyJakey is co-hosting while OG Jake is on vacation, plus we roll the secret CDPR we recorded while in Boston, chatting with Pawel and Gabe about what it's like to build an all new studio in Boston while also trying to build Cyberpunk 2. Timestamps:00:00 Intro01:08 A Conversation with NakeyJakey!53:13 User Questions 101:07:13 Squarespace (ad)01:08:37 Manscaped (ad)01:11:55 Interview with Gabe Amatangelo and Paweł Sasko of CD Project Red!01:51:13 The NakeyJakey Takeover Continues with User Questions 202:00:14 What We've Been Playing02:46:41 Show and Tell02:52:10 Wrap Up- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter:  @JakeBaldino- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. --Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecondFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcastFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Go to BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends TODAY to get 20% off your Raycon order, plus free shipping! That’s right, 20%! BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends to score 20% off and free shipping. --FPS Exclusive! Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase exclusively at https://drinkag1.com/friends Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS.--Hello and welcome to a very special episode of the Friends Per Second podcast. Last week we were in Boston visting Ghost Story Games where we got to play 5 hours of Judas, followed by a deep-dive interview with legendary creator Ken Levine, whose previous works include Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite. This is not a 'preview' - this is a 'pre-preview', in that the game is still very much in development. Our conversation is focused on what Judas is, why it is the way that it is and what Levine and his team are aiming for as they continue development. While we were invited by Ghost Story Games and publisher Take Two Interactive, we paid our own accommodation and airfare costs so as to ensure our editorial independence. Timestamps:00:00 Intro and Impressions32:19 Raycon (ad)34:28 AG1 (ad)36:37 Interview with Ken Levine of Ghost Story Games02:22:40 Wrap Up- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter:  @JakeBaldino- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. --Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecondFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcastFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring the video. If you want to set up your own website (and get a discount while doing it), hit this link for more info: http://www.squarespace.com/skillup--Big show this week! First up we're joined by Tamoor Hussain of Gamespot and Gene Park of The Washington Post for a deep dive discussion into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (spoiler free). We all love it to different degrees, but some pacing and story issues threw a few of us. We also spent some time comparing the many (many) things that FFVII Rebirth delivers that FFVXI didn't. Following that we were joined by Seth Rosen, game director for Pacific Drive, a game that both Ralph and Jake reviewed and loved. It was a great chat delving into how the game came about, the biggest challenges developing it and how the studio is responding to feedback since launch. #FinalFantasy #PacificDrive #Dune2--Timestamps:00:00 Intro7:17 Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Chat w/ Gene Park and Tamoor Hussain01:03:07 Squarespace (ad)01:04:45 User Question 101:14:17 Interview With Pacific Drive Game Director Seth Rosen01:54:10 User Question 202:02:38 What We've Been Playing02:16:45 Show And Tell02:35:51 Wrap Up--Let's meet our hosts!- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter:  @JakeBaldino- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. --Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecondFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcastFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspers... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices