The VGBees Podcast

This week, Niki treats John and Lotus to the first ever VGBees Podcast Edition of Scam Text Theatre! After this momentous occasion, the crew turns its sights to the biggest news of the week, including:Larian's CEO decides to drag his company into a gen AI quagmirePeople Make Games boycott Xbox (and transforms John's thinking in the process)League of Legends is getting a massive reworkNaughty Dog is already crunching on Intergalactic: The Heretic ProphetJK Rowling likely to pocket a ton of royalty dollars on the Harry Potter x Fortnite collaba...

Editor's note: this week's episode failed to upload individual stems of each recording, which means this final product is a bit rougher than usual. This is John and Streamyard's fault. Jordan did a great job with it.This week, Niki, Lotus, and John are all here to discuss the Biggest Night in Gaming™ aka The Game Awards. Included in the overall discussion:Casey Hudson's Star Wars RPGLarian's horrifying trailer for DivinityCapcom flubbing Leon Kennedy and Mega Man, somehowControl Resonant isn't quite what we want but that's okayStar Wars Galactic Racer is the Y2K game our failing economy yearns forThe Street Fighter movie's vibes are off-the-charts badGang of Dragon sure does look like a YakuzaAce Combat 8 is also here to remind us that the economy is in great shape4Loop and Highguard are both incredibly DOA gamesCoven of the Chicken Foot is cute, but what else?Jon Blow's Order of the Sinking Star is a bunch of other stuff in one kind of confusion packageTrailers allegedly cost anywhere between $450,000 and $1,000,000 to show at the event19,000 games were released on Steam in 2025 and 49% of them have fewer than 10 reviewsWe played:Angeline EraMetroid Prime 4: BeyondPokémon Legends: Z-AAs always, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week, John and Lotus celebrate the return of Niki to the show by immediately yelling at them for saying no one knows who Ron Gilbert is. Also!Netflix is buying Warner Bros. for $82.7b, including WB's gamesRon Gilbert's Death by Scrolling had big trouble finding publisher moneyHorses banned by Epic Games StoreEA's buyout is going 93.4% to the SaudisMina the Hollower needs to be a huge hit, Yacht Club admits for some reasonNo Players Online is back on Steam after spurious DMCA takedownTim Cain is back...well kind of he wasn't ever really gone it seems like...at ObsidianWe played:Metroid Prime 4: BeyondHorsesPokémon Legends: Z-AAsbury PinesAngeline EraAlso, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week, Lotus and John dissect the biggest news stories of the week, including:Horses banned from Steam and the oddities surrounding itSplash Damage enters consultation ahead of layoffsCoatsink to lay off roughly half their studioNintendo to acquire 80% of Bandai Namco Studios SingaporeDDR5s and SSDs face massive price hike amidst shortageDemonschool does something fun with their creditsHere's what we played this week:HYPERBEATMorselsFinally, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week, Lotus and John are feeling particularly thankful for the handful of absolutely bananas stories that dropped in their laps! Including:Tencent's ultimate investment in UbisoftYoko Taro's projects keep getting canceledUnity coming to UnrealMegabonk withdraws from The Game AwardsUnknown Worlds vs Krafton gets unbelievably weirdRoblox CEO says the wildest things you can imagine on a podcastAlso, Lotus and John played/watched/listened to:One Battle After Another (film)Lingo 2Berserk B.I.T.S.The Phlegms' new album Gulp (album)Pluribus (television show)We, of course, answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week, Lotus and John tackle an absolute boatload of games news and notes, including:Valve's Steam Machine, Frame, and Controller all due in 2026Halo Infinite's final update coming this monthThe mishandling of The Game Awards Future Class is another black mark on whatever legacy Geoff Keighley is trying to leaveSony's fiscal report shows 40% share of software revenue to live service gamesMarathon apparently coming by the end of March 2026Arc Raiders uses AI voices and people are weird about people being weird about itAmbrosia Sky suddenly has a complicated release structure for some reasonThe Indie Game Awards are back on December 18thThe average games industry salary is $142,000 but please do not believe thatThey gave Samus Aran a shitty little sidekick in Metroid Prime 4Also, John & Lotus played:The Meow Wolf Grapevine missing kid ARGDreamfather Loves YouThe Good Old DaysSkies of Arcadia LegendsWe, of course, answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week, Niki returns after a taxing move to talking to Lotus and John about a game they played called Life's Eternal Puzzle. Not out on any consoles I can find but still interesting!Also!Grand Theft Auto VI is delayedRockstar's fired employees were allegedly leaking information (uh huh)Protests erupt outside RockstarTexas sues Roblox (get ready to get acquainted with Ken Paxton, one of the worst dudes in the world)Borderlands 4 sales laggingAvowed 2 might be coming (according to disgraced Obsidian founder)Surprise! Executives believe Steam has a monopoly on PC Games market!Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra has been delayedConcord is fodder for UK House of Commons debateSquare Enix lays off over 100Square Enix wishes to move 70% of QA and debugging to generative AIUnbeatable delayed at the finish lineThis week, the crew played:The Outer Worlds 2KinophobiaSettlemoonPokémon Legends Z-AMarvel SnapAlso, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

From the VGBees Bonus Feed -- join The Hive today to get bonus episodes like this all year.John gave himself such a strange and wonderful birthday gift this year by asking Joe from the Joe Is Hungry YouTube channel for ninety minutes of his time. Joe, kindly, obliged. And this is the result. If you've never watched Joe Is Hungry, it is a fast food review channel with a growing and vocal fandom. You'll understand. Interview includes:Joe's background as a nursethe origin of the huge knifethe cats!Joe's video editing philosophies and how he learned the tradeJoe's feelings on the GoPro 10Joe's origins on the webJoe's stance on drive-thru AI botsand much, much moreIf you like bonuses like this, please tell your friends to JOIN THE HIVE.

This week, Niki has been taken by the Swamp Monster so Lotus and John are fending for themselves. Lucky for you, they love to yap! Included in the gab sesh:EA's generative AI tools all suck and no one likes themAmazon is cutting tens of thousands of jobsMany Amazon Games projects have shut downAmazon Games was apparently (???) competing with Steam the whole timeDon't Nod is working with Netflix IP for upcoming projectHuge Animal Crossing New Horizons update is comingNintendo is selling a huge Breath of the Wild vinyl setTake-Two & Rockstar do some union bustingStasisDeep Sleep TrilogyKinophobiaNinja Gaiden: RageboundShinobi: Art of VengeanceOnce Upon a KATAMARIPlus, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord.

On this week's episode, Niki, Lotus, and John discuss Microsoft's extremely weird week/month/year/decade. Including:the 30% margin mandateflooding the zone with Fallout news, The Outer Worlds 2, Keeper, and Ninja Gaiden 4the inevitable return of HaloHalo Campaign Evolved being one of the worst titles everGrunts aren't supposed to glistendev kits see huge price hikePLUS:Krafton is "AI first"Jennifer Hale doesn't know Mass Effect 5 is doomedPokemon Legends Z-A is really funny??? On purpose????Ball x Pit is one of John's games of the yearWe also answer your BURNING HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely (free!) Discord.

Hi folks! This week, Niki fills out an application for an apartment, John gets something wrong (again), and Lotus explores Steam Next Fest! Included in their discussion:Assassin's Creed lead departs UbisoftTencent and Sony apparently worked on a The Last of Us project togetherTomunobu Itagaki's legacyHard Drive's descent into 2005 internet bullshitQuantic Dream's new multiplayer projectLumines AriseBall x PitPokémon Z-ADanchi DaysHorripilantThe Third ShiftThe Séance of Blake ManorSepulchronand much more!Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week marks the beginning of the Lotus era at The VGBees Podcast. She joins John and Niki as the third permanent cohost of the show and immediately brings insight to the program like...what if Nintendo likes making money?But also!the dense delight of Digimon Story: Time Strangerthe apparent end of Hyper Light Breaker's developmentthe rumor that AMD needed a 10,000,000 unit commitment for Xbox's dedicated handheldNintendo's slide into DisneyficationUbisoft's canceled Reconstruction Era, anti-Klan Assassin's Creedwhy is former Halo art director vagueposting on LinkedIn?Megabonk's relationship with cringe and Risk of Rain 2Shadow Labyrinth being itself, for better or worseHades II's self-inflicted narrative challengesa thorough review of a new Windows PCAbsolum's rapid ascent to many Best of 2025 listsWe also answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week, Niki and John have a lot to chat about in and around a busy few days in video games, including:Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's huge price hikeinterpreting the latest in Microsoft's non-planObsidian bearing the brunt of Microsoft's decision-makingJared Kushner and Saudi Arabia are taking EA privateSeumas McNally Award Winner Consume Me's greatnessWheel of Fortune on the PlayStation 5Hades II is simply wonderful to playFinal Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles gets an apology from JohnSuper Mario Galaxy 2 continues the odd but welcome tradition of cutting room floor direct sequelsAll of this and your BURNING HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord.

This week, Niki and John are joined by none other than Michael Higham on this, the very special 69th episode of The VGBees Podcast. In this jam-packed episode, we cover:Wolverine's profoundly bloody introductionthe Returnal of it all of Sarosa brief look at new Virtua Fighter Project detailsthe impossible bigness of Anantaa conversation about remakes prompted by the perplexing Deus Ex remasterForza Horizon 6 and how the game can recapture past magicEasy Delivery Co. and John unironically calling a game cozy in 2025Niki's evolving relationship with skate.Higham going long on Trails in the Sky and its new remakeBaby Steps As always, we also answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week, John regrets to inform you and Niki that Borderlands 4 is just more Borderlands, for better or worse. John thinks maybe worse. Niki's right, it's just 2K's Madden. Also:the very interesting misfire that is Skate.Dying Light: The Beast is apparently great but we can't get past the Hinterlands of Dying Light 2the poor PC performance of Borderlands 4 and Randy Pitchford's admittedly very, very, very funny (if wildly unprofessional) responses to that criticismthe flatness of NBA 2K26Tears of the Kingdom two and a half years laterPeloton's Lanebreakthe inextricable link between Queen Elizabeth dying and our layoff at Fanbytehow free to play trains us to invest lessWe, of course, answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week, Niki and John dive way way way into the mega-sized Nintendo Direct this week. Did you know that Super Mario is 40 years old??? Just like John! Wow! Also:paying for Super Mario Galaxy againNintendo remembers Super Mario Galaxy 2 existsthe new Mario movie is just Super Mario GalaxySuper Mario Wonder for Switch 2Mario Tennis FeverYoshi and the Mysterious BookVirtual Boy on Nintendo Switch OnlineSamus has a cool bike in Metroid Prime 4 Beyond nowHades II is out SO soonPokemon PokopiaDinkumFire Emblem Fortune's WeaveDonkey Kong Bananza DLCDragon Quest VII Reimaginedand more!Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

Hello! This week, John and Niki discuss the most explosive game release of the year, Hollow Knight: Silksong. 500,000 concurrents? Broken shops? Unfathomable discourse? You got it, baby.That, and:The downfall of games critThe value of asking piracy forum dwellers to weigh in on the most popular game of the year007 First Light gameplayFootball Manager 26College basketball coming to NBA 2KFiraxis layoffsKirby and the Forgotten Land for Switch 2Also, we answer your HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week, John is back at full strength and here to discuss all the games Niki has played! Among the discussion points:Layoffs at Giant Squid & Rec RoomConversation boundaries and etiquetteSword of the SeaWe Are OFKCircuits RoyalePokemon Red Rescue TeamPokemon Rescue Team DXMetal Gear Solid 3 Deltaand more!Also, we answer your BURNING HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

With John on the International Space Station, Niki and Lotus talk all things Gamescom 2025, including:Call of Duty: Black Ops 7Black Myth: Zhong KuiResident Evil RequiemWorld of Tanks: HeatGhost of YoteiWorld of Warcraft MidnightUNBEATABLEJohn Carpenter's Toxic CommandoHollow Knight: SilksongLEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark KnightPlus, a big, big dive into why Lotus is DONE with Marvel Rivals.Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS directly from our Discord.

This week, Niki and John are joined by Lotus, who has a lot of smart ideas about how messy the "reporting" around itch.io has gotten, frozen alcohol, and whole word comprehension. Also:the breakdown of "games journalist" as an ideaHardspace Shipbreaker goes to Blackbird 100%common core mathdrinking in parking lotsFrankenstein shoesadult bracesgetting addicted to going to the hospitalWe also answer your BURNING HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord.