It's that most wonderful time of the year! It's the XboxEra Podcast Episode 294 - "The 6th Annual Grubbsmas Shpeshaltacular" - featuring Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb!As per tradition, Nick is joined by the lovely Jeff Grubb for the last episode of the year. Nick tells the story of Grubbsmas, and how it came to be, and then it's all about the video games. From Metroid Prime 4, Fallout, new Halo books and the Analog 3D and of course the sad loss of the legendary Vince Zampella.We also take your community questions, and there might even be a rumourmill - we haven't seen one of those in a while! If you love what we do, there's one way you can support us directly - and that's via Patreon - just head to Patreon.com/xboxera.
It's almost Christmas, and it's the penultimate show of the year! Join Jon, Nick and Jesse for the XboxEra Podcast Episode 293!We're finally winding down for the holidays, and both news and reviews are pretty thin on the ground - but that hasn't stopped us from giving it a go! On the reviews front, Gyozo checked out Dora: Rainforest Rescue, and Genghis checked out both Atomic Owl and in VR land, had a play through of Syberia. In Entertainment, Jesse dropped his spoiler filled recap of Fallout Season 2 Episode 1, which is something you can expect right through until the end of Season 2.Most excitingly though, Aarsal finally released his long-awaited review of Hollow Knight Silksong, to much rejoicing. Lastly, our Community Game of the Year vote poll is now live and open until December 24th - this is your chance to have your say, so please do take a couple of minutes to vote on your favourite games of 2025.In news, crunch discussion reared it's head thanks to a new report from Jason Schrier about Naughty Dog and their in-progress development of Intergalactic. AI debate also reared its head once again, as beloved developer Larian shared their thoughts on AI use as part of their toolset. Everyone is really mad, but we just love games and quite like to have them to play. Lastly, we tackle all the latest in community questions from our incredible patrons, and wish all our community a very merry Christmas!
I don't know about you, but I think this week has been a pretty great one for video gaming goodness! From the Game Awards seeing the return of some classic franchises to the confirmation of yet another Developer_Direct in January, it seems there's plenty to talk about in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 292!I'm out this week, so Jesse and Nick are joined by the lovely Rand Al Thor 19 to discuss all the latest and greatest in gaming, and there's plenty to chat about. The Game Awards have been and gone, and the evening saw plenty of surprise reveals, and big moments. The fantastic Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 swept the night, including winning the most prestigious award - Game of the Year.The glitzy evening also saw the return of some fantastic classic IP, from a new Tomb Raider - and a remake! - to a new Star Wars 'Old Republic' title and a pod-racer. We've also got reviews of Death Howl (PC Game Pass) and Terminator 2D: NO FATE available if you're curious and want to play.
Another week, another excuse to get the crew back together to chat all things video games! Join us for the XboxEra Podcast Episode 291 as we break down all the latest in gaming.We've been playing plenty of video games this week, that's for sure. While Jon is dabbling with a few games on PlayStation 5, Nick's been enjoying plenty of Marvel Cosmic Invasion and even a new Banjo Kazooie. Jesse tried Routine, but wasn't a big fan but did enjoy the interesting horror stylings of Sleep Awake.On the news front, the biggest headline is undoubtedly the announcement from Netflix regarding the acquisition of Warner Bros for a cool $82.7 Billion. We also saw REPLACED get a release date at long last, which all of us are very excited for. Plenty more in here, so enjoy the show!
Another week gone by, but a special opportunity to give thanks to everything we're grateful for this year - it's the XboxEra Podcast Episode 290! This week, Jon, Nick and Jesse gather round and give thanks, because it's been a pretty special year for XboxEra. We're on target to have more readers than ever, and November saw us broke some site records for the first time, alongside one of the best years for content overall. A lot of that of course, has been driven by excellent video games. Jon reviewed Sektori, a twin-stick arcade game that feels like a more evolved Geometry Wars, and proved to be very addictive. Jesse tackled some horror games this week with reviews for A.I.L.A and Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 Remake, now finally available on Xbox consoles. Genghis checked out Ire: A Prologue, and even got a cool interview up for folks that are interested, and also checked Hymer 2000, so feel free to check that out too. On the hardware review front, Jon published a review of the XREAL One - a pair of super neat wearable display sunglasses, which make for a perfect companion for your new ROG Xbox Ally X.On the news front, we chatted about the RAM Price rumour and Xbox, as well as the latest ROG ally updates for your Xbox handheld, and the increase in cloud usage proclaimed by Microsoft. Xbox released a pair of Xbox controllers for your feet, in partnership with Crocs if that's your thing. Mostly though, we chatted about actual video games, because as great as 2025 has been for gamers everywhere, 2026 looks absolutely insane in terms of output. We can't wait!
It's a special show this week. Not only are there plenty of great games to talk about thanks to a rather great Partner Preview from the Xbox team, but our favourite son has just turned 20 years old! Let's celebrate the Xbox 360 Anniversary in style in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 289!There's plenty of reason to celebrate this week, nostalgic birthday's aside. Xbox threw one hell of a Partner Preview, that revealed a ton of great looking games. It saw the arrival of the very addictive and utterly charming Dave The Diver on Xbox for the first time, and the team have been playing tons of great games, from the Geometry Wars-like Sektori, R-Type Delta HD Boosted and recent Xbox additions like Clover Pit and Neon Inferno. Jesse has reviewed Monsters are Coming! Rock and Road, and had a go on Total Chaos too - not to mention Silent Hill 2! There's just too many games!In other news, we have an entirely new tipping system, and certain members of the community went a bit mad on the donation front, forcing all of us to run the Jelly Bean gauntlet. While we do so, we talked through some other news. We got a big look at Erosion, a new twin-stick shooter coming from the folks behind The Last Case of Benedict Fox. Ubisoft is a leaky ship, with stories about both Black Flag and Sands of Time remakes coming very soon from Insider Gaming. The Game Awards nominees are live, and of course, Xbox didn't stand a chance. Lots of this - and more, in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 289!XboxEra is a community-first, community funded publication. If you value what we do, and want to have a direct say in what we cover, consider supporting us directly on Patreon.All you need to do is head on over to patreon.com/xboxera and for less than a cup of coffee a month, you’ll help keep this publication alive. As a bonus, you’ll find that we create more content than many other Patreon supported publications, and we give more back in return.So go on, do something awesome.
After a rare break from the show, we are back! To be honest, a lot has happened since we last broadcast - and it happens to be Xbox's birthday. So buckle up for a long show, as we talk Valve's new hardware, game delays and the latest in video game reviews in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 288!It's been a crazy couple of weeks. We've reviewed plenty of video games, big and small in that time, from the cosy survival delights of Winter Burrow, to the curious metroidvania-meets-Satisfactory trappings of Kentum. Nick tackled Double Dragon Revive in a somewhat late review, and Jesse and Jon took a look at Game Pass offerings of Pigeon Simulator and Egging On. The team at XboxEra looked at even more than that, so make sure you head to our reviews page for a good browse. The biggest of course, being our massive complete review for this years Call of Duty outing, Black Ops 7. Beyond a very silly campaign, there's a ton of content here, and according to our internal Call of Duty expert, it's one of the best overall releases in ages. In what is now very old news, we saw GTA6 delayed, to the surprise of absolutely no-one. What did sort of surprise everyone was Valve's announcement of a new Steam Machine, VR headset and controller. Even though some of them have leaked previously, it didn't stop the industry from declaring once again that Xbox, was of course, quite definitely dead this time, actually. We'll tackle all of this, and of course a whole bunch more - including your community questions - in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 288!As always, if you value what we do, consider supporting us directly on Patreon. Just head to patreon.com/xboxera to make a difference and keep your favourite independent Xbox-focused publication alive – for now, at least!
With Halloween now behind us, and the end of the year firmly in sight, the boys sit down to chat all things Xbox in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 287!Tons to talk about this week, and thankfully, most of the conversation doesn't revolve around industry drama, but instead about the very thing we're all here for - fantastic video games. From Nick's discovery and love of Pumpkin Jack, his review of Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O World Stage and his review-in-progress for Double Dragon: Revive, Nick's been playing more video games than ever.Personally, I'm deep into my addiction story 'arc' with ARC Raiders, which has blown up on Steam and in the community. I also took a look at Simon the Sorcerer Origins, revisiting a staple of my gaming past. Jesse has been as busy as ever, working on reviews for Dead Static Drive and Voidtrain, which are polar opposites in terms of impressions. In Xbox news, we talk about Jez Corden's report on the next-generation Xbox, and Satya Nadella comes out and talks about it too. IGN had a great ID@Xbox showcase, and and as always, the community comes through with their latest thoughts and questions at the end of the show.XboxEra is a community-first, community funded publication. If you value what we do, and want to have a direct say in what we cover, consider supporting us directly on Patreon.All you need to do is head on over to patreon.com/xboxera and pledge your support. You’ll find that we create more content than many other Patreon supported publications, and we give more back in return. Make a difference and keep your favourite independent Xbox-focused publication alive! We appreciate your support.
This week was perhaps a sobering moment for Xbox fans. On the back of some fantastic game releases, Xbox made a move that we've arguably known was coming for a long time, but one that still feels pretty surreal. Let's get into it in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 286!First, let's chat games we can play right now! Following Double Fine's Keeper, this week saw the continued onslaught from Microsoft's first party publishing arm, with two new releases becoming available. On Monday we saw the return of a classic action franchise in Ninja Gaiden 4, and friends, it's bloody great. We also saw the release (in Early Access for Premium buyers at least) of Obsidian's The Outer Worlds 2, putting you in the shoes of a commander of the Earth Directorate to save the outer worlds once again. Both games reviewed super well across the board, so get stuck in! Outside of lovely video reviews, our team also pushed reviews for Painkiller, Hot Wheels: Let's Race, Fast and Furious: Arcade Edition, Bounty Star, Plants VS Zombies: Replanted and PowerWash Simulator 2. Phew! Now let's talk about the biggest news. Halo Campaign Evolved was announced, and yes - it's coming to PlayStation. Plenty of die-hard Xbox fans are certainly in their feels right now, and we get it. We talk through all of that, in addition to the crazy reporting that Microsoft's CFO is pushing the Xbox division to target a whopping 30% margin, which is way outside of industry norms. All this and more to listen in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 286! As always, if you value what we do, consider supporting us directly on Patreon. Just head to patreon.com/xboxera to make a difference and keep your favourite independent Xbox-focused publication alive – for now, at least!
What a fun week it has been! Plenty of video games, and brand new toys upon which to play them! We chat through it all in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 285!This week, Jon, Nick and Jesse are joined by the always legendary MVG to chat about the latest in gaming, and as per usual, there's plenty of topics to cover if you're an Xbox fan. On the games to play side of things, we've got plenty of content for you to devour, from our impressions piece on the recent Call of Duty Black Ops 7 beta, to the final, full Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Review. We're also headfirst into Microsoft's big three for the month, with the absolutely lovely Keeper already out now in Xbox Game Pass. If you've , to be swiftly followed by NINJA GAIDEN 4 and then shortly after that, the awesome looking The Outer Worlds 2. We also finally got to talk about BALL x PIT, which has arrived on Game Pass too. That's a lot of games, and what's even crazier - that's just some of the 50+ games coming to Xbox next week. Madness.The biggest topic of the week is of course Microsoft and ASUS's foray into Xbox-centric gaming handhelds. The ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are here, and I got hold of one thanks to the team at Xbox to bring you our verdict on the more powerful version of these two new handheld devices. Is it an Xbox? What does that even mean, anyway? If you're keen for even more Xbox Ally X content, I hosted a quick Q&A for folks, so feel free to tune in and check that out here.In sad news, this week also saw the passing of a video game industry legend - The father of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, Tomonobu Itagaki died, and quite rightly there was an outpouring of love and support on social media. Thanks for all the great games, Itagaki-san. All this and more to listen in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 284! As always, if you value what we do, consider supporting us directly on Patreon. Just head to patreon.com/xboxera to make a difference and keep your favourite independent Xbox-focused publication alive – for now, at least!
Time to chat video games! While I'm packing and preparing for my house move, Nick and Jesse hold down the fort for the XboxEra Podcast Episode 284!There's been plenty of going's on this week in the world of Xbox and video games. Call of Duty made headlines by announcing that SBMM is going to be set to "very low" for Black Ops 7, bringing a return to open matchmaking. Battlefield 6 has arrived and is very, very good much to the delight of everyone.In other new, Nick wants to play 2KXO, but can't, an Assassin's Creed game was cancelled, and an ex-Halo developer shares an ominous message about the studio. Beyond that, Game Pass for this month is nuts, and we're all very, very busy. Fun times ahead!All this and more to listen in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 284! As always, if you value what we do, consider supporting us directly on Patreon. Just head to patreon.com/xboxera to make a difference and keep your favourite independent Xbox-focused publication alive – for now, at least!
It's been a week. Xbox announced big changes to Xbox Game Pass, and the gaming industry erupted. Join the XboxEra crew as we break it all down and ask some big questions with special guest Tom Warren from The Verge joining us for the XboxEra Podcast Episode 283! There's a lot to talk about this week, as the spotlight once again turns to the Xbox business and how things are going. Team Green announced another round of sweeping changes to their Game Pass subscription service, that saw the price for the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier increase by 50% for residents in the US, and even more than that for other places. The community didn't react well, even with Xbox promising over 75+ Day One games next year. The Verge's Tom Warren also reported on Microsoft's plans for an ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming service, which caused even more revulsion from critics of Microsoft's gaming arm. He joins us this episode to ask some of the big questions - will Xbox back track? Why is there so much uproar? And has the Xbox Game Pass experiment ultimately failed?When it comes to actual video games (arguably the reason we're all here), things are thankfully in much better shape. Hades 2 is pretty great, Black Ops 7 is having a beta right now, Battlefield 6 arrives next week, and we've got plenty of titles to look forward to in October. From DoubleFine's Keeper, Ninja Gaiden 4 and or course, The Outer Worlds 2 - they're all coming to Game Pass. Interestingly, a new report on Halo has got fans discussing what's next for the venerable shooter franchise, with Halo Studios promising a deep dive on October 24th. All this and more to listen in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 283! As always, if you value what we do, consider supporting us directly on Patreon. Just head to patreon.com/xboxera to make a difference and keep your favourite independent Xbox-focused publication alive - for now, at least!
What a crazy week! Between Sony's State of Play, Tokyo Game Show and the ROG Xbox Ally news, it's been very busy times. The podcast crew get together to chat through it all in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 282!While we've been playing plenty of games, from SILENT HILL f to Final Fantasy Tactics or Sonic Racing: Crossworlds and Dying Light The Beast, there's still been plenty of video gaming news to sink our teeth into. We got to see a little from OD thanks to Kojima Productions, and it looks great. Sony had a State of Play, with Wolverine finally being revealed, another Xbox game heading to PlayStation with Flight Simulator 2024 and a little more footage of Saros. Microsoft and Xbox held their Tokyo Game Show Broadcast where we finally got the 'surprise' reveal of Forza Horizon 6, and it's set in Japan. They talked about the ROG Xbox Ally during the show, but didn't reveal the price, instead letting ASUS shock people (when it comes to the US price at least) later that day.All this and more to listen to, and as always, if you value what we do, consider supporting us directly on Patreon. Just head to patreon.com/xboxera to make a difference and keep your favourite independent Xbox-focused publication alive.
As we head into Tokyo Game Show week, the podcast crew gather once more to chat about all the games, content and industry news in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 281!Plenty of games and news this week to dive into and Jon, Nick and Jesse chat through it all. Nick is a bit sad because Collingwood lost their semi-final, but thankfully there's plenty of games to get on with to distract him a bit. Jesse has been on a marathon of reviews, with his latest, Dying Light The Beast live now for the community to check out. We've also got a review for Xbox Game Pass' latest gem - Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. I've been fooling around with the Fullscreen Xbox Experience on my ROG Ally X, and also playing plenty of Jump Space - even interviewing the Game Director.We chat about the lack of Xbox Review Code lately, in addition to discussion around Borderlands 4 and its performance issues. We chat all the latest Xbox Game Pass drops, and even get a little political, mostly thanks to the Xbox price increase and inevitable tariff discussion. I make a plea to all our listeners to try and treat each other kindly, no matter where you fall on such things. We also chat about TGS, and the community can look forward to a dedicated livestream with all of us next week, as we tune in to watch live. Will Forza Horizon 6 make an appearance? We can't wait to find out!All this and more to listen to, and as always, if you value what we do, consider supporting us directly on Patreon. Just head to patreon.com/xboxera to make a difference and keep your favourite independent Xbox-focused publication alive.
After several weeks of not having all of the main podcast hosts on at the same time, we're finally all back to talk about Xbox and gaming in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 280!This week we spent plenty of time chatting about video games, which is always nice for a change! Borderlands 4 is here, and we are loving it, despite the optimisation issues on PC. We've also been playing a ton of other stuff, from Indiana Jones and The Order of Giants and Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection.In terms of news, Xbox are heading back to Japan for the Tokyo Game Show and Final Fantasy 7 is finally coming to Xbox. They're also putting Xbox Cloud Gaming into cars! Nintendo had a direct and showed some games, and Nick likes some of them, so no shock there. Plenty more besides that, including your community questions, so jump in!As always, everything we do is only made possible by our Patrons and the amazing community surrounding XboxEra. You make it all possible, so if you're a long time listener, consider supporting us directly by heading to patreon.com/xboxera. Oh, and leave us a review pretty please!
Here we go again! Nick returns this week to sit down with Jesse and Aarsal to recap a pretty great week in video games - a ton of new releases, exciting reveals and plenty more besides! Time to sit back and relax in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 279!Plenty to dig into this week! Hollow Knight Silksong is finally here, and it promptly shut down most digital game stores the moment it became available, from Steam, Xbox to Nintendo and PlayStation. 007 First Light got it's big reveal at a Sony State of Play, and we'd already seen it! The lads have been playing plenty of video games this week, from the Rogue Prince of Persia, Donkey Kong Bananza, Gears Reloaded, Cronos The New Dawn and Borderlands 4. We've got reviews up for Metal Eden, Jotunnslayer, Void Crew and the latest Indiana Jones DLC to check out too, among others! Beyond all of those lovely things, Nick, Jesse and Aarsal have plenty to talk about. Perfect Dark nearly ended up with Take Two, Xbox have released more gorgeous controllers, and Call of Duty is getting a movie! Oh and Aarsal jumped out of a plane. All this and more, in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 279!As always, everything we do, and all the content we make is only made possible by your support. You can support us directly on Patreon by heading to patreon.com/xboxera. Trust me, it's worth it!
Everything is back to normal and everyone has returned from their video-game related travels to talk the latest games and hardware in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 278!Nick is out this week, so we're joined by the lovely Deadly Headly to chat through our many adventures this month. We've been very busy, bringing our wonderful community a ton of excellent previews and reviews, from Gears of War: Reloaded to Helldivers 2, and indies like The Knightling and Goosebumps. We've also lifted the lid on a bunch of upcoming games, including but not limited to Borderlands 4, Planet of Lana 2, Keeper, Lego Voyagers, Toxic Commando, REPLACED, The Outer Worlds 2, Scott Pilgrim EX, The Last Caretaker, Davy X Jones, skate, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, High on Life 2 and Super Meat Boy 3D. Talk about getting your monies worth!Lastly, we deep dive and discuss the usefulness of Early Access for developers and for gamers, in addition to a lengthy chat on the ROG Xbox Ally following our extensive hands-on time with the devices. As always, the fact all of this stuff was covered in so much detail is down to our amazing Patreon community. If you love your Xbox, and want to support an outlet staffed by people that actually play on the platform - consider supporting us directly via Patreon. Just head to Patreon.com/xboxera.
What a week! The XboxEra Team have been in Cologne, Germany for Gamescom 2025, and on the last night, have managed to sit down and talk you through it all.We've played a ton of amazing games, and of the ones we can talk about, we do! From High on Life 2, INVINCIBLE VS, Pizza Bandit and Planet of Lana 2, we go through each day we've spent at the show, and what we've played.We also went hands-on with the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, and talk about our experience with these new handhelds. All this and more, so enjoy the show!
Another week has passed us by, and while Jon was out in sunny Colorado, Nick and special guest Rand Al Thor got together to celebrate Jesse's birthday in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 276!Plenty to talk about this week, from the release of Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, Viewfinder, Mafia: The Old Country, TMNT: Tactical Takedown and Hellblade 2: Enhanced Edition. PlayStation have begun to ramp up their advertising for Helldivers 2, which arrives on Xbox on August 26th - which is weirdly the same day as Gears Reloaded! They've even teased an ODST collaboration, which makes perfect sense.Gamescom is swiftly approaching and before Jon, Jesse and Predrag set off next week, we've got a few more things to do, but big thank you to Rand for stepping in and hanging out as we tackle all the community questions from our lovely Patrons. As always, a big thank you to our community for making everything possible - head to patreon.com/xboxera if you'd like to support us directly.
With Gamescom fast approaching, Jon, Jesse and K.Asante get together to chat about all the latest games they've been playing in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 275!Nick is out this week doing family things, so we're joined by the lovely K.Asante to chat about games, which is great, because there are a LOT of games to talk about. From the release of Viewfinder which is finally coming to Xbox next week after a two year wait, to the very popular Battlefield 6 Open Beta, there's been plenty to chat about.It's also the continuation of the 'Year of the Ninja'. Ninja Gaiden Ragebound is already here, and Shinobi is on the way. This week we released our in-depth hands-on preview for Ninja Gaiden 4, which Jon got to play the opening levels for over the last week, with a ton of new gameplay footage to gawk over. So. Much. Blood!In gaming news, we chat through PlayStations financials, Contraband's cancellation and the return of Xbox Design Labs. Xbox Game Pass continues to have tons of cool games, with a surprise release of Heretic and Hexen to the platform. All this and more, so jump in and hang out with us in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 275!As always, everything we do is made possible by our community and the support we get is incredible! Join our growing army of Patrons and get cool stuff in return - just head to patreon.com/xboxera.
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wow dude let the guy speak ,rude