With STALKER 2, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle all releasing one right after another later this Fall, Xbox is set to seriously cook at the end of 2024. Destin gives his glowing hands-on impressions of his recent STALKER 2 preview session, Seth Macy joins us to gush about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and Ryan will give his hands-on impressions of Indy...soon. Plus: former Halo senior developer Joseph Staten is back on the free agent market after Netflix shut down its AAA gaming studio, Halo Infinite's rumored battle royale mode was real before getting canceled, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We went on the air live, immediately following the latest Xbox Partner Preview livestream. We gave our in-the-moment reactions to Xbox's fantastic presentation that included several reveals, including Remedy's Left 4 Dead-style session-based 3-player co-op multiplayer FPS, FBC Firebreak. We also discussed the adorable dog factor powering The Legend of Baboo along with Wuchang Fallen Feathers, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Alan Wake 2's Lakehouse expansion, Mouse: P.I. for Hire, Subnautica 2, and plenty more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our resident Xbox crew (including Miranda!) reacts to and analyzes the huge Halo news of all future projects being moved to Unreal Engine 5 as well as the studio rebranding from 343 Industries to Halo Studios. We predict what the next mainline Halo game is, what we might get before that, how it ties into a possible PlayStation debut for the franchise, and much more! Download the Opera GX: IGN Edition browser at http://Opera.com/gx/ign Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Xbox crew discusses the new STALKER 2 making-of documentary, and how it's a must-watch even if you aren't interested in the game. Plus: Ubisoft admits that Star Wars Outlaws has underperformed its sales expectations, leading us to suggest where the company should go from here in the bigger picture. We also talk about Tango Gameworks's new owner Krafton's plans for Hi-Fi Rush 2, Obsidian's possible expansion of Pillars of Eternity into a new genre, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bloomberg video game industry reporter Jason Schreier joins us to discuss his new book, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment (out October 8) sharing crazy stories about the prestigious developer that Microsoft just bought as part of their $69 billion acquisition. Plus: Ubisoft delays Assassin's Creed Shadows, Splinter Cell is back...albeit on Netflix, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We open this week's Xbox podcast at IGN by giving our hands-on impressions of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Then we discuss another EA game, Battlefield. We've got new details about the next game in the venerable first-person shooter series, and we talk about what we want out of it and what we think it needs to do in order to get back on top. Plus: more Microsoft layoffs, some good news on the Skate reboot, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We open this week's Xbox podcast by marking Destiny's 10th anniversary and then discussing the present and future for both the long-running shooter and Bungie itself, as well as what's riding on Bungie's next big project in Marathon. Then we give our thoughts on the Minecraft movie teaser before moving into our main topic: the PS5 Pro's widely panned unveiling and what it means for Xbox in both the present and the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's Xbox show delves into two notable games that Xbox boss Phil Spencer discussed having the chance to sign but didn't – plus one crucial one he did. Plus: Black Myth Wukong's Xbox absence is explained, Enotria: The Last Song's developers publicly call out Team Xbox for a lack of support, Stellas impressions of Call of Duty Black Ops 6, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Star Wars Outlaws, arguably the first big game to hit Xbox this Fall season, has arrived, and we've got thoughts on what we've played so far. Plus: we discuss some of the biggest announcements to come out of Gamescom (Mafia: The Old Country, Borderlands 4, and others), which games we're most excited about playing for the remainder of this year, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan and Destin are joined by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams to discuss our extended new looks at two of Xbox's biggest upcoming games: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which both Ryan and Kahlief got a lengthy behind-closed-doors look at; and Avowed, which Destin and Kahlief both got to play. We are super excited for both and we want to tell you all about them. Plus: it turns out Indy is a timed exclusive, so we discuss how Xbox fans are feeling and what it signals for the future of the platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s happening, friends? It is a special gamescom edition of Podcast Unlocked. This week, we've constructed for you a very unique gamescom-specific audio episode this week. Our awesome team at gamescom have put together a number of Xbox developer interviews that we’re going to share with you back to back. Coming up, we have interviews with the developers of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Avowed, Monster Hunter Wilds, Diablo IV, Marvel Rivals, Fragpunk, Civilization VII, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. Look for another regular episode of Podcast Unlocked, where we will dig into all sorts of stuff, including my behind-closed-doors demo of Indiana Jones, which I am unbelievably thrilled about. We’ll talk about all that and more, but for now, enjoy these developer interviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've played a bunch of the upcoming Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster and we want to tell you all about why we love what we've played so far. Plus: one of our most anticipated games gets delayed to 2025 but we're happy it'll get the time it needs AND avoid the Fall games rush, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks gets saved by PUBG publisher Krafton and we're pretty sure we know what game they'll make next, we daydream about Batman games on Xbox now that WB is open to licensing its IPs to other game developers, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Xbox crew discusses why Avowed's delay out of the Q4 holiday season and into early 2025, and why the "problem" of it getting delayed is actually a blessing in disguise for Obsidian's eagerly anticipated first-person RPG. Plus: what Xbox's near-term lineup looks like now after the Avowed and STALKER 2 delays, one of last year's best games comes to Xbox One for those who haven't upgraded to a Series X or Series S yet, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parris Lilly from Gamertag Radio joins Ryan and Destin to discuss a number of Xbox topics this week, from the cancellation of the Paramount+ Halo TV series – which leads to a discussion about how important of a franchise Halo is to Xbox these days, and what the most important franchises are to Microsoft now – to Xbox's mixed-results financials, the devastating layoffs at Bungie, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Xbox just dropped the best gaming controller we've ever seen in the literal form of Deadpool's ass! We discuss how much we adore Xbox's cake-tastic new gamepad and implore Microsoft and Marvel to make more of the one-off sweepstakes prize so we can buy one. Plus: we make our Xbox Gamescom predictions for next month's big event, Xbox Game Pass's upcoming lineup has a head-scratching gap in it, and more! Presented by Wendy’s Saucy Nuggs 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:10 - Deadpool Xbox Controller 00:10:59 - Wendy's Saucy Nuggs Featuring Unnecessary Inventions 00:12:09 - The Underwhelming Xbox 360 Blades Dashboard 00:16:40 - Coming to Game Pass 00:24:42 - gamescom Predictions 00:45:28 - EA Sports College Football 25 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We had some fun this week and talked about 10 dream Xbox games we'd love to see Microsoft's massive collection of studios make, from a Halo horror game to giving one particular underrated Activision studio a chance to crack the code on a big-budget Superman game. Plus: Xbox raises Game Pass prices and reshuffles some of its tiers in a frustrating and confusing way, and more! Presented by Wendy’s Saucy Nuggs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is all about the remakes we're cautiously optimistic about (Assassin's Creed...but which ones?), the remasters we're excited about (Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster), and the reboots we're left scratching our heads over (Crazy Taxi). Plus: what we expect from the just-confirmed Resident Evil 9, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Xbox says it's going big at this year's Gamescom event, so we discuss what we think to see and what we hope to see. Plus: why we're thrilled about Capcom's just-announced Dead Rising 1 remaster, why we doubt that Beyond Good & Evil 2 will ever be released despite Ubisoft's statements to the contrary, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Because the Xbox Showcase was SO GOOD this year, our 30-minute live reaction show from Sunday just wasn't enough. So we regrouped and talked for upwards of two more hours about all the big games, from Doom: The Dark Ages to Gears of War: E-Day to Fable to Perfect Dark to Black Ops 6 and so, so many more. Then we lay out how phenomenal the next year and a half of Xbox exclusives and Xbox Game Pass launches is looking before telling you a bit about a few other games we got to see and play at the event last week, including Xbox exclusives STALKER 2 and Replaced! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After directing two fantastic Star Wars Jedi games at Respawn, Stig Asmussen has embarked on a new adventure: Starting AAA studio Giant Skull. IGN's Ryan McCaffrey sits down with Stig to talk about why he left Respawn, what to expect from his next project, and his goals for creating a healthy work culture at Giant Skull amidst a turbulent time in the video game industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for an exclusive live interview at IGN Live with Xbox's Phil Spencer and a panel of top game developers. In this deep-dive session, we explore the latest Xbox strategies, the impact of recent studio acquisitions, and what the future holds for Xbox and its fans. From discussing major titles like 'Halo Infinite' to addressing community concerns and revealing insights into upcoming Xbox projects, this is a conversation any gaming enthusiast won't want to miss. Tune in to hear directly from the leaders shaping the future of gaming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this very special IGN Live analysis of the summer Xbox Showcase, we break down each announcement, from blockbuster game releases to unexpected surprises, and discuss their impact on the gaming landscape. The Podcast Unlocked crew, including Ryan McCaffrey, Miranda Sanchez, Stella Chung, and Destin Legarie, discuss key moments from the showcase, offering insights and reactions that you won't find anywhere else. Whether you're catching up or want to relive the excitement, this is your definitive guide to understanding what's next for Xbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re diving into the best of Unlock-Block trivia. Join us as we relive some of the most memorable moments from past shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first officially announced Xbox Series game ever, Hellblade 2, has finally arrived, and we've played it! Join us for a spoiler-free discussion of Ninja Theory's stunning new Senua adventure. Plus: Activision opens a new AAA development studio with a narrative-driven focus, this year's Call of Duty looks set to drop straight onto Xbox Game Pass, Grand Theft Auto 6 gets a narrowed-in release window, and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re diving into the best of Unlock-Block trivia. Join us as we relive some of the most memorable moments from past shows. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/unlockd Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is much cheerier than the last one as the news is (for the most part) much better! For instance, a new statement from the president of Square Enix strongly suggests that Xbox players will no longer be left behind on future Final Fantasy game releases – or any other game Square Enix makes. Plus: rumors of a new Doom being revealed at the upcoming Xbox Showcase heat up as Ryan implores Stella to play Doom Eternal, Assassin's Creed Shadows sounds like Ubisoft straight-up built a Splinter Cell game into it (mechanically speaking), and more! EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/unlockd Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another devastating wave of Xbox layoffs results in the closure of three Bethesda studios, including the makers of last year's shadow-dropped hit Hi-Fi Rush and the decorated developers of Prey. We do our best to make sense of the move from Microsoft, a company that has spent the better part of the past decade trying to add talent and get more exclusive games on its platforms. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/unlockd Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for our reactions to the most exciting and interesting games (of the many, MANY exciting and interesting games) to come out of IGN's ID@Xbox showcase. We gave our excited impressions of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, Vampire Survivors' Contra DLC, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Jackbox: Naughty Pack, Stampede: Racing Royale, Palworld's new update, Commandos: Origins, 33 Immortals, and the bizarrely fascinating All You Need Is Help. Enjoy! EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/unlockd Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Destin and Ryan dive into the most pleasant surprise of the week: an announcement of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, plus a fantastic reveal trailer to accompany it! We talk a bit about the first game and why we're so hyped for this one – plus why this Fall is suddenly looking mighty good for fans of first-person fantasy RPGs. Plus: Halo Infinite gets another excellent update that leads us into a discussion about more Xbox-based TV shows, we lament the single-player GTA5 DLC we never got, and more! EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/unlockd Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's Podcast Unlocked, we're discussing the fallout of Fallout! Yes, the Prime Video TV show is a huge hit – and it's really fantastic to boot. We tell you (in spoiler-free terms) why we love it so much, and then talk about the positive effect it's having on the player counts in ALL of the other Fallout games, many of which are available on Xbox Game Pass right now. Plus: the next wave of Xbox Game Pass games has been announced, the gaming community is upset over Star Wars Outlaws' upcoming Season Pass, and more! EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/unlockd Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new Fallout Show is receiving rave reviews. Xbox is "Full-Speed Ahead" on Next-Gen hardware. And reports say that an Xbox game preservation team is being built to keep the games we love for years to come. There's been a lot of positivity in Xbox news this week and we bring on Brad Sams and Parris Lilly to discuss the latest. In addition to all of this, Gears 6 rumors are swirling alongside a rumored June 9th Xbox Showcase that would definitely bring the hype. All that and more this week on IGN's Podcast Unlocked. Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/exclusive-xbox-president-sarah-bond-has-set-up-a-new-team-dedicated-to-game-preservation-and-forward-compatibility Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Based on a recent interview, it seems like Phil Spencer has been thinking a lot about a possible Xbox handheld. We discuss what we'd want from it – noting that we would VERY MUCH want it – and wonder if it could end up being a Switch-like replacement for the Series S in the next console generation. Plus: Elder Scrolls 6 is already playable at Bethesda, but we're hoping the team is doing some serious updating to the Creation Engine. And finally, we talk about Toys for Bob's new game deal with Microsoft after they recently split off from Activision, including what we think the game is. Enjoy the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

In today’s episode, we're diving into the intriguing world of the Fallout TV series, as hinted by Bethesda's Todd Howard. With a directive to the show's creators to avoid elements planned for Fallout 5, the series is setting up an intriguing narrative canvas, spanning the aftermath of Fallout 4 and touching on the lore of New Vegas, all within the backdrop of post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. As Fallout 5 remains on the distant horizon, post-The Elder Scrolls 6, the anticipation builds for what Bethesda has in store for the franchise's future. Additionally, we cover the Square Enix Publisher Sale, offering significant discounts on major franchises, and provide updates on the latest Forza Motorsport enhancements that promise to enrich the racing experience. We also spotlight the arrival of the System Shock remake on Xbox and PlayStation, following its successful PC launch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

We open this week's podcast by discussing what first-party Xbox games might be next to get ported to the PlayStation or Switch as Microsoft officially announces the four games (Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, Grounded, and Hi-Fi Rush) heading to other consoles, and then we get into our main topic: a so-called Xbox Series X Pro. With rumors abound of a PS5 Pro, does Microsoft need to get a mid-gen upgrade (i.e. different than the Brooklin refresh from the FTC trial's roadmap leak) out there soon too? Or is it not worth it. We then finish with a bit of chatter about season 2 of the Paramount+ Halo TV show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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

We recorded this week's episode live, immediately after Xbox's Developer Direct. And we loved that Direct! Indiana Jones and the Great Circle had a fantastic reveal (it's FIRST-PERSON!) and reminded us of the original Xbox classic The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, Hellblade 2 looked incredible and we finally got the long-awaited release date, Avowed had gorgeous settings and meaningful character choices but didn't quite wow us in the combat department, and Visions of Mana showed up as a secret and unexpected game. Enjoy our reactions and recap! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

The time has come for the Podcast Unlocked team to crown our Best Xbox Game of 2023! We start with five nominees, narrow it down to two, and, well...you'll see. We then spend the rest of the podcast discussing Xbox's excellent showing at last week's Game Awards, including the gorgeous new Hellblade 2 trailer, the star-studded reveal of Hideo Kojima's OD, and Arkane's unexpected team-up with Marvel to make a Blade game. 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:54 - Unlocked’s Best Xbox Game of 2023 00:21:38 - Baldur’s Gate 3 & Alan Wake II Impressions 00:23:42 - Xbox at The Game Awards! 00:49:38 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

As The Game Awards season creeps up on us in December, Stella and Destin speculate with Kahlief Adams on what we could possibly see from Xbox in the coming weeks. We also dive into Baldur's Gate 3's upcoming Xbox release, yet another one of it's HUGE patches, and the incredible physical Deluxe Edition that's up on preorder! Finally, Bethesda responded to several negative reviews of Starfield on Steam and we've got some thoughts on it. What are yours now that you've had a lot more time with it since its release? If you want to get in on a couple giveaways happening right now, head on over to ign.com/rewards! We've got an Alienware Gaming Bundle from Remnant II up for grabs (ends 12/2/23) as well as a custom Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon Xbox Series X (ends 12/15/23). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

The Xbox Series X and S turn three years old this week, so we discuss how the latest Xbox console generation is going, both on its own and in comparison to the first three years of other Xbox consoles. Plus: we try to make sense of the new Mass Effect 5 teaser we got for N7 Day this week, and then we discuss the imminent Grand Theft Auto 6 announcement and whether or not it's going to happen at The Game Awards. Join us! 00:00:19:06 Intro 00:06:03:14 3 years of Xbox Series X|S 00:26:26:00 Mass Effect 5 tease 00:44:57:27 Finally some real Grand Theft Auto 6 news 00:52:17:24 Outro

The greatest Xbox podcast crossover ever happens now! IGN's Podcast Unlocked and Kinda Funny's Xcast have joined forces for an Xbox podcast tour-de-force. First we discuss the brilliance of Alan Wake 2 and the Max Payne 1+2 Remakes that Remedy is about to go into full production on before discussing Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski's recent comments about Gears needing a reboot. And then the main event: our Xbox first-party studio fantasy draft! Now that Microsoft's Activision-Blizzard acquisition has happened, we thought it'd be a fun time to each draft three studios who we're most excited about for the next five years. Who will get chosen? Who will get left out? Join us, and don't forget to go to humblebundle.com and pick up the IGN Editor's Choice Bundle, the proceeds of which benefit the Extra Life children's charity!

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

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is finally done, and so we can finally stop talking about it! Or, well, at least we can stop talking about the annoying will-they-or-won't-they regulatory side of it. Now it's time to talk about the games! We discuss Activision-Blizzard games in the back catalog that we'd like to see lightly refreshed for the Xbox Series X|S (similar to the recent Quake 2 remaster), before taking turns talking about which of their IPs we'd like to see Microsoft bring back as a brand-new game. Plus: Starfield tops the sales charts, Bethesda's "Uncle Pete" Hines says goodbye, and more!   

Some Forza Motorsport vs. Gran Turismo 7 talk kicks off the show before we talk about Halo Infinite's new Season 5 content, discuss how Xbox Game Pass looks set to level up in 2024 with the addition of Activision-Blizzard games, lament the recent layoffs at Telltale, and more.

First we give our initial impressions of Forza Motorsport and Assassin's Creed Mirage now that the review embargoes on them have lifted, and then we spend the bulk of the episode giving our top-5 rankings of Xbox's internal game studios (including Bethesda/Zenimax) while also contemplating Phil Spencer's Xbox legacy to date as PlayStation boss Jim Ryan finalizes his ahead of his retirement.

We open this week's busy episode of Unlocked by discussing two big new games we just played a bunch of: Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty and Alan Wake 2. After that we discuss Phil Spencer's wish to bring back MechAssault and have a fantasy draft for which Xbox developer should make it -- along with our own picks (complete with preferred developers) for other dormant Xbox franchises we'd like to see return. Plus: we get lost wondering how the heck we're going to play all of the games in this historically busy stretch of major game releases that we're in right now, and more!  

In one of our longest Podcast Unlocked episodes ever, we recap, discuss, and analyze every piece of Microsoft's huge FTC case documents leak that revealed the Xbox Series X slim refresh (and its lack of any disc drive), plans for future Bethesda/Zenimax games (many of which are still unannounced), their top-level plans for their next-generation console due out in Holiday 2028, and more!

After a quick update on how our Starfield adventures are going, we discuss Phil Spencer and the Xbox leadership team’s big decision to bend the Series X/S parity rules to get Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox, Destin’s big interview with Phil Spencer — including whether or not Microsoft will produce a mid-gen refresh for the Series X — the sad closure of Volition, and more!00:00:00 - Intro & Forza Motorsport Impressions00:14:32 - Will Embracer Sell Gearbox?00:33:41 - Donald Mustard Retires from Epic Games00:44:17 - The Xbox Mastercard is Real00:58:35 - Is Ubisoft Finally Releasing XDefiant?01:14:06 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

After a quick update on how our Starfield adventures are going, we discuss Phil Spencer and the Xbox leadership team’s big decision to bend the Series X/S parity rules to get Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox, Destin’s big interview with Phil Spencer — including whether or not Microsoft will produce a mid-gen refresh for the Series X — the sad closure of Volition, and more!00:00:00 - Intro & Replaced Delayed to 202400:12:05 - Xbox Drops Parity Requirement & Baldur's Gate 3 Coming!00:22:10 - Blizzard/Activision & Game Pass?00:39:10 - Mid-Generation Refresh for Xbox?01:11:28 - Embracer Group Shuts Volition Down & Outro 

This is the episode you've been waiting for: Starfield. We brought in our Starfield reviewer, Dan Stapleton, to have a spoiler-free discussion about what we think of the most anticipated Xbox game of the year. We talk about what we like, what we don't, and how it ranks alongside Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. 00:00:00 - Intro & Starfield Review Discussion01:02:00 - IGN Icons01:05:51 - Even More Starfield & Outro

Gamescom is underway, and this week's episode is dedicated to a recap and analysis of everything from the Opening Night Live showcase -- from the beauty of Alan Wake 2, Black Myth: Wukong, and Lords of the Fallen to our disgust at the knucklehead stage-crashers who are going to ruin access these events for fans. Plus: We can tell you that we're playing Starfield, and though we can't share any opinions on it yet, we let you know when you can read IGN's review.00:00:00 - Intro & the Biggest gamescom Announcements00:40:55 - Modern Warfare 3: Will It Be Good?00:46:22 - Alan Wake 2 Reactions & Outro

We're diving into the mystery surrounding STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl's potential release date. Is the December 1 date listed on Plaion's website for real? We've got the juicy details on what this highly anticipated game might bring, from survival mechanics to a dynamic day-night cycle.Xbox is taking a stand against bad behavior with a fresh strike-based program. Learn all about the new enforcement system and how it aims to create a better gaming environment. But is eight strikes before a one-year ban too much? We're breaking down the pros and cons.And hold onto your controllers, because Xbox Game Pass is about to drop a bombshell lineup! From Everspace 2 to Gris, and the eagerly awaited Starfield, we've got the scoop on the upcoming releases that'll keep you glued to your screens. 00:00:00 - Intro & Baldur's Gate 3 is Just SO GOOD00:18:08 - Is STALKER 2's Release Date ACTUALLY Happening?00:35:02 - Xbox Has New Strike-Based Program to Combat Toxicity01:03:32 - Awesome Xbox Game Pass Games BEFORE Starfield01:11:14 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

Get ready to dive into some exciting EVO news on this episode. We've got a crazy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover heading to Street Fighter 6, and there's a new character teaser for Street Fighter 6 that's brewing some serious curiosity. But that's not all, Mortal Kombat 1 is back with a bang, introducing Reptile, Ashrah, and Havik as fresh fighters. Red Dead Redemption has also been announced as a port for the PS4 and Switch, and a lot of fans aren't happy! And of course, you know we have to touch on some thoughts on Starfield, Baldur's Gate 3, and Forza Motorsport news. It's a packed episode with host Kahlief Adams, joined by Stella Chung and Destin Legarie, so don't miss this one!00:00:00 - Intro & EVO 2023 News Galore!00:15:28 - Alien is Coming to Dead by Daylight00:19:03 - Xbox is Going Big for gamescom00:29:07 - Could Starfield Learn Anything From Baldur's Gate 3?00:43:29 - Red Dead Redemption PS4/Switch Port is Coming00:49:33 - Outro

00:00:00 - Intro & Baldur’s Gate 300:06:25 - Remnant 2 Sells More Than One Million Units00:23:25 - Our IGN Icons Picks! & FFXVI Coming to Xbox00:35:09 - Elite Series 2 Replacement Parts Announced00:40:02 - Games Joining and Leaving Xbox Game Pass & Outro

00:00:19 Intro00:02:41 New Black Panther open-world game announced00:18:47 Ubisoft cancels Immortals Fenyx Rising 200:26:16 Rainbow Six talk00:32:29 Forgotten Ubisoft IP00:40:17 Another Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III leak

Though Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard has cleared its biggest hurdle (the FTC), the deal isn't quite done yet. And all parties involved have given themselves more time to finalize the deal. We discuss that, plus Sony finally signing its 10-year Call of Duty deal with Microsoft, the death of Xbox Live Gold and its somewhat confusing replacement in the form of Xbox Game Pass Core, and more!

The moment we've all been waiting for has arrived: the verdict is in for Microsoft vs. FTC, and Team Xbox has won! We spend the entire show discussing the massive implications of the ruling, which seems to have set the stage for Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard to finally go through. We talk about the games we might see out of it - particularly from Raven Software - the very serious matter of how Xbox boss Phil Spencer must take steps to clean up the toxic workplace culture at ABK, whether or not Microsoft (and Sony) are done making big acquisitions, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro & ID@Xbox Impressions00:09:31 - The FTC/Xbox Trial is Not Over Yet!00:31:18 - What Games Could Return if Xbox Acquired Activision?00:50:10 - What Needs to Change at Activision01:05:38 - Is Microsoft Done with Acquisitions?01:16:19 - Outro

As we await the verdict in the Microsoft vs. FTC trial regarding the fate of Xbox's Activision-Blizzard acquisition, we dig into some of the other things happening in the world of Xbox, from the future of Banjo-Kazooie (if there even is one) to Ubisoft's rumored Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake to this month's hidden gem on Xbox Game Pass, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro & FTC v. Microsoft Updates00:08:17 - Xbox & Bethesda at gamescom 202300:18:48 - Will We Ever See Another Banjo Kazooie Game?00:36:40 - Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Getting a Remake?00:48:39 - Outro 

With the Microsoft vs. FTC trial concluding, with a verdict expected next week, we discuss and analyze seven big things we've learned so far, from the fate of Bethesda game exclusivity to the other publishers Microsoft considered buying and more! Plus: our own investigative report into the state of The Initiative and the Perfect Dark reboot.

We have so much to talk about on this milestone episode! We recap some of the games we saw and played at Summer Game Fest, then discuss how Xbox is absolutely STACKED with AAA exclusive first-party RPGs for the next several years, then pour one out for the Xbox One as Microsoft officially stops making games for it, and THEN we finish this extra-long episode digging into all of the crazy revelations that are coming out as we speak during Microsoft's trial against the FTC regarding the Activision-Blizzard acquisition. Enjoy!

Happy Summer of Gaming! In this special SoG episode of Podcast Unlocked, Ryan McCaffrey, Stella Chung, Destin Legarie, and Kat Bailey discuss their favorite reveals and surprises from the Xbox/Bethesda Showcase and the Starfield Direct. Xbox came out firing on all cylinders with some hot new reveals from their best studios. From Starfield to Clockwork Revolution and FINALLY some new information and scenes for Fable, there's a lot to cover, and it's all just icing on the cake! There's so much more, so stay tuned for that!

On the eve of the biggest Xbox event of the year, we keep to our tradition and make a total of 12 predictions for the upcoming Xbox Showcase. From Fable to Avowed to Gears of War and beyond, we've got a dozen ideas about what we might see this Sunday. Plus: we discuss the recent report about Redfall's troubled development, gush about Diablo 4, and more!

Diablo Franchise General Manager and old friend of Unlocked Rod Fergusson joins the show this week to celebrate the launch of Diablo 4. Rod talks about the challenges of joining Blizzard mere days before the COVID-19 pandemic, why he left Gears of War behind after 15 years, which Diablo 4 class he'll be playing first, and much more!

Mortal Kombat 1 has been announced, and it's bringing its unexpected title to next-gen consoles in September. Meanwhile, Alan Wake 2's voice actor may have just spoiled the release date for Remedy's upcoming survival-horror sequel. We discuss these two games, along with the Fall release calendar for Xbox that's now starting to come into focus. Plus: we're not buying the idea that GTA 6 might be out next year, and more!

Xbox's deal to acquire Activision-Blizzard gets a key approval from the European Commission, even while the UK's CMA doubles down on its opposition. A quote from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has us wondering what Microsoft might be willing to do in the UK if they don't get the green light. Plus: Starfield has...jetpack sex? Don't worry, we'll explain. And more!

Phil Spencer's recent comments about Xbox's third-place standing in the video game marketplace have created quite a stir in the Xbox community. We play Phil's quote and then spend a LOT of time reacting to and discussing it. Plus: it's the First Annual Xbox Games Showcase Draft! We compile a list of the games we think are most likely to make an appearance at next month's Showcase. Some of our choices might surprise you!

Redfall is out, and unfortunately it's basically a worst-case scenario. We talk through our personal impressions of the game so far, and then get into a larger discussion about what it means for Xbox customer confidence, the intense pressure that now falls on Starfield, and where Xbox can go from here.

In a surprise plot twist, Microsoft's Activision-Blizzard acquisition has been BLOCKED by the UK's CMA regulatory authority. We spend most of the show discussing the ramifications of this as well as what Microsoft might do next. Plus: we kick off the show with some quick impressions of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor! Presented by Dead Island 2

Longtime Halo senior developer Joseph Staten, the subject of last week's Unlocked, has announced where he's going next: Netflix! We discuss what this means for Netflix's gaming efforts before turning our attention to the newly announced departure of another longtime Halo developer, Frank O'Connor. Plus: Diablo 4's community interactions continue to impress, and more!

As Halo Infinite creative director Joseph Staten confirms his departure from Microsoft altogether, we reflect back on his many contributions to some of the very best Halo games and also look ahead at what the future of Halo might look like. Plus: Arkane Austin drops some disappointing news about Redfall, Miranda gives her very positive hands-on impressions of Minecraft Legends, and more!

ID@XBox dropped some exciting new trailers today and the Unlocked crew is here to update us on the latest indie games coming to Xbox! Stella Chung, Miranda Sanchez, and Taylor Lyles share their thoughts on games like The Explorator, Homestead Arcana, The Last Case of Benedict Fox, and the new Vampire Survivors: Tales of the Foscari DLC! We also touch on cheaper storage expansion for the Xbox as well as an unfortunate delay for ARK 2. Tons of fun stuff happening this week, so don't miss out!00:00:00 - Intro & ID@Xbox Reactions! 00:17:17- ARK 2 Delayed to 2024 00:25:25 - New Xbox Controller Made From Recycled Parts? 00:37:14 - Cheaper Xbox Storage on the Way & Outro 

Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 4, and more Resident Evil 4. At least that's what Brian Altano played this week. Join us on this episode as we let Brian gush over his love of RE4, discuss changes coming to Game Pass, and some bummer MultiVersus news. 00:00:00 Intro00:01:21 Resident Evil 4 Remake00:23:00 Game Pass changes00:38:05 MultiVersus leaves open beta00:50:42 Outro

We all played a ton of the Diablo 4 beta this past weekend, and we were all also lucky enough to play Redfall recently as well. We've got a LOT of thoughts about both. Join us!

Hitman developer IO Interactive is starting to talk about its new online fantasy-RPG project. Plus it's got a James Bond 007 game in the works. We discuss those, and then debate whether or not they might -- or should -- be Xbox's next acquisition target. Plus: Zombie Telltale is saying all of right things about its decision to delay The Wolf Among Us 2 into next year, guest panelist Cameron Hawkins agrees to take one for the team and eat a KFC Double Down in order to get Diablo 4 beta access, and more!00:00:00 - Intro00:04:06 - IO Interactive Working on a Fantasy RPG00:21:04 - Should IO Interactive Be Xbox’s Acquisition Target?00:35:57 - The Wolf Among Us 2 Delayed & Outro

Starfield finally has a release date, so we kick off the show discussing why this new September window makes a lot of sense for Bethesda Game Studios's next big RPG. Plus: we share nine moves we think Xbox should make in 2023, and more!

Tons to talk about this week! We start by discussing our disappointment in the new gameplay showcase for Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Then we analyze Tango Gameworks founder Shinji Mikami's departure from the studio and why we think The Evil Within 3 is still happening. Plus: Mortal Kombat 12 gets announced in an unexpected way, Call of Duty will get a full-game release this year after all, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping00:03:19 - What’s Up with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League?00:21:29 - Shinji Mikami is Leaving Tango Gameworks00:28:13 - WB CEO Announces Mortal Kombat 1200:38:12 - Call of Duty and Forza Horizon 5 News!00:47:10 - Outro

Microsoft makes 10-year deals to bring Call of Duty to other platforms with not one but TWO different companies in an effort to get regulators to approve the Activision-Blizzard acquisition. We discuss how Microsoft might be nearing the endgame of this corporate chess match. Plus: we're stoked for the Diablo 4 beta, Ubisoft makes a puzzling statement about attending E3, and more!

Microsoft admits in a court filing as part of the proposed Activision-Blizzard acquisition that game sales suffer when games get added to Xbox Game Pass. We discuss why it doesn't really matter, why Game Pass matters for games both big and small, and more! Plus: why Kotick has to go if the acquisition is approved, Dead Island 2's release date changes AGAIN (but for the better this time!), and plenty more!00:00:00 - Intro & Secret Single-Player Titanfall Game Reportedly Canceled by EA00:03:36 - Xbox: Game Pass Cannibalizes Game Sales00:23:23 - Kotick to Stay as CEO of Blizzard/Activision is Microsoft Deal is Blocked?00:31:08 - Hi-Fi Rush Easter Egg Teases Evil Within 3?00:41:21 - Dead Island 2’s Release Date Moves UP a Week00:48:43 - Outro

A busy week of Xbox news has us discussing the recent cancellation of a secret Titanfall single-player project at Respawn and why we sadly may never see Titanfall again. Plus: live-service multiplayer games are getting shut off left and right, so what does it mean for the industry? Also: how will DC's plan to integrate video games into the DCU go over with developers, MLB The Show 23 adds a wonderful new feature that celebrates a key part of baseball history, Tim Schafer heads to the Hall of Fame, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro & Secret Single-Player Titanfall Game Reportedly Canceled by EA00:24:36 - Marvel’s Midnight Suns and Xcom Director Isn’t Thrilled James Gunn’s New DC Connected Universe00:35:29 - Crossfirex and Knockout City Are Officially Shutting Down00:51:31 - MLB The Show 23 Will Feature Legends From the Negro Leagues01:01:22 - Tim Schafer Inducted Into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame01:10:22 - Unlock-Block Trivia & Outro

Now that we've had a week to play Hi-Fi Rush and see the incredible viral reaction to it, we had a deep and extended conversation about Tango Gameworks' surprise rhythm-action release. We discuss why it was exactly what Xbox was needed, whether we might get a sequel, and more. Plus: the second half of the podcast is dedicated to an equally deep and heartfelt conversation about the state of 343 Industries and the Halo IP. 00:00:00 - Intro & How Much Fun is Hi-Fi Rush?00:35:10 - 323 Industries Report from Jason Schreier01:12:28 - Unlocked Block Trivia00:37:29 - Outro

We recorded Unlocked immediately after Microsoft's Xbox Developer Direct presentation this week. These are our in-the-moment reactions to the excellent presentation, from the deep-dive on Redfall (including a May 2 release date to look forward to) to another look at the gorgeous Forza Motorsport (though it came without any release date attached) to the surprise new game from Tango Gameworks, Hi-Fi Rush, that's available right now! And in our final segment, we spent some time discussing the current uncertain state of Halo in the wake of the layoffs at 343 Industries.00:00:00 - Intro & Redfall Reactions!00:14:33 - Hi-Fi Rush is Out NOW00:24:38 - Forza Motorsport Looks So Good!00:37:29 - The State of 343 Industries & Outro

Spawn on Me host/creator Kahlief Adams returns to Unlocked to tell us all about Spawn on Me's upcoming awards show, The Spawnies. He then sticks around as we all make our predictions for next week's big Xbox Developer_Direct event. We predict release dates and a whole lot more! 00:00:00 - Intro & Kahlief Adams for The Spawnies!00:26:29 - Xbox Developer Direct Predictions!00:47:29 - Outro

Microsoft has finally confirmed a Developer Direct event that will showcase Redfall, Forza Motorsport, Minecraft Legends, and Elder Scrolls Online with a separate standalone event for Starfield coming at a later date. This will be a deep dive into the games with much less presentation and more gameplay according to the team at Xbox. As the titles listed are promised for the first half of 2023 we can't wait to see more. 00:00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping00:01:39 - New Xbox Developer Direct is on the Way!00:18:03 - Ubisoft Delays Skull & Bones for the 6th Time00:33:34 - 5 Forza Horizon Devs Form a New Studio00:40:31 - Xbox Implements New Power Saving Settings & Outro

00:00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping00:06:04 - Xbox Predictions for 202300:35:24 - QA Workers at Zenimax form a union00:41:20 Xbox Games With Gold00:48:32 Trivia!00:52:32 Outro

Our last episode of 2022 focuses on our personal favorite Xbox games of the year. From the biggest AAA blockbusters to the smallest under-the-radar indies, these are the 10 games we enjoyed the most on our Xboxes in 2022. Plus: Microsoft's latest salvo in the ongoing battle against the regulators AND Sony in the quest to get the Activision-Blizzard acquisition approved manages to make Sony look bad...but also doesn't make Microsoft look so hot either. We're off next week but back for 2023 starting on Wednesday, January 4. Happy holidays! 00:00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping00:04:09 - Our Personal Xbox Favorite Games of 202200:33:30 - More on the Microsoft/Activision Story & Outro

High on Life has arrived, and it closes out Xbox Game Pass's 2022 on a high note! We rave about Justin Roiland's comedy-FPS and discuss what we love about it. Plus: we share our frustration about Xbox's no-show at The Game Awards last week, and why we feel like it was the straw that broke the camel's back for many Xbox fans. 00:00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping00:07:29 - High On Life Impressions00:21:00 - Xbox’s No-Show at The Game Awards00:44:30 - Who Wins Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

Xbox has decided to increase the prices of their next-gen games created specifically for the Xbox Series X|S hardware to $70. This is after being priced at $60 for the last 16 years. Phil Spencer had teased a price increase for either the console, Xbox Game Pass, or their games shortly before this announcement. This week the Unlocked crew reacts to the news and also the surprising agreement Xbox and Nintendo made to keep Call of Duty on Nintendo gaming platforms for the next 10 years.00:00:00 Intro00:02:10 Xbox first-party games price hike00:17:25 Microsoft commits Call of Duty on Nintendo systems for 10 years00:32:16 Halo Infinite winter update00:38:15 Elden Ring DLC available for free00:41:00 Remedy is working on Control 200:45:30 What we expect from The Game Awards 202200:50:10 Outro

Marvel's Midnight Suns creative director Jake Solomon joins us to discuss Firaxis' new superhero strategy-RPG -- including a couple of Easter eggs that big Marvel fans should look out for. Plus: Todd Howard gives a vague hint about what to expect from MachineGames' Indiana Jones game, we've got ideas for how to reinvigorate Xbox Games With Gold, and more!00:00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping00:03:00 - Indiana Jones Game Is a 'Unique' Mash-Up of Different Genres00:11:20 - The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station Podcast Ep. 4 Preview00:14:13 - Xbox Games With Gold for December00:24:41 - Will We Ever See a Ninja Gaiden Revival?00:28:03 - Marvel’s Midnight Suns Interview w/ Creative Director Jake Solomon00:49:40 - Outro

As Ubisoft Toronto developers discuss their design philosophy behind the Splinter Cell Remake and show off a bit of concept art, we react to their plans for Sam Fisher's long-awaited return. Plus: Dead Island 2 gets delayed again, Sonic the Hedgehog's co-creator gets arrested, Phil Spencer's "Call of Duty on PlayStation" press tour continues, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro00:03:39 - More Splinter Cell Concept Art Surfaces!00:22:32 - The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station Podcast Ep. 4 Preview00:25:19 - What’s the Deal with Dead Island 2?00:31:44 - Phil Spencer Says CoD Will Stay on PlayStation (for the 100th time)00:44:05 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

Our Xbox crew mourns the passing of legendary longtime Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy, discussing how his presence and performance in the Batman: Arkham games helped elevate not just those games but the entire superhero game genre. Plus: our impressions of this week's new Xbox-exclusive releases Somerville and Pentiment, CD Projekt Red shares notable news on both Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3's next-gen update, and more!00:00:00 - Intro00:03:58 - Halo Infinite Forge Impressions00:07:18 - Somerville and Pentiment Are Here!00:17:13 - The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station Podcast Preview00:20:10 - Remembering Kevin Conroy00:34:45 - Rockstar Turns Down Eminem-led GTA Movie00:45:11 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

Join Stella Chung, Parris Lilly, Gary Whitta, and Destin Legarie on covering the big news that Netflix announced a Gears of war movie and adult animated show in partnership with The Coalition, talking about the Halo Infinite Winter Update, and Take-Two Interactive’s new milestone with Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTAV. 00:00:00 - Intro & Our Thoughts on a Gears of War Movie/Series from Netflix00:21:25 - The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station Podcast!00:24:20 - Halo Infinite Winter Update Discussion00:43:37 - GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 Hit New Milestones & Outro

Subscribe to the horror series set in the universe of “The Callisto Protocol,” the hotly anticipated game from Striking Distance Studios.  Helix Station was once the jewel of the Jovian system, but it’s been a decaying ghost ship ever since its Carpenter drive went supercritical. When a dangerous escaped criminal seeks refuge there, officers of the Black Iron Prison force a pair of veteran skip tracers to help recover him. But once on Helix, they discover murderous alien life forms, as well as unspeakable horrors from their past.Starring Gwendoline Christie and Michael Ironside. IGN is publishing and distributing Helix Station in partnership with Striking Distance Studios, creator of the game The Callisto Protocol. The first two episodes of The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station are available now, with new episodes dropping every Thursday. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. Listen & Subscribe here!

Phil Spencer went on quite a press tour this week, leaving us with a lot to discuss, including: a definitive end to the Call-of-Duty-on-PlayStation debate (or is it?), the ongoing Xbox first-party exclusive game drought, the prospect of price increases on Xbox hardware and/or software and/or services, and more!00:00:00 - Intro00:02:42 - Phil Spencer & Call of Duty’s Future on PlayStation00:12:20 - Will Elder Scrolls VI Be Xbox Exclusive?00:21:05 - Where Are the First Party Exclusives?00:48:17 - Outro

Fallout 4 is getting a next-gen update for Xbox Series X|S, but is it going to be the only Fallout we get on this generation of Xbox consoles? We lament just how far away Fallout 5 probably is. Plus: Xbox sales figures continue to impress, we're concerned about the departures of the Rocksteady co-founders, and more!00:00:00 - Intro & Fallout 4 Next Gen News!00:17:10 - Xbox Sales & Game Pass are on Fire00:29:04 - Silent Hill is Coming Back in a Big Way00:37:03 - More News!00:47:28 - Outro

The Microsoft-vs.-Sony drama over Xbox's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard took another turn for the weird this week. We examine each company's latest effort to hilariously downplay themselves and talk up the other guy. Plus: our quick impressions of the just-released Xbox exclusive Scorn and the next-gen only, Game-Pass-day-one stealth adventure A Plague Tale: Requiem; Obsidian's future with Fallout, and more!00:00:00 - Intro & Scorn Impressions!00:12:20 - The Microsoft/Sony Soap Opera00:39:11 - Microsoft Lays Off Close to 1000 Employees00:41:26 - Obsidian’s Fallout Future & Outro

We finally get some real numbers from Xbox Game Pass, including how much revenue it generated last year and how much Xbox is paying for the Ark games on Game Pass. Plus: one of the developers of Scorn joins us to discuss the imminent new body-horror adventure game, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping00:03:28 - Xbox Game Pass Generates Billions00:13:38 - Ark 2 on Game Pass00:22:42 - Deathloop Takes Place in the Dishonored Universe?00:29:20 - Scorn Dev Interview with Lazar Mesaros00:49:25 - Outro

We kick off this week's show with our hands-on impressions of Gotham Knights. Then, we spend the bulk of the show discussing the 10-year roadmap released by CD Projekt Red -- five Witcher games, a new Cyberpunk, and a new IP. Was it a good idea for them to be THIS transparent? What do we want out of new Cyberpunk and Witcher games? We talk about all that and more! 00:00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping00:04:10 - Gotham Knights Preview Impressions!00:14:13 - CD Project Red Announces Future Roadmap01:04:48 - Is Legacy of Kain Making a Return?01:11:05 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro 

00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:48 - Our Thoughts on the Modern Warfare II Beta00:11:18 - Grounded v1.0 is here!00:14:44 - Team Ninja is Open to Outsourcing Ninja Gaiden?00:30:14 - Splinter Cell Remake is Getting Rewritten?00:43:24 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay was leaked via a hacker. So now what? What do we think of the return to Vice City? What, if anything, will change about Rockstar's plan to show us the game on their terms. We discuss that as well as Diablo 4's upcoming endgame beta, hands-on impressions from the surprise demo of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro 00:11:35 - Thoughts on the Rockstar GTA VI Leak00:23:27 - Going Back to Vice City00:42:38 - Over 40 Minutes of Diablo IV Gameplay Leaked00:53:18 - What Does the Rest of 2022 Look Like?00:57:10 - UK Investigates Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision/Blizzard01:15:12 - Deathloop Comes to Xbox Game Pass01:17:12 - Outro

Our Xbox crew discusses a significant management shake-up at the top of 343 Industries, Sony boss Jim Ryan's public airing of Call of Duty-related grievances against Phil Spencer and Microsoft, the biggest news from the weekend's Disney/Marvel and Ubisoft showcases, the new Xbox Elite controller, and more!

Halo and 343 Industries was an arranged marriage from the start. After the latest sting of bad news – the cancellation of split-screen co-op – we spend an hour discussing 343's past, present, and future with the franchise. Is the arranged marriage working? Should Halo even be a "live service" game? It's a complex topic with no clear answers, but clearly it's time to have the conversation. Plus: September's Xbox Game Pass games, the Game Pass Friends & Family Plan goes live in a test market, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:41 - Halo Devs Cancel Split-Screen Co-op00:13:10 - What’s Happening at 343 Industries?01:00:30 - Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family is Coming!01:13:29 - More Game Pass News & Outro

IGN's Kat Bailey joins Destin and Ryan to discuss the latest leak surrounding Microsoft's seemingly imminent Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family subscription plan. We speculate what it might cost, and how it further adds to Game Pass's already-amazing value proposition. Plus: we talk Madden NFL 23 and sports video games, debate what we want out of the just-announced new Mafia game (including when we want it to be set), and more! 00:00:00 Intro00:01:14 Madden NFL 2300:11:25 Game Pass Friends and Family00:27:25 New Mafia Game00:37:58 Cyberpunk Team Heist Game from Payday Creator00:44:34 Xbox Games With Gold00:51:10 Unlock-Block Trivia

Xbox brought plenty of content to Gamescom, and now we've got a clear picture of what the holiday lineup looks like for Xbox gamers. Plus: Xbox commits to maintaining Xbox prices after Sony raised the price of PS5 in many major territories, Phil Spencer hints at his next acquisition priorities, and more! 00:00:00 Xbox Highlights at Gamescom00:23:04 Xbox's Fall line-up00:37:40 Breaking down Phil Spencer's Bloomberg interview00:47:42 Unlock-Block Trivia

This week, Ryan’s back from a long needed vacation! We catch up on a new Lord of the Rings game coming from Weta Workshop and Private Division as well as talk about game’s we’re looking forward to hearing about at gamescom next week! We also anticipate Marvel and Disney rolling out a brand new Games Showcase next month! Tons of fun stuff today, so come join us in the comments! 00:00:00 - Intro 00:04:50 - Private Division Working on a LOTR Game?00:18:39 - Xbox’s gamescom Showcase News00:37:10 - Disney & Marvel’s Games Showcase Coming Sept. 9th00:46:30 - Even More Delays!00:50:16 - Outro

 With the news that the Xbox Series S Performance Boost benefiting developers after direct feedback, the Podcast Unlocked crew discusses the success of the Series S console and why they like it. In addition Activision Blizzard not only covered off on an upcoming Modern Warfare stream in the coming months, but there were also a few news bits about the merger with Microsoft that we missed last week. There was a hefty bit of news to discuss this week so join us as we discuss each story together this week on IGN's Podcast Unlocked. 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:47 - Xbox Series S to Get a Performance Boost00:13:30 - Call of Duty: Next Announced00:30:45 - Xbox Game Pass Tests Out a Family Plan00:37:00 - Marvel’s Midnight Suns Delayed 00:43:28 - Even More News!00:53:53 - Outro

00:00:00 - Intro & Discord is Coming to Xbox!00:06:57 - What Other Things Should Xbox Improve?00:15:18 - Halo Infinite Co-op, No Matchmaking?00:27:24 - What is the Xbox Summer Spotlight?00:40:25 - Xbox Game Pass August00:47:55 - What Are We Playing & Outro 

00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:08 - Our Thoughts on Ask Dusk Falls & FH5 Hot Wheels DLC00:08:45 - More Games Delayed to 2023!00:31:25 - What’s Up with Ubisoft?00:50:53 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

00:00:00 - Intro & SDCC Info!00:02:18 - Halo Infinite Co-op Campaign Beta is great!00:13:15 - Halo Veteran Devs Start a New AAA Studio00:39:56 - Grounded Gets a TV Adaptation00:47:58 - As Dusk Falls & New Game Pass Games00:55:00 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

00:00:00 - Intro 00:08:56 - Halo 2 Earthcity Demo Returning?00:27:00 - Respawn Hiring for an Unannounced Single Player Game00:36:03 - Skull and Bones Finally Gets a Release Date00:45:55 - Games with Gold Removing Xbox 360 Games Soon00:50:25 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

00:00:00 - Intro & GotG writer Mary DeMarle joins BioWare00:24:01 - Ubisoft 'Multi-Game' Showcase Coming in September00:34:04 - GTA IV and Read Dead Redemption remasters scrapped?00:41:56 - New Co-op mode for Halo Infinite00:49:12 - Game Pass Games for July00:54:40 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

0:00 - Intro1:25 - Xbox Outsells PlayStation in Japan22:57 - Halo Master Chief Collection Gets Microtransactions43:39 - Will Microsoft Change Blizzard's Microtransaction Tactics?51:38 - Overwatch 2 Replacing Original Game59:10 - July Xbox Games With Gold1:00:11 - DICE Doubling Down on Battlefield1:06:54 - Tony Hawk 3 and 4 Remasters Cancelled1:11:31 - Trivia and Outro 

We take one last, definitive look back on the Xbox Showcase and the Xbox Showcase Extended now that the dust has settled. We've got some constructive criticism for Microsoft, but we also gush about our favorite games from the event, such as High on Life, Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield.

If you missed it when it aired live, here's our reaction show immediately following the Xbox Showcase from Sunday, June 12. We discussed the long-awaited gameplay reveal of Starfield, what Xbox's exclusive lineup for the rest of this year looks like, Redfall, Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 reactions, our favorite games of the show, and more!

It's Xbox Hype week! With the Xbox Showcase just days away, we look ahead to Xbox's big event. Both of them, now that we know that an Extended Showcase is happening on Tuesday, June 14. We make more predictions for what we want to see and think we'll see. Plus: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake's rough road, the survival-horror smorgasbord of Callisto Protocol, Dead Space Remake, and Resident Evil 4 Remake this winter, and more! TIMECODES: 00:00:19 - Intro & Housekeeping 00:03:43 - Xbox News Roundup Part 1 00:09:31 - Xbox & Bethesda Showcase Predictions 00:36:44 - Xbox News Roundup Part 2 00:53:12 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the long-known-about sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, has finally been announced. We discuss what we want to see out of Respawn's upcoming next-gen sequel. Plus: lamenting the very serious reason for the latest Xbox exclusive to get delayed, Ryan gushes over Ninja Gaiden as the entire series hits Xbox Game Pass, and more! TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping 00:08:52 - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Announced for 2023! 00:25:09 - Replaced Delayed to 2023 00:44:41 - New Game Pass and Games with Gold for June 00:54:22 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

We look back at the Fall of 2007 and discuss: was it the best 90 days of any console ever? From August 21-November 21, 2007 we got Halo 3, Mass Effect, BioShock, The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - all in a 90-day window. There were also a number of other really good games in that same window: Assassin's Creed 1, Project Gotham Racing 4, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, and more! Join us as we look back on one of the greatest stretches in the history of gaming. Plus: spoiler-free Halo TV Series season 1 reactions. TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:04:21 - Halo TV Season 1 Impressions 00:12:39 - The Xbox 360's Greatest 3-Month Stretch 00:45:20 - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for Next Gen Coming Soon! 00:51:00 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

After Starfield and Redfall both got delayed out of 2022 on the same day, we discuss why Xbox fans are understandably frustrated with the lack of major first-party exclusives this year. Next year does look amazing - and we discuss that in detail - but we also talk about how many fans are tired of being told "Wait until next year." Can the Xbox Showcase provide any immediate answers? Join us! TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:39 - Redfall and Starfield Delayed to 2023! 00:10:08 - How Does 2022 Look Like So Far? 00:48:14 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams joins us to discuss a busy week of Xbox news, from EA seemingly accidentally revealing Shepard's return to Mass Effect (do we even want Shepard back? Are we hyped for this?), where Activision can take Sledgehammer's Call of Duty games from here after the disappointing Vanguard, Gotham Knights leaving Xbox One behind, Clippy in Halo Infinite, and more! TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro & Commander Shepard Returning? 00:26:30 - Activision On Call of Duty Vanguard's Underperforming Sales 00:50:35 - Gotham Knights No Longer Releasing For PS4 and Xbox One 00:59:40 - Halo Infinite's Season 2 Adds Clippy! 01:03:50 - Resident Evil Re:Verse Potential Release 01:09:15 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

With Microsoft announcing the date for its upcoming Xbox-Bethesda Showcase, we waste no time in making our first round of predictions for the event. From Hellblade 2 to Starfield to Forza Motorsport to Gears 6 and more, we discuss what we think might happen at the biggest Xbox event of the year. Plus: we attempt to unravel the head-scratching mystery that is Embracer Group buying a few Square Enix studios and franchises, including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Thief. TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro & Xbox Showcase Predictions! 00:50:55 - Embracer Group Acquires a Handful of Square Enix Studios 01:13:48 - Game Pass Games for May & more! 01:14:53 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

The Xbox has its best March since the Xbox 360 era, and IGN's Xbox crew discusses the ins and outs of the numbers. Plus: Gearbox is bringing back Tales from the Borderlands itself – and Ryan has a bone to pick with them – 343 Industries details Halo Infinite's 2022 roadmap, and more!

My Xbox and Me host MC Fixer joins us to discuss a big week of Xbox news, from Portal 2's lead writer publicly calling on Valve to greenlight Valve 3 to Amy Hennig getting another shot at a Star Wars game to Sega working on big-budget reboots of Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio and more! TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:56 - Should Valve Get Portal 3 Done? 00:19:40 - Amy Hennig Working on a New Star Wars Game? 00:29:58 - SEGA on Crazy Taxi & Jet Set Radio Reboots 00:40:50 - CDPR Delays The Witcher 3 Next Gen Release 00:47:46 - WB and the Minecraft Movie 00:53:59 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

This week the Unlocked crew are joined by a very special guest host, Adam Cole! Discussions include speculation about what we can expect from Halo Infinite Season 2, the Kingdom Hearts 4 reveal, and Cyberpunk 2077's upcoming story expansion. Also, have you guys tried Destin's cookies yet? 00:00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping 00:02:20 - Halo Infinite Season 2 Announced! 00:16:48 - Cyberpunk 2077 Story Expansion Incoming 00:24:07 - Kingdom Hearts IV Announced 00:31:35 - Dead Space Remake Coming Early 2023? 00:38:04 - What’s Up with System Shock 3? 00:53:30 - Our “Lifetime” Games & Outro

Big news for those who've still been trying to get their hands on an Xbox Series X: the shortage might finally be over. Plus: our Game Pass picks for new Series X owners, the upcoming Xbox Game Pass Family Plan has been confirmed, Unreal Engine 5's completion means a bunch of Xbox exclusives just got one step closer to release, and more! TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:10 - Is the Xbox Series X Shortage Almost Over? 00:06:27 - Our Recommended Game Pass Games 00:19:10 - Xbox Game Pass Family Plan Incoming! 00:26:46 - Xbox Games for April 00:28:50 - Monkey Island is Back! 00:31:48 - Our Dream Sequel Revivals 00:41:26 - Unreal Engine 5 is Officially Here 00:52:55 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro

Grand Theft Auto Online is now offering an optional new subscription service called GTA+. We dig into what it is, who it's for, and whether or not it's worth it. Plus: Xbox leaders discuss the future of cloud gaming and the present-day success of Xbox Game Pass at the Game Developers Conference, and more! TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:57 - Rockstar Announces GTA+ Subscription Service 00:17:50 - April Games for Gold 00:23:00 - What’s Coming for Xbox Cloud Gaming? 00:44:30 - Unlock-Block Trivia & Outro

Tunic creator Andrew Shouldice joins us for the first half of this week's show to discuss the ins and outs of creating the new Xbox-exclusive action-adventure largely by himself. Plus: our reactions to the announcement of the new Witcher game, our reactions to the report of toxic leadership at Ori developer Moon Studio, and more. TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:49 - Interview With Andrew Shouldice! 00:39:40 - New Witcher Game in Development 00:56:52 - Moon Studios is Reportedly an "Oppressive" Place to Work 01:16:58 - Unlock-Block Trivia 01:19:43 - Outro

Three major topics dominate our discussion this week: 1) Our spoiler-free thoughts on the Halo TV show after we all watched the first two episodes. 2) Ryan's spoiler-free thoughts on Tunic now that the review embargo has lifted. And 3) The rocky situation at The Initiative as development on Perfect Dark reportedly struggles to move forward in the wake of many senior development leads leaving the project. TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:30 - Halo TV Series First Impressions 00:17:21 - Tunic Review! 00:26:52 - Perfect Dark Leads Are Leaving Studio 00:47:14 - Unlock-Block Trivia 00:51:37 - Outro

Halo Infinite multiplayer's season 2, Lone Wolves, has been announced, and we've got a lot to say about the state of the game so far and how hyped (or not?) we are for season 2. Plus: GTA 5's next-gen graphics modes are revealed. Also: Microsoft, Xbox, and the war in Ukraine. TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:57 - Halo Infinite Season 2 Multiplayer Announced 00:21:53 - Microsoft Suspends Sales in Russia 00:33:29 - Grand Theft Auto 5 and GTA Online Xbox Series X/S New Features Revealed 00:41:13 - Capcom is Bringing Resident Evil 2 Remake, 3 Remake, and 7 to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series 00:42:28 - Unlock-Block Trivia 00:48:29 - Outro

Our Xbox crew digs into the latest bit of big Call of Duty news: that the series will be taking next year off. We discuss what it means for the franchise. Plus: Elden Ring lives up to the hype, the possibility of Xbox Game Pass coming to Steam (and thus the Steam Deck), and more! TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:56 - Elden Ring Fever! 00:15:00 - New Call of Duty Pushed to 2024 00:29:09 - Game Pass On Steam Deck? 00:46:49 - Xbox Game Pass For March 00:52:45 - Unlock-Block Trivia 00:55:51 - Outro

Our Xbox crew discusses the report that, among other issues, the release of Halo Infinite's free-to-play multiplayer hurt the launch of Battlefield 2042. Plus: Ubisoft stakes a claim to independence in the wake of so many publishers being bought...unless the right price comes along, Street Fighter 6 just got announced but it's already off to a controversial start, and more! TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro  00:03:39 - EA Admits Battlefield 2042 "failed to meet the expectations of our players" 00:19:52 - Ubisoft Acquisition? 00:29:34 - Street Fighter 6 Announced! 00:43:07 - No Man’s Sky Is Not Finished 00:51:20 - Unlock-Block Trivia 00:55:55 - Conclusion

Another week brings another important new update in Xbox's huge acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. Microsoft is making it clear that Call of Duty will continue on PlayStation - and come to Switch - so we discuss the ramifications of that decision for Xbox. Plus: Cyberpunk 2077 comes to Xbox Series X, our thoughts on Netflix's BioShock movie, impressions of The Cuphead Show, and more! TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:23 - Bioshock Netflix Movie 00:10:25 - The Cuphead Show First Impressions 00:12:32 - Microsoft has confirmed that "Call of Duty and other popular Activision Blizzard titles" will not just be released on PlayStation 00:21:10 - New COD Game For 2022 00:29:30 - Microsoft has committed to putting "the right people in the right position" at the helm of Activision Blizzard 00:34:42 - Cyberpunk 2077 Released On Series X/S Today 00:41:36 - Atomic Heart Gets a Release Window 00:45:56 - Xbox Game Pass Games for February 00:47:18 - Unlock-Block Trivia 00:50:20 - Conclusion

Rockstar has officially acknowledged Grand Theft Auto 6's development, so we spend time mulling over some key questions: When will it be out? Will the long gap between GTA 5 and GTA 6 help or hurt it? Where will it be set? What do we want out of it in terms of main characters, gameplay features, etc. Plus: Infinity Ward confirms the next Call of Duty game and we debate what big and small steps the franchise should take next in order to stay fresh, PlatinumGames wants to bring back Scalebound, and more! TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:48 - Miranda Shows Xbox Nail Polish 00:05:08 - GTA 6 Officially Acknowledged By Rockstar 00:41:12 - GTA 5 Next Gen 00:47:45 - CoD Modern Warfare 2 Coming in 2022? 01:07:15 - PlatinumGames Wants to Return to Scalebound 01:14:15 - Unlock-Block Trivia and Conclusion

Sony has purchased Bungie, who has meant so much to Xbox and its history, that we can't help but discuss the deal. We look at what it means for the future of Bungie on Xbox, remember our favorite Bungie-made moments on Xbox, and more. Plus: our reactions to the Halo TV show's new trailer and release date, and more! TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:10 - Sony Buys Bungie for $3.6 billion 00:32:12 - Halo TV Series Gets New Trailer 00:46:20 - Game Pass Games for February 00:48:04 - Unlock Block Trivia and Outro

We can't stop thinking about last week's landmark Xbox acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, so on this week's podcast, we're talking about A) Who Microsoft might strategically target for acquisition next, and B) our dream Xbox-Bethesda-Activision-Blizzard project collaborations and IP revivals. Plus: Respawn announces THREE new Star Wars games, and more!

Xbox continues its spending spree, buying Activision-Blizzard for almost $70 billion. We spent almost the entire podcast discussing it, from future game exclusivity to Microsoft's role in cleaning up Activision Blizzard's toxic workplace culture to whether or not so much consolidation is a good thing for the video game industry. Join us for the biggest Xbox story of the year (because we can't imagine anything else in 2022 topping this)!

We have a random assortment of Xbox topics to discuss this week, from Dying Light 2's supposed 500-hour play time, Amazon getting the Fallout TV show off the ground with a big name attached, Xbox Game Pass landing another big third-party game on day one, and more!

Happy New Year! Xbox Game Pass gets 2022 started in a big way - by dropping the entirety of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition onto Game Pass. We discuss the legendary RPG series, the importance of its presence on Game Pass, and more. Plus: what we played over the holiday break (hint: Halo Infinite multiplayer), Tencent's stealthy infiltration of the games industry, and more!

The hosts of IGN's four major podcasts (Game Scoop, Unlocked, Beyond, and NVC) unite, Avengers-style, to discuss 2021's biggest games on each platform, as well as look ahead to what's coming in 2022. We hope you enjoy this special episode!

Now that Halo Infinite's campaign has been out for a little while, it's time to go into full spoiler mode and discuss our thoughts on the story! Find out what we thought of the (Legendary) ending, Cortana, Master Chief, The Pilot, The Banished, and more! WARNING: Do NOT listen to or watch this episode if you haven't finished the Halo Infinite campaign yet/don't want to be spoiled. Or just skip ahead to the 1:14:30 mark to avoid Halo Infinite spoilers and go right to our recap of Xbox-centric announcements from The Game Awards.

This week's episode is all about Halo Infinite. We can FINALLY talk about it now that the review embargo has lifted. We discuss everything we did and didn't like about Master Chief's glorious return,. but don't worry – this conversation is spoiler-free. We'll do a full Halo Infinite spoilercast on next week's episode.

Happy holidays! As we push into the final (huge) month of the Xbox year, we discuss Amazon's rumored Mass Effect TV show. Can it work? Who should it focus on? Who should star in it? Plus: Halo Infinite multiplayer impressions, Scalebound's director speaks candidly about the canceled Xbox exclusive, and more!

Our second episode this week tackles the biggest topic in the Xbox world right now: Halo Infinite. From the surprise early release of the free-to-play multiplayer suite to our impressions of the campaign, we spend a lot of time talking Halo. But we also spend a lot of time talking about the top 5 best original Xbox games ever in celebration of the console's 20th anniversary. Join us!

Xbox creator Seamus Blackley joins us for a special episode commemorating the 20th anniversary of Xbox. He shares stories from the early days of building the Xbox at Microsoft, discusses what he thinks of Xbox and the gaming industry now, and much more!

Our Xbox crew spends a ton of time digging into the just-released masterpiece that is Forza Horizon 5, including why we love it, and we feel like it's finally getting its due as a series after all these years. Plus: we're less enthusiastic about Call of Duty: Vanguard, huge games like Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, and Marvel's Midnight Suns get delayed, and more!

Is id Software moving onto Quake after Doom? Job postings suggest that might be the case, and we discuss what we'd like to see out of what would be Xbox's next major exclusive first-person shooter. Plus: Miranda and Ryan tell you about their visit to 343 Industries to play Halo Infinite, Sega and Microsoft forge a new partnership, and more!

With six minutes of new Halo Infinite campaign footage to chew on, we spend a lot of time in this episode reacting to the footage we've all been waiting over a year to see. We talk about the open world, the improved graphics, the ray tracing (or the lack thereof), the boss battles (?), and more! Plus: Halo's former art director stars a new studio at EA, and we dream about what he might be making. Also, don't miss Echo Generation and Moonglow Bay on Xbox Game Pass this week!

A plethora of new details about Avowed emerged this last week from Windows Central's Jez Corden who reports that it's deep into development and will feature destructible environments, and elements Pillars of Eternity fans are familiar with. We brought Jez on the show to discuss his Avowed piece along with Miles Dompier, also of Windows Central. In addition to Avowed, Xbox news has not slowed this week with a livestream planned in November, new options when repairing your consoles, and even a mini-fridge that sold out in minutes. All of that and more this week on Podcast Unlocked!

It's the busy fall games season and we've got a LOT to talk about, from Forza Horizon 5 preview impressions (spoiler: it's absurdly good) to Back 4 Blood first impressions, the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy remasters being real, Ubisoft's latest uninspiring announcement in Ghost Recon Frontline, and more. Plus a special show announcement!

Xbox boss Phil Spencer reaffirms his commitment to supporting the Japanese game market and Japanese-developed games. We discuss what needs to happen and what we'd like to see. Plus: our impressions of Big Team Battle in Halo Infinite's second weekend of multiplayer test flight #2, and more!

Two big topics dominate this week's episode. First and foremost is our recap and analysis of the first weekend of the second Halo Infinite multiplayer test flight. We were all incredibly impressed by what 343 has put together so far. And second, we discuss the unexpected news that Square Enix-owned Crystal Dynamics, makers of Tomb Raider, will be partnering with Microsoft's The Initative studio on development of Perfect Dark. Join us!

Battlefield 2042's short delay has set up a heck of a Fall/holiday season for first-person shooter fans. We discuss each of the five major FPS games out between now and the end of the year: Far Cry 6, Back 4 Blood, Call of Duty: Vanguard, the aforementioned Battlefield 2042, and Halo Infinite. And please welcome back guest panelist NeoGameSpark!

Beloved original Xbox classic Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (aka KOTOR) is back as...a timed PlayStation 5 exclusive? We discuss the strange circumstances of this long-awaited revival, from the exclusivity deal to the developer behind it and more. Plus: we get psyched for Halo Infinite's next multiplayer test flight, Grand Theft Auto 5's next-gen edition gets delayed, and more!

Alan Wake is back and we are incredibly excited. Will this lead to the long-awaited sequel? We discuss... Plus: it's time to give Psychonauts 2 its flowers after an incredible journey that began in the early days of the original Xbox, so we do just that on this episode. Also: Miranda's "meh" reaction to Call of Duty: Vanguard's multiplayer beta, and more!

Halo Infinite finally has a release date, and it's not what any of us would've guessed. We analyze what the December date may or may not mean, celebrate both the unsurprising special-edition Halo controller and the definitely-surprising special-edition Halo Infinite Xbox One, discuss the negative reaction to the Saints Row reboot, give our hands-on impressions of Far Cry 6, and more!

We recorded this episode live immediately following the Xbox Showcase at Gamescom. We discuss why we thought this was a poor overall showing for Xbox due to pacing and notable game absences like Halo Infinite, Bright Memory Infinite, Scorn, and CrossfireX. But we also go over the really cool stuff, like the Forza Horizon 5 custom controller, xCloud coming to console, new indies like Midnight Fight Express, and more!

A credible rumor suggests that Rockstar is preparing to release an Unreal Engine remaster of the Grand Theft Auto 3/Vice City/San Andreas trilogy. We discuss the technical side of that, the financial side of it, which one we're most excited to dive back into, and more. Plus: a spoiler-free discussion of the latest Xbox exclusive, Twelve Minutes, now that the review embargo has lifted, our thoughts on Call of Duty apparently going back to WWII once again for Call of Duty: Vanguard, and more!

Xbox announces its big Gamescom event. We make our predictions for what we think we're going to see, along with what we think we might not see at this particular event. Plus: our highlights from the second Xbox Twitch indie showcase, Dead Space's maybe-earlier-than-expected release date, what we want from Trey Parker and Matt Stone's new South Park game, what Mass Effect: Legendary Edition's strong sales mean for Mass Effect 4, and more!

It was a big weekend for Xbox. In this episode we break down the different modes and experiences we tried in the Halo Infinite tech preview, share thoughts on The Ascent, and explore the question that will never die: does Halo need a Battle Royale?

EA's just-announced Dead Space remake leads us to discuss whether or not EA has turned the corner and started to re-earn gamers' trust. Plus: our impressions of Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox Series X and S, a bit on Death's Door, The Coalition's Unreal Engine 5 tech demo, Halo Infinite's imminent multiplayer tech test, and more! (P.S. This was recorded prior to Microsoft's earnings call.)

Reactions to Ubisoft's new Tom Clancy-universe-blending first-person shooter XDefiant have been polarizing, to say the least. We spend the bulk of the show discussing the controversial game announcement, from the challenges it faces to why it's upsetting some Clancy game fans to where the Clancy games go from here. Plus: Miranda shares her hands-on impressions of Psychonauts 2, and more!

With word from Battlefield 2042 developer DICE that cloud computing will soon level up the capabilities of first-person shooters, we discuss what we'd like to see and what we think we'll see. Plus: what we hope the studio formerly known as DICE LA will be up to next, Dark Souls 3's new FPS Boost on Xbox Series, and more!

In this episode of Unlocked, the crew joined by Taylor Lyles discusses Microsoft's team up with All-4-One for a neat "I Swear" Xbox All Access remix, revisits the Phil Spencer interview from Unlocked 500, theorizes what could be happening with a rumor about Kojima and Xbox Cloud Gaming, and plenty more.

We celebrate the 500th episode of IGN's long-running Xbox podcast in the best way we can think of: by hanging out with the Head of Xbox himself, Phil Spencer, who has been at Xbox since Day One. We talk to Phil about the past, present, and future of Xbox as the brand turns 20 this year. Join us!

This episode was recorded live immediately after the Xbox Extended Showcase, hosted by Gamertag Radio's Parris Lilly. Parris joins us for this episode to discuss big games (like Halo Infinite, Redfall, Starfield, Forza Horizon 5, and many more), stunning indie gams (like Replaced, 12 Minutes, Somerville, and more), whether or not this was Xbox's best E3 presentation ever, and more!

As E3 2021 looms, it's time for our annual E3 predictions episode! We make a dozen total predictions about what we think we're going to see at Xbox's E3 press conference. And then make sure to join us live for our Xbox E3 press conference pre-show, starting at 9:30am PT/12:30pm ET on Sunday, June 13!

As E3 2021 looms, the big games are starting to show their hand. We discuss the recent gameplay reveals for Far Cry 6 and Dying Light 2 – both of which also got firm Fall release dates. Plus: Bungie's next project, Microsoft Flight Simulator does some housekeeping to maybe get ready for its Xbox Series X release, and more!

Microsoft takes full control over Obsidian's Outer Worlds franchise from Private Division, so we discuss what that means for the future. Plus: Starfield's release window becomes clearer, No Man's Sky gets a thematically appropriate Mass Effect Easter egg, and more!

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is out and we spend most of the show discussing it, from whether or not it was worth the wait (hint: it was), to what we think of Mass Effect 1's quality-of-life upgrades, to how it holds up in 2021, and more! Plus: impressions of the upcoming Xbox exclusive The Ascent, new Xbox Game Pass games for the month of May, and more!

As Fable and Gears of War's next-gen tech is revealed, we discuss what their new engines mean for the future of those franchises - and the franchises around them. Plus: our impressions of Resident Evil Village, 12 Minutes, what we want from the new list of publishers who've confirmed they'll attend E3 2021, and more!

Halo Infinite details its impressive PC features and options, leading some of the Unlocked crew to ponder whether to stick with it on Xbox or move to PC. Plus: the Xbox Compatibility Team drops another batch of FPS Boost games, a trademark gets filed for Sunset Overdrive by...Sony?!, and more!

The Xbox compatibility team delivers again by boosting a ton of fairly recent EA games -- including Battlefield V and Titanfall 2 -- up to 120fps on Xbox Series X. Plus: Respawn incubates a new game, It Takes Two gets off to a well-deserved great start, we debate the effect of Sony delisting Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store on the game's Xbox sales, and more! (Note: this episode was recorded prior to Microsoft's Q3 earnings call.)

Another big week for Xbox! We talk about why we think xCloud's long-awaited Apple/iOS rollout is key for the future of the Xbox platform, Discord turning down Microsoft's $10 billion offer, Psychonauts 2 and Xbox's underrated 2021 lineup, Resident Evil Village's next-gen specs, and more! Spawn on Me host Kahlief Adams joins us to discuss the DICE Awards he's hosting this week as well. Tune in!

The gaming community is buzzing about a hot rumor that Microsoft is in talks with legendary game developer Hideo Kojima to develop his next game for Xbox. We humor the rumor and discuss what it would mean for Xbox, as well as what kind of game we'd like to see Kojima make for Microsoft. Plus: how you can have a chance to play Forza Motosport this year, the tragedy of Ninja Gaiden Black's lost source code, and more!

Xbox Game Pass is on such a roll that it's landing first-party Sony games now! MLB The Show 21 is a huge get for Game Pass. We discuss MLB's smart, forward-thinking move as well as the incredibly momentum of the Game Pass service in general. Plus: E3 is back...sort of...we discuss Xbox's new $500 wireless headphones, and more!

With Sledgehammer reportedly back in the Call of Duty business and prepping a World War II-set video game for this year's entry in the series, we discuss whether we even want another WWII-set CoD. Plus: It Takes Two is excellent, the ID@Xbox stream was a fantastic show of a ton of great new games (many of which are going straight to Xbox Game Pass), CD Projekt Red changes its plans as they continue to try and rebound from Cyberpunk 2077's disastrous launch, and more!

One of 2021's big releases, Gotham Knights, just got pushed to 2022. We discuss what it means not just for that game, but for Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League as well. Plus: Xbox Live gets rebranded, Microsoft might be buying Discord, we've got an ID@Xbox showcase to look forward to this week, and more!

Bethesda held a fantastic roundtable discussion with Phil Spencer and some of the Xbox leadership team, and we discussed our impressions of the first big post-acquisition event, from Phil's comments on exclusivity to his admiration of the id Tech engine to the avalanche of Bethesda games that are now on Xbox Game Pass. Plus: our impressions of the excellent new Xbox Wireless Headset, Halo Infinite's fun new gameplay trick, and much more!

Big Xbox news this week as European and American regulators sign off on Microsoft's acquisition of Zenimax and Bethesda, making the acquisition official. What will Microsoft do next? Which games will be exclusive? We discuss that and much more on this topic. Plus: what other new Xbox surprises await in 2021, WTF do Pringles' Halo Infinite "Moa Burger"-flavored potato chips taste like, and more!

Lots of BioWare news to discuss this week, from Anthem's cancellation to Henry Cavill (aka Superman aka Geralt)'s Mass Effect project to Dragon Age 4 no longer being a live-service game. Plus: Xbox's Aaron Greenberg downplays recent Elden Ring rumors, Battlefield for next-gen gets more help within EA, and more!

The Xbox backwards compatibility team flexes their muscles again with FPS Boost, an unexpected and awesome new improvement to back-catalog games. We celebrate the new feature. Plus: Diablo 2's long-rumored remaster has us super excited, we wonder what's next for Bungie as the studio expands, March's Games With Gold revealed, and more!

We discuss the return of Six Days in Fallujah, a resurrection of a canceled 2009 game based on real-world events, including its A-list team of ex-Bungie developers and what they've said about the controversial project so far. Plus: we're excited about the just-announced Xbox Wireless Headset, Microsoft creates a new Fallout-themed company to oversee the Bethesda acquisition, and more!

With a job posting suggesting that 343 Industries is spinning up a new Halo game besides Halo Infinite, we speculate on what it might be – and decide we want a Halo horror game. Plus: our impressions of Xbox exclusive The Medium, Grand Theft Auto 5's unstoppable run and what we want from GTA 6, and more!

To quote a line from Halo 2 in describing Mass Effect: Legendary Edition: "There are those who said this day would never come. What are they to say now?" Yes, we're talking about the long-awaited remaster of BioWare's beloved sci-fi RPG trilogy. We've seen it, and we want to tell you all about it. Plus: Xbox's baseball-game curse is finally lifted – a year earlier than expected too! – and EA surprised everyone with the return of a college football game. Please welcome special guests Kat Bailey and Cam Hawkins this week!

What a week! There's so much to discuss on this episode, from Microsoft shockingly doubling the price of Xbox Live Gold only to just-as-shockingly walk it back later that same day, to the insane new Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic rumor, to Vicarious Visions merging into Blizzard to work on...Diablo 2 (!), and more!

The new Lucasfilm Games publishing umbrella once again dominates our conversation this week, as the first new non-EA Star Wars game in a decade gets announced. We discuss Ubisoft and Massive's upcoming open-world Star Wars adventure, including what it might be, what we hope it is and isn't, what it means for The Division, and more. Plus: Ninja Gaiden's creator would be "honored" to work with Microsoft again, and more!

Will the just-announced Indiana Jones game from Bethesda, Machinegames, and Todd Howard be an Xbox exclusive? We discuss this fascinating announcement. Plus: is Star Wars gearing up for life after EA? And we sort through the revelation that Microsoft tried to buy Nintendo (!) in the early Xbox days, a rumored Mass Effect: Legendary Edition release date, and more. It's a busy week of Xbox on Podcast Unlocked!

Happy New Year! On our first Unlocked episode of 2021, we look ahead to the (long) list of Xbox exclusives coming this year. Plus: Gears 5: Hivebusters rocks, Fortnite's developer moves into...a mall(?), Games With Gold for January includes an OG Xbox cult classic, and more!

Our final episode of 2020 is a special one! Ryan welcomes Tim Schafer, the head of Double Fine (aka one of the newest Xbox Game Studios), for a 40-minute conversation about life since being acquired by Microsoft. But don't fret – that very much includes an update on Psychonauts 2 as well! P.S. We're off next week but we'll be back with new episodes of Unlocked starting January 5. Happy holidays and Happy New Year!

Our penultimate show in 2020 is a big one! We spend the first half of the show discussing the nightmare scenario that is Cyberpunk 2077 on the current-gen consoles. After that, we dig into the big Xbox news from The Game Awards, including the long-anticipated reveal of the Perfect Dark reboot from The Initiative, the awards that Xbox games won, and Mass Effect's surprising continuity. Plus: Halo Infinite's release window and more!

Digital Foundry's John Linneman and Gamertag Radio's Danny Peña join us to talk about all sorts of Xbox stuff this week! Topics include: the future of BioWare after their big studio leadership shakeup, next-gen sports games on Xbox Series X, what's going on with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on Series X, our Game Awards announcement predictions for Xbox, and much more!

What will Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer be like? Special guests Ray Apollo from Twitch and Cam Hawkins from DualShockers join Ryan and Brandin for an extra-fun episode that also discusses Microsoft's underrated next-gen efforts, more awesome stuff coming to Xbox Game Pass, MechWarrior's long-awaited Xbox return, and much more!

The developer of Hitman has a new James Bond game in the works. We discuss why it could be the best Bond ever. Plus: Phil Spencer says an Xbox smart TV app is closer than we think, some of us would totally play the leaked retail Cyberpunk 2077 disc that hasn't been patched yet if we could, a bunch of big games get delayed, and more!

Next-gen is now officially current-gen! The Xbox Series X and S are out, and we talk about our first week of living with them. Plus: we analyze Microsoft's big first-week numbers, address shortages expected well into 2021, talk about another Xbox executive's recent comments on Bethesda game exclusivity, and more!

It's the week you've been waiting for: the next-generation of Xbox has officially arrived with the Series X and Series S. We discuss the launches of Microsoft's two new consoles. Plus: EA and BioWare finally confirm Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, the 4K remaster of the classic sci-fi trilogy. We discuss that as well as the future of the fan-favorite RPG franchise.

Welcome to a special two-hour episode of Unlocked that was recorded live with all of you, along with special guest panelist Parris Lilly from Gamertag Radio! We played the Series X for two hours now that the review embargo has lifted, and answered a lot of your questions along the way. We also talked through our final impressions of Microsoft's new consoles. If you normally listen to the podcast feed of Unlocked, we'd encourage you to watch the video version on this one!

Cyberpunk 2077's last-minute delay affects everyone, from developers to gamers to media outlets alike. We sort through the fallout of this major news. Plus: a surprise Gears 5 update, Phil Spencer teases a possible 1 vs. 100-like replacement on Xbox Series, and more!

Another busy week of Xbox news to discuss, from the Xbox Series X's launch lineup (to the best Xbox launch lineup in history) to what Phil Spencer said about Bethesda game exclusivity in a recent interview to what The Initiative is working on, and more! Cam Hawkins from DualShockers stops by as our special guest this week.

We finally got to play a couple of proper Xbox Series X games. We give our impressions of those titles on the Series X, plus discuss The Medium's release date, Microsoft's new plan to get xCloud game streaming onto iOS devices, and more!

As inXile announces yet another Xbox Series RPG, we run down the Xbox's exclusive RPG and discuss how Xbox Series is going to be THE home for Western RPGs. Plus: the games we've been hyped-beyond-hype for in our gaming lives as Cyberpunk 2077 goes gold, some critically acclaimed Bethesda games that appear to be headed to Xbox Series in a couple of collections, and more!

The fantastic Pikachulita joins our Xbox crew this week to discuss yet another big week of Xbox news! Topics include Ryan's life with the Xbox Series X in his house so far, Phil Spencer saying that there will be future generations of Xbox consoles, the Series S/X's pricey 1TB expansion card, Bethesda's first big Xbox move following the acquisition, and more!

The Unlocked crew discusses the massive news of Microsoft buying ZeniMax Media (Bethesda Softworks, id Software, Arkane, and more!) the day before Xbox Series X and Series S consoles pre-orders go live plus the growth of Game Pass.

We discuss the rumors of Microsoft trying to buy Bungie again (which Bungie quickly and sternly refuted), the leaked Xbox Series S presentation that never got to air, the backwards compatibility capabilities of the Xbox Series S, our disappointment about the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake, and more!

Gamertag Radio's Parris Lilly rejoins Unlocked to talk through the long-awaited Xbox Series S reveal, price, and release date – plus the alleged price for the Series X as well. Plus: The Witcher 3 returns for Series X, September's Games With Gold and Game Pass additions, and more!

MC Fixer from the My Xbox and Me podcast joins us to discuss another big week of Xbox news, from longtime Bungie veteran Joseph Staten being brought in to help lead Halo Infinite's campaign to Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War's confusing generational price and upgrade differences to Microsoft's uphill battle in providing reasons to buying the Xbox Series X this holiday and more!

Special guest "Lord Cognito" from the Iron Lords Podcast joins us to discuss our reactions to the DC FanDome reveals of Gotham Knights and Rocksteady's Suicide Squad. Plus: our Battletoads impressions, Black Myth: Wukong's amazing debut, 343's track record with Halo, and more!

Microsoft's first 10/10-rated game from IGN in quite some time comes from the most unexpected place: Microsoft Flight Simulator! Reviewer Seth Macy joins us to discuss the next-gen brilliance of the first-party masterpiece. Plus: taking stock of Xbox Game Studios' impressive 2020 output, the teaser campaign for the Batman Court of Owls game, Gotham Knights, has us exhausted and annoyed, and more!

Major Xbox news this week! Halo Infinite gets delayed, so what does it mean for the franchise and for the Xbox Series X launch? Plus: Apple blocks Microsoft on Project xCloud, the Xbox Series S gets confirmed via the strangest of leaks, Rocksteady finally announces their next game, and more!

Project xCloud takes the next big step towards becoming a major part of the Xbox ecosystem, and we discuss how it's kind of like the "Xboy" handheld Xbox that we never got. Plus: the ramifications of Halo Infinite's multiplayer being free-to-play, how Xbox fans feel about PlayStation's exclusive Spider-Man deal in Marvel's Avengers, and more!

Now that we've had time to sit with big Xbox Games Showcase, we reflect back on the big event and discuss how we thought Microsoft did and whether or not Microsoft has a "Halo problem" after how the Halo Infinite campaign demo was received. Plus: a mysterious white Xbox Series X controller appears, Call of Duty 2020's title seemingly leaks via Doritos (yes, seriously), and more!

IGN's Xbox crew (with special guest Parris Lilly) recaps and analyzes Microsoft's long-awaited Xbox Games Showcase. We talk Halo Infinite, Fable, and much, much more!

Our Xbox crew reacts to the Ubisoft Forward event, including the Far Cry 6 reveal, Watch Dogs Legion and Assassin's Creed Valhalla contributing to an open-world bonanza this Fall, and what Valhalla's release date might say about the Xbox Series X launch date. Plus: Phil Spencer rejects your "holding Series X games back" meme, small updates on a lot of the new Xbox studios, and more!

Microsoft finally sets a date for their long-awaited Xbox Games Showcase, and we've got predictions for what we think we'll see. Plus: Microsoft is reportedly one of the companies interested in buying Warner Bros.'s game studios, and we discuss the potentially industry-shifting ramifications the move could have. And with NBA 2K21 set to increase its price to $70 for Xbox Series X, we debate the merits of paying more for video games.

Lots to discuss in the world of Xbox this week, from the rumored timing of the Xbox Series S/Lockhart announcement (plus what else we think will happen when that does), Halo Infinite returns a familiar but long-dormant foe, Fable and Perfect Dark Twitter accounts registered to Microsoft email addresses raise suspicions, and much more!

Special guest panelist and known Kinect superfan Cicero Holmes joins the show this week to discuss a busy stretch of Xbox news. We react to EA's not-very-next-gen-y EA Play press conference last week, what the Cyberpunk 2077 delay means for Xbox Series X's launch, Rocksteady's rumored Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League game, and more! Check out Cicero's Star Trek podcast at @DSCDebrief.

Xbox Series X Director of Program Management Jason Ronald from Microsoft stops by halfway through the show to talk about the Series X's Smart Delivery feature. Plus: Xbox gamer and D&D podcaster Shareef Jackson joins us as a guest panelist to discuss the week's Xbox news, including the newly announced Star Wars: Squadrons, the rumor that Warner Bros. might be selling off its video game studios (including Rocksteady and NetherRealm), and more! Check out Shareef's D&D podcast at RivalsOfWaterDeep.com.

Parris Lilly from Gamertag Radio joins Ryan to discuss a busy week of Xbox news! Evidence of the Xbox Lockhart (aka Xbox Series S) surfaces, Bungie lays out the future of Destiny while job postings hint at its next game, Cyberpunk 2077's special-edition Xbox One X console has an extra surprise...if you can find one, Activision and EA get serious about cleaning up their online communities, Parris dreams of a Mass Effect Trilogy remake in Unreal Engine 5, and much more!

Spawn on Me host Kahlief Adams guest-hosts this week with Ryan, Miranda, and Destin as the Xbox crew discusses Xbox's and Sony's differing approaches to compatibility, EA's newly renewed exclusivity agreement with the NFL for Madden, the future of the now-canceled BlizzCon, and more!

First-party Xbox studio inXile confirms they'll be using Unreal Engine 5 for their next-gen RPG. We dissect what this means for that game and other Xbox Series X games from other newly acquired Xbox game studios. Plus: Take-Two has a lot of next-gen games in the pipeline, this year's Call of Duty will revisit a familiar timeline, this month's Xbox Games With Gold, and more!

IGN's Xbox team discusses Phil Spencer's recent comments about how COVID-19 might affect early 2021 games, the dates and details for Gamescom's all-digital event later this summer, the three classic games that Double Fine is bringing to Xbox this year, and more!

Our Xbox crew debates whether or not 30fps is disappointing for Xbox Series X games in light of the Assassin's Creed Valhalla framerate revelation. Plus: more reactions to last week's Xbox event, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater returns, another publisher announces a summer livestream, and more!

Xbox's first big salvo of next-gen games has been fired, and we've got reactions and analysis to all of the big third-party game reveals and showcases – from the good to the bad to the stomach-churning.

Our Xbox crew opens the show by talking about Gears Tactics, the new XCOM-style tactical strategy game from Xbox Game Studios that Xbox fans shouldn't sleep on. Plus: we discuss Xbox's impressive first-party efforts so far in 2020, what the rest of the year looks like, drama around the WWE 2K franchise, and more!

On this week's Xbox podcast, the next Grand Theft Auto is in development, and we discuss the report that it may be a more "moderately sized" offering that's updated continuously. Plus: Microsoft may have an opportunity to gain some market share at the start of the generation after a Bloomberg report reveals Sony's scaled-back PS5 production plans, Crysis is the latest member of the remaster club, and more!

Our Xbox team deep-dives on CD Projekt Red's big post-release DLC expansion plans for Cyberpunk 2077, the value of the ESRB's new loot box descriptor, a rumor about Mafia 2 and 3 remasters and the cyclical nature of remasters, and more!

Our Xbox crew analyzes what Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said during our interview with him on last week's episode. We think he said a lot in his clever, indirect way... Plus: an Inside Xbox news recap, rumors about what Resident Evil 8 will be like, and at the very end you'll hear our live as-it-happened reactions to the PS5's DualSense controller reveal.

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer makes his long-awaited return to Unlocked for an exclusive one-hour interview. We talk about Xbox Series X price, whether coronavirus could delay the console, the first-party launch lineup, why there's no optical out port on Series X, xCloud, cross-play, the fates of Sunset Overdrive, Ryse and Scalebound, which Microsoft IP Phil would like to see brought back, and more!

Our Xbox crew discusses the recently revealed Xbox Series X tech specs in more detail after some added context arrives in our inbox from a software developer. Plus: Bleeding Edge is another new first-party release this week, we try to decode Konami's denial of the Silent Hill reboot rumor, and more!

Microsoft has revealed the full tech specs for Xbox Series X and we are pumped. We discuss the ingredients of the next-gen Xbox that have us the most hyped for the new console, from Xbox Velocity Architecture to raytracing. P.S. Please bear with us on our first-ever remote-location episode!

Our Xbox crew celebrates the release of the fantastic Ori and the Will of the Wisps by discussing our final review impressions. Plus: developers talk to IGN about exactly what the Xbox Series X will mean for games, Call of Duty finally gets a standalone, free-to-play battle royale game, and more!

Two of our crew have played the first couple hours of Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and they have nothing but good news to report. Plus: GDC's cancellation, Xbox Series X's Quick Resume feature is even better than we thought, and more!

We are EXCITED about the new Xbox Series X technical details, including the whopping 12 teraflops of computing power that the next-gen Xbox is packing. Plus: EA canceled another Star Wars project, March's Games With Gold have been announced, and more!

This week Parris joins us to discuss the latest interview with Phil Spencer about E3 2020, his plans for the Xbox Series X, and where he sees Microsoft in the competition against Sony. In addition to talking about Xbox strategy for 2020 and Beyond, we discuss the GamerTag radio interview and our perception of Xbox's placement in the upcoming console face-off.

Grand Theft Auto, Anthem, and Gears of War will be changing moving forward thanks to key staffing changes at the top for two of those and a major gameplay overhaul for the other. Plus: Activision is looking to its past for its 2020 product lineup, Cliff Bleszinski had an intriguing Aliens game that almost got made, and more!

It may still be winter but Xbox Series X talk is heating up! We discuss the "old thing" Microsoft's new studio, The Initiative, might be working on. Plus: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a hit, EA talks up the Xbox Series X, the mystery port on the back of the Series X might not be for diagnostics, and more!

We finally get a look at the back of the Xbox Series X - for real, this time - and discuss why someone might be in biiiiiiig trouble. Plus: a new rumor about a sort-of remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has us hyped - but also wondering who would be given the assignment.

Ryan played three hours of Doom Eternal and gushes about it. Plus: a Splinter Cell veteran returns to Ubisoft - so what does it mean for the future of the franchise? Also, Dying Light 2 joins Delay-apalooza 2020, and more!

We're only on our second episode of the year and it's already time to talk about E3! This week the Unlocked crew discusses Sony's absence from E3 2020, Microsoft's exclusives launch plan, game delays, and more.

We kick off 2020 - The Year of Xbox, in our opinions - by taking a look at a new report that gives us an idea of just how powerful the Xbox Series X will be. Plus: Microsoft stands poised to go on the offensive for the first time in years, Respawn studio head Vince Zampella is given more power at EA, and more. Happy New Year!

On our final episode of the year and of the decade we look back on our favorite Xbox games of the decade, including both first-party exclusives and memorable third-party offerings. Plus: a recap of the rest of the non-Xbox Series X elements of last week's Game Awards and more! Happy Holidays and New Year! See you in January!

Emergency Unlocked episode! We simply HAVE to talk about Microsoft's big announcement at The Game Awards, in which they announced both the name of Project Scarlett and what it looks like. It's the Xbox Series X, and they also showed Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 running in-engine on the new console! Dig in for 72 minutes of our reactions and analysis.

Huge week of Xbox news! Project Scarlett's lower-cost option, Lockhart, is back in play. We discuss what it means for Xbox's next-gen efforts. Plus: the Xbox finally gets a proper Major League Baseball game, and it's...Sony's?! Also: 2K opens a new studio to make a new BioShock game, IGN's Game of the Year winner Control miiiiiight be coming to Xbox Game Pass, Resident Evil 3 Remake is official, and more!

Lots of Scarlett next-gen talk this week! Hear why Cyberpunk 2077 won't be coming to Scarlett as soon as we think - and neither will VR. Plus: leaked concept art gives us our first glimpse of Playground's next-gen Fable reboot (allegedly...), Resident Evil 3 might be getting remade, Saints Row will return, and more!

On this blazin' episode of our Xbox show, we look back at Xbox's past this week as the original Xbox turns 18, sharing our favorite (not best, although they're often one and the same!) games from Microsoft's first console. And then we look ahead into the future, recapping X019's Inside Xbox livestream and discussing everything we liked and everything we didn't that Microsoft is cooking up now.

Microsoft's big X019 fan event in London is imminent and we've got lots of details, including which TWO DOZEN games are playable there. Plus: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is curiously omitted from EA's EA Access service, we unbox this year's absolutely glorious fan-made Unlock Block Trivia Challenge trophy, and more!

Lots of huge Xbox news to discuss this week, from Ubisoft games that are now coming to Xbox Scarlett (Watch Dogs Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine, and Gods & Monsters) to Scarlett games we'll have to wait a bit longer for (Battlefield 6, Battlefront 3). Plus: our hands-on impressions of Diablo 4 (!!) and Overwatch 2, and more!

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Chad Michael Collins joins us in the second half of the show this week for an interview about acting in one of the biggest games of the year. That interview starts at 42:04 if you'd like to skip straight to it. In the first half of the show, we give our Modern Warfare campaign and multiplayer impressions, detail a fantastic new program from Microsoft that might help ease the sting out of Scarlett's next-gen launch price tag, discuss Fallout 76's new $100 per year service option, and more!

#ad #TacoBellPartner First we show off Taco Bell's new Eclipse Xbox One X giveaway bundle (with the new Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller!), and then we discuss Obsidian's new RPG The Outer Worlds with reviewer Dan Stapleton. Plus: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order impressions & more!

We're joined by two developers from The Outer Worlds, the new first-person RPG from new Xbox first-party studio Obsidian Entertainment: co-director Leonard Boyarsky and narrative designer Nittai Poddar. It launches on October 25 (including straight into Xbox Game Pass!). We discuss the origins of the project with respect to Boyarsky's Fallout background, crazy things that have happened during playtesting, the importance of The Outer Worlds' deep character creator, and more!

New PlayStation 5 details emerge – particularly about the controller – so we discuss what it might mean for the Scarlett's gamepad. Plus: Brandin finished reviewing Ghost Recon Breakpoint and talks at length about his likes and dislikes, Ryan gives his impressions of the Oxenfree developer's new game Afterparty, and more!

Microsoft Flight Simulator. Yes, MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR! We discuss why it probably belongs on your radar. Plus: Bungie's future after Destiny, Ghost Recon Breakpoint's launch, and Gearbox's strange feud with voice actor Troy Baker.

We're shot out of a cannon this week! Our Xbox crew recaps the news from this week's Inside Xbox, highlighted by the public Project xCloud preview. Plus: the rumored Batman: Court of Owls game, how Xbox owners are getting shortchanged in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and our Gears 5 spoilercast (at the end of the show, so if you don't want to hear it, you won't miss anything else!).

Ryan and Brandin discuss and analyze the week's Xbox news, including the big changes proposed for E3 2020 and how they should make the event better, Ubisoft's doubling-down on large-scale blockbuster games, Gears 5's fast start on Xbox Game Pass, Madden's big sales and the surprising #2 selling game of August, the return of The Game Awards, and more!

Our Xbox crew gives in-depth impressions of Gears 5's multiplayer as well as Borderlands 3. Plus: a surprising departure at Bethesda/Zenimax, a bit more on the next Resident Evil project, and the awesomeness that is Banjo and Kazooie appearing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Our Xbox crew discusses the Gears 5 campaign now that the review embargo has lifted (don't worry, no spoilers!). Plus: our impressions of Ghost Recon Breakpoint after playing six hours of it, Cyberpunk 2077's surprising multiplayer announcement, Telltale's even more surprising sorta-resurrection, and more!

Destin and Brandin return from Gamescom and talk to Ryan about everything they saw there - including a playable build of Marvel's Avengers. Plus: Mortal Kombat's crazy new DLC characters, first impressions of the just-released Remedy game Control, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, Astral Chain, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, new talent takes over Halo Infinite, Phil Spencer gives an idea of what to expect performance-wise from Xbox Scarlett, Gears 5 comes out swinging at Gamescom, PUBG does an awesome thing, and more!

Lots of industry news to cover on this week's Xbox show! The former head of DOOM developer id Software has landed in an unexpected new location. Plus: Hello Games mastermind Sean Murray has started thinking about what's next after No Man's Sky, Call of Duty won't be changing its business model anytime soon, a former PlayStation-exclusive developer will now be making games for Xbox, and more!

IGN's Monster Hunter expert Casey DeFreitas makes her Unlocked debut to give her impressions on the upcoming Monster Hunter World: Iceborne expansion. Plus, the crew discusses 343's commitment to a solid Halo Infinite experience on Xbox One, how The Outer World's toughest difficulty setting will completely change the game, and Ninja's move to Mixer along with the streaming service's odd clothing policies.

A keen-eyed Halo fan discovered an interesting audio Easter egg hiding in the Halo Infinite E3 trailer. We play it for you and speculate about what it means. Plus: the Xbox Dashboard is getting another refresh, the Blair Witch game finally shows itself, classic Doom games get re-released on Xbox - but things don't go super smoothly for Bethesda, and more!

Miranda and Brandin host Unlocked 403 in what feels like a very summer episode, which you can interpret as you will. The two discuss Hideo Kojima's comments on game streaming, the Gears 5 Tech Test, and their thoughts on Netflix's The Witcher trailer. 

As we break in our brand-new studio, our Xbox crew discusses why Square seems to have had a change of plans with regard to an Xbox release of Final Fantasy VII Remake. Plus: the director of Halo Reach has a new first-person shooter, The Division 2's director contemplates a single-player spinoff, Gears 5 says no to smoking, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we give our hands-on impressions from the first weekend of the Halo Outpost Discovery fan experience, discuss a new Batman release from Rocksteady (not a new game, sadly), talk through the small glimpses we've been getting at Playdead's new post-Inside game, and more!

As rumors suggest that Xbox Scarlett is now one console instead of two, we discuss what that means for Xbox heading into the next generation. Plus: Alan Wake 2 is a lot more possible now than it was last week, EA executives forego their bonuses, the co-creator of Dead Space is making a narrative-driven game for PUBG Corp, and more!

Gears 5 boss Rod Fergusson joins us for an entire show of Gears talk, from taking over the beloved franchise from Epic to Gears Tactics to Gears 5 to Project Scarlett, and more!

We continue our Xbox E3 recap by discussing most of the rest of Xbox's press conference announcements, including Bleeding Edge, Ori 2, Minecraft Dungeons, Gears 5, Blair Witch, Battletoads, and Avengers (even though that last one wasn't in the Xbox conference).

Film and TV star Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, The Big Sick, Men in Black: International, Stuber) joins our live-from-E3 episode to recap Microsoft's biggest Xbox E3 announcements. We'll deep-dive into the rest on the next episode!

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss the biggest E3 leak so far in Watch Dogs 3, gush over the just-released Outer Wilds, address Rainbow Six Siege's plan for next-gen, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, it's time once again for a beloved pre-E3 tradition: making our Xbox E3 predictions! We discuss what could happen with regard to Xbox Scarlett's release date and specs, Halo Infinite, a new Xbox Elite controller, and more! Plus: our take on the big Call of Duty: Modern Warfare rumor, why Dead Island 2 is still alive, what Saints Row and Red Faction developer Volition might be up to, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, Sony and Microsoft announced a partnership. Yes, you read that right! We talk about their mutual cloud-gaming initiative. Plus: Call of Duty's development gets thrown into turmoil for next year, so we examine what effect it will have on the future of the franchise. And did Ubisoft just announce Splinter Cell or were they just "joking"? All that and more on this week's Unlocked!

On this week's Xbox show, the crew discusses their Rage 2 impressions and their thoughts on Red Dead Online's official launch and all the new content coming with it. Despite being just a few weeks away from E3, there's still other announcements rolling out, including the reveal of Ghost Recon Breakpoint, the unfortunate, concerning news from the Starbreeze financial call, and more.

Ghost Recon appears to be returning soon, as does Call of Duty. We debate what each might look like. Plus: Sea of Thieves Anniversary Update impressions, PlatinumGames laments how Microsoft has been treated in the wake of Scalebound's cancellation, Tekken x Street Fighter is probably never happening, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, willl the Sonic the Hedgehog movie set video game movies back a decade or turn them into high art? Plus: Kansas City Chiefs fans have to reckon with the Madden Curse as the first details of Madden NFL 20 are announced, Games With Gold for May have been revealed, and more!

Our Xbox crew gives our impressions of the just-released Mortal Kombat 11, discusses Respawn's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and why we're optimistic about it, speculates on the motive behind the return of a Call of Duty co-creator after a six-year retirement, and more! Plus: how much next-gen will Microsoft talk at E3?

Ubisoft seems to have teased the next Assassin's Creed game in The Division 2! We discuss the apparent Viking theme and its likely next-gen debut. Plus: Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold might be bundled together, an anonymous millionaire wants to set up a real-life battle royale (and we have ideas! Boy, do we have ideas!), we get a few new tidbits of Borderlands 3 information, and more!

Lots to discuss this week! James Duggan's impressions of The Division 2 and how it compares to other loot shooters. Plus: our headliner is Borderlands 3. It's finally official, but what kind of game will it be? We each give our take. We also detail the just-announced monster FPS Darkborn, wonder about Ubisoft's E3 press conference, and more!

Our Xbox podcast crew gives detailed impressions of the just-released Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice as well as Remedy's upcoming third-person action game Control. Plus: a look back at the Elder Scrolls games that helped make the Xbox great as the franchise celebrates its 25th anniversary this week, more rumored details of the all-digital Xbox One S, a bit of Mortal Kombat 11 talk, and more!

Original Left 4 Dead developer Turtle Rock Studios returns with a game that sounds an awful lot like Left 4 Dead...literally and figuratively. Plus: we try to predict Bethesda's just-announced E3 press conference, No Man's Sky keeps building, and more!

Another major publisher decides to skip its E3 press conference in 2019. We discuss what we think EA's decision means for Microsoft. Plus: Halo MCC gets Reach, Mortal Kombat 11 goes for the gusto in the story department, and more!

A new report suggests the disc-less Xbox One S will be announced next month. We speculate on price, who it's aimed at, and more! Plus: Borderlands 3, Apex Legends' sweet revenge for Respawn, and more!

We dive deep into the credible rumors surrounding Microsoft bringing Xbox Game Pass to the Nintendo Switch. Plus: Microsoft considered hiring Gearbox to make Halo 4. How would THAT have changed history?? Also: HoloLens 2 and its potential future in the Xbox ecosystem, and we say goodbye to our beloved Shark.

Our Xbox crew deep-dives into Xbox's two biggest new releases, Anthem and Crackdown 3. Plus: BioWare says Mass Effect will return, but how and when? We discuss...

IGN's Xbox crew discusses Apex Legends enormous success and it's potential, the future of EA, and a traveling Halo Amusement Park that may be headed your way.

Our Xbox crew has a lot to chew on this week! Apex Legends reactions and impressions, Crackdown 3 impressions, Xbox Live's stunning extension to Nintendo Switch, Xbox's big E3 2019, and more!

Three major games dominate the water-cooler conversation this week, including the controversial Anthem VIP demo, plus the releases of Resident Evil 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3.

EA has been having a tough time with Star Wars: What went wrong and can it be fixed? Our Xbox crew discusses that and more on this week's show.

Bungie is now a free agent. Here's what it means for Xbox fans. Will Microsoft buy Bungie again? Will Destiny 3 happen? What's after Destiny? Plus: Phil Spencer briefly mentions the future at CES, Resident Evil 2's demo is popular, and more!

IGN's Xbox team kicks off the new year by discussing some of the games we're most excited about. Plus: one new Alien game not for Xbox and one that is, From Software's mystery new games, and more!

Our Xbox crew looks back on all aspects of the Xbox world in 2018, from games to studio acquisitions to services and much more! Plus: a look ahead to the fast start we're set to get off to in 2019, what Xbox characters we'd like to see in Smash Bros., and more!

Our Xbox crew recaps last week's Game Awards, reacting an analyzing the biggest Xbox-related announcements. Plus: tune in for a bonus Let's Play of Below with creative director Kris Piotrowski!

Our Xbox crew makes some last-minute Game Awards predictions that are sure to be comically wrong. Plus: Rocksteady says they're not doing a Superman game. So what ARE they up to? Also: BioWare teases Dragon Age 4 and we cast the Gears of War movie.

Microsoft's planets are all aligning towards E3 2020. We explain why it will be the most important moment in the last decade of Xbox. Plus: Red Dead Online impressions, The Initiative's big new hire, and more!

Our Xbox crew discusses Sony's big E3 decision and what it means for Microsoft. Plus: in-depth Fallout 76 impressions, the rumored new disc-less Xbox One, and more!

Tina Amini is joined by Destin Legarie, Jon Ryan, and Casey DeFreitas to talk about all of the Red Dead 2 spoilers that need to be talked about!

Microsoft's jam-packed X018 fan event brought with it a ton of new announcements. We react to and break down the TWO new studio acquisitions, Winter of Arcade, Crackdown 3's multiplayer mode and new release date, and much more!

Our Xbox crew discusses what TWO games Respawn looks set to release this year and how to make sure Titanfall 3 doesn't get Titanfall 2'd. Plus: Forza Horizon 4's impressive sales feat, why NDAs are serious, Microsoft's Minecraft-made campus renovation preview, and more!

With Red Dead Redemption 2 finally out, we discuss its huge debut as well as the crazy things we've been doing inside its Old West world. Plus: Grand Theft Auto's future, Xbox Game Pass heads to PC, Battlefield V's Battle Royale mode gets a release date, and more!

FPS/Battle Royale expert James Duggan joins Unlocked this week to discuss Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Blackout mode after handling IGN's Blackout mode review. Is it Baby's First Battle Royale, or something more? Plus: Jade Raymond is out at the EA studio she founded, Devil May Cry 5 has one of the craziest special editions ever, four Valve classics get Xbox One X enhancements, and more!

Longtime Xbox fan and military veteran Jeff Bartrom stops by to talk about Operation Supply Drop and 8-Bit Salute, the charity that helps active and retired military service members through video games. Plus: our Black Ops 4 Blackout impressions, Red Dead 2's 60-hour story, Diablo 4 (!...?), and much more!

We discuss our day playing Bethesda's big new RPG. Plus: Impressions of Hitman 2, discussion of Microsoft's new Project xCloud initiative, Microsoft's apparent new studio acquisition, and much more!

We talk AC Odyssey, Red Dead Redemption 2 and the return of the Xbox XO event!

We discuss our hands-on impressions with Rockstar's latest, from hunting to battling wolves to horseback riding to shooting dudes in the eye. Plus: our reactions to Telltale's closure, Devil May Cry 5's microtransactions, and more!

We discuss Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's just-completed Blackout battle royale mode beta. It was better than anyone expected, and it may not only make people forget about the lack of a campaign, but it puts Battlefield V's Firestorm in a tough position.

Our Xbox crew discusses Xbox Skill, which will integrate Alexa and other household-voice-control devices into Xbox One in the wake of Kinect's demise. Plus: THQ Nordic acquires Kingdoms of Amalur, Xbox Australia comes up with the weirdest Xbox controller yet, and more!

Forza Horizon 4 creative director Ralph Fulton joins us for the entire show to talk about everything Horizon, including topping themselves every time out, where their Halo and Hot Wheels collaborations came from, and more! Plus: a special edition Xbox One X and Elite Controller (yes, it's back!), EA's big Battlefield delay, and much more!

Our Xbox crew looks at Xbox's potentially revolutionary new All Access program. Plus: Microsoft might not be done buying studios, Cyberpunk 2077 demo reactions, and more!

Our Xbox crew discusses the ever-deepening relationship between Forza and Halo, what we thought of the Doom Eternal gameplay reveal (hint: HNNNNNNNNG!), new Xbox announcements from Gamescom, some new release dates, and more!

We chat with Red Dead Redemption 2 expert Jon Ryan about other secrets from the gameplay trailer, Fallout 76 is looking a lot more fun, and we spent more time with Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Our Xbox crew digs in on the week's Xbox news, including Crackdown 3 being "pretty much done," the Halo TV series starring Master Chief after all, Superman wanting to play Geralt, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Beta Impressions, Madden impressions, and more!

Our Xbox crew gives in-depth impressions of No Man's Sky on Xbox One. Plus: Epic Games's enormous Fortnite-fueled valuation, whether EA would or should make Battlefield Royale a standalone game, the removal of loot boxes in Forza, and more!

Our Xbox crew dives deep on the latest Xbox Scarlet next-gen rumor. Plus: Impressions of the Halo arcade game, Xbox's milestone fiscal year, QuakeCon details, Fallout 76 beta news, and more!

Our Xbox crew dissects a new report on the state of Crackdown 3 and looks at what its future potential is. Plus: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is getting not one but two multiplayer betas, Sea of Thieves has a major new content update, Code Vein checks out of 2018, and more!

Our Xbox crew catches up on the week's news, including the green-lighting of Showtime's Halo TV series, EA Motive's new Star Wars project, Anthem's much-appreciated gameplay tweak, Dead Island 2's zombie-like revival, and more!

Our Xbox crew looks at the new summer game releases in a normally dry time of year for gaming. Plus: we debate Gears (of War) 5's name change, discuss Minecraft's Xbox/Switch cross-play, salute Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, and more!

Xbox had a stellar E3 and there's a lot to break down, including: Halo Infinite and the future of Halo, Phil Spencer's next-gen console acknowledgement, Microsoft's first-party studio shopping spree, our hands-on impressions of E3's biggest games, and much more!

We've got one more show for you before we head down to E3, and there is much to discuss! Is Microsoft buying Playground Games? Plus: several new games have been announced, leaked, or announced and leaked. Also: some big games get release dates, Red Dead Redemption 2 tempts you with three different special editions, State of Decay 2 is doing great, and more!

It's that time of year again! We've got a dozen E3 predictions for Xbox heading into the biggest gaming event of 2018. Plus: a bit of Fallout 76 talk as well. Thanks to our sponsor this week, Hims. Check 'em out at ForHims.com.

On a jam-packed show, our Xbox crew gives hands-on impressions of both Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Kingdom Hearts 3. Plus: a big discussion on the newly announced Halo: Fireteam Raven arcade game and what it does and doesn't mean for Halo 6! Thanks to our sponsor this week, Hims. Check 'em out at ForHims.com.

Join us as we talk about State of Decay 2, Jon Ryan's thoughts on seeing Red Dead Redemption 2 gameplay for the first time, the end of Boss Key Productions, and some E3 news.  Thanks to our sponsor this week, Hims. Check 'em out at ForHims.com.

This week, our Xbox crew discusses the plausibility of the crazy Walmart game listings, what it means for Xbox if in fact they're starting a new 'AAAA' studio in Santa Monica, an old favorite gets added to the backwards compatibility list, and more! Thanks to our sponsor this week, Hims. Check 'em out at ForHims.com.

On this week's Xbox show, Alanah gives her impressions from playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we discuss the hype for Red Dead Redemption 2, we rank our Top 5 Halo vehicles ever, and more! Thanks to our sponsor this week, Hims. Check 'em out at ForHims.com.

To commemorate episode 343 of our show, we go full Halo and discuss our favorite memories ever and then make our own top 10 list of our favorite Halo multiplayer maps ever. Thanks to our sponsor this week, Hims. Check 'em out at ForHims.com.

Our Xbox crew digs deep into the huge new batch of original Xbox backwards compatible games announced this week, picking our favorites. Plus: a new batch of 360 games get Xbox One X enhancements, Michael Ironside AND Splinter Cell are back in Ghost Recon, and much more! Thanks to our sponsor this week, Hims. Check 'em out at ForHims.com.

Our Xbox crew discusses No Man's Sky's upcoming Xbox release and how it might be received. Plus: Shadow of War looks to rehabilitate its image, Red Faction returns, more original Xbox games are on the way to backwards compatibility, and more!

Most of this week's show is dedicated to taking stock of Sea of Thieves now that it's finally out. We discuss what's good, what's bad, and where it can go from here. We also talk about A Way Out, Telltale's Batman series, Hellblade coming to Xbox, and more!

Xbox's Chris Charla sits in with us to talk about the ever-growing success that is Xbox's ID@Xbox indie game program. We discuss Cuphead, Inside, and the slate of upcoming ID@Xbox games including The Last Night, Below, and many others! Plus: Sea of Thieves launches, a new Lego game is on the way, and more!

Rumors of Splinter Cell's return in 2018 have our Xbox crew's hearts aflutter. We discuss what we'd want to see in a potential new game. Plus: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 runs from Red Dead Redemption 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider's teaser campaign gets spoiled...by Square Enix themselves, Microsoft announces their E3 plans, movie reviews for both Tomb Raider and Ready Player One, and much more!

Inside returns with a mystery $375 collector's edition that we can't make sense of. Plus: our impressions from playing State of Decay 2, Battlefield V and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 appear to both be real things, and more!

Four beloved Xbox 360 games get Xbox One X enhancements, Cyberpunk 2077 seems to be coming out from behind the shadows, Sea of Thieves is getting a console bundle, and some stuff that's making us mad this week. Plus: meet the two coolest new Xbox One controllers, and more!

Our Xbox crew discusses what may be going on behind the scenes with the Burnout Paradise remaster. Plus: mapping out Xbox's first-party release dates for 2018, gushing about Ys's long-awaited (by Ryan) debut on Xbox, and more!

Rare Studio Head Craig Duncan joins our Xbox crew for an hour of Sea of Thieves talk. We discuss beta weirdness, Easter eggs, beta lessons, what post-launch might look like, and much more!

Our Xbox crew discusses Red Dead Redemption 2's new concrete release date, its effect on other fall games, and why Rockstar earns gamers' respect. Plus: more rumor reactions, PUBG's new console bundle, and more!

We share high-seas adventure stories from our time in the Sea of Thieves beta plus where a datamine reveals the game might go next. Plus: Monster Hunter World impressions, discussion of Anthem's not-unexpected delay, and more!

In a special episode of Unlocked that featured a live studio audience of IGN fans, we worked with the crowd – and special guest Gary Whitta – to unofficially rank the best Xbox 360 games of all-time. We hope you enjoy it, even when it gets...a bit crazy.

Now that Xbox Game Pass will include day-one first-party releases starting with Sea of Thieves, we discuss whether or not Game Pass is the future of gaming. Plus: what a potential Duke Nukem movie starring John Cena REALLY means, the Sea of Thieves closed beta is underway, and more!

With Playground's second team now all but confirmed to be on a Fable revival, we discuss what the news means for Forza Horizon, for gamers, and for Fable itself. Plus: rumors of a new Xbox One Elite Controller, the New Duke gets priced and dated, a new Alien game bursts out of a new developer's chest, and more!

Rumors are swirling about Fable, Perfect Dark, and a new IP. We do our best to make sense of them. Plus: details on Xbox's new Achievement system, Dashboard update details, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, our Xbox crew rings in the New Year by making a dozen Xbox predictions for 2018. Plus: Microsoft's apparent PUBG marketing mistake, the last tie to Kinect is severed, and more!

On this special year-end episode of our Xbox show, we reflect back on the Xbox's year in 2017: the good, the bad, and everything in-between. Plus: a look ahead to Xbox's exciting prospects for 2018!

We debate whether or not you should play PUBG on Xbox in its current state. Plus: reacting to Xbox at The Game Awards, Predator in Ghost Recon, when you can play Metal Gear Survive, and much more!

Our Xbox crew predicts what we might see and learn at this week's Game Awards. Plus: our reactions to Mega Man 11, a new tennis game announcement, Destiny 2 getting Amazon Alexa integration, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss a bunch of stories we'd rather not have to report, including the Fortnite lawsuit involving a 14-year-old boy, the "sunsetting" of Marvel Heroes Omega, and the comatose state of the Deus Ex franchise. On a happier note, Square Enix's CEO shows integrity when speaking about Hitman and Io Interactive, single-player games thrive over Black Friday weekend, this year's Unlock Block trivia trophy gets awarded, and more! Also: if you would like to help former IGN editor and Marvel Heroes developer Anthony Gallegos raise funds for the chemotherapy treatments for his fiancee's awesome dog Shasta, please visit gofundme.com/healshasta.

This week, the crew talks about Black Friday deals, the Xbox One X, and more on the ongoing loot box drama. 

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss just what the heck went wrong with Star Wars Battlefront 2. Plus: we go over all of the Xbox-specific nominees for this year's Game Awards, what original Xbox games we'd like to see added to Xbox One backward compatibility, and more!

We discuss Phil Spencer's recent comments about Xbox's first-party situation, Call of Duty: WW2 reviewer Miranda Sanchez joins us to dive into the new FPS, more Xbox One X-enhanced 360 games, and much more!

Xbox One X marketing head Albert Penello joins us to discuss the interesting origins of Microsoft's new turbocharged console. Plus: PUBG finally gets an Xbox One release date, gifting digital games on Xbox, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we mourn the Kinect after its official discontinuation, discuss this week's original Xbox backward compatibility news, give impressions of Assassin's Creed Origins and Wolfenstein 2, and more!

Our Xbox show dissects the radical shift at EA that's resulted in the closure of Visceral Games, a change in direction for their Star Wars game, and an uncertain future at EA for Amy Hennig. Plus: Master Chief Collection is back, and more!

We give our impressions of Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the Star Wars Battlefront 2 multiplayer beta, and The Evil Within 2. Plus: four new Xbox One bundles, the hidden Master Chief inside every Xbox One X, God Eater 3, and more!

We celebrate Xbox's biggest week of 2017, including our extended impressions of the glorious Cuphead, our reactions to the Red Dead Redemption 2 story trailer, and our thoughts on Forza Motorsport 7. Plus: should Microsoft try to buy PUBG? We discuss that, and more!

Halo 3 celebrates its 10th anniversary, so we reminisce with our memories of the campaign, the multiplayer, and the cultural impact it had. Plus: Square Enix doubles down on "games as a service," Xbox creator Seamus Blackley brings "The Duke" controller to Xbox One, and much more!

This week, the crew talks about their Guardians, thoughts on the Tomb Raider trailer, and Fortnite (momentarily) ending the console war.

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss our Destiny 2 opinions after more time with it -- as well as its impressive first-week player count -- plus PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is getting Sea of Thieves's water tech, and more!

Our Xbox crew discusses Rockstar's just-announced remaster of LA Noire, plus Destiny 2 first impressions, where Crystal Dynamics's Avengers game may be headed, Call of Duty's future possibly being in the past, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, the Xbox One X gets off to a flying start. Could Microsoft be hitting the wave at the perfect time? Plus: a dramatic reading of South Park: The Fractured But Whole's ESRB description, Telltale's Game of Thrones is on hold, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we recap and analyze Microsoft's Gamescom announcements, including a new Jurassic World game that probably isn't what you're expecting, some family-friendly Kinect remasters (yes, really!), the stunning special-edition Minecraft console, Crackdown 3's delay, and much more!  

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss Microsoft's desire to revamp Achievements. Plus: Ubisoft's new studio and their first game, PayDay developer Starbreeze announces a new game out very soon, a classic comes to Xbox for the first time, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we answer your Xbox questions, including our feelings on Shadow of War and other games implementing "loot box" microtransactions. Plus: Titanfall's future, Rainbow Six Siege's success, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we detail the new adventures to come in Wolfenstein 2, discuss EA's internal merger, lament the loss of BioWare designer Corey Gaspur, and more.

On this week's Xbox show, we examine the latest in the ongoing drama that is Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite. Plus: Xbox One X preorders approach, Crackdown 3 concerns, the best-selling games of June, and more!

Ex-BioWare designer Casey Hudson returns to the RPG developer. We analyze what it means for the future of the studio. Plus: new Xbox Live features and Kingdom Hearts gets a release window...but do we believe it?

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss the impressive developer benchmarks for the Xbox One X uncovered by Digital Foundry. Plus: big games getting 4K updates for the X, Star Wars Battlefront 2 beta details, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss the new games added to Xbox Game Pass for July, more on the Inside co-creator's departure, the Destiny community's awesome act of generosity, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we talk about how silly it is for Activision to have a timed exclusive on a 10-year-old game. In happier news, the new game from the co-creator of Limbo and Inside looks incredible, and much more!

On this week's Xbox show, we take 80 minutes to fully unpack everything that happened at Microsoft's E3 press conference. Listen/watch for our hands-on thoughts of the Xbox One X, Sea of Thieves, Crackdown 3, and much, much more! Plus: with Io Interactive going independent, should Microsoft buy them (and thus Hitman as well)?

We celebrate our 300th episode from E3 2017 in Los Angeles. It's our quick-and-dirty reactions to some of the biggest Xbox games and announcements of the week, headlined by the Xbox One X. Enjoy!

Four Unlocked hosts. Twelve Xbox predictions -- some safe, some...a bit nuts. Plus the rest of the week's Xbox news!

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss our thoughts on the gameplay features of Far Cry 5 we know about so far, what Square Enix might do with Hitman, Take-Two's surprising indie purchase, and much more!

We discuss who wins and who loses in the wake of Red Dead Redemption 2's delay. Plus: Destiny 2, Scorpio, and the potential scourge of the exclusive marketing deal; BioWare's future is clearer, Far Cry 5 gets teased, South Park: The Fractured But Whole's final-final (?) release date, and more!

This week, the crew talks about Halo 6 and Halo 3: Anniversary not being at E3, quick Injustice 2 thoughts, and pour one out for Alan Wake.

With word of a shakeup at BioWare Montreal, we ponder Mass Effect's future. Plus: news on BioWare's new IP, this year's Need for Speed, and a goodbye to Ryan's beloved companion, Maggie the Boxer.

Alanah gives us a report from her hands-on time with the just-announced Darksiders sequel. Plus: new Sea of Thieves gameplay details, the future of Xbox Game Pass, the possibility of Fable 4, new details on Quantum Break developer Remedy's next game, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss 343 Industries's admission that having Master Chief in only 20% of Halo 5 probably wasn't a good idea, and what it means for Halo 6. Plus: Marty's Call of Duty: WWII impressions from a visit to Sledgehammer Games, Forza Horizon 3's awesome-sounding new expansion, why Scorpio's exact release date this fall is a big deal, and more!

This week, the crew digs into the upcoming Star Wars game, the strong opening of the next Telltale series, and Prey thoughts.

This week, the crew chats about the best games on the console, the spiritual successor to Banjo, and the highs and lows of Kinect.

On this week's Xbox show, it's all about Project Scorpio. The next Xbox had its official specifications revealed, and we discuss what it means for the console, for the price point, what the box might look like, and what Microsoft promises it will do for non-4K displays. Plus: NBA Playgrounds gets announced and channels the dormant spirit of NBA Jam and NBA Street, Agents of Mayhem resurfaces with a release date, Sega is teasing...something with Bayonetta, and more!

We discuss the Xbox One's home theater strengths, where Mass Effect can go from here after the reaction to Andromeda, the latest on Call of Duty heading back to World War II, and more!

This week, Alanah, Marty, Destin, and Miranda get together to gab about Mass Effect: Andromeda, updates to the Xbox One UI, Evil Within 2 rumors, and good bangin'.

In an otherwise slow Xbox news week, our Xbox crew debates and casts their vote in each BAFTA nominee category. Plus: Telltale's Guardians of the Galaxy gets a voice cast, another Resident Evil game is on the way to Xbox One, and more!

Our Xbox crew discusses Bungie's should-please-everyone solution to transferring your Destiny 1 character into Destiny 2, the cancellation of Dean Hall's Xbox-exclusive Ion, some new release dates, and more!

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer sits in for the entire show and answers our questions about Project Scorpio, E3, Xbox Game Pass, and more! Don't miss this episode!

We finally got to play a few hours of Mass Effect Andromeda. We spend a good chunk of time discussing it in a totally spoiler-free way. We also got to play the first hour of Prey and offer the same thing: extensive impressions without any spoilers. Plus: we analyze Microsoft's decision to move their E3 press conference to Sunday, and more!

We reflect on our experiences – both positive and negative – with the recent Ghost Recon Wildlands closed beta and then Ryan gives his take on Halo Wars 2 now that he's finished it. Plus: Destiny 2 and Call of Duty speculation, why you shouldn't expect any Valve games on Xbox anytime soon, and much more!

Our Xbox experts discuss Forza Horizon developer Playground Games' new non-racing second project, including where we might see it and what tech it might (or might not) use. Plus: tips for attending E3 now that the famous trade show is selling tickets to the public, what Grand Theft Auto V's latest incredible sales milestone means for Red Dead Redemption 2 and the inevitable Grand Theft Auto VI, and more!

Our Xbox crew wonders why there's no buzz for Halo Wars 2, speculates about BioWare's Destiny-sounding new IP, pieces together EA's E3 2017 lineup, analyzes the ramifications of Zenimax's $500 million lawsuit victory over Oculus, discusses what former GTA mastermind Leslie Benzies is up to with his new game, and more!

Our Xbox crew reacts to new Scorpio tech info, celebrates Prey's (fairly close!) release date and what it means for the inevitable Wolfenstein sequel, discusses Playdead's teaser for their new (probably very far off) game, and more!

This week, the crew chats about a strange Gears of War lawsuit, and predicts Scorpio's launch lineup.

On this week's episode, the crew talks through Scalebound's cancellation, a Halo game that never was, and Mass Effect: Andromeda at CES!

Fresh back from the holidays, our Xbox crew reconvenes to discuss what we played over the break, as well as what game we're most excited for in 2017. Red Dead Redemption 2, State of Decay 2, Cuphead, Sea of Thieves, For Honor, Mass Effect Andromeda, Crackdown 3, and more! Plus: Mass Effect Andromeda's release date is finally revealed!

On this week's Xbox show, we field a bunch of questions from the kind folks in the Unlocked Facebook group in our final episode of 2016. Plus: catching up on the Xbox news we missed last week. Happy Holidays!

On this week's Xbox show, we quickly see how we did with our 2016 Xbox predictions before launching into our bold Xbox predictions for 2017. Scorpio games, release date, Minecraft 2, Destiny 2, original Xbox backwards compatibility, and more! Plus: The Essy trophy is awarded as Destin and Marty battle out an epic tiebreaker in the Unlock Block trivia segment.

We wonder if Microsoft might be readying a PlayStation Experience-like event for Xbox fans to be timed along with Scorpio's launch in 2017. Plus: Duke Nukem makes Bulletstorm great again, our suspicions about Crackdown 3 are confirmed, Capcom comes back from the Dark Side, and more!

We ask Santa Spencer for some Xbox gifts as the holiday season gets in full swing. Plus: the Halo TV project returns...sort of, some neat stuff to play in December, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, as Halo 5 boss Josh Holmes leaves 343 Industries, we wonder where the studio might take Halo 6. Plus: October's software sales rankings, The Walking Dead's return, a custom Final Fantasy XV Xbox One console giveaway, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we give our impressions so far on Watch Dogs 2 and Dishonored 2. Plus: we spend most of the show reminiscing about the original Xbox in the wake of the console's 15-year anniversary this week. And much more! 

We learn more story details about Mass Effect Andromeda and debate whether or not we want it to be a three-part trilogy or a single-game experience. Plus: our thoughts on Titanfall 2, the Tomb Raider sequel leak, a killer Black Friday Xbox One deal, and more!

We discuss Bethesda's public proclamation to not facilitate Day 1 reviews of their games anymore, talk about the upcoming Skyrim Monopoly board game, chronicle Marty's adventures playing Mass Effect for the very first time, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we react to the teaser, announcement, and trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2. Plus: Xbox wins NPD again, Xbox superfan and military veteran Jeff Bartrom sits in to discuss the video game-fueled Operation Supply Drop charity, and we finally do our Gears of War 4 spoilercast (at the end of the show – you'll have plenty of warning!).

On this week's Xbox show, we talk about why Cuphead's delay isn't a big deal and what we think the developers should (or shouldn't) do until it comes out. Plus: Mass Effect Andromeda's release date may have been outed. Also: horses. So many horses.

We give our spoiler-free impressions of Gears of War 4, delight in the completely unexpected announcement of Voodoo Vince's return, break down Phil Spencer's recent quotes about Scorpio (including its price), and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss what Rocksteady might do now that they're done with Batman, what other genres might make sense for Gears of War, how the just-announced Firewatch feature-length film could work, our Forza Horizon 3 impressions, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, Firewatch releases on Xbox One, so we talk to creators Sean Vanaman and Jake Rodkin for an hour or so. Learn what it takes to make a game, plus a few interesting Telltale Walking Dead Season 1 anecdotes too (both Sean and Jake were instrumental in that game prior to making Firewatch).

On this week's Xbox show, BioWare is holding auditions for two small voice-acting parts in Mass Effect Andromeda. So yes, we're auditioning. Plus: what should Microsoft's next Scorpio move be in the wake of the PlayStation 4 Pro reveal event last week. We also give ReCore impressions and more!

Ryan's out in New York City, so Marty, Alanah, and Sean got together to chat about Xbox at PAX. Gears of War 4's Horde 3.0 is dope, Sonic Mania is a return to form, and we didn't realize that we actually missed Duke Nukem. They also chat about Tacoma, which is this month's IGN First.

On this week's Xbox show, we fill a slow news week by discussing the just-completed Titanfall 2 Tech Test and wondering which single developers are most valuable to their studios. Also: Tomb Raider gets a new game director, Forza Horizon 3 gets a new car fit for a Spartan, and more!

In between raving about Disneyland and arguing about pizza, we celebrate The Witness's imminent arrival on Xbox One, lament Below's latest delay, discuss the top-selling games for July, and best of all, interview Forza Horizon 3 creative director Ralph Fulton!

Ryan's on vacation this week, so Marty "Cracker Barrel Old Country Store" Sliva and Alanah "Bucca di Beppo" Pearce take the wheel and are joined by Miranda "Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar" Sanchez and Sean "Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Spirits" Finnegan. The crew talks about the lackluster Metal Gear Survive debut, Miranda's awesome Gears of War 4 visit, this fall's slew of shooters, Mass Effect Remastered rumors, and whether or not sheep have sex with other sheep. I'm very sorry.

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss our recent visits to Gears of War 4 developer The Coalition and Forza Horizon 3 co-developer Turn 10 Studios. Plus: theories on why the just-released 2TB Xbox One is already gone and not coming back, debating what Project Scorpio will cost, the advantages to a proper "Destiny 2" compared to continuing expansion packs, and much more!

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss our Xbox One S impressions so far, episode 1 of Telltale's Batman series (no spoilers), the Xbox One Summer Update, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, a lack of current Xbox news leads us to reminisce about the past, including our favorite original Xbox games as well as what dormant Xbox series we'd like to see brought back. Plus: Xbox One S bundles, Summer Spotlight returns, Sonic's new 2D game, and more!

Shopping for a 4K HDR TV in advance of the Xbox One S and/or Scorpio? It turns out HDR isn't so cut and dry. We discuss what we've learned so far. Plus: Tomb Raider's pleasant Season Pass surprise, Rocket League's potentially historic game update, Xbox One S release details, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss Microsoft's crazy Xbox summer, from their lack of press conference at the upcoming Gamescom event to Xbox Australia jumping the gun on Sea of Thieves' release date to Halo 5's post-release success to the dark Kinect secret lurking for would-be Xbox One S buyers. Plus: deciding which original Xbox games we should do Let's Plays of, and much more!

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss the recently unearthed Call of Duty prototype called Call of Duty: Roman Wars. Would it have worked? Could it have worked? Also: Red Dead Redemption finally arrives on Xbox One, Xbox Avatars get more detailed and more inclusive, our thoughts on the BioShock Collection, and at the end of the show is our eagerly anticipated Inside spoilercast.

Our Xbox show celebrates Inside, gets excited for Halo Wars 2, and tries to figure out what happened to the Batman: Return to Arkham remaster.

We analyze everything from Xbox's E3, from Project Scorpio to the Xbox One S to Sea of Thieves and much more. Plus: an interview with Undead Labs founder Jeff Strain – the studio's first since announcing State of Decay 2!

Our 250th episode aired live at E3 2016 with special guest and Xbox creator Seamus Blackley, so here it is in case you missed it. This was our live reactions to everything that had just happened at the Xbox press conference. Hope you enjoy it! And by the way, look for episode 251 at its regular time this Wednesday evening! And we've got our own YouTube channel too! Subscribe here: youtube.com/ignunlocked

Finally, it's the E3 predictions episode you've been waiting for. Listen for our predictions about Dead Rising 4, Xbox Live Arcade/Summer of Arcade, Oculus Rift on Xbox, and much more. Plus: So many E3 leaks! We discuss them all.

On this week's Xbox show, we celebrate the unexpected return of Fable, guess what the rumored VR game for Xbox is, share our Overwatch impressions, wonder what Remedy might do now that Quantum Break is out, argue about the viability of a Mirror's Edge TV series, and look at what the latest Xbox One "temporary price cut" really means.

We analyze the very credible new Xbox Slim and Xbox Next rumors. Will Oculus come along for the ride? What will it be called? How much will it cost? We discuss. Plus: how Doom's excellence may have saved id Software, what's next for that studio, and more!

What we think of Doom so far, including our theories on why Bethesda didn't send out advance copies for review. Plus: Rockstar's next game approaches, Batman gets a more exciting remaster than we expected, Yarny gets another adventure (YARNYYYYYYY!), how you can (maybe) get your dream Gamertag, and more!

Ryan's out, but the crew holds down the fort and chats about Battlefield 1, Battlefront 2, probably something with a 3, and Fable 4.

We fondly remember everything Lionhead gave Xbox fans as the studio closes its doors for good. Plus: Respawn's third-person Star Wars game, our reactions to Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and the not-sold-separately Modern Warfare remaster, our Xbox E3 hopes, whether or not Microsoft will showcase upgraded hardware at the big show, our favorite Xbox 360 games ever, and more!

Gears of War 4 unleashes a pricey season pass and an even pricier collector's edition. We evaluate the pluses and minuses of both. We also lament the latest Mirror's Edge Catalyst delay, debate where Call of Duty is heading after its title has apparently leaked. Oh, and, uh...rugby.

The Xbox 1.5 rumors won't go away – particularly in light of the hot-and-heavy PlayStation Neo rumors, so we discuss what a mid-cycle upgrade could look like for Microsoft. But should it even happen? Plus: Quantum Break's last boss frustrates us (no spoilers though!), Batman joins the remaster party that we don't want to be invited to, Red Dead might be returning, and more! Link to IGN PAX East meet-and-greet #1: https://ignpresentsbattleborncommunity.splashthat.com  Link to IGN PAX East meet-and-greet #2: https://ignmeetngreetpresentedby2k.splashthat.com 

Gears of War 4 boss Rod Fergusson joins us for a 30-minute interview about the new game as well as taking over the franchise. Plus: our thoughts on Quantum Break so far, the ex-GTA developer's lawsuit against Rockstar, Titanfall 2, the rumored effort to save Fable Legends, and more!

We discuss Gears of War 4's just-announced release date and what it means for the rest of the holiday 2016 Xbox lineup. Plus: Xbox 1.5, Mass Effect 4, Doom beta thoughts, Bethesda's public E3 presence, Final Fantasy XV demo reactions, and more!

Mitch's last show is weird, wonderful, and chaotic.

On this week's Xbox show, Shadow Complex creator Donald Mustard sits in for a lengthy interview about his history on Xbox (Advent Rising, Undertow, Shadow Complex, the newly released Shadow Complex Remastered, and...maybe...Shadow Complex 2?)! And then we have Halo 1 designer Jaime Griesemer on to talk old Halo war stories with him. You won't want to miss either interview. We kick off with just Ryan and Mitch, as Ryan says goodbye to his longtime partner-in-crime. Don't miss this episode!

Microsoft opens the door to cross-network play across Xbox One, PC, and maybe PS4 too. Plus: Gears of War 4's campaign will be 30fps and its multiplayer will be 60fps. Opinions vary on that! We also detail Xbox Indie Showcase highlights of what we played, Tacoma's delay, a new ARK game, and more!

We analyze the cancellation of Fable Legends and the apparent closure of Lionhead Studios. Could either have been saved? Can and will Fable continue on, or is it dead? Plus: our first impressions of The Division, Gears of War 4 continues to divide us, Doom multiplayer inches closer, Overwatch and Battleborn have a silly (albeit one-sided) feud, and more!

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer joins us for a quick interview about the future of Xbox (hint: you probably won't lose access to your Xbox One games on the next-gen Xbox console years from now). Plus: our reactions to the Xbox Showcase event from last week – and to Quantum Break in particular, analyzing the Mass Effect Andromeda delay, how cool a World War I-set Battlefield 5 could be, and we tell Capcom how we feel about their creative output so far in this console generation.

On this week's Xbox show, it's all good news. First, it took four years, but Xbox's own Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb sits in with us for the entire show. Together, we talk about this week's awesome Halo 5 news, including the return of a beloved multiplayer mode and an even more beloved old weapon. Plus: Fallout and Elder Scrolls boss Todd Howard speaks about game PR cycles and their next projects. We analyze his comments, and much more! Oh, and of course we also send Larry back to Microsoft with a clear message: #BringBackXBLA

We analyze last week's Internet meltdown over Quantum Break's PC version, detail the first wave of Fallout 4 DLC, discuss what the departure of Mass Effect: Andromeda's lead writer means for both that game and Destiny 2, and much more! P.S. We apologize for the problem with Mitch's mic this week. We're tracking down the problem and we'll have it squashed ASAP.

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss the now-confirmed Titanfall 2 solo campaign, DOOM's release date, Red Dead's imminent backwards compatibility, 2015's most tweeted-about games, continued love for Yarny, and more!

Bethesda announces that they'll put on another E3 press conference. We speculate about what will – and won't – be there. Plus: a 40-minute interview with Unravel creative director Martin Sahlin, The Division beta reactions, how we'd kill Spartan Locke in the first scene of Halo 6, and much more!

We celebrate the very Burnout-y new golf game (yes, golf game!) from the original creators of Burnout. Plus: praise for the word-of-mouth hit ARK: Survival Evolved and the awesome adventure that is Oxenfree. We also discuss the potential awesomeness of PlatinumGames's just-announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, share what you're getting for your $50 season pass in Star Wars Battlefront, lament Mighty No. 9's latest delay, and tell you how you can attend E3 with EA.

We speculate on what this year's Infinity Ward-developed Call of Duty might be like given all of the big-studio talent Activision's been hiring for it. Also, Microsoft files a couple of new game software trademarks we are hesitant to get excited about, the top 10-selling games of December are revealed, and much more!

We discuss our Game of the Year votes, lament the end of an era with one of the key creators of Grand Theft Auto, recount the insane development history of Homefront: The Revolution as it gets dated, weep at the lack of Psychonauts on Xbox, and more!

Happy New Year! We kick things off with our longest episode ever! Gone Home creator Steve Gaynor (who you may also know as the creator of BioShock 2's highly acclaimed DLC Minerva's Den) sits in for the whole show to talk about next week's Xbox One release of Gone Home. We also ask him about his time on BioShock 2 as well as his next game, the Xbox One-exclusive Tacoma. Plus: we make our Xbox predictions for 2016 and review how we did with our 2015 predictions. And we discuss the Scalebound delay, the Assassin's Creed leak, and much more!

[WARNING: Unlike regular episodes of Unlocked, this episode contains explicit language!] Continuing the tradition started last year, we're giving you an episode full of 2015's Unlocked outtakes while the Xbox world rests for the holidays. These outtakes span the entire year, will in some cases make absolutely no sense without any context, and you might think this episode is pointless and/or totally dumb. But you might also think it's hilarious. Let us know, and Happy Holidays! We'll be back with regular episodes of Unlocked starting January 6!

We discuss Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima's decision to sign with Sony for his next game, and whether or not Microsoft pursued the big-name free agent. Plus: we debate what Gearbox's new Quebec studio might be working on, what EA's commitment to eSports means for the industry, and more. Also, don't miss the end of the show this week, as an Unlock Block Trivia champion for 2015 is crowned in a shocking finale.

We review the Xbox-related announcements at last week's Game Awards. Plus: we attended PSX, and we discuss what Microsoft can learn from Sony's fan-service event. Also: we predict what Bethesda's new Montreal office might get up to, Gone Home is finally about to arrive home on Xbox, the Unlock Block Trivia challenge's quest for the Duke-y trophy gets super tense this week. Can Mitch clinch the trophy?

We discuss our thoughts on Rainbow Six Siege, our Xbox expectations for The Game Awards, what we'd like to see from PlatinumGames's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Game, what DC Comics superhero games Batman: Arkham Origins developer WB Games Montreal might be making, and more. Plus: we attempt to design a good Superman game. As you might expect, it doesn't go well.

The Xbox 360's 10th anniversary has us reflecting back on our favorite memories of Microsoft's second console, including the first time we played it, the legendary holiday 2007 season, the faceplates, and much more. Plus: Take-Two confirms more BioShock will be on the way, so we give our picks for who we think should develop it. Happy Thanksgiving!

Star Wars Battlefront is here, and we've got a lot to say about its present and future. Plus: the NXOE dashboard, Deus Ex's totally OK delay, we're in love with Rise of the Tomb Raider, Ronda Rousey gets EA cover cursed, and more!

A new Dashboard, backwards compatibility, and more are all here, meaning the Xbox One is now Phil Spencer's machine, full-stop. We discuss how the Xbox One has practically been relaunched, and when it might ACTUALLY relaunch. Plus: our thoughts on Fallout 4, are you and Elder Scrolls person or a Fallout person? Is Battleborn screwed? And how about that Mass Effect Andromeda teaser?! All of this and more!

Halo 5 gets off to a big start, Activision paid HOW MUCH for the Candy Crush creator, the first big game delay of 2016 happens, Skyrim gets ported to Xbox One but you won't get to play it, Konami gears up another Metal Gear, and more. Plus: a 45-minute interview with Jon St. John, the legendary voice actor best known as the voice of Duke Nukem. He explains his radio origins, coming up with the Duke Nukem voice, his career as a video game voice actor, and much more. NOTE: The Jon St. John interview starts at the 45:19 mark. Oh, and Unlocked now has its own snazzy new homepage! Bookmark this: go.ign.com/unlocked

**WARNING: HALO 5 SPOILERS IN THIS EPISODE! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR HALO 5 SPOILERS, SKIP AHEAD TO THE 1:11:00 MARK.** Halo 5: Guardians is finally here, and we have very strong – and in some cases unexpected – reactions to it. We spend the first 1:11:00 of the show in full spoiler mode, discussing the good, the bad, and the ugly of Halo 5. So if you haven't finished the Halo 5 campaign yet or otherwise don't want to hear Halo 5 spoilers, skip ahead to 1:11:00. In other news, we discuss the just-announced release date for the New Xbox One Experience Dashboard and Xbox 360 backwards compatibility, some good news for Rock Band fans, and more!

On this week's Xbox show, Capybara Games co-founder Nathan Vella (creator of Super Time Force and Below, among others) sits in on the whole show. He updates us on the Xbox One-exclusive below, shares Xbox development insights, talks Back to the Future Day with us, September NPD sales numbers, EA vs. Square Enix on remasters, and more. Plus: your chance to win a Halo 5 prize pack including a copy of the game and an Astro A40 Halo headset!

We wonder what, if anything, Microsoft will do to counter Sony's PS4 price drop. Also, our thoughts on Star Wars Battlefront and how it will sell this holiday. Plus: more Season Passes that tick us off, Halo 5 news, miscellaneous (bad) news, and your chance to win a Forza Motorsport 6 Xbox One console bundle! Oh, and Unlocked now has its own snazzy new homepage! Bookmark this: go.ign.com/unlocked

We celebrate news that the creators of Burnout are bringing the series back (albeit under a new name), rejoice at the Stone Age setting of the just-announced Far Cry Primal, calculate the crazy value proposition of the Fallout 4 Xbox One bundle, take credit (not really) for making the icky Deus Ex: Mankind Divided pre-order campaign go away, check Destin into a rehab facility for his Destiny problem (also not really), and more!

Discussed this week: Splosion Man developer Twisted Pixel pulls a Bungie and spins back out from Microsoft, single-player campaigns in first-person shooters seem to be an endangered species, Xbox One holiday bundles are in full bloom, Hitman course-corrects its unsettling pricing model, Telltale's Back to the Future heads to Xbox One, U2 heads to Rock Band 4, and more!

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer joins our show this week for a conversation about all kinds of happenings in the world of Xbox, from Final Fantasy XIV's absence on Xbox One to whether or not existing Xbox One owners should upgrade to the upcoming Elite console to whether or not he thinks the "killer app" is dead, and much more! Plus: we discuss the Hitman delay, among other timely topics.

On this week's Xbox show, Rainbow Six Siege's map count leads us to wonder how it'll be received. Plus: Fallout 4's season pass annoys us, Star Wars Battlefront gets a mini-fridge, we're excited for the imminent New Xbox One Experience Dashboard, Xbox One gets two new games in a genre it sorely needs them in, and more! Also: after we recorded, Ubisoft issued a correction to their developer who was quoted as saying Rainbow Six Siege will ship with 10 maps. It will actually be 11.

We make an otherwise slow Xbox news week interesting by discussing notable 9/9 gaming birthdays, discuss former Xbox boss Robbie Bach's comments on how an 'Xboy' handheld almost came to exist, analyze what we learned about Destiny thanks to a court decision involving a former longtime Bungie employee, and give our ideas for what rides we think should be at Ubisoft's planned real-life theme park in Malaysia. 

Microsoft's newest Xbox One console bundle is extra special because it includes the hot new Elite gamepad as well as a 1TB SSHD hard drive. We break down the benefits you can expect as well as whether or not it might be worth upgrading to. Plus: we analyze Halo 5's newly released opening cinematic, take a guess at the real reason DICE is doing a Star Wars Battlefront beta, dry heave at Square Enix's pre-order incentives for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and...oh yeah, we give away a custom Gears of War-painted Xbox One console too.

Mitch and Ryan shake and bake their way through this week's Xbox show, tackling, among other questions: Will we ever see Master Chief's face? What are the odds of Xbox One actually getting original Xbox backwards compatibility functionality? Should you take Just Cause 3's $50,000 cash prize, or the mysterious actual real-life island they're offering? And much more! Polite College Duke Nukem stops by as well!

This week's Xbox show analyzes Rainbow Six Siege's daring delay and what it means for the franchise this year and in the longer term. Plus: we express sadness (but not anger) regarding the absence of Big Team Battle from Halo 5's launch, theorize what Gearbox might do with Duke Nukem now that their IP ownership lawsuit is settled, discuss Forza 6's new "mods," and more!

This week's Xbox show recaps Gamescom from the IGN guys who were there, explains why the Halo 5 console bundle might not be such a good deal, details how the Halo TV show isn't dead, laments Capcom's remakes/remasters-or-bust strategy, and more!

After Xbox's killer Gamescom, we just couldn't wait until Wednesday to do our next show. So here we are, talking about everything from Gamescom, including Halo Wars 2, Crackdown 3, Scalebound, Quantum Break, Homefront: The Revolution, the Halo 5 Xbox One console, new ID@Xbox games, strange Destiny news, Xbox One TV DVR functionality, and Xbox One's downright ridiculous 2016 lineup!

Microsoft is set to have a big presence at Gamescom. So, we play our ol' predictions game, making 12 Xbox predictions for what we think might happen. Plus: Tomb Raider's exclusivity is dated, 343 explains the lack of any split-screen multiplayer support in Halo 5, Windows 10 begins rolling out to change the Xbox ecosystem forever, and much more.

As news of a new Brothers in Arms game starting development surfaces, we revisit the smart, stellar, historically-based first-person shooter/strategy series and why we'd be excited for it to return – as well as if it could help bring WWII shooters back in general. Plus: all of Sony's marketing dollars still won't let you play Star Wars Battlefront on PS4 first, Xbox One gets another clever bundle, and much more! Special guest star Jared Petty joins the Unlocked crew this week.

With the year half over, it's time to give our picks for our Xbox Games of the Year...so far. Plus: the latest chapter in the Hideo Kojima/Konami divorce is as wacky as ever. We wonder if there will even be another AAA Metal Gear game, and who might do it. Also, Dead Island 2 has lost its developer, so we debate who might pick up the ball on that and run it into the end zone. Furthermore, two $200 special editions of upcoming big games generate wildly different reactions from us, and finally, don't miss the debut of the real-life Dukey trophy!

It's impossible to follow the once-in-a-lifetime episode 201, but we do our best by dissecting a rumor that suggests Microsoft may be looking to buy Xbox One and PS4 chipmaker AMD. What would it mean for the current consoles? How about the Xbox 4 and PlayStation 5? We discuss it in detail. Plus: we lament some of the E3 Game Critics Award winners and give our take on the first trailer for Telltale's Minecraft: Story Mode.

We don't believe three generations of Xbox leadership have ever been brought into the same room before to share secrets and stories of Xbox history. Until now. In a once-in-a-lifetime episode, Xbox creator Seamus Blackley, Head of Xbox during the 360 launch Peter Moore, and current Head of Xbox Phil Spencer talk for 90 minutes about all three Xbox consoles, including beating Sony in the living room, where the Duke controller came from, how Gears of War influenced a critical decision for the Xbox 360 hardware, and so much more!

Episode 200 finally happened, and it happened live with 450 IGN fans in San Francisco. It was an incredible event where we celebrated the history of Xbox, sharing our favorite original Xbox and 360 games as well as those of the fans in attendance. We even snuck in a teaser for a very special episode 201! We hope you enjoy listening if you couldn't make it, or reliving it again if you did!

We are all finally back from E3, rested, and ready to bask in the glory that was the week of Xbox awesomeness at the show. Sea of Thieves, Cuphead, HoloLens, Halo 5, and so much more all blew us away. We analyze what worked (almost everything) and what didn't (there isn't much) about Xbox's just-completed E3, and paint a pretty bright picture for Xbox in 2016 while we're at it. Join us for this epic episode!

In the wake of Microsoft's fantastic E3, we sat down with Head of Xbox Phil Spencer to discuss everything from backwards compatibility to Kinect, Xbox Live Arcade, winning the console "war," and much more. NOTE: this interview was recorded the day before Summer Spotlight was announced, so when you hear Phil play coy with our question about whether or not he'd ever bring XBLA back, now you know why. :-)

In this special mini-episode, bucket-list edition of Podcast Unlocked, we sit down with Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the Emmy Award-winning, Tony Award-winning, and Oscar-nominated comedy geniuses. They've got a new video game, hilariously titled South Park: The Fractured But Whole, that serves as a follow-up to the New Kid's adventures in The Stick of Truth. Here, Stone and Parker discuss the game, how they see the show ending one day, whether or not we'll ever get a Book of Mormon movie adaptation, and more!

In light of the big Halo 5 campaign details and multiplayer bomb dropped by 343 Industries, we spend a good chunk of the show getting SUPER EXCITED for Halo 5. Plus: reactions to the 1TB Xbox One announcement, a talk about how Forza is a victim of its own success, why we love Mirror's Edge Catalyst's new title, and much more. And, yes, there's another In-N-Out bet made over Games With Gold and, specifically, PoolNation FX.

You know what we're talking about this week: Fallout 4. Join us for a 26-minute reaction segment to the announcement and the trailer. We discuss what gameplay elements the trailer suggests, why we think we're going to get a very long demo at E3, when we think the game is coming out, and more. Plus: what the Gears of War developer's studio rebranding means for the series, why the Rise of the Tomb Raider teaser trailer bugged us, details on the big Unlocked 200 celebration, and so much more! It's a 90-minute epic episode of Podcast Unlocked!

As E3 2015 approaches, each of our Xbox podcast crew shares his best – or worst – E3 memories. Plus: we get teased by Halo 3: ODST releasing for Xbox One (but ultimately it didn't), teased by a real baseball game on Xbox (nope, it doesn't have the MLB license), and more!

We react to Star Wars Battlefront bucking the recent years' trend of using iron sights in the upcoming first-person shooter. We also give our take on the newly announced Assassin's Creed Syndicate. Plus: why we're happy about The Division's delay, all of LEGO Dimension's toy tie-ins leak out early, praise for the May Xbox One System Update, and more!

EA drops some vague release date windows for Titanfall 2 and Mirror's Edge on their quarterly earnings call, so we take more specific shots at pinning them down – as well as detailing why DICE's E3 presentation of Mirror's Edge will likely either send the game's hype train ahead at full speed or derail it completely. Plus: Disney Infinity 3.0, more Star Wars Battlefront talk, our thoughts on The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and more!

We try to find humor in what is otherwise a downer of a week: the Astro A40 Xbox One gaming headset isn't good, Silent Hills is canceled and Konami doesn't look long for this world, Black Ops 3 fails to excite us, Batman: Arkham Knight's DLC Season Pass is laughably expensive, and more. On the bright side, it looks like we're getting a Gears of War 1 remake/update, Halo 5: Guardians may finally let us play with Master Chief's best Spartan-II buddies, State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition and a Battletoads-infused Shovel Knight are out for Xbox One, and more!

Fierce debate grips the Unlocked crew this week, as we discuss whether Star Wars Battlefront is offering enough content out of the box to justify its $60 price. Is this the new normal? What lessons can we learn from Titanfall and Destiny? Mitch and Ryan even make an In-N-Out bet about it. Plus: we speculate on what Phil Spencer means by the expected "new, exclusive IP" for Xbox at E3 this year, how stoked we are about Mass Effect 4 after a pile of gameplay details purportedly leak, the never-finished Alan Wake 2 prototype, and more!

With World Music Game War II official, we break down the surprising pros and cons of Guitar Hero Live and Rock Band 4 and ultimately come to a pretty happy conclusion. Plus: a government agency whines about the Xbox One's power consumption rates, and then whines again when Microsoft pledges to fix it. We respond. Meanwhile, Destin isn't happy about Destiny's latest expansion, House of Wolves, and Xbox One owners will get first crack at Star Wars: Battlefront this fall.

The announcement of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has the Unlocked crew standing as Fankind United. Yes, we're excited. We break down the newly revealed new-gen sequel, including where we think it's heading and how we prefer to brush up on the last game. Plus: Quantum Break gets officially moved to 2016 (called it!), former Xbox executive Don Mattrick escapes his first post-Xbox job on a golden parachute, Phil Spencer would like to see Banjo in Super Smash Bros. (plus: who we think should make a new Banjo game on Xbox), and more!

The weekend gave us not one but two Halo 5: Guardians trailers, and you needed to see both of them in order for your mind to be fully and properly blown. We dissect what each trailer's version of the truth means, and we talk at length about Halo 5's surprising October release date – including what it means for the rest of Microsoft's holiday Xbox One lineup. Plus: a nugget of Gears of War 4 news to chew on, a couple of April Xbox One system update features we really like, and more!

Noted Metal Gear fan Max Scoville joins Podcast Unlocked this week to discuss the whole (alleged) Kojima/Konami fiasco. And we have what may be an unpopular opinion about the entire thing. Plus: why the hell is there a Russia-only Halo Online game for PC? Will the next Xbox hit in 3-4 years instead of 7-8? What's the deal with Conker in Project Spark? Also: Shark Finnegan explains how to get thrown out of a Denny's.

Now that Titanfall 2 is a real, confirmed thing, we've got some ideas as to what it needs. In fact, we all agree on what that is. Meanwhile, we give a refresher course on the long-dormant Homefront: The Revolution now that it's been officially delayed to 2016. Plus: another hilarious round or marketing-spun NPD results, Rory McIlroy Highlander-kills Tiger Woods, and more. Also be sure to watch the full video episode of the podcast on the IGN Xbox One app if you haven't tried it!

A discussion about our early Ori and the Blind Forest impressions turns into an impromptu chat about our most emotional gaming (and movie) moments. Plus: we have a theory on the timing of this week's Halo: The Master Chief Collection Xbox One bundle, another theory about how Kudo Tsunoda's promotion proves last week's Phil Harrison rumors, why Quantum Break would be better off releasing in 2016 regardless of the validity of this week's rumors, and more! Plus: a very personal, 40-minute interview with Adr1ft creator Adam Orth. He discusses how his personal life is reflected in the new game, what his life was like during the #DealWithIt controversy, and more.

What a packed show! Chris Charla, the head of Microsoft's ID@Xbox program, stops by for a chat about choosing indie games for the program, how crazy (in a good way) Cuphead is, and more. Then we talk about Phil Spencer's latest Battletoads tease, freak out because Rock Band 4 is a real thing, discuss our experience playing one of GTA Online's Heists, and much, much more.

On this week's IGN Xbox podcast, we discuss running out of Xbox One hard drive and what decisions go into choosing an external hard drive to buy. Plus, rumors suggest that both Rock Band and Guitar Hero may be returning for the new consoles (and why we're FREAKING OUT), Microsoft makes a genius move to partner Forza with Fast and Furious, Batman: Arkham Knight's 'M' rating, why MMOs are finally hitting Xbox consoles, and much more!

This week's episode of Podcast Unlocked is packed! We predict what Bethesda will announce at their first-ever E3 press conference in June, including Fallout 4. Plus: reacting to Phantom Dust's developer shift, lamenting Shadow Realms' cancellation and what it means for 4v1 games, making our picks from the ongoing Xbox Ultimate Game Sale, and remembering Super Mario Bros. 3 and how it changed our lives as we note its 25th (USA) anniversary.

Halo 5 dominates our show this week, as not only do we talk to 343 Industries Halo 5 Studio Head Josh Holmes and Multiplayer Designer Quinn DelHoyo about what they learned from the now-completed Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta (skip to 1:02:57 for that), we also discuss all the changes made as a result of player feedback. Plus, a release date for the Halo 5 art book suggests that Halo 5 might not ship in November as we've all been expecting. We discuss why that might make a ton of sense. Oh, and get our thoughts on Evolve, hear some of the best 2015 Xbox predictions we got from you guys, and learn what's going into the February Xbox One system update.

Four editors. Three predictions each. That means we've got 12 Xbox predictions for 2015 that you can hold us to come Christmas-time. Plus, we can bet on them! Which of us is Nostradamus (probably none of us), and which of us is Nostra-dumb-us (probably all of us)? Plus: A few Sony games look like they're on their way to Xbox, Condemned 3 might happen, Grand Theft Auto V's sales numbers continue to astound us, Dying Light isn't being ignored (yay!), and more.

The Xbox's sales are down year over year for the fourth quarter, largely due to dwindling Xbox 360 sales. So it's time to wonder: is the old console toast? Also, IGN tech editor Alaina Yee joins us to share her first-hand, behind-the-scenes account of the Windows 10/HoloLens event she attended last week at Microsoft Campus. Plus: EA makes bank, the Xbox One's controller gets a firmware update, and we give you an In-N-Out Burger history lesson you absolutely didn't ask for.

Packed show! We distill the Windows 10 event down to what it means for Xbox, including the HoloLens AR glasses that may sound familiar if you remember "Fortaleza" from the big Xbox One leak in 2012. Plus: we reflect on the Halo 5 beta, the Xbox One goes back to $349...again, and Undead Labs CEO Jeff Strain sits in for an epic 50-minute interview that covers his fascinating past working at Blizzard, his present-day State of Decay success, and his online future.

IGN's Game of the Year has been announced. We discuss how we cast our individual votes. Plus: a big MOBA hits Xbox One, Forza Motorsport 6 gets announced...in Detroit, Microsoft may be bringing back a "beloved" strategy game, Xbox One wins an Emmy(?!), and more!

As Microsoft abandons their trademark on show favorite Blinx: The Timesweeper, we discuss what we'd do with it if we bought it (which we might). Plus: what does the Xbox One going back up to $400 mean for 2015? Will Xbox Avatars ever matter on Xbox One? Will Far Cry 5 pit you against...vampires? And what will Xbox One developers do with more power thanks to the newest XDK tools? Oh, and we give a warm Podcast Unlocked welcome to new IGN host Max Scoville. Say hi, won't you? Thanks to Walter Hill (@walt_disknee) for the new outro music for 2015, and Ryan Quintal for the new logo!

We'll be up front: you might not even like this episode. It's a collection of random, out-of-context outtakes from the past year of Xbox podcasting. Strange stories. Off-topic conversations. Alex Solomita's 15 minutes of fame on ESPN. On the other hand, some of you might think it's hilarious. So give it a listen. It's only 16 minutes long. Then let us know what you think! If you find it boring and/or dumb, we won't do it next year. But hopefully you'll get some enjoyment out of it. And besides, the alternative was to not have any show at all this week. :-)

"I'm not even supposed to be here today!" We'd planned to be on holiday break this week, but too much Halo happened! First, 343 Industries announced that Halo 3: ODST will be brought to Halo: The Master Chief Collection in 1080p/60fps – for free! And that an Anniversary remake of "Relic" would be added to MCC for free as the seventh Halo 2 Anniversary map. On top of that, we spent all weekend playing the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta during an early access period. Needless to say, we have a lot to say on all of this. Join us for the next 70 minutes or so, won't you?

As the year winds to a close, Microsoft celebrates a November NPD victory. What about December? What about the future? Will they put the system's price back to $400? We discuss. Plus: the big annual year-end Xbox games sale has begun, Grand Theft Auto V finally delivers a peek at online heists, remasters get an ultimatum from us, and more. Oh, and THANK YOU for listening this year. We appreciate your support more than you know!

Sony strikes back, securing Street Fighter V exclusively after Microsoft bagged Rise of the Tomb Raider. We discuss the situation, as well as what other games this could happen to. Plus: after Sony's PlayStation Experience Event, should Microsoft do something similar? Also: Adr1ft gets announced, The Witcher 3 gets delayed, and much more. Most importantly, we welcome back Jared Petty!

We catch up on everything we saw and played over the Thanksgiving break, including passionate (spoiler-free) discussions about Sunset Overdrive, Tales from the Borderlands, Game of Thrones, Limbo, and more. Plus: Xbox One's Black Friday success and whether or not the $350 price point will revert back to $400, Xbox's neverending struggles in Japan, hackers targeting Xbox Live, and much more.

As Ryan's old friend and podcasting partner Dan Amrich sits in to discuss Rocksmith 2014 for Xbox One (which Dan now works on), the crew discusses their thoughts on Xbox One's first birthday and the big Microsoft giveaway that goes with it. Plus: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare's campaign, Dumb & Dumber To, game show video games (like 1 vs. 100!), Titanfall's just-announced Deluxe Edition, and more!

What should be a celebration of one of the biggest weeks of the year for Xbox games is instead clouded by rough launches for both Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Assassin's Creed Unity, as well as online issues for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. We discuss what the root of the cause might be, as well as what recourse gamers have to combat Day One woes. Plus: Halo 5 multiplayer impressions, Just Cause 3 gets announced, Game of Thrones game details from Telltale, Phil Spencer sees a new game at Rare, and more.

The world's #1 Xbox podcast crew discusses the significance of the Xbox One price drop, and there's a *slight* chance we get derailed into an In-N-Out vs. Shake Shack vs. Five Guys cheeseburger conversation. Also: Destiny 2 gets confirmed, and we discuss what we want out of the sequel. Also don't miss our Grand Theft Auto V new-gen chat about the new first-person view, and when we might see a slimmed-down refresh of the Xbox One.

If you don't know how Max Hoberman is, here's the elevator pitch version: he's not only the Halo 2 lead multiplayer designer, but he helped invent all of the amazing party and matchmaking systems that Halo 2 pioneered that we all now take for granted. And now, he has his own studio, Certain Affinity, where they build maps for many multiplayer games, including Halo 2 DLC, Halo 3 DLC, Halo 4 (shipping version and DLC), various Call of Duties, and now Halo 2 Anniversary. Max shares some incredible insights on the making of Xbox Live's killer app, and then shares his gut reactions to every map from Halo 1 and 2. His answers may surprise you...

Microsoft Head of Xbox Phil Spencer makes his first Unlocked appearance in a year, dicussing a range of topics including when certain features will be added to the Xbox One via the monthly system updates, what he wants out of the next Gears of War, why there is no special-edition Halo-themed console to pair with The Master Chief Collection, what the hell Rare is up to, and much, much more. 

Find out what happens when four guys get busted for trying to use an original Xbox to smuggle cocaine. At the very least, it produces the funniest moment in the history of the show. Also, a new Halo game got announced, HBO Go will soon be usable on Xbox 360 or Xbox One without a cable/satellite TV subscription, a new Assassin's Creed Xbox One bundle provides pretty good value (and we share our favorite special-edition consoles ever), and much more.

On this week's episode of the world's #1 Xbox podcast, we discuss why Ubisoft messed up badly with their explanation as to why Assassin's Creed Unity will run at 900p on both Xbox One and PS4. Plus: how much of Halo 5 will Agent Locke star in? Why did Kingdom Hearts 3 switch to Unreal Engine 4? Why is Mitch worried about Geometry Wars 3? And find out which special guests will be appearing on the show this month.

Alleged NDA-breaking sources claim Destiny's story was VERY different earlier in development. We discuss. Plus: love for Screamride and its Crash Mode-esque feature, why you should get pumped for the release of Thomas Was Alone next month, pouring one out for Burnout, and hacking is bad, mmm-kay?

Want to know how you can have no artistic or programming talent and still end up becoming the head of the studio making the biggest game of the year? Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare's Michael Condrey shares his fascinating career story of how he went from beach bum to co-founding Sledgehammer Games and working on the world's biggest shooter franchise. Plus: Destiny's raid, Rudy Giuliani's defense of Activision against...Manuel Noriega (!), Grand Theft Auto V's next-gen first-person mode, D4 pulls a Beyonce (and why that's bad), and more!

We're back, and so much has happened! In this jumbo-sized 90-minute edition of the world's #1 Xbox podcast, we spend nearly an hour discussing Destiny -- what it is, what it isn't, what it could evolve into, and more. Plus: Jose Otero's Halo: The Master Chief Collection impressions, our analysis of Microsoft's big Minecraft developer purchase, and much more!

An annoying bell is left behind in the podcast studio, and we abuse it before finally hurling it out a window. More importantly, Halo pro and superfan Sean Finnegan discusses how it felt to play the new Lockout in Halo 2 Anniversary multiplayer. We also dive into the "WTF?" Saints Row expansion that's coming to Xbox One as well as 360. Plus: Get to Know Your Locksmiths gets a bit serious, discussing the topic of bullying.

This week, we're down Ryan McCaffrey, so it's a shorter show as we discuss HD remakes, Dragon Age: Inquisition's multiplayer, Shadow Complex's 5th anniversary, and what we think of Microsoft selling Kinect for $150.

Marty and Destin return from Gamescom in Germany, where they got to be among the first in the world to play Halo 2 Anniversary multiplayer. They tell us how Halo 2-y it feels. Plus: Madden 15's time limit on EA Access, a bigger hard drive for...Xbox 360, a Reddit app for Xbox One, what to expect in the September Xbox One system update, and the return of Get to Know Your Locksmiths.

First, we apologize for this week's audio issues. It's a bit quiet for the first half or so of the show, and then we tried to fix it and were successful...except somehow and for some reason Ryan's microphone cuts out. You can still hear him being picked up by the other mics, but...sigh... Anyway, this week we discuss Rise of the Tomb Raider's controversial Xbox exclusivity, our first glimpse of the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare's multiplayer reveal, and everything else that came out of the big Gamescom show in Germany.

With Gamescom approaching, we make our Xbox predictions for the "European E3." What will Microsoft announce? What will they show off? We speculate. Plus: another last-gen game looks like it's getting an Xbox One port, Bungie has a supply-and-demand problem with Destiny, Evolve gets delayed, and more!

So much to discuss on this week's Xbox podcast! Mass Effect gets its Mako back, Destiny's beta goes well, Homefront fans get good news, Gamestop wants to help you ruin your credit rating, and more. Oh, and Marty sends notes from Comic-Con, which Ryan ruins by doing a dramatic reading.

Battlefield Hardline has been delayed into 2015, and the move has major ramifications for EA, for the other major first-person shooters of fall 2014, and for you. We dissect the decision and figure out what the heck we're going to have time to play this holiday. Plus: Dragon Age Inquisition is also delayed -- slightly -- but Ryan fears the worst. Conversely, he's super stoked for the possible return of Rock Band, the new Doom is finally shown off, legendary composer Marty O'Donnell settles his lawsuit with Bungie, and more!

Bungie Community Manager DeeJ stops by on the eve of Destiny's beta kickoff on Xbox platforms. We discuss the state of discourse in the video game community, how to give constructive feedback to your favorite developer, and much more. Plus: some very sad and unfortunate news at Microsoft overshadows strong Xbox One sales numbers, we discuss whether or not Homefront: The Revolution will ever come out a key staffer joins many others who've left Crytek recently, Tekken 7 is revealed, and Grand Theft Auto V on next-gen may have just had its release date leaked. P.S. Congrats to our prize winner this week: Parker Smith. Sorry for not writing your name down, Parker!

Are Xbox owners really getting the short end of the Destiny stick? And as Coagulation is announced as the second Halo 2 map to get the Xbox One "Anniversary" treatment in Halo: The Master Chief Collection, what might the other four be? Plus: Gearbox announces their new game (Hint: it's not Aliens: Colonial Marines 2), Alien: Isolation gets Sigorney Weaver, a couple of games are given sent-to-die release dates, and more!

Is EA's Peter Moore right about the console wars being a good thing? Is an analyst right about Destiny being 2014's biggest-selling game? What kind of game is Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinksi about to announce? The world's #1 Xbox podcast discusses.

It appears that developer Crytek is in serious trouble, and the fallout has already resulted in Ryse 2 being cancelled. We speculate on how Microsoft could still get the game made, making hypothetical picks on who might make it and what engine they'd use. Plus: Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson continues to get wealthier by the day, and we couldn't be happier for him.

We celebrate our mini-milestone episode by finally dipping into the Podcast Unlocked mailbag. Plus: Our personal E3 Game of the Show picks, Gearbox's Randy Pitchford criticizes Destiny, Capcom opens itself up to a hostile corporate takeover, and and an unpronounceable series of choices in the Unlock Block trivia challenge.

Recorded live from a haunted theater in Los Angeles, it's Podcast Unlocked! In our E3 2014 special edition, we dissect Microsoft's press conference, discussing what we liked, what we didn't, and what we wished had been there. Plus: What does Xbox's 2015 look like, and what are our Game of the Show picks? Tune in for the answers!

On the eve of E3, the crew makes a dozen bold Xbox predictions. Plus: several big-name games got announced this week ahead of the show, a pile of new apps are on the way to Xbox One (including an update on HBO Go), and Marty has a grade-A meltdown over the Unlock Block trivia question.

In the calm before the E3 storm, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella makes it clear that the Xbox business isn't going anywhere. Plus, EA leaks its own game, Minecraft on Xbox One gets a release date and a sweet upgrade deal, another publisher wants us to pay again for a recent game, and Mitch hates Batman Beyond spoilers. Oh, and why we may need to call in sick for the entire month of October.

Are we about to get FIVE Halo games in the next 18 months? Maybe, but one of them is definitely Halo 5: Guardians. We discuss. Plus: bad news for Rare that could have a silver lining, an unexpected delay from Ubisoft, Far Cry 4 is real, Fable Legends is being shown soon, and more!

Nathan Vella from Capy Games joins Marty Sliva, Destin Legarie, and Mitch Dyer to discuss Super TIME Force's launch, Xbox One's new Kinectless model, Games With Gold's benefits (and potentially harmful consequences), and more in this nutty, chaotic episode of Podcast Unlocked.

Can a promising new Call of Duty from a promising new developer make Ryan care about the franchise again? Will Mitch forgive Destiny for...whatever it is about it that upsets him? What's a "New Titanfall Experience"? Why is Need for Speed taking a year off? When is the Xbox E3 press conference? And what did Naomi learn when visiting the site of the E.T. Atari game excavation in New Mexico?

Xbox One is heading to China. So what does that mean? We're not even sure but we have theories. Plus: Is Gamestop closing 2% of its stores a harbinger of Doom? And now that we finally got to play Destiny, why are we still not crazy excited?

As Ryan returns from vacation, Destin and Marty go missing, so they're replaced by Naomi and Brian Altano. The group discusses the Xbox One's mixed results in the March NPD figures, while also chatting about Dragon Age Inquisition, making our Games With Gold guesses for May, and more!

IGN's Mitch Dyer, Marty Sliva, and Destin Legarie welcome Brian "BRAP BRAP" Altano to Podcast Unlocked this week, in an episode free of Ryan McCaffrey's typical order. Structure is out the window. Sanity, lost. Sense? None. Profanity? Prevalent. On the agenda this week, the Locksmiths discuss whether or not Marty O'Donnell's departure from Bungie means much for Destiny, and where we'd like to see him go. After that, we wonder about Tales From the Borderlands -- the core is great, but do we really want to play it? Finally, we hit on Trials Fusion, which has a price tag that has some fans wondering whether or not they want in at all. Download Podcast Unlocked Ep. 141: The Bungie Situation (MP3).

Turn 10 Creative Director Dan Greenawalt stops by to chat about all things Forza Motorsport, including how (or if) DirectX 12 can improve games on Xbox One, whether or not the Drivatar technology could be applied to other Xbox One games in other genres, and more! Plus: the hidden feature in Titanfall for Xbox 360, how a five-year-old helped Microsoft fix their security on Xbox Live, the next Xbox One system update features, a sci-fi show you'll be watching on Xbox TV, Bruce Lee anachronistically joining EA Sports UFC, and a bunch of other stuff.

One of our own listeners has been named the new Head of Xbox at Microsoft! Yes, Phil Spencer has been promoted, and he calls in to tell us about his new role. Sorry in advance for the crappy phone-recorded audio. We'll use Skype next time!  Also, Alien: Isolation gets a dangerous release date, Devil's Third isn't dead, and more!

What DON'T we cover this week?! Facebook buying Oculus Rift, Xbox One price cuts, the return of Truskill on Xbox One (sort of...), the Wolfenstein collector's edition that's missing a particularly important component, Diablo III gets confirmed for Xbox One (kinda...), Far Cry 4 details leak, and Linkin Park meets Project Spark.

News-plosion! Another Xbox executive heads for the exit, Xbox allegedly gets in the virtual reality headset game as Sony announces their Project Morpheus VR, Xbox One gets a release date in an unlikely country, and the next-gen Assassin's Creed leaks...again.

With Titanfall out along with the February and March System Updates -- and the Twitch broadcasting app too -- the Xbox One is a much different (and better!) console than ever. We discuss. Plus: Titanfall reactions, game announcements and delays, and more!

Winter must be almost over because things are heating up in the world of Xbox. This week we're talking about Rocksteady's new Batman: Arkham game, the next-gen project BioWare is considering, the return of Watch Dogs (we played it!), more Titanfall, the massive Xbox One March update, hypothetical scenarios in which Microsoft could sign the recently-ousted creator of Uncharted, and more! Plus: a mea culpa of sorts for new Xbox boss Stephen Elop.

Big changes are afoot in the Xbox world this week, as Twitch finally hits Xbox One with some fun new features, Titanfall gets bundled in for free with new Xbox Ones, and the Xbox division of Microsoft gets a new boss who has a...curious track record.

After gushing about the incredible Lego Movie, the world's #1 Xbox podcast crew discusses the surprising revelations about Titanfall (hint: if you played the beta, you ain't seen nothin' yet!), the Xbox One's ongoing 1080p problem, Halo 2 Anniversary's he-said, Chief-said situation, and Doom 4's surprising re-emergence under a dangerous new name.

IGN's resident Call of Duty expert/superfan Bobby "Bobbya1984" Amos joins the podcast crew to give his take on Titanfall -- and it's not all sunshine and rainbows. We discuss how the games battling each other can be good for gamers, and we tell you how to get into the Titanfall beta too. Plus: we rage over the criminal pricing of the new Xbox One chat headset adapter and stereo headset, we discuss Call of Duty's new developer, share our excitement for Evolve, and more!

Two much-needed Xbox One system updates are coming very soon, so we detail what they include and what Microsoft needs to address next. We also discuss the alleged Xbox One leaks that sprung just after we published last week's episode. Do we believe them? Do they make sense? What do they mean? Also, Microsoft gets a new CEO, we put a new Xbox One game on your radar, and Destin pronounces "Halo" funny.

We sneak in 12 bold Xbox One predictions for 2014 before January ends, including thoughts on Minecraft, Halo, Elder Scrolls Online, and more. Plus: the Titanfall beta is confirmed, our take on the big Gears of War acquisition news, and good news for 1 vs. 100 fans.

Lionhead is reportedly working on non-Fable things. Do we even want them to go back to Fable after Legends? Plus: the (good) possibility of a Titanfall open beta, why Xbox One's holiday sales mean a price drop or Kinect-free version probably aren't happening anytime soon, the return of Tetris, an Xbox exclusive gets delayed, and more!

With IGN's 2013 Game of the Year out of the bag, we go over our own personal ballots, including our Xbox One and Xbox 360 votes. In the news, we discuss the future of the Xbox as a platform and what Microsoft's Phil Spencer has to say about it, the is-it-really-that-great return of RBI Baseball, and why Xbox fans should expect plenty more State of Decay in the future.

Happy New Year! Much to discuss in our first show of 2014, including outrage over Titanfall's 12-player limit, three big new first-person game announcements, the end of the Burnout era as we know it, if Xbox One can succeed in China, what we played over the holiday break, and more!

It'll definitely be a happy holiday for Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, as the Xbox 360 version surpassed seven million copies sold. Plus: Naomi, Marty, Mitch, and Ryan share their favorite holiday traditions, Xbox TV is still coming, Battlefield 4 still seems to be broken, and The Walking Dead: Season 2 debuts, and more!

As we wish legendary first-person shooter DOOM a happy 20th anniversary, we dissect each of the big game announcements from over the weekend -- including two very interesting ones from Walking Dead creator Telltale Games. Plus: the first major system update for Xbox One, filling up the new console's hard drive, demos on Xbox One, and an evil hoax. Oh, and now we know what day you'll want to call in sick for in order to play Destiny.

We love the Xbox One, but there are a few puzzling interface oddities that have left us scratching our heads -- things that weren't broken on Xbox 360 but have been "fixed" anyway for Xbox One. We discuss ways to fix the Achievements system, the accessibility of the interface, the Party Chat system, and the data management methods (or lack thereof). Plus: how we spent our Thanksgiving holidays, and more!

In this Turkey Day edition of Podcast Unlocked, the crew discusses the aftermath of the Xbox One launch: what went well (Xbox Live), what didn't go so well (some people's disc drives), and what's annoying the heck out of us (crashes!). Plus, why one programmer's departure from 343 Industries is extremely bad news for Halo fans, why you should keep it clean on your Xbox One Upload Studio clips, EA's NBA Live apology, and the end of a legendary first-person shooter era. Oh, and we pick our favorite holidays in Get to Know Your Locksmiths!

The Xbox One is finally here, and we're talking about EVERYTHING: all the games (including the big wild-card, Ryse: Son of Rome), the Kinect, the Dashboard...all of it. A special occasion demands an extra-special crew, so we're bringing five Locksmiths to the table this week: Ryan, Mitch, Destin, Marty, and Naomi -- with a bonus appearance by Andrew Goldfarb. Plus: can Xbox One's Kinect see your junk?

Ryan has started playing the Xbox One version of Call of Duty: Ghosts...and hates the campaign. Mitch and Destin share their thoughts, while Marty (wisely) abstains. Meanwhile, you get another chance to acquire the rare white Xbox One and help a charity in the process, we see the Xbox One Dashboard in action, Xbox One reviews are coming in, an Xbox One launch game gets delayed, and a new Middle-earth game gets announced.

The Internet's #1 Xbox podcast tackles the entire Xbox One launch lineup this week after playing most of the games. Plus: Call of Duty: Ghosts' sales numbers, a special-edition Xbox One is going to raise a lot of money for charity, Peggle 2's good and bad news, Metal Gear Solid's strange move, the South Park RPG gets delayed yet again, and more.

Say hi to Ryan, Marty, Naomi, and Justin as this week's show is dominated by discussion about the Call of Duty: Ghosts 720p controversy, NBA 2K14 next-gen impressions, the scariest game we've ever played, the insane Titanfall collector's edition (and a release date!), Fable Legends, the Mister Chief avatar, Kinect 2.0's mininum operating distance, and whether women are as shallow as men.

It's only fitting that we interview Steve Downes -- the voice of Master Chief himself -- on this special 117th episode of the world's #1 Xbox podcast. Steve talks about getting the role of a lifetime, his first video game voice work (hint: it wasn't Halo!), the end of Halo 2, if he thought he'd be replaced after Bungie left Halo, and much, much more. It's a 35-minute interview you won't want to miss. Plus: a major Xbox One launch game gets delayed...to a place that might end up being much tougher.

With Destin and Marty at New York Comic-Con, Ryan and Mitch invite Naomi and IGN Tech editor Scott Lowe onto the show to discuss this week's Xbox news -- including the Xbox One GameDVR functionality, Microsoft's begrudging acceptance of the "Xbone" nickname, Call of Duty: Ghosts news for Xbox 360, and more. Plus: learn what our personal killer apps have been over the years, and we unexpectedly learn everyone's respective man-crushes (or in Naomi's case, woman-crush).

Though it barely works yet, Grand Theft Auto Online has already yielded a couple of great stories for the Unlocked crew. Plus, Marty doubts Destiny's spring 2014 release date and the rest of the cast debates him about it. LucasArts pisses us off even after its death, and we share our earliest memories of video games blowing us away in this week's "Get to Know Your Locksmiths" segment.

In this week's nightmarish trainwreck of a podcast, Ryan McCaffrey, Destin Legarie, Mitch Dyer, and Marty "Tardy" Sliva show you why Podcast Unlocked is the #1 Xbox podcast. GTA V and awkward banter dominate the beginning of this week's show, which ravels out of control as the team gets into this week's news and releases. Destin is maybe only kind of present as he teaches Chop tricks on his iPhone. It's been a weird week. Join us for the madness, won't you?

As Grand Theft Auto V drops, Mitch, Destin, and Marty are all traveling, and so Ryan recruits the awesome Naomi Kyle and IGN boss-man Steve Butts to discuss the impact of Rockstar's newly fallen meteor. How does its five-year development cycle make it a different (better?) game than Assassin's Creed's and Call of Duty's annual releases? Does Naomi think the game is misogynist? And will GTA ever have a female protagonist? Plus: News on Ryse, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and how sports games are cursed every year.

This week, Ryan McCaffrey, Destin Legarie, Marty Sliva and I (sorry, I'm back!) dig deep into our depressing pasts to discuss games that got us through tough times. Then, we debate the Steam Family Sharing vs. Xbox One's original plan. Also: Valiant Hearts Child of Light Xbox One's leaked Dashboard SPORTS! Seriously, a bunch of sports, we promise it's interesting.

Hilariously, we recorded this podcast Tuesday afternoon thinking Ryan would be out of the office Wednesday. He's not, and of course Microsoft announced the Xbox One release date before we could post the show. So here, as a record for all time, are our final predictions for the release date. Laugh at how wrong (or right!) we all are. We also talk about Microsoft buying Nokia and what it means for Xbox, Grand Theft Auto V impressions from Ryan (who played it at Rockstar's office in New York), Minecraft's unstoppable growth, and special guest Jose gets genuinely offended by the protagonist of LocoCycle. We have an intelligent discussion about it.

Get to Know Your Locksmiths takes a very dark turn this week as the crew returns from the Gamescom convention in Germany and contemplates what their last meal would be. We cover The Elder Scrolls Online's attempt to circumvent longtime Microsoft policies, this week's mixed bag of new Xbox 360 releases, and our favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles thing ever.

Ryan, Destin, and German Unlocked fan Ben talk about Gamescom and their thoughts after playing titles like Titanfall in this special Gamescom Unlocked episode.

Naomi Kyle joins locksmiths Ryan, Destin, and Marty to discuss a whole bunch of Call of Duty news, including a serious discussion about the depiction of violence against women in games. Plus: the Xbox One launch gets scaled back. This one's for you, Europe.

Ryan McCaffrey, Marty Sliva, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie can hardly keep it together during this week's podcast, which has next-gen Xbox news, awful jokes, amazing impressions, and a discussion about id Software, Wolfenstein, and Oculus Rift as we prep for next week's debut of Call of Duty: Ghosts' multiplayer. Also, we take a listener question for the intro of the show and discuss our off-topic hobbies.

This episode goes out to anyone named Phil. This week, the Locksmiths look back on their college years, and then dive into the Xbox news by discussing Phil Spencer and Phil Harrison's Xbox Showcase event at Gamescom next month, Phil Fish's meltdown and Fez 2 cancellation, Xbox One accessory pricing, Kinect Sports Rivals' delay to 2014, and Bobby "Not Phil" Kotick buying Activision back from, well...itself for $8 billion.

The Locksmiths welcome back new co-host Marty Sliva from Comic-Con while also greeting a couple of new IGN staffers: former 1UP.com editor Jose Otero and new Wikis & Guides guy Jared Petty. The crew discusses a major Xbox One policy shift for indie gaming, the new Kinect, the Oculus Rift, and more. Plus: another round of Get to Know Your Locksmiths.

With Marty at SDCC, Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie discuss Xbox's new boss, changing IGN comments culture, and the news of the week, which includes Forza 5's mandatory connection, NCAA ditching EA Sports, and Killer Instinct's excellent Kinect functionality. We also learn a bit about each other, geek out over Pacific Rim, and more.

Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie discuss the highs and lows of Xbox One now that the dust has settled. But with Microsoft failing to bundle a headset with the console, is it making a grievous mistake? This is a console that's meant to connect players together, after all. Also this week, IGN digs into the Xbox One's release date, Halo as a "saga," Thief's Xbox 360 port, and whether Project Spark is worth your attention. Join the Podcast Unlocked Facebook group Download Podcast Unlocked Ep. 101: Xbox One's Headset Problem  (MP3)

E3 is over and we have a ton to talk about, so buckle up as your Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie go over Titanfall, Killer Instinct, Ryse, Halo 5, Quantum Break, Dead Rising 3, and more Xbox One and Xbox 360 games. Also, road trip stories.

Finally.

With Ryan out, Mitch Dyer and Destin Legarie recruit Rich George and Marty Sliva for an off-the-rails (and spoiler-free) discussion of BioShock Infinite. From there, the Locksmiths hit on Battlefield 4's disappointing reveal, the magic of Fables (and Telltale's potential in the upcoming Wolf Among Us game adaptation) and the future of Far Cry.

PODCAST!

Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Destin Legarie, and Mitch Dyer return to discuss new games for your Xbox 360, new Xbox 360s, and games for the next Xbox. Xbox games, indeed. Also this week: Age of Booty is awesome. Bad Googling. Summer gaming. Gears of War: Judgment. PC gaming. RTSs. Join 

Xbox Live Operations overlord Eric Neustadter (maybe you know him as "e") joins Locksmiths Mitch Dyer, Destin Legarie, and Ryan McCaffrey to talk about the history and evolution of Xbox Live. Eric shares stories and secrets about how the whole thing operates, what happens when you complain about awful users, what an always-online console would do to the Live team. E sticks around to co-host and converse about a bunch of stuff this week, including next-gen games, the rumored Assassin's Creed IV, Gears of War Judgment's VIP pass, and this week's...hilarious releases. HEADS UP: For whatever reason, this awesome episode was sabotaged by the mysterious ghosts that plague the IGN podcast room. No static this time, fortunately -- it just sounds like we're inhaling a whole lot of helium while hanging out and chatting.

Greg Miller joins Locksmiths Mitch Dyer, Ryan McCaffrey, and Destin Legarie to talk about the future of...PlayStation. In this next-gen special, we talk all about the future of games according to Sony -- but fear not, Xbox faithful. Everything to do with the now-unveiled PlayStation 4 has drastic ramifications on the Xbox's future.  What can Microsoft learn from the console and event? What do we expect to see and when? Who's going to be involved when the Xbox comes out of the dark, and what surprises do we anticipate? All this and more, right here.

After a brief hiatus, we return to talk the abysmal failures of Aliens: Colonial Marines, the massive potential (but lack of convincing evidence) for Bungie's Destiny, and this week's new releases, including Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Crysis 3.

This week Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie dive deep into a discussion about the future Xbox console and its alleged always-online functionality. What does it mean, and is it a good thing? All this and more, including Dead Space 3 discussion, a new Assassin's Creed game, Red Box on 360, and Vanilla Ice. Yup. Join the Podcast Unlocked Facebook group

Grand Theft Auto V joins Splinter Cell Blacklist in the summer/fall release window, but are either of 'em coming to next-gen consoles as well? Locksmiths Mitch Dyer and Ryan McCaffrey make an on-air bet, while Destin Legarie plays with scissors. We also answer your emails, dive deep into the future of PlayStation, and bring a new Meta-Achievement for your conversational pleasure.

The Locksmiths break down the THQ auction/dissolution, talk about the new Splinter Cell: Blacklist CE, and wonder about who's going to end up with the Darksiders franchise. Also this week, Ryan interviews Double Fine's Ron Gilbert for, like, a freakin' hour. So if you want to listen to two smart dudes talk about The Cave, adventure games, and other awesome stuff, block out some time.

Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie go over Splinter Cell Blacklist's delay, NBA Baller Beats' predictable failure, and the Dead Island Riptide debacle.  Also in this episode:  Mitch is back from a mystery trip full of misadventure. Ryan narrowly survived the siege of a nasty stomach bug.  Destin's head is on straighter than ever. Finally. You can change your Xbox account region. Join the Podcast Unlocked Facebook group

It's our first show back from a break, so Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Destin Legarie and Mitch Dyer have a lot to talk about. Topics this week include: THQ's stuff is for sale Books More Far Cry 3 impressions Destin doesn't know anything about video games Your emails, and a new Meta Achievement And much, much more! Welcome to 2013. We're looking forward to hanging out with you.

Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, Naomi Kyle, and Maggie the Boxer talk about the promise of God Mode, the depressing THQ news and what it means for the future of its games, as well as read some of your year-end emails.  Also included:A dog eats a leash. Naomi and Mitch get super Canadian. Free games, Xbox Live discounts, and technology failures.  

Mike Drucker joins Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie to talk about the rise of Assassin's Creed, Spartan Ops, the VGAs, The Walking Dead, Halo tournaments, writing jokes for video games, and having terrible stand-up shows. Y'know, the usual. With more profanity this time. We'll miss you, Mike Drucker. Rest in peace. I mean, good luck.

Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey and Mitch Dyer pulled aside Telltale Games' PR overlord Job Stauffer for a talk about The Walking Dead during IGN's Judgment Day event. Topics include Walking Dead's explosive popularity, how it took over Twitter, and the future of Telltale on Xbox 360.

Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie talk about Disney buying Lucasfilm, the disappointing Assassin's Creed III, Halo 4, and if military games give gamers the wrong idea about war. 

Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey and Mitch Dyer bring Naomi Kyle on board for a bit before Destin Legarie returns to his rightful Unlocked throne. David Ellis from 343 Industries stops by this week to tell us about is crazy career path, from politics to prison guard to games press -- the long road to designing Halo 4's Spartan Ops campaign, essentially. Big topics this week include: Wreck-It Ralph - We saw it, we love it. BioShock Infinite's absurd special edition. Your emails, Dishonored, and whether or not games have been "dumbed down" in recent times.

Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie gather to talk all about Cliff Bleszinski's departure from Epic Games, the failure of NBA Live 13, and the beginning of fall's game release onslaught. Other hot topics this week:  Terrible puns. Rockstar's killer game collection. When you can read our Halo 4 review.

Yep, you read that right…

No jokes here, the show's just good this week.

Randy. Gosh darn. Pitchford.

We don't understand it either.

This week we discuss Dust: An Elysian Tail, Sleeping Dogs and Darksiders II.

It's about to get blue.

A fully loaded cast of four talks...PC gaming.

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