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Xbox handheld, Project Helix, next gen Xbox, next Xbox console, Xbox 2028, Xbox 2027, Xbox Game Pass revamp, Game Pass changes, BioWare shut down, BioWare closed, Mass Effect 5 canceled, next Mass Effect, EA BioWare, IGN Unlocked 757, Xbox podcast, gaming news 2026, next-gen console, Xbox Series X successor, Microsoft gaming, video game industry, gaming podcast, IGN, Xbox Game Pass, Project Helix console, Mass Effect franchise, Dragon Age, handheld gaming, RIP BioWare, Xbox leak Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a spoiler-free discussion, Ryan and Michael talk about how much they love Gears of War: E-Day, which Ryan reviewed for IGN. Plus: Halo's former Franchise Creative Director comments on the three probable paths to success that he thinks Halo might take under Activision, and more! #xbox #gaming #gearsofwar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Xbox's "reset" continued this week, and we discussed and analyzed all of the newest changes, including the big one of Activision taking over on Halo from Halo Studios. Our thoughts on why we think this happened, whether or not it'll be a reboot, what engine it'll use, what studio might work on it, and more. Plus: Bungie breathes a second life into Destiny 2, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our hiatus is over and we've got a LOT to talk about this week, starting with Sony's shocking decision to drop Hideo Kojima's next-gen tactical espionage game Physint, only for Xbox to pick it up. Plus: the big unreleased games we've been playing (Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Exodus, State of Decay 3, Gears of War: E-Day, Metro 2039), our thoughts on the GTA 6 gameplay reveal, and more! This weeks show was hosted by Ryan McCaffrey and Michael Higham. It was produced by Nick Maillet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join the IGN Discord https://discord.gg/h2T45nkkm6 The director of Kingdom Hearts 4 promises a late 2027 release window for the eagerly awaited Kingdom Hearts 4. Can it really be true? Plus: our very spoiler-free reactions to the GTA 6 leaks (we haven't watched any of it ourselves), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's surprise single-player demo, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma gets a demo of The Elder Scrolls 6, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro & Kingdom Hearts 4 00:15:11 - The GTA 6 Leaks 00:40:21 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Beta 00:47:09 - The Elder Scrolls 6 00:57:23 - Warren Spector Retires 01:08:06 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join the IGN Discord https://discord.gg/h2T45nkkm6 One well-sourced rumor suggests that Xbox won't be backing away from physical media, in the name of backwards compatibility. We discuss what Xbox can and should do to continue offering gamers a choice in how they buy their games. Plus: Xbox's backwards compatibility push reportedly turns to Xbox 360 games on PC, and we revisit some of our favorite semi-obscure 360 games we'd love to see brought forward through this program. We also talk about Xbox's huge new price increase in Europe in the UK, Project Helix, future Xbox exclusivity, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's all about Halo this week – save for our first hands-on impressions of Gears of War: E-Day's impressive Horde Siege multiplayer mode at the end of the episode – as we discuss not only our thoughts on the just-released Halo 1 remake, Campaign Evolved, but also the future of Steve Downes in the role of Master Chief, what we'd want (and in Halo 2's case, demand!) from potential remakes of Halo 2 and Halo 3, where the mainline series goes from here, and more! 00:00:00 - Halo: Campaign Evolved 01:06:32 - Gears of War: E-Day Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fallout: New Vegas game director Josh Sawyer will lead a new Fallout game at Obsidian, giving RPG fans what they've wanted for a long time, even if it's under less-than-ideal industry circumstances. We talk all about this huge new development for Xbox, including what engine it might run on. Plus: id Software is still very much alive, but what will they do next? We debate that before we conclude by lamenting the reported cancellation of a Halo multiplayer project from the studio run by the multiplayer lead on Halo 2. 00:00:00 - Intro & -Obsidian Cancels Avowed 2 for Fallout 00:34:16 - What Engine will Obsidian use for Fallout? 00:44:14 - Future of  id Software 01:02:01 -  Cancelled Halo multiplayer 01:14:45 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The axe has fallen at Xbox, and while the result is thousands more job losses, the silver lining is that no studios are being closed. We try to figure out who might've bought Undead Labs (State of Decay 3) and Ninja Theory (Senua), as well as what the now-independent Double Fine might be working on. Plus: Game Pass's failures and how it might evolve moving forward, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro & Xbox Layoffs 00:20:52 - Future of State of Decay 3 00:30:21 - Future of Ninja Theory 00:35:39 - Future of Double Fine 00:41:56 - Future of Bethesda 00:58:39 - Physical Discs & Project Helix 01:11:30 - Future of Game Pass 01:30:05 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join the IGN Discord https://discord.com/invite/h2T45nkkm6 Another dreadful week of Xbox news brings reports that State of Decay 3 may get canceled and developer Undead Labs might be shut down, with Arkane and its Marvel's Blade project potentially suffering the same fate. We give our reactions, and also discuss how we'd "reboot" Xbox around its biggest franchises, as it's reported that new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma wants to do. 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:46 - State of Decay 3 Might be Cancelled 00:24:07 - Development on new The Elder Scrolls & Fallout 00:52:59 - Xbox Might Cancel Blade 01:04:34 - Hideo Kojima’s OD 01:21:13 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Money is the name of the game this week, from Xbox's third round of price cuts that see the Series S now start at $500 and the Series X start at $750 to GTA coming in at $80 for the base game and $100 for the Ultimate Edition to the Steam Machine pricing reveal and what it might mean for Project Helix. Plus: brutal Bungie layoffs, our "Game of the Year So Far" picks, and more. This weeks show is hosted by Ryan McCaffrey, MIchael Higham, Miranda Sanchez, and is produced by Nick Maillet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All of Xbox's good energy and community goodwill instantly evaporated as the honeymoon phase for new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma came to a quick end this week. Her new publicly released memo talked of a "resetting" of Xbox and narrowing profit margins, which has resulted in reports of multiple Xbox studios being either shut down or perhaps spun out independently. We discuss Xbox Game Pass's role in Xbox's problems, Xbox's mismanagement of its studios and franchises over the years, and so much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've got SO much more to talk about since the Xbox Showcase last weekend. Namely: we got behind-closed-doors looks at Gears of War: E-Day, Fable, and Halo: Campaign Evolved – the latter of which we got to play! 00:00:00 - Intro & Gears of War: E-Day00:22:07 - Fable00:42:21 - Halo: Campaign Evolved00:58:55 - Bad Magpie & Outro #halo #gearsofwar #xbox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Xbox Games Showcase 2026 was packed with major reveals, world premieres, release dates, and surprise announcements. In this complete recap, we cover everything shown, including Gears of War: E-Day launching October 6, Halo: Campaign Evolved and its prequel missions arriving July 28, Fable releasing February 23, 2027, Persona 4 Revival, Persona 6, State of Decay 3, Metro 2039, Wo Long 2, Minecraft Dungeons 2, Spyro: A Realm Beyond, Clockwork Revolution, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 DMZ, and much more. We also break down the biggest Xbox Game Pass news, new gameplay reveals, and every trailer shown during Microsoft's massive 2026 showcase. Other highlights include Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Sea of Thieves: Custom Seas, Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations, Crazy Taxi World Tour, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, Where Winds Meet: Hidden Mountain, Valor Mortis, Magicians: The Devil's Deal, and the reveal of the translucent Xbox Series X25 console. Whether you're looking for every Xbox Games Showcase 2026 announcement, all release dates, or the biggest surprises from the event, this video has everything you need in one place. Subscribe for more Xbox news, game reveals, walkthroughs, guides, and Summer Game Fest coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New comments by Take-Two's CEO suggest that Grand Theft Auto 6 is looking like it's really going to be released on November 19. So what does that mean for Xbox and its packed Fall slate of games? We lay out two likely scenarios. Plus: what's next for Bungie now that Destiny support is ceasing, The Witcher 3 gets a surprise new expansion pack over a decade after its last one, the developer of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 making a Middle-earth game seems like a match made in RPG heaven, and more! 00:00:00 - 007 First Light 00:13:19 - Mina The Hollower 00:21:43 - Is Xbox Ready for GTA 6 This Fall? 00:35:12 - Destiny 2 is Ending 00:51:02 - Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 making a Middle-earth game 00:58:31 - The Witcher 3 New DLC & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices