Borderlands 4 is already under fire before launch thanks to Randy Pitchford’s controversial “real fans” comment about the game’s $80 price tag. Meanwhile, Sony continues to struggle with its live service push as Fairgames faces internal shake-ups and Marathon seems dead on arrival. And to top it off, EA has canceled its long-rumored Black Panther game after four years of development.

We break down the industry drama, question the direction of Sony’s first-party strategy, and explore what went wrong with Black Panther's development cycle.

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CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro and Return of the Full Trio

00:50 - Randy Pitchford’s $80 Controversy

02:45 - Borderlands 4 and “Real Fans Will Pay”

05:00 - Is Borderlands 4 Already in Trouble?

12:40 - Doom & Other IPs Being Treated Like DLC

16:00 - Sony’s Fairgames Shakeup & Marathon’s Demise

18:10 - Why PlayStation’s Live Service Games Keep Failing

20:00 - The Bungie Misconception & Nostalgia Misused

22:00 - Sony's Forgotten Studios and Missed Opportunities

24:15 - Helldivers 2: The Right Way to Do Live Service

26:10 - Why Not Expand Ghost of Tsushima or Days Gone?

30:55 - The Fool’s Gold Rush of Live Service Gaming

37:15 - When Will Sony Finally Learn From Its Mistakes?

39:10 - EA Cancels the Black Panther Game After 4 Years

41:00 - What Killed the Black Panther Game?

42:45 - The Problem with Surface-Level Representation

45:00 - Black Panther Had Massive Potential as a Game

48:20 - Developers Need to Be From the Culture They're Representing

50:00 - Final Thoughts on Black Panther Game Cancellation

51:15 - Technical Issues & Why This Episode Cut Off Early

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