Dead Game Podcast

Episode three of the Dead Game Podcast is devoted to Suicide Squad, the fun but much beleaguered loot shooter by the makers of Batman: Arkham. This week I’m joined by Kotaku’s Zack Zwiezen and Jake Steinberg, formerly of GameXplain, to break down what we love and hate about the latest attempt to make a licensed live service multiplayer game. The second half of the discussion focuses on the conversation around the game, how reviews are treating it, what fans are angry about it, and whether Warner Bros. made things worse by how it marketed the game. We also checked in on last week’s PlayStation State of Play with our “winning” and “losing” scorecards for Stellar Blade, Death Stranding 2, and more.

You can send questions, comments, feedback, hate mail, and suggestions for future guests to [email protected].

The Dead Game Podcast is produced in association with the Dead Game newsletter, a weekly roundup of gaming news, analysis, and oddities published over at deadgame.substack.com. Subscribe today!

Musical intro: "Jaza Balade" by Birocratic and G-Mills (⁠⁠http://birocratic.lnk.to/allYL⁠⁠)Interludes: “Matlack” by Birocratic (⁠⁠http://birocratic.lnk.to/allYL⁠⁠)Outro: "T-Me We-Me" by Birocratic and G-Mills (⁠⁠http://birocratic.lnk.to/allYL⁠⁠)

The second-ever episode of the Dead Game Podcast is here. This week I’m joined by The Verge’s Ash Parrish and Kotaku’s Zack Zwiezen to discuss an already terrible year for the gaming industry after shockingly deep cuts across Activision Blizzard which already followed mass layoffs at Riot Games and other companies. Zwiezen has been keeping track of them all in a running list right here. Over 5,000 game makers have already been laid off in 2024. We also offer a brief hype check on Avowed and Indiana Jones from the recent Xbox Developer Direct showcase and the new trailer for Nintendo Switch’s Princess Peach: Showtime! before breaking down the circus around “Pokémon with guns,” AKA Palworld, and whether it’s actually any good or not.

You can send questions, comments, feedback, hate mail, and suggestions for future guests to [email protected].

The Dead Game Podcast is produced in association with the Dead Game newsletter, a weekly roundup of gaming news, analysis, and oddities published over at deadgame.substack.com. Subscribe today!

Musical intro: "Jaza Balade" by Birocratic and G-Mills (⁠⁠http://birocratic.lnk.to/allYL⁠⁠)Outro: "T-Me We-Me" by Birocratic and G-Mills (⁠⁠http://birocratic.lnk.to/allYL⁠⁠)

Welcome to the very first episode of the Dead Game Podcast, a show about industry news, console wars, and forever games! Kotaku's Alyssa Mercante and Digital Trends' Giovanni Colantonio join host Ethan Gach on the podcast's maiden voyage to talk about gaming's AI nightmare, Halo Infinite's bright future, and the problem with The Last of Us Part II's PlayStation 5 remaster.

The Dead Game Podcast is produced in association with the Dead Game newsletter, a weekly roundup of gaming news, analysis, and oddities published over at deadgame.substack.com. Subscribe today!

Discussed: Nvidia's generative-AI NPCs and the SAG-AFTRA AI deal 6:20, Xbox's exclusivity blues 34:52, the state of Overwatch 2 and Halo Infinite 57:55, Persona 3 Reload and The Last of Us Part II Remastered 1:04:01.

Musical intro: "Jaza Balade" by Birocratic and G-Mills, Interlude 1: "Lullaby of the Sea" by Birocratic, Interlude 2: "Bleary Eyes" by Birocratic, Outro: "T-Me We-Me" by Birocratic and G-Mills (⁠⁠http://birocratic.lnk.to/allYL⁠⁠)