ISOCristian is the man in the hot seat this week as we found ourselves buried by several different showcases to cover from the Marvel/Disney Showcase to the Direct and to the PlayStation State of Play. Before we go into that we touch on some recent previews of Forspoken and Bayonetta 3. Square changed how they look at the AAA projects. My experience with Discord on Xbox. PS5 sees large sales growth so far this year, at least in the UK. We discuss the amazing game that The Last of Us part I still is even after almost 10 years. We theorize on the potential of a new Switch next year and if the reason PlayStation has no firm date is the fear of a Switch coming soon after. Massive layoffs in the Gaming News Industry as G4 and FanByte sees large talent loss most likely related to revenue. Bonnie Ross, one of the most important people in Microsoft’s hit franchise Halo has left 343 citing medical family issues and her role has been split in three as a restructure occurred upon her leaving. UbiSoft speaks in circles as they want to focus on more people but cite their interest in Assassin’s Creed but of course we are seeing over 5 new titles coming in the next 5 years. Dan Houser joined an advisory board after leaving RockStar 2 years ago. Splatoon 3 sells massively in japan. And of course much more in the show. I thank you for stopping by this week as any form of support helps the show tremendously and I appreciate everything y’all do. See you next week!

TimeStamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:42- Not so rapid fire/previews of Forspoken and Bayonetta 3 are out

00:03:09- Xbox refunds Stalker 2 preorders

00:03:45- EA and Koei Tecmo partners for new hunting game

00:04:15- SQUARE wants diversification and wants to stay away from triple A solo projects

00:06:10- Discord live on Xbox

00:07:34- Sims 4 goes free to play

00:07:55- PS5 is best selling UK console

00:09:00- Overwatch 2 Battle Pass revealed

00:09:40- What have you been playing?

00:15:21- Rumor Roundup/Iron Man game coming soon

00:19:08- Start of the News/ State of Play thoughts

00:23:17- Will the a new Switch come out next year

00:37:54- Xbox at TGS Showcase

00:47:25- Nintendo Direct Highlights/News

00:56:00- Marvel and Disney Showcase

01:05:33- UbiSoft/AC Showcase

01:13:15- EA CEO says player made content will be in the forefront of their financials

01:18:40- Who is EA CEO talking about in warning to staff

01:21:11- RGG Showcase highlights

01:22:12- G4 sees layoffs

01:27:40- Tencent owned FanByte sees MASSIVE layoffs

01:31:00- Bonnie Ross leaves 343 Industries

01:37:50-CD Project is dedicated to Cyberpunk 2077

01:41:59- UbiSoft wants to do their games differently/focus on more people

01:45:15- Dan Houser joins board at Revolving Games

01:47:12- Splatoon 3 sells 3.45 million copies in just Japan

01:48:38- Editor in Chief Andrew Reiner leaves GameInformer

01:52:12- Date Updates

01:53:18- What do you have Queued up for the weekend?

Dan is back this week, although a bit under the weather, but he makes the most of it and I speak for all the Achievers, I am sure, thanking him for coming by this week. We had a light news week filled with speculation as we are seeing a slow down in hard news to talk about. We discuss some hot topics that have been circling the sphere of games media like the Bungie worker drama, the backlash Glen Schofield found himself in after a specific tweet, and even more exciting(is this exciting?), is the spat between two CEOs of major companies' gaming division around the fact of “Is Call of Duty going to be exclusive?”. Rumors are dense this week as we see screenshots of Silent Hill leak, we are not getting to obscene levels of leaks from that particular game, we also have word of a new TMNT game coming soon, and we see talk of the next two Assassins Creed games being leaked, mostly their setting and time period. One I did want to highlight here is the Tencent purchase of Guillemot Brothers limited. I want to hear your thoughts on this seemingly shrewd move, is it linked to acquiring more later, is this buying them time for something, or is this a defensive play to ensure no one else can purchase UbiSoft outright. Let me know your thoughts. As always thank you for listening, it means the world to me that anyone wants to hear me complain about anything! See you next week.

TimeStamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:02:18- Not SO Rapid Fire

00:11:55- What have you been Playing?

00:14:45- Rumor Roundup/Silent Hill Screenshots leak

00:15:34- Call of Duty 2024 will be set in the early 2000s

00:19:23-New TMNT game coming in 2023

00:21:05- Sheik/Zelda Game was canceled

00:22:48- Division Heartland Store Leak

00:24:37- START of the show/Sony and Microsoft Drama

00:31:45- Two AC Games leaked

00:35:40- Tencent increases their shares in Guillemot Brothers and Ubisoft

00:40:55- Splitgate halting future updates in favor of making a new game

00:45:53- Legendary PlayStation Hardware Engineer Retires

00:49:21- FireWall Ultra has been announced

00:51:44- Xbox getting a new UI in 2023

00:54:50- Ridgeline Games will be leading a new Battlefield narrative campaign

01:01:40- Date Updates

01:05:50- What is Queued up?

Quick Correction for the show I found while I was getting timestamps. During the Halo conversation Dan and I were having the mention of staff count came up and I mentioned I thought 343 was mid 100s. Clearly this was a huge mistake as of course 343 is closer to 1000 than 100 which is what I think I meant? I am not entirely sure but I wanted to put this correction in to clear any possible confusion.

I have someone that I feel like I have become fast friends with, Daniel Prindle. He is host and founder of Podcast PXN and someone who I think brings an interesting perspective into games. We had few stories but they were long this week going from the recent probe into the Activision Blizzard purchase in the UK forcing Phil Spencer to release a blog post on how he will be adding to the industry and not taking anything away by the acquisition. Sony purchasing a mobile game studio. NetEase buying Quantic Dream seemingly out of nowhere (or is it?). A few rumors we discuss but I think most interestingly we talk about the strange reviews The Last of Us Part I has gotten and the incredibly disheartening continued failings of Halo Infinite, what I think is the most fascinating part of the show. Thank you for listening to the show and supporting however you can. I will see yall next week!

TimeStamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:16- Not So Rapid Fire

00:04:30- Last of Us Review Score Drama

00:08:01- What have you been playing?

00:12:29- Rumor Roundup/ AC Mirage

00:15:13- Embracer may be extending Marvel Deal

00:19:24- Jeff Grubb furthers Zelda ports are coming

00:21:02- Yakuza Like A Dragon Sequel could be revealed

00:21:35- Show Start/Phil Spencer gives statement on Activision purchase

00:30:50- Halo Infinite Update/Delay of Coop (recommended)

00:42:17- NetEase’s purchases Quantic Dreams

00:46:31- Sony acquires Savage Games Studios

00:55:44- Steam Deck 2 coming?

00:59:20- IGN Interview with ex Director of Arkane Studios for PREY

01:05:20- PQube receives more acquisitions

01:09:45- Date Updates

01:15:35- What is Queued up?

Let’s be honest my co-host today is currently sitting at the highest number of show appearances by far and rightly so. The incredibly talented Emmett Watkins Jr. joins me this week to discuss the rather long list of news we have to cover this week. Including a breakdown of Opening Night Live and the increase of PS5 pricing in almost every region. Deadline has multiple reports of many PlayStation movies in the works. A couple of legendary gaming icons are making content for their fans. A maybe rumored Blade game could have turned out to be nothing. Two Indonesian based gaming studios have put forth some allegations that the publisher they were working with withheld grants that they gained working with foreign studios but instead of giving it to the two studios, the publisher kept the money from the grants. As always thank you for supporting the show whichever way you do.

Support us financially and enjoy a number of perks like messaging us questions and early access to our show at: https://www.patreon.com/easyachievers

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at us on our socials @EVM9000 on twitter or instagram. @crazyflipskater for Alex on twitter.

We are @EasyAchievers everywhere!

Well we almost had a soft week in terms of news but Embracer Group ensured that would not happen. We discuss the obvious here with the giant fire sale that the conflamerate went under. Buying multiple studios like Tripwire, Tuxedo Labs, and of course the much bigger acquisition of Lord of the Rings. That dominates most of the show but we also go into the future of NFT integration into games, a fascinating Team Asobi interview, and Xbox hinting that Death Stranding may be coming to Game Pass for PC. Rumor Roundup has many leaks Dead Island 2 rears its mostly eaten face again as well as footage from Helldivers 2 being leaked as well. Also we speculate PlayStation’s continued interest in PC gaming and how they may launch a PC launcher. As always thank you so much for supporting the show however you do it.

00:00:00 - Intro

00:03:59- Rapid Fire (Not so rapid)

00:05:07- Strange take on not buying Cult of the Lamb

00:09:13- What have you been playing?

00:20:20- Rumor Roundup/Avatar leak

00:21:15- Death Stranding coming to Game Pass?

00:23:40- Dead Island 2 listing leaked

00:24:25- there was a canceled Iron Man game at Avalanche Studios

00:25:59- Helldivers 2 leaked

00:28:15-Embracer group buys Lord of the Ring among other studios

00:42:36- PlayStation PC launcher?

00:51:30- Another COD skin stolen?

00:58:16- Xbox admits sales of Xbox One were soft

01:04:47- Team Asobi Interview

01:14:13- NFT game trying to steer away from forced intergration

01:20:55- Date Updates!

01:26:57 What is Queued for the week?

Check out Emmett Watkins Jr. on the Players Club podcast and @Ejsponge61 on twitter.

You saw the length of the show, which means only one thing: Emmett Watkins Jr. visits us again for a fantastic episode and our longest to date. We have a pretty long show for you touching on so much in the industry like the renewed interest in the Microsoft/Blizzard purchase since, well there isn't much going and because there is a number of claims by both Microsoft and Sony we have to discuss. Also, a number of outlets being a bit over dramatic with what is actually being said in these documents that we have to dispel. We have a fun time going over Kinda Funny’s PlayStation Indie tournament and who we would want to win and what games we think got snubbed. A light Rumor roundup focused on an Xbox bug (if that is what happened) and an Elite controller color leak. Take Two delayed Marvels Midnight Suns for unknown reasons but we speculate. The Series S is getting more memory. An Xbox Game Pass Ultimate family plan getting tested and much more, we have a huge show this week enjoy and leave any feedback in the comments or on twitter.

TimeStamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:37- Rapid Fire

00:03:38- Forspoken Drama

00:08:25- PS I Love you bracket discussion/Picks

00:38:03- What have you been playing?

00:48:38- Rumor Roundup/ Square may sell of stakes in some remaining studios

00:56:07- Xbox Bug shows Elden Ring coming to Game Pass

00:58:29- White Xbox Series 2 leaked

00:59:45- Show Start/Microsoft purchasing of Blizzard and Sony drama

01:13:58- MS and Unity collaboration/Unity signs deal with US Army

01:24:50- Xbox Family Plan being tested

01:25:20- Series S gets more RAM

01:26:26- Xbox at Gamescom

01:28:47- Take Two delays Midnight Suns/CEO believes we are in a recession

01:38:40- Russian Streamer leaks STALKER console port

01:50:24- EVO talk/Multiple game announcements

01:59:07- Embark Studios delays Arc Raiders in favor of new FPS Project

02:07:34- UK Top Selling games for July

02:09:14- Date Update

02:13:14- What is Queued up for the Week?

Support us financially and enjoy a number of perks like messaging us questions and early access to our show at: https://www.patreon.com/easyachievers

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at us on our socials @EVM9000 on twitter or instagram. @crazyflipskater for Alex on twitter.

We are @EasyAchievers everywhere!

We have another guest from PXN Podcast @RauwRO. We have a lean week in terms of news but nevertheless we talk about some considerable things that happened. Including a DMCA claim from Square Enix for a Patreon episode of Sacred Symbols, the biggest Playstation Podcast in the world. Bloomberg leaked the cancellation of a mobile game that was set to be a MMORPG based on World of Warcraft. Reuters had an exclusive on Tencent aggressively trying to buy shares from the Guillemont family. Potentially concerning given they are clearly backed by you know who. Scarlet and Violet had a large presentation detailing aspects about the game. More details on the harassment that Bungie is facing from the online fanbase of Destiny 2. And much more. Let us know your thoughts on the show, we are always trying to improve so let us know in the comments. Thank you as always for supporting the show regardless of how much you support.

Make sure to support Ro at PXN Podcast.

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:58- Rapid Fire

00:05:20- What have you been playing?

00:08:40- Thoughts on Midnight Sons

00:10:50- Rumor Roundup/MW2 screenshots leaked

00:12:18- Google isn't shutting down Stadia

00:14:30- Linkedin post shows more at Roundhouse Studios

00:15:35- Halo Infinite had to scale back

00:19:15 possible PS Discord leak

00:21:02- Leaked Tomb Raider script causes a DMCA takedown on Sacred Symbols

00:28:15- Blizzard cancels another mobile game

00:31:51- Tencent seeks to increase shares on Ubisoft

00:38:02- Pokemon Scarlet and Violet News

00:44:22- Bungie Harassment clarifications

00:48:00- US player spending down

00:52:57- Date Updates

00:58:13- What is Queued?

We have another guest from PXN Podcast @RauwRO. We have a lean week in terms of news but nevertheless we talk about some considerable things that happened. Including a DMCA claim from Square Enix for a Patreon episode of Sacred Symbols, the biggest Playstation Podcast in the world. Bloomberg leaked the cancellation of a mobile game that was set to be a MMORPG based on World of Warcraft. Reuters had an exclusive on Tencent aggressively trying to buy shares from the Guillemont family. Potentially concerning given they are clearly backed by you know who. Scarlet and Violet had a large presentation detailing aspects about the game. More details on the harassment that Bungie is facing from the online fanbase of Destiny 2. And much more. Let us know your thoughts on the show, we are always trying to improve so let us know in the comments. Thank you as always for supporting the show regardless of how much you support.

Make sure to support Ro at PXN Podcast.

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:58- Rapid Fire

00:05:20- What have you been playing?

00:08:40- Thoughts on Midnight Sons

00:10:50- Rumor Roundup/MW2 screenshots leaked

00:12:18- Google isn't shutting down Stadia

00:14:30- Linkedin post shows more at Roundhouse Studios

00:15:35- Halo Infinite had to scale back

00:19:15 possible PS Discord leak

00:21:02- Leaked Tomb Raider script causes a DMCA takedown on Sacred Symbols

00:28:15- Blizzard cancels another mobile game

00:31:51- Tencent seeks to increase shares on Ubisoft

00:38:02- Pokemon Scarlet and Violet News

00:44:22- Bungie Harassment clarifications

00:48:00- US player spending down

00:52:57- Date Updates

00:58:13- What is Queued?

Support us financially and enjoy a number of perks like messaging us questions and early access to our show at: https://www.patreon.com/easyachievers

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at us on our socials @EVM9000 on twitter or instagram. @crazyflipskater for Alex on twitter.

We are @EasyAchievers everywhere!

Welcome Back! We have the fantastic Cristian from PXN Podcast with us today. With a heavy news day to talk about from Meta upping their VR headset prices, a new backbone Dual sense variation, a new PS5 update coming soon. Rumors are GTA 6 protagonists and culture rework at Rockstar, SWTOR remake woes, Nvidia cards leaked, and a Black Panther game. For the full show, we talk about the mess about the Square Enix sell of their western studios, FIFA 23 details, Bungie community harassment, PSVR 2 UI, and more. Thanks as always for supporting the show any way you do like commenting, liking or supporting on Patreon.

Support Cristian at Penultimate Conquest, PXN Podcast, and Large Popcorn Podcast

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:30- lets talk about Cristian

00:05:00- Rapid Fire

00:10:00- What have you been playing?

00:14:15- Start of Rumor Roundup Jeff Grubb GTA 6 rumors

00:22:50- SWTOR Drama

00:28:50- new Nvidia cards

00:29:40- Tactics Orge leaked

00:32:40- Fortnite will not be getting TLOU skins

00:34:30- Black Panther game in development

00:39:30- Roller Champions may get cancelled

00:43:52- Western studios were a train wreck

01:03:07- FIFA 23 news

01:17:10- Bungie community harassment

01:24:00- PSVR2 UI Details

01:35:05- Microsoft Quarter details

01:40:50- Xbox has lowered boot times

01:43:50- Nier secrets

01:49:25- Date Update

01:52:40- Whats Queued?

Support us financially and enjoy a number of perks like messaging us questions and early access to our show at: https://www.patreon.com/easyachievers

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at us on our socials @EVM9000 on twitter or instagram. @crazyflipskater for Alex on twitter.

We are @EasyAchievers everywhere!

Welcome! We have a new interview podcast series I wanted to start to highlight people I have always wanted to talk to expound on more of their lives, thoughts, and opinions on all things gaming and there was no one I wanted to start this off more than Dustin Furman, executive producer of Last Stand Media. We had a tremendous conversation about his renowned interest in collecting games, his thoughts on our ever-increasing gaming subscriptions future that is coming towards us, his thoughts on Valve's latest hardware attempt with the Steam Deck, and what he wants changed in the industry. Make sure to show Dustin some love in the comments and thank you for coming by.

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:35- Lets intro Dustin

00:03:25- Dustin's renowned passion for game hunting

00:05:40- What is Retro?

00:08:44-Who do you think has revitalized the retro gaming scene?

00:12:00- Why is Switch stinky?

00:14:00- What would Dustin change about Nintendo?

00:15:40- Steam Deck talk

00:16:48- Roms and Emulators on Steam Deck

00:23:00- the future of subscription services

00:25:00- Game Pass, Halo Infinite, and the failings of Microsoft

00:33:15- What does the subscription landscape look like in 5 years?

00:38:20- What does God of War Ragnarok need to do to succeed?

00:41:30- Do you think Horizon was different enough?

00:44:00- Starfield thoughts

00:46:00- What is one thing you want to see changed in the video games industry?

Follow Dustin on Twitter/YouTube @DustinCanFly

Support us financially and enjoy a number of perks like messaging us questions and early access to our show at: https://www.patreon.com/easyachievers

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at us on our socials @EVM9000 on twitter or instagram. @crazyflipskater for Alex on twitter.

We are @EasyAchievers everywhere!

Glad to see you! We have a great episode this week, I am joined by Emmett Watkins Jr. to discuss a heavy news week like the leak of The Last of Us Part 1 footage. Live A Live reviews are out. Some departures from 343 and some joining of talent to form a new studio in Wildflower. More discourse on The Last of Us Part 1 remake being $70, and we discuss why that should not be a big deal at all. Possible Sonic Frontier leak, Discord coming to Xbox, Xenoblade getting out early and a huge breakdown of the Saints Row reboot coming in August. Thank you as always for joining us this week remember to support us by leaving a like or sharing with a friend, but your viewership and time is enough for me. See ya'll next week!

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:45- Rapid Fire

00:06:20- What have you been playing?

00:19:05- Rumor Roundup

00:19:11- Last of Us Footage Leak

00:27:00- Sonic Frontier Release Date Leak

00:28:13- Why Ragnarok release announcement may have been delayed

00:29:08- Sony fixes Integrade issue

00:29:57- PS discontinues Twitter support

00:30:26- Xenoblade 3 is out in the wild

00:30:48- Build A Rocket Boy adds huge talent to Executives

00:34:52- Saints Row Preview Breakdown/Interview

00:52:54-Interview with Eevi Korhonen

01:00:40-Discord coming to Xbox

01:08:30-Minecraft bans NFT

01:15:30-Playstation buys Repeat.GG

01:23:00- WildFlower announced!

01:30:04- Date Updates

01:40:49- What is Queued?

Support us financially and enjoy a number of perks like messaging us questions and early access to our show at: https://www.patreon.com/easyachievers