Happy Pride Week 2025. As part of our week-long series of articles looking at queer culture and representation in games, we sit down with writer and director Ashly Burch, who came out as queer in 2022.

She's known for portraying characters such as Aloy in the Horizon series of games, Chloe Price in Life is Strange, Tiny Tina in Borderlands, Mel in The Last of Us Part 2, and many more. You might also have seen her in Apple TV series Mythic Quest, or performing with tabletop role-playing super-group Critical Role. In May, (during Mental Health Awareness Month, notably), Burch launched her new web series I'm Happy You're Here. As part of our chat, Dom Peppiatt talks to Burch about the intersection of queerness and mental health - and how that relates to gaming.

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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we look ahead at 2025 on PlayStation 5, in the wake of last night's State of Play. If you tuned in for big games, you were well served. But if you wanted to see exclusive first-party PlayStation titles... well, it's clear there's something of a lull right now in Sony's pipeline.

It makes for an interesting 2025 for Sony's console, which is set to benefit from Microsoft's cross-platform publishing push ramping up to new levels, just as PlayStation itself cancels several in-development live-service projects. And while the reveal of Saros, the next game from Returnal developer Housemarque, was a welcome high point of last night's show, it won't arrive until 2026.

It seems likely we'll see Bungie's Marathon this year on PS5, alongside PlayStation's other confirmed big hitters: Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei. Fairgame$ hasn't been cancelled yet, and there's a chance Marvel's Wolverine makes it before 2026 too. But stack them against Age of Empires 2, Age of Mythology Retold, Forza Horizon 5, The Outer Worlds 2, Ninja Gaiden 4, Ninja Giden 2 Black and whatever else from Xbox's back catalogue Microsoft seems poised to confirm - and PlayStation Studios' plans for the year only seem quieter.

Joining me this week to discuss all of that are Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy.

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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the January 2025 Xbox Developer Direct, and its various games coming soon to Xbox... as well as PC, and nearly all on PlayStation 5 too.

Microsoft's show featured the multiplatform Doom: The Dark Ages, Ninja Gaiden 4, the shadow-dropped Ninja Gaiden 2: Black and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, all of which proved the company's new mantra that everything is an Xbox. Only Compulsion Games' South of Midnight will be an Xbox console exclusive (at least for now).

But does any of that matter, really - especially as on Xbox you can get all those games on Xbox Game Pass? And what were our thoughts about what was shown? Joining me this week are Ed Nightinale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss Microsoft's latest showing that promises a strong start from Xbox Game Studios to the year.

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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, there's only one story in town: Nintendo's long-awaited unveiling of Switch 2.

Today's video laid out the bare bones of Switch 2, and it looked exactly as expected: like a slightly-larger Switch with an extra button and mysterious optical sensors. We also got a very brief look at a new Mario Kart, which looks... like a Mario Kart game. If anything, today's video only prompted more questions.

What will Mario Kart 9's main new feature be? Today's gameplay snippet - while brief - offered up a couple of intriguing clues. And when will Switch 2 actually arrive? Well, between the announcement of a proper Nintendo Direct in April and the console's upcoming public hands-on tour, we think there's a relatively narrow window. Joining me this week to discuss everything we saw - as well as what we're still waiting to hear about - are Ed Nightinale and Victoria Kennedy.

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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we round up the current deluge of leaks surrounding Nintendo's under-wraps Switch 2.

Nintendo has now acknowledged the fact that dummy Switch 2 models are being publicly shown off by accessories manufacturers, and while these may not be based on access to the actual system, there's little doubt now that we've seen the gist. (Even Nintendo is saying the leaks are "not official" rather than simply inaccurate.) A full reveal now feels imminent.

Also this week, we discuss the increasingly troubled Assassin's Creed publisher Ubisoft, which has just delayed the series' next entry for a second time while it issues cryptic messages suggesting the company is about to be taken private, sold, or something else just as monumental. What is going on - and how has Assassin's Creed Shadows become the most pivotal game in Ubisoft's history? Joining me this week to discuss are Ed Nightinale, Victoria Kennedy and Vikki Blake.

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Ho-ho-hello! And welcome to our annual quiz for the festive season: Eurogamer's big News Quiz of the Year 2024.

From lawsuits to layoffs to Switch 2 leaks, it has been another non-stop year. We've published nearly 4000 news stories since January began. But now, we've boiled it all down to this: 24 questions covering 2024.

It's time to find out how much of this year you remember - and how Eurogamer's own news team did recalling the stories we all wrote. (Spoiler: once again, things get competitive.) 

If you'd like to join along at home, please do! We begin with 12 questions based on stories this year - one from each month of the year, some general knowledge - also about video game news, and then a smattering of headlines from just the past few weeks for our contestants to try and fill in. 

Joining me as ever are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Please enjoy, and we'll see you for much more news in 2025!

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Earlier this week, news broke that Sony was in talks to buy FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa. A day later, Kadokawa acknowledged that takeover interest. Should it be accepted, this would likely be the biggest video game acquisition since Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard and Sony itself bought Destiny-maker Bungie. Eurogamer's news team discusses the possible consequences of this acquisition on this week's Newscast.

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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Nintendo's big new hardware announcement - and no, it's not Switch 2.

Despite months of frenzied rumour that Nintendo was ready to reveal its next-generation Switch, the company instead revealed... Alarmo, a new interactive alarm clock. It costs £90/$100, and is currently only available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.

Alarmo looks fun enough, and I love that Nintendo has wrong-footed everyone's expectations with a left-field new product once again. (Remember Ring Fit? Remember Labo?) On the other - what exactly is the point? Apart from the fact that alarm clocks are found on every smart device you already own, why is Nintendo launching this specific product? And why now? Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss.

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Yesterday Sony finally announced the long-rumoured PS5 Pro in a technical presentation hosted by Mark Cerny. The console is a more advanced version of the PlayStation 5 that boosts its graphics capabilities, and even improves backwards compatibility with some PS4 games.

Yet the biggest catch of all is its £700 price tag. What's more, with this being a digital-only console, the £100 disc drive add-on is required for physical games, not to mention the additional £25 needed for the optional stand just to hold the console vertically. That's a total of £825 - without games, as well as the fancy TV necessary to really show off those extra pixels.

The reaction so far has been overwhelmingly negative, predominantly thanks to that audacious price. Indeed, as Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell wrote, the PS5 Pro is "an argument against 'Pro' consoles altogether". It certainly seems more in-line with the expectations of PC players than console players.

With all that in mind, then, what really are the benefits of this new console? Who is the target audience? And would we consider buying one ourselves?

Joining me to discuss all things PS5 Pro in this week's Eurogamer Newscast are news reporter Victoria Kennedy, Digital Foundry's Tom Morgan, and managing editor Katharine Castle.

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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the most dramatic few days for PlayStation in recent times.

Sony's stunning decision to kill off live-service shooter flop Concord after less than two weeks sent shockwaves around the industry, setting a new precedent for how swiftly a troubled title from a major publisher could be given the axe. After eight years of work, the game has already disappeared from sale, and will soon vanish from people's game libraries, with refunds automatically given. It's a remarkable move - even if Concord does somehow get a second lease of life - and another nail in the coffin for Sony's overly-ambitious live-service plans that have already seen other projects shelved and delayed.

And yet Sony has still ended this week on something of a high - riding a wave of love for Astro Bot, the company's platforming platform mascot and star of an excellent new game, and subtly-teasing one of the worst-kept secrets in video games right now: the imminent announcement of its souped-up PlayStation 5 Pro. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Vikki Blake, as we dissect the week, discuss what might be next for Concord, and where PlayStation goes from here.

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