IGN Unfiltered

By IGN

What's IGN Unfiltered about?

IGN Unfiltered goes in-depth with creators of your favorite video games, talking not just about the games themselves but about the fascinating lives of the people behind them. New episodes each month!

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IGN Unfiltered episodes:

03.01.2023
Episode 65: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Director Stig Asmussen (2023)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor game director Stig Asmussen returns to IGN Unfiltered for another long-form conversation about building a AAA Star Wars game. He discusses what it takes to build a great sequel, the future of the Star Wars Jedi...
11.04.2022
IGN Presents | The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station
Subscribe to the horror series set in the universe of “The Callisto Protocol,” the hotly anticipated game from Striking Distance Studios. Helix Station was once the jewel of the Jovian system, but it’s been a decaying ghost ship ever since...
11.01.2022
Episode 64: Gears of War Creator Cliff Bleszinski
Cliff Bleszinski, renowned designer of Gears of War, Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Jazz Jackrabbit, and more, returns for his first IGN Unfiltered interview since 2016 to discuss his life and career as detailed in his new memoir, Control Freak. Cliff talks...
10.18.2022
Episode 63: Rick & Morty Co-Creator Justin Roiland
Justin Roiland reveals the origin of Rick & Morty's voices, the long road towards finally getting a hit show, and the longer road towards creating a successful video game studio – including lots of discussion Squanch's upcoming comedy-FPS, High on...
11.23.2021
Episode 62: Halo Infinite Director Joseph Staten
My guest this episode is Halo Infinite head of creative and longtime Bungie writer Joseph Staten. In this career-spanning interview, Staten discusses his unique path into the video game industry, the early days of Halo at Bungie, helping create Destiny,...
11.09.2021
Episode 61: Bethesda's Todd Howard (2021 Interview)
Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard – my first repeat guest! – returns to discuss Skyrim as The Elder Scrolls V celebrates its 10th anniversary this week. Of course, we don't just talk about this past. Todd also discusses his...
06.15.2021
Episode 60: Elder Scrolls Online Boss Matt Firor
ZeniMax Online Studios boss Matt Firor discusses his long career in MMORPGs, bringing The Elder Scrolls online, what the studio is up to next after the Microsoft acquisition, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
05.25.2021
Episode 59: Shadow Warrior 3 Game Director Kuba Opoń
Shadow Warrior 3 game director Kuba Opoń, who discusses his career in games – from his start as a programmer inspired by Quake 3 to becoming a game director on Shadow Warrior 3 to what makes good first-person shooter AI...
05.11.2021
Episode 58: Game Industry Investigative Reporter Jason Schreier
This month's guest is games media investigative reporter Jason Schreier, who's written a new book called Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry. The former Kotaku and current Bloomberg reporter talks about the perils of the game...
04.06.2021
Episode 57: IO Interactive CEO and Co-Owner Hakan Abrak
IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak talks very openly and honestly about running a AAA independent game studio in the modern era. In this 75-minute interview he discusses leaving Square Enix to go it alone and how the studio almost ran...
03.23.2021
Episode 56: Six Days in Fallujah's Peter Tamte and Jaime Griesemer
Peter Tamte and Jaime Griesemer, two ex-Halo developers from Bungie, have now teamed up to help bring Six Days in Fallujah, the military shooter based on the real-life Iraq War battle in 2004, to market in 2021 after the original version...
03.16.2021
Episode 55: Aliens: Fireteam Leads Craig Zinkievich and Matt Highison
My guests this episode are Aliens: Fireteam development leads and Cold Iron Studios co-founders Craig Zinkievich and Matt Highison. The duo discusses how they came to get the Aliens license from Disney, the game they were working on before the...
10.27.2020
Episode 54: Raven Software Cofounder Brian Raffel
Raven Software cofounder Brian discusses starting Raven with his brother in Wisconsin, partnering with Doom creators id Software early on, and subsequently working with giant pop culture brands like Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, and Call of Duty. Raven is...
08.25.2020
Episode 53: The Game Awards Host Geoff Keighley
Geoff Keighley – longtime games media personality best known as the host, creator, and executive producer of The Game Awards – discusses his long history with awards shows, his thoughts on the PS5 and Xbox Series X, the cancellation of...
08.18.2020
Episode 52: Jon Brooke and Lee Singleton (Outriders, Hitman Go, Sleeping Dogs)
Square Enix External Studios heads Jon Brooke and Lee Singleton discuss their time in the video game industry, from Outriders, their brand-new game with People Can Fly, to their past work on Hitman Go, Sleeping Dogs, Just Cause, and more! Learn...
06.23.2020
Episode 51: Max Schaefer and Matt Uelmen (Diablo 1, 2, and Torchlight)
This month's guests are Echtra Games's Max Schaefer and Matt Uelmen, both former Blizzard North developers and co-creators of Diablo and Diablo 2 as well as the Torchlight series. The duo shares stories about Diablo 2 in celebration of its...
05.12.2020
Episode 50: Marcus Lehto (Halo, Disintegration)
Longtime Bungie art director and eventual game director Marcus Lehto created the Master Chief himself and helmed Halo Reach, one of the series's most beloved entries. In this one-hour interview, Lehto discusses his humble origins, such as how he got...
03.24.2020
Episode 49: Robin Walker and Chris Remo (Valve/Half-Life: Alyx)
Valve's Robin Walker and Chris Remo two of the developers behind the long-awaited return of Half-Life in the form of Half-Life: Alyx. In this interview, Walker and Remo discuss everything from the unexpected origins of The Orange Box, Alyx's insane...
02.19.2020
Episode 48: Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton (id Software/DOOM Eternal)
Our guests this month are two of the leaders behind the 2016 reboot of DOOM and the upcoming sequel DOOM Eternal, Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton. In this interview, Martin and Stratton discuss everything from the failed DOOM 4 prototype...
12.17.2019
Episode 47: Stig Asmussen (Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, God of War trilogy)
Veteran game developer Stig Asmussen, who discusses his career in gaming, from being an art director and eventual game director on God of War 3 to leading a team at Respawn Entertainment on the smash-hit Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Learn...
11.18.2019
Episode 46: Phil Harrison (Sony, Xbox, Google)
My guest this month is Phil Harrison, who joined Sony during the early PlayStation days and rose through the ranks. He shares career stories from behind the scenes of the PS2 and PS3, and also of his time at Microsoft in...
10.08.2019
Episode 45: Sean Krankel (Oxenfree, Afterparty)
Welcome to the newly relaunched IGN Unfiltered, my monthly interview series where I sit down with the best, brightest, and most fascinating minds in the video game industry. I'm back with a brand-new bar/arcade set – complete with a working...
07.23.2019
Episode 44: Sam Lake (Max Payne, Alan Wake, Control, Quantum Break)
Longtime Remedy Entertainment writer Sam Lake sat down to discuss his unexpected career, from how helping a friend led to writing Max Payne, creating Alan Wake, the elusive Alan Wake 2, lessons learned from Quantum Break, and how it's all...
06.04.2019
Episode 43: Bethesda Game Studios Director Todd Howard
Longtime Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard joins us to discuss his Hall of Fame career, from the Terminator first-person shooter that got him started to the incredible success of The Elder Scrolls series to the acquisition of the Fallout...
05.07.2019
Episode 42: Denis Dyack
On this episode of our monthly interview show IGN Unfiltered, veteran game creator Denis Dyack talks about his wild career that started at Silicon Knights, from convincing Nintendo not to nix Eternal Darkness's sanity effects to working with Hideo Kojima to...
04.09.2019
Episode 41: Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot sits down to discuss his incredible 30+ year career at Ubisoft, from co-founding the company with his brothers to meeting a 17-year-old Michel Ancel for the first time to partnering up with Tom Clancy to why he's...
03.26.2019
Episode 40: Amy Hennig and Ted Price
In this special episode of our monthly interview series IGN Unfiltered, filmed at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas, game design legend Amy Hennig (Uncharted series, Legacy of Kain series) and Insomniac Games founder Ted Price (Marvel's Spider-Man, Ratchet and...
02.26.2019
Episode 39: Bonnie Ross
343 Industries studio head and AIAS Hall of Famer Bonnie Ross discusses her entire career in this 70-minute interview, from her start on an NBA basketball game to how she came to ask for – and get – the keys...
12.26.2018
Episode 38: NBA 2K Gameplay Director Mike Wang
Longtime NBA 2K gameplay director Mike Wang discusses his fascinating career story, including getting noticed on a message board, leaving 2K for EA's NBA Live and immediately regretting it, coming back, and much more in this one-hour interview! Learn more about...
11.13.2018
Episode 37: BioShock Infinite's and Underworld Ascendant's Joe Fielder
Underworld Ascendant creative director Joe Fielder has enjoyed quite a career. From starting out as a video game journalist to crossing over to game development and working with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Ken Levine (BioShock), and Warren Spector (Deus...
10.16.2018
Episode 36: 3D Realms Founder Scott Miller
3D Realms founder Scott Miller has worked on a lot of memorable games in his career, from Duke Nukem 3D to Max Payne to the original Prey to Duke Nukem Forever. He discusses his experiences making games in this hour-long...
09.11.2018
Episode 35: Insomniac Founder Ted Price
Ted Price founded Insomniac Games almost 20 years ago. In this hour-long interview, he details his life and career in video games, from his chance meeting with a future business partner to his early bet on PlayStation to creating games...
08.14.2018
Episode 34: EA Sports Boss Cam Weber
Cam Weber is the head of EA Sports, but along the way he's been a college quarterback, a sports game developer, an executive producer on Simpsons and Scarface games, and more! Hear all about his fascinating career in this hour-long...
07.25.2018
Episode 33: Firewatch and Darksiders 3 Voice Actress Cissy Jones
Cissy Jones has been a voice actor in many games you know and love: Firewatch, Telltale's The Walking Dead, Grand Theft Auto 5, and now Darksiders 3. Hear all about her fascinating career in this hour-long interview! Learn more about your...
06.26.2018
Episode 32: RPG Guru Josh Sawyer
Josh Sawyer is a longtime veteran of renowned RPG studio Obsidian Entertainment, and he's seen a lot in his career. From his history-based beginnings to Fallout, Pillars of Eternity, and much more, his story is a fascinating one! Learn more about...
05.15.2018
Episode 31: Xbox Creator Seamus Blackley
Xbox creator Seamus Blackley shares stories from his incredible career, from being given the name Seamus at his first game development job, to the infamous first-person PC game Trespasser, to creating the Xbox at Microsoft, and much more! Learn more about...
04.10.2018
Episode 30: Josef Fares
Filmmaker-turned-game-maker Josef Fares, the writer-director of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and A Way Out, shares stories from his career, including his (in)famous "F*** the Oscars!" rant from The Game Awards, his thoughts on Roger Ebert's "games aren't art"...
03.20.2018
Episode 29: Rare Studio Head Craig Duncan
Rare studio head Craig Duncan chats about his life and career, including his time running Rare. He discusses how Sea of Thieves arrived at its pirate theme, whether they might let other studios work on classic Rare IP, the Kinect...
02.20.2018
Episode 28: Diablo Creator David Brevik
Diablo creator David Brevik recounts his fascinating career making games, including how a Justice League game led to Diablo, the meteoric success of Diablo and Diablo II, his years at Blizzard, and what he's up to now. Learn more about your...
01.30.2018
Episode 27: Journey, Flower, and Sky Creator Jenova Chen
thatgamecompany co-founder Jenova Chen talks about his fascinating game development career, from growing up as a gamer in China to what it took to create Journey, as well as his quest to bring games to more people, his new project...
12.19.2017
Episode 26: Shadowrun and BattleTech Developer Mitch Gitelman
Former FASA Studio head Mitch Gitelman discusses his career, including the infamous 2007 Shadowrun first-person shooter for Xbox, MechCommander, BattleTech, and more! Check out the video above for the entire interview! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
11.14.2017
Episode 25 - Cuphead's Chad and Jared Moldenhauer
Cuphead is one of gaming's best success stories of 2017. The hand-drawn 2D-animated bullet-hell shooter captured everyone's attention a few years ago, and has held onto it ever since – right up through its long-awaited and fantastic final release and its millionth copy...
10.17.2017
IGN Unfiltered Episode 24 - Steve Gaynor
Fullbright co-founder Steve Gaynor has had an amazing from-the-ground-up career in video game development. From QA testing at Sony to making F.E.A.R. levels to BioShock 2 to BioShock Infinite and now to Gone Home and Tacoma, his story is both...
09.12.2017
Episode 23: Randy Pitchford Part 2 - Aliens: Colonial Marines, Battleborn, and More!
The president and CEO of Borderlands creator Gearbox Studios returns after his initial visit last month to finish his story. This time, he shares more stories from his fascinating career in games, including Aliens: Colonial Marines, Battleborn, the future of...
09.01.2017
Episode 22: Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford
The president and CEO of Borderlands creator Gearbox Studios shares stories from his fascinating career in games, including getting his start on Duke Nukem 3D, working on Half-Life, Halo, Brothers in Arms, and much more! Learn more about your ad choices....
07.14.2017
Episode 21: Deus Ex and System Shock Creator Warren Spector
The creator of Deus Ex, System Shock, Ultima Underworld, Epic Mickey, and more sits down for an hour-long interview about his entire fascinating career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
06.29.2017
Episode 20: Interplay Founder and RPG Guru Brian Fargo
Brian Fargo has had a fascinating career, from developing RPGs like Fallout, Bard's Tale, and Wasteland in the '80s at Interplay to helping kickstart Blizzard to working with Nintendo on a typing edutainment game to his success at inXile today....
05.23.2017
Episode 19: Harmonix Co-Founder Alex Rigopulos
Harmonix co-founder Alex Rigopulos discusses his unique career, from starting Harmonix out of MIT to Disney using some of their tech for theme parks to, of course, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Dance Central, and the rise and fall of the...
04.28.2017
Episode 18: Renowned Game Designer Peter Molyneux
Peter Molyneux's career has been fascinating, whether you play his games or not. His resume includes Populous, Dungeon Keeper, Theme Park, Fable, and many more. This two-hour interview covers all of it, including other topics like Kinect and his future...
03.31.2017
Episode 17: Ultima Creator and Astronaut Richard Garriott
Ultima creator Richard Garriott tells us incredible stories about his life and career, including his early Ultima success, changing the gaming world with Ultima Online, visiting outer space as a private-citizen astronaut, exploring (and getting stuck under) the Titanic's remains...

What's IGN Unfiltered about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

IGN Unfiltered episodes:

Episode 65: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Director Stig Asmussen (2023)

IGN Presents | The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station

Episode 64: Gears of War Creator Cliff Bleszinski

Episode 63: Rick & Morty Co-Creator Justin Roiland

Episode 62: Halo Infinite Director Joseph Staten

Episode 61: Bethesda's Todd Howard (2021 Interview)

Episode 60: Elder Scrolls Online Boss Matt Firor

Episode 59: Shadow Warrior 3 Game Director Kuba Opoń

Episode 58: Game Industry Investigative Reporter Jason Schreier

Episode 57: IO Interactive CEO and Co-Owner Hakan Abrak

Episode 56: Six Days in Fallujah's Peter Tamte and Jaime Griesemer

Episode 55: Aliens: Fireteam Leads Craig Zinkievich and Matt Highison

Episode 54: Raven Software Cofounder Brian Raffel

Episode 53: The Game Awards Host Geoff Keighley

Episode 52: Jon Brooke and Lee Singleton (Outriders, Hitman Go, Sleeping Dogs)

Episode 51: Max Schaefer and Matt Uelmen (Diablo 1, 2, and Torchlight)

Episode 50: Marcus Lehto (Halo, Disintegration)

Episode 49: Robin Walker and Chris Remo (Valve/Half-Life: Alyx)

Episode 48: Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton (id Software/DOOM Eternal)

Episode 47: Stig Asmussen (Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, God of War trilogy)

Episode 46: Phil Harrison (Sony, Xbox, Google)

Episode 45: Sean Krankel (Oxenfree, Afterparty)

Episode 44: Sam Lake (Max Payne, Alan Wake, Control, Quantum Break)

Episode 43: Bethesda Game Studios Director Todd Howard

Episode 42: Denis Dyack

Episode 41: Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot

Episode 40: Amy Hennig and Ted Price

Episode 39: Bonnie Ross

Episode 38: NBA 2K Gameplay Director Mike Wang

Episode 37: BioShock Infinite's and Underworld Ascendant's Joe Fielder

Episode 36: 3D Realms Founder Scott Miller

Episode 35: Insomniac Founder Ted Price

Episode 34: EA Sports Boss Cam Weber

Episode 33: Firewatch and Darksiders 3 Voice Actress Cissy Jones

Episode 32: RPG Guru Josh Sawyer

Episode 31: Xbox Creator Seamus Blackley

Episode 30: Josef Fares

Episode 29: Rare Studio Head Craig Duncan

Episode 28: Diablo Creator David Brevik

Episode 27: Journey, Flower, and Sky Creator Jenova Chen

Episode 26: Shadowrun and BattleTech Developer Mitch Gitelman

Episode 25 - Cuphead's Chad and Jared Moldenhauer

IGN Unfiltered Episode 24 - Steve Gaynor

Episode 23: Randy Pitchford Part 2 - Aliens: Colonial Marines, Battleborn, and More!

Episode 22: Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford

Episode 21: Deus Ex and System Shock Creator Warren Spector

Episode 20: Interplay Founder and RPG Guru Brian Fargo

Episode 19: Harmonix Co-Founder Alex Rigopulos

Episode 18: Renowned Game Designer Peter Molyneux

Episode 17: Ultima Creator and Astronaut Richard Garriott