IGN's Travis Northup, aka TieGuyTravis, joins to discuss the impact of live-service games and if they are at the breaking point. Live-services have been positive to game development, but they have also been detrimental to many projects. Yet more and more developers look to create them. Will they stay or will they go?

We discuss Redfall's pivot from live-service, Sony's massive live-service undertaking 12 games in four years, and Overwatch 2's PvE blunder.

This week in the Gaming Trend Podcast, Steam Next Fest takes over. Anthony played several demos, while David missed his opportunities thanks to life. But David more than makes up for it by talking about a game he's been waiting sitting on since Summer Game Fest: Wildcard Football. It's a new arcade-style football game. David is over the Microsoft-Activision acquisition but lots of juicy details dripped from the courts that couldn't be ignored. They also talk about the biggest announcement out of the Nintendo Direct: Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

00:00:00 Intro

00:05:58 Sea of Stars demo feels faithful to SNES RPG's

00:17:37 Gate Zero demo needs more prayer in its proof of concept

00:35:44 Synced demo is likely best only in co-op

00:49:21 Juicy details from Microsoft-Activision acquisition trial

01:10:50 Wildcard Football looks to bring back NFL Bltiz-style football

01:23:15 Super Mario Bros. Wonder announcement

01:33:33 Lies of P demo almost turns a Soulsborne detractor into a believer

01:42:49 Stunt Derby demo does a lot with a little

This week on the Gaming Trend Podcast, David Burdette discusses his love for Final Fantasy 16 even though he is not a JRPG fan or that this Final Fantasy does not seem to resemble others. Anthony Shelton finally gets to express his thoughts on Diablo 4 and clarifies his thoughts on his video that was obliterated by the Diablo community. Noah Rigsby has a 180 on XDefiant.

The crew also discusses big stories that haven't been able to discuss since Summer Game Fest. Anthony and Noah go off on the $15 story missions coming to Overwatch 2 in Season 6. Anthony and David believe the optics are horrible, while Noah thinks the content will be good but doesn't think they should charge. They also discuss Diablo 4's strange decision to make players create a new character every season. Microsoft will increase the price of Xbox Game Pass in the US by $2 for Game Pass Ultimate and $1 for the console version. Is that too much?

This week, Joe Morgan from Geeks Under Grace joins the show to talk about Advance Wars 1+2: Reboot Camp. David Burdette and Noah Rigsby gush over Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and convince Anthony Shelton even more that it might be better than Breath of the Wild. They talk about Overwatch 2's PvE cancelation, and give their predictions for what will be in the PlayStation Showcase by drafting their picks.

Visit https://www.geeksundergrace.com/ to learn about specifics of what content is in media.

This week, Corvo Rohwer joins to talk about Bramble: The Mountain King, Anthony played Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and David decided to play Prey after suffering through Redfall.

The crew also plays "Say It Out Loud."

This week the crew gets into Redfall and their perspectives on the disappointing Arkane game. Noah Rigsby gave everyone reprieve by talking about Ravenlock, and they got back to talking Phil Spencer's apology about Redfall and his mistakes with Xbox.

This week, the David dives deep into Star Wars Jedi: Survivor without spoiling anything. Noah gives his take on Horizon: Burning Shores. Anthony gushes over the Street Fighter 6 demo, criticizes the Crash Team Rumble open beta, and finds fun in Overwatch's new community map, Talantis.

This week, editor Jackson Lustberg joins the show to talk about Crime Boss: Rockay City, they finally get to show XDefiant, David played some of Season 3 of Call of Duty, and Anthony checked out the Sifu Arena update.

This week, David Burdette was able to review the 2023 version of Sherlock Holmes The Awakened and talks about how impressed he was. Anthony finally got to playing Fire Emblem Engage after laying down Destiny 2: Lightfall for good, and the crew talked about the cancellation of E3 2023.

This week, Anthony answers everything on the Diablo 4 beta after spending a tremendous amount of time on it and enjoying it. Noah and Anthony also debate the latest Overwatch 2 Catch-A-Mari event, and all of them delve into their hesitancies with the latest Redfall previews from IGN and GameSpot.