What a week! The XboxEra Team have been in Cologne, Germany for Gamescom 2025, and on the last night, have managed to sit down and talk you through it all.

We've played a ton of amazing games, and of the ones we can talk about, we do! From High on Life 2, INVINCIBLE VS, Pizza Bandit and Planet of Lana 2, we go through each day we've spent at the show, and what we've played.

We also went hands-on with the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, and talk about our experience with these new handhelds.

All this and more, so enjoy the show!

Another week has passed us by, and while Jon was out in sunny Colorado, Nick and special guest Rand Al Thor got together to celebrate Jesse's birthday in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 276!

Plenty to talk about this week, from the release of Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, Viewfinder, Mafia: The Old Country, TMNT: Tactical Takedown and Hellblade 2: Enhanced Edition. PlayStation have begun to ramp up their advertising for Helldivers 2, which arrives on Xbox on August 26th - which is weirdly the same day as Gears Reloaded! They've even teased an ODST collaboration, which makes perfect sense.
Gamescom is swiftly approaching and before Jon, Jesse and Predrag set off next week, we've got a few more things to do, but big thank you to Rand for stepping in and hanging out as we tackle all the community questions from our lovely Patrons. As always, a big thank you to our community for making everything possible - head to patreon.com/xboxera if you'd like to support us directly.

With Gamescom fast approaching, Jon, Jesse and K.Asante get together to chat about all the latest games they've been playing in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 275!

Nick is out this week doing family things, so we're joined by the lovely K.Asante to chat about games, which is great, because there are a LOT of games to talk about. From the release of Viewfinder which is finally coming to Xbox next week after a two year wait, to the very popular Battlefield 6 Open Beta, there's been plenty to chat about.
It's also the continuation of the 'Year of the Ninja'. Ninja Gaiden Ragebound is already here, and Shinobi is on the way. This week we released our in-depth hands-on preview for Ninja Gaiden 4, which Jon got to play the opening levels for over the last week, with a ton of new gameplay footage to gawk over. So. Much. Blood!
In gaming news, we chat through PlayStations financials, Contraband's cancellation and the return of Xbox Design Labs. Xbox Game Pass continues to have tons of cool games, with a surprise release of Heretic and Hexen to the platform. All this and more, so jump in and hang out with us in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 275!
As always, everything we do is made possible by our community and the support we get is incredible! Join our growing army of Patrons and get cool stuff in return - just head to patreon.com/xboxera.

It's been a great week in gaming, with reveals, announcements and fantastic releases. There's plenty to talk about, so join Nick, Jesse and Aarsal for the XboxEra Podcast Episode 274!

As always, lots of game talk this week with the release of Grounded 2, which arrived in Early Access on Game Pass and Steam, and did very well indeed. Jesse and Nick have been playing Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, and dabbling with Shinobi with the available demo. Jesse also reviewed the PC only release (for now!) of Dead Take, Surgent Studios latest release.
Gamescom is around the corner, and we've got plenty to cover later this month, with Jon, Jesse and Predrag attending. That means plenty of hands on with upcoming titles, from Hollow Knight Silksong to the Xbox Ally. In the mean time, Xbox shared their latest financials, and continue to make silly money (While firing 9000+ people). Lastly, we're all looking forward to Battlefield 6, which looked absolutely phenomenal. Have you got your beta code yet? All this and more in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 274!
As always, XboxEra is only made possible by you, the audience. Consider supporting us directly by heading to patreon.com/xboxera.

It's been a week filled with drama, ruffled feathers and surprising new reveals! Join the crew for the XboxEra Podcast Episode 273!

From me getting a little bit cross to Jesse upsetting people with a glowing review for WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers, there's definitely plenty to discuss in this weeks episode. Nick has been continuing his adventures in Donkey Kong Bananza, in addition to checking out Ready or Not and a little achievement grinding via a Rogue Racoon too. I've dropped a review of the pretty fantastic Abiotic Factor and it's on track to become one of the best performing reviews yet.
In wider gaming news, Sony looks to be going more multiplatform with its approach for PlayStation, Wolfenstein is going to be a TV show thanks to Amazon and we can all look forward to some juicy Halo news later this year. We've also seen plenty of reveals, with Battlefield 6 now officially on the way and a surprise for horror fans, thanks to Saber Interactive's Hellraiser: Revival reveal. All this and more, so tune in and hang out for a while!
As always, everything XboxEra does is only made possible by our growing army of Patreon supporters, so if you love what we do, consider supporting us directly on Patreon - just head to Patreon.com/XboxEra

In what feels like the calm before the storm, the crew have been playing and reviewing all sorts of cool video games for the community this week and we're back to share everything we know in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 272!

This week, myself and Jesse are reunited with Nick who has returned from his holidays, perhaps so he can just wax lyrical about playing his Switch 2 and ignoring his family almost entirely. Elsewhere, myself and Jesse (and the rest of the XboxEra team!) have been very busy reviewing all sorts of games that have the audacity to come out before Gamescom has even begun!
We've got reviews for Ready or Not, Shadow Labyrinth and we even managed to get through the entirety of Robocop's standalone expansion, 'Unfinished Business'. You can read or watch our verdict on all of these on xboxera.com today.
In gaming news, Donkey Kong Bananza scores very well, making for another Game of the Year contender. Xbox Game Pass continues its incredible run of great additions, with an absolutely bonkers month of new games to play. There's also a ton of movie news and discussion, with a new Mortal Kombat 2 trailer dropping and an Assassin's Creed series being created over at Netflix.
As always, everything we do is only made possible by your incredible support. If you love the content we produce, head over to patreon.com/xboxera to support us directly and get cool stuff in return!

Another week goes by, and this time the focus has been on that age-old question that the industry just can't seem to let go of - is Game Pass unsustainable? Is it even profitable? The answer of course, is that Game Pass is just fine actually, but we'll get into all the details in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 271.

High on the success of our recent Summer Subathon, Jon and Jesse are joined by the lovely Gareth Williams, CEO and Co-founder of PressEngine, and industry veteran of several decades. We talk through all the latest games we've been playing, from backlog clearing up things like Avowed, to the recent releases of College Football 26 from EA and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 from Activision. Even Civilization VII gets a shout out!
Following that, the team dive into all the latest goings on, from the drama surrounding Xbox Game Pass, Rare's Sea of Thieves and Jon's desire for a sequel as well as the latest Halo rumours and Krafton's Subnautica 2 drama.
As always, everything XboxEra does is only made possible by our community. If you value what we do, consider supporting us directly on Patreon. It really does make all the difference in the world. Just head to patreon.com/xboxera.

Absolutely awful. There's no other way to describe the week Xbox has just had, and it sure has many fans genuinely concerned for the Xbox platform. The crew get together for some hopefully insightful discussion on what happens next in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 270.

Myself, Nick and Jesse return to chat about all the awful things that happened this week, in addition to some of the good. We saw Microsoft begin mass-layoffs, with other 9000 employees affected worldwide, and a sizeable chunk within the Xbox division. Rare's Everwild was cancelled. Perfect Dark and it's studio, The Initiative, was shutdown.

A reportedly promising title, 'Project Blackbird' came to an unfortunate end for Zenimax Online Studios, that saw their leader, Matt Firor depart Xbox forever. Even Turn 10, a legendary studio that had been around since the original Xbox, didn't escape unscathed, with 50% of staff reportedly let go. Even partner studios have been affected, with Romero Games losing their funding from Xbox.
Suffice to say, it's left Xbox fans feeling pretty down in the dumps, and I know you'll join me in wishing the developers affected the best of luck in landing on their feet. The drama didn't stop there however. This week also saw another bombshell announcement that saw - for the first time - a PlayStation Studios title land on the Xbox platform. That's right - Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox, in a move that challenges many preconceived notions about Sony's 1st Party Strategies.

We ask the big questions. Can we trust Xbox anymore? Who's to blame for this catastrophic week? Is it really down to Phil Spencer, Matt Booty and Sarah Bond, or do we need to look to the unrealistic expectations of CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood? Is Xbox Game Pass to blame? All this discussion and more in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 270.

As always, your support makes what we do possible - if you enjoy our work, consider supporting us directly on Patreon. Just head to Patreon.com/xboxera.

It's been a relatively quiet week in video games, but for some awful reports of what has now become standard for this industry - mass layoffs! Join the crew for the XboxEra Podcast Episode 269!

Myself, Nick and Jesse are back for all things video games, and the show gets off to a relatively rough start - mostly because I'd been enjoying the sunshine and the beverages! But never mind all that, there's a few things to dive into. We talk through some of the games we've been playing, from I Am Your Beast to the lovely System Shock 2: Remaster. There's also a massive review on Soulstone Survivors, if that's your jam.
We also discuss the rip-roaring success for Sloclap and Rematch before diving in to all things Xbox, which is a bit miserable because of all the reports of mass layoffs, and worse - studio closures. We talk through it all, in addition to the new Xbox PC App updates and of course, our intentions to get out and enjoy Gamescom 2025.

As always, everything we do is made possible and supported by our incredible community. If you want to join the growing army of awesome people, consider heading over to Patreon.com/XboxEra.

Despite the summer showcases being firmly behind us, we weren't left wanting for interesting developments in the video game industry to discuss! Sit back and relax for the XboxEra Podcast Episode 268!

This week, we're joined by none other than the lovely Ryan McCaffrey from IGN, Unlocked and Ride The Lightning. Together with myself, Nick and Jesse, we discuss his beginnings in the industry, his take on Microsoft's moves back to a more PC like gaming system and more!
We discuss these things because this week, both Xbox and AMD released short videos expressing their commitment to Xbox hardware, both in your living room, and in your hands. It made us ask - and answer - ⁠What's the point of Xbox?Beyond that, we also have a commitment from Sarah Bond, President of Xbox and Lisa Su, CEO of AMD that these devices will continue to play our existing library of games and not be tied to a single online store. Exciting stuff!

We also chat about Rematch, FF16 , FBC: Firebreak and TRON: Catalyst in addition to all of the other video games news, from Marathon's delay and Splitgate 2 layoffs.
As Ryan himself made very clear - if you love what we do, consider supporting us for less than a cup of coffee a month by heading over to patreon.com/xboxera. Your support really does make all the difference in the world.