Unlocked

All of Xbox's good energy and community goodwill instantly evaporated as the honeymoon phase for new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma came to a quick end this week. Her new publicly released memo talked of a "resetting" of Xbox and narrowing profit margins, which has resulted in reports of multiple Xbox studios being either shut down or perhaps spun out independently. We discuss Xbox Game Pass's role in Xbox's problems, Xbox's mismanagement of its studios and franchises over the years, and so much more.

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We've got SO much more to talk about since the Xbox Showcase last weekend. Namely: we got behind-closed-doors looks at Gears of War: E-Day, Fable, and Halo: Campaign Evolved – the latter of which we got to play!

00:00:00 - Intro & Gears of War: E-Day
00:22:07 - Fable
00:42:21 - Halo: Campaign Evolved
00:58:55 - Bad Magpie & Outro

#halo #gearsofwar #xbox

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The Xbox Games Showcase 2026 was packed with major reveals, world premieres, release dates, and surprise announcements. In this complete recap, we cover everything shown, including Gears of War: E-Day launching October 6, Halo: Campaign Evolved and its prequel missions arriving July 28, Fable releasing February 23, 2027, Persona 4 Revival, Persona 6, State of Decay 3, Metro 2039, Wo Long 2, Minecraft Dungeons 2, Spyro: A Realm Beyond, Clockwork Revolution, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 DMZ, and much more. We also break down the biggest Xbox Game Pass news, new gameplay reveals, and every trailer shown during Microsoft's massive 2026 showcase.

Other highlights include Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Sea of Thieves: Custom Seas, Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations, Crazy Taxi World Tour, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, Where Winds Meet: Hidden Mountain, Valor Mortis, Magicians: The Devil's Deal, and the reveal of the translucent Xbox Series X25 console. Whether you're looking for every Xbox Games Showcase 2026 announcement, all release dates, or the biggest surprises from the event, this video has everything you need in one place. Subscribe for more Xbox news, game reveals, walkthroughs, guides, and Summer Game Fest coverage.

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New comments by Take-Two's CEO suggest that Grand Theft Auto 6 is looking like it's really going to be released on November 19. So what does that mean for Xbox and its packed Fall slate of games? We lay out two likely scenarios. Plus: what's next for Bungie now that Destiny support is ceasing, The Witcher 3 gets a surprise new expansion pack over a decade after its last one, the developer of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 making a Middle-earth game seems like a match made in RPG heaven, and more!

00:13:19 - Mina The Hollower

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While we’re together, and before it gets so close to the Xbox Showcase that things start leaking (hopefully not) – the event is just barely over two weeks away! – we thought we’d have fun this week and make our annual Xbox Showcase predictions. You can listen along at home, make your predictions in the Comments section below, and then we can all see how accurate (or not) we were when the Showcase airs on June 7 at 10am PT.

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Our friend Mark Medina makes his long-awaited return to Unlocked to join our discussion on Forza Horizon 6, the latest open-world driving game masterpiece from Playground Games. We give our thoughts on what we've played so far and where we think Horizon might go next. Plus: new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is reportedly thinking carefully about exclusivity for Xbox moving forward, and big surprise: we've got thoughts! All that and more on this week's Podcast Unlocked!

00:00:00 - Intro & Forza Horizon 6 Impressions

00:26:30 - Where Does Forza Horizon Go Next?

00:35:17 - Xbox's Huge Exclusivity Shift & Outro

Join the IGN Discord today: https://discord.gg/mx62v5pgq

#forzahorizon6 #xbox #gaming

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It's another busy week of Xbox news as new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma continues to make moves, shaking up the Xbox leadership team and killing Xbox's Copilot AI program in the process. Plus: we geek out over Yakuza developer RGG Studio's new showcase – presented by Microsoft – for its new game Stranger Than Heaven. Plus: Mixtape is a 10 out of 10 and on Game Pass right now, the rest of what's hitting Game Pass over the next week, and more!

00:00:00 - Intro & Stranger Than Heaven Showcase

00:16:17 - Mixtape Review Discussion

00:18:44 - New On Game Pass (Outbound, Wuchang, Mixtape & More) 00:23:08 - Xbox's Copilot AI program is Dead

00:38:36 - Xbox Game Dev Update & Outro

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After Michael tells us about the fun time he had at this year's Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival, we spend the rest of the episode discussing Xbox's logo refresh and its new "We Are Xbox" mission statement. There's a LOT to get into here, from affordability to exclusivity to mergers and acquisitions and a whole lot more. Enjoy!

#xbox #gaming #unlocked

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Microsoft has walked back its wild 50% Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price increase from six months ago...mostly. We discuss the bold change and what it means moving forward. Plus: our favorite games from this week's ID@Xbox Showcase, and more!

00:00:00 - Intro & Game Pass Price Decrease

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Replaced game director Yura Zhdanovich joins us to discuss his just-released Xbox exclusive. He shares insights into the project's origin, getting offered an exclusivity deal from Microsoft, what's next for Sad Cat Studios, and much more! Plus: Pragmata impressions amidst a huge week of awesome new game releases!

00:00:00 - Intro & Replaced Director Interview

00:57:13 - Pragmata Review Discussion

#xbox #replaced #pragmata #gaming

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