Unlocked

Our Xbox crew digs into the latest bit of big Call of Duty news: that the series will be taking next year off. We discuss what it means for the franchise. Plus: Elden Ring lives up to the hype, the possibility of Xbox Game Pass coming to Steam (and thus the Steam Deck), and more!

TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:56 - Elden Ring Fever! 00:15:00 - New Call of Duty Pushed to 2024 00:29:09 - Game Pass On Steam Deck? 00:46:49 - Xbox Game Pass For March 00:52:45 - Unlock-Block Trivia 00:55:51 - Outro

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Xbox crew discusses the report that, among other issues, the release of Halo Infinite's free-to-play multiplayer hurt the launch of Battlefield 2042. Plus: Ubisoft stakes a claim to independence in the wake of so many publishers being bought...unless the right price comes along, Street Fighter 6 just got announced but it's already off to a controversial start, and more!

TIMECODES:

00:00:00 - Intro 

00:03:39 - EA Admits Battlefield 2042 "failed to meet the expectations of our players"

00:19:52 - Ubisoft Acquisition?

00:29:34 - Street Fighter 6 Announced!

00:43:07 - No Man’s Sky Is Not Finished

00:51:20 - Unlock-Block Trivia

00:55:55 - Conclusion

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another week brings another important new update in Xbox's huge acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. Microsoft is making it clear that Call of Duty will continue on PlayStation - and come to Switch - so we discuss the ramifications of that decision for Xbox. Plus: Cyberpunk 2077 comes to Xbox Series X, our thoughts on Netflix's BioShock movie, impressions of The Cuphead Show, and more!

TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:23 - Bioshock Netflix Movie 00:10:25 - The Cuphead Show First Impressions 00:12:32 - Microsoft has confirmed that "Call of Duty and other popular Activision Blizzard titles" will not just be released on PlayStation 00:21:10 - New COD Game For 2022 00:29:30 - Microsoft has committed to putting "the right people in the right position" at the helm of Activision Blizzard 00:34:42 - Cyberpunk 2077 Released On Series X/S Today 00:41:36 - Atomic Heart Gets a Release Window 00:45:56 - Xbox Game Pass Games for February 00:47:18 - Unlock-Block Trivia 00:50:20 - Conclusion

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rockstar has officially acknowledged Grand Theft Auto 6's development, so we spend time mulling over some key questions: When will it be out? Will the long gap between GTA 5 and GTA 6 help or hurt it? Where will it be set? What do we want out of it in terms of main characters, gameplay features, etc. Plus: Infinity Ward confirms the next Call of Duty game and we debate what big and small steps the franchise should take next in order to stay fresh, PlatinumGames wants to bring back Scalebound, and more!

TIMECODES: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:48 - Miranda Shows Xbox Nail Polish 00:05:08 - GTA 6 Officially Acknowledged By Rockstar 00:41:12 - GTA 5 Next Gen 00:47:45 - CoD Modern Warfare 2 Coming in 2022? 01:07:15 - PlatinumGames Wants to Return to Scalebound 01:14:15 - Unlock-Block Trivia and Conclusion

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sony has purchased Bungie, who has meant so much to Xbox and its history, that we can't help but discuss the deal. We look at what it means for the future of Bungie on Xbox, remember our favorite Bungie-made moments on Xbox, and more. Plus: our reactions to the Halo TV show's new trailer and release date, and more!

TIMECODES:

00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:10 - Sony Buys Bungie for $3.6 billion 00:32:12 - Halo TV Series Gets New Trailer 00:46:20 - Game Pass Games for February 00:48:04 - Unlock Block Trivia and Outro

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We can't stop thinking about last week's landmark Xbox acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, so on this week's podcast, we're talking about A) Who Microsoft might strategically target for acquisition next, and B) our dream Xbox-Bethesda-Activision-Blizzard project collaborations and IP revivals. Plus: Respawn announces THREE new Star Wars games, and more!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Xbox continues its spending spree, buying Activision-Blizzard for almost $70 billion. We spent almost the entire podcast discussing it, from future game exclusivity to Microsoft's role in cleaning up Activision Blizzard's toxic workplace culture to whether or not so much consolidation is a good thing for the video game industry. Join us for the biggest Xbox story of the year (because we can't imagine anything else in 2022 topping this)!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a random assortment of Xbox topics to discuss this week, from Dying Light 2's supposed 500-hour play time, Amazon getting the Fallout TV show off the ground with a big name attached, Xbox Game Pass landing another big third-party game on day one, and more!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy New Year! Xbox Game Pass gets 2022 started in a big way - by dropping the entirety of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition onto Game Pass. We discuss the legendary RPG series, the importance of its presence on Game Pass, and more. Plus: what we played over the holiday break (hint: Halo Infinite multiplayer), Tencent's stealthy infiltration of the games industry, and more!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The hosts of IGN's four major podcasts (Game Scoop, Unlocked, Beyond, and NVC) unite, Avengers-style, to discuss 2021's biggest games on each platform, as well as look ahead to what's coming in 2022. We hope you enjoy this special episode!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices