Unlocked

We sort through the aftermath of Xbox's devastating layoffs from last week, including updates on the status of where Perfect Dark was, what's left of the Turn 10 team, how Microsoft's AI investments may have played a part in all of this, and much more. 00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:42 - Perfect Dark00:16:40 - The Future for Halo00:26:05 - Elder Scrolls Online Dev's Comment on Cancelled MMO00:34:37 - Xbox...

As expected, layoffs at Microsoft and Xbox did happen this week, and they were unbelievably brutal. Approximately 9,000 people reportedly got laid off, multiple games were canceled, and entire studios were shut down. We sort through the wreckage on this week's Unlocked. 00:00 - Intro 00:11:12 - Assessing Xbox’s Layoffs 00:24:33 - ZeniMax Online’s New MMORPG Has Been Canceled 00:29:55 - Perfect Dar...

This year's Xbox Showcase was very good, but next year's Showcase should be absolutely jam-packed with Xbox's A-listers, from Halo to Gears of War to Fable and Forza Horizon. And not just that, Fall 2026 should be one of the biggest quarter of releases in Xbox history. Plus: Xbox's curious collab with Meta Quest, our bigger-picture perspective on reportedly imminent Xbox layoffs, and more! 00:08:3...

We kick off by talking about the games we got to play behind closed doors after the Xbox Showcase: The Outer Worlds 2, Gears of War Reloaded, and Ninja Gaiden 4. And then we dig into our main topic: Xbox's next-gen hardware announcement. We analyze what it means, what it doesn't, and discuss where Xbox is going. ****** 00:00 - Intro 03:00 - Outer Worlds, Gears of War Reloaded, & Summer Game Fest 1...

In this jam-packed IGN Live 2025 special, we’re diving into three games revealed in the Xbox Games Showcase 2025. First, Daemon Hatfield joins Obsidian Entertainment for a deep dive into The Outer Worlds 2, then Remedy stops by to talk FBC: Firebreak. Finally, Tom Jorgenson sits down with Iron Galaxy to break down the long-awaited Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 Remaster. You don't wanna miss it! 00:00...

The Xbox Games Showcase delivered big reveals and we’ve got thoughts. In this episode, we break down the biggest surprises and top takeaways from the show, including the ROG Ally Xbox handheld, Clockwork Revolution, Call of Duty Black Ops 7, the return of Persona 4, and Final Fantasy’s Xbox debut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

IGN Live is nearly here and we have a limited number of complimentary tickets for it! Head here and use the code "UNLOCKEDGUEST" to get a complimentary GA ticket for Saturday or Sunday: ⁠www.ign.com/live We kick off by discussing the specific Xbox eras we'd most like to go back in time to and relive – from Halo 2 to Rock Band, among others – before chatting about Bungie's latest blunder and the st...

IGN's Doom: The Dark Ages reviewer (and Doom superfan) Mitchell Saltzman joins fellow Doom superfan Ryan McCaffrey to discuss id software's just-released prequel: how it compares to Doom Eternal, why we love it, where the series goes from here, and more. Plus: Mitchell talks about his visit to From Software to play a ton of Elden Ring Nightreign as part of our exclusive IGN First coverage, Mafia:...

In a huge week of Xbox news, we're discussing Xbox's massive, demoralizing, and unprecedented price increases five years into the console generation. Plus: we gush over the new GTA 6 trailer, celebrate the return of Gears of War 1 via a new remaster, discuss the just-leaked images of ROG's officially licensed Xbox handheld PC, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro & Welcome Lord Cognito 00:03:54 - Xbox Price...

On this week's Xbox show, we discuss how Borderlands 4's release date just moved up, and whether or not it means it's getting out of GTA 6...possibly in October? But maybe there's another game it's avoiding... Plus: Assassin's Creed Shadows' strong sales debut, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 gets a hilarious new playable Operator, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is selling great, and more – including a bon...

It's raining RPGs on Xbox Game Pass this week as the long-rumored/leaked Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered finally got released – and it's even better than we'd hoped. We discuss why it's fantastic and what it means for other Bethesda remasters (Fallout 3, anyone?) and The Elder Scrolls VI. Plus: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has also arrived and it is amazing! Michael reviewed it, and he tells...

Bethesda's "secret" remaster of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion keeps leaking. We'll talk about what we learned from this week's leak, when you can play it (hint: VERY SOON), how it'll hit for a generation of Elder Scrolls fans that have only ever known Skyrim, and more. Plus: our Mount Rushmore of RPGs, Xbox Game Pass's incredible second wave in April, the new Star Wars game and the somewhat surpr...

We covered a ton of ground this week, from The Outer Worlds 2 looking awesome so far after we got to visit Obsidian for our exclusive IGN First coverage, to Doom: The Dark Ages being fantastic but very different from Doom Eternal based on our four hours of hands-on time with it, to the Minecraft movie's big opening weekend and what other Xbox properties we'd like to see adapted to film and TV, to...

This week on Unlocked, Michael and Miranda are joined by GameSpot's Jordan Ramée to talk all about the latest Xbox exclusive, South of Midnight, now that we have reviewed it and we explore our own connections to American South. We also touch on previews for Doom: The Dark Ages and the ongoing saga of where Hollow Knight Silksong is. And we find a way to make the Nintendo Direct about Xbox (lol) be...

This week on Unlocked, Miranda and Michael go over the biggest reveals for Minecraft Live 2025 (new mobs!), discuss the Backbone One Xbox Edition and how they hope Xbox's latest neat peripheral designs influence their next major device releases, and round out the show by discussing two games coming to Xbox shown during the Nintendo Direct.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...

This week, Michael and Ryan give first impressions of this week's big new game release, Assassin's Creed Shadows. And then we delve into our main topic: MORE rumors about the remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and how close to release it apparently is (hint: it's really close!). Plus: Split Fiction's continued success, reassurances from Saber Interactive about the Star Wars: Knights of the O...

The crew is joined by Ash Parrish from The Verge to discuss the reports of Xbox handhelds (from OEMs) coming later this year and the prospect of a next-gen Xbox coming in 2027 (and how weird time works because it feels like the Series X|S came out just yesterday). But first, we revisit Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 demo for Miranda's final thoughts, and get Ash's insights on South of Midnight from h...

Our Xbox crew discusses the awful news of WB Games closing down Shadow of Mordor developer Monolith Productions along with two other studios. Is their patented Nemesis System dead forever? But first, we spend a happy first half of the podcast gushing over a few new games we've been playing: Split Fiction, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Monster Hunter Wilds. 00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:00 - Spilt Fict...

Our Xbox crew reacts to all of the new and cool games we got to see at the latest ID@Xbox Showcase, from Jump Ship to Herding to Outbound to 33 Immortals and more! And joining us to shed a bit more light on the ID@Xbox program and all of these games is ID@Xbox Director Guy Richards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Avowed officially launches this week, its Game Director, Carrie Patel, and the studio head at developer Obsidian Entertainment, Feargus Urquhart, join us for a conversation about their big new first-person fantasy RPG. They discuss how the project evolved since its original unveiling, what they did with the extra development time when its release date moved to February, and much more! Plus: Fea...

We've been waiting for this moment: to be swimming in new first-party Xbox games. We have all been playing both Avowed and South of Midnight, and we discuss our thoughts on each of them. We also spend time talking about our experiences with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 so far and why we love its grounded medieval RPG world. Finally, we discuss Bloomberg's new report about WB Games and what's next f...

The OG Xbox podcaster Danny Peña from Gamertag Radio joins us to discuss one of Xbox's "core four" franchises, Forza, heading to PlayStation 5 in the form of Forza Horizon 5. What does it mean for Xbox? And is any franchise "safe"? Plus: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is out and awesome (and successful), we show some love to one of the newest games on Xbox Game Pass that you might not be familiar wit...

As Xbox boss Phil Spencer visits two of our friends' podcasts, we discuss his clarifying comments on the future (not to mention present!) of Xbox. Plus: why we love Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, we talk about BioWare getting restructured and what it means for Mass Effect 5, and more! 00:00:00 - LA Fires Support & Intro 00:02:51 - Poll Results from last week's Xbox Direct 00:09:04 - Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Im...

We recorded live immediately following this week's fantastic Xbox Developer Direct, so our reactions are very real, highlighted by the stunning announcement of not just the LONG-awaited Ninja Gaiden 4, but also the surprise shadow drop of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. We've also got plenty of thoughts on Doom: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33! Learn more about your ad choi...

With the corroborated rumors that Microsoft is bringing Halo: The Master Chief Collection to PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2, is Xbox now officially a Sega-like third-party publisher? We discuss the complicated (and weird) idea of Halo heading to other platforms. Leading up to that, though, we discuss the rumored details of the Unreal Engine 5 remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, what the mystery g...