Unlocked

There's unfortunately not a lot of fun to be had on this week's Podcast Unlocked. We open by addressing the layoffs across Microsoft's gaming division that were announced just after last week's Unlocked published, then follow that with another gut-punch layoff story, before Destin discusses his mixed feelings about Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League now that he's played almost the entire campa...

Palworld is the hottest game out there right now, and it's an Xbox console exclusive that's also on Game Pass! We welcome in ace IGN contributor and IGN Palworld reviewer Travis "The Tie Guy" Northup to discuss his thoughts on the game after 100 hours. Plus: Xbox Live Arcade-style indie game curation is finally back on Xbox, we discuss a few other big game releases on Xbox this week that aren't na...

We recorded this week's episode live, immediately after Xbox's Developer Direct. And we loved that Direct! Indiana Jones and the Great Circle had a fantastic reveal (it's FIRST-PERSON!) and reminded us of the original Xbox classic The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, Hellblade 2 looked incredible and we finally got the long-awaited release date, Avowed had gorgeous settings and mean...

Three huge topics dominate Unlocked this week: 1) Our excited reactions to the just-announced second Xbox Developer Direct. INDIANA JONES!! 2) Destin got to play Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and it didn't play nearly as well as we'd hoped. We've all got lots of thoughts on this one. And 3) New reports suggest that Hi-Fi Rush may be headed to Nintendo Switch and Sea of Thieves might go t...

Happy New Year! IGN's weekly Xbox show is back with a detailed discussion on what to expect from Xbox in 2024. We talk about what's locked in for the new year, what's a maybe, what's probably too early, our expected announcements, the possible announcements, and "WTF is going on with these games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our final episode of 2023 has us looking back on our six favorite Xbox moments of the year, that not coincidentally included a number of our favorite games. Plus: we remember James McCaffrey, the voice of Max Payne and Alan Wake 2's Alex Casey; and discuss the long-awaited departure of Activision CEO and game industry villain Bobby Kotick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

The time has come for the Podcast Unlocked team to crown our Best Xbox Game of 2023! We start with five nominees, narrow it down to two, and, well...you'll see. We then spend the rest of the podcast discussing Xbox's excellent showing at last week's Game Awards, including the gorgeous new Hellblade 2 trailer, the star-studded reveal of Hideo Kojima's OD, and Arkane's unexpected team-up with Marvel...

The first GTA6 trailer has arrived and we spent the entire show talking about it! From the technical marvels to the Bonnie-and-Clyde-like main characters to how GTA Online might integrate with Grand Theft Auto VI's online mode, we dive into EVERYTHING about the biggest game announcement this decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As The Game Awards season creeps up on us in December, Stella and Destin speculate with Kahlief Adams on what we could possibly see from Xbox in the coming weeks. We also dive into Baldur's Gate 3's upcoming Xbox release, yet another one of it's HUGE patches, and the incredible physical Deluxe Edition that's up on preorder! Finally, Bethesda responded to several negative reviews of Starfield on St...

We celebrate the Xbox's 22nd birthday this week, anticipate the imminent release of Baldur's Gate 3 on Xbox (bear sex and all), discuss the Xbox nominations (and Starfield's lack thereof) at this year's Game Awards, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Xbox Series X and S turn three years old this week, so we discuss how the latest Xbox console generation is going, both on its own and in comparison to the first three years of other Xbox consoles. Plus: we try to make sense of the new Mass Effect 5 teaser we got for N7 Day this week, and then we discuss the imminent Grand Theft Auto 6 announcement and whether or not it's going to happen at Th...

The greatest Xbox podcast crossover ever happens now! IGN's Podcast Unlocked and Kinda Funny's Xcast have joined forces for an Xbox podcast tour-de-force. First we discuss the brilliance of Alan Wake 2 and the Max Payne 1+2 Remakes that Remedy is about to go into full production on before discussing Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski's recent comments about Gears needing a reboot. And then the...

We did the podcast live this week immediately following Xbox's Partner Preview livestream, and we spent the entire episode being pleasantly surprised by both the things Microsoft promised would be there (like Alan Wake 2, Ark: Survival Ascended, and Dungeons of Hinterberg), and the things that were surprises (like Metal Gear solid Delta, Still Wakes the Deep, and The Finals). Plus, we give some co...

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is finally done, and so we can finally stop talking about it! Or, well, at least we can stop talking about the annoying will-they-or-won't-they regulatory side of it. Now it's time to talk about the games! We discuss Activision-Blizzard games in the back catalog that we'd like to see lightly refreshed for the Xbox Series X|S (similar to the recent Qua...

Some Forza Motorsport vs. Gran Turismo 7 talk kicks off the show before we talk about Halo Infinite's new Season 5 content, discuss how Xbox Game Pass looks set to level up in 2024 with the addition of Activision-Blizzard games, lament the recent layoffs at Telltale, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First we give our initial impressions of Forza Motorsport and Assassin's Creed Mirage now that the review embargoes on them have lifted, and then we spend the bulk of the episode giving our top-5 rankings of Xbox's internal game studios (including Bethesda/Zenimax) while also contemplating Phil Spencer's Xbox legacy to date as PlayStation boss Jim Ryan finalizes his ahead of his retirement. Learn...

We open this week's busy episode of Unlocked by discussing two big new games we just played a bunch of: Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty and Alan Wake 2. After that we discuss Phil Spencer's wish to bring back MechAssault and have a fantasy draft for which Xbox developer should make it -- along with our own picks (complete with preferred developers) for other dormant Xbox franchises we'd like to see...

In one of our longest Podcast Unlocked episodes ever, we recap, discuss, and analyze every piece of Microsoft's huge FTC case documents leak that revealed the Xbox Series X slim refresh (and its lack of any disc drive), plans for future Bethesda/Zenimax games (many of which are still unannounced), their top-level plans for their next-generation console due out in Holiday 2028, and more! Learn more...

After a quick update on how our Starfield adventures are going, we discuss Phil Spencer and the Xbox leadership team’s big decision to bend the Series X/S parity rules to get Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox, Destin’s big interview with Phil Spencer — including whether or not Microsoft will produce a mid-gen refresh for the Series X — the sad closure of Volition, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro & Forza Motorspo...

After a quick update on how our Starfield adventures are going, we discuss Phil Spencer and the Xbox leadership team’s big decision to bend the Series X/S parity rules to get Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox, Destin’s big interview with Phil Spencer — including whether or not Microsoft will produce a mid-gen refresh for the Series X — the sad closure of Volition, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro & Replaced Delay...

This is the episode you've been waiting for: Starfield. We brought in our Starfield reviewer, Dan Stapleton, to have a spoiler-free discussion about what we think of the most anticipated Xbox game of the year. We talk about what we like, what we don't, and how it ranks alongside Fallout and The Elder Scrolls.   00:00:00 - Intro & Starfield Review Discussion 01:02:00 - IGN Icons 01:05:51 - Even Mor...

Gamescom is underway, and this week's episode is dedicated to a recap and analysis of everything from the Opening Night Live showcase -- from the beauty of Alan Wake 2, Black Myth: Wukong, and Lords of the Fallen to our disgust at the knucklehead stage-crashers who are going to ruin access these events for fans. Plus: We can tell you that we're playing Starfield, and though we can't share any opin...

We're diving into the mystery surrounding STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl's potential release date. Is the December 1 date listed on Plaion's website for real? We've got the juicy details on what this highly anticipated game might bring, from survival mechanics to a dynamic day-night cycle. Xbox is taking a stand against bad behavior with a fresh strike-based program. Learn all about the new enforce...

Get ready to dive into some exciting EVO news on this episode. We've got a crazy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover heading to Street Fighter 6, and there's a new character teaser for Street Fighter 6 that's brewing some serious curiosity. But that's not all, Mortal Kombat 1 is back with a bang, introducing Reptile, Ashrah, and Havik as fresh fighters. Red Dead Redemption has also been announc...

00:00:00 - Intro & Baldur’s Gate 3 00:06:25 - Remnant 2 Sells More Than One Million Units 00:23:25 - Our IGN Icons Picks! & FFXVI Coming to Xbox 00:35:09 - Elite Series 2 Replacement Parts Announced 00:40:02 - Games Joining and Leaving Xbox Game Pass & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices