Unlocked

The Unlocked crew discusses the massive news of Microsoft buying ZeniMax Media (Bethesda Softworks, id Software, Arkane, and more!) the day before Xbox Series X and Series S consoles pre-orders go live plus the growth of Game Pass.

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We discuss the rumors of Microsoft trying to buy Bungie again (which Bungie quickly and sternly refuted), the leaked Xbox Series S presentation that never got to air, the backwards compatibility capabilities of the Xbox Series S, our disappointment about the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake, and more!

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Gamertag Radio's Parris Lilly rejoins Unlocked to talk through the long-awaited Xbox Series S reveal, price, and release date – plus the alleged price for the Series X as well. Plus: The Witcher 3 returns for Series X, September's Games With Gold and Game Pass additions, and more!

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MC Fixer from the My Xbox and Me podcast joins us to discuss another big week of Xbox news, from longtime Bungie veteran Joseph Staten being brought in to help lead Halo Infinite's campaign to Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War's confusing generational price and upgrade differences to Microsoft's uphill battle in providing reasons to buying the Xbox Series X this holiday and more!

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Special guest "Lord Cognito" from the Iron Lords Podcast joins us to discuss our reactions to the DC FanDome reveals of Gotham Knights and Rocksteady's Suicide Squad. Plus: our Battletoads impressions, Black Myth: Wukong's amazing debut, 343's track record with Halo, and more!

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Microsoft's first 10/10-rated game from IGN in quite some time comes from the most unexpected place: Microsoft Flight Simulator! Reviewer Seth Macy joins us to discuss the next-gen brilliance of the first-party masterpiece. Plus: taking stock of Xbox Game Studios' impressive 2020 output, the teaser campaign for the Batman Court of Owls game, Gotham Knights, has us exhausted and annoyed, and more!

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Major Xbox news this week! Halo Infinite gets delayed, so what does it mean for the franchise and for the Xbox Series X launch? Plus: Apple blocks Microsoft on Project xCloud, the Xbox Series S gets confirmed via the strangest of leaks, Rocksteady finally announces their next game, and more!

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Project xCloud takes the next big step towards becoming a major part of the Xbox ecosystem, and we discuss how it's kind of like the "Xboy" handheld Xbox that we never got. Plus: the ramifications of Halo Infinite's multiplayer being free-to-play, how Xbox fans feel about PlayStation's exclusive Spider-Man deal in Marvel's Avengers, and more!

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Now that we've had time to sit with big Xbox Games Showcase, we reflect back on the big event and discuss how we thought Microsoft did and whether or not Microsoft has a "Halo problem" after how the Halo Infinite campaign demo was received. Plus: a mysterious white Xbox Series X controller appears, Call of Duty 2020's title seemingly leaks via Doritos (yes, seriously), and more!

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IGN's Xbox crew (with special guest Parris Lilly) recaps and analyzes Microsoft's long-awaited Xbox Games Showcase. We talk Halo Infinite, Fable, and much, much more!

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Our Xbox crew reacts to the Ubisoft Forward event, including the Far Cry 6 reveal, Watch Dogs Legion and Assassin's Creed Valhalla contributing to an open-world bonanza this Fall, and what Valhalla's release date might say about the Xbox Series X launch date. Plus: Phil Spencer rejects your "holding Series X games back" meme, small updates on a lot of the new Xbox studios, and more!

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Microsoft finally sets a date for their long-awaited Xbox Games Showcase, and we've got predictions for what we think we'll see. Plus: Microsoft is reportedly one of the companies interested in buying Warner Bros.'s game studios, and we discuss the potentially industry-shifting ramifications the move could have. And with NBA 2K21 set to increase its price to $70 for Xbox Series X, we debate the merits of paying more for video games.

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Lots to discuss in the world of Xbox this week, from the rumored timing of the Xbox Series S/Lockhart announcement (plus what else we think will happen when that does), Halo Infinite returns a familiar but long-dormant foe, Fable and Perfect Dark Twitter accounts registered to Microsoft email addresses raise suspicions, and much more!

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Special guest panelist and known Kinect superfan Cicero Holmes joins the show this week to discuss a busy stretch of Xbox news. We react to EA's not-very-next-gen-y EA Play press conference last week, what the Cyberpunk 2077 delay means for Xbox Series X's launch, Rocksteady's rumored Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League game, and more! Check out Cicero's Star Trek podcast at @DSCDebrief.

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Xbox Series X Director of Program Management Jason Ronald from Microsoft stops by halfway through the show to talk about the Series X's Smart Delivery feature. Plus: Xbox gamer and D&D podcaster Shareef Jackson joins us as a guest panelist to discuss the week's Xbox news, including the newly announced Star Wars: Squadrons, the rumor that Warner Bros. might be selling off its video game studios (including Rocksteady and NetherRealm), and more! Check out Shareef's D&D podcast at RivalsOfWaterDeep.com.

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Parris Lilly from Gamertag Radio joins Ryan to discuss a busy week of Xbox news! Evidence of the Xbox Lockhart (aka Xbox Series S) surfaces, Bungie lays out the future of Destiny while job postings hint at its next game, Cyberpunk 2077's special-edition Xbox One X console has an extra surprise...if you can find one, Activision and EA get serious about cleaning up their online communities, Parris dreams of a Mass Effect Trilogy remake in Unreal Engine 5, and much more!

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Spawn on Me host Kahlief Adams guest-hosts this week with Ryan, Miranda, and Destin as the Xbox crew discusses Xbox's and Sony's differing approaches to compatibility, EA's newly renewed exclusivity agreement with the NFL for Madden, the future of the now-canceled BlizzCon, and more!

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First-party Xbox studio inXile confirms they'll be using Unreal Engine 5 for their next-gen RPG. We dissect what this means for that game and other Xbox Series X games from other newly acquired Xbox game studios. Plus: Take-Two has a lot of next-gen games in the pipeline, this year's Call of Duty will revisit a familiar timeline, this month's Xbox Games With Gold, and more!

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IGN's Xbox team discusses Phil Spencer's recent comments about how COVID-19 might affect early 2021 games, the dates and details for Gamescom's all-digital event later this summer, the three classic games that Double Fine is bringing to Xbox this year, and more!

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Our Xbox crew debates whether or not 30fps is disappointing for Xbox Series X games in light of the Assassin's Creed Valhalla framerate revelation. Plus: more reactions to last week's Xbox event, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater returns, another publisher announces a summer livestream, and more!

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Xbox's first big salvo of next-gen games has been fired, and we've got reactions and analysis to all of the big third-party game reveals and showcases – from the good to the bad to the stomach-churning.

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Our Xbox crew opens the show by talking about Gears Tactics, the new XCOM-style tactical strategy game from Xbox Game Studios that Xbox fans shouldn't sleep on. Plus: we discuss Xbox's impressive first-party efforts so far in 2020, what the rest of the year looks like, drama around the WWE 2K franchise, and more!

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On this week's Xbox podcast, the next Grand Theft Auto is in development, and we discuss the report that it may be a more "moderately sized" offering that's updated continuously. Plus: Microsoft may have an opportunity to gain some market share at the start of the generation after a Bloomberg report reveals Sony's scaled-back PS5 production plans, Crysis is the latest member of the remaster club, and more!

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Our Xbox team deep-dives on CD Projekt Red's big post-release DLC expansion plans for Cyberpunk 2077, the value of the ESRB's new loot box descriptor, a rumor about Mafia 2 and 3 remasters and the cyclical nature of remasters, and more!

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Our Xbox crew analyzes what Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said during our interview with him on last week's episode. We think he said a lot in his clever, indirect way... Plus: an Inside Xbox news recap, rumors about what Resident Evil 8 will be like, and at the very end you'll hear our live as-it-happened reactions to the PS5's DualSense controller reveal.

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Head of Xbox Phil Spencer makes his long-awaited return to Unlocked for an exclusive one-hour interview. We talk about Xbox Series X price, whether coronavirus could delay the console, the first-party launch lineup, why there's no optical out port on Series X, xCloud, cross-play, the fates of Sunset Overdrive, Ryse and Scalebound, which Microsoft IP Phil would like to see brought back, and more!

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Our Xbox crew discusses the recently revealed Xbox Series X tech specs in more detail after some added context arrives in our inbox from a software developer. Plus: Bleeding Edge is another new first-party release this week, we try to decode Konami's denial of the Silent Hill reboot rumor, and more!

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Microsoft has revealed the full tech specs for Xbox Series X and we are pumped. We discuss the ingredients of the next-gen Xbox that have us the most hyped for the new console, from Xbox Velocity Architecture to raytracing. P.S. Please bear with us on our first-ever remote-location episode!

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Our Xbox crew celebrates the release of the fantastic Ori and the Will of the Wisps by discussing our final review impressions. Plus: developers talk to IGN about exactly what the Xbox Series X will mean for games, Call of Duty finally gets a standalone, free-to-play battle royale game, and more!

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Two of our crew have played the first couple hours of Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and they have nothing but good news to report. Plus: GDC's cancellation, Xbox Series X's Quick Resume feature is even better than we thought, and more!

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We are EXCITED about the new Xbox Series X technical details, including the whopping 12 teraflops of computing power that the next-gen Xbox is packing. Plus: EA canceled another Star Wars project, March's Games With Gold have been announced, and more!

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This week Parris joins us to discuss the latest interview with Phil Spencer about E3 2020, his plans for the Xbox Series X, and where he sees Microsoft in the competition against Sony. In addition to talking about Xbox strategy for 2020 and Beyond, we discuss the GamerTag radio interview and our perception of Xbox's placement in the upcoming console face-off.

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Grand Theft Auto, Anthem, and Gears of War will be changing moving forward thanks to key staffing changes at the top for two of those and a major gameplay overhaul for the other. Plus: Activision is looking to its past for its 2020 product lineup, Cliff Bleszinski had an intriguing Aliens game that almost got made, and more!

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It may still be winter but Xbox Series X talk is heating up! We discuss the "old thing" Microsoft's new studio, The Initiative, might be working on. Plus: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a hit, EA talks up the Xbox Series X, the mystery port on the back of the Series X might not be for diagnostics, and more!

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We finally get a look at the back of the Xbox Series X - for real, this time - and discuss why someone might be in biiiiiiig trouble. Plus: a new rumor about a sort-of remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has us hyped - but also wondering who would be given the assignment.

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Ryan played three hours of Doom Eternal and gushes about it. Plus: a Splinter Cell veteran returns to Ubisoft - so what does it mean for the future of the franchise? Also, Dying Light 2 joins Delay-apalooza 2020, and more!

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We're only on our second episode of the year and it's already time to talk about E3! This week the Unlocked crew discusses Sony's absence from E3 2020, Microsoft's exclusives launch plan, game delays, and more.

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We kick off 2020 - The Year of Xbox, in our opinions - by taking a look at a new report that gives us an idea of just how powerful the Xbox Series X will be. Plus: Microsoft stands poised to go on the offensive for the first time in years, Respawn studio head Vince Zampella is given more power at EA, and more. Happy New Year!

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On our final episode of the year and of the decade we look back on our favorite Xbox games of the decade, including both first-party exclusives and memorable third-party offerings. Plus: a recap of the rest of the non-Xbox Series X elements of last week's Game Awards and more! Happy Holidays and New Year! See you in January!

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Emergency Unlocked episode! We simply HAVE to talk about Microsoft's big announcement at The Game Awards, in which they announced both the name of Project Scarlett and what it looks like. It's the Xbox Series X, and they also showed Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 running in-engine on the new console! Dig in for 72 minutes of our reactions and analysis.

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Huge week of Xbox news! Project Scarlett's lower-cost option, Lockhart, is back in play. We discuss what it means for Xbox's next-gen efforts. Plus: the Xbox finally gets a proper Major League Baseball game, and it's...Sony's?! Also: 2K opens a new studio to make a new BioShock game, IGN's Game of the Year winner Control miiiiiight be coming to Xbox Game Pass, Resident Evil 3 Remake is official, and more!

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Lots of Scarlett next-gen talk this week! Hear why Cyberpunk 2077 won't be coming to Scarlett as soon as we think - and neither will VR. Plus: leaked concept art gives us our first glimpse of Playground's next-gen Fable reboot (allegedly...), Resident Evil 3 might be getting remade, Saints Row will return, and more!

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On this blazin' episode of our Xbox show, we look back at Xbox's past this week as the original Xbox turns 18, sharing our favorite (not best, although they're often one and the same!) games from Microsoft's first console. And then we look ahead into the future, recapping X019's Inside Xbox livestream and discussing everything we liked and everything we didn't that Microsoft is cooking up now.

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Microsoft's big X019 fan event in London is imminent and we've got lots of details, including which TWO DOZEN games are playable there. Plus: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is curiously omitted from EA's EA Access service, we unbox this year's absolutely glorious fan-made Unlock Block Trivia Challenge trophy, and more!

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Lots of huge Xbox news to discuss this week, from Ubisoft games that are now coming to Xbox Scarlett (Watch Dogs Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine, and Gods & Monsters) to Scarlett games we'll have to wait a bit longer for (Battlefield 6, Battlefront 3). Plus: our hands-on impressions of Diablo 4 (!!) and Overwatch 2, and more!

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Chad Michael Collins joins us in the second half of the show this week for an interview about acting in one of the biggest games of the year. That interview starts at 42:04 if you'd like to skip straight to it. In the first half of the show, we give our Modern Warfare campaign and multiplayer impressions, detail a fantastic new program from Microsoft that might help ease the sting out of Scarlett's next-gen launch price tag, discuss Fallout 76's new $100 per year service option, and more!

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#ad #TacoBellPartner First we show off Taco Bell's new Eclipse Xbox One X giveaway bundle (with the new Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller!), and then we discuss Obsidian's new RPG The Outer Worlds with reviewer Dan Stapleton. Plus: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order impressions & more!

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We're joined by two developers from The Outer Worlds, the new first-person RPG from new Xbox first-party studio Obsidian Entertainment: co-director Leonard Boyarsky and narrative designer Nittai Poddar. It launches on October 25 (including straight into Xbox Game Pass!). We discuss the origins of the project with respect to Boyarsky's Fallout background, crazy things that have happened during playtesting, the importance of The Outer Worlds' deep character creator, and more!

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New PlayStation 5 details emerge – particularly about the controller – so we discuss what it might mean for the Scarlett's gamepad. Plus: Brandin finished reviewing Ghost Recon Breakpoint and talks at length about his likes and dislikes, Ryan gives his impressions of the Oxenfree developer's new game Afterparty, and more!

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Microsoft Flight Simulator. Yes, MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR! We discuss why it probably belongs on your radar. Plus: Bungie's future after Destiny, Ghost Recon Breakpoint's launch, and Gearbox's strange feud with voice actor Troy Baker.

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