Beyond

In a very special IGN Live edition of Beyond, we're deciding which video game character from a non-Sony franchise deserves to be made an honorary PlayStation mascot. Some of the most beloved game characters ever debuted (or found success) on Sony hardware, from Lara Croft and Cloud Stryfe to Leon S. Kennedy and Solid Snake to Pyramid Head and Rayman. And, decades later, many of their respective game franchises are more popular than ever thanks to new installments like Resident Evil Requiem, Tomb Raider: The Legacy of Atlantis, Silent Hill Townfall, Rayman Legends Retold, and the long awaited third part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. So, we're pulling names out of hat, assembling a bracket, and bickering like schoolchildren about who deserves to be an honorary PlayStation character, even if they're just as popular on PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join the official IGN and Podcast Beyond discord! - https://discord.gg/mx62v5pgq GTA 6’s third trailer has not yet dropped as of this recording, which makes the wait until the game’s eventual release in November seem further away than ever. But what happens if it gets delayed, again? Well, luckily there are a ton of awesome new games coming out before then like Wolverine, Blood of Dawnwalker and Phantom Blade Zero later this fall, plus LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight very soon. We talk about some of these games, plus other activities you can do to cope on the off chance that Grand Theft Auto 6 doesn’t drop when we’re expecting it. In other news, we have some questions from our newly minted Discord, asking what we think about such relevant hot-button topics as Saros sales, and its likelihood of getting a PC release, 007 First Light, game studio closures that made us sad, Japan Studio franchises we’d like brought back, plus the video games that need to be reinvented with Muppets. Look, this episode we’re a little loopier than usual, please bear with us. And also: go join the discord so we can do more fun mailbag episodes like this. Beyond! 00:00 - Intro 02:09 - If GTA 6 is Delayed (Again) Here Are Some Backup Plans 26:57 - YOUR Discord Questions! This weeks show was hosted by Max Scoville, Brian Altano, and was produced by Nick Maillet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After months of rumors, Horizon Hunters Gathering has finally been revealed: a cooperative multiplayer game set in the same universe as Aloy’s adventures, but not to be confused with the free-to-play Horizon Steel Frontiers. Hunters Gathering has a bold, cartoony art style that breaks away from the usual realism of the non-LEGO games, but we can’t help but feel like between these games, plus Zero Dawn, Forbidden West, and Call of the Mountain, Sony’s really putting a lot of focus on this particular series, despite having a deep bench of long-dormant properties. In other news, there’s a State of Play happening tomorrow at 2PM Pacific, and we’ll have a lot more to discuss after that, but in the meantime, Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties seemed like it should’ve been a home run, but it has the Like a Dragon fanbase very angry for a long list of reasons. Beyond! 00:00 - Intro 00:41 - The Next Sony State of Play 02:58 - WHO is headed to Marvels Wolverine? 04:38 - Horizon Hunters Gathering Gives a Realistic Open-World Game a Cartoony Multiplayer Spin 11:23 - Is Aloy the new Sony Mascot? 26:21 - New Poll! 27:14 - Planet Pokemon 28:13 - Ep 932 Poll Results 34:19 - We dont need a PS6 yet 36:05 - Whats going on with Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties? 49:24 - Beyond Update! This weeks show is hosted by Max Scoville, Brian Altano, and is produced by Nick Maillet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, Xbox held a Developer Direct showing off four-awesome looking games that are also coming to PlayStation: Forza Horizon 6, Fable, Kiln and Beast of Reincarnation. Considering Forza Horizon 5 was one of the best-selling PS5 games of 2025, it's safe to assume that we aren’t the only ones excited about the next open-world arcade racer, and we’re just as excited that this new cross-platform approach means we can talk about it on this show! In other news, Highguard’s weird reveal at The Game Awards and somehow even weirder launch have us reflecting on just how much the live-service game landscape has changed, and how games that launch to a mediocre or negative reception often turn themselves around, which makes them something of a moving target for criticism. Beyond! 00:00 - Intro 02:19 - PlayStation's Top Selling Games of 2025 13:40 - Forza Horizon 6 Is Our Most Anticipated Xbox Game of 2026 Coming to PS5 28:57 - Every Other Xbox Game Headed to PlayStation This Year 38:35 - Is Highguard Another Concord or The Next Apex Legends? 56:34 - Cory In The House This weeks show is hosted by Max Scoville and Brian Altano, and is produced by Nick Maillet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, remember when consumer electronics giant Sony used to bring consumer electronics electronics to the annual Consumer Electronics Show? Well, this year, Sony’s showing was basically just Sony Honda Mobility’s upcoming EV, the Afeela. Which is technically an electronic thing you can consume, and also something you can use to play video games, as long as you’ve got a PS5 plugged in at home… but it’s a bit of a let down compared to previous years. On the bright (literally) side, some cool new PS5 plates and controllers are coming in very loud colors, including one particular shade usually reserved for Xbox gear. There are rumors that CD Projekt Red has plans for a third expansion to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt sometime in the near future to help pave the way for The Witcher IV, which makes sense when you consider how many copies the last game has sold since 2015. We mutter softly to ourselves about some other games that could learn a thing or two from this hypothetical approach, like Bethesda’s big winners, Skyrim and Fallout 4, plus Persona 5 and maybe Star Wars Battlefront 2. Old games deserve love too, could this hold us over when the new ones take so long to make? In the meantime, we always have exciting crossovers between our favorite video games and popular consumer brands, like Ghost of Yotei and Sapporo beer, or Borderlands 4-branded Voodoo Ranger IPAs. The Last of Us mushroom coffee might be a little too on the nose, and Death Stranding 2 hot sauce might not be for the faint of heart, but it’s still a nice diversion from boring food and drink products that don’t have pictures of video games on them. Beyond! 00:00 - Intro 02:36 - Sony's New Car 09:35 - PlayStation...but Green? 22:29 - A New Witcher 3 Expansion? 30:08 - What Other Games Need An Update? 42:34 - Gaming Food Collabs and Product Placements This weeks show is hosted by Max Scoville and Brian Altano and was produced by Nick Maillet #PlayStation #Witcher3DLC #Witcher4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we’re taking a look back at PlayStation’s 2025, from game releases to hardware announcements, corporate reorgs to global politics. The PS5 has had a wonderful year, breaking the 80 million sales mark, but it also saw price hikes at a time in the console life cycle when hardware usually gets cheaper. With this in mind, we’re in no hurry for a PlayStation 6, but Sony is definitely working on something behind the scenes. Beyond! 00:00 - Intro 02:38 - PlayStation’s 2025 Year in Review 05:49 - Do you Miss Your PS4? 27:49 - Brian is a BIG TIME MLB The Show fan 33:58 - PlayStation’s 2025 Year in Review Continued 34:29 - New PlayStation Hardware 38:40 - Did PlayStation Do a Good Job In 2025? 42:23 - PlayStation needs to get weird again 44:01 - Should PlayStation Make a New Handheld? This weeks show is Hosted by Max Scoville, Brian Altano, Jada Griffin, Nick Maillet, and is produced by Nick Maillet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Game Awards are the last big gaming event of 2025, and they always come with a fair share of surprises and announcements, so why not have some fun with it? We’ve prepared an extremely unofficial Beyond edition of legally-distinct The Game Awards Bingo. What will we see this year? Muppets? (Yes) Hideo Kojima? Flute Guy? More importantly, will be get an big game reveals or shadow drops like the long-rumored Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Remake, which according to PEGI listings, is called Black Flag Resynced. Resident Evil fans are dying for a glimpse of Leon Kennedy in Requiem, which has been all but confirmed. Last year we got a look at Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Project Robot, Okami 2, and more, so hopefully this year doesn’t disappoint. Plus, Nick had a chance to chat with Sam Eng, the developer of Devolver’s latest indie skateboarding game Skate Story. This weeks show is Max Scoville and Nick Maillet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices