Eurogamer Podcasts

Happy Pride Week 2025. As part of our week-long series of articles looking at queer culture and representation in games, we sit down with writer and director Ashly Burch, who came out as queer in 2022. She's known for portraying characters such as Aloy in the Horizon series of games, Chloe Price in Life is Strange, Tiny Tina in Borderlands, Mel in The Last of Us Part 2, and many more. You might also have seen her in Apple TV series Mythic Quest, or performing with tabletop role-playing super-group Critical Role. In May, (during Mental Health Awareness Month, notably), Burch launched her new web series I'm Happy You're Here. As part of our chat, Dom Peppiatt talks to Burch about the intersection of queerness and mental health - and how that relates to gaming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the January 2025 Xbox Developer Direct, and its various games coming soon to Xbox... as well as PC, and nearly all on PlayStation 5 too. Microsoft's show featured the multiplatform Doom: The Dark Ages, Ninja Gaiden 4, the shadow-dropped Ninja Gaiden 2: Black and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, all of which proved the company's new mantra that everything is an Xbox. Only Compulsion Games' South of Midnight will be an Xbox console exclusive (at least for now). But does any of that matter, really - especially as on Xbox you can get all those games on Xbox Game Pass? And what were our thoughts about what was shown? Joining me this week are Ed Nightinale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss Microsoft's latest showing that promises a strong start from Xbox Game Studios to the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we round up the current deluge of leaks surrounding Nintendo's under-wraps Switch 2. Nintendo has now acknowledged the fact that dummy Switch 2 models are being publicly shown off by accessories manufacturers, and while these may not be based on access to the actual system, there's little doubt now that we've seen the gist. (Even Nintendo is saying the leaks are "not official" rather than simply inaccurate.) A full reveal now feels imminent. Also this week, we discuss the increasingly troubled Assassin's Creed publisher Ubisoft, which has just delayed the series' next entry for a second time while it issues cryptic messages suggesting the company is about to be taken private, sold, or something else just as monumental. What is going on - and how has Assassin's Creed Shadows become the most pivotal game in Ubisoft's history? Joining me this week to discuss are Ed Nightinale, Victoria Kennedy and Vikki Blake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this week, news broke that Sony was in talks to buy FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa. A day later, Kadokawa acknowledged that takeover interest. Should it be accepted, this would likely be the biggest video game acquisition since Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard and Sony itself bought Destiny-maker Bungie. Eurogamer's news team discusses the possible consequences of this acquisition on this week's Newscast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday Sony finally announced the long-rumoured PS5 Pro in a technical presentation hosted by Mark Cerny. The console is a more advanced version of the PlayStation 5 that boosts its graphics capabilities, and even improves backwards compatibility with some PS4 games. Yet the biggest catch of all is its £700 price tag. What's more, with this being a digital-only console, the £100 disc drive add-on is required for physical games, not to mention the additional £25 needed for the optional stand just to hold the console vertically. That's a total of £825 - without games, as well as the fancy TV necessary to really show off those extra pixels. The reaction so far has been overwhelmingly negative, predominantly thanks to that audacious price. Indeed, as Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell wrote, the PS5 Pro is "an argument against 'Pro' consoles altogether". It certainly seems more in-line with the expectations of PC players than console players. With all that in mind, then, what really are the benefits of this new console? Who is the target audience? And would we consider buying one ourselves? Joining me to discuss all things PS5 Pro in this week's Eurogamer Newscast are news reporter Victoria Kennedy, Digital Foundry's Tom Morgan, and managing editor Katharine Castle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How long have you been a Eurogamer reader for? Let me put that another way: how many different Eurogamer editors do you remember? The site has been around for a long time now - 25 years this week - so there have been a few different sets of hands at the tiller. I ask because, well, I've gathered those editors together again for a very special anniversary podcast, which you can listen to right now. With me on the podcast are Eurogamer's originating editor John Bye, better known to some as Gestalt, who edited the site from its foundation in 1999 through to 2002. Then we have Kristan Reed, who took over in 2002 and ran the site through to 2008, before passing the baton to Tom Bramwell who led through to 2014. Then Oli Welsh steered Eurogamer from 2014 to 2021, before Wesley Yin-Poole took over from 2021-2023. Unfortunately Martin Robinson and Tom Phillips - our more recent editors - were unable to join because they were at Gamescom when we recorded. We also have Ellie Gibson on the podcast, who was a hugely influential voice and personality on the site, and also briefly editor of it, in 2011. It's been years since I've seen and talked to some of these people - I worked alongside almost all of them - and in most cases, it's been years since they've talked to each other, too. Despite that, it isn't long before we all settle into a familiar rhythm as stories are told and memories shared, and many laughs are had. I've missed these people. If ever you've been curious about the roots of Eurogamer and how the site became what it did, or if you just wondered what the former editors are up to now - or maybe you just want to reminisce - then I've got the conversation for you. A huge thank you to all of my guests both for joining the podcast and for helping make Eurogamer what it is today. Many happy returns! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the downsides and upsides of the video game battle pass. In a week where PlayStation live-service hopeful Concord trumpeted the fact it won't sell you a battle pass as a marketing beat, and Apex Legends dialled back (some of) its battle pass changes following fan fury, we consider the options available to video game makers hoping to ensure their latest releases keep being played - and paid for - well after release. Would more people play Concord if it was a free-to-play title with a battle pass? Or is it better served by being a £40 launch? Not everyone can promise they'll never sell post-launch content, as Stardew Valley's creator did this week. But there's clearly a balance to be struck to ensure players don't feel fleeced, particularly when full-priced launches like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League are getting in on the act too. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the cancelled Xbox project Keystone: Microsoft's plans to launch a relatively cheap streaming console. Keystone popped up yesterday in an old patent which detailed the prospective hardware in fresh detail, though we have of course seen it in the wild before - on Xbox boss Phil Spencer's shelf. Spencer has addressed Keystone's cancellation, and blamed it being shelved (literally) on Microsoft not being able to make it a cheap enough proposition. But does the end of Keystone mean Microsoft is abandoning its cloud gaming plans entirely? No, of course not - and Xbox Cloud Gaming remains. And in the future, as internet speeds improve and streaming games becomes more common, could we see Keystone Version 2? Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we look back on the start of this year's June hype cycle, the period formerly known as E3, and now a potpourri of other events and announcement livestreams. PlayStation got the ball rolling last night with a look ahead at its rather meagre first-party plans for the remainder of 2024: a moderately buffed-up port of Until Dawn, online shooter Concord, and the charming Astro Bot. But, as our Ian wrote earlier, even the cute robot has got some people (VR fans) disgruntled. Still, as a flat-screen game, surely more people will now play it? And then there was Silent Hill Transmission or, this time around, basically just a longer look at the upcoming Silent Hill 2 and a chance for Konami to promote a load of tie-in tat. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Victoria Kennedy and Vikki Blake to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, following the announcement of a new Batman Arkham game for Meta Quest VR headsets, we talk about the future of superheroes in video games. At a time when superhero films feel at risk of real burnout, could similar happen in the video game space as well? And are we already seeing that, with repeated flops such as Marvel's Avengers, Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League? Even the brilliant Marvel's Midnight Sons failed to move the needle. But is there hope on the horizon? With the live-service bubble burst, the next crop of games include single-player blockbusters such as Amy Hennig's Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra plus a new Iron Man project from Star Wars: Squadrons studio EA Motive. And certainly, Sony's Spider-Man games are managing to do the numbers. Joining me to discuss this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the unannounced but widely-expected PlayStation 5 Pro, which looks set to launch later this year. With the PS5 Pro technical specs now out in the wild, there's been plenty of discussion around what these might mean for PlayStation games running on Sony's cutting-edge hardware. But even with improvements, are we tempted by what is likely to be a £600 upgrade? And how has it been four years since the regular PS5 launched already? And yet - we are now sitting at the likely mid-point of this console generation. For some, this is the best point to be thinking about console hardware, four years after the generation began and likely around four years from the "proper" next consoles arriving. And there will be those of course still yet to upgrade from PS4 at all. Is the Pro likely to be a tempting next step? Joining me this week to discuss are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we digest the last seven days of headlines from GDC 2024 - a conference that was unsurprisingly coloured by the past 18 months of industry turmoil. Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell was there, and joins us today to report back on what was being said on the ground. From this side of the pond, we saw the widespread anger at mass layoffs and the scepticism surrounding AI. But what was the mood at GDC 2024 really like - and how did game developers there actually feel? Chris fills us in on what he heard - and why, at a conference filled with dozens of developers presenting their best work, the mood wasn't exclusively doom and gloom. Take a listen to hear Chris' favourite moments from the show - plus renditions of a Mario power-up sound effect from him and Newscast regular Victoria Kennedy. Blup-blup-blup! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the shocking news that the next big Pokémon game is mysteriously set to arrive in 2025. Hey, that sounds a lot like the intro to last week's episode, when we were discussing Switch 2! Say, could Pokémon Legends: Z-A also be set to arrive on Nintendo's next console? It's been a long time since Nintendo didn't launch a major Pokémon game or expansion in a calendar year, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A's arrival in 2025 certainly looks suspicious - as does yesterday's reveal of the game without any look at actual gameplay. So, have we just been given another piece of the Switch 2 puzzle? What do we expect to see in the mysterious Z-A when it is fully revealed? And how many bad French-themed Pokémon ideas can we come up with? With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices