Game Buoy

Ahoy, mateys, and welcome to the GAMEBUOY.ORG video game podcast – your port of call for gaming news and views that maybe aren’t on your radar, but most definitely should be! On this episode, recorded Sunday, June 21, 2026, Captain Spike and First Mate Slaggy McWaggy discuss the big showcases from Summer Game Fest! This episode is the A-side of a two part episode. The B-side, Game Buoy Podcast Episode 194B – Summer Game Fest Side B, will be a discussion on the other showcases from Summer Game Fest. HOT TOPIC IS THE WAY THAT WE RHYME Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and executive vice president Matt Booty publish staff memo ‘Next 100 Days: Xbox Reset’ Xbox CEO Warns About Next-Gen Console Gaming’s Cost Crisis: ‘We Will Start To See Radically Different Business Models’ Xbox says hardware pricing boom represents “great” opportunity for games streaming Xbox Game Pass Lost ‘Millions Of Subscribers’ After 2025 Price Hike Niantic Spatial Denies Pokémon Go Data Is Being Shared With A Drone Company Fortnite Maker Confirms How It Uses Generative AI to Help Create Concept Art and Designs for New Skins Hours after announcing a Vampire Survivors crossover with Fortnite, the roguelike’s lead is now “reviewing” the decision as Epic Games goes big on gen AI RELEASE UPDATES Pokemon Champions for iOS, Android launches June 17 EverQuest Legends launches July 28 Elden Ring Tarnished Edition launches August 28 My Hero Academia: All’s Justice coming to Switch 2 on September 3 in Japan, September 4 worldwide The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero and The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure for PS5, Switch 2 launch September 10 SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance coming to Switch 2 on September 24 Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival launches October 8 RETRO RELEASE UPDATES Console Archives MAY – Geki-Oh ShienRyu, Toujinmakyouden Hercules no Eikou, Master of Monsters: Disciples of Gaia Arcade Archives MAY – Ace Driver (a namco deluxe cabinet!), Tag Team Wrestling, Mr. Do! Arcade Archives 6-4-26 – Firework Thrower Kantaro’s 53 Stations of the Tokaido (NES, Sunsoft, 1986) Arcade Archives 6-4-26 – Cameltry (Arcade, Taito, 1990) Console Archives 6-11-26 – L’Empreor (NES, Koei, 1991) Arcade Archives 6-11-26 – Rack Em Up (Arcade, Konami, 1987) Console Archives 6-18-26 – Legend of Kage (NES, Taito, 1986/87) Arcade Archives 6-18-26 – Space Cyclone (Arcade, Taito, 1980) CULTURE CLUB Ubisoft Embargoes Journalists Reporting On Latest Round Of Layoffs News Super Mario Bros. Galaxy Film Becomes 1st 2026 Film to Earn US$1 Billion Worldwide San Francisco Giants Host Pokémon Worlds Night on August 27 – Interest – Anime News Network Vampire Survivors DLC ‘Legacy of the Bloodmoon’ announced alongside ‘Survivaton’ label – Gematsu Joint The Witcher 4 and CD Projekt Red CEO says fully AI-generated games are coming, but he has “some doubts whether this is really the path to follow” Gamers Sue Sony For Allegedly Breaking California Digital Purchase Law MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO Stage Tour ‘Developer Spotlight’ trailer, latest details Digimon Story: Time Stranger demo for Switch 2, Switch now available News Code Geass Franchise Gets New Smartphone Game This Year Demonschool coming to Switch 2 alongside paid DLC Fans Just Crashed The Destiny 2 Servers To Demand A Sequel Dispatch ‘HR Violations Update’ now available, addresses some censorship on Switch 2 and Switch Assassin’s Creed Shadows final update launches June 16, adds new story quest and end-game feature Despite playing a key role in Final Fantasy 7, JRPG icon Tetsuya Nomura says “Kingdom Hearts has become my life’s work” DISCUSSION TOPIC This week, Captain Spike and First Mate Slaggy McWaggy discuss the big showcases of Summer Game Fest – Sony State of Play, Summer Game Fest, Xbox Showcase, and Nintendo Direct! The Podcast Pirates discuss the highlights, honorable mentions, other notable points, and biggest disappointments for each showcase before giving each one a letter grade. They wrap up by discussing their overall impressions of this year’s Summer Game Fest and whether it was on par with some of the great E3s of the past. Sources cited: Every big announcement from PlayStation’s June State of Play Everything announced at Summer Game Fest 2026 [Gematsu] All Announcements At Xbox Games Showcase 2026 | ResetEra [Gematsu] All Announcements At Nintendo Direct: June 9, 2026 | ResetEra DOOM AND GLOOM Xbox reportedly planning more layoffs as CEO calls for “Xbox reset” The Head Of Xbox Game Studios Resigns Ahead Of Mass Layoffs Ninja Theory cancels Project Mara A New Report Claims Xbox Had Already Planned To Close Ninja Theory Despite Senua Announcement Studios in Microsoft’s Xbox Division Brace for Closures Bloomberg: Several Xbox studios in negotiations to avoid closure Sony removes mention of PC from PlayStation’s annual business report, but has plenty to say about AI Ubisoft closing studios in Winnipeg and Belgrade and cutting publishing roles worldwide, 380 jobs at risk Ubisoft’s San Francisco office impacted by current round of cuts SMASH HIT Vague AI Disclosures Aren’t Helping Anyone (Aftermath) WHAT’S UP Captain Spike has been playing Final Fantasy XIV, Mina the Hollower, Adventures of Eliot, and Street Fighter 6. First Mate Slaggy McWaggy has been playing Final Fantasy XIV, Xenoblade Chronicles, and the Star Fox demo. EXITLUDE SHOUT OUTS – “FRIENDS OF BUOY” Orange Lounge Radio IIDX, where every geek has a voice Aftermath, an independent, worker-owned website about video games, other media and internet culture Game Mechanics, where TTRPG designers “kick tires and run diagnostics on tabletop experiences” Walloping Websnappers! A Spider-Man Podcast, a dive into every Spider-Man cartoon ever made Neo Geo Go!, a show that takes on the Neo Geo library chronologically and quickly. The Bobby Blackwolf Show, a weekly internet radio show and podcast discussing the latest news in gaming as well as sometimes reminiscing about gaming’s history Video Game Realness, a dose of gaming chit chat among friends Nintendo Pow Block, a dive into the week that was in the world of Nintendo Super Phillip Central, a video game blog that is your source for video games with a heroic touch Standard Issue Computing, retro and modern computer games, hardware, software, and history Sasha’s Retrobytes, “bytes” of vintage gaming including magazine scans and photographs Defunct Games, your daily source for modern video game reviews, exciting trivia competitions and old school magazine analysis Thomas Game Docs, where each video covers “a different aspect of video game history” Craig, Slaggy McWaggy’s robot boyfriend a multi-track voice channel recording bot for Discord The post Game Buoy Podcast Episode 194A – Summer Game Fest Side A appeared first on GAME BUOY.