About this episode

The episode discusses overlooked games from Summer Game Fest 2026 and Xbox's recent challenges in the gaming industry.

On episode 585 of the Spawn On Me podcast, Kahlief Adams is joined by content creator Cam Hawkins for a full post-Summer Game Fest 2026 debrief — the games that flew under the radar, and a candid conversation about where the industry is heading. We dig into the overlooked games of the show — Erosion (an open-world roguelike with a wild mechanic where dyingages your kidnapped daughter), Valor Mortis (a first-person Souls-like from the Ghostrunner devs), Out of Words (a gorgeous stop-motion co-op game), and ProbablyMonsters' Crimson Moon and Nokomi: Nazi Hunter — then get into Xbox's rough week (layoffs, studio closures, the new leadership direction), whether Xbox should leave hardware, the industry's risk-aversion and the "death of the middle,' and the state of games journalism. Plus: the Knicks are champions.

People in this episode

Host: Kahlief Adams

Guest: Cam Hawkins

Topics covered

• post-Summer Game Fest 2026
• overlooked games
• Xbox's challenges
• industry direction
• games journalism

Keywords

• Xbox
• Summer Game Fest
• Erosion
• Valor Mortis
• games journalism
• gaming industry
• Cam Hawkins

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Xbox, Ghostrunner, Knicks

Books & works: Erosion, Valor Mortis, Out of Words, Crimson Moon, Nokomi: Nazi Hunter

More episodes of Spawn On Me with Kahlief Adams: A Video Game Podcast

• The Xbox Reset, PS Disc Death & Why Gaming Is At A Crossroads · July 20, 2026 · 36 min
• Is Netflix Unhinged the Future of Storytelling? We Discuss · June 30, 2026 · 35 min
• Saw: Genesis Proves There's a Better Way to Do Multiplayer Killers | First Look · June 14, 2026 · 4 min
• Turok Isn't What You Expect—And That's the Point | Hands-On · June 14, 2026 · 4 min

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