The VGBees Podcast

Lotus & John discuss the lawsuit against Mr. Beast, Xbox Game Pass carving out Call of Duty, Playdate's interesting AI policy, and much more!VGBees is 100% listener-supported. Join The Hive for bonus content, exclusive Discord access, and input on future content. https://vgbees.com/join00:00:00 Intro00:05:46 Mr. Beast sued by former employee00:13:11 Ludum Dare to "end" in 202800:18:10 Playdate to block generative AI asset games; allow generative AI coded games00:26:55 BAFTA Game Awards pulls trailer of "triggering" game00:35:48 Sanrio & Toei both form game subsidiaries00:39:39 Xbox carves out Call of Duty from Game Pass00:50:17 Nintendo sued over tariff refund hoarding00:54:49 Titanium Court is a feast for players looking for more substance in their roguelikes01:02:20 Lotus went to a bunch of live sports events01:14:05 Lotus went to Little Craft Fest 202601:25:00 Lotus & John answer your Hive Questions straight from the Discord02:04:05 OutroThanks for listening! Please leave us a review!We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/joinVGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.

Support us by joining The Hive!This week, Lotus repaired the toilets aboard the Artemis II on its way safely (!!!!) back to Earth. Niki and John were grounded, however, and came together to discuss the biggest games news of the week. Here's the run of show:Is Sid Meier the Ken Burns of video games?The Pacers Couple is fine and goodEpic is in deep with Disney and making an extraction shooterPete Hines has choice words for MicrosoftState of Decay 3 didn't really exist when they released the reveal trailerGlen Israel apocalyptically posts about Microsoft on LinkedInDoki Doki Literature Club removed from Google Play StoreProve You're Human is the next game from the 1000xResist devsYoshihisa Kishimoto passes away at the age of 64Marvel Rivals will apparently evolve from 6V6 PVPGunzilla, the new owner of Game Informer, accused not paying games salaries and contracts for monthsSlay the Spire 2 took a while to beat, but it's been a blastNiki's upcoming appearances on AstrogoblinWe answer your burning Hive Questions, like "what's a food that's better left out a while?"Thanks so much for listening! Leave us a review and we'll read it on the show!Note: we discuss three Microsoft stories this week. Microsoft continues to be a complicit player in the genocide happening in Gaza. Go to nogamesforgenocide.com to learn more about the BDS boycott and to make your own pledge.

Support us by joining The Hive!This week, Lotus, Niki, and John contemplate Nintendo's strange (but maybe deliberate) choice to launch Animal Crossing's Switch 2 edition, Pokemon Pokopia, and Tomodachi Life in one tidy two month stretch. Also:Epic lays off 1,000 due to Fortnite "underperforming"OpenAI cans Sora and Disney exits investmentAlex from Street Fighter 6 married his adopted sister!Nintendo to price digital and physical differentlyPlayStation raising all hardware pricesNintendo planning new Star Fox, Ocarina of Time remake, no 3D Mario in 2026Wanderstop dev Ivy Road is shutting downFuni Raccoon Game is Irish in surprising and delightful waysTomodachi Life's demo reminds us why the Wii era was so successfulMarathon might make it????BLΛƆKPIИK has a new EP out!We answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely DiscordThanks so much for listening! Leave us a review and we'll read it on the show!

Support us by joining The Hive!This week, Niki, Lotus, and John played some great games and took a full week off from games news because there just wasn't anything to talk about! What's that? [holds earpiece] I'm being told there was a lot of news this week. Okay. Well. Here's what they talked about, I guess!Sony testing dynamic pricing everywhere but JapanEA conducting layoffs at Battlefield 6 devsGDC will return to San Francisco despite everythingResident Evil 4 director Shinji Mikami has a new studioSAG-AFTRA issues "do not work" order for Mega Man: Dual OverridePEGI ratings getting overhaul targeting loot boxes and dark patternsJeff Kaplan left Blizzard after CFO gave him a nightmarish ultimatumV-Bucks receive a significant price hikeSlay the Spire 2 is more of the same, yes, but it's also better than the first oneLost and Found Co. is impossibly cute and a lot of funPokémon Pokopia continues to delight and mechanically excelMarathon is the pleasant surprise of the yearYour Hive Questions have us wondering what we'd teach DittoThanks again for listening and please leave us a review and tell your friends about us!

On this week's show, the crew deals with several major post-scripts from last week's jam-packed news discussion block. Fortunately, Lotus, Niki, and John are joined by certified GOAT Michael Higham to unpack it all.Michael beat Resident Evil Requiem and John played it on Switch 2The global storage shortage gets very real with Seagate and Western Digital allocating stock of hard drives through 2026Valve is revisiting the timeline of their new hardware suiteSteam Deck OLED stock is out intermittently in major regionsSony and Nintendo both evaluating delays and price hikes for hardwareTiMi's Montreal studio closingTurns out we were right about pretty much everything we discussed regarding Tencent and Highguard last weekMicrosoft Japan under investigation for monopolistic practicesDiscord delaying age verification amid backlashskate developer laying off unknown number of staffNew York Attorney General suing Valve over loot boxesUK Advertising Committee issues enforcement over loot boxesEurogamer hit with layoffsBlueprint pitched a Bloodborne remake before its closurePokemon Winds & Waves revealed for 2027 releaseMichael and Niki played MarathonNiki and John played Vampire CrawlersNiki played Titanium CourtMichael played CicadamataThe crew answers your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely DiscordThanks for listening! Join The Hive by going to vgbees.com/join today!

SUPPORT US BY JOINING THE HIVEFolks, this week was VERY jam-packed with discussion-worthy games news and that was BEFORE we even welcomed Game Informer's Charles Harte to the show. Together, Lotus, Niki, John, and Charles discussed:Mewgenics' blend of deep, enjoyable tactical combat and off-putting breeding mechanicsThe, let's call them rancid, vibes of Mewgenics' central thesisMewgenics' commitment to not understanding a punchlineMewgenics' bewildering cameo listSony's State of Play was very busy, as well, including:A Return to PS2 Era of sortsKena: Scars of KosmoraA new Dead or Alive game in a very different fighting game landscapeIs Control Resonant what we want? Does it matter? Are they even showing us much?Star Wars Galactic Racer sure does look like a Burnout game (complimentary)Marathon is actively lying about what it is, but maybe that's smart????Metal Gear Solid 4 is breaking PS3 containmentGod of War: Sons of Sparta looks kinda bad, but it's out nowAnd wow, the hits don't stop there:Discord's age verification is going to get messyDiscord's Teen Council sounds like a waking nightmare2XKO lays off significant staff because the game failed to hit its audienceUbisoft employees in Europe begin three-day strike while the company explores "voluntary termination" option for 200 positions in FranceHighguard team lays off significant staff just weeks after launchWe played/watched:MewgenicsRelootedTears of the KingdomPelotonIron Lung (the film)We also answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS straight from our lovely Discord and update you on big happenings at Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati.

With Lotus on the International Space Station this week, John and Niki wasted no time discussing these completely relevant topics:MoisturizerHaircarePelotonTchoukballOkay but they did get down to the most important games news of the week, including:The Highguard team quit their shadowdrop plans to take a slot at The Game AwardsCould Geoff not fill the last slot of the evening?What does it mean for next year's pricing for trailer space?Why Highguard's reworked launch strategy might not pay offWhy the Highguard preview event could've worked in their favor with a different strategyDr Disrespect lied about attending the Highguard preview eventVampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 missed expectations as Paradox is down year over year in operating profitJeffrey Epstein was banned from Xbox Live in 2013Peloton lays off 11% of its staff amid AI failuresShould we kill the CEOs in our heads?Is there literally any benefit from creating Nintendo knockoffs in Google Genie and writing about it?We played:HighguardThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomMARVEL Cosmic InvasionWe also answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord, including:Which burner on your stove is the best burner?What's your next tattoo?Is an MBA worth it?If you couldn't talk about video games, what would the show be about?

This week, Lotus, Niki, and John set out to dissect the price sensitivity opus laid out by Peak's devs in an interview with Stephen Totilo. Is eight bucks really five bucks? This and much more, including:AGDQ's haul and interesting futureHytale's long path to Early AccessMeta's VR investment goes toe upSteam Community Awards face major changesSpry Fox spinning out of NetflixInverse & The Verge see games-related layoffsSteam rewrites their generative AI disclosure rulesWe played:Animal Crossing New HorizonsAngeline EraType HelpAlso, your burning HIVE QUESTIONS are answered from our lovely Discord.

This week, John, Niki, and Lotus stare down the barrel of a very slow gaming news week, so they tackle some additional stuff, too, including:Twitter's Gen AI CSAM and sexual violence catastropheMicrosoft's CEO begging us to stop calling Gen AI "slop"GOG cofounder buys GOG from CD PROJEKT (which he also cofounded)GPUs are going to get even more expensiveSplitgate sequel is not going very wellWe played:Formless Star, the follow-up to sublime FrankenFinal Fantasy IX, perhaps the best of the entire franchiseWe also answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS straight from our lovely Discord.

This week, Niki treats John and Lotus to the first ever VGBees Podcast Edition of Scam Text Theatre! After this momentous occasion, the crew turns its sights to the biggest news of the week, including:Larian's CEO decides to drag his company into a gen AI quagmirePeople Make Games boycott Xbox (and transforms John's thinking in the process)League of Legends is getting a massive reworkNaughty Dog is already crunching on Intergalactic: The Heretic ProphetJK Rowling likely to pocket a ton of royalty dollars on the Harry Potter x Fortnite collabPhysical games and hardware had its worst month in basically foreverand more!We played:Pokemon Legends: Z-AQ-UpPOCODeadlockAlso, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our wonderful Discord.

This week, John and Lotus celebrate the return of Niki to the show by immediately yelling at them for saying no one knows who Ron Gilbert is. Also!Netflix is buying Warner Bros. for $82.7b, including WB's gamesRon Gilbert's Death by Scrolling had big trouble finding publisher moneyHorses banned by Epic Games StoreEA's buyout is going 93.4% to the SaudisMina the Hollower needs to be a huge hit, Yacht Club admits for some reasonNo Players Online is back on Steam after spurious DMCA takedownTim Cain is back...well kind of he wasn't ever really gone it seems like...at ObsidianWe played:Metroid Prime 4: BeyondHorsesPokémon Legends: Z-AAsbury PinesAngeline EraAlso, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week, Lotus and John are feeling particularly thankful for the handful of absolutely bananas stories that dropped in their laps! Including:Tencent's ultimate investment in UbisoftYoko Taro's projects keep getting canceledUnity coming to UnrealMegabonk withdraws from The Game AwardsUnknown Worlds vs Krafton gets unbelievably weirdRoblox CEO says the wildest things you can imagine on a podcastAlso, Lotus and John played/watched/listened to:One Battle After Another (film)Lingo 2Berserk B.I.T.S.The Phlegms' new album Gulp (album)Pluribus (television show)We, of course, answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.