Ep 103: Embracer Restructures Again, Destiny 2 Development Ending, PS Plus Price Hikes

Ep 104: Witcher 3 DLC, Steam Deck Price Hikes, & 007 First Light w/ Jeff Gerstmann

John [https://bsky.app/profile/floppyadult.com] and Lotus [https://bsky.app/profile/lotusloveslotus.bsky.social] are joined this week by Jeff Gerstmann [https://jeff.zone] to discuss the week's biggest games news, including: The Witcher 3's surprising expansion coming in 2027, Steam Deck's massive price hikes, and what we thought of 007 First Light. 00:00:00 Intro & podcasting at yourself 00:08:56 The Witcher 3 [https://www.ign.com/articles/cd-projekt-teases-size-and-story-of-new-the-witcher-3-expansion-songs-of-the-past] is getting new DLC in 2027 [https://www.ign.com/articles/cd-projekt-teases-size-and-story-of-new-the-witcher-3-expansion-songs-of-the-past] 00:13:10 A moment for Unreal Engine 6 00:15:57 Ikaruga [https://automaton-media.com/en/news/after-12-years-in-development-ikaruga-creators-new-shooter-ubusuna-has-been-cancelled/]creator's next game has been canceled [https://automaton-media.com/en/news/after-12-years-in-development-ikaruga-creators-new-shooter-ubusuna-has-been-cancelled/] Go to nogamesforgenocide.com [https://nogamesforgenocide.com] to learn more about the BDS movement and Microsoft's continued role in the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. 00:19:14 Microsoft must pay $250m to settle class action lawsuit [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/microsoft-agrees-to-pay-250m-to-settle-lawsuit-over-activision-blizzard-deal] 00:23:30 Modern Warfare 4 and the great Call of Duty fall-off 00:29:18 Fable [https://www.gematsu.com/2026/05/fable-delayed-to-february-2027]delayed from fall 2026 to February 2027 [https://www.gematsu.com/2026/05/fable-delayed-to-february-2027] 00:38:30 Hoyoverse is investing $14.6b in AI initiatives in the next three years [https://www.gamingonphonebiz.com/hoyoverse-plans-14-6-billion-ai-investment-over-three-years-signals-push-toward-full-stack-ai-development/] 00:42:20 Roblox and how to navigate its ubiquity as a parent 00:49:15 Steam Deck price hikes and the rare appreciation of gaming setups [https://steamcommunity.com/games/1675200/announcements/detail/672869045073085560] 00:57:13 Steam updates tags [https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110/view/673994309884707518] and Workshop features [https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110/view/704394876188360836] 01:14:44 TheGamer shifts to pay-per-click for its writers [https://kotaku.com/one-of-the-biggest-networks-gaming-sites-reveals-new-plan-only-pay-writers-per-click-2000698959] 01:24:32 The PlayStation 5 Pro is tall 01:27:01 007 First Light is a great Bond game even for people who aren't Bond superfans 01:38:32 Carrot Kingdom--not the Atari shareware--is a fun and very short puzzler 01:39:58 Panthalassa features a gorgeous underwater alien world 01:41:57 Phonopolis is the latest from Amanita Design 01:45:06 Mina the Hollower is Yacht Club's most interesting game 01:52:12 Pictonico is WarioWare for your phone...without the Wario 01:59:36 We answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord 03:01:23 SGF 2026 plans & outro Thanks 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/join VGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.

Ep 103: Embracer Restructures Again, Destiny 2 Development Ending, PS Plus Price Hikes

John [https://bsky.app/profile/floppyadult.com], Lotus [https://bsky.app/profile/lotusloveslotus.bsky.social], and Niki [https://bsky.app/profile/nikigrayson.com] discuss the biggest news of the week, including Embracer's head-scratching restructure, Destiny 2's final update, and PlayStation Plus price hikes. 00:00:00 Intro & Niki Buys a Porsche 00:09:50 Terraria [https://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/celebrating-15-years-of-terraria.149950/] celebrates 15 years of absolutely bonkers player counts [https://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/celebrating-15-years-of-terraria.149950/] 00:25:15 Tom Kane passes away at 64 [https://www.gamedeveloper.com/audio/obituary-veteran-voice-actor-tom-kane-passes-away-at-64] 00:26:41 PlayStation Plus gets price hikes [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sony-announces-playstation-plus-price-rises-due-to-ongoing-market-conditions] 00:35:47 US National Recording Registry adds [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/original-doom-soundtrack-to-be-inducted-into-us-national-recording-registry]DOOM [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/original-doom-soundtrack-to-be-inducted-into-us-national-recording-registry] soundtrack to its library [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/original-doom-soundtrack-to-be-inducted-into-us-national-recording-registry] 00:44:28 Stig Asmussen [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/wizards-of-the-coast-ends-partnership-with-giant-skull]Dungeons & Dragons [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/wizards-of-the-coast-ends-partnership-with-giant-skull] game canceled by Wizards of the Coast [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/wizards-of-the-coast-ends-partnership-with-giant-skull] 00:55:20 Embracer restructures [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/embracer-group-announces-plans-to-spin-off-fellowship-entertainment] their game [https://embracer.com/releases/open-letter-by-chair-of-the-board-on-the-fellowship-entertainment-spin-off/] organizations again [https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/opinion-lars-wingefors-is-out-of-his-mind] 01:04:20 Quantic Dream's MOBA is shutting down [https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/quantic-dream-cutting-jobs-after-scrapping-spellcasters-chronicles] 01:06:14 Bungie [https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/Article/d2_may_21_2026] ending Destiny 2 development and facing layoffs [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-21/bungie-plans-layoffs-after-ending-destiny-2-development?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc3OTQwNTI3OSwiZXhwIjoxNzgwMDEwMDc5LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJURkVUVjJLSUpIOTIwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCMUVBQkI5NjQ2QUM0REZFQTJBRkI4MjI1MzgyQTJFQSJ9.atbS1PFknTC7XBSdrUHEMV1jz4pw1lfmIX0rGjUFbRs] 01:27:30 Everyone roasts John for buying a PS5 Pro 01:39:00 Niki continues to build a NAS for their home 01:51:28 The crew answers your burning HIVE QUESTIONS [vgbees.com/join] from Discord [vgbees.com/discord] 03:04:15 Outro & SGF Plans Thanks 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/join VGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.

The Pittcast Season Two w/ Danielle Riendeau

Content Warning for graphic medical procedures, assault, sexual assault, suicide, and death in this episode. The Pitt is a show with a lot of tough ingredients thrown into a stew--we try to navigate these with tact and care but be forewarned the entire episode has a lot of potentially triggering discussion. GameDeveloper.com Editor-in-Chief (and Polygon, Waypoint, and Fanbyte alum) Danielle Riendeau joins John Warren for a recap of season two of The Pitt, one of VGBees' favorite television shows. Danielle lends her experience as a volunteer EMT in New York City to the duo's analysis and critique of the HBO Max medical drama. Included topics: * The role of AI in healthcare * The role of compassion in emergency medicine * Using the show to demystify difficult subjects regarding sexual assault and death * ICE and their miserable role in American healthcare in 2026 * and much, much more! Thanks 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/join VGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.

Ep 102: Subnautica 2 Smashes Sales Expectations, Leaked Xbox Controllers, More Game Unions

Lotus [https://bsky.app/profile/lotusloveslotus.bsky.social] and John [https://bsky.app/profile/floppyadult.com] discuss the biggest games news of the week, including Subnautica 2 creating a big bonus problem for KRAFTON's CEO, leaked Xbox controllers, and Marathon's interesting PVE-focused roadmap. 00:00:00 Intro & Buc-ees Fare 00:10:05 Subnautica 2 [https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/subnautica-2-has-sold-2-million-copies-in-12-hours-with-9x-the-players-as-the-first-and-at-this-point-i-figure-that-krafton-ceo-is-already-on-his-second-bottle/]'s massive sales creates an interesting problem for KRAFTON's CEO [https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/subnautica-2-has-sold-2-million-copies-in-12-hours-with-9x-the-players-as-the-first-and-at-this-point-i-figure-that-krafton-ceo-is-already-on-his-second-bottle/] 00:13:15 Steam Controllers look bad, feel good, and scream when you drop them [https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/game-pads/steam-controllers-to-come-back-in-stock-with-reprise-of-steam-deck-reservation-system/] 00:21:43 Sony takes huge loss on Bungie acquisition [https://kotaku.com/sony-records-new-560-million-loss-on-bungie-acquisition-as-marathon-struggles-and-destiny-2-nosedives-2000694100]; Marathon [https://kotaku.com/marathon-reveals-an-ambitious-blueprint-for-making-it-a-game-more-people-want-to-play-2000696161]gets new PVE-heavy roadmap [https://kotaku.com/marathon-reveals-an-ambitious-blueprint-for-making-it-a-game-more-people-want-to-play-2000696161] 00:30:20 Wizards and Hasbro fail to recognize the new [https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/wizards-of-the-coast-declines-to-voluntarily-recognize-game-worker-union]MTG: Arena [https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/wizards-of-the-coast-declines-to-voluntarily-recognize-game-worker-union] union [https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/wizards-of-the-coast-declines-to-voluntarily-recognize-game-worker-union] 00:33:25 Double Fine is also unionzing [https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/double-fine-petitions-to-unionize] 00:35:35 New Xbox controllers were leaked [https://kotaku.com/two-new-very-different-xbox-controllers-have-leaked-online-2000696180] 00:38:45 Microsoft fires executive for ties with Israel Ministry of Defense [https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-microsoft-israel-chief-leaves-amid-ethical-controversy-1001542602] 00:41:35 Sony says studios are using AI, but we have questions [https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/playstation-sees-ai-as-a-powerful-tool-teams-including-naughty-dog-san-diego-studio-already-using-it] 00:49:10 Tekken [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/snk-announces-new-studio-lead-by-tekken-veteran-katsuhiro-harada]producer Harada leads new SNK studio [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/snk-announces-new-studio-lead-by-tekken-veteran-katsuhiro-harada] 00:53:05 Niki joins the show on locations to run down news so far 00:54:45 Sega backs off of live services games [https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/sega-is-lowering-the-priority-of-games-as-a-service-titles] 00:58:38 GameStop's offer to buy eBay thoroughly, hilariously, decisively rebuffed [https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/-your-proposal-is-neither-credible-nor-attractive-ebay-rejects-gamestop-takeover-bid] 01:04:12 Nintendo's fiscal report reveals reasons for Switch 2 price hike [https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2026/260511e.pdf] 01:07:40 House Hunters is the best hotel television show 01:09:10 The story in Digimon Story: Time Stranger is pretty bad 01:18:10 The crew answers your burning HIVE QUESTIONS [vgbees.com/join] from our Discord [vgbees.com/discord] 02:21:50 Reviews & Outro Thanks 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/join VGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.

Ep 101: Star Fox 64 Remake, LEGO Batman, Mina the Hollower Release Date

Niki, Lotus, and John embark on a "no bummers" episode of the show, complete with discussions about the new Star Fox game, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight's endless charm, and Mina the Hollower's long-awaited release date. 00:00:00 Intro & John's parking lot predicament 00:12:15 Star Fox 64 [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b7ooGb-0tuqkmqdJjhanazb2mCPFFoIHaIg9qoly3uQ/edit?usp=sharing]Remake [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b7ooGb-0tuqkmqdJjhanazb2mCPFFoIHaIg9qoly3uQ/edit?usp=sharing] 00:17:15 Mina the Hollower [https://gameinformer.com/2026/05/06/mina-the-hollower-finally-launches-later-this-month] gets a release date at long last [https://gameinformer.com/2026/05/06/mina-the-hollower-finally-launches-later-this-month] 00:19:16 Copilot removed from Xbox plans [https://gameinformer.com/2026/05/05/microsoft-copilot-will-no-longer-come-to-consoles-says-xbox-ceo] (please go to nogamesforgenocide.com [https://nogamesforgenocide.com] to learn about the ongoing boycott of Microsoft and Xbox products) 00:23:53 LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight [https://kotaku.com/new-lego-batman-trailer-uses-kiss-from-a-rose-seal-perfect-song-launch-ps5-xbox-2000694000] looks great [https://kotaku.com/new-lego-batman-trailer-uses-kiss-from-a-rose-seal-perfect-song-launch-ps5-xbox-2000694000] 00:28:27 More "no bummers" news round-up 00:31:42 Niki's new Logitech MX Master 4 mouse 00:43:37 Niki continues loving Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream 00:46:07 Echo Chaser is a slick PICO-8 free game 00:47:28 Family is a great music-centric game you can play for free right now 00:50:20 mini pharma is a charming PICO-8 puzzler 00:57:59 We answer your burning Hive Questions [vgbees.com/join] straight from our Discord [vgbees.com/discord] 02:07:58 Outro Thanks 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/join VGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.