Episodes
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Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay was leaked via a hacker. So now what? What do we think of the return to Vice City? What, if anything, will change about Rockstar's plan to show us the game on their terms. We discuss that as well as Diablo 4's upcoming endgame beta, hands-on impressions from the surprise demo of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, and more!
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Our Xbox crew discusses a significant management shake-up at the top of 343 Industries, Sony boss Jim Ryan's public airing of Call of Duty-related grievances against Phil Spencer and Microsoft, the biggest news from the weekend's Disney/Marvel and Ubisoft showcases, the new Xbox Elite controller, and more!
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Missing episodes?
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Halo and 343 Industries was an arranged marriage from the start. After the latest sting of bad news – the cancellation of split-screen co-op – we spend an hour discussing 343's past, present, and future with the franchise. Is the arranged marriage working? Should Halo even be a "live service" game? It's a complex topic with no clear answers, but clearly it's time to have the conversation. Plus: September's Xbox Game Pass games, the Game Pass Friends & Family Plan goes live in a test market, and more!
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IGN's Kat Bailey joins Destin and Ryan to discuss the latest leak surrounding Microsoft's seemingly imminent Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family subscription plan. We speculate what it might cost, and how it further adds to Game Pass's already-amazing value proposition. Plus: we talk Madden NFL 23 and sports video games, debate what we want out of the just-announced new Mafia game (including when we want it to be set), and more!
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Xbox brought plenty of content to Gamescom, and now we've got a clear picture of what the holiday lineup looks like for Xbox gamers. Plus: Xbox commits to maintaining Xbox prices after Sony raised the price of PS5 in many major territories, Phil Spencer hints at his next acquisition priorities, and more!
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This week, Ryan’s back from a long-needed vacation! We catch up on a new Lord of the Rings game coming from Weta Workshop and Private Division as well as talk about games we’re looking forward to hearing about at Gamescom next week! We also anticipate Marvel and Disney rolling out a brand new Games Showcase next month! Tons of fun stuff today, so join us in the comments!
TIMECODES:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:04:50 - Private Division Working on a LOTR Game. Here's what we want.
00:18:39 - Xbox’s gamescom Showcase News
00:37:10 - Disney & Marvel’s Games Showcase Coming Sept. 9th
00:46:30 - Even More Game Delays!
00:50:16 - Outro -
With the news that the Xbox Series S Performance Boost benefiting developers after direct feedback, the Podcast Unlocked crew discusses the success of the Series S console and why they like it. In addition Activision Blizzard not only covered off on an upcoming Modern Warfare stream in the coming months, but there were also a few news bits about the merger with Microsoft that we missed last week. There was a hefty bit of news to discuss this week so join us as we discuss each story together this week on IGN's Podcast Unlocked.
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With an official Discord chat integration on the way, the Podcast Unlocked crew discusses other features they'd like to see get an update or overhaul along with Xbox's Summer Spotlight program that's been a little underwhelming, though it did introduce the team to a particularly cool giraffe. Plus, the team discusses some awesome community creations for Halo Infinite and The Simpsons: Hit and Run.
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As two more big games get pushed into 2023 (Lord of the Rings: Gollum and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora), we take a look at the crush of major releases coming to Xbox next year and discuss what we're most looking forward to. Plus: a discussion on Ubisoft's latest Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell project cancellations and why we've been a bit disappointed in the major publisher in recent times.
TIMECODES:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:08 - Our Thoughts on Ask Dusk Falls & FH5 Hot Wheels DLC 00:08:45 - More Games Delayed to 2023!
00:31:25 - What’s Up with Ubisoft?
00:50:53 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro -
Lots of Halo Infinite talk this week! First we discuss our hands-on impressions of the just-released online co-op beta, then we dive into the wave of key staff departures from the Infinite development team and wonder if it’s a bad sign for a game that’s supposed to be a long-term platform for the future of Halo. Plus: Grounded gets a TV show adaptation, and more!
TIMECODES:
00:00:00 - Intro & SDCC Info!
00:02:18 - Halo Infinite Co-op Campaign Beta is great!
00:13:15 - Halo Veteran Devs Start a New AAA Studio
00:39:56 - Grounded Gets a TV Adaptation
00:47:58 - As Dusk Falls & New Game Pass Games
00:55:00 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro -
The Halo caretakers and developers at 343 Industries are making a major piece of lost Halo history playable: the infamous Halo 2 E3 2003 campaign demo that never made it into the final game. We react to this fantastic surprise and recall the Halo 2 hype from that time. Plus: a plea for proper, native Xbox Game Pass support on the Steam Deck, our thoughts on the potential Apex Legends Universe single-player game that Respawn might be making (aka Titanfall 3?), our reaction to the long-awaited gameplay reveal of Skull & Bones, and more!
TIMECODES:
00:00:00 - Intro 00:08:56 - Halo 2 Earthcity Demo Returning? 00:27:00 - Respawn Hiring for an Unannounced Single Player Game 00:36:03 - Skull and Bones Finally Gets a Release Date 00:45:55 - Games with Gold Removing Xbox 360 Games Soon 00:50:25 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro
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As a talented and decorated game developer joins BioWare to work on the next Mass Effect game, we discuss what the nature of her role means for when we can reasonably expect Mass Effect 5 to get done. Spoiler: it's probably going to be quite a while! Plus: predictions for Ubisoft's just-announced September showcase, your chance to try out Halo Infinite's campaign co-op mode, and more!
TIMECODES:
00:00:00 - Intro & GotG writer Mary DeMarle joins BioWare
00:24:01 - Ubisoft 'Multi-Game' Showcase Coming in September
00:34:04 - GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption remasters scrapped?
00:41:56 - New Co-op mode for Halo Infinite
00:49:12 - Game Pass Games for July
00:54:40 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro -
Yes, you're reading that right: Xbox Series X and S outsold the PS5 in Japan, of all places, both individually and combined. We discuss this small victory for Xbox in Japan as well as the bigger picture. Plus: we debate the proposed inclusion of microtransactions in Halo: The Master Chief Collection and their effect on the industry at large (including the upcoming Diablo 4), our reaction to Overwatch 2 overwriting the original game, and more!
TIMECODES
0:00 - Intro
1:25 - Xbox Outsells PlayStation in Japan
22:57 - Halo Master Chief Collection Gets Microtransactions
43:39 - Will Microsoft Change Blizzard's Microtransaction Tactics?
51:38 - Overwatch 2 Replacing Original Game
59:10 - July Xbox Games With Gold
1:00:11 - DICE Doubling Down on Battlefield
1:06:54 - Tony Hawk 3 and 4 Remasters Cancelled
1:11:31 - Trivia and Outro -
We take one last, definitive look back on the Xbox Showcase and the Xbox Showcase Extended now that the dust has settled. We've got some constructive criticism for Microsoft, but we also gush about our favorite games from the event, such as High on Life, Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield.
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If you missed it when it aired live, here's our reaction show immediately following the Xbox Showcase from Sunday, June 12. We discussed the long-awaited gameplay reveal of Starfield, what Xbox's exclusive lineup for the rest of this year looks like, Redfall, Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 reactions, our favorite games of the show, and more!
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It's Xbox Hype week! With the Xbox Showcase just days away, we look ahead to Xbox's big event. Both of them, now that we know that an Extended Showcase is happening on Tuesday, June 14. We make more predictions for what we want to see and think we'll see. Plus: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake's rough road, the survival-horror smorgasbord of Callisto Protocol, Dead Space Remake, and Resident Evil 4 Remake this winter, and more!
TIMECODES:
00:00:19 - Intro & Housekeeping
00:03:43 - Xbox News Roundup Part 1
00:09:31 - Xbox & Bethesda Showcase Predictions
00:36:44 - Xbox News Roundup Part 2
00:53:12 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro -
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the long-known-about sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, has finally been announced. We discuss what we want to see out of Respawn's upcoming next-gen sequel. Plus: lamenting the very serious reason for the latest Xbox exclusive to get delayed, Ryan gushes over Ninja Gaiden as the entire series hits Xbox Game Pass, and more!
TIMECODES:
00:00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping
00:08:52 - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Announced for 2023!
00:25:09 - Replaced Delayed to 2023
00:44:41 - New Game Pass and Games with Gold for June
00:54:22 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro -
We look back at the Fall of 2007 and discuss: was it the best 90 days of any console ever? From August 21-November 21, 2007 we got Halo 3, Mass Effect, BioShock, The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - all in a 90-day window. There were also a number of other really good games in that same window: Assassin's Creed 1, Project Gotham Racing 4, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, and more! Join us as we look back on one of the greatest stretches in the history of gaming. Plus: spoiler-free Halo TV Series season 1 reactions.
TIMECODES:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:04:21 - Halo TV Season 1 Impressions
00:12:39 - The Xbox 360's Greatest 3-Month Stretch
00:45:20 - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for Next Gen Coming Soon!
00:51:00 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro -
After Starfield and Redfall both got delayed out of 2022 on the same day, we discuss why Xbox fans are understandably frustrated with the lack of major first-party exclusives this year. Next year does look amazing - and we discuss that in detail - but we also talk about how many fans are tired of being told "Wait until next year." Can the Xbox Showcase provide any immediate answers? Join us!
TIMECODES:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:39 - Redfall and Starfield Delayed to 2023!
00:10:08 - How Does 2022 Look Like So Far?
00:48:14 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro -
Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams joins us to discuss a busy week of Xbox news, from EA seemingly accidentally revealing Shepard's return to Mass Effect (do we even want Shepard back? Are we hyped for this?), where Activision can take Sledgehammer's Call of Duty games from here after the disappointing Vanguard, Gotham Knights leaving Xbox One behind, Clippy in Halo Infinite, and more!
TIMECODES:
00:00:00 - Intro & Commander Shepard Returning?
00:26:30 - Activision On Call of Duty Vanguard's Underperforming Sales
00:50:35 - Gotham Knights No Longer Releasing For PS4 and Xbox One
00:59:40 - Halo Infinite's Season 2 Adds Clippy!
01:03:50 - Resident Evil Re:Verse Potential Release
01:09:15 - Unlocked Block Trivia & Outro - Show more
