In our last podcast of the year, the GamesIndustry.biz editorial team gather around the mics to share their favourite games of 2020. Matt, Brendan, Rebekah, Marie and James each share some honourable mentions and key highlights before delving into to their pick for the best game that they've played this year. Note the 'that they've played' caveat, as not all choices are in fact from 2020. You'll be able to read more about our Games of the Year at GamesIndustry.biz throughout this week. As always...
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 10 min
On this special episode of the podcast, we look at the challenges journalists and the games media have faced in 2020. For this discussion, we're joined by USGamer editor-in-chief Kat Bailey, VideoGamesChronicle editor-in-chief Andy Robinson, VG247 assistant editor Alex Donaldson, and Kotaku staff writer Ethan Gach. Together, the panel reflects on the impact of event closures, the unorthodox build-up to the next-gen consoles, the lack of networking, limitations when interviewing developers or pre...
Dec 14, 2020•55 min
Matthew, Rebekah, and James are joined by Mike Williams to discuss the biggest stories of the week. Following the revelation that BioWare general manager Casey Hudson and Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah are leaving the studio -- for the second time, in Hudson's case -- we discuss the impact this could have on the company. The conversation expands into exploring the 'wilderness period' BioWare has been in for some years now, and comparing it with other studios that have lost key talent ...
Dec 07, 2020•49 min
This special series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast talks to developers about the titles that influenced their careers. This time, we have Fred Horgan, senior ideation designer at Bossa Studios, here to discuss how Sega's 2000 online console RPG shaped his understanding of social and cooperative gameplay. Horgan talks about his experiences playing with friends, and how unique design elements of Phantasy Star Online inspired him to think differently about how players encounter one another in vir...
Dec 03, 2020•35 min
Matt, Brendan and James gather behind their respective mics to discuss the biggest stories of the week. This week, we explore Square Enix's decision to make remote working permanent for more of its Japanese staff, and the implications this has for any couple that adopts such a model. It's a topic our contributing editor Rob Fahey delved into with his latest column, and now the podcast explores the wider ramifications of going remote. We discuss whether its viable, what it means for the future of...
Nov 30, 2020•48 min
This week, we have a special bumper-length podcast as the team takes a look back at the previous generation of consoles. With Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 now on shelves around the world, we reflect on the seven years of games and innovations offered by their forebears. Rather than just focusing on our favourite games (although we do discuss this as well), we take a broader approach by offering our takes on the most important and impactful games of the last generation. We also share our big...
Nov 23, 2020•1 hr 50 min
The Five Games Of is a special series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast which explores the evolution of the video games business through the career of prominent developers, executives and more. This time, we explore five games from Mikael Kasurinen of Remedy Entertainment, who most recently served as game director for last year's acclaimed new IP Control. In addition to this game, we talk about his work on Max Payne 2, Alan Wake, Quantum Break and the Battlefield 4 campaign. The conversation touc...
Nov 19, 2020•1 hr 44 min
The latest episode of our podcast is available to download now, and somehow, we're not talking about next-gen consoles. Instead, FIFA is on the mind, following yet another lawsuit filed complaining of Ultimate Team loot boxes, and news of a new FIFA spend tracking tool allowing players to limit how many matches they play or how much money they can spend in the game. In response to that, Brendan has published an editorial exploring EA's refusal to admit its games dabble in gambling while it simul...
Nov 16, 2020•41 min
In this special bonus episode of The Game Developer's Playlist, we take a look at Hideo Kojima's final outing with Metal Gear Solid. Brendan takes over hosting duties from Rebekah as he's joined by Jeffery Thompson Jr to talk about the mix of gritty stealth and goofy balloon extractions, with horror elements and more poignant messaging all woven into the mix. Thompson Jr is one of the founder of Polish start-up Epoch Media, currently part of the ReactorX Polish accelerator program. He shares the...
Nov 12, 2020•29 min
Chris, Brendan and James are on hand to share their early impressions of the new consoles. Having recieved a mix of PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S units, the team has had a couple of weeks to get to grips with them, so what do we think of the next generaiton? We discuss the most interesting features, from both a user and business perspective, as well as touching on performance, visuals, loading times and more. We also look at the new devices through the lens of each platform holder's strateg...
Nov 09, 2020•48 min
This special series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast talks to developers about the titles that influenced their careers. This time, we have Chandana 'Eka' Ekanayake, co-founder of Falcon Age studio Outerloop Games, here to discuss how 1995 biker adventure game Full Throttle inspired him to join the games industry.. Ekanayake discusses how the film-like elements of the game spurred his interest in joining in the industry, and the ways in which the game's pacing and visual techniques are still exa...
Nov 05, 2020•49 min
On the latest GamesIndustry.biz Podcast, Rebekah and Marie are joined by USGamer's Mike Williams, as well as three special guests: freelance writer Aaron Lee, I Need Diverse Games founder Tanya DePass, and Melanin Gamers founder Annabel Ashalley-Anthony. Mike, Aaron, Tanya, and Annabel discuss being Black in the games industry, from issues of representation in games themselves to representation in the workplace, and the barriers facing Black professionals who wish to both enter and thrive in gam...
Nov 02, 2020•57 min
This week, three members of the team -- Matt, Marie, and Rebekah -- chat with Digital Foundry's John Linneman about the impending next generation of consoles, especially the Xbox Series X. With just a few weeks remaining before the launch of both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, we reflect on the marketing and announcement cycles of both over the last year, as well as do a bit of deep-diving into what the hardware improvements of the Xbox Series X and S will mean for average users. We...
Oct 26, 2020•54 min
The Five Games Of is a special spin-off series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast that charts the evolution of the industry through the careers and games of prominent developers and more. This month's guest is Guha Bala, co-founder and president of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit developer Velan Studios, perhaps best known for the work he and his team accomplished at Vicarious Visions -- another studio he co-founded. Bala's career stretches back as far as 1996 point-and-click adventure Synnergist an...
Oct 23, 2020•1 hr 21 min
Matt, Brendan, Chris and James gather behind their mics to discuss the biggest stories of the past week. Our main discussion for this episode is the partnership between Microsoft and GameStop, which offers the retailer a share of all digital revenues generated by users of Xbox Series consoles the retail chain has sold. We debate whether this is a way for the platform holder to sustain a valuable retail partner or an attempt to seem charitable as it pushes its digital ecosystem. Continuing the Xb...
Oct 20, 2020•49 min
Matt, Brendan, Rebekah and James are on hand to discuss the biggest stories of the week -- or, in this instance, story. We delve deeper into Brendan's extensive exposé on the toxic culture at Twitch, which extends across both the office and the site itself. The team explores a story that ranges from allegations of sexual assault and racism to defaction on the walls and a relaxed attitude to the Klu Klux Klan, as we debate how other companies can learn from Twitch's mistakes. As always, you can g...
Oct 12, 2020•48 min
The Game Developers' Playlist is a special series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast in which we talk with developers about the titles that influenced their careers. This time, we have Megan Fox -- founder of Skatebird developer Glass Bottom Games -- discussing the impact of Ultima 7, the 1992 systems-driven RPG. Fox reflects on how the use of the game's systems opened up player freedom, and the evolution of similar mechanics in genres such as survival games. The Game Developer's Playlist is an ex...
Oct 08, 2020•37 min
Rebekah, Marie and James are on hand to discuss the biggest stories of the past week. We start with the disappointing but perhaps inevitable news that -- despite promises of 'non-obligatory crunch' and multiple delays to the game - CD Projekt Red is forcing the Cyberpunk 2077 developers to work six-day weeks in the run-up to its November 19 launch. Then we're joined by Eurogamer's Lottie Lynn to discuss the impact of changes Niantic made to Pokémon Go to account for the pandemic -- and how it wi...
Oct 05, 2020•44 min
Rebekah, Brendan and Marie are on hand to discuss the biggest stories of the week -- which, of course, means Microsoft's acquistion of Bethesda parent ZeniMax Media. The platform holder splashed $7.5 billion on the Fallout and Elder Scrolls publisher, but what wider implications does this deal have? We discuss the impact on Game Pass, on the Bethesda IP that struggled at retail but may now have renewed hope, how this affects Microsoft's ability to compete with Sony, and the consequences of indus...
Sep 28, 2020•51 min
The Five Games Of is a special spin-off series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast that charts the evolution of the industry through the careers and games of prominent developers and more. This month's guest is Debbie Bestwick, CEO and owner of UK-based indie label Team17, whose first game was released in 1991. On the show we discuss this and other formative titles, the changing opportunities for indie developers over the years, shifting attitudes at publishers, and how the very first Worms game wa...
Sep 25, 2020•1 hr 15 min
Matt, Rebekah, Brendan and USGamer's Mike Williams discuss the biggest news of the past week. We start with the PS5 launch plans and confusion over pre-orders, and move on to our wider thoughts about the next console generation. With both platform holders offering digital-only consoles, what does this mean for the concept of ownership during the upcoming generation? And how does the rise of subscriptions factor into this? Finally, we go round the table and share which next-gen machine most appea...
Sep 21, 2020•56 min
This week, James, Brendan, Rebekah and Chris discuss the biggest news of the past week, which is, unsurprisingly, Xbox. The platform holder announced its long-rumoured Xbox Series S model at $299, priced the Xbox Series X at $499, detailed the Xbox All Access payment plan for both models, gave a November 10 launch date, and revealed that the EA Play library will be added to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate later this year. With all the pieces in place for the launch of Microsoft's fourth console generati...
Sep 14, 2020•59 min
The Game Developers' Playlist returns with a look at RPG Maker. In this new monthly show, developers join us to discuss the games that influenced their careers. This episode features Davionne Gooden, the indie developer behind the upcoming She Dreams Elsewhere, talking about how tinkering with RPG Maker motivated him to make a living making games. The Game Developer's Playlist is an extension of a series we run on the site called Why I Love, in which developers explore their favourite games. You...
Sep 07, 2020•38 min
Matt, Brendan, James and USGamer's Mike Williams gather around their mics to discuss the biggest industry news of the past week. Our first big discussion this week is Unity's long-awaited IPO. Having delved deeply into the filing, Brendan discovered some little known and surprising facts about the company behind the widely-used engine. We discuss these revelations and ponder the future of Unity as it targets a potential growth area of £29 billion - but has its biggest competitor got there first?...
Sep 01, 2020•43 min
This is the first episode in a new spin-off series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast, charting the evolution of the industry through the games and careers of prominent professionals. In this monthly show, we'll be joined by developers, composers, writers, publishers and other members of the games industry to discuss five games they have worked on: their first, their last, and three of their choice. Around each title, we'll be exploring how the business of video games has changed, the lessons that...
Aug 28, 2020•1 hr 17 min
Brendan, Marie, Chris and James discuss the biggest stories of the past week, starting with the allegations of inaction against abuse at Rocksteady. The Batman: Arkham Knight studio has been accused of doing little to nothing to address the issues with toxicity and harassment raised by female employees back in 2018. It's worth noting the studio has since released an updated statement that was not available at the time of recording. After this, we discuss the first PlayStation 5 ad and the challe...
Aug 25, 2020•56 min
Matt, Rebekah, Chris and James gather round their microphones to discuss the biggest news of the past week -- starting, of course, with Epic versus Apple and Google. In case you missed the news, the Fortnite firm skillfully goaded Apple into removing the world's biggest game from its App Store then followed up with a pre-prepared lawsuit and a conveniently-ready-to-go parody video. Google later removed the game as well and found itself facing a similar lawsuit. Rebekah has already discussed the ...
Aug 17, 2020•1 hr
Presenting the debut episode of a new spin-off from The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: The Game Developer's Playlist In this new monthly show, developers join us to discuss the games that influenced their careers. Kicking off this series is Aaron Linde, lead narrative designer at Halo developer 343 Industries, who shares his love of SNES RPG Earthbound. This podcast is an extension of a series we run on the site called Why I Love, in which developers explore their favourite games. You can find these...
Aug 10, 2020•52 min
James, Marie, Chris and USGamer's Mike Williams weigh in on the big debate of the week: does the games industry need E3? Studies from both Fancensus and SuperData show that this summer's big game reveals didn't suffer from the absence of the annual showcase -- certainly not when it comes to the platform holders and big publishers. But there are many other aspects of E3 that aren't as easily recreated online and benefits that might be overlooked when focused purely on data -- something Chris disc...
Aug 03, 2020•50 min
James, Matt, Brendan, Rebekah and USGamer's Mike Williams reflect on the titles shown at this week's Xbox Games Showcase. There was a diverse line-up of internally-developed titles, with the first look at Halo Infinite's gameplay and the long-awaited reveal of the Playground-developed Fable revival. But the presentation did leave us with questions. After multiple instances of Xbox assuring that all title for Xbox Series X will run on Xbox One, the showcase announced several games that appear to ...
Jul 24, 2020•56 min
