Host and founder of VGBees, John Warren, is joined every week by cohost Niki Grayson and illustrious guests adjacent to video games and culture for candid, funny, and enlightening conversations about an art form that is both uniting and dividing us.
Every week, The VGBees Podcast will explore trends and touchpoints you need to know in order to have the most well-rounded idea of what's going on in games.
Explore vgbees.com after each episode for notes on each episode as well as written pieces by our collaborators and guests.
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This week, Lotus and John tackle an absolute boatload of games news and notes, including: Valve's Steam Machine, Frame, and Controller all due in 2026 Halo Infinite 's final update coming this month The mishandling of The Game Awards Future Class is another black mark on whatever legacy Geoff Keighley is trying to leave Sony's fiscal report shows 40% share of software revenue to live service games Marathon apparently coming by the end of March 2026 Arc Raiders uses AI voices and people are weird...
This week, Niki returns after a taxing move to talking to Lotus and John about a game they played called Life's Eternal Puzzle . Not out on any consoles I can find but still interesting! Also! Grand Theft Auto VI is delayed Rockstar's fired employees were allegedly leaking information (uh huh) Protests erupt outside Rockstar Texas sues Roblox (get ready to get acquainted with Ken Paxton, one of the worst dudes in the world) Borderlands 4 sales lagging Avowed 2 might be coming (according to disgr...
From the VGBees Bonus Feed -- join The Hive today to get bonus episodes like this all year. John gave himself such a strange and wonderful birthday gift this year by asking Joe from the Joe Is Hungry YouTube channel for ninety minutes of his time. Joe, kindly, obliged. And this is the result. If you've never watched Joe Is Hungry, it is a fast food review channel with a growing and vocal fandom. You'll understand. Interview includes: Joe's background as a nurse the origin of the huge knife the c...
This week, Niki has been taken by the Swamp Monster so Lotus and John are fending for themselves. Lucky for you, they love to yap! Included in the gab sesh: EA's generative AI tools all suck and no one likes them Amazon is cutting tens of thousands of jobs Many Amazon Games projects have shut down Amazon Games was apparently (???) competing with Steam the whole time Don't Nod is working with Netflix IP for upcoming project Huge Animal Crossing New Horizons update is coming Nintendo is selling a ...
On this week's episode, Niki , Lotus , and John discuss Microsoft's extremely weird week/month/year/decade. Including: the 30% margin mandate flooding the zone with Fallout news , The Outer Worlds 2, Keeper, and Ninja Gaiden 4 the inevitable return of Halo Halo Campaign Evolved being one of the worst titles ever Grunts aren't supposed to glisten dev kits see huge price hike PLUS: Krafton is "AI first" Jennifer Hale doesn't know Mass Effect 5 is doomed Pokemon Legends Z-A is really funny??? On pu...
Hi folks! This week, Niki fills out an application for an apartment, John gets something wrong (again), and Lotus explores Steam Next Fest! Included in their discussion: Assassin's Creed lead departs Ubisoft Tencent and Sony apparently worked on a The Last of Us project together Tomunobu Itagaki's legacy Hard Drive's descent into 2005 internet bullshit Quantic Dream's new multiplayer project Lumines Arise Ball x Pit Pokémon Z-A Danchi Days Horripilant The Third Shift The Séance of Blake Manor Se...
This week marks the beginning of the Lotus era at The VGBees Podcast. She joins John and Niki as the third permanent cohost of the show and immediately brings insight to the program like...what if Nintendo likes making money? But also! the dense delight of Digimon Story: Time Stranger the apparent end of Hyper Light Breaker 's development the rumor that AMD needed a 10,000,000 unit commitment for Xbox's dedicated handheld Nintendo's slide into Disneyfication Ubisoft's canceled Reconstruction Era...
This week, Niki and John have a lot to chat about in and around a busy few days in video games, including: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's huge price hike interpreting the latest in Microsoft's non-plan Obsidian bearing the brunt of Microsoft's decision-making Jared Kushner and Saudi Arabia are taking EA private Seumas McNally Award Winner Consume Me 's greatness Wheel of Fortune on the PlayStation 5 Hades II is simply wonderful to play Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles gets an apology fro...
This week, Niki and John are joined by none other than Michael Higham on this, the very special 69th episode of The VGBees Podcast. In this jam-packed episode, we cover: Wolverine's profoundly bloody introduction the Returnal of it all of Saros a brief look at new Virtua Fighter Project details the impossible bigness of Ananta a conversation about remakes prompted by the perplexing Deus Ex remaster Forza Horizon 6 and how the game can recapture past magic Easy Delivery Co. and John unironically ...
This week, John regrets to inform you and Niki that Borderlands 4 is just more Borderlands, for better or worse. John thinks maybe worse. Niki's right, it's just 2K's Madden . Also: the very interesting misfire that is Skate. Dying Light: The Beast is apparently great but we can't get past the Hinterlands of Dying Light 2 the poor PC performance of Borderlands 4 and Randy Pitchford's admittedly very, very, very funny (if wildly unprofessional) responses to that criticism the flatness of NBA 2K26...
This week, Niki and John dive way way way into the mega-sized Nintendo Direct this week. Did you know that Super Mario is 40 years old??? Just like John! Wow! Also: paying for Super Mario Galaxy again Nintendo remembers Super Mario Galaxy 2 exists the new Mario movie is just Super Mario Galaxy Super Mario Wonder for Switch 2 Mario Tennis Fever Yoshi and the Mysterious Book Virtual Boy on Nintendo Switch Online Samus has a cool bike in Metroid Prime 4 Beyond now Hades II is out SO soon Pokemon Po...
Hello! This week, John and Niki discuss the most explosive game release of the year, Hollow Knight: Silksong . 500,000 concurrents? Broken shops? Unfathomable discourse? You got it, baby. That, and: The downfall of games crit The value of asking piracy forum dwellers to weigh in on the most popular game of the year 007 First Light gameplay Football Manager 26 College basketball coming to NBA 2K Firaxis layoffs Kirby and the Forgotten Land for Switch 2 Also, we answer your HIVE QUESTIONS from our...
This week, John is back at full strength and here to discuss all the games Niki has played! Among the discussion points: Layoffs at Giant Squid & Rec Room Conversation boundaries and etiquette Sword of the Sea We Are OFK Circuits Royale Pokemon Red Rescue Team Pokemon Rescue Team DX Metal Gear Solid 3 Delta and more! Also, we answer your BURNING HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord ....
With John on the International Space Station, Niki and Lotus talk all things Gamescom 2025, including: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Black Myth: Zhong Kui Resident Evil Requiem World of Tanks: Heat Ghost of Yotei World of Warcraft Midnight UNBEATABLE John Carpenter's Toxic Commando Hollow Knight: Silksong LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Plus, a big, big dive into why Lotus is DONE with Marvel Rivals . Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS directly from our Discord ....
This week, Niki and John are joined by Lotus , who has a lot of smart ideas about how messy the "reporting" around itch.io has gotten, frozen alcohol, and whole word comprehension. Also: the breakdown of "games journalist" as an idea Hardspace Shipbreaker goes to Blackbird 100% common core math drinking in parking lots Frankenstein shoes adult braces getting addicted to going to the hospital We also answer your BURNING HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord ....
Niki and John had a great time talking about the Nintendo Indie World Showcase this week on the show right after they spent twelve minutes talking about a thing that's embargoed! When will you hear about it? Next week! What remains is still a rip-roaring two hours of video game bliss, including: Mage Arena Merge Maestro Primal Planet Fortnite 's new Power Rangers/Halo season Puzzmo and more! Also, we answer ALL your HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord ....
This week, John and Niki discuss the latter's big media day with Battlefield 6 , the game that's aiming for 100,000,000 players! Do they think it can happen? You'll have to listen to find out. Also: The stranger side of big PR gaming events Terri Schiavo (really) Ray Romano's net worth Nintendo Partner Showcase Donkey Kong Bananza Which eight Capcom games outsold Monster Hunter Wilds this quarter and much more! We also answer your BURNING HIVE QUESTIONS straight from our Discord ....
Hi there! This week, Niki and John went super long and recorded three solid hours of discussion, including: College Football 26 Donkey Kong Bananza What if the Switch 2 Lite has an OLED? The simple brilliance of Tennocon What other PR teams miss about the process of making games They also go very deep on this week's payments processor crackdown on adult Itch.io games and the government's continued assault on sex work, queerness, disability, etc. We offer a whole lot of unfiltered thoughts with v...
Niki's live from London, Ontario this week at Tennocon while John's getting up at the crack to podcast. What a show, too! We're absolutely loving Donkey Kong Bananza and John might be obsessed with the Horse Girl Game???? Also, we discuss the rise of fascism as expressed via: Roblox verifying the identities of children via AI Financial transaction companies cracking down on Steam's adult content The 24/7 amateur surveillance state Also, books! Ever heard of them? We answer your burning HIVE QUES...
This week, John and Nikki are recording live from John's house after indulging in a copious amount of BBQ before heading to AEW All In Texas. They delve into their recent Steam sale purchases and gaming experiences, including first impressions of Katamari and debates on game localization and open-world design. The episode also features their segment answering listener questions from the Hive, covering topics like favorite wrestlers, house ratings, seasonal games, and a fantasy wrestling event idea.
Hosts celebrate Disability Pride Month with journalist Grant Stoner, sharing personal stories about navigating the world as disabled people. They discuss the challenges of journalism, including investigative reporting and source protection, the impact of industry layoffs on disabled workers, and the nuances of representation and accessibility within the gaming community and its products.
This week, Niki and John are joined by perhaps the greatest games media talent scout in the industry's history, Endless Mode's Editor-in-Chief Garrett Martin . He hung out to tell us about the new site, what to expect from its amazing writers, and, of course, theme parks! Also: nearly half an hour of AEW All In Texas preview discussion (sorry non-wrestling fans) Kotaku's sale to Keleops Microsoft's astonishing layoff round of 9,100 employees Perfect Dark reboot canceled and studio shuttered EA's...
This week, Niki and John go deep (again) on Mario Kart World and its most head-scratching design choices. Tired of us talking about that? Okay! We also talked about: Andrew Wilson's obscene pay bump at EA Microsoft's upcoming massive layoff Peak sells 2m copies Nintendo "fixes" something everyone thought was fine in Mario Kart World the dark corners of Cyberpunk 2077 and much more! Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord !...
John returns to the podcast after spending last week in the hospital and joins Niki to talk about the second full week of Switch 2 as well as: the indefinite Marathon delay 3rd party titles apparently lagging on Switch 2 historic sales figures for Switch 2 Xbox's core strategy Mario Kart World Donkey Kong Bananza Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2 Poxel FBC: Firebreak Deltarune Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord community....
This week, John was zooted in the hospital recovering from surgery (he's fine!), so Niki and Lotus took the reins and delivered a banger of an episode, featuring: Summer Game Fest swag Sonic Racing: Crossworlds Lumines Arise MindsEye Mario Kart World the rise of fascism and incompetence of our oppressors Nintendo Switch 2 first week sales figures and much, much more Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS straight from our lovely Discord ....
John broke his ankle in a car accident so couldn't make it out to SGF this year, so instead Niki attended the planned VGBees Mixer and we decided to set up a little area for John to digitally greet guests. And then we decided to make it into an episode. Smart? Not really! Jordan Mallory, our intrepid producer, did a marvelous job making this at least listenable, but conceptually it was not smart. But we did it anyway! The VGBees Way. Is it a fun episode? Yes. John tackles the Sony State of Play ...
Niki and John are riding solo this week while we prepare for Summer Game Fest. Included in their hangout: Coverage expectations of Geoff's big show EA's cancelation of Black Panther and the closure of Cliffhanger Memories of E3 Battle Aces shutting down Tencent's recent catalog Xbox moving away from proprietary handheld (for now) Elden Ring Nightreign 's PC problems getting paid to hate a game Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord !...
Giant Bomb's Dan Ryckert joins the show to chat about being a company owner, contrasting it with mundane life appliances. They dive into strange office stories, including one built over methane and another with a VCR rooms away. The conversation spans from obscure video game releases and the absurdity of Star Citizen's funding model to personal anecdotes about first jobs, shower temperatures, and encounters with celebrities. They also answer listener questions about fast food brands, regrettable podcast bits, and designing dream arcades.
Hello Hive! This week, Niki and John are joined by extremely talented and funny video essayist, streamer, and podcast host Jenna Stoeber ! In addition to a lively discussion of whether can is barrel, the group discussed: Jenna's PAX East Karaoke go-tos Ending our time with Blue Prince Nintendo Switch 2 colliding with Summer Game Fest The non-story of Kingdom Hearts IV 's screenshot drop Bungie possibly lifting stolen art directly into Marathon's alpha and more! Also, we answer your HIVE QUESTION...
This week, John and Niki ride as a duo to talk about the big American Pope. Also: big questions about how independent games outlets can survive killing Avatar Aang in Fortnite flying an X-Wing in Fortnite glitching a car out of existence in Fortnite the genius of Fortnite nearly eight years in the act of play in Despelote grounding yourself when you're disappearing into games (or whatever, frankly) We answer your HIVE QUESTIONS every single week on the show, but you must JOIN THE HIVE to do so!...
