Mass Effect 5 Cancelled, Epic Goes AI-First, and Why You Don't Really Own Your Games

Matt finally watched the new Resident Evil, directed by Zach Cregger of Barbarian and Weapons, and he and Luke agree it’s one of the better video game adaptations in a long time. We also try to untangle the games’ ever-shifting lore (T-Virus, the parasite, Village) and agree it’s best to just go with it. Matt is midway through the RE4 remake, and Luke is holding off on new games ahead of GTA 6. That led to a double feature with the original 2002 Paul W.S. Anderson film. News and chat: Taika Waititi’s response to the poor reviews of Clara and the Sun. Hayden Christensen is back in Star Wars, and a burglar who recognized him gave his stuff back. They also cover Jake Lloyd’s struggles, celebrity safety stories (David Spade, Meg Turney), and Geek of the Week feedback from Patreon listeners after the “incident” with Patrick Stewart. The episode closes with games business news: Arkane’s union accusing Xbox of sabotaging Blade with a 19-month hiring freeze, the profit-versus-growth problem, Gears of War: E-Day’s reported cost, GTA 6 preloads, and the annoyance of internet providers raising prices after a 2-year promo. Topics discussedThe new Resident Evil movieWhy it works as a game adaptationResident Evil loreLuke's game-buying freezeThe original Resident Evil (2002)Lake Placid rewatchChild stars growing upTaika Waititi's Klara and the Sun backlashHayden Christensen and Star WarsFame & Burglers & StalkersGeek of the Week feedbackArkane's Blade game and MicrosoftGTA 6 and internet billsLinks Xbox Accused Of ‘Sabotaging’ Arkane As It Tries To Finish Blade Taika Waititi Slams “Klara and the Sun” Critics Star Wars Actor Hayden Christensen Says A Man Who Burgled His House Recognized Him Then Gave His Stuff Back Mid Robbery

Welcome to Episode 669, which has a 69 in it. We didn’t do 67 jokes because Luke says it’s not a thing, which just proves he’s too old for it. Anyway. Luke saw Clayface and liked it, mostly because it’s just Clayface with no post-credits scene and no teaser for the next movie. It’s also properly body horror, so he got uncomfortable. I saw You Can See Everything, the Nathan Fielder / Elizabeth Holmes documentary, and I was so absorbed I’d have forgotten to eat popcorn from the clear A24 bucket that is technically a bucket for seeing everything. Luke can’t see it for a couple more weeks because Australia, so you’ll have to wait for the full chat. I also retell the gas station episode of Nathan for You where the attendant recommends drinking his grandson’s pee, and Nathan nearly breaks. Elsewhere: the new Dune bucket now has two sandworms and we’ve made peace with how that looks. I did a Halloween double feature of Lake Placid (a masterpiece of ridiculous ’90s monster nonsense, with Betty White) and Anaconda (a snake movie with too many snakes and no reason to care). Grok made an “accurate” Odyssey and it’s boring, because it turns out you need more than a technically impressive thing on screen. Ridley Scott is making another Alien movie and I mostly want to know what the hell the end of Covenant was about. I’m also running out of hard drive. One of my 8-year-old NAS drives is dying and replacements cost $1,000 right now, so I’ve decided to not think about it. We also get into Sam Altman wanting your RAM, ChatGPT telling people to go to the press about their Instagram problems, a man in Kentucky getting a religious exemption from AI (good luck with the internet, mate), Elder Scrolls: Sentinel, and the free AI-made Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom game that Luke paid $5 for. I forgot that was pay-what-you-want. Sorry. The After Party this week has Geek of the Week (a big one, and we’re not allowed to make jokes until then), Vegemite news, and Hitler news. Fuck Hitler, we agree. But also, fuck Vegemite. patreon.com/multiplenerdgasm. Topics discussedClayfaceWhat's next for DCDune: Part Three popcorn bucketYou Can See Everything (Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos)Lake Placid and AnacondaGrok's "accurate" OdysseyRidley Scott's new Alien movieVideo games we played this weekElder Scrolls leakXbox sales and hardwareMatt's dying hard drivesChatGPT harms and AI-driven hackingIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom point-and-clickFull show notes and links: https://multiplenerdgasm.com/669-clayface-you-can-see-everything-lake-placid-vs-anaconda-groks-odyssey/

A leaked trailer has made Mass Effect fans angrier than anything BioWare has done recently. With the studio shut down and Mass Effect 5 cancelled, a petition is circulating to force EA to sell the franchise. Luke and Matt go through the whole sad run from Andromeda to Anthem to the purple Dragon Age game, and they ask whether EA might still have plans for the IP (probably involving microtransactions). From there the show gets bigger. Anthropic reportedly lost $80.7 billion in the first half of this year. Matt is paying $20 a month for something that costs far more to run, and Nvidia is pre-selling RAM to companies that haven’t got anywhere to put it. Epic Games has gone AI-first on its Disney shooter after laying off 1,000 people. Matt, a senior developer, asks how anyone becomes a senior developer when there are no junior jobs. Luke’s answer is that people will be paid to play games again, and he says it with a straight face. We also try to work out whether Star Trek is a realistic model for universal basic income. There’s a Congressional bill that would let you actually own the games you buy, and Luke’s plan for Microsoft to get rich by bringing back a feature it scrapped on the Xbox One. A Valve developer said ‘HLX’ out loud and got teased for it afterwards. Luke says Half-Life 2 was repetitive and will defend that position. Matt has been playing Little Kitty, Big City for his daughter, and he keeps putting off the chainsaw ladies in Resident Evil 4. Luke reviews Street Fighter and Other Mommy after two “private screenings”, there are rumours about the next James Bond, and Taika Waititi’s Star Wars movie has been shelved. Topics discussedBioWare shut down and Mass Effect 5 cancelledAI slop at Steam Next FestAnthropic's losses and RAM pre-salesJunior developers and AIEpic Games goes AI-firstUniversal basic income and Star TrekPower to the Players ActValve's HLXLittle Kitty, Big City and Resident Evil 4Street Fighter and Other MommyNext James Bond screen testsTaika Waititi's Star Wars movie shelvedFull show notes and links: https://multiplenerdgasm.com/668-mass-effect-5-cancelled-epic-goes-ai-first-and-why-you-dont-really-own-your/

Luke went to PAX Aus! What did he do there? What does he hate about conventions? And what was Matt playing this week? You’ll have to tune in to find out. Topics discussedPAX Aus recap and Luke's pinball gloryBoard games over video gamesCon pet peeves, long lines and panel etiquettePokémon, Pikmin Bloom and location-based gamesCon food and drinkAlec Baldwin documentary follow-upYou Can See Everything (Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos)Tesla's new Roadster demo and electric car competitionMike Flanagan and Stephen King remakesStrange Horticulture, Resident Evil 4 remake and OutboundAI mashups and XboxLinks ‘The Trial of Alec Baldwin’ Review: Rory Kennedy’s Bold but Blinkered Doc Centers the Movie Star in the ‘Rust’ Tragedy, Nearly Erasing Halyna Hutchins The Tesla Roadster flew, drove upside down, and hit 60mph in under a second Carrie Showrunner Reveals Which Stephen King Movie Should Never Get A Remake Xbox is officially embracing the chaos of AI-powered game ports

It’s episode 666, so naturally we spent a chunk of it assigning the Seven Deadly Sins to the gaming industry’s worst offenders. Unity took Greed for trying to charge developers retroactively per install (still unforgivable). AI took Gluttony. Microsoft took… also Gluttony, basically. Luke took Sloth personally and voluntarily. Chris Roberts, who has been making Star Citizen since 2012, has taken over a billion dollars, and still hasn’t released the game, nearly got Sloth but ended up on Pride, which honestly tracks more. Also in this episode: Luke bought a shirt in Vietnam that might have sea cucumbers on it. Matt went to a fake Warped Tour at a brewery and thinks the Green Day tribute band put in more effort than actual Green Day. The Witcher 3 Remastered looks incredible on an ultrawide with ray tracing. Luke wants Night Trap but can’t get it in Australia. Someone is selling bootleg 4K discs of The Abyss on Amazon. The Minecraft Realm still exists and nobody has logged in. Oh, and the website has a new topics browser now: you can see that we’ve talked about Red Dead Redemption 2 fifteen times and Rogue One eighteen times. Which is a lot. Topics discussedMatt went to a fake Warped Tour at a breweryLuke bought a bright sea-creature shirt in VietnamMatt's been playing Graveyard KeeperThe Witcher 3 remastered is out and looks incredibleXbox now has Mythic achievementsDevelopers at The Coalition (Gears of War E-Day) are reportedly worriedThe 7 Deadly Sins of gaming and techBootleg physical media is apparently a real problem nowColin from Accounts season 3 is out on ParamountWe're watching Ted Lasso season 4The Pokémon TCG printed so many cards in their new set that scalpers are stuck holding stock they can't flip for much profit. Extremely satisfying.Matt updated the Multiple Nerdgasm website with an AI-powered topics pageDaylight saving is about to mess with their recording schedule againPAX Australia is next weekLinks Paramount & Warners Become Skydance Report: Gears Of War: E-Day Developers Fear For Their Jobs And Bonuses - Kotaku The Witcher 3 Remastered Nintendo Switch 2 Can Be Unlocked For Free Even If You Borrow A Switch Physical Copy From A Friend Mythic achievements

Nathan Fielder moved into Elizabeth Holmes’ house for 10 days before she went to jail, made a documentary about it, and somehow it’s rated R for graphic nudity. We have no idea what’s going on and we cannot wait. Also: Luke watched all of Silo Season 3 instead of going for a swim (the pool wasn’t warm enough), Matt went to see the Jonas Brothers and actually enjoyed it (being supportive, he insists), and Xbox had another rough week -Ninja Theory is being shut down after Microsoft couldn’t sell them, and Halo is now Activision’s problem. George Lucas came out of his box this week to say his Star Wars special editions were necessary and justified. The Ewoks blinked their disagreement. Also he claims he had three more Star Wars movies planned… we’re pretty sure he did not. Plus: the CEO of Nvidia doesn’t know his own address so kids don’t need to learn maths apparently, an AI actress glitched into Chinese mid-interview with Piers Morgan, and someone paid thousands of dollars in API fees to generate a garbage Counter-Strike clone. Good times! Topics discussedSilo Season 3Wheel of Games on TrueAchievementsJonas BrothersXbox Studio ClosuresNvidia CEO Jensen HuangTilly Norwood, AI ActressNathan Fielder's Elizabeth Holmes DocumentaryActivision making the next HaloStar Wars original theatrical cut returningLucas Museum of Narrative ArtFull show notes and links: https://multiplenerdgasm.com/665-no-jonas/

Luke goes full cinema hermit and catches two movies in one day — the 40th anniversary of Transformers: The Movie (verdict: fun but makes absolutely no sense, Hot Rod forever) and Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil (verdict: actually good, go see it, the padlock jokes are perfect). Meanwhile Matt is still playing Yoshi and the Mysterious Book with his daughter, who apparently blasted through the new Bluey game in a single weekend like some kind of toddler speedrunner. The internet is mad about Wolverine because Mystique has clothes on. Sweet Baby Inc, apparently. Blizzard announced StarCraft and Diablo 5 at BlizzCon because they had nothing else — both are 4-5 years away, both trailers are purely cinematic. Level-5 admitted they used some AI art in the Professor Layton remake announcement and everyone lost their minds. 007: First Light got delayed again on Switch 2, almost certainly because nobody wants to ship anything near GTA 6. Buffy’s 30th anniversary Emmys segment happened, it got complicated, and also we learned what gooning is. You’re welcome. Plus: a dolphin named Bubbles who has figured out that if you scare a fish enough it will throw up, and then you eat that. Luke has decided he no longer likes dolphins. Topics discussedTransformers: The Movie 40th anniversary re-releaseZach Cregger's Resident Evil reviewZack Snyder's Escape from New York remakeWolverine game 'fart sniffer' scent mechanic backlashWolverine game backlash over Mystique/Jean Grey designsProfessor Layton remake AI-art backlash007 First Light delayed again on Switch 2StarCraft open-world shooter announced for 2030Diablo 5 announced for 2029Doctor Who put out to tender, could return 2028Buffy 30th anniversary Emmys kiss request controversyBuffy in memoriam segment backlash over Nicholas BrendonDolphin Bubbles' vomit-eating hunting techniqueFull show notes and links: https://multiplenerdgasm.com/664-goon-squad/

Luke’s three VBs in not hungover this week, so prepare for some high energy discussion of the week’s going on! Topics discussedXbox Cloud Gaming hour-limit exemption emailsNintendo's tariff-refund customer appreciation saleLegend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake revealedMetroid Ravenous announcedIKEA's Kallax Storageborn Skyrim DLCWolverine game review backlash despite solid scoresStar Wars 50th anniversary theatrical re-releaseBruce Campbell says he has five years leftApple's iPhone Duo foldable phone revealSouth Park renamed 'South America' for season 29Ted Lasso discussionSpider-Noir wins posthumous Emmys after cancellationDispatch game impressionsLinks Bruce Campbell Says He Has Five Years Left Luke does not have the restriction on streaming Adventure awaits! Nintendo of America announces Customer Appreciation Sale - News - Nintendo Official Site The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable The Legend Of Zelda Ocarina Of Time Remake Fully Revealed Metroid Ravenous – Nintendo Direct 9.9.2026 - YouTube KALLAX STORAGEBORN, a free creation for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim™ from IKEA. - YouTube The Wolverine reviews are in ‘South Park’ Is “Changing Its Name” to ‘South America’ for Season 29 to Mock Trump The Just-Canceled ‘Spider-Noir’ Wins Some Posthumous Emmys

This week Microsoft quietly kneecaps Xbox Cloud Gaming with new monthly hour limits, and they’re also keeping the tariff refunds. The future of gaming may not be financially viable? Topics discussedMicrosoft & Sony keep tariff refunds after court rulingXbox Cloud Gaming new monthly hour limitsRAM/storage price surge & AI bubble concernsThe Witcher remake put on hold for Witcher 4James Pond AI-generated remake backlashPlayStation digital ownership class action lawsuitSteam 12TB data leakSilo season 3 finaleNicolas Cage's Spider-Noir cancelled after one seasonNew Star Trek movie's 'bad apples' premise backlashRidley Scott wants to make third Alien prequelPhil Tippett's studio goes bankruptAlec Baldwin trial documentary announcedFull show notes and links: https://multiplenerdgasm.com/662-insert-coin/

Xbox’s limited-edition green throwback console sold out in under a minute this week, and is now sitting on eBay for $3,300 AUD. Reasonable? You be the judge. Actually no, we’ll be the judge. That’s ridiculous. Topics discussedGreen Xbox limited-edition console sells out & scalpingXbox price increases due to RAM costsXbox disc-to-digital licensing featureIKEA Xbox furniture collectionCanceled Iron Man game footage leakPlayStation's poorly-timed digital ownership reminderHome NAS/media server & Claude-powered news digest setupWitcher 3 free remaster & Witcher 4 2028 releaseWitcher 3 Songs of the Past expansion & GwentStar Citizen: Squadron 42 delayed againChris Roberts' alleged misappropriation of Freelancer fundsNo Man's Sky redemption arc comparisonMCU catch-up: Black Panther Wakanda ForeverCaptain America: Brave New World & Red HulkThunderbolts reviewFantastic Four: First Steps reviewAvengers Endgame Encore re-releaseApple's $9 polishing cloth price cutLinks Squadrom 42 delayed… again. The scam continues! : r/pcmasterrace Apple’s Polishing Cloth is back for $9 Xbox Disc To Digital Insiders Ikea’s Xbox collection includes a giant thumbstick stool Canceled Iron Man Game Footage From Just Cause And Mad Max Developer Leaks Online PlayStation Blasts Out Poorly Timed Reminder About Digital Games The Witcher 3 Remastered Launches September Free Upgrade For All Owners The Witcher 3 Songs Of The Past Expansion Confirmed To Include More Gwent And Everyone Is Already Celebrating The Witcher 4 Confirmed For 2028 Release In Official Cd Projekt Gamescom 2026 Announcement “Avengers Endgame Encore” Is