Phil Spencer’s Retirement and the Future of Xbox – Unlocked 730

We all played cool games at the Game Developers' Conference last week, and we'd like to tell you about them! Plus: Michael gushes about all the fun he's been having with Marathon before talking to us about his trip to Bethesda to see Starfield's new expansion and interview Todd Howard, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight gets a new release date, April and May are unbelievably jam-packed full of games we're excited about, and more! #xbox #gaming #gdc2026 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:49 - Delphinium 00:06:36 - Dosa Divas 00:10:34 - Nomori 00:15:17 - Mongil: Star Dive 00:18:16 - At Fate's End 00:31:25 - Marathon Update with Michael 00:39:35 - Starfield updates from Michael 00:44:14 - Project Helix thoughts from Miranda and Michael 00:59:23 - Lego Batman's release date changed again? 01:01:02 - April and May Games (Samson: A Tyndalston Story, Replaced, Mouse PI for Hire, Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred) 01:03:13 - Kiln, Mixtape, Saros, 007: First Light, Paralives, Crimson Desert, Yoshi and The Mysterious Book 01:06:32 - Where to Find Us & Outro This episode of Unlocked is hosted by Ryan McCaffrey and produced by Tayo Oyekan. Technical production is by Marhyan Franzen and Amir Rakib. Technical direction and editing are handled by Nick Maillet. Graphic design is by Justin Vachon. Unlocked is an IGN production and part of the Geek Media network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Microsoft has confirmed the rumor that its next-gen console will play PC games. The machine is codenamed Project Helix, and we discuss potential names for the device, how Microsoft must get its messaging right, the advantages it might have over the competition, and much more! 00:00:00 - Intro & Welcome Nugg and MC Fixer 00:04:24 - Project Helix Announcement Reactions & Potential Names 00:24:45 - Sony Returns to Console Exclusivity & 00:31:18 - Project Helix Potential Advantages over PlayStation 00:51:22- Microsoft's GDC 2026 Keynote 01:05:09 - Outro & Where to Find Us Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've spent time with several big new games that we had a blast with this week, and we'd like to tell you all about them: Resident Evil Requiem, Marathon, Mouse: P.I. for Hire, and Control Resonant. A huge year of gaming continues – join us as we share our impressions of these four! 00:00:00 - Resident Evil Requiem 00:32:26 - Marathon 01:02:18 - Mouse P.I. For hire 01:06:51 - Control Resonant 01:13:24 - Game Pass March, Cyberpunk 2077, & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime Xbox executive Greg Canessa, aka the Creator of Xbox Live Arcade, joins us to react to, analyze, and quite honestly just process this week's seismic news about Xbox boss Phil Spencer retiring, Xbox President Sarah Bond leaving, and the appointment of new Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma. We discuss Phil's legacy, give our unsolicited advice to Asha for what we'd like to see in her era of Xbox, and more in this extra-long episode! 00:00:00 - Intro & Phil Spencer's Legacy 00:31:56 - Game Pass & Xbox's studio acquisitions 00:47:09 - Asha Sharma 01:13:35 - Sarah Bond Leaves 01:23:57 - Our Advice to Asha & Outro #xbox #ashasharma #philspencer #gaming Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just as we thought things might be lining up for a next-gen Xbox launch in 2027, a new story on hard drive availability has left us wondering if that option might be slipping away. Plus: we go over the new games coming to Xbox that were announced in last week's Sony State of Play, talk through the next wave of Xbox Game Pass additions, and more! 00:00 - Intro 01:06 - Ryan's Thoughts On Reanimal 05:16 - Are Hard Drives the Next-Gen Xbox’s Latest Roadblock? 19:05 - The Biggest Xbox Games From The Sony State of Play 47:27 - Whats Headed to Xbox Game Pass 54:58 - PokemonPlanet This weeks show is hosted by Ryan McCaffrey, Miranda Sanchez, and Michael Higham. The episode is produced and edited by Nick Maillet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remember last week's comments from AMD's CEO about being ready to support a next-gen Xbox launch in 2027? It turns out there's more to the story, so we're discussing what launch timing might make sense for Microsoft, and how we think a BS-free version of Windows 11 is a big key to the whole launch. Plus: can Baldur's Gate 3 make a good HBO TV show? We're going to find out either way, so we talked about what we want to see from the co-showrunner of The Last of US show who's in charge of this project. 00:00:00 - Intro & Replaced Demo 00:17:41 - Next-Gen Xbox 2027 Launch Reportedly 'Best Case Scenario 00:50:09 - Baldur's Gate 3 TV Show 01:06:54 - PlanetPokemon & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two big topics dominate our Xbox show this week: first, Resident Evil Requiem. Our own Michael Higham got to play a few hours of a near-final build, and he came back super excited about what will probably be the biggest game in the first quarter of 2026. And then we discussed AMD's CEO publicly stating that they'd be ready to support a next-gen Xbox launch in 2027, including whether or not we think the next Xbox will beat the PlayStation 6 to market, whether that even matters, and what Microsoft could do to try and get core gamers excited about what promises to be a very different type of console. 00:00:00 - Intro & Resident Evil Requiem 00:18:29 - Next-gen Xbox launch in 2027? 00:48:32 - No Plans For The Outher Worlds 3 01:03:04 - New to Game Pass & Outro Go to https://surfshark.com/unlocked or use code UNLOCKED at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a marathon two-hour episode, our friends from Outside Xbox join us to discuss the Top 20 games in our collaborative Top 100 Xbox Games of All Time list. We share stories, memories, and more from each of these 20 incredible Xbox games that have stood the test of time, from Halo(s) to Mass Effect(s) to GTA 5 and plenty more! 00:00:00 - Intro 00:05:24 - Halo Reach, Mass Effect, Fez 00:21:59 - Gears of War 2, Read Dead Redemption, Ninja Gaiden Black, Fable 2 00:43:46 - Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, Oblivion, COD 4, KOTOR 01:10:19 - Halo, Forza Horizon 5, Inside, Bioshock 01:30:32 - Halo 2, Gears of War 3 01:47:35 - Top 3 & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part one of our Top 100 Xbox Games of All Time conversation is here! We're talking about the games that mean a lot to us from 100-26 on our list. There will be games you remember, games that make you go, "Oh yeah, that one!", and maybe some games that are new to you. Come back next week for part two when we dig into the top games on the list! 00:00:00 - Intro & Fallout 3 00:12:20 - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind 00:19:31 - Fusion Frenzy & 1 vs 100 00:28:17 - Rainbow Six: Vegas & Street Fighter IV 00:37:02 - Full Spectrum Warrior & Mirror's Edge 00:45:21 - Halo 4 & Lost Odyssey 00:56:15 - Rock Band 3 & Wolfenstein II 01:05:55 - Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Hitman (2016), & DOOM Eternal 01:13:32 - Favorite 7/10 Games & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we react to everything shown at Xbox’s latest Developer Direct, with deep dives into Fable, Forza Horizon 6, a surprise reveal from Double Fine Productions, and a brand-new project from Game Freak. Big reactions, big speculation, and a whole lot of excitement. 00:00:00 - Intro & Fable Deep-Dive 00:37:50 - GameFreak + Beasts of Reincarnation 00:47:25 - Doublefine + Kiln 00:53:56 - Forza Horizon 6 & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices