From Dinos to Horse Girls | The Grinding Gear Podcast #129

It’s that slow summer time for gaming news, and the bad news rings loud and clear. The Microsoft layoffs have rocked the industry, stopping some games while they were deep in production. The company claims everything in the 2025 Showcase is safe, but what about the games we didn't see? In good news, Stop Killing Games finds its footing after a rocky start. Plagued with misunderstood goals and dismissive assumptions, it seems the EU based initiative has finally taken off after finding its villain. FF14 pulled a weird thing in there cash shop. We spent the weekend playing MTG. All this and more. Supportourbromance.com or you’ll be thinking about cheesecake.  

Why would Nintendo stop fun? Is Leon not scared? Can you play Death Stranding 2 without 1? Will Final Fantasy feel the heat of Expedition 33s success? Most of these questions will be answered, but us! With a sizable discussion about our post savage experience. 

When the drama is so juicy it summons a guest! Garrett and Kyle are back to run you through this weeks ongoing gaming happenings, but by the time they got to Final Fantasy 14, a frequent guest had appeared in the live chat. After dropping a few choice opinions, might as well have him on right? So Jesse Cox joins the show, to discuss the FF14 funding conversations going around and what World of Warcraft is bringing to the table. Check the livestream for bonus MTG cards talk.

Not-E3 has concluded. A mad dash through trailers. A dizzying assault of the senses. What stood out? What got lost? Well first, Garrett got a Switch, and we sat down and played a big chunk of Mario Kart World. Sony State of Play, Summer Game Fest and Xbox showcase all tackled in order. Our list might not match yours, but we all walked away with the same conclusions. That’s a lot of games! 

We’ve got a big channel update video out over on the Grinding Gear YouTube channel right now. Go give it a watch to see our new studio setup and hear what’s in store for what might be the next ten+ years of our lives. Nightreign is dominating our minds and while it’s not perfect, that’s also what’s great about it. We have ideas, the internet has ideas, lets see if this games got legs after selling 2 million copies. It’s Switch 2 release week and there is an odd quite in the air. There is a new D&D game coming from the makes of Star Wars Jedi. All this, teases and more. Go watch the video!

Good games are good. And we’ve played some GOOD games. We didn’t know we needed to play Blue Prince but we love it, and must play more. Monster Train 2 is more of the same, which is a very good thing. Final Fantasy XIV unleashed is Field Operation patch and its a solid compliment to the game, though many say they aren’t returning to play it. Elden Ring Nightreign approaches. And more! Supportourbromance.com and your VAC ducts will align. 

Grab your briefcase of your biggest words, gaming is doing the thing again. Bungie has been caught stealing art, but it’s not just art, it’s the whole look of Marathon. Ai Vader is dropping F-bombs in Fortnite. WoW housing is real, though they were a bit secretive about what could be shared. Magic the Gathering is doing great though. All this and more.

Sick hosts, but sick games! GTA 6 has a release date and trailer 2 is out. World of Warcraft is giving players a way to play with a single button. The Final Fantasy Magic the Gathering set is now the fastest selling pre-order ever. Elden Ring Nightreign is looking real good. All this and a big dose of thanks from our sickness addled brains.