How long have you been a Eurogamer reader for? Let me put that another way: how many different Eurogamer editors do you remember? The site has been around for a long time now - 25 years this week - so there have been a few different sets of hands at the tiller. I ask because, well, I've gathered those editors together again for a very special anniversary podcast, which you can listen to right now. With me on the podcast are Eurogamer's originating editor John Bye, better known to some as Gestalt, who edited the site from its foundation in 1999 through to 2002. Then we have Kristan Reed, who took over in 2002 and ran the site through to 2008, before passing the baton to Tom Bramwell who led through to 2014. Then Oli Welsh steered Eurogamer from 2014 to 2021, before Wesley Yin-Poole took over from 2021-2023. Unfortunately Martin Robinson and Tom Phillips - our more recent editors - were unable to join because they were at Gamescom when we recorded. We also have Ellie Gibson on the podcast, who was a hugely influential voice and personality on the site, and also briefly editor of it, in 2011.  It's been years since I've seen and talked to some of these people - I worked alongside almost all of them - and in most cases, it's been years since they've talked to each other, too. Despite that, it isn't long before we all settle into a familiar rhythm as stories are told and memories shared, and many laughs are had. I've missed these people. If ever you've been curious about the roots of Eurogamer and how the site became what it did, or if you just wondered what the former editors are up to now - or maybe you just want to reminisce - then I've got the conversation for you. A huge thank you to all of my guests both for joining the podcast and for helping make Eurogamer what it is today. Many happy returns! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Originally recorded for Eurogamer's 20th anniversary, five years ago, this podcast explores where the site's obsession with puns comes from. The podcast is hosted by Matt Reynolds and features Emma Kent, Wesley Yin-Poole and Christian Donlan - all of whom have since gone on to work elsewhere or as freelance. We'll be sporadically posting more podcasts from the archive as time goes on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the unannounced but widely-expected PlayStation 5 Pro, which looks set to launch later this year. With the PS5 Pro technical specs now out in the wild, there's been plenty of discussion around what these might mean for PlayStation games running on Sony's cutting-edge hardware. But even with improvements, are we tempted by what is likely to be a £600 upgrade? And how has it been four years since the regular PS5 launched already? And yet - we are now sitting at the likely mid-point of this console generation. For some, this is the best point to be thinking about console hardware, four years after the generation began and likely around four years from the "proper" next consoles arriving. And there will be those of course still yet to upgrade from PS4 at all. Is the Pro likely to be a tempting next step? Joining me this week to discuss are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Weekly time, the podcast show where we recap the week on Eurogamer for you. Remember premium supporters get these episodes every Friday, whereas everyone else listens from Monday.   To find out more about becoming a premium subscriber, head over to Eurogamer: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscribe   Today on Weekly, I'm joined by editor in chief Martin Robinson and features editor Christian Donlan. We talk about the amazing space pictures pumped back from the James Webb telescope this week, which Christian is very excited about, and we dive into the Mothmen legend and new game Mothmen 1966, which again, Christian is very excited about.   Elsewhere, we take a look at the hulking beast that is Grand Theft Auto Online, we dip into Company of Heroes 3, and talk about the upcoming cinematic game As Dusk Falls, which I'm very excited about. And of course we whizz through all the other videos, features and news that stood out on the site this week.   I hope you enjoy the show.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast it's all about Nintendo Switch, which is quietly having yet another brilliant year. The last few days have seen confirmation of a new Kirby game and a Bayonetta 3 release date (finally!), adding to a solid year so far and a strong end to 2022 which will also see the likes of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Splatoon 3, Mario Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. It's a bumper crop - especially compared to this year's lack of first-party launches on PlayStation and - most of all - Xbox. At the same time, the way Nintendo is detailing these games is changing. Notably, there's been no big E3 week Nintendo Direct this year, as the company keeps information on Zelda and Metroid under wraps. Is this leading to an even bigger 2023 - perhaps with new Switch hardware too? Eurogamer's Tom Phillips, Ed Nightingale and Ishraq Subhan discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to another Weekly, the show where we recap Eurogamer for you.   Remember, premium supporters of Eurogamer get these episodes every Friday, when they're freshest. Everyone else listens from Monday.   Today on Weekly, I'm joined by reviews editor Chris Tapsell and managing editor Matt Reynolds - no relation to Ryan Reynolds - and our major talking point is our brand new State of the Game series. Maybe you've seen Chris' League of Legends piece, or the Final Fantasy 14 piece we published yesterday.   The idea is to revisit games that have seen a bit of life, been out in the wilds of the world for a few years - or many years as the case may be. How have they changed? Are they better? What state are they in? They are the kinds of questions the series hopes to answer.   It's a great opportunity for us to dive into games that sometimes pass us by - games like League of Legends, which Chris has been itching to write about for years, or games like Final Fantasy 14, which is somehow, eight years into its life, having its most prosperous era ever. And there are plenty more.   Elsewhere, we take a closer look at Pokémon Go (an ideal candidate for that State of the Game series), which turned six years old this summer. Can you believe it? I still remember the excitement of spotting people playing it in the park. People, outside, playing video. It was, and still is, remarkable.   Matt Reyolds knows the game very well. He can still remember the shambolic first Go Fest event he went to in Chicago. But Go Fest returned after an extended three-year COVID break this year in Berlin, and our Tom Phillips went to see what it was like.   I also talk a bit more about being a judge for the Green Game Jam this year, which I really enjoyed and I was encouraged by, but I'd love to see more big gaming companies taking part next year.    All that plus a whistle-stop tour of the news - God of War: Ragnarok is actually coming out this year! - and other features, reviews and videos, that caught our eye on the site this week.   I'm Bertie, this was Weekly, we'll see you next week.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Weekly show, we're talking Pride Week, as well as recapping the rest of Eurogamer for you.   My guests wrote some of the wonderful pieces we've published as part of Pride Week. They are show newcomers Ed Nightingale, a news reporter on Eurogamer - who you'll recognise from the Newscast - and, all the way from tabletop land, Dicebreaker senior staff writer Alex Meehan. Alex often writes the Dicebreaker Recommends posts you see on Eurogamer each month.   Ed helped organise Pride Week this year so we begin with his thoughts on it, before moving onto his interview with the first openly trans eSports caster, Eli "Captain Fluke". She's blazing a trail in the Rainbow Six Siege and Valorant worlds and helping power a self-fulfilling loop of change there.   Alex, meanwhile, wrote about how a visual novel game called Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers provided her with a safe space to enjoy her sexuality away from the preconceptions and pressure sometimes attached to it. She also wrote about loud and proud tabletop RPG Thirsty Sword Lesbians, calling it "a glorious escape from inhibition".   Pride Week has been brilliant and there are still some pieces to come. My  podcast interview with BioWare/Dragon Age legend David Gaider is among them and will be made available to everyone later today. A big shout out to Matt Wales for putting the whole week together, and to Lottie Lynn and Ed for helping him.   Also on Weekly, we talk about super-exciting new Devolver game Cult of the Lamb, which I've just fallen in love with; we take a closer look at  timeline-altering horror game Eternal Threads, which Vikki has just reviewed; and we whisk through the recent Nintendo Direct, singling out the announcements that stood out to us. Ed manages to also talk about Lady D stepping on him again as he looks forward to Resident Evil Village DLC Shadows of Rose. That, plus everything else that caught my eye around the site this week.   I'm Bertie, this was Weekly, and we'll see you next week.   Eurogamer supporters get Weekly episodes every Friday, ahead of everyone else. They also get One-to-one episodes two weeks early, plus a whole host of other benefits. To find out more about becoming a Eurogamer supporter, head over to the Eurogamer website: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Apologies for this episode's recording quality.)   I don't think David Gaider needs much of an introduction. He, affectionately, is mister Dragon Age. He was the one tasked with dreaming up the entire world and everything in it. We talk about it in this episode of One-to-one. BioWare's James Ohlen apparently gave Gaider a historic atlas and an "off you go".   But how did he go about creating it - where do you even start with something like that? And what did the original vision for Dragon Age look like? Well, I can tell you it didn't have any Darkspawn in it, which is wild, considering Darkspawn were the main threat in the game and featured heavily in the series thereafter. And get this: originally, you weren't going to be able to cast any offensive magic spells in the game either - imagine that!   Gaider was also a key figure in the rise of LGBTQ+ representation and same-sex relationships in BioWare games, and is the creator of arguably the studio's most famous characters in this regard, Dorian. Curiously, though, it wasn't Gaider who started the same-sex relationships push but someone else, in Jade Empire - he doesn't remember who. 'Whaaat we can do that?' He remembers thinking when he saw it, and the rest was history.   But being gay was a side of himself he kept pretty quiet at BioWare, feeling it wouldn't gel with the "frat boy" atmosphere he felt around him. It wasn't until Canada legalised same-sex marriage and a wedding email thread went around, garndering many enthusiastic replies, that he realised he'd maybe worried for no reason, and relaxed.   Gaider has had a remarkable effect on BioWare and its games. And to think that he initially turned down a job offer there because it seemed like a scruffy company with an uncertain future, compared to his managerial post at a hotel nearby. I know: he wasn't even working in games! But he did live in games, having played Dungeons & Dragons since it began and in writing parlour LARPS of his own.   BioWare and Dragon Age were quite a long time ago for Gaider now, though. He talks me through his reasons for leaving and how he felt the company was changing. Fast-forward to today and he lives on the other side of the world in Australia, where he helped co-found a studio making a brilliant-sounding role-playing musical called Stray Gods: An Adventure Musical. But how does a musical RPG work? David Gaider tells me a lot more about it.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I can't believe she flipped a coin to decide the degree she'd do. If it had fallen differently, she might have been on an archaeological dig somewhere now, in Egypt, looking at ancient bones. But instead she's here as the guides editor of Eurogamer, looking at ancient writers like me.   She is Lottie Lynn and much to our benefit, the coin she flipped landed on 'writing' instead, something that's been a driving passion in her life since forever. She's published short stories and is even working on not one but two novels at the same time, as you do. Moreover, she's one of the only people I know to still write a lot of this by hand. She fills piles of notebooks with meticulous handwriting, even while sitting by her computer in the office - a hybrid approach, I suppose she'd call it.   So how does that land her in guides? Well, I was surprised to discover she'd written some as a teenager for GameFAQs, though they don't exist any more. Apparently she'd always had an eye on games journalism, and when working as a farm labourer (!) wasn't quite ticking the box, she gave herself a year to pursue a dream instead. And look how it turned out.   Lottie is a font of knowledge on all things guides, of course. She talks me through how they come together, what makes a good guide, and shares lots of really useful advice for anyone considering that avenue into games.   Lottie is also a font of knowledge about RuneScape, a defining game in her life, one she's played for 16 years now. It's even partially responsible for jump-starting her career. And it's a curious game, one I'll admit I didn't fully understand, as I looked down my nose at it from my other-MMO background - not until I started to appreciate the way people actually play it. Lottie, of course, explains it better.   So this is Lottie Lynn and this is episode 17 of One-to-one (the series formerly known as The New Eurogamer Podcast). I hope you enjoy it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Weekly time, which means strap in while we recap Eurogamer this week for you. All you have to do is press play. I know, I know, we're spoiling you - you don't even have to read the site any more (note: you definitely do).   My guests today are Martin "the chief" Robinson and Chris "the brain" Tapsell, and we've got a lot to talk about. There's the whole PlayStation Plus relaunch, for starters. Is it any good? Chris has thoughts, as you might have already read, and Martin has plenty too.    Chris also has plenty to say about a game he reviewed this week called Milky Way Star - The Vampire Prince, which is a niche kind of visual novel but sounds fascinating when explained. Meanwhile, Martin explains the charms of musou games, as we talk Fire Emblem: Three Hopes, then tells us about his candid interview with DICE about what's next for Battlefield 2042 after its disastrous launch. He's a big fan and suffice to say, he's enthused.   All that plus some chit-chat about Creative Assembly's new game Hyenas, which we're on the fence about; Yuji Naka hanging out with Michael Jackson, which, yeah; plus lots more feature, news and video talk besides.   Weekly is released every Friday for supporters and everyone else listens from Monday. I hope you enjoy the show. We'll see you next week.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PlayStation Plus is now available in the UK and mainland Europe, and we now know all of the games included in its catalogue at launch. It's enough to hit Sony's promises, certainly, though there are still odd omissions - while the lack of 60Hz for some PS1 games (for now) points to a rather rushed release.  What can Sony do to build on this launch and improve the new PlayStation Plus Premium further? Eurogamer's Tom Phillips, Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy are on hand to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's episode five of Weekly, our podcast show in which we recap the week on Eurogamer for you. We know you're busy so don't worry, we've got your back.   Remember, premium supporters of Eurogamer get these episodes every Friday, whereas everyone else listens from the following Monday. Find out more about supporting us here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscribe   My guests this week are features editor Christian Donlan and guides editor Lottie Lynn, and Donlan's cat Milton who wasn't invited but came along anyway.   In episode five we take a closer look at the PC Gaming Show and Capcom Showcase, which came at the tail-end of the Summer Game Fest bonanza, and we dive deeper into our thoughts on remade Turtles game Shredder's Revenge; the superb new Olli Olli World expansion Void Riders; and we get all catty about Stray, a cyberpunky game about a being cat and which is shaping up to be one of the most promising titles this year.   On top of that, we talk a bit about our reviews for Neon White, Please Fix the Road, and Deathrun TV, concluding that good grief, games are really good at the moment; we take a look at what the Eurogamer Video team has been up to; we try to understand what Digital Foundry has been up to; and we take a look at all of the other headlines that have stood out to us this week. Warning: contains the words "Fallout 5" and "Movie adaptations of games".   All of Eurogamer's Summer Game Fest coverage is here: https://www.eurogamer.net/e3-2022-guide-conference-schedule-times-dates-streams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starfield dominated Microsoft and Bethesda's E3 event, though praise has not been unanimous. It looked like a Bethesda RPG - to the surprise of people apparently expecting something else. Was it really as disappointing as some have said? Finally, with not-E3 done and dusted, we talk about 2023 - when both E3 and Summer Game Fest return as in-person events. What will that look like, and will things be less messy in 12 months? Eurogamer's Tom Phillips, Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Ishraq Subhan discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss who might pick up the baton and develop a potential Baldur's Gate 4 - now that BG3 studio Larian has confirmed it is leaving the franchise behind. The rights to Baldur's Gate of course belong to Wizards of the Coast, who are free to enlist another studio to make further games in the Dungeons and Dragons universe - and even use Larian's characters. And considering how well BG3 has been received, it would seem financially prudent for a publisher to mount some kind of follow-up at some point. Perhaps BioWare might like to give it another go? Alternatively you could argue - and Larian's own Swen Vincke has done so - that there really shouldn't need to be a Baldur's Gate 4 at all. BG3 was great, but why does that mean there has to be more? Joining me this week to discuss are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to weekly, a show where we recap the week in games on Eurogamer for you, whisking through the reviews, news, features and videos that stood out.   This week we look back at Summer Game Fest, the moment the Xbox/Bethesda conference wraps. We talk about what's been announced and what our highlights have been. And we're joined live from LA by Martin Robinson who's been at the physical incarnation of the show. Features editor Christian Donlan also joins us for the show.   Don't forget to check out our written round-ups of everything that happened at Summer Game Fest over on the Eurogamer website: https://www.eurogamer.net/e3-2022-guide-conference-schedule-times-dates-streams#section-8 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today it's all about cookbooks. More specifically: it's about cookbooks themed around games, which are all the rage these days. Do you have one? Maybe you've got the Destiny cookbook, or perhaps you've got the Fallout cookbook. The Final Fantasy 14 cookbook? Maybe you're saving yourself for the Halo cookbook in August.     My guest today wrote all of those and she's currently writing three more. She actually finished writing the Halo cookbook a year ago, though how she pulled recipes from a world like that I don't know. What does Master Chief even eat? Can he eat? He can't want to be caught short in that suit.    My guest immerses herself in game worlds to create a kind of extension of them. Check out our piece on the Destiny cookbook to see what I mean. These books include characters and lore from the games as well as something like 70 recipes to cook. They're more than just food.    She didn't always want to be a cook, though. Once upon a time she wanted to be a stormchaser, which is super cool. In the end, though, she studied 3D animation and found herself at a company making user interfaces for NASA, of all places, and even designed software used on the International Space Station.    But games and food were passions in her life that wouldn't quit, and one fateful day she realised she could combine them to powerful effect. Fast forward 10 years and this self-taught chef is now a full-time professional, and has been for about a year now.   It's my pleasure to introduce the lovely Victoria Rosenthal to you. She works under the name Pixelated Provisions online, which is her blog where you can find hundreds of video game-inspired recipes from all kinds of games. Fancy some Animal Crossing carrot scones or some Hell Stew from Yakuza: Like a Dragon? Rosenthal has got you covered.    🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 👉 You can find Victoria Rosenthal on Twitter: @PixelatedVicka 🤗 And you can find us in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/inside-video-game-cookbooks-with-one-of-the-bizs-top-chefs 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summer Game Fest brought plenty of announcements though few genuine surprises.  Eurogamer's news team shares their favourites, rates the night overall, and provides you with their best impressions of the Clickers from The Last of Us. Tom Phillips hosts, joined by Eurogamer news reporters Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We keep coming back to puppetry as a running theme, and that's because, much to my surprise, Citizen Sleeper creator Gareth Damian Martin is a trained puppeteer. When they ran out of time to apply to art college, they chose puppetry instead, which would eventually take them into a career in theatre design, where they learned lots of valuable lessons - one of them being dealing with un-moveable deadlines by planning only what can be done in time. That's how they made Citizen Sleeper in two years, and how they were able to plan a break before launch so they could return refreshed for it. So that's how I find Damian Martin today: refreshed, calm and smiling.     They've got good reason to smile of course: Citizen Sleeper appears to have been a big success. Because of Game Pass, it's being played by many, many more people than Damian Martin's previous game, In Other Waters. But it's been bought by more people too, both on console and on PC, which is obviously gratifying - and it means Damian Martin can comfortably make games for the foreseeable future. And there are more Citizen Sleeper plans they're already working on.   But what really fulfils Damian Martin is the feedback they're getting about the game: the heartfelt messages from people who feel seen by the new sci-fi role-playing game. It's a game that thinks a lot on othering and the idea of belonging, all against the backdrop of a fairly brutal capitalist reality, and clearly it's striking a chord with people. It's also interesting seeing the same themes pop up in Damian Martin's life, as they walk me through the many twists and turns it has taken so far. Growing up in the Orkney islands and playing among ancient burial sites sounds awesome.   This, then, is Gareth Damian Martin, creator of Citizen Sleeper and In Other Waters, as well as the Heterotopias games zine. And they're someone who has a lot of interesting things to say.   Episode 15 is now available to all. Incidentally, the show has been renamed One-to-one in order to differentiate it from the other shows we now publish to the podcast feed: Newscast and Weekly. The name "One-to-one" actually better represents what this in-depth interview series is all about, anyway. The umbrella title for the podcast feed has also changed, moving from The New Eurogamer Podcast to, simply, Eurogamer Podcasts. It makes more sense.   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 👉 You can find Gareth Damian Martin on Twitter: @JumpOvertheAge 🤗 And you can find us in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/gareth-damian-martin-on-their-life-citizen-sleeper-and-whats-next 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the third episode of Weekly, our newish show where we recap the week on Eurogamer for you. We look at reviews and features, news and videos, and pull out some of the talking points from the week.   Those alking points this week are the PlayStation Plus relaunch, which we don't dwell on because the Newscast tackles it in much more detail. But we do dwell on the new Evil Dead game, which we've been playing, and Warner Bros.' new Smash Bros.' (how many brothers can there be?) game Multiversus, which we've also been playing. Are either of them any good?   My guests this week are Eurogamer editor in chief Martin Robinson and, for the first time, the wonderful Christian Donlan, our features editor here.   Eurogamer premium supporters get these Weekly recaps first, every Friday, and everyone else listens from the following Monday. We hope you enjoy the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And how will Xbox cope without Starfield this year? Eurogamer Newscast features our team of news reporters discussing the week's biggest headlines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Weekly recaps the week on Eurogamer for you. We look at the notable news, reviews, features and videos you might have missed. Don't have time? Don't worry, we've got your back.     Weekly is hosted by Eurogamer veteran Bertie Purchese and features a rotating roster assembled from the Eurogamer team and beyond.   Supporters of the Eurogamer website get these episodes every Friday, a few days before everyone else. See the website for how to subscribe. Talking points this week: Starfield delayed: https://www.eurogamer.net/starfield-and-redfall-delayed-to-2023 EA ditching the FIFA brand: https://www.eurogamer.net/after-almost-30-years-ea-is-officially-ditching-the-fifa-brand-1 Nintendo's Indie showcase: https://www.eurogamer.net/all-the-big-announcements-from-nintendo-indie-world Microsoft's brilliant new accessibility peripherals: https://www.eurogamer.net/microsoft-unveils-new-accessibility-focused-adaptive-accessories-range Unconvincing Gotham Knight footage: https://www.eurogamer.net/new-gotham-knights-reveal-debuts-nightwing-and-red-hood-gameplay Ian plays Elden Ring in VR and it's as eye-popping as you expect: https://www.eurogamer.net/exploring-elden-ring-in-first-person-vr-is-a-real-game-changer What's Microsoft going to do about Xbox DRM that stopped people playing games they owned? https://www.eurogamer.net/microsofts-dodgy-drm-comes-into-the-limelight-and-no-ones-smiling F1 breaking America is great, but it raises big questions for the sport and series going forwards: https://www.eurogamer.net/codemasters-f1-series-faces-the-same-balancing-act-as-the-sport Loot River is great: https://www.eurogamer.net/loot-river-review-the-dungeon-crawl-reconfigured For everything else, see: Eurogamer video: https://www.youtube.com/c/eurogamer/videos Digital Foundry: https://www.eurogamer.net/digital-foundry And Eurogamer: https://www.eurogamer.net/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Newscast is a weekly show in which the Eurogamer news team pick apart the major talking points in news that week.   This week, we're talking about FIFA - or from next year, EA Sports FC. The breakup of FIFA and EA has sparked numerous headlines this week, as both sides have claimed the deal is good for them.   But behind all the bluster, what do we think EA Sports FC will really look like in future? And does FIFA stand any chance of coming up with a rival game developed in time for next year? Joining me to discuss all of that are Eurogamer news reporters Victoria Kennedy and Ishraq Subhan, plus resident footy fan Wesley Yin-Poole. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Weekly recaps the week on Eurogamer for you. We look at the notable news, reviews, features and videos you might have missed. Don't have time? Don't worry, we've got your back.     Weekly is hosted by Eurogamer veteran Bertie Purchese and features a rotating roster assembled from the Eurogamer team and beyond.     Supporters of the Eurogamer website get these episodes every Friday, a few days before everyone else. See the website for more information about how to subscribe: https://www.eurogamer.net/   Some of the talking points this week: Square Enix sells studios and IP alarmingly cheap:  https://www.eurogamer.net/square-enix-sells-off-western-studios-and-ip-including-tomb-raider-and-deus-ex The old Tomb Raider trilogy was great: https://www.eurogamer.net/remembering-crystal-dynamics-original-tomb-raider-trilogy Reggie Fils-Aime doesn't like GameBoy Micro but we do: https://www.eurogamer.net/game-boy-micro-was-a-nonstarter-reggie-fils-aime-warned-nintendo What the hell is weird pub game Toads: https://www.eurogamer.net/the-joy-of-toads-and-the-fight-for-east-sussexs-world-championships Ian plays Elden Ring upside down for some reason: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kviGIQeP1ak Citizen Sleeper review: https://www.eurogamer.net/citizen-sleeper-review-a-gentle-cerebral-game-of-belonging-and-survival Switch Sports review:  https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-switch-sports-review-online-or-local-its-a-treat King Arthur: Knight's Tale review:  https://www.eurogamer.net/king-arthur-knights-tale-review-nice-ideas-cant-lift-a-trudgy-core Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Demonhunters review: https://www.eurogamer.net/warhammer-40000-chaos-gate-daemonhunters-review-rich-raucous-space-marine-strategy   For everything else, see Eurogamer. Thank you. See you in a week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 A publisher perspective: we haven't had one of those before, and it's an area of pivotal importance in games people often have misconceptions about. How does it all work, from spotting a game to signing it, to marshalling it out of the door? And whose side are publishers on?   My guest today started their own label five years ago in the hope of doing things differently - and things have gone very well. Today, No More Robots employs 13 people and is responsible for notable small-team games like Hypnospace Outlaw, Descenders, Not Tonight, and Yes, Your Grace.   The recently-announced Hypnospace Outlaws spiritual sequel Dreamsettler apparently became one of the company's most Wishlisted games. Not bad for a project Rose apparently suggested because he wanted more Hypnospace music.   But once upon a time, it was just Rose. Rose taking a punt on a Dutch downhill biking game behind closed doors at Gamescom 2017 - and apparently Descenders looked very different then. But his keen eye has helped build a great portfolio since then and even allowed the company to branch into internal game development. He did once pass on Overcooked, though, because he didn't think local co-op would take off again, so you know, it hasn't always gone to plan.   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 👉 You can find Mike Rose on Twitter: @RaveofRavendale 🤗 And you can find us in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/what-its-actually-like-being-a-game-publisher 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we digest the last seven days of headlines from GDC 2024 - a conference that was unsurprisingly coloured by the past 18 months of industry turmoil. Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell was there, and joins us today to report back on what was being said on the ground. From this side of the pond, we saw the widespread anger at mass layoffs and the scepticism surrounding AI. But what was the mood at GDC 2024 really like - and how did game developers there actually feel? Chris fills us in on what he heard - and why, at a conference filled with dozens of developers presenting their best work, the mood wasn't exclusively doom and gloom. Take a listen to hear Chris' favourite moments from the show - plus renditions of a Mario power-up sound effect from him and Newscast regular Victoria Kennedy. Blup-blup-blup! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is, perhaps, no department in video game journalism so pressured as reviews.  It's long been a pivotal part of what Eurogamer and many other outlets offer: a critical opinion on whatever the latest game is. Without reviews, the industry would look very different. What would we argue about?   It's into this position of responsibility Chris Tapsell stepped last November when he became Eurogamer's new reviews editor. And in the few months since, he's had to oversee one of the biggest starts to a year in a gaming in memory, with massive games like Elden Ring and Horizon to contend with.   To hear what it's like in such a role, and how he got there - and where he plans to take reviews in the future - tune into Episode 13 of The New Eurogamer Podcast now.   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 👉 You can find Chris Tapsell on Twitter: @Christapsell 🤗 And you can find us in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: http://www.eurogamer.net/discussing-reviews-with-reviews-editor-chris-tapsell 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's all going on for Greg Buchanan. His still-warm thriller novel Sixteen Horses looks destined to become one of the books of the year, having filled window displays at Waterstones stores around the UK for the paperback launch in February. I've read it and it's brilliant; dark, disturbing, fearsomely intelligent and utterly compelling. I couldn't put it down.    Such is the popularity of the book that it's going to be adapted for TV. And there will be a follow-up book called Consumed that he's writing right now. And he has a deal for a third, standalone, unrelated book he's also writing right now, as a kind of creative relief from Consumed.   But that's not all Buchanan has got going on. He recently announced he will be one of the writers on the new Dark Souls tabletop RPG. It's - as I find out in this episode of The Eurogamer Podcast - one of his favourite series of games, and he has a lot of interesting things to say about it (and Elden Ring).   Games run strong in Buchanan's veins, you see. It's actually through gaming we got to know him after he added a proper story to No Man's Sky. He's also published a couple of pieces of interactive fiction, themed around the controversial topics of Brexit and the American Trump election, which you can play for free now (we mention these briefly in the episode).   Either Buchanan is a rising star or he's up in the night sky beaming already. Either way, he seems destined for big things. So join me in Episode 12 of The New Eurogamer Podcast as I get to know him better.    🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 🤗 Or you can find me in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast:  🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was during a lecture they probably should have been listening to that Sara Thompson doodled the Dungeons & Dragons Combat Wheelchair on the back of a textbook. They'd been talking about it for a while, the wheelchair, irked by a game that offered players limitless freedom to be whoever they wanted but still struggled to fully represent them. So they did something about it.    A few years later, that Combat Wheelchair add-on for Dungeons & Dragons is on a third edition and has reached right around the world. It got the attention of writers working for D&D maker Wizards of the Coast, inspired bespoke miniature models and was featured by mega-popular Critical Role host Matt Mercer.   That's not all Thompson is known for, though. Thompson is a Witcher encyclopaedia, having been employed to work on the tabletop RPG for R. Talsorian Games. And it was this knowledge which led to a discussion about Geralt of Rivia having a disability, and the discussion went viral, eventually attracting the attention of Witcher Netflix showrunner Lauren Hissrich herself.   These two events propelled Thompson into the public eye, but in between, they've been hard at work on a number of tabletop role-playing games, including Pathfinder, Starfinder, Cyberpunk and many more. They're someone on the stormy cusp of progress, pushing disabled representation in games forward. And this is their story.   Here's a link to the article on Geralt's disability that we talk about: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-11-24-geralt-of-rivia-a-disabled-protagonist Here's a link to Sara's Combat Wheelchair D&D add-on: https://twitter.com/mustangsart/status/1441390363298570243   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 🤗 Or you can find me in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast:  🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I've had a soft spot for Inkle ever since playing Sorcery! on my old banger of an iPhone many years ago, and I've been delighted by every single game it has made since. Games like 80 Days, Heaven's Vault, Overboard! and Pendragon - games that wield words masterfully. And I cannot wait for the studio's new game A Highland Song that was revealed properly only a few weeks ago.     It's with great excitement, then, that I introduce today's Eurogamer Podcast guests. They are the two people who founded Inkle just over 10 years ago. The two people who once met working on a curious game at Sony about the cycle of a person's life - a game that would ultimately never be made. But they became friends, dreaming together about what kind of games they would make, and then one day, dreams became reality and Inkle was born.   They are Joseph Humfrey and Jon Ingold, and this is their winding tale.   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 🤗 Or you can find me in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 👀 Find out more about Inkle's work on its website: https://www.inklestudios.com/ 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-03-07-the-story-of-heavens-vault-maker-inkle 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aoife is our queen of video. She helped imagine what video could be for Eurogamer eight years ago, and she's worked to define it ever since. If you've ever seen a Eurogamer video on YouTube, there's a whopping great chance she's in it.   But what is life really like in that role, in the public eye? To see her and the video team surrounded by fans at shows like EGX makes it seem like a dream job. But is it? What about the responsibility that comes with people looking up to you? What about the pressure of being in the public eye? There are some misconceptions about the role, about the glamour of it, and about the amount of work done behind the scenes.   In Episode 9 of The Eurogamer Podcast, now available to everyone - either here on on all major podcast platforms - Aoife lets us in on the reality, as she shares her story of how she got here and what she's learned along the way.   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 🤗 Or you can find me in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 🎥 You can find Aoife on the Eurogamer YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Eurogamer 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-18-podcast-eurogamers-aoife-wilson-on-life-in-video 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I was hoping they'd be funny in real-life, because their games are, and I'm absolutely delighted to say they are. I'm still genuinely warmed that they're best friends in real-life and have been since school. I'd hoped as much - it's why I asked them to be on the Podcast together (the first double-header!) - but I didn't realise how fundamental to everything their friendship would be.   They are Dan Marshall and Ben Ward, the eponymous heroes and funny men behind the Dan and Ben series. See them in such daring adventures as Ben There, Dan That; Time Gentleman, Please; and Lair of the Clockwork God - the latter of which was one of my favourite games of 2020.    Dan Marshall is also known for superb burglary platformer The Swindle, among other smaller games like Gun Monkeys and Behold the Kickmen. And while these are games he didn't ostensibly make with Ben Ward, they are still concepts and ideas he absolutely ran past him and asked for his feedback on - and apparently he's hard to please!   The two of them are never happier than when giggling over ridiculous ideas encamped in a pub. Or, while on a writing retreat, which is what they actually call it, spending a week in a cottage somewhere that has a hot tub. What began with writing comics while they were supposed to be working in class has flourished into a lifelong friendship and collaboration. I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I did.   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 🤗 Or you can find me in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 👀 Find out more Size Five Game's work on its website: http://www.sizefivegames.com/ 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-07-swindle-dev-dan-marshall-reveals-new-spacefaring-game-in-the-eurogamer-podcast 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer                Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Game of the Year 2021 was a surprise for some of you, I'm sure. It was - and is - a game that found a powerful new way to tell a story. A game that invited our lives and experiences by hiding the subject of its story.   It's a simple game, a game about unpacking boxes, and it was inspired when co-creators Wren Brier and Tim Dawson did exactly that: moved together. It was an idea that struck Brier almost immediately but she struggled mustering the confidence to build it out. With Dawson's encouragement and help, though, she managed it, and years later, here we are. Unpacking is a rare game that resonates quickly and deeply with nearly everyone.   Today's special guest on The Eurogamer Podcast, then, is Wren Brier, and this is the story of how Unpacking was made (on Windows 7 would you believe?!) and more.    🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 🤗 Or you can find me in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-24-podcast-unpacking-unpacking-with-creator-wren-brier 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oli Welsh has worked at Eurogamer for 14 years, and led the website as Editor-in-Chief for seven of those. Now, however, he has decided to move on, and embark on a new challenge in his life, which is a wonderful attitude to have.   This, then, is my final chance to sit down with Oli before he leaves, to hear about his life and how he came to be in this job; to hear about what it's like to be an editor of a high profile games website; and to find out more about his decision to leave and what comes next.   Some pieces we mention during the episode: The one about the light switches: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-11-20-someone-should-make-a-game-about-light-switches Oli's infamous Metal Gear Solid 4 review: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/metal-gear-solid-4-guns-of-the-patriots-review Oli's Fez review: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-04-12-fez-review   Supporters of Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more on the Eurogamer website: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscribe   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 🤗 Or you can find me in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-12-27-sitting-down-with-departing-editor-oli-welsh-in-the-eurogamer-podcast 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story goes that Fahmi was drinking a warm green tea latte one cold, rainy night, and looking out of his window, when an idea hit him. He felt serenely calm and warm and wondered, 'Why isn't there a game that makes me feel like this?' So an idea began to, ahem, percolate in his mind. An idea about a game in which you served warm drinks in a cafe late at night, listening to people's lives and problems. And sure, these people happen to literally be succubi and orcs and werewolves and vampires, but they look like us and their problems are very like ours. And lo, Coffee Talk was born.   There's a lot of love that's built around Coffee Talk in the year since it's been out, and it's  not terribly hard to see why. It really is that warm and relaxing drink Fahmi intended (and this, incidentally, is an ideal time of year to play it). Low-fi beats lounge in the background while beautifully pixel-drawn characters sit down to talk with you. There's no stress, there's no rush, there's just you and them, words and lives. And there are some potent pops of wisdom along the way too. I will never look at arguments in the same way again.   But as if releasing one game wasn't enough, Fahmi went ahead and released another in 2020, a smaller one called What Comes After. It's a game about a young girl at her lowest ebb in life, who one day drifts off on a train home only to wake and find herself in a spirit world. It's quite Spirited Away but that's intended. And it's from these spirits Vivi rekindles a passion both for herself and the life she still lives. It's moving, and there's a very touching intention behind it, as you'll discover in the episode.   My guest this week, then, is the lovely Indonesian writer and narrative designer. To hear about what it's like developing games on the other side of the world, and to hear a bit about his new game Project Heartbreak - oh, and about the literal dozens of cats he looks after - play Episode Five of The New Eurogamer Podcast now. That's an order!   Remember, supporters of the Eurogamer website get this podcast two weeks before everyone else. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 🤗 Or you can find me in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 👀 Find out more about Fahmi on his website: https://fahmitsu.com/ 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-12-13-get-to-know-coffee-talk-creator-fahmi-in-the-new-eurogamer-podcast 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The tide of accessibility in games is turning. Ground-breaking releases like The Last of Us Part 2, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Forza Horizon 5 show us what can be accomplished when you think about accessibility in the right way. They show us that by consulting the right people and by factoring accessibility deep into the foundations of your game, you can invite and enable more people to enjoy it than ever before.   It's tempting to think this just happened, that game developers woke up one day and decided accessibility was something they needed to improve. But of course they didn't. Behind the realisation was a push. A push from a community who needed better access to the entertainment and escapism games provide.   My guest on The Eurogamer Podcast this week is someone who's a key part of that community. He's someone whose writing for Eurogamer has helped bring awareness to the accessibility challenges he faces, as someone with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and many people face. "With great accessibility comes great inclusivity," he said to a Discord full of cheers during the Games Accessibility conference. He is Vivek Gohil.   You can learn more about Vivek on his Uncanny Vivek blog: https://uncannyvivek.com/ And you can learn more about the SpecialEffect charity that changed Vivek's life - something we talk about in the Podcast - on its website: https://www.specialeffect.org.uk/   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 🤗 Or you can find me in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 👀 Find out more about Fahmi on his website: https://fahmitsu.com/ 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-11-29-talking-accessibility-with-vivek-gohil-in-episode-4-of-the-new-eurogamer-podcast 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we talk about where Nintendo can take its moustachioed mascot next when he returns for the Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel. We heard confirmation of a second Mario film this week, though notably it was not confirmed this would be "The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2". Mario and friends will return, of course (the first film's billion dollar box office guaranteed that), but Nintendo was typically coy around what exactly this follow-up will focus on. Donkey Kong? Daisy? Yoshi? Birdo? We get our thinking Cappy's on to theorise where the Mushroom Kingdom's story might go next, and whether this is all leading to some kind of Avengers-esque Super Smash Bros. team up movie. Or, alternatively, whether none of this really matters as it's just a light-hearted film for families. With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One thing the old Eurogamer Podcast was really good at was giving our writers a way to show themselves outside of the pieces they write for the site. I think this provided an opportunity for you to get to know them - us - beyond the words, as people, which we are, horns and tails and hooves aside. And I didn't want to lose that with the New Podcast, because it's nice to show you who we are, and there aren't many opportunities for it. That's why I want to steadily pull in members of the Eurogamer team and talk to them the same way I would any of my guests, and have them share their lives and experiences and build a picture of who they are. And my guinea pig for the first of these is someone who has been - and will continue to be - front and centre of Eurogamer for years: newly appointed Editor-in-Chief Martin Robinson [this podcast was recorded before his new appointment], who celebrated his 10th anniversary here this year.    We love Martin for his reliably contrary views and unrelenting passion for racing games. And it's actually that passion for racing I wanted to really dig into in this episode, because it's a theme which winds way back into his formative years and, I think, goes on to define him in some way, and the things he loves doing now.   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 🤗 Or you can find me in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-11-01-the-eurogamer-podcast-how-racing-games-defined-one-of-our-finest 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even when she was writing Harry Potter fanfiction as a child, something I'm sure she won't thank me for sharing, she was doing something she still does now: questioning the world and challenging the parts of it she doesn't like. It's a mindset which would catapult her to fame when collaborating on Inkle's celebrated game 80 Days, as she unpicked the novel Jules Verne famously wrote, and challenged the backwards, colonial attitudes in it.   Since then, she's gone from strength to strength, working on renowned gaming projects like Sunless Sea, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Boyfriend Dungeon and, more recently - in fact very recently - open-world adventure Sable.   She is - drumroll - Meghna Jayanth, and this, in roughly an hour, is her life.   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 🤗 Or you can find me in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 👀 Follow Meghna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/betterthemask 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-11-01-meet-meghna-jayanth-in-episode-2-of-the-new-eurogamer-podcast 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Quake holds a special place in our hearts at Eurogamer because it was out of that community the website once grew. Imagine that! It feels like an era ago. But where better to begin a new venture, a new podcast series, than there?   Yes, the Eurogamer Podcast is back! But it's slightly different to what you might have heard before. Long-time Eurogamer writer Robert "Bertie" Purchese joins the show as host, and brings with him a new, more intimate, interview approach. Every fortnight, he'll find another interesting person from the world of games to talk to, and explore their life and career in the industry we love.   First in the chair is Sujoy Roy, a name you might well recognise if you were part of that Quake scene more than 20 years ago. But if you weren't, it doesn't matter, because here's what you need to know: Sujoy Roy was a legend. He was the UK's first professional gamer. What a bizarre thought it is now, with major esports stars and tournaments so prevalent around the world. But there was a time when the prospect of being paid to be really good at a game was not a thing. Someone, then, had to forge a path.   So let's travel back to Cambridge University in the UK in the1990s, to a time of dial-up modems and computer mice with balls in them, and to a dorm room where a star pupil has made a discovery - of a game, a community, and a way of life.   🎉 Subscribers to Eurogamer get these episodes first. Find out more here: https://www.eurogamer.net/subscriptions 🙋🏽‍♂️ You can find me, Bertie, on Twitter: @Clert 🤗 Or you can find me in the Eurogamer Discord: http://discord.gg/eurogamer 👀 Find out more about Sujoy on his website: http://sujoy.com/ 🎬 Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-10-19-episode-1-of-the-new-eurogamer-podcast-now-available-to-all 🌎 Our lovely website: https://www.eurogamer.net 💬 Our Eurogamer Twitter account: https://twitter.com/eurogamer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the shocking news that the next big Pokémon game is mysteriously set to arrive in 2025. Hey, that sounds a lot like the intro to last week's episode, when we were discussing Switch 2! Say, could Pokémon Legends: Z-A also be set to arrive on Nintendo's next console? It's been a long time since Nintendo didn't launch a major Pokémon game or expansion in a calendar year, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A's arrival in 2025 certainly looks suspicious - as does yesterday's reveal of the game without any look at actual gameplay. So, have we just been given another piece of the Switch 2 puzzle? What do we expect to see in the mysterious Z-A when it is fully revealed? And how many bad French-themed Pokémon ideas can we come up with? With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Which is your favourite game map? Is there one that comes to mind straight away? Maps hold a curious kind of magic, but what is it? For this month's super-feature, our Bertie Purchese tries to find out. He speaks map-makers, game-makers, and people at the British Library, as he tries to pin-point what it is about maps that appeals to us. He also manages to follow the creation of one of the most famous fantasy worlds in doing so: Dragon Age's Thedas. Here, Bertie talks to deputy news editor Ed Nightingale about the piece itself as well as the process of writing it. Ed, you might remember, wrote the super-feature for January, about character creators in games. Read Bertie's super-feature about maps here: https://www.eurogamer.net/who-is-qualified-to-make-a-world-in-search-of-the-magic-of-maps Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the reports that Nintendo Switch 2 will now launch in 2025, later than its previously-expected arrival towards the end of this year. Nintendo itself is yet to say anything certain about its inevitable Switch successor, but its steady path towards launch has been tracked by numerous reports. Now, we discuss how this latest news unfolded, why we believe it has happened, and what this means for Nintendo across the rest of 2024. Plus: some fun speculation on what we'd like to see on Switch 2, and what we hope Nintendo will change for its new hardware (get rid of Joy-Con stick drift, please?) With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Microsoft's business update that brought us confirmation Xbox will launch four console exclusives - for now - on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. But why did Microsoft choose not to name those four games (even though Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Grounded and Sea of Thieves were immediately reported to be the titles in question)? What happened to the previously-reported plans to include larger games such as Starfield? And where will Microsoft draw the line for what to launch elsewhere? Right now, these four feel like something of a soft launch for Microsoft's multiplatform strategy, As well as all that, we also discuss the news nuggets Microsoft dropped for the Xbox faithful - including mention of new Xbox console hardware this year and the proper next-gen Xbox that's still years away. With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the bombshell news that some of Xbox's biggest exclusives are being mulled by Microsoft for release on PlaySation. Blockbuster games such as Starfield and the upcoming Indiana Jones title could no longer be Xbox exclusives, reports now claim, following whispers that smaller titles such as Hi-Fi Rush were being considered for PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. So what has prompted Microsoft to think bigger with its third-party publishing plans? And does this finally mean the console wars are over? (Fat chance.) Join us as we discuss the long-term factors at play - hardware sales, subscription service growth slowing - and more recent triggers such as the eye-wateringly large purchase of Activision Blizzard and the need to quickly see a return on that investment (also seen, sadly, in the recent decision to cull 1900 Xbox and Activision employees). We also consider Microsoft's next steps after all of this leaked - reportedly, by people within Xbox itself hostile to the very idea of Gears of War on PlayStation. With Tom Phillips this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss January's PlayStation State of Play and the latest game announcements. Sony showed off what's to come this year, including looks at Stellar Blade, Judas, and Silent Hill, plus reveals of Sonic x Shadow Generations, Until Dawn and Metro Awakening. Perhaps most exciting is the return of Hideo Kojima with not one but two games. We got a proper look at the forthcoming Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, as well as the announcement of a new action espionage game and movie project that definitely won't be called Metal Gear Solid. Ahem. Here to talk all things State of Play are the Eurogamer news team: Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy, and Liv Ngan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the downsides and upsides of the video game battle pass. In a week where PlayStation live-service hopeful Concord trumpeted the fact it won't sell you a battle pass as a marketing beat, and Apex Legends dialled back (some of) its battle pass changes following fan fury, we consider the options available to video game makers hoping to ensure their latest releases keep being played - and paid for - well after release. Would more people play Concord if it was a free-to-play title with a battle pass? Or is it better served by being a £40 launch? Not everyone can promise they'll never sell post-launch content, as Stardew Valley's creator did this week. But there's clearly a balance to be struck to ensure players don't feel fleeced, particularly when full-priced launches like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League are getting in on the act too. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss today's statement from The Pokémon Company that confirms it will investigate Palworld for possible intellectual property infringement. It's an unprecedented move by Pokémon to publicly call out Palworld as a game worthy of inspection - after 25 years of rip-offs and clones that have been quietly nuked or ignored. But it also feels inevitable, due to Palworld's enormous spike in interest - seen by its Steam success, and also the sizable controversy swirling around it. The game had simply become too big to ignore. So, what happens next? On the one hand, you'd think The Pokémon Company would be keen to act if any evidence of infringement can be found - it has to protect its intellectual property, or risk even cheekier Pokémon-style games trying harder in future. On the other, this announcement only feeds the controversy wave Palworld is riding, and risks blowback on Pokémon if the genuinely popular Palworld is unceremoniously removed from millions of people's Steam libraries. With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Microsoft's Xbox Developer Direct 2024, our first look ahead at the year to come from one of the big three console makers. The big draw was Indiana Jones and The Great Circle from Wolfenstein maker MachineGames, a blockbuster action adventure clearly set up to be Microsoft's answer to Uncharted. But there was also the brilliant-looking Hellblade 2, the eye-catching sequel from Ninja Theory we've been looking forward to for years. Then there's Avowed, a fantasy RPG to satisfy those waiting patiently for the next Elder Scrolls and who might prefer a bit more colour to their role-playing than in Starfield. Finally, we saw Visions of Mana from Square Enix and Ara: History Untold for PC. But was this enough to make for a satisfying show - and more importantly, set the tone for what is hopefully a better year of Xbox first-party launches than in 2023? I'm joined by Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ho ho hello! Christmas may already seem a distant memory, but we have gathered in our finest festive gear for one final treat - the Eurogamer Newscast News Quiz of the Year 2023. A now annual tradition, the news quiz sees us look back at some of the year's more oddball news headlines and argue over who deserves the most points for remembering them. From 50 Cent to Heinz ketchup to a video game breaking the Geneva Convention - 2023 has had it all. But do you remember why? Play along at home as we set Eurogamer's news elves - Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan - 23 questions looking back over 2023. Good luck to you all - and a very happy new year! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know her best as Amicia from the Plague Tale series. Charlotte McBurney was just 16 years old when she was cast in the first game, and everything about the recording experience was new. She would run home from college so she could fit a few hours of recording in. Jump forwards a few years to the sequel A Plague Tale: Requiem, though, and French developer Asobo is now well aware of what McBurney can do. So it expands her role. It makes it more emotionally demanding. And McBurney rises to it, delivering one of the standout performances in games in 2022, earning herself a BAFTA nomination in the process. With a Final Fantasy 16 credit also now to her name, McBurney has cemented herself as a future talent. Here, Bertie finds out how she ended up doing this, what it was like recording A Plague Tale, and what's next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices