Unlocked

Xbox's now-annual early-year showcase returns next week! We know Fable and Forza Horizon 6 will be there, but what else will show up? We've got predictions. Plus: Hellblade and Wolfenstein are reportedly getting new sequels, Forza Horizon 5 is still selling huge all these years later, The Witcher 3 might drop a new expansion many years after the last one, Anthem shuts down, renowned Xbox 360-era developer Twisted Pixel is closed, and more! 00:00:00 - Xbox Developer Direct Predictions 00:20:06 - Ninja Theory is working on Hellblade 3 00:28:49 - Wolfenstein 3 may be on the way 00:39:38 - Forza Horizon 5 sells 5 million copies on PS5 00:49:17 - Witcher 3 DLC 00:59:55 - Anthem is officially dead 01:05:03 - Meta has shut down Twisted Pixel & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Xbox world lost two wonderful people over the holidays: longtime Microsoft hardware team member Albert Penello and game industry legend Vince Zampella, whose credits include co-creating Call of Duty, Titanfall, Apex Legends, and many more. Xbox marketing boss Aaron Greenberg joins us to remember Albert, who was an absolute joy to everyone he met and who he knew extremely well both at and outside of work. And then we spend the rest of the episode talking about Vince and the great guy he was as well as the monumental impact he had on both the Xbox (Call of Duty 2, Titanfall) and the larger games industry. Thank you to Gamertag Radio's Parris Lilly for joining us this week as well. 00:00:00 - Did you guys play anything over the holiday break? 00:06:39 - Remembering Albert Penello 00:32:48 - Remembering Vince Zampella Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What to do during a quiet holiday week with no news? How about we argue amongst ourselves? Haha well sort of: we decided to rank the four Xbox console day-one launch lineups we've had so far, and let's just say we definitely did not all agree on how these rankings should go. Enjoy and happy holidays! This weeks show is hosted by Ryan McCaffrey, Miranda Sanchez, Michael Higham, and is produced by Nick Maillet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We didn't get any reveals from Xbox at this year's Game Awards, but there's some very good news: we're going to see a lot more from them very soon. We talk all about what Xbox's 2026 Developer Direct might look like, and then discuss our favorite Game Awards reveals. This weeks show is hosted by Ryan McCaffrey, Miranda Sanchez, Michael Higham, and is produced by Nick Maillet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Xbox crew kicks off by going over IGN's nominees for Best Xbox Game of 2025 before giving our individual picks, and then we get to the big topic this week: new comments by Xbox's VP of Next-Gen that seem to suggest we're getting SOMETHING next year. Whether that's just an announcement or an actual console as well remains to be seen, but we discuss it. Plus: the KOTOR remake isn't dead, the Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remake is very much alive, and more! 00:00:00 - Intro & Xbox's GOTY 00:08:03 - Xbox's 2026 00:31:23 - KOTOR Remake 00:46:46 - Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Remake 00:53:51 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices