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The VGBees Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by VGBees
Host and founder of VGBees, John Warren, is joined every week by cohost Niki Grayson and illustrious guests adjacent to video games and culture for candid, funny, and enlightening conversations about an art form that is both uniting and dividing us. Every week, The VGBees Podcast will explore trends and touchpoints you need to know in order to have the most well-rounded idea of what's going on in games. Explore vgbees.com after each episode for notes on each episode as well as written pieces by our collaborators and guests. We all have to work together to build a brighter future for games, so Join The Honey Hive today!
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 3 days ago2h 18m
Ep 112: Marvel Tokon Open Beta Impressions, Unity 7 Announced, EU Approves EA Sale
This week, John, Lotus, and Niki discuss the Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls open beta, Unity 7's announcement and features, EA's approved sale to the PIF, and Deltarune Chapter 5.00:00:00 Intro & some strong Splatoon opinions00:21:35 Hasbro cancels projects slated for 2028 and beyond00:26:58 EU approves EA sale to the PIF00:33:30 Unity 7 announced with some interesting new features in tow00:42:35 Poinpy is free now and is still great00:45:08 Hey, Left 4 Dead 2 is still really great, too00:52:20 Paragnosia is like Five Nights at Freddy's but in a house with demons00:55:45 Deltarune is stretching its welcome with Niki00:58:50 Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls balances simplified inputs with nuanced complexity undearneath01:04:30 Niki tearfully admits they're excited about Wolverine01:12:06 A detour to Love Island and Ariana Madix's whole deal01:16:10 HIVE QUESTIONS02:11:05 OutroThanks for listening!Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/joinVGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.
- 1 weeks ago2h 38m
Ep 111: Xbox Jingles Fallout Keys, LATAM ID@Xbox Team Dismantled, God of War Recasts Kratos
This week, Niki, Lotus, and John discuss the extremely convenient news dump regarding beloved games in the Fallout franchise, other Xbox teams facing decimation in the initial layoffs, and the God of War show's choice to recast its Kratos.00:00:00 Intro, new dog, blood stuff, & kidneys00:22:53 Latin America ID@Xbox teams decimated by layoffs00:32:48 Inside look at Xbox layoffs from people experiencing it00:33:48 Fallout deluge of information to distract people from the layoffs00:46:18 CWA files lawsuits alleging Xbox mishandling of layoffs00:49:50 College Football 27 removes microtransactions from single player mode01:03:40 ZA/UM to lay off 32 after slow sales of ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies01:05:00 God of War show to recast Kratos after injury to Ryan Hurst01:15:15 Update on Niki's NAS01:30:40 Update on Niki & NBA 2K261:40:40 HIVE QUESTIONS02:32:30 Outro & Interview Shows!Thanks for listening!Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/joinVGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.
- 2 weeks ago1h 20m
The VGBees Interview: Joe Is Hungry
Last year, we chatted with Joe from hit YouTube channel Joe Is Hungry. Now that we have this fun new interview format show officially on the feed, I decided it was time to have him back on!00:00:00 Intro00:01:33 Joe's wife still plays games00:02:50 Why do gaming communities seem to gravitate toward Joe?00:08:10 Does Joe keep tabs on other food reviewers?00:11:50 What does attention from other channels do for Joe?00:13:18 How does Joe keep up with the algorithm and how does he engage with AI?00:17:20 TikTok monetization00:22:00 How does Joe deal with criticism online?00:25:00 A quick Georgia geography lesson & lamenting Whataburger going corporate00:28:35 Detour to talk about Cook Out & crowd control00:32:25 Joe's car setup and new technology00:35:10 Joe developing his stop motion animation skills00:41:15 Adopting new elements to avoid stagnation00:45:30 Joe's relationship with Shadow Joe00:47:20 Joe's spicy food tolerance00:50:10 Joe's relationship to aging and existing online00:51:20 Back to the TikTok algorithm & pricing00:54:18 Balancing creativity and growth metrics00:57:15 The brief shelf life of food reviews01:00:18 Is YouTube Joe's most physically taxing job yet?01:00:25 How Joe's local celebrity has impacted the work01:04:15 What is Joe eating when he's not eating fast food?01:06:25 Joe rails against Amazon; an ode to Micro Center01:13:10 Where does Joe see the channel in one year?01:18:05 OutroThanks for listening!Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/joinVGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.
- 2 weeks ago2h 9m
Ep 110: Mass Xbox Layoffs Begin, Id Software Decimated, Obsidian Focusing on Fallout
This week, Niki, Lotus, and John address the sweeping, disastrous layoffs and closures stemming from the "reset" Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has started.00:00:00 Intro & Cup Talk00:11:40 Xbox layoffs by the numbers00:14:55 Id Software decimated by the moves00:18:52 Obsidian loses staff and shifts focus to Fallout (a previous report that Avowed 2 has been canceled has been refuted by the developer since this recording)00:25:32 Zenimax loses over 350 employees00:29:11 350 others are left without jobs from divested and sold studios00:32:47 IOI closes Istanbul studio after Xbox divestment00:41:18 Hardship fund created for laid off developers00:47:35 Bethesda union holding protests at different cities July 1500:55:00 Niki proposes an analogy to the US Men's Soccer Team01:02:08 Do average gamers know or care that this is all happening?01:14:45 Niki has returned to NBA 2K26 and is having fun now01:24:55 HIVE QUESTIONS02:05:00 Outro & Interview ShowsThanks for listening!Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/joinVGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.
- 2 weeks ago1h 28m
The VGBees Interview: Phil Salvador, Library Director at Video Game History Foundation
Hey! It's a brand new show here on The VGBees Podcast feed. We'll be taking the time every once in a while to sit down and go deep with interesting figures around the games industry and beyond. Our very first guest is Phil Salvador, Library Director of the Video Game History Foundation.00:00:00 Intro00:02:05 What is the Video Game History Foundation?00:03:45 What has surprised Phil the most about the work of games preservation since joining?00:05:37 What in Phil's life created this fascination with historical preservation?00:08:11 What's the last thing Phil pulled out of the archive that surprised or delighted him?00:11:20 How does Phil feel about the end of physical game discs?00:20:32 Do major games corporations show signs of meeting preservationists halfway?00:23:04 Notes about the 2023 study Phil wrote about pre-2010 game availability00:28:50 Is there a notable distinction between preservation and accessibility?00:32:27 What is piracy's role in game preservation?00:39:44 What kind of legal team does VGHF engage?00:42:53 Phil digs into one of his favorite collections added since the 2025 launch of the digital archive00:49:55 Does the VGHF and its digital archive care about growing its audience?00:54:58 What is the path from collection acquisition to availability online in the digital archive?00:59:45 What kind of backend does the digital archive use to organize the collection?01:02:15 What's the most technically harrowing preservation project VGHF has taken on?01:09:00 How does the archive decide what is worthy of inclusion?01:13:15 How is the archive's magazine collection shaping up?01:17:24 Where does Phil see the foundation and the archive in five years?01:20:10 John looks up Shenmue in the digital archive01:22:14 How can you help the Video Game History Foundation and its mission?01:25:10 OutroThanks for listening!Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/joinVGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.
- 3 weeks ago2h 51m
Ep 109: Sony Discontinuing Physical Discs, Closing PS3/Vita Stores, IOI Laying Off Staff After Xbox Shakeup
This week, Lotus, Niki, and John dive deep into the end of physical discs for Sony (and likely Xbox), the impending closures of the PS3/Vita digital stores, and the potential for Arkane to be on the Xbox reset chopping block.00:00:00 Intro & everything you need to know about donuts00:18:50 Sony stopping disc support in 2028; the gang goes long on the loss of physical games media01:06:30 Sony is also closing the PS3/Vita stores01:15:05 IOI to lay off staff on Project Fantasy, which was backed by Xbox01:21:07 Arkane may be part of the upcoming closures at Xbox01:25:55 Memory manufacturers the target of a class action lawsuit alleging price fixing01:29:55 Summer Games Done Quick 2026 Preview01:31:35 Star Wars Galactic Racer is the VGBees Game of Show at Summer Game Fest 202601:40:20 Anode Heart: Layer Null strips away the mess from card battling RPGs01:51:54 A very quick note about the AYN THOR01:56:20 Niki is dipping back into Slay the Spire 201:58:07 Virtua Fighter 5 REVO World Stage adds a welcome single player mode to the game02:02:30 HIVE QUESTIONS02:50:12 OutroThanks for listening!Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/joinVGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.
- Jun 28, 20262h 3m
Ep 108: GTA6 Pricing, Xbox Price Hike, Steam Machine Details
This week, John and Niki discuss the biggest news of the gaming week, including Grand Theft Auto VI edition details, Steam Machine details, and more price hikes for Xbox consoles.00:00:00 Intro & when it became Turkiye00:12:30 Steam Machine is in the wild and available for waitlisting00:28:13 Xbox consoles increase in price again00:33:08 Grand Theft Auto VI isn't on disc and somehow people were shocked00:46:38 Bungie lays off Destiny 2 team; Hermen Hulst writes bad blog post01:04:00 Tim Sweeney thinks you owe it to yourself to play his games01:07:07 LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight looks great, feels great, and deftly balances multiple tones01:10:50 Niki bought NBA 2K26 for cheap and still regretted it01:20:05 Beatdown City Survivors successfully riffs on a familiar formula, but is it enough?01:23:42 Niki talks about Carly Rae Jepsen's new album while agonizing over whether to buy a new television01:27:55 Outlier is a great new online word game you're going to get sucked into01:33:45 Niki updates us on their NAS system (and hating Linux)01:39:07 HIVE QUESTIONS02:00:45 OutroThanks for listening!Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/joinVGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.
- Jun 21, 20262h 19m
Ep 107: Xbox Studios Facing Closure, EA's New Ad Platform, UK Teen Social Ban
This week, John, Niki, and Lotus go very long on this week's seismic Xbox news, including the numerous studio closures on the table, key departures, and Microsoft CEO's Satya Nadella's curious take on why their gaming arm is struggling.00:00:00 Intro & Lotus' Big Saturday00:11:10 South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games is the unsurprising yet disappointing first studio to confirm possible closure or spinoff00:17:00 A long, great conversation about the games media's role in reporting on these layoffs and closures00:28:00 How Xbox got here (mostly)00:48:52 Satya Nadella seems to be confused about how Xbox got into this jam00:54:00 That Senua sequel was only announced to help fuel a possible sale of Ninja Theory01:02:14 The weight of working in corporate-owned game development right now01:06:34 Key personnel leaving Xbox01:07:56 What's the plan moving forward for Xbox?01:16:10 EA introducing new in-game advertising platform01:25:57 UK government is banning teens from social media; plan will not work01:33:10 Fuck's Quest 2 lacks consistent humor and mechanical clarity01:37:07 Niki played the first two Sonic games on Genesis (skip this part, Sonic fans!!!)01:45:10 John decided to give Ocarina of Time another try01:49:10 Our latest (possibly final) thoughts on 007 First Light02:02:47 Hive Questions02:18:12 OutroThanks for listening!Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/joinVGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.
About The VGBees Podcast
Host and founder of VGBees, John Warren, is joined every week by cohost Niki Grayson and illustrious guests adjacent to video games and culture for candid, funny, and enlightening conversations about an art form that is both uniting and dividing us. Every week, The VGBees Podcast will explore trends and touchpoints you need to know in order to have the most well-rounded idea of what's going on in games. Explore vgbees.com after each episode for notes on each episode as well as written pieces by our collaborators and guests. We all have to work together to build a brighter future for games, so Join The Honey Hive today!
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