The DayOne Show | A Video Games Podcast

It's been a week. The big Xbox 'Reset' is in full swing, but after all the layoffs and studio changes, we're still not really sure on what the plan actually is. Let's discuss what's going on in The DayOne Show Episode 322!
This week, we're joined by the lovely Sam Tolbert, who's starting to feel like a part of the furniture around here! Before we dig into the big topics, we spend some time talking about the games we've been enjoying this week.
Jon has been having a wonderful time sailing around the Caribbean in Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced, and after 30+ hours with Ubisoft's remade classic, piracy and the open sea remains as addictive and engaging as ever. Jesse took some time to cover new Game Pass addition Ascend to Zero, a new bullet-heaven survivors like game with a pretty unique twist where you can pause time itself.
Both Sam and Jesse have been playing Doom The Dark Ages: Revelations, a new campaign-sized DLC for the latest Doom game from id Software. It is unabashedly excellent, and it hurts to see what id Software went through this week considering they've made something so genuinely fantastic.
Oh yeah - that's right. In spite of how great games are, and how many great games there are, this week saw the next great big 'Xbox Reset' kick-in. 3200 roles are being eliminated, with multiple studios affected. Obsidian are working on Fallout, id Software are moving forward after the cuts, and we've yet to see what else is going to happen. Xbox bid goodbye to Undead Labs and Ninja Theory, who will have new owners, and Compulsion Games and Double Fine, who are returning to independence. We also await with a decent amount of uncertainty to see what happens with Arkane Lyon, who are also being moved on from Xbox, and are going through a consultation process.
Suffice it to say, this week has been all kinds of awful, and rather than give everyone another blow-by-blow of all the headlines, we thought we would take a different approach with things.
We wanted to zoom out and ask the big questions - after all of this turmoil, it's not yet clear to us what Xbox actually want to achieve? Is it truly bringing consoles back into focus? Are they really willing to make that enormous financial investment - and loss - to sell Xbox console again? There's a huge number of unknowns, and we dive into these topics for a general, roundtable conversation. Of course, the community will have their say too!

Welcome to Headlines!
Our twice weekly news focused show will be available on Spotify and everywhere else you'd expect our shows to be!
On this episode:
Before the bad news, let's have some good! Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is out, and we've reviewed it. Ubisoft did good work here!
Alright, now on to the bad - following the Xbox reset, id Software have been gutted in a move that has the industry scratching its collective head.
Elder Scrolls is years away per Jason Schrier, and Obsidian have been tasked with working on a new Fallout
All this and more!

Welcome to Headlines!
Our twice weekly news focused show will be available on Spotify and everywhere else you'd expect our shows to be!
On this episode:
Layoffs hit Xbox - 3200 roles are being cut and five studios divested
Obsidian Entertainment, the team behind Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2 and Grounded 2 are losing around 25% of their staff.
id Software is reported to have lost nearly half the team, right before a new DLC lands for Doom: The Dark Ages
Zenimax Online's Elder Scrolls and Fallout 76 Teams also have reportedly seen cuts.
IO Interactive to close Istanbul Studio due to 'Project Fantasy' Xbox Funding Cuts
Nintendo replacing Switch 2 hardware in the EU with new versions, ceasing Switch 1 production for European Markets.
All this and more!

Welcome to Headlines!
Our twice weekly news focused show will be available on Spotify and everywhere else you'd expect our shows to be!
On this episode:
The Xbox Reset has begun - all the details
Double Fine goes indie
So does Compulsion Games
Ninja Theory to obtain new ownership
And so does Undead Labs!
Asha Sharma's Full memo detailed

What to do you think about the big reset at Xbox? Let us know in the comments!

Ahead of what's likely to be one of the most brutal weeks for the video game industry, the boys gather once more to talk about what we've been playing, the latest in news and of course, the biggest topic - the death of physical games media. All this and more in The DayOne Show Episode 321!
Before we dig into the news, we of course tackle the latest games we've been playing, and for the most part, none of us can go into too much detail, as everything we are playing is embargoed until a later date. Nick has been continuing to plug away on Star Fox, and Jesse got to take a look at Doom The Dark Ages: Revelations ahead of it's availability next week when he'll be playing for review.
Jon is working on multiple reviews across both hardware and software - we've got incoming write-ups and verdicts for a new soundbar, the Creative Stage Pro, as well as going hands on with the NEX Playground and an ASUS Laptop with a built-in dual screen set up. On the software side of things, 30+ hours have been spent in an upcoming game we can't talk about yet, as well reviewing some of the titles he played during Steam Next Fest. What he can talk about of course, is Meccha Chameleon, which has today confirmed having sold 15 Million copies. The broader DayOne team have reviews up for EA Sports College Football 27, Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes VS Villains and a preview for Rain98, so go check them out!
In spite of the looming layoffs and potential studio closures at Xbox, it's been PlayStation that's been leading the news cycle this week. In case you missed it, a new blog post confirmed closures of both PS3 and PS Vita's digital stores, but there was a much larger controversy. As of January 2028, PlayStation physical discs will no longer be produced. This is widely regarded as a death blow for physical games media and there's plenty of debate to be had.
On the Xbox side of things, plenty of reports across a variety of subjects to dig into - ahead of the layoffs on July 6th, Obsidian got mixed into the reporting via a piece from The Game Business and Chris Dring, before Bloomberg's Jason Schrier came out to debunk it. Leadership changes have been spotted at Arkane Lyon, which sees one of the leads for MachineGames step into a leadership role at the studio.
All this and a lot more in the The DayOne Show Episode 321, available now on demand across all podcast services with audio, and video on YouTube and Spotify.
Jump in!