Septic Sauce - A Gaming Podcast

Asha Sharma might be the MVP that we didn't deserve! Xbox has unveiled its manifesto and gameplan and one big point is that Xbox is reconsidering its exclusivity strategy! How many of you accosted me for my unrelenting and scathing criticism of Xbox's exclusivity strategy?! Its time for repentance!

Xbox Head Asha Sharma comes out to admit that Xbox Game Pass is too expensive, there are rumblings of fierce debates raging on about Xbox exclusivity at Xbox HQ, Replaced has finally released, Capcom scores another big win with Pragmata and more!Joining me is Fonz ► https://www.youtube.com/@Fonz_Gaming

Previews for the next big title from Xbox, Forza Horizon 6, have come out and they have been very positive. Could this be this generation's best racer? Cyberpunk gets an update on Playstation that sets the stables and the PC crowd in a frenzy, Marathon's budget got revealed which makes its future look more uncertain, Xbox might be getting rid of Call of Duty on Game Pass and the Xbox Parasocial Program has begun!Joining me will be Jez Corden ► https://www.youtube.com/@jez.c

Xbox is taking 2026 very seriously. It looks like Asha Sharma is off to a good start by bringing Xbox Fanfest back. Gears of War E Day surprises me by not only being revealed and having a deep dive this summer but is also slated for a release this year! State of Decay 3 is also not dead with alpha playthroughs available next month! There is all sorts going on at the moment including Halo Studios leadership coming under fire for mismanagement. Is Halo doomed again?!

I have been away for the last couple of weeks and boy has A LOT happened during those 2 weeks. The drama of this generation continues with all kinds of crazy developments. PlayStation has had a particularly tough week as it not only shuts down another studio it also rolls out a massive global price hike for its console that is almost 6 years old! This despite reassuring customers it wouldnt do so. Then the DLSS 5 debacle had the internet screaming "AI SLOP" almost in unison, Xbox ditched the This Is An Xbox campaign which was frankly, atrocious, Xbox had a partner showcase and Crimson Desert has divided everyone. Frankly, there are so many topics I'm not sure how I'm going to cover it all! Hence why today is a solo show. Brace thyself.

Well, there it is! The doubters have been proven wrong as Microsoft shows its commitment to gaming by revealing that it will indeed be releasing a new console which has now been revealed as Project Helix! Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reveals that Sony is indeed pulling away from PC as far as its single player first party games are concerned. Marathon has released and Highguard is officially about to die.

Its been a busy week of gaming news. Marathon had its public server slam and impressions are not that great. Playstation is rumoured to be withdrawing away from PC releases of its single player exclusives and Xbox leader Asha Sharma has been doing the rounds with interviews and the Xbox community is lapping it up...all over again. Resident Evil Requiem has come out wowing many and Wolverine has a release date! Oh and Bluepoint hates Sony apparently...

What an insane week for gaming! So much turmoil and drama. Firstly, Sony suddenly kills Playstation studio Bluepoint, responsible for delivering great titles out of the blue which results in the Playstation community calling for Hermen Hulst to be fired and the very next day, industry legend and Head of Xbox Phil Spencer announces his retirement! And Sarah Bond then decides to resign with him! In comes in an AI exec Asha Sharma who has no prior experience in gaming at all! What a mess. Joining me to discuss all this as Tom Henderson of Insider Gaming ► https://www.youtube.com/@insider_gaming

Watch my solo stream moments after it was announced that Phil Spencer was retiring and Sarah Bond was resigning.

The internet seems to suggest that Playstation's State of Play was actually a good show which is at odds with my impression of it and it suggests to me that Stockholm Syndrome has set in for many onlookers who have adjusted their expectations after successive bland Sony shows have now caused people to accept a lower standard from the market leader. But maybe I'm wrong? Playstation is getting more remakes and remasters of games and perhaps there is nothing wrong with that? Also God of War Sons of Sparda shadow-dropped and whilst this was a cause for much jubilation in the Playstation camp, perhaps the celebrations were premature? Well that's what the creator of God of War thinks. Join me to discuss all this and more!

Having missed Developer Direct, there is a lot for us to catch up on including the deep dives of Fable and Forza Horizon 6! However, Xbox financials and milestones look horrendous with decline in all key areas. What is the future of Xbox with these kind of consistent downtrends? Should fans be concerned?Joining me will be Jez Corden ► https://www.youtube.com/@jez.c

We have entered a strange phase in the industry where PC parts have absolutely skyrocketed because of the AI crazy amongst the industry. Insider Gaming has reported about talks of next gen consoles being delayed. Where does this leave the console platforms, particularly Xbox which is set to release its new hybrid console sooner than Playstation? 2026 is a fundamentally important year for Xbox not only because of its 25th anniversary but also the software and hardware that will be revealed and released! Joining me will be Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson ► https://x.com/_Tom_Henderson_

Xbox has announced its Developer Direct which will now be confirmed to have a deep dive into the next Fable game, Forza Horizon 6 and Beast of Incarnation along with one surprise title. Nvidia delivered a major upgrade with DLSS 4.5, murmurs of GTA 6 being delayed yet again surface from Jason Shreier, The Division 3 has been announced, Blizzard are apparently working on a Starcraft title, Wolfenstein is in development and a lot more!There is a lot of news today so it will be a solo show as I try and get through all the topics with you live!

Industry legend Vince Zampella sadly passed away this previous week in a car crash and he left behind an incredible gaming legacy that changed the modern landscape in gaming. We take a look back at what he contributed to the gaming space and what the industry has lost. Gaming in 2025 was incredible and 2026 looks even better. Is the gaming industry finally healing itself? Are we in gaming nirvana today?

How on Earth was The Game Awards 2025 a D rated show?! The court of public opinion was a lot more harsher than I was and usually, its the other way round!

It has been quiet on the news front the last couple of weeks but now things are really starting to pick up with a big blow to the PC gaming community with insane price hikes to RAM and Crucial shutting down because Micron wants to invest into AI....yeah. Metroid Prime 4 has been awaited for several years and its review reception has been quite lukewarm compared to the lofty heights of previous entries. The Game Awards 2025 are right around the corner; what surprises await and who will win the coveted GOTY award and why will it not be Arc Raiders...the game that deserves to win it?

Its been a crazy week as Steam steps into the console arena with its compact PC device designed to plug into your TV that has caused all manner of distress on the internet for people who are labelling it a PC or console depending on whatever narrative suits them. Did Valve just completely derail Xbox's next-gen ambitions? Sony also angered a lot of fans by announcing 2 mobile games from their first party studios, Horizon Steel Frontiers and a Ratchet and Clank game but they are skipping Playstation consoles entirely. Meanwhile Call of Duty Black Ops 6 has released to very little fanfare whilst Arc Raiders (rightly!) dominates the MP charts. Dispatch is an episodic adventure game that also now looks like a Game of the Year contender with rave reviews! All this and more on this episode!

The details of the next Xbox are starting to come out and there are some very intriguing details there that even detractors of Xbox are quite clearly silently intrigued. Halo Studios revealed Halo Campaign Evolved but we now hear that both Halo 2 and 3 are having remakes too. Meanwhile, the multiplayer space FINALLY gets a tetanus shot this generation with Battlefield 6, Battlefield RedSec and Arc Raiders making waves. Marathon has its work cut out if it wants to make a splash in the extraction shooter genre.

The downward spiral of the Xbox brand continues in magnificent fashion as we start to understand just why Xbox is in the state it is in, who really is in control of this once amazing gaming brand and then with the reveal of one of its pillars that made the entire Xbox console viable in the first place, Halo, releasing on the Playstation 5 day and date. HARAM!Sign up for exclusive greatness at ► https://septicsauce.com/Get exclusive content on Patreon ► / septicsauce

Last week Xbox completely self-sabotaged itself with its Xbox Game Pass price hike and this week rumours suddenly started swirling with some insiders suggesting Xbox might be cancelling its next gen hardware. Subsequent reports have poured cold water over that but can Microsoft really be trusted here? How committed is Xbox really to the next gen machine? Battlefield 6 is doing incredibly well, beating Call of Duty's all-time concurrent players on Steam. Halo is apparently in trouble with reported leadership issues. The Playstation 6 might be coming sooner than many thought as Mark Cerny teases what's next for Sony and more.Sign up for exclusive greatness at ► https://septicsauce.com/Get exclusive content on Patreon ► / septicsauce

Xbox stepping on rakes is an almost weekly affair at this point but this rake is a big one. One that smacked Xbox so hard that its concussed even the most hardcore of Xbox fans. Xbox Game Pass has now seen price massive price hikes and changes that have caused subscribers to leave the service in droves! This is a storm Xbox may not be able to weather! In other news, Saudi Arabia got into gaming in a BIG way with the monstrous acquisition of EA. Can EA be saved or will this make them even worse? We're getting more news on Halo as the future of the IP is supposed to be revealed shortly. Ghost of Yotei is out and Phil Spencer wants to bring back Lost Odyssey??Joining me will be Fonz ► https://www.youtube.com/@Fonz_Gaming

Playstation is finally getting into its stride with its first party releases. Its recent State of Play wasn't exactly brilliant but it was saved by the showings of 2 first party Playstation games, Saros and Wolverine. Ghost of Yotei has also received great reviews, besting the original and apparently even benefits from a better visual upgrade than many anticipated. Meanwhile, Xbox had a tepid Tokyo Game Show but announced Forza Horizon 6 set in Japan. It is a timed console exclusive which also sparked some arguments as you can imagine. The Xbox Ally had its price revealed and the ROG Ally X has an eye watering price point in the US.

The Playstation fandom is currently dealing with a very similar set of feelings as the Xbox hardcore fanbase as the reality of the platform's multiplatform strategy dawns on them. Playstation first party title Returnal is now rumoured to be going to Xbox and this has caused all manner of emotions to fly. Helldivers 2 embraced Halo this week with its Halo ODST collaboration which made the reality hit different for a lot of people. Sign up for exclusive greatness at ► https://septicsauce.com/

Xbox is seeing a lot more success as a third party publisher it seems, especially on Playstation! Xbox dominated the PlayStation sales chart, Game Pass broke records making crazy revenue numbers and the naysayers are writhing around uncomfortably to justify their old narratives regarding its sustainability. The Playstation 6 had its specs leaked. Battlefield 6 got its multiplayer reveal and it looks like Vince Zampella and Co are about to deliver a true Battlefield experience!

More developments and yet another visceral gut punch to the Playstation Nation; Playstation is embracing its third party nature faster than the fanboys can process. Now Sony is expanding PlayStation Studios titles across Steam, Epic, Xbox, Nintendo and Mobile. This has already caused absolute hysteria in the stables as some try and hold on to the expired idea of the Playstation they love. Xbox also does a u-turn on its $80 price point for this year's titles, Battlefield 6 got its official reveal and oh did I mention Playstation is third party?

Its time Parris Lilly and I had a proper chat about the reality of Xbox and its future strategy. A no holds-barred convo! Playstation fanboys are a special breed and few no that better than Parris! Also, I missed last week's show and there's some news to catch up on! This week though we also got another GOTY contender with Donkey Kong Bonanza.

What an insane gaming week and not all that positive. Mass layoffs laid waste to Microsoft and Xbox studios as multiple unannounced projects got cancelled along with Perfect Dark and Everwild. The Initiative was shut down, Turn 10 lost half its staff and there were layoffs across various Xbox studios. Then the following day, Helldivers 2 suddenly is announced for Xbox and this supposedly first party Playstation game now completely shatters the narrative relied on the Playstation hardcore. PlayStation is now fully third party.

Despite its impressive software run, a lot of Xbox fans were questioning the future of the platform in the hardware space. Many stated that there was one narrow way that Xbox could really not only remain relevant but also change the game completely and it looks like Xbox is doing that as President of Xbox Sarah Bond announced the bold step that Xbox is taking going forward. In other news, to reconcile their hurt feelings about Final Fantasy 16 coming to Xbox, all manner of fanboys descended upon the game's sales performance and player numbers using all manner of metrics, PSVR 2 looks like its failure is becoming more apparent, Death Stranding 2 is out in a few days, Gears of War Reloaded tops Playstation charts and instead of a Showcase event, Playstation gets a concert as Marathon gets delayed.

In a hilarious twist of fate, an Xbox branded handheld device shattered the urethera of the Playstation fandom who have been celebrating Xbox's multiplatform status for months on end. Now all sorts of existential questions are being asked about what constitutes an Xbox when previously the This Is An Xbox ad campaign was mocked ad nauseum, especially by me. Now the reality of Microsoft's strategy is dawning on everyone and as I discussed, the hybrid Xbox console model's potential is starting at everyone in the face. Their tears are glorious and I shall feast on them for this amazing UNO Reverse card has blessed us as we go deep into the reality that is PLATFORM WARS!

Here we go! The big annual Xbox showcase event and this week we also had State of Play from Sony. Will Xbox deliver enough to satiate people? The Nintendo Switch 2 released this week and the reception has been a bit tepid. Black Myth Wukong is now coming to Xbox exactly one year after the Playstation release. Not suspicious at all!

We are a week away from the Xbox Games Showcase and already we've had some bad news that Xbox has sidelined its handheld project 'Pembrook' according to Windows Central. What of the rest of Xbox and its expectations for next week? Last year it delivered a stellar show. This year expectations seem to be a bit mixed but why? The new Cyberpunk game was officially revealed as Cyberpunk 2 and will be hitting pre-production, MindsEye, the game behind the former GTA creator seems to be courting a lot of controversy, Shuhei Yoshida thinks Xbox Game Pass is evil , Marvel cancelled its Black Panther game, Elden Ring Nightrein has received middling reviews and The Order 1886 had sequels in the works but the poor reception of the first game led to the cancellation of the series. Joining me will be Lord Cognito ► https://www.youtube.com/@IronLordsPodcastRoundtable

Whilst the Xbox hardware division can get plenty of criticisms it looks like its software offerings, particularly in relation to Xbox Game Pass are another story entirely. Xbox Game Pass subscribers just got the Oblivion Remaster shadow drop on to the service and this is no mere remaster. Its restyled in Unreal Engine and not one of your lazy cash grabs that you see from other platform holders (you know who). Then Expedition 33 wowed everyone with huge critical acclaim and Xbox benefits by having it appear on Xbox Game Pass. Many are calling it a serious Game of the Year contender. Ghost of Yotei has also received a release date in October of this year. PC increasingly seems like the place to be and Atlus is yet another dev that cites the PC as a huge growth space, stating that PC sales for Metaphor Refantazio exceeded expectations. Joining me will be Gaming Forte ►    / @gamingforte  

Console gamers continue to get the shaft as Playstation increases the price of Playstation Plus in several regions, Nintendo continues to reveal how greedy it is, but not when it comes to trying to pay off Digital Foundry for their tech comparisons. Marathon had its reveal last week and the public reception isn't great. This may end up being another failure for Sony with its GaaS endeavour but is this just recency bias with Concord and does the game actually stand a chance to be successful? Xbox apparently has more unannounced games that are coming this year, that might be the Oblivion remake that has leaked, Housemarque confirms that we'll see gameplay later this year for Saros and more!Joining me will be Samurai Kibiji ►    / @samuraikibiji  

Nintendo has stumbled in a very big way. After the offical reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo revealed information about its game pricing and Nintendo is seeking to singlehandedly increase game pricing from $70 to $80. Nintendo is also seeking to charge for upgrades for the same games from the Nintendo Switch to the Switch 2. This has understandably incensed the gaming community who see little justification in Nintendo doing this. Internet discourse has been loaded and vehemently one-sided against Nintendo in its endeavours here and I am right there with them. Nintendo of all companies has no basis to justify this increase. It is greed pure and simple.

The industry continues to shift more and more as the lines between platform exclusivity and walled gardens get blurred. We had the Nintendo Direct and Playstation games made an appearance including Everybody's Golf Hot Shots and Patapon 1+2 Replay. These certainly won't be the last Playstation games appearing on other platforms. Talk of the Xbox and hybrid console really gained steam (pun intended) this week as Microsoft removed a UI mockup that showed Steam integration and people wonder whether there is any point in it or if Xbox is really going to commit to this. Ubisoft got a big lifeline this week as the struggling company got a sizeable investment from Tencent who bought in 25% shares in a newly created subsidiary that houses Ubisoft's biggest games.

This week we got a fair bit of news from all over. Kojima wowed everyone with a 10 minute trailer for Death Stranding 2 which looks absolutely amazing. Jez Corden from Windows Central broke the news about an OEM Xbox Handheld but it sounds kinda rubbish to me and all the bold sqwaking from the Playstation faithful about the PS5 Pro and its so-called PSSR tech morphed into waiting for the tools and FSR as they massively damage control what has been a pretty lackluster performance from a mid-gen console that looks uninspiring at best. But there is hope....coming by way of an update...in 2026! THE TOOLS!

I was away last week and since then lots of things happened. Fable got delayed (as I expected), AMD shocked everyone by slapping NVIDIA in the face with its new GPU that finally brings real competition in the graphics card space, Hazelight Studios and Josef Fares just keep on winning with Split Fiction that wows critics, Playstation had more layoffs and Ballistic Moon behind the Until Dawn series got shut down, there might be no The Last of Us Part 3 according to Neil Druckmann and a Gears of War collection is rumorued to be set to be revealed this summer coming to Xbox, PC and Playstation (spit) but without multiplayer.

Its about time I got this POS on the show. Nick Marseil, the serial Playstation defender will be joining me as we talk all things Playstation, the State of Play that really did hurt his feelings (which he will vehemently deny), how Jim Ryan set back Playstation for years, the future of Xbox and Playstation in the gaming space and more.

At this point it feels like we are silly to hold out hope in Playstation delivering a good show. Another Sony State of Play that fails to appease the starving Sony fanbase that has been gagging for a good showcase or State of Play since 2023? Maybe even before that. Who knows. Either way, welcome to the Apple of Gaming.

Take Two just reconfirmed that Grant Theft Auto 6 will be coming out in 2025. I still struggle to believe it! But if its true, that means 2025 is the year of GTA 6 and everyone else needs to stay clear from its path! Not only that, we got a reveal of the new Battlefield game and sign ups for its playtest. This is it! If you wanted a good Battlefield game, how can you go wrong with none other than industry legend behind the COD Modern Warfare series and TItanfall, Vince Zampella at the helm? More Xbox games are going to Playstation and apparently Rocksteady is going back to doing what it does best; making Batman games. Sony is reported to have more layoffs but its fanbase were celebrating how many consoles Sony sold so there's that. Oh and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is a good game apparently. Not that I care. But you might.

What an insane week of gaming news. The reality of Xbox being a third party publisher hit most people, even those in denial, with the announcement of Forza Horizon 5 coming to Playstation 5 in spring! Playstation finally gets an arcade racer worthy of note! Sony also sees more restructuring as another leader gets the boot or demoted as Hermen Hulst is forced to relinquish his CO-CEO role. Then you have Spiderman 2 releasing on PC with horrible reviews, Multiversus gets cancelled, Avowed actually hits 60fps on Series X, Prince of Persia only gets 1.5 million sales, the Nvidia 50 series cards release to an absolute sh*t show, Games and service for Xbox and Game Pass see a big rise especially on PC as the hardware continues to plummet for Xbox AND MORE!

Xbox finally had its much awaited Developer Direct 2025 and boy was it a good one! With game reveals, release dates for them all and titles like Doom: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight and Expedition 33 all looking promising. Ninja Gaiden 4 was the surprise announcement and the remake of Ninja Gaiden 2 got a shadow drop. Xbox Game Pass all of a sudden looks extremely potent to even the most blinkered of fanboys who hate on the service. A shift in narratives has taken place but is it enough for Xbox?

It has not been a great week for Playstation. After the insight from Shuhei Yoshida about the state of Playstation, we immediately got news that 2 Playstation live service games got cancelled. One of them was a God of War live service game being developed by Bluepoint. This has caused a huge stir with Playstation fans, showing just how lost Sony is with its live service pivot. Nintendo also revealed the much-awaited Switch successor.

Shuhei Yoshida no longer works at Playstation and now is able to talk freely about the gaming giant. In a remarkably candid interview with Kinda Funny, he discusses the failures of Playstation amongst other things. I go live solo to talk about all this and some of the incredible attempts at damage controlling from Playstation zealots.

Finally gaming news is starting to churn again! Not only did we have CES which had Nvidia reveal the next generation of graphics cards including the beastly Nvidia RTX 5090 that make the PS5 Pro look like a a measly toy, we got a whole range of GPU's that got a lot of people talking. Xbox then announced its Developer Direct which is supposed to include a suprise reveal of an unannounced game. Then we got rumours from insider Nate The Hate that not only is The Master Chief Collection and Flight Sim coming to Playstation but Final Fantasy 7 Remake and FF7 Rebirth will be coming to Xbox! Nintendo also suffered even more leaks! Things are getting crazy now!

The expectations were high for Sony to acquire Kodakawa, as news broke out that both parties were interested in a potental acquisition by Sony. However, this week it was announced that Sony would only be acquiring a 10% stake in the company that has delivered incredible hits as Bloodborne, Sekiro and Elden Ring to name but a few. This week Satya Nadella boasted proudly about Microsoft's strategy of "redefining Xbox fans" and "what it means to be an Xbox fan". And so began the purging of anger by the hardcore fans, some of whom had unshakeable faith even when the god-awful Redfall was released. Mark Cerny did a little ted talk for the PS5 Pro to clarify some misunderstandings but hilariously, came out with terms like "Flopflation" and also caused some 'tech experts' to end up with egg on their faces with the way they were deep throating the Playstation 5 Pro. Just get a PC guys. PC is the future.

We just had the best ever Game Awards show ever. A bevy of incredible reveals, announcements and surpises. Playstation won big with several awards including the coveted Game of the Year award and Xbox was there to fondle everyone. There were also some oddities in the awards winners and some controversies including Naughty Dog's new game.

Xbox finally gets a win with Indiana Jones from Machine Games as reviewers sing its praises. Marvels Rivals gets a huge dose of players as the game breaks the live service mould of late by delivering a promising free to play title with potentially long legs and Path of Exile 2 might just be a sleeper hit and take over the space Diablo enjoys. Oh and Valve is thinking of entering the console space that could change the face of the industry. Safe.

Are videogames too woke now? This topic keeps rearing its head but the art director at Obsidian did nothing to swell the debate but add fuel to it with his controversial statements that even got Elon Musk involved. You see it all the time. Pronouns in games, switched gender roles, or issues regarding race. Is their merit in the arguments of those detractors that bemoan developers seeking inclusivity? Is the drive for inclusivity coming at the cost of the cogency and integrity of the stories told in games? Or is the discontent being amplified by bad actors who are just grifting? We also talk about Sony and its potential acquisition of Kodakawa. I believe we should welcome it barring the concerns regarding the monopoly in anime. In other news, Elon Musk is apparently looking to get into game development using AI to make gaming great again, apparently. We got an egregious copy of the Horizon games with Light of Motriam, reviewers are now playing have Indiana Jones, the driector of the Final Fantasy series says he wants FF7 on more platforms and a lot more.

Xbox is finally getting in gear with its game releases but its not all smooth sailing with Stalker 2 receiving mixed critical reception and plagued with many bugs whilst the PC community embraces it wholeheartedly with decent player numbers. Avowed gets early previews by select content creators and things are looking positive for it. Will this game be met well critically? The Game Award nominations have been announced and Playstation leads the way with Xbox coming in second. Controversies are The Game Awards go hand in hand and this one is no exception with some seemingly odd choices. Oh and I'm addicted to Balatro. Joining me will be the legendary King David!