The Nextlander Podcast

Start Menu's Lex Luddy drops by to chop it up with us about Pokemon Pokopia, the "joy" of reviewing Crimson Desert, the actual joy of RE Requiem with unlimited ammo, the state of Marathon's Cryo Archives and late game, some more unfortunate industry-downturn news, another installment in the great FMV game debate, and more!
CHAPTERS

(00:00:00) NOTE: Some timecodes may be inaccurate for versions other than the ad-free Patreon version due to dynamic ad insertions. Please use caution if skipping around to avoid spoilers. Thanks for listening.
(00:00:10) Intro
(00:00:41) Welcome back Lex!
(00:03:23) Pokémon Pokopia  |  [Nintendo Switch 2]  |  Mar 05, 2026
(00:27:21) First Break
(00:27:26) Crimson Desert  |  [PlayStation 5, Mac, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox Series X|S]  |  Mar 19, 2026
(00:53:37) Marathon  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S]  |  Mar 05, 2026
(01:11:22) Resident Evil Requiem  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2]  |  Feb 27, 2026
(01:23:40) Dirt 3  |  [PlayStation 3, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 3, Xbox 360]  |  May 24, 2011
(01:26:39) Second Break
(01:26:44) Epic Games lays off over 1,000 people
(01:42:00) Nintendo Switch 2 production to slow down
(01:48:10) Sony closes Dark Outlaw Games
(01:50:55) Marathon sales numbers
(01:57:24) UK game development
(02:08:13) Let's all just live in Minecraft World
(02:16:41) Email
(02:27:07) Wrapping up and thanks
(02:31:04) Mysterious Benefactor Shoutouts
(02:32:36) Thanks again to Lex Luddy!
(02:33:59) See ya!

We're out this week, so the Nextlander Podcast will return in its normal slot next week, but for now we bring you another NBABP classic, in which Jeff Bakalar and Austin Walker join us to talk about the funny pages, technology running amok, and electronic drum kits?
CHAPTERS

(00:01:07) Intro
(00:02:31) Sah-caucus vs Sea-caucus
(00:03:21) All the good podcast memories are Beastcast related
(00:05:56) The internal politics of carving out studio spaces
(00:08:14) "I'm a human and I don't work there anymore"
(00:23:56) First Break
(00:24:05) Do we live in Cyberpunk Version 3.0?
(00:27:14) Why do giant tech companies always seem evil?
(00:31:46) The Coleco Chameleon and the Intellivision Amico
(00:32:36) Tommy Tallarico
(00:34:39) The last 10 years of the internet have been good
(00:39:01) Don't mess with whatever hope people have of a retirement
(00:41:50) Masterful transition into the funny pages
(00:47:22) Second Break
(00:47:35) How is Gary Larson?
(00:52:50) Getting deep into Heathcliff
(01:01:43) Bakalar had a comic strip?
(01:07:15) And he bought an electronic drum kit?!
(01:21:51) Wrapping up and thanks!
(01:22:14) See ya!

It's a very full show this week, with discussion of Marathon, late-game Resident Evil Requiem, WWE 2K26, and Esoteric Ebb, plus chatter in the news about Microsoft's Project Helix, PlayStation surge pricing, Nagoshi Studio's loss of funding for Gang of Dragon, and the final round of Mario Galaxy movie casting, plus another stack of FMV emails and more!
CHAPTERS

(00:00:00) NOTE: Some timecodes may be inaccurate for versions other than the ad-free Patreon version due to dynamic ad insertions. Please use caution if skipping around to avoid spoilers. Thanks for listening.
(00:00:10) Intro
(00:02:35) Resident Evil Requiem  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2]  |  Feb 27, 2026
(00:02:53) [SPOILER WARNING] Some open and spoiler-ish RE9 talk ensues!
(00:05:35) We get a little deeper into actual spoiler territory
(00:43:07) First Break
(00:43:11) Marathon  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S]  |  Mar 05, 2026
(01:00:11) WWE 2K26  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S]  |  Mar 13, 2026
(01:18:13) Esoteric Ebb  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows)]  |  Mar 03, 2026
(01:19:36) Second Break
(01:27:01) Welcome to Project Helix
(01:37:14) Valve still plans to keep to its 2026 hardware date
(01:50:01) Sony's stab at dynamic pricing?
(01:56:53) NetEase to stop funding Gang of Dragon
(02:05:44) Make way for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
(02:16:31) Emails
(02:32:21) Wrapping up and thanks
(02:35:12) Mysterious Benefactor Shoutouts
(02:38:43) Nextlander content updates
(02:39:44) See ya!

This week we discuss the hottest Resident Evil releases, like Outbreak and 6 (and also Requiem), Reanimal, Steam Next Fest demos like Vampire Crawlers, Awaysis, and Forbidden Solitaire, Sony's reported decision to stop porting its first-party games to PC, the Bloodborne remaster that almost was, RedOctane's new guitar game, the God of War live action show, and a bunch of other stuff!
CHAPTERS
(00:00:10) Intro
(00:02:20) No power, (almost) no problem!
(00:12:50) Resident Evil Requiem  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2]  |  Feb 27, 2026
(00:56:37) First Break
(00:59:12) Reanimal  |  [Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S]  |  Feb 13, 2026
(01:02:43) Steam Next Fest Demos
(01:03:34) Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors  |  [Xbox Series X|S, Android, iOS, PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5]  |  2026
(01:11:45) Replaced  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S]  |  Apr 14, 2026
(01:14:00) Awaysis  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S]  |  TBD
(01:16:19) Titanium Court  |  [Mac, PC (Microsoft Windows)]  |  TBD
(01:21:09) The Ratline  |  [Mac, PC (Microsoft Windows)]  |  Mar 17, 2026
(01:23:09) Forbidden Solitaire  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows)]  |  Q1 2026
(01:29:51) Second Break
(01:29:55) The news
(01:30:35) Sony wants you to buy console games, not PC games
(01:47:54) Almost everyone wanted a Bloodborne remake!
(01:56:48) Stage Tour is the newest plastic instrument game!
(02:07:10) Highguard is officially going offline
(02:20:23) Breaking Build a Rocket Boy news
(02:21:25) First look at the live-action God of War
(02:31:59) Emails
(02:37:39) Wrapping up and thanks
(02:39:46) Mysterious Benefactor Shoutouts
(02:42:47) Nextlander content updates
(02:43:58) See ya!

There's a lot going on: Phil Spencer's time at Xbox is coming to an end, Microsoft is appointing former AI exec Asha Sharma to replace him, Sony is shuttering Bluepoint Games, and more. We dig into all that, plus Alex and Brad nerd out over the new Star Trek: Voyager game, Vinny names his FMV Mount Rushmore, and other stuff on this week's show!
CHAPTERS

(00:00:00) NOTE: Some timecodes may be inaccurate for versions other than the ad-free Patreon version due to dynamic ad insertions. Please use caution if skipping around to avoid spoilers. Thanks for listening.
(00:00:10) Intro
(00:01:16) The Next Era of Xbox
(00:46:17) First Break
(00:46:22) More about the future of Xbox
(01:26:04) Sony shutters Bluepoint Games
(01:35:43) Bungie to institute permanent bans for Marathon cheaters
(01:38:00) Nacon files for insolvency
(01:40:49) Everything changes, all at once
(01:44:46) Second Break
(01:44:51) Some video games we played
(01:45:01) Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown  |  [Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S]  |  Feb 18, 2026
(02:02:56) God of War Sons of Sparta  |  [PlayStation 5]  |  Feb 12, 2026
(02:04:38) Heart of the Forest  |  [Android, iOS, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One]  |  Feb 12, 2026
(02:05:19) Emails
(02:25:38) Wrapping up and thanks
(02:29:04) Mysterious Benefactor Shoutouts
(02:30:48) Nextlander schedule updates
(02:31:54) See ya!