About this episode
The last couple of weeks for Bungie have been nothing short of catastrophic, calling into question whether their upcoming extraction shooter Marathon has any chance at all in finding market success. We've long discussed whether Sony should have bought Bungie at all (they shouldn't have), but now that they're so deeply invested, how do they get the team out of this mess? And what does all of this hullabaloo -- about stolen art, poorly-reviewed gameplay, and lackluster audience reaction -- say about the team's future, full stop? Meanwhile, things aren't much better north of the border, where Quebec-based Haven recently parted ways with founder and once-famous producer Jade Raymond, who has now left three different teams without any sort of release. Is Fairgame$ DOA? Maybe not, but we have lots of new information on the recent closed test of the game under the moniker Project Hearts, and... well... it's not sounding great. Also: MLB: The Show is seemingly getting a mobile release, PlayStation Stars is going away unceremoniously, Stellar Blade 2 is in active development, Xbox's Hellblade II is coming to PS5, Kojima's Physint is at least five more years away, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Keeping in mind Sony's typical naming conventions, what will PlayStation 6's controller be called? Do we also find delight in Darth Vader's AI voice in Fortnite? Is the PS5 Pro truly worth purchasing before prices likely go up? Has Chris ever seen a ghost?Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Intro 00:44:13 - Best man bromance 00:46:03 - ghoul-ing 01:04:41 - Haven/Jade Raymond reflections 01:37:51 - Bungie art theft reflections 02:33:15 - MLB: The Show mobile 02:38:25 - PlayStation Stars is over 02:51:24 - Stellar Blade sequel coming 02:56:49 - Kojima's next game is far off 03:01:41 - Hellblade 2 is coming to PS5 03:05:56 - Randy Pitchford on Borderlands 4 pricing 03:26:21 - Circana data 03:35:21 - New Naughty Dog logo 03:37:18 - Doom: The Dark Ages surpasses three million players 03:40:44 - What Are We Playing (Doom The Dark Ages, Stardew Valley, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Shovel Knight Dig) 04:05:34 - Iconic PlayStation Games 04:16:19 - ChatGPT game hints 04:19:15 - DualSense 2? 4:22:38 - AI Vader in Fortnite 04:28:19 - "Editions" releases 04:35:04 - Current thoughts on PS5 Pro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices