Game Mess Mornings

Jeff Grubb is joined by Josh Coulson from TheGamer to chat about Riot ending active development for fighting game 2XKO, Take-Two issuing subpoenas to Microsoft and Discord over GTA VI leaks, FromSoftware's network test for The Duskbloods ending early, and more!

00:00 - Intro
04:20 - FromSoftware Gives Up On Today’s The Duskbloods Network Test After Two Hours Of Failed Logins
13:00 - Riot is effectively putting 2XKO into maintenance mode 
19:40 - Take-Two Subpoenas Trove Of Records From Microsoft And Discord As It Hunts For GTA 6 Leaker
29:30 - Break
29:50 - Microsoft has stopped giving Circana its actual digital game-sales data
38:00 - Compulsion Games pulls off management buyout and separates from Xbox
41:00 - Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls sold fewer than 3,000 units in Japan in its first week
46:30 - Bungie reportedly had "5 or 6 games" in development, including Marathon and Destiny 2 – but most fell apart after Sony's $3.6 billion acquisition
51:50 - Xbox Leak Claims Limited Edition Anniversary Series X Will Cost A Whopping $900

Jeff Grubb is joined by Mat Piscatella on the show today to chat about July's Circana Report and how the market is doing overall! We also get into a new Sony patent that makes AI play games for you, low physical sales on the Xbox, Duskbloods previews, and more! 

Follow Mat Piscatella on Bluesky at
https://bsky.app/profile/matpiscatella.bsky.social 

00:00 - Intro
5:55 - July 2026 U.S. Video Game Market Highlights
20:30 - Nobody’s Buying New Physical Games On Xbox In The U.S.
31:26 - Break
31:40 - New Sony Patent Discusses The Possibility Of AI That Grinds Games For You
35:10 - The First Big GTA 6 Debate Is Here: Cars Needing Gas
41:40 - The Duskbloods previews are out
47:20 - Pokemon Krispy Kreme Boxes Are Being Listed For Ridiculous Sums Of Money
48:50 - This week
50:16 - Pollllll

Jeff Grubb is joined by Jan Ochoa to chat about PlayStation going back to the drawing board with Horizon Hunters Gathering, Xbox announcing a new game at Gamescom, Control Resonant not getting a physical release until October, and more news for hump day! 

00:00 - Intro
04:30 - PlayStation co-op spin-off Horizon Hunters Gathering is reportedly being overhauled after poor testing feedback
23:30 - Surprise Xbox Game To Be Announced At Gamescom, Insider Says
26:37 - break
26:45 - GTA 6 has already generated an estimated $395 million in preorders
30:19 - Notice that Control Resonant isn’t getting a physical version until October 15
31:25 - Sands of Time gets a substantial GOG preservation update
35:33 - Shuhei Yoshida says he told Clair Obscur studio not to call it a turn-based RPG, because it would put people off
39:29 - Dishonored’s Harvey Smith launches new studio with former Arkane staff to make immersive sims
44:40 - EA workers trapped in a maelstrom of cynicism and doubt after Saudi buyout

It's MONDAY! We've got Mike Minotti joining Grubb today to talk about a grip of news coming out of D23 like Kingdom Hearts IV finally resurfacing and aiming for a 2027 release date, Mortal Shell II, online outrage at Marvel's Wolverine, and more to start your week!

00:00 - Intro
5:50 - Kingdom Hearts IV finally resurfaces: late 2027, Coco, and Square says it absolutely won't slip
10:40 - Saber CEO Apologizes To Rideshare Writer Involved In AI Controversy
16:10 - PlayStation 6 release date still hasn’t been decided, Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki says
23:00 - break - 
24:30 - Mortal Shell II reviews
28:05 - Marvel’s Wolverine Is Another Victim Of The Internet’s Endless Gaming Negativity
35:20 - Disney Is Bringing Fortnite Into Its Real-World Star Wars Rides
38:50 - Fortnite officially reveals Sora, Crash, Spyro, Mega Man, Persona and other gaming crossovers for its next season
45:00 - Indie developer of popular stock market game says Sony is blocking a PS5 release and delisting its previous games
47:50 - The Simpsons: Hit & Run Revival? Series Creator Offers Biggest Hint Yet
51:50 - Restful trails to Hayden Panettiere
52:00 - This week!

Jeff Grubb is joined by Rhiannon Bevan to end the week with a whole slew of news! Wolverine previews are in and we take a look at what the general temperature is with Insomniac's new game, Netflix continues to close studios, Pokémon Pokopia is still making noise with sales, and more news stories to end the week. 

00:00 - Intro
3:30 - Wolverine previews are out
11:10 - Netflix is closing the Oxenfree studio
20: 30 - 2K unveils ‘ambitious’ new sports studio stuffed with EA Sports FIFA talent
26:50 - break
27:00 - Extended Look At GTA 6 To Span Multiple Episodes According To Removed Screenshot
38:30 - Every 1 in 5 Switch 2 owner has purchased Pokemon Pokopia
43:30 - Pokémon Bank finally has an execution date
46:50 - Darksiders 4 and a new Kingdom Come are planned by the end of March 2028, Embracer says