The VGBees Podcast

John, Lotus, and Niki discuss the biggest news of the week, including Embracer's head-scratching restructure, Destiny 2's final update, and PlayStation Plus price hikes.
00:00:00 Intro & Niki Buys a Porsche
00:09:50 Terraria celebrates 15 years of absolutely bonkers player counts
00:25:15 Tom Kane passes away at 64
00:26:41 PlayStation Plus gets price hikes
00:35:47 US National Recording Registry adds DOOM soundtrack to its library
00:44:28 Stig Asmussen Dungeons & Dragons game canceled by Wizards of the Coast
00:55:20 Embracer restructures their game organizations again
01:04:20 Quantic Dream's MOBA is shutting down
01:06:14 Bungie ending Destiny 2 development and facing layoffs
01:27:30 Everyone roasts John for buying a PS5 Pro
01:39:00 Niki continues to build a NAS for their home
01:51:28 The crew answers your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from Discord
03:04:15 Outro & SGF Plans
Thanks for listening!
Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.
VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/join
VGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.

Content Warning for graphic medical procedures, assault, sexual assault, suicide, and death in this episode. The Pitt is a show with a lot of tough ingredients thrown into a stew--we try to navigate these with tact and care but be forewarned the entire episode has a lot of potentially triggering discussion.
GameDeveloper.com Editor-in-Chief (and Polygon, Waypoint, and Fanbyte alum) Danielle Riendeau joins John Warren for a recap of season two of The Pitt, one of VGBees' favorite television shows.
Danielle lends her experience as a volunteer EMT in New York City to the duo's analysis and critique of the HBO Max medical drama. Included topics:
The role of AI in healthcare
The role of compassion in emergency medicine
Using the show to demystify difficult subjects regarding sexual assault and death
ICE and their miserable role in American healthcare in 2026
and much, much more!

Thanks for listening!
Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.
VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/join
VGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.

Lotus and John discuss the biggest games news of the week, including Subnautica 2 creating a big bonus problem for KRAFTON's CEO, leaked Xbox controllers, and Marathon's interesting PVE-focused roadmap.
00:00:00 Intro & Buc-ees Fare
00:10:05 Subnautica 2's massive sales creates an interesting problem for KRAFTON's CEO
00:13:15 Steam Controllers look bad, feel good, and scream when you drop them
00:21:43 Sony takes huge loss on Bungie acquisition; Marathon gets new PVE-heavy roadmap
00:30:20 Wizards and Hasbro fail to recognize the new MTG: Arena union
00:33:25 Double Fine is also unionzing
00:35:35 New Xbox controllers were leaked
00:38:45 Microsoft fires executive for ties with Israel Ministry of Defense
00:41:35 Sony says studios are using AI, but we have questions
00:49:10 Tekken producer Harada leads new SNK studio
00:53:05 Niki joins the show on locations to run down news so far
00:54:45 Sega backs off of live services games
00:58:38 GameStop's offer to buy eBay thoroughly, hilariously, decisively rebuffed
01:04:12 Nintendo's fiscal report reveals reasons for Switch 2 price hike
01:07:40 House Hunters is the best hotel television show
01:09:10 The story in Digimon Story: Time Stranger is pretty bad
01:18:10 The crew answers your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord
02:21:50 Reviews & Outro
Thanks for listening!
Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.
VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/join
VGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.

Niki, Lotus, and John embark on a "no bummers" episode of the show, complete with discussions about the new Star Fox game, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight's endless charm, and Mina the Hollower's long-awaited release date.
00:00:00 Intro & John's parking lot predicament
00:12:15 Star Fox 64 Remake
00:17:15 Mina the Hollower gets a release date at long last
00:19:16 Copilot removed from Xbox plans (please go to nogamesforgenocide.com to learn about the ongoing boycott of Microsoft and Xbox products)
00:23:53 LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight looks great
00:28:27 More "no bummers" news round-up
00:31:42 Niki's new Logitech MX Master 4 mouse
00:43:37 Niki continues loving Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
00:46:07 Echo Chaser is a slick PICO-8 free game
00:47:28 Family is a great music-centric game you can play for free right now
00:50:20 mini pharma is a charming PICO-8 puzzler
00:57:59 We answer your burning Hive Questions straight from our Discord
02:07:58 Outro
Thanks for listening!
Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.
VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/join
VGBees is a weekly games media podcast hosted by Niki, John, and Lotus.

NOTE: This bonus episode contains discussions of medical trauma, sexual assault, addiction, child abuse, mass shootings, and generally some sad stories about real life emergencies. It’s hard to avoid those topics when discussing this television show, so if you need to duck out and catch the next regular bonus, we totally get it.
Additional note! This is a bonus episode of the show from 2025--we're freeing it from the confines of the bonus feed to prepare you for The Pittcast Season 2, which will be available for the public and not just in the bonus feed.
The Pitt is one of this year’s best TV shows and such a delightful surprise for folks who might have been missing a truly great medical drama in their lives. John treated himself to over an hour chatting about the show with full-time games media legend (Polygon, Waypoint, Fanbyte, and current EIC at Game Developer) and part-time volunteer EMS Danielle Riendeau.
They cover a lot of ground in a relatively short time, including:
Michael Crighton’s estate and the battle for the ER revival
Noah Wylie aging like fine wine
This wonderful cast (even the nepo babies are great)
Advanced medical procedures and practical effects
How Covid changed things for many medical professionals
Managing PTSD & addiction in the medical field

If you liked this bonus episode, consider telling a friend to JOIN THE HIVE. You get bonuses like these and access to special areas of our Discord.