The VGBees Podcast

This week, Lotus, Niki, and John dove very deep into the surprisingly busy week of games news, including Kotaku's fascinating report about Double Fine's union misfire, Bobby Kotick joining the Skydance Board, and Star Wars Zero Company dev returning more than have their previously furloughed workers.
00:00:00 Intro & vaccine misinformation
00:12:30 Skydance's new games division
00:20:25 Skydance's new Board includes Bobby Kotick
00:26:59 Kotaku's explosive report about Double Fine's failed unionization attempt
00:58:05 NBA 2K25 to be delisted and servers shut down
01:18:38 Gamestop inflating price of pre-owned PlayStation 5 Pros
01:28:50 Wizards of the Coast union is expanding
01:30:07 Bit Reactor returns more than half of furloughed workers to company
01:33:15 Xbox creates new transmedia division XP
01:40:30 Lego Party is the best one of these around
01:43:40 Skate is even weirder than it was when it launched
01:51:50 Halloween costume plans or ideas this year?
01:53:55 Parking is $2 but validated parking is free...are you getting validated?
01:58:20 What would you change about your kitchen?
02:04:35 Gods With Badges is Strange Scaffold's latest...and it's got an interesting backstory
02:23:45 New AI-powered game demo is running $1000/day token bill
02:30:30 Capcom's new AI initiative deserves some clarification
02:51:37 Onimusha: Way of the Sword isn't that hard...yet
02:56:11 The Witcher 3 Remaster reminds us that being down bad for a beautiful woman is a great plot device
03:00:18 Doggy Don't Care puts you in the paws of a destructive pug
03:02:40 Highlights from Falling Block Jam 2026
03:06:37 Which Final Fantasy wardrobe are you copping?
03:12:10 Which fighting game archetype do you gravitate toward?
03:17:07 Crunchy Cheetos or Cheetos Puffs?
03:19:52 New five star review and 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.

On this week's episode, the crew handle a slow news week by going very, very deep on Mike Tomlin's Minecraft city, 2XKO's missed concurrent player target, and impressions of cozy-yet-hardcore Dressmaker.
00:00:00 Intro, John's bad day, pallbearers for hire
00:26:45 2XKO's wild swing and miss for concurrent players
00:41:09 Mike Tomlin's Minecraft city inspired some big, big opinions from the crew
01:25:50 Control Resonant's open world features frustrating barriers
01:29:47 Dressmaker might be "cozy," but it's for the sickos
01:37:50 Niki made a photo zine!
01:43:57 HIVE QUESTIONS BEGIN; which person of the VGBees Zord is the bee's knees?
01:47:18 What were you proud of this week?
01:49:00 Which day is worse for being online: April 1 or May 4?
01:52:34 How long do you have to play a game to say you have played it?
01:55:52 How clean are your floors?
02:00:42 Which bread makes the best toast?
02:08:00 What was the last thing you did that you would consider to be whimsical?
02:10:32 Would you eat a hot dog with nothing else on it?; How big is too big for a Metroidvania?
02:12:00 What's your favorite PAC match?
02:15:20 What's the most centrist RPG?
02:17:40 What switches games journalism to games eschatology?
02:23:57 Is taking a pill that was on the floor safe?
02:26:30 Asha Sharma gives you her personal cell number, what are you doing with it?
02:29:00 Why does VGBees not concern itself with playing every new major release?
02:34:11 Is there a button in your house that is satisfying to push?
02:36:25 Mario and Sonic split; how are they splitting the Olympics games?
02:38:38 What's the dumbest media you've enjoyed lately?
02:39:45 How can someone be redeemed and reenter a community after true harm is done?; HIVE QUESTIONS END
02:51:20 Show 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.

This week, Lotus, John, and Niki tackle a very busy week of games news, including a new round of Xbox layoffs, Xbox studio consolidation, Activision making the next Halo game, and Bungie's unvaulting of Destiny 2 content.
00:00:00 Intro & Niki's big trip
00:14:30 Xbox's latest layoffs and consolidations
00:50:42 Undead Labs goes independent; State of Decay 3 still aiming for 2027 release
00:56:55 World's Edge loses half staff and one upcoming project
00:58:34 King union wins their collective bargaining agreement; will avoid strike
01:01:11 A sudden discussion about cigarettes and food waste
01:09:25 The People Make Games Bobby Kotick story
01:17:30 Tim Schafer opens up a bit about Microsoft turmoil
01:21:35 Bungie isn't done with Desinty after all
01:41:40 Lotus finished Roman Sands RE:Build
01:47:47 How Niki made their Annie's Mac n Cheese
01:50:32 Niki played Control Resonant and loves that it is divisive
02:05:45 The Travis Scott track on the GTA6 soundtrack is pretty good
02:07:00 HIVE QUESTIONS
02:46:30 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.

This week, Niki, John, and Lotus discussed the biggest news stories of the week, including a look at Zach Cregger's Resident Evil, numerous head-scratching announcements from BlizzCon, and the news that Roblox is working toward a future providing standalone games to multiple platforms.
00:00:00 Intro & sorting through John's will
00:11:30 BlizzCon 2026: games that might not come out and what will we do with three World of Warcraft SKUs?
00:25:30 King's unionized workers are about to strike, which prompted a very deep conversation about the nature of monetized free to play mobile games
01:00:00 Roblox is going to release standalone games among other worrisome updates
01:04:40 Hyper Light Drifter's Heart Machine is facing closure after publishing pull
01:08:55 Game Developer dot com facing staff shakeup; IGN lays off many long-tenured staff
01:12:25 Resident Evil solidifies Zach Cregger as one of horror's best active directors
01:26:42 Niki bought a PlayStation Portal
01:37:40 Lotus' time so far with Roman Sands RE:Build
01:50:35 Carly Rae Jepsen's new double album is out; John watches the Barenaked Ladies rendition of "O Canada"
02:00:00 HIVE QUESTIONS
02:42:42 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.

This week, John, Niki, and Lotus dove into both Nintendo Directs, the stunning news that Sony is dropping Hideo Kojima's next projects, and Blizzard's new union formation just ahead of Blizzcon.
00:00:00 Intro & our new tagline
00:10:03 Ocarina of Time is changing for modern audiences
00:34:54 Samus is hungry in Metroid Ravenous
00:37:00 Kirby and the World Beyond is perhaps the biggest adventure yet in the franchise
00:43:50 Powerwash Simulator dev lays off staff in extremely strange way
00:49:09 Big game-spoiling achievements were leaked from Steam
00:53:55 Blizzard employees form union protecting 1,900 staff
00:59:35 Sony drops Kojima projects, Xbox takes over, big conversation about game direction ensues
01:31:10 Nintendo's tariff sale
01:36:08 Grand Theft Auto VI preview apparently drives 100,000 Netflix sign-ups
01:43:43 Tony is a slice of a biopic that manages to tell a lot of Anthony Bourdain's story
01:48:20 The gang is split on the success of Coyote vs Acme
02:07:45 Niki is very much enjoying the reboot of The Grand Tour
02:18:55 iPhone Duo is weird but might just work
02:27:20 HIVE QUESTIONS
02:42:59 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.