Unlocked
These days, practically everything is an Xbox, and Xbox fans deserve to celebrate their passion for Xbox everywhere. Unlocked is the definitive Xbox podcast, hosted by Ryan McCaffrey alongside a panel of expert guests. Each week, they dive deep into breaking Xbox news, exclusive game reveals, and heated debates on the future of Xbox—covering everything from consoles and PC to Game Pass and cloud gaming. Whether you're a longtime Xbox fan or just jumping in, Unlocked is your go-to source for all things Xbox. Unlocked is a part of Geek Media Podcast Network, an IGN Entertainment Brand. Visit Geek.com for more information.
Episodes
October 1, 2026 • 70 mins
In a spoiler-free discussion, Ryan and Michael talk about how much they love Gears of War: E-Day, which Ryan reviewed for IGN. Plus: Halo's former Franchise Creative Director comments on the three probable paths to success that he thinks Halo might take under Activision, and more!
#xbox #gaming #gearsofwar
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September 24, 2026 • 78 mins
Xbox's "reset" continued this week, and we discussed and analyzed all of the newest changes, including the big one of Activision taking over on Halo from Halo Studios. Our thoughts on why we think this happened, whether or not it'll be a reboot, what engine it'll use, what studio might work on it, and more. Plus: Bungie breathes a second life into Destiny 2, and more!
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September 11, 2026 • 72 mins
Our hiatus is over and we've got a LOT to talk about this week, starting with Sony's shocking decision to drop Hideo Kojima's next-gen tactical espionage game Physint, only for Xbox to pick it up. Plus: the big unreleased games we've been playing (Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Exodus, State of Decay 3, Gears of War: E-Day, Metro 2039), our thoughts on the GTA 6 gameplay reveal, and more!
This weeks show was hosted by Ryan McCaffre...
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August 20, 2026 • 77 mins
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The director of Kingdom Hearts 4 promises a late 2027 release window for the eagerly awaited Kingdom Hearts 4. Can it really be true? Plus: our very spoiler-free reactions to the GTA 6 leaks (we haven't watched any of it ourselves), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's surprise single-player demo, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma gets a demo of The Elder Scrolls 6, and more!
00:00:00 - Intro...
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August 6, 2026 • 95 mins
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One well-sourced rumor suggests that Xbox won't be backing away from physical media, in the name of backwards compatibility. We discuss what Xbox can and should do to continue offering gamers a choice in how they buy their games. Plus: Xbox's backwards compatibility push reportedly turns to Xbox 360 games on PC, and we revisit some of our favorite semi-obscure 360 games we'd lov...
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July 30, 2026 • 86 mins
It's all about Halo this week – save for our first hands-on impressions of Gears of War: E-Day's impressive Horde Siege multiplayer mode at the end of the episode – as we discuss not only our thoughts on the just-released Halo 1 remake, Campaign Evolved, but also the future of Steve Downes in the role of Master Chief, what we'd want (and in Halo 2's case, demand!) from potential remakes of Halo 2 and Halo 3, where the m...
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July 16, 2026 • 82 mins
Fallout: New Vegas game director Josh Sawyer will lead a new Fallout game at Obsidian, giving RPG fans what they've wanted for a long time, even if it's under less-than-ideal industry circumstances. We talk all about this huge new development for Xbox, including what engine it might run on. Plus: id Software is still very much alive, but what will they do next? We debate that before we conclude by lamenting the reported cancellatio...
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July 9, 2026 • 99 mins
The axe has fallen at Xbox, and while the result is thousands more job losses, the silver lining is that no studios are being closed. We try to figure out who might've bought Undead Labs (State of Decay 3) and Ninja Theory (Senua), as well as what the now-independent Double Fine might be working on. Plus: Game Pass's failures and how it might evolve moving forward, and more!
00:00:00 - Intro & Xbox Layoffs
00:20:52 - Future...
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Mark as Played
July 2, 2026 • 88 mins
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Another dreadful week of Xbox news brings reports that State of Decay 3 may get canceled and developer Undead Labs might be shut down, with Arkane and its Marvel's Blade project potentially suffering the same fate. We give our reactions, and also discuss how we'd "reboot" Xbox around its biggest franchises, as it's reported that new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma wants to do.
...
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June 26, 2026 • 84 mins
Money is the name of the game this week, from Xbox's third round of price cuts that see the Series S now start at $500 and the Series X start at $750 to GTA coming in at $80 for the base game and $100 for the Ultimate Edition to the Steam Machine pricing reveal and what it might mean for Project Helix. Plus: brutal Bungie layoffs, our "Game of the Year So Far" picks, and more.
This weeks show is hosted by Ryan McCaffrey, MIchael...
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June 18, 2026 • 115 mins
All of Xbox's good energy and community goodwill instantly evaporated as the honeymoon phase for new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma came to a quick end this week. Her new publicly released memo talked of a "resetting" of Xbox and narrowing profit margins, which has resulted in reports of multiple Xbox studios being either shut down or perhaps spun out independently. We discuss Xbox Game Pass's role in Xbox's problems, Xbox's mismanagement of...
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Mark as Played
June 11, 2026 • 68 mins
We've got SO much more to talk about since the Xbox Showcase last weekend. Namely: we got behind-closed-doors looks at Gears of War: E-Day, Fable, and Halo: Campaign Evolved – the latter of which we got to play!
00:00:00 - Intro & Gears of War: E-Day00:22:07 - Fable00:42:21 - Halo: Campaign Evolved00:58:55 - Bad Magpie & Outro
#halo #gearsofwar #xbox
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The Xbox Games Showcase 2026 was packed with major reveals, world premieres, release dates, and surprise announcements. In this complete recap, we cover everything shown, including Gears of War: E-Day launching October 6, Halo: Campaign Evolved and its prequel missions arriving July 28, Fable releasing February 23, 2027, Persona 4 Revival, Persona 6, State of Decay 3, Metro 2039, Wo Long 2, Minecraft Dungeons 2, Spyro: A Realm Beyo...
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Mark as Played
May 28, 2026 • 75 mins
New comments by Take-Two's CEO suggest that Grand Theft Auto 6 is looking like it's really going to be released on November 19. So what does that mean for Xbox and its packed Fall slate of games? We lay out two likely scenarios. Plus: what's next for Bungie now that Destiny support is ceasing, The Witcher 3 gets a surprise new expansion pack over a decade after its last one, the developer of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 making a Mid...
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Mark as Played
May 21, 2026 • 87 mins
While we’re together, and before it gets so close to the Xbox Showcase that things start leaking (hopefully not) – the event is just barely over two weeks away! – we thought we’d have fun this week and make our annual Xbox Showcase predictions. You can listen along at home, make your predictions in the Comments section below, and then we can all see how accurate (or not) we were when the Showcase airs on Jun...
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Mark as Played
May 14, 2026 • 62 mins
Our friend Mark Medina makes his long-awaited return to Unlocked to join our discussion on Forza Horizon 6, the latest open-world driving game masterpiece from Playground Games. We give our thoughts on what we've played so far and where we think Horizon might go next. Plus: new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is reportedly thinking carefully about exclusivity for Xbox moving forward, and big surprise: we've got thoughts! All that and more on ...
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May 7, 2026 • 62 mins
It's another busy week of Xbox news as new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma continues to make moves, shaking up the Xbox leadership team and killing Xbox's Copilot AI program in the process. Plus: we geek out over Yakuza developer RGG Studio's new showcase – presented by Microsoft – for its new game Stranger Than Heaven. Plus: Mixtape is a 10 out of 10 and on Game Pass right now, the rest of what's hitting Game Pass over the next w...
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April 30, 2026 • 92 mins
After Michael tells us about the fun time he had at this year's Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival, we spend the rest of the episode discussing Xbox's logo refresh and its new "We Are Xbox" mission statement. There's a LOT to get into here, from affordability to exclusivity to mergers and acquisitions and a whole lot more. Enjoy!
#xbox #gaming #unlocked
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April 23, 2026 • 67 mins
Microsoft has walked back its wild 50% Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price increase from six months ago...mostly. We discuss the bold change and what it means moving forward. Plus: our favorite games from this week's ID@Xbox Showcase, and more!
00:00:00 - Intro & Game Pass Price Decrease
00:18:19 - PC Game Pass & The Future of Game Pass Exclusives
00:42:53 - ID@Xbox 2026 ( Tears of Metal & Crashout Crew)
00:46:56 - RV Ther...
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April 16, 2026 • 70 mins
Replaced game director Yura Zhdanovich joins us to discuss his just-released Xbox exclusive. He shares insights into the project's origin, getting offered an exclusivity deal from Microsoft, what's next for Sad Cat Studios, and much more! Plus: Pragmata impressions amidst a huge week of awesome new game releases!
00:00:00 - Intro & Replaced Director Interview
00:57:13 - Pragmata Review Discussion
#xbox #replaced #pragmata...
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Mark as Played
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