211: Destroy the Mouth!

This week we get extra retro with Gradius Origins, Operation Night Strikers, The Scouring, and (in a way) Mafia: The Old Country. Also: pressure builds inside Xbox against Microsoft's support of Israel's actions in Gaza, Switch 2 dev kits are still pretty scarce, more game cancellations and studio closures continue to be a fact of life, and more.

CHAPTERS

(00:00:00) NOTE: Some timecodes may be inaccurate for versions other than the ad-free Patreon version due to dynamic ad insertions. Please use caution if skipping around to avoid spoilers. Thanks for listening.
(00:00:08) Intro
(00:02:29) Revisiting your old school
(00:05:56) Fake Plastic Trees (or grass)
(00:11:11) Mafia: The Old Country  |  [PlayStation 5, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox Series X|S]  |  Aug 08, 2025
(00:33:22) First Break
(00:33:26) Gradius Origins  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S]  |  Aug 07, 2025
(00:47:57) Operation Night Strikers  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo Switch]  |  Aug 07, 2025
(00:53:19) The Scouring (Early Access) |  [PC (Microsoft Windows)]  |  Aug 12, 2025
(01:06:52) Donkey Kong Bananza  |  [Nintendo Switch 2]  |  Jul 17, 2025
(01:11:18) Second Break
(01:11:22) Union members within Arkane call on MS to end military support
(01:18:58) Avalanche's Contraband development stopped
(01:27:54) Bithell Games announces major layoffs
(01:30:36) IGN Layoffs
(01:31:46) RedOctane Games is making a rhythm game?
(01:42:02) More details are appear regarding Switch 2 dev kits
(01:54:47) Emails
(02:01:13) Wrapping up and thanks
(02:04:49) Mysterious Benefactor Shoutouts
(02:07:25) See ya!