The XboxCast

Relooted launched. 

Apparently.

 

That's right, another game for "the modern audience" launched to great applause amongst the 160 people who played it. Whereas last week Highguard peaked at almost 100,000 players before catering from the stratosphere, it seems this game never even left the ground. Will game studios ever learn, or are we stuck playing Asian games forever?

 

🎮 Xbox Play Anywhere Boosts The First Descendant by 167%

The First Descendant saw a 167% increase in Xbox player activity after gaining Xbox Play Anywhere support, according to TrueAchievements and Windows Central. This surge is tied to cross‑progression and the ability to switch seamlessly between Xbox and PC. The game previously dropped support for Xbox One and PS4, making the new feature even more impactful. The boost highlights how Play Anywhere can revive engagement for free‑to‑play shooters. It also helps that this game leans into the escapism of games in a big way.

 

🎬 Netflix Values WB Games As Worthless?

Netflix is acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, including NetherRealm, Rocksteady, Monolith, Avalanche, and the entire WB Games division. The deal marks one of the largest entertainment acquisitions in history. A follow‑up report claims Netflix internally values WB Games as “worthless” financially, despite its massive IP catalogue. Analysts believe this signals Netflix prioritising film/TV rights over game development, especially after Netflix's failed foray into adding on games to their subscriptions... 

 

💾 GoG Sold to New Owner, Plans Classic Game “Rescue Missions”

Good Ole Games (GoG) has been sold by CD Projekt RED to the cofounder of GoG! The new leadership plans “ambitious” preservation‑focused initiatives, including restoring and re‑licensing classic PC games starting next year. GoG will continue operating independently under its new structure. The move aims to stabilise the platform after years of financial struggles, and now that it's out from CD Projekt RED, who knows what direction it will take!

 

👹 Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred Expansion Details

Blizzard has confirmed the Lord of Hatred expansion will introduce the Skovos region, two new classes, and a late‑2025 release window. The expansion continues the story of Mephisto and expands endgame systems. Skovos marks the first major new zone since launch. Pre‑orders include early access and cosmetic bonuses.

 

⭕ Halo Infinite Enters Maintenance Mode

RIP to what could have been... 343 Industries has confirmed that Halo Infinite will no longer receive major content updates and is now in long‑term maintenance mode. The game will continue receiving security patches and small fixes. This marks the end of active development for the title. Fans are left looking toward the future of the Halo franchise, as it prepares to launch on PlayStation. Is this the end of Halo as we know it? 

 

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Highguard has done the most amazing race to the bottom we've ever seen.
It has managed to out-concord Concord!

 

But that's not all the drama for this week.
Ubisoft has decided to Ubisoft all over themselves yet again, Xbox Wrapped didn't happen because apparently Microsoft ran out of money and people are still developing for the Xbox One...
Welcome to the start of 2026, I suppose. 

 

🎮Everything Announced at Xbox Developer Direct 2026

Xbox Developer Direct 2026 focused on four games, all launching in 2026: Forza Horizon 6, Fable, Beast of Reincarnation, and Double Fine’s surprise new title Kiln. The show leaned into extended gameplay and developer commentary, with Playground Games, Game Freak, and Double Fine all explaining how and why they’re building these projects. A key message was predictability and variety—no vague CG teases, just games you’ll actually play this year. How do you feel about it? Because we're not very impressed (apart from Fable of course). 

 

And now the Ubisoft news...

 

🧑‍💼Ubisoft Team Lead Suspended Over RTO Comments

An Assassin’s Creed level designer reported being suspended for publicly criticising Ubisoft’s newly enforced full return‑to‑office policy. The suspension was described as “unpaid disciplinary leave” for an alleged breach of loyalty. This incident sparked internal frustration over inconsistent RTO enforcement across Ubisoft studios. 

 

🔥 Ubisoft Cancels Six Projects, Closes Two Studios, Confirms Layoffs

The cancellations included the long‑troubled Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake. Ubisoft cited financial pressure and restructuring as the reason for the cuts. Global searches for “Ubisoft layoffs 2025/2026” surged as the scale of the cuts became clear.

 

⚖️ Former Assassin’s Creed Boss Sues Ubisoft for CAD $1.3 Million

A former Assassin’s Creed director filed a lawsuit alleging “disguised dismissal” intended to avoid severance obligations. The claim argues Ubisoft used restructuring as a pretext for termination. Ubisoft has not issued a public response.

 

🧨 Ubisoft Layoffs Continue — 55 Staff Cut at Massive & Stockholm

Ubisoft confirmed a new wave of layoffs affecting approximately 55 roles across Massive Entertainment (Malmö) and Ubisoft Stockholm. These cuts follow a voluntary exit program from the previous year and are part of ongoing cost‑reduction efforts. The studios will continue work on The Division and Avatar projects, but fans are increasingly concerned about long‑term stability.

 

But let's get back to gaming... Kinda.

 

🕹️ Xbox One Still Getting 40+ New Games in 2026

Despite being two generations old, the Xbox One is confirmed to receive over 40 new titles in 2026. Many are cross‑gen indies, but several AA releases are included. This extends the console’s lifespan far beyond industry expectations.

 

📉 Xbox Wrapped 2025 Cancelled Due to Budget Cuts

A new report claims Xbox Wrapped 2025 won’t happen due to marketing budget constraints. Fans are disappointed, as Wrapped has become a beloved annual tradition. Microsoft has not confirmed whether the feature will return in 2026.

 

🇳🇿 NZ Video Game Sector Grows 38% Despite Global Decline

New Zealand’s gaming industry has grown 38% year‑over‑year, outperforming global markets. Local studios credit strong government support and increased international contracting. The sector now contributes significantly to NZ’s digital economy. NZ represent! 

 

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🎵 One more time

Ooo, we gonna celebrate 

One more time 🎵

 

It's our very special last episode of 2025! 

 

Kyle and Lee get together in person! What?? And talk about stuff. 

What stuff? All sorts of stuff! That's what stuff. 

 

There's no plan, no prep, no topics organised - just off the cuff Xbox discussion between two friends who haven't been in the same room since 2023 (maybe?)... 

 

Anyway, we hope you enjoy it, and we hope it's a good way to say goodbye to 2025. Even though we're typically late with publishing these things, so its probably 2026 by the time you hear it, but hey! We're trying, ok?

 

 

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⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐

It's time to play the music
It's time to light the lights
It's time to reveal our game awards tonight

It's time to put on makeup
It's time to dress up right
It's time to raise the curtain

On the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, XboxCastational
Game Awards tonight!

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Our final show of 2025, and as is custom, we bow out with our version of The Game Awards. But we do things differently. See, we don't judge games we've never played, we don't get paid to declare winners (but if you would like to try change our minds - get in contact!), and we don't award games just because they sold well. 

 

NO! Not us!
We nominate games that we've played this year only. Our hands on experience is what sets us apart from every other game award show. And not just because we're awarding games that came in 4 years ago either. 

 

By now you know the order of awards, but those that are new, our awards are: 

The Biggest Surprise of 2025
Something that made you audibly gasp.


The Make This into a Movie Award
Awarded for best story.


The Time Sink / Can't Stop Won't Stop Award
Awarded for that game that sucked up all your time and was worth every minute.


The Eye Meltingly Best-Looking Award
Awarded for gorgeous graphics, good looking characters and other things that showcase 4K.


The Together-At-Last Multiplayer Award
Awarded for that game best played with friends, near and far. 


The Music to My Ears Award
From soundtracks to soundscapes, this awards games that showcase the best audio.


The Edge of Your Seat Award
What we're most looking forward to seeing in 2026. Hopefully it involves a future with Xbox in it. 


The Ones That Didn't Quite Make It Award
Honourable mentions and games that didn't quite make the cut, but were so close, it hurts. 


The One Leaves Anti-Game Award
Awarded for the game that almost you give up on gaming entirely. Consider this your Do-Not-Play list. 


and the big one - Our Personal Game of the Year Award!
Any game we've played this year that was exceptional in all regards, our very own GotY!

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On a more serious note, The XboxCast does this because of you. Whether you tune in every week on our live stream, or listen when you can, you guys make it all worth it. We hope you enjoyed the laughs, the rants and just the general nonsense we get up on the podcast. 


Thank you for hanging out with us - on the podcast, in our Discord, near or far. 💚

 

From the whole XboxCast - Kyle, Lee, Simone and Producer Paul - have a Merry Christmas, and a blessed New Years. 

 

See you all in 2026 as we celebrate 10 years (!!!) of The XboxCast!
Will that be out last season? Will there even be Xbox to talk about? Tune in next year to find out... 

 

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For previous episodes, our socials, community events, and more, visit

⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐

The Game Awards for 2025, have come and gone. 

And... Yeah... 

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

It's that time of year - The XboxCast Game Awards for 2025! And voting is now live.

Get voting now!

 

And now on with The Regular Show!

 

📢 The Game Awards 2025 Wrap Up

 

Ok, so we had the game awards! And what did we expect? Claire Obscur obviously cleaned up - winning almost every single category it was in. PlayStation was a flop with the games it put forward not coming away with anything, and as per normal - Xbox was a no show (thanks Geoff). 

 

But we did get some cool trailers. But at some point, we have to ask ourselves - why is our Christmas E3 interrupted with an award show? Just give us the trailers and get out of here.

 

Divinity, Warlock, and two new Star Wars games? Oh my! But as is the norm in this industry, a CGI trailer of a game coming in 2030 can only do so much to generate hype. Or keep the hype going. Any ways, we are promised some games, most of which will probably launch on the Asus Xbox Series X-2 With Copilot Living Room Entertainment Centre with Copilot 365. Or the Dell Alienware Xbox X TV Game System with Copilot 365. Or what about the Razer Blade Xbox Laptop 15 Advanced with Xbox Game Pass on Copilot+ PC 365? 

 

Either way, games were celebrated. Kyle was quizzed and Lee had fun...

 

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For previous episodes, our socials, community events, and more, visit

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