The 8-bit Adventures Podcast

The 8bA Podcast brings you this week’s latest and greatest gaming news.NEWS“AI” in Gaming. Gamesindustry.biz reports that Nexon CEO Junghun Lee and EPIC Games CEO Tim Sweeney have publicly endorsed support for including AI in games. Meanwhile, Krafton has launched a voluntary resignation program as it reorganizes as an “AI-first company.”Magic: the Gathering. IGN reports that a series of Monster Hunter Secret Lair drops have been announced.Rockstar Games. Gamesindustry.biz reports that the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain has filed legal claims against the developer for union-busting.Steam Machine. GameInformer reports that Valve is making another attempt at Steam-powered consoles, along with VR headsets and controllers.Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Nintendo and Illumination have put out a trailer for the upcoming film, featuring Bowser Jr. and Rosalina.REVIEWSSkigill. After discussing it in the News segment last week, I gave it a try!Storyfold: Wildwoods. I had a chance to sit down and play Open Owl Studio’s solo board game.LINKSWebsite: https://8-bitadventures.comPatreon: https://patreon.com/8bitAdventuresMerch: https://8-bitadventures.com/shopJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/FAPKjjQ“1-UP” is by Professor Shyguy. You can find his work at https://professorshyguy.bandcamp.com

The 8bA Podcast brings you this week’s latest and greatest gaming news.NEWSRockstar Games. IGN reports that GTA 6 is delayed to November 19, 2026. Additionally, the studio fired between 30 and 40 employees in the UK for what it claims is gross misconduct. The employees and their union state that this is a clear case of union-busting.Skigill. Achromi is developing a Survivors game that takes place in a skill forest. It is currently in Early Access on Steam.Square Enix. Bloomberg reports that an internal presentation discussed restructuring its overseas publishing arm, leading to mass layoffs in the US and UK. Additionally, Square Enix is committed to having 70% of its QA handled by generative AI by the end of 2027.Warhammer Survivors. Game Informer reports that Auroch Digital, with support from poncle, is developing a Survivors game featuring characters, weapons, and enemies from 40k and Age of Sigmar.REVIEWSLorcana. Whispers in the Well is out now.LINKSWebsite: https://8-bitadventures.comPatreon: https://patreon.com/8bitAdventuresMerch: https://8-bitadventures.com/shopJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/FAPKjjQ“1-UP” is by Professor Shyguy. You can find his work at https://professorshyguy.bandcamp.com

The 8bA Podcast brings you this week’s latest and greatest gaming news.NEWSAmazon. Bloomberg reports that Amazon is set to lay off more than 14,000 workers, with many of them coming from its gaming division.Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Nintendo announced a Switch 2 edition of the game, featuring enhanced graphics, mouse controls, and megaphone. There will also be a free content update that includes Kappn’s hotel, Resetti’s cleanup service, Luna’s slumber islands, Nintendo items, LEGO crossover items, Zelda items and villagers, and Splatoon items and villagers. Both will be available on January 15th.Crypt of the Necrodancer. NintendoLife reports that both Crypt and Rift of the Necrodancer are getting crossovers with Shovel Knight.Lorcana. Ravensburger announced that there won’t be any character pins for rewards starting with Whispers in the Well, and ink pins will be phased out once they finish the current run.Vampire Survivors. Game Informer reports that a Balatro crossover has been released, alongside an update for the game’s Ode to Castlevania expansion and online co-op.REVIEWSValheim: The Board Game. MOOD Publishing’s adaptation of the multiplayer survival game.LINKSWebsite: https://8-bitadventures.comPatreon: https://patreon.com/8bitAdventuresMerch: https://8-bitadventures.com/shopJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/FAPKjjQ“1-UP” is by Professor Shyguy. You can find his work at https://professorshyguy.bandcamp.com

The 8bA Podcast brings you this week’s latest and greatest gaming news.NEWSBlizzard. GamesIndustry.biz reports that over 400 workers from Blizzard’s Platform and Technology department voted to unionize. Employees include designers, engineers, QA testers, localization, and those who work on Battle.net.Nintendo. GamesIndustry.biz reports that hackers breached Nintendo servers, though Nintendo confirmed that no personal or business information was leaked.REVIEWSTournament Report. Mana Crypt’s Set Championship for Lorcana’s Fabled set was today!LINKSWebsite: https://8-bitadventures.comPatreon: https://patreon.com/8bitAdventuresMerch: https://8-bitadventures.com/shopJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/FAPKjjQ“1-UP” is by Professor Shyguy. You can find his work at https://professorshyguy.bandcamp.com

The 8bA Podcast brings you this week’s latest and greatest gaming news.NEWSDan Forden. IGN reports that the former Audio Director and voice of the famous “Toasty!” line in Mortal Kombat is retiring from NetherRealm.EA. Game Informer reports that EA is being acquired for $55B by an investor consortium composed of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners. They were immediately saddled with $20B of debt.GamePass. Gamesindustry.biz reports that GamePass is getting a 50% price hike. Microsoft claims this is to offer more “flexibility, choice, and value to all players.”Project Baxter. Game Informer reports that Starbreeze has canceled development of its Dungeons & Dragons title, laying off most of the staff working on it. Those remaining will be reassigned to work on Payday.REVIEWSHades 2. Supergiant’s latest game hits all the right notes, and I’m having a great time with it.LINKSWebsite: https://8-bitadventures.comPatreon: https://patreon.com/8bitAdventuresMerch: https://8-bitadventures.com/shopJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/FAPKjjQ“1-UP” is by Professor Shyguy. You can find his work at https://professorshyguy.bandcamp.com

The 8bA Podcast brings you this week’s latest and greatest gaming news.NEWSHades 2. Supergiant’s latest game is now available on Steam and Switch.Lorcana. Ravensburger announced that a judge training program is being developed.Nintendo of America. Game Informer reports that Doug Bowser will retire at the end of the year. Devon Pritchard will take over as President and COO.Sonic Racing: Crossworlds. Game Informer reports that a crossover with Mega Man has been announced for Sega’s new racing title, adding to its already aggressive crossover strategy.REVIEWSFinal Fantasy Pixel Remaster. I had never played the original Final Fantasy before, so with the Pixel Remaster bundle on sale, I deemed it the perfect time to change that.Metal Slug Tactics. This roguelike tactical adaptation of Metal Slug has been in my backlog for some time, and I was able to play quite a bit after finishing Donkey Kong Bananza.LINKSWebsite: https://8-bitadventures.comPatreon: https://patreon.com/8bitAdventuresMerch: https://8-bitadventures.com/shopJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/FAPKjjQ“1-UP” is by Professor Shyguy. You can find his work at https://professorshyguy.bandcamp.com