Xbox's Massive Reset, Switch 2 Reveals, & 007 First Light Review

In episode 16 of Gaming with Grown Folks, Jahdie breaks down one of the most consequential months in modern gaming. We recap the biggest world premiers from the 2026 Summer Showcases, including Playstation's State of Play, the Xbox Games Showcase, Summer Game Fest and a Nintendo Direct packed with Switch 2 heavy hitters like the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Star Fox.

We also deliver in-depth reviews of IO Interactive's triumphant 007 First Light and Playground Games' breathtaking leap to Japan in Forza Horizon 6. Finally, we tackle the grim reality behind the ongoing Xbox "business reset" and unpack the European Commission's latest ruling on the fight for video game preservation.

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Email us at GamingGrownFolks@gmail.com and let us know which upcoming games you are most excited to play this Fall! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe, share, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help the community grow.

Intro/Outro music provided by Jeremiah Daniel.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Welcome to episode 16 of Gaming When Grown Folks. I'm your host Jotty, Flying Souls today to unpack what might be the most consequential month in modern gaming. Before we jump into the deep end, I just want to give a massive shout out to Jeremiah Daniel for providing the phenomenal music that sets the perfect tone for this podcast. Grab a drink, get comfortable, and let's get into it. First, let's talk about the summer showcases. It's gonna pack slate. This showcase season just wrapped up, and our timelines were completely dominated by world premieres, the industry just fired on all cylinders, and here are the titles that absolutely stole the conversation. For Xbox Game Game Showcase, Microsoft came out swinging this June with major updates and reveals. Gears of War E Day, Microsoft dropped the hammer by confirming that an October 6, 2026 release date for this highly anticipated sequel, prequel, excuse me, built on Unreal Engine 5, the game follows Marcus Phoenix and Dom Santiago on the horrifying emergence day. Set 14 years before the original title, fans who pre-ordered it will get an early access to the open beta starting August 6. Halo Campaign Evolved, dropping right around the corner on July 28, 2026. This is a faithful yet modernized remake of the original Combat Evolved campaign. Rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5, it features high definition visuals and refined controls while also adding a brand new three mission adventure. Again, to clarify, this is really the campaign only, so it's not gonna have the campaign and multiplayer. But you know, again, for those who uh enjoyed Halo or if you hadn't tried the franchise, this is a great way to try, you know, one of the more preeminent first-person shooters on consoles. You know, before Halo, really you only had first-person shooters on PC with mouse and keyboard. But what really got folks excited about Halo was that they were able to successfully convert that onto controller, and again, as they say, the rest is history. Doom the Dark Ages, Revelations, just got a first look at the massive expansion of Doom the Dark Ages. Again, this is right around the corner as well, launching on July 7, 2026. Uh the DLC introduces new weapon called the Chain Spear, which can parry, reflect bullets, and grapple, along with light Metrovania elements, deeper puzzles, and the return of Con Makar. Fable Reboot. We also get another fantastic look at the upcoming Fable Reboot, cementing its February 23rd, 2027 release date, and showing off more of its signature British humor. Now, on PlayStation, uh the PlayStation's state of play, PlayStation delivered a tightly packed presentation anchored by major heavy hitters. Uh, first up, we've all been looking forward to, is Marvel's Wolverine. Uh, Insomniac Games confirmed the September 15th, 2026 release date. The game play trailer was brutal, showcasing Logan utilizing aggressive claw combat with his regenerative healing factor. He is searching for answers about his past, and the footage even teased showdowns with the mega red and an appearance by Mystique. So it's gonna really be cool to see how Insomniac brings in you know Wolverine into you know their version of the Marvel universe and also how it's gonna draw from you know some of the characters in in the X-Men, you know, in addition to Mystique. I think the trailer also showed Sabretooth. So it's gonna be a really fun time to play that in uh September. Can't wait to uh try it out. God of War, La Faye. This is the biggest surprise of the show. San Santa Monica Studio is reportedly targeting a release date of the first half of 2027. This new main line entry focuses on Kratos' uh second wife, Faye, La Fay the Just, and promises to blend the distinct combat style of both Greek and Norse sagas. You know, and again, it was interesting to see how the play mechanic differed between, of course, Kratos and La Fay. La Fay has the much quicker style of play, more agile, whereas Kratos is a little more lumbering, you know, with his weapons that he's using. You know, he's very deadly when he gets up close, but he's not someone who's gonna you know sprint around and dosh and dodge as La Fay does. So that's gonna be interesting, you know, play mechanic. Uh, I forget the name of the character, but they're so basically, you know, if you've ever played the original redo of the God of War game, you know, it kind of starts with him, you know, bearing his his wife, and basically what happens, they show where she goes in the in the afterlife, at least in this uh trailer. So, you know, it's gonna pick up on Greek and North Norse mythology, and they had one, I guess you would call it character, which is basically a gelatin cube with a sword stuck in it, and the sword also has a ribbon. And so there are two different characters. The cube has a name, the ribbon on the sword, you know, has a name, and they also bounce around to help La Fay fight, and so it's kind of interesting to see, you know, how that play mechanic will pan out. But again, the first half of 2027, I guess we'll find out. Control Resonant, Remedy Entertainment confirmed the September 24th, 2026 release date for this action RPG sequel. You play as Jesse's brother, Aylon Faden, exploring a warped Manhattan. The game places a heavier emphasis on melee combat, featuring a shape-shifting weapon called the Abarant. And again, the the previous trailers as well, you know, it differs from where you were in control, where we were really more in a main building going from level to level. Whereas, you know, with this, you're actually out in Manhattan, the city, and it also shifts the way that you're interacting. You know, you're running along buildings, you know, it's plays, you know, with gravity, so you're not always on the ground, and you have to kind of think at how you're oriented to how to jump across or over or run up or sideways on buildings. And the the main aberrant weapon that is being used, it's going to be more melee focused because it's a large hammer that changes shapes. So, unlike the previous control games, where they were using more gunplay, you know, this will focus more on melee combat. But, you know, the way that folks have reacted, you know, have been very positive. You know, the trailers that have shown of control resonant. And again, this is right around the corner in September, and so it looks like it's going to be a busy fall. Ace Combat 8, Wings of Thieves. Project Aces is bringing the flight uh simulation out in October 2nd, 2026. You play as a weapon system officer who takes over the Joker Squadron. After the legendary ace Jan Cope falls in combat, the game introduces reactive, cloudy weather tech and utilizes immersive first-person story scenes to heighten the drama. So, again, you know, if those of you who like the ace combat games, you know this is gonna be right up your alley. And, you know, again, it's not just you know, planes fighting, but they do have a story, and so you're gonna see some cutscenes and you know plot development, character development, etc. So again, you know, this is coming out uh October 2nd. Uh Jeff Keely had the Summer Game Fest uh and the Day of Devs. Uh so that uh we had uh the purple dragon that folks had not seen in a long time, Spyro. They have a new one coming out, Spyro, the Realm Reborn, the Realm Beyond, excuse me. Toys for Bob is bringing Spyro back with spring 2027. This is the first original Spyro game in nearly 20 years and introduces the true Dragon Flight, allowing players to seamlessly transition from ground to air at the press of a button. And to top it off, legendary voice actor Tom Kenny is returning as Spyro. One game that we hadn't also seen in a very long time, but as soon as you heard the background music, but yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You knew what's what it was, and that's Crazy Taxi. Uh, but this time it's World Tour. Sega's open world reboot of the arcade classic is coming in 2027. Axel returns to track down villains who stole his taxi all while delivering everyday passengers. Now the classic off-spring soundtrack is back. The game also has faced some significant backlash over Sega's disclosed use of generative AI to support the creation of background assets. So, you know, it seems companies are are still, you know, using AI. The only thing permitting them to go full steam is us, the consumers, who bulk against it and complain against it, and they sometimes draw back or change things. But unfortunately, I think there'll be a point in time where they'll just slip it in and the voices won't be there to refute as much. And unfortunately, some of the original, you know, thoughts that the designers and developers had for the game may acquiesce to generative AI. So, but you know, it it is going to be also a multiplayer game as well. So you're gonna have other taxis driving and competing uh against you to pick up passengers. But you know, I can't wait to play Crazy Taxi. You know, it's one of those great games that was on the uh Dreamcast, and you know, it's a really time sink, you know, when you can really just get into it and figure out the best routes and the best ways to navigate the traffic to pick up as many passengers as you can to bring up your score, and so it's a fun arcade-style racer, and I'm glad it's returning to consoles. Nintendo had a direct as well, and they practically broke the internet by showing off what the Switch 2 can do. The Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time. This is a round-up remake of exclusive to the Switch 2. And again, this uh brief teaser showed a young Link in Orion Forest with a Triforce glowing on his hand. The art style is notably more grounded and textured, drawing heavy comparisons to to Twilight Princess. And again, sometimes you can say less and say more. It didn't have a lot of words, but just the fact of you know the showing Link and showing the new way that he would look, totally modernized. It's not kind of like a other Zelda games where they may have done a cartoon version of Link or something that was just a little higher-resed version of the original Ocarina of Time, but this will be a complete new Ocarina of Time, and so a lot of folks are excited to play this adventure uh when it comes out. Uh Xenoblade Genesis is coming to Switch 2 in 2027. This entry takes a massive departure from the previous sci-fi trilogy, leans heavily into high fantasy, placing players in a school called Lacos, and featuring large-scale battles, horseback riding, and dragon flight across an expansive open world. For those of you who like the Xenoblade series, one of the other cool things that they announced is Xenoblades 1, 2, and 3 will have updates for Switch 2, starting with the Xenoblade 1 upgrade, which is available now. And then the other two games will be forthcoming shortly before Genesis releases in 2027. So, you know, again, if you're a big Xenoblade fan, you know, want to get better textures, better performance, you know, you're gonna be excited, you know, to get these updates to the previous games and also look forward to Genesis that comes out next year. And uh Star Fox, uh releasing really soon, June 25th. It's exclusively on Switch 2, and this is developed by Valen Studios. It's a cinematic reboot and remake of Star Fox 64. It features more serious tone, expanded cutscenes, and innovative controls utilizing Joy-Con 2's mouse control mode. So, you know, the thing with Star Fox, you know, they have remade it a couple of times. So if you've played it, mastered it, yeah, you know, you're not gonna find much new here, but you will find, you know, the upgraded visuals, better gameplay, you know, the characters have totally been, you know, redone and better sound, voice acting, etc. And so, you know, if you're a big Star Fox plan, you only have a few more days to wait to try out Star Fox on the Switch 2. Uh, May had some heavy game hitters uh that came out. Uh, one of the ones that has gotten a lot of praise that I've put a few hours in, um, not as far as I uh would like to have been, but it's 007 first light. IO Interactives finally dropped 007 First Light in May, and it's a triumph. The game presents a completely original story, introducing a raw 26-year-old James Bond attempting to earn his 00 status. Patrick Gibson's performance is stellar. He captures the arrogance and underlying capability of the young Bond perfectly. The gameplay massively balances aggressive action with slick espionage. A major highlight is utilizing the modified Omega Seamaster watch to hack electronics in the field. From the early missions in Iceland to the thrilling climax in the Antarctica, IELT Interactive has successfully brought the world's greatest spy back to the top tier uh of gaming. And, you know, when they announced that they were going to do a 007, you know, some thought it was just going to be Hitman in a James Bond franchise. But no, they they kept it too true to the character. You do have, you know, some of the stealthier, you know, type submissions, so it's not all run and gun and action. But to balance that, you definitely have some high octane action sequences that look like it's from the summer blockbuster films. And so I'm really excited to see where they ticked this franchise. But you know, across the board, it's gotten really great reviews from uh various uh websites and podcasters, and so it's 0007 first light. You know, hopefully we'll play a little bit later today uh to get a little more progress in the in the story. But the thing that's also cool with it is it takes a different approach, you know, to tutorials. You know, with some games, you know, you have to slog through a tutorial and and finally accomplish, you know, whether it's blocking so many attacks or shooting so many enemies. I think there was really cool with James Mond, what they would use his training. So when you would go and train to be an agent, you know, they would have brief tutorials in included with the training, but it was just enough to show the concept, you didn't have to do it repetitively, which I found you know refreshing and kind of moved it along. It didn't really drag it out, and it got to you where you needed to be in terms of just having the basic understanding of the game to get right into the action. And again, you know, once the story unfolded, you know, it it was James Bond. Even the opening scene, you know, it didn't have the the 0007, you know, sound that we're always used to. But just like the modern movies, you know, it had an artist, you know, singing a regular song that you would hear on the radio, you know, with all the the visuals and the drama of the 007. So you know, it came across even as a a movie as you were playing the game. But yeah, it's uh it's a great game, 007 uh first light. So if you hadn't tried it, definitely pick it up. Uh, for those of you who like to drive, uh Forza Horizon 6 Playground Games took the festival to Japan, releasing Forza Horizon 6. They have created arguably the best racing game for the decade. The map is staggering. It features an incredibly complex and style representation of Tokyo, including landmarks like Shayabuku Crossing, alongside serene rural mountains and coastal highways. Fantastic new progression hook is the estate, a fully customized mountainside property where you can curate your massive auto automobile collection. The dynamic weather drastically alters the driving feel, making the shift from spring cherry blossoms to snowy winter passes generally impactful. If you own an Xbox or capable PC, this is a non-negotiable uh must-play. Uh again, I had a chance to uh play some of um Forts and Rising 6. And you know, it's really amazing how just how much they put on the plate when you're playing this game. It definitely doesn't have moments of dull time or just driving around. Uh you're constantly going from event to event to event. And then even for those who are a little more adventurous, if you choose to get off the beaten path, you know, they'll let you know that there's some cars that are hidden that you can find to add, you know, to your collection, whether they're in the open pasture or in a barn. And you can again take them back to your estate to build your collection. So, you know, it's it's if you're into Forza Horizon games, uh Forza Horizon 6, I think I'd be the pinnacle of that of that franchise, but definitely is a fun driving game, definitely not the realistic sim of the original Forza, but definitely more of the uh arcade style that everyone's gotten used to and love. Turning to uh industry news, uh, one of the biggest things, of course, we've spoken about previously is the change in leadership in Xbox. And, you know, what most feared has now come to fruition, where they're looking now, unfortunately, to downsize some of the staff or divisions at Xbox. So, you know, again, while Microsoft had a great game showcase, there was a lot of excitement and energy about what they were showing with the new Gears E Day and Fable and some of the other games that were mentioned during the showcase. You know, unfortunately, not long after they did hit us with the news. So the reality behind the scenes is incredibly grim. We are in the middle of a massive business reset initiated by the new Xbox CEO, Assa Sharma, following directives from Microsoft leadership to make the brand sustainable. Sharma has made it clear that the division can no longer tolerate under delivering. This restructuring has led to a leadership exodus, notably including the departures of head of Xbox Game Studios, Craig Duncan, and chief of staff Lewis O'Connor. More devastating is the impact on the studios themselves. Several boutique developers are struggling to prove their profitability under the Game Pass subscription model. Compulsion games, double fine, and Ninja Theory are reportedly fighting for their lives, attempting to negotiate negotiate spin-offs into independent entities just to avoid permanent closure. The Xbox ecosystem is changing rapidly and it's going to be a painful transition. And again, you know, I kind of in the back of my mind, you know, when they were making all the different acquisitions of studios, part of me was excited because I said, okay, finally, you know, getting justification for getting a Xbox Series X. They're gonna have these studios make exclusive games, they're gonna finally have something beyond just a lot of reboots or multi-platform games. But that wasn't the case. You know, they kind of squandered that that goodwill. You know, they kind of bounced around from acquiring studios and implying that they were going to be exclusive to Xbox to changing and saying, okay, well, now we're not gonna have any exclusives, it's gonna be on Xbox and PlayStation to the failed marketing campaign, that everything is an Xbox, ranging from an Xbox to an Xbox ROG ally to your phone or tablet that accesses cloud gaming, and that you know really didn't go anywhere until now. And unfortunately, what I find with Microsoft is you know, a lot of the studios that they acquire, you know, unfortunately kind of die on the vine. Like when they officially acquired Rare, I was like, oh great. So the group, you know, that made Conker's Fur Day is now part of Xbox. I thought they were going to come out with some other great mascot games. I mean, they did come out with Sea of Thieves, and that's something that people do like. You know, for me, I'm more of a single player gamer. So, you know, I didn't I dabbled and dabbled in Sea of Thieves, but really I I like more of story-based single player games. And so it seems to be the you know par for the course that you know they make these big acquisitions, you know, because it takes so long to make a game, you don't really hear any new games coming out until a couple of years down the road. And unfortunately for some of these developers, we may never know what those games will be because they may end up closing them. And if they've been in development you know, for a couple of years, you know, the customer's not going to get a chance to to try them, which is unfortunate, you know. You know, the consistent closure and layoff of you know talent, and then you know, with AI in the background, you know, you know, being used to supplant, you know, some of that talent, you know, it's just an odd place to be, you know, as a as a gamer, because you know, you start to lose some of that authenticity, you know, once, you know, you number one, you get rid of the folks that have been there, you know, a long time. So you may have a studio that's popular in name, but if the people that actually made the studio popular to begin with were let go when you have others who don't have that, you know, history and knowledge, you you may not get the games that you're accustomed to because you got a brand new team, and you know, it it it is an art form, you know, it's beyond just the technical part of making. A game, you are storytelling. You do have a vision for the story. You do have a vision for the scenes and the characters, similar to how they make movies. You know, it I think it's similar in that, you know, they're part of the entertainment medium, but unfortunately, you know, where our industry is going, we're getting rid of a lot a lot of that uh talent. You know, some of it can shift to other studios that are hiring, but you know, some of it will just be gone and may just be tired of being in the video game industry, the constant ups and downs and ups and downs and layoffs and stuff. So they may just transition to something more stable, you know, especially for those who you know are now getting into you know marriage and family and uh having to be the provider, you know, they may just decide, hey, you know, I can no longer do this. My it's uh impacting not only me, you know, but my loved ones, and I have to move on. So I'm hoping that you know they get to a point of uh where Microsoft and Xbox are on the same page. You know, I think unfortunately for Xbox, you know, Microsoft is off in a whole different direction chasing, you know, AI, and now they're saying that they can no longer fund Xbox and it has to be self-sustaining. But you know, the video game business is different. You know, consoles are made on a razor's edge of a profit with the understanding that the content that is going to be played on the console, that's where you're gonna make your your money. So they're never going to have you know consoles sold at a huge profit. I mean, right now, you know, the prices have, you know, unfortunately also gone up. Hopefully, this is a trend that will not continue, especially once we get past the rampocalypse with AI gobbling up all the memory and you know, other companies that use these components having to pay you know a premium price, you know, once that subsides and things hopefully get back, you know, to to normal. Still, you know, I hope it goes back to affordability, you know, where people can buy a console at maybe three, four hundred, five hundred bucks, but you know, the prices of seven, eight hundred, almost a thousand dollars for a game console, you know, is really not sustainable, especially in this, you know, environment where there are so many things that are also much more you know expensive, you know, over the last few years where you had inflation, but you never had deflation. Only thing that happened was prices didn't go up as rapidly as they have. And so the amount of the percentage of price increase has gone down, but is the price of the product hasn't gone down. It's just that it hasn't continued to go up as much, but it's still affecting you know consumers. And again, you know, with the gas prices, even though those have started to go down some, you know, still it it costs a lot. So, you know, it's a a ripple effect, not only is it put on you know more money that you have to put into the pump when you go to fill up your car, but you know, anything that ties to you know trucking, you know, for example, their costs have gone up, of course, because they have bigger rigs and they have a lot more gas to use, and that gas is a lot more expensive, and so that passes on to the consumer as you're buying your grocery products, those are going to be you know higher as well. So, you know, it's it's a lot that that happens, you know, over time that you know increases costs for everybody. But I'm really hoping that you know we get to a point where at least for the video game consoles, you know, we can kind of come back to reality and so we can all continue to enjoy this hobby that we love. In other industry news outside of the game reveals, the most important conversation in May and June revolves around consumer rights. The European Commission officially responded to the Stop Destroying Video Games Initiative, which gathered over 1.2 million signatures aiming to force publishers to leave games in a playable state after commercial support ends. The immediate news is frustrating. The Commission stated that they cannot propose a legal obligation forcing publishers to keep games playable, signing strict international intellectual property laws. However, the Commission has committed to initiating formal exchanges with the video game industry by the end of 2026 to draw up an official code of conduct regarding how games are managed and at their end of life. It isn't just a sweeping legal mandate, but it forces publishers to the table and keeps game preservation in the legislative spotlight. So again, we don't know if there will be a USA equivalent of this, but it is go good for those who you know like to preserve the games that they've paid for and want to continue to experience. You know, the the challenge with the the gaming industry is you know, it's not like movies. You know, if if I go and buy a DVD and put it into a player, you know, I can watch the movie now or five years from now. But you know, when I buy a game, you know, really I'm just buying access to that license. And if that publisher, you know, decides that they're no longer going to support that game, and because these machines are constantly connected to the internet, you know, I may not be able to play the game that I've purchased because now it's no longer being supported. And it doesn't necessarily have to be, you know, games that are are multiplayer and have you know servers that they have to update. It may just be a single-player game, but they just don't want to do the patches and updates anymore. And as a consumer, then I'm kind of left out in the cold because I can't access the content that I I've purchased. So, you know, it'd be interesting to see if there's going to be you know a US equivalent. But you know, again, for those who definitely want to hold on to their collection to enjoy their games, you know, for the future, you know, something that we'll have to come to terms with. So uh that's it for episode 16. Uh, I want to turn the conversation over to you. Email us at gaminggrown folks at gmail.com and let us know which upcoming games you're most excited to play this fall. Uh, if you appreciate the deep dives, please like, share, and subscribe to the channel. Take a brief moment to leave a review for us on Apple Podcasts. Uh, it's the single best way to help us grow the community and keep the podcast thriving. Again, thanks for tuning in, keep gaming, and I'll see you in the next episode.