CORE - Core Gaming for Core Gamers

With Scott, Jon, Beau, Randy, Brian, Bobby, and the one and only LIAM O'BRIEN! Enjoy the archive from our live episode! Video coming soon to the Youtube Channel as well. 

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Scott Beau and Jon get together and watch SGF live with commentary! The video version is up on the youtube channel as well: youtube.com/scottjohnson Expect more in future as we break down what’s coming ands what has us the most excited. 

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CORE Coverage of the Sony State of Play for 6-2-2026

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Enjoy this preview of what pre-show sounds like for patrons of the show! Free this week!

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On this week's CORE, we talk about the Witcher III getting a new expansion next year. Also, the games of June, Dragon Quest XII, the announcement of Unreal 6, Steam Deck getting a $300 price increase, Fable getting pushed again, the upcoming Sony State of Play and our coverage of it. We played Lego Batman: Legacy of The Dark Knight, 007 First Light, Duck Game, Deep Rock Galactic Rogue, Tidy Up The Arcane Libary, Steam Controllers, both Mario Movies, Stellar Blade, Elden Ring, and Pragmata! Also your emails to boot. Big fun show, so enjoy!

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Seems like everyone is really into the new Lego Batman game. Also, Sony confirms, no PC ports for their big single player games anymore. We have more thoughts. Warhorse is making a Lord of The Rings RPG. Virtua Fighter 6 leak has us excited. Bungie says Destiny 2 is over. Big Warhammer dump at Skulls Showcase this year. Quantic Dream MOBA actually happened. GTA6 is STILL happening this year...we think. Sunderfolk is free right now...sort of. We played more RE9, some Forza Horizon 6, Rune Dice, Librarian, Crimson Desert, Mixtape, Pokopia, Mano things in Fortnite, Stellar Blade, Surviving Mars: Relaunched, and...

Today on CORE, turns out those Overwatch coming to Fortnite rumors were true! We talk it about. GDC changes their name. Forza H6 and Subnautica are having a very good week it seems. Capcom is doing really well, and also dominating the digital and PC space for a company like that. Maybe FF7 rebirth is for the olds? Zelda movie has a NEW date. Check out the cool stuff in the CORE store! Scott reviews the new Steam Controller, Forbidden Solitaire, and also gets more Crimson Desert and Dungeon Crawler 1.0 in. Jon might be hooked on Diablo IV now, but...

Let's get into another CORE episode today! Some quick Nerdtacular talk, and then straight into Star Fox getting a a new game, this time a remake of the N64 game! Looks neat and the price sounds like it might be right. Also, big talk about how hard it was to get a Steam Controller on launch day. Tips on avoiding family trips. Are steam machines incoming too? MK II the movie seems like it might be better than ok! We all played a lot of Diablo IV. Fans think Scott looks like Lorath. Dunno about that. Scott also played...

This week on CORE, the hosts are feeling the heat with only 42 days left until Nerdtacular 2026! Scott, Beau, and Jon dive deep into a massive week of gaming news, starting with the official launch of the Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred expansion. We break down the new classes and whether the Horadric Cube lives up to the name. How stoked are we for the Black Flag remake? Very. We also look ahead at a packed May release schedule, featuring heavy hitters like 007 First Light, Forza Horizon 6, and the Switch 2's Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. Plus, we discuss the...

The Big Stuff:

- Nerdtacular All-Stars trivia team, all three hosts ended up on the same team with Scott's sister Wendy

- Team name brainstorming (Cerebral Cortex, Obsessive Core Pulsive, Psycore Logical Corefare, etc.)

- Trivia seeding test results and strategy

- 500 episode milestone / mugs still available

- Patreon/Core.show support plug

Games Discussed:

- Diablo IV's new expansion (record-breaking second expansion, early buzz positive)

- Vampire Crawlers

- Windrose

- Blacksmith Master

- Mouse...

We talk a bit about all this Windrose news in our feeds. But then to the deep stuff, like a visual grid of the kinds of gamers we are. Baldurs Gate 3 is getting modded with a remake of the original GB game, done by fans. Microsoft is rethinking gamepass, and saying its too expensive. Maybe they go with ads, bundles, and more? We kinda hate this. Rockstar got hacked and it was kinda lame what came out in the leak. Star Trek game PULLED from stores, and the larger story of running out of time on license deals. 

No Man's Sky adds Pokémon-style Xeno Arena minigame. Split Fiction studio hits 50M games sold. Graveyard Keeper is free on Steam. Brief OW announcements note. Swear word appreciation, Warhammer 40K musical announcement, StarCraft tabletop minis preorder, Barrett/Animal Crossing crossover bit, scissoring education, game you bounced off question, memorable NPCs question, EverQuest Legends hype, Transformers Matrix of Leadership replica preorder, Marble Madness remix song search. GAMES! RE Requiem week 2 with Scott and Jon. Crimson Desert (Jon hooked, Scott sucked in). Scott on Raccoin (coin pusher meets Balatro). WoW and DQ Builders 2. Jon played Eternal Life of Goldman demo. B...

Nerdtacular 26 tickets, bags, and CORE swag. Sony raising PS5 prices. Stormgate losing multiplayer after server partner pivots to AI. Super Mario Galaxy Movie reviews are bad. Classic Resident Evil games on Steam, go GOG instead. Scott and Jon played Resident Evil Requiem together (Tuesdays 1pm). Scott in WoW and Dragon Quest Builders 2. Jon hooked on Crimson Desert. Beau wrapped Pirate Yakuza, more multiplayer Slay the Spire 2. 

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Nintendo's surprising decision to make physical Switch 2 games more expensive than digital versions. EverQuest is relaunching in a format designed for time-strapped adults and old farts like us, Capcom is patching out some “accidentally” written incest from Street Fighter 6, Clair Obscur's devs confirm there's no canon ending, new gameplay footage dropped for both Exodus and The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. And loads more on top of that!

Scott

- Crimson Desert

- Dragon Quest Builders 2

- WoW Midnight

Jon

- Crimson Desert

Beau

Crimson Desert launched today, reviews are mixed as expected, amazing open world, minimal story, no traditional leveling, open-world jank. John is at Disneyland! DLSS 5 announced by Nvidia, AI-yassifies characters without permission from devs like Capcom. Listener indie game Garden and a Goat announced, wishlistable on Steam. WoW Midnight discussion, level boosts are hard without knowing your class…but maybe no more? Pinball FX Williams Collection recommended, Pinball Map app finds nearby machines. Evoker alt class tried and abandoned. And loads more!

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Nerdtacular 2026 tickets holding at early bird pricing, plus a swag bag-only option now available at frogpants.com.


News:

- NetEase pulls funding for Gang of Dragon — future of the game unknown

- Valve still targeting 2026 for Steam Machines despite RAM shortages; rumored to be a factor in Sony/Xbox strategy shifts

- EA lays off Battlefield staff post record-breaking launch

- Jeff Kaplan on his Blizzard exit — plus his one Overwatch regret: making it too team-focused when players want to shine individually

- Fo...

Looks like Sony is officially getting out of the port business and going all Nintendo on us again. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake is indeed happening. Highguard is officially leaving in just a few days. MetaCritic got weird with AI over the last few days. The games we played, a lake correction, Zillow and WoW, and some Diablo 2 stuff!

GAMES PLAYED

Scott

- World of Warcraft Midnight

- RoadCraft

Jon

- Resident Evil: Requiem

Beau

- Legend of Grimrock

March 2026 is shaping up to be a massive month for gaming, with big hitters like Crimson Desert, Marathon, Pokémon Pokopia, Slay the Spire 2, Solasta 2, Death Stranding 2 on PC, and the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection all loaded up. Also, Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are out at Xbox, while Sony raises a few eyebrows by signaling a potential end to PC ports. Our eyebrows are defiinately raised. Marvel's Wolverine finally has a September release date, and Valve finds itself in legal hot water as New York's Attorney General sues over alleged illegal gambling promotion to kids among o...

That ashes of creation thing is just getting messier and messier by the day. Also, Unity wants you to type your next casual video game. We will explain. 

GAMES PLAYED

SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK

- Diablo 2 Resurrected – Infernal Edition

- Overwatch

- Dobbel Dungeon

SCOTT

- Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp

- No Man's Sky – Remnant Mode

- Escape from Ever After

JON

- Mewgenics

- TR-49 

- Resi...

Our live watch-a-long AUDIO of of today's Sony State of Play. 

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As we prep for the State of Play today, we talk about the games we played this week, and hit the news about all the Warlocks coming to all the Diablos. Highguard and 2XKO getting big layoffs, and the upcoming Baldur’s Gate 3 TV show!

Games Played This Week

Shared Play

- Jon & Beau: Mewgenics

Scott

- Animal Crossing (on Switch 2)

- Goblin Sushi

- V-Rally 4

Jon

- Mewgenics

- Dragon Quest III HD-2D Re...

Overwatch might be making a big play with some re-branding, a slew of new heroes, and loads more. Will it put things back on top for the team shooter to beat? We talk about that, plus the Ashes of Creation mess, Steam hardware talk from Valve, and what might be the end of all things Outer Worlds.

GAMES PLAYED

- The Midnight Walk (Scott)

- Butcher's Creek (Scott)

- LUNARK (Scott)

- Resident Evil 2 (Jon)

- Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (Jon)

- Super Nintendo...

So, now that Highguard is out, what the hell is it? We have takes. Also, the games of Feb, new Mario trailers, Dispatch censorship worries, Hasbro up to no good, Bobby with a Mini Instance chat about the Midnight pre-patch and upcoming launch in WoW, all the games we played and more!

Shared Play

- Highguard 

Scott

- V Rising

- Caravan SandWitch

Jon

- Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

Beau

- Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in H...

Let’s talk about the Xbox showcase today, as well as the dust up over CDProjekt Red and VR mods. Plus RE getting yet another remake, Highguard getting a freebie, Marathon maybe doing ok afterall, and Nintendo getting you guy another weird toy. 

GAMES PLAYED:

SCOTT

Star Wars Dark Forces Remaster 

Fire Emblem: Engage 

Terra Pit

JONI 

Final Fantasy VII Remake

BEAU 

Elden Ring 

Shinobi 

Guild Wars Reforged 

Pirate Yakuza 

Heroes of...

Scott sits down with Warren Davis for a deep look at the creation of one of the great arcade games of all time, Q*Bert, as well as his direct impact on everything from the Joust seires to Mortal Kombat to Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Check out his book: ‘Creating Q*bert and Other Classic Video Arcade Games’! Some amazing insight in this episode with Warren, and we hope enjoy it! 

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Where the heck is Highguard? Also, Kratos has been cast, RE:R got showcased today, Tomb Raider series gives us a look at Sophie Turner in the role, Ubisoft doing more Ubisoft things, we have an end date for New World, the end of Anthem this week, and more. We played Cozy Caravan, Marble's Marbles, Find my Buddy, OddCore, Trails in The Sky 1st Chap, FF VII remake, Yakuza Kiwami 2, FFI and IV, and a little Yakuza Pirates. Plus your emails and more!

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January Releases: Let's mostly focus on Animal Crossing and FFVII Remake for Switch 2, plus Code Vein 2 and Highguard. (yeah, we kinda forgot about Highguard too.)

StarCraft Shooter coming to Blizzcon? It might be Blizzard’s third attempt at a SC shooter, reportedly an open-world project led by Dan Hay (Far Cry fame).

Other stuff: Awesome Games Done Quick, a Starfield Star Wars conversion, and FF Tactics: Ivalice Chronicles hitting 1 million players.

We discuss games we played this week, including PlippUp, Fallout 4/New Vegas, Trails in the Sky, The Séance of...

It's time for our anual personal and group awards for the games of the last year, and a few that are not. :) Join Scott Beau and Jon as they look back and forward and somehow up and down as well. Oh and this is the first time this gets called The osCORES. Big thx to Taz for the post art! Jump in! Full award notes: https://www.frogpants.com/corepicks2025 

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Diablo IV: Both Scott and Beau are back in for Season 11. Scott’s "Hot Take" is that the game is officially "very good now”, and he does not care who knows it. (Paladin to 46); Beau claims it’s the best season of "Diablo 3" yet. (lol)

Scott: Revisiting Overload (on sale), playing Escape Room Simulator 2, and starting Banquet for Fools.

Jon: Reached the new area in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and is impressed by the visuals.

Beau: Mostly Jump Space outside of D4 play. 

And a CRAP ton of your em...

Get your ‘500+ Episodes’ mugs at Frogpants.shop now before its too late!. We recapped The Game Awards: Jon loved Resident Evil Requiem, Scott is into Total War Warhammer 40k, and Beau liked Gang of Dragon. We mostly bounced off Highguard.

News: Steam Winter Sale is live. Fallout Season 2 has started. We discussed Netflix buying WB (details at core.show). Supervive is shutting down after 7 months.

Played: Scott is on Path of Exile 2 and Mutant Football League 2. Jon is trying demos like Pragmata and back in FFXIV. Beau is on Witcher 3 and other sick-friendly game...

Audio edition of our watch-a-long! Listen along with us! Video version will be up on CORE.SHOW shortly.

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Welcome to episode 500! Finishing Dispatch, loving Split Fiction, playing Demeo DND, and the Hordes of Hel! Plus Shinobi is underrated, Divinity still has a lot of stuff on the ground, Witcher 3, and a LOT of prep for tonight’s Game Awards. (coming in a separate post.)

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🎉 500 EPISODE MUGS NOW AVAILABLE!

Get yours reserved before we hit the limit!

https://frogpants.shop 

⚠️ SPOILER POLICY CLARIFICATION

Going forward:

1. We'll do our best not to offer major spoilers on narrative elements

2. We'll give ample warning to pause, skip ahead, or come back later

3. We'll front-load discussions with spoiler-free content

- Scott will play BGM over spoiler sections for podcast listeners

- Jon is doing YouTube chapters ASAP once the episode posts

NOTE: This has never been a spoile...

Scott dropped a Patreon vs Core.show support comparison video—check it at Core.show for the breakdown. Also posted an article about RAM prices going absolutely bonkers right now. The advice? Wait it out. Don't be the person overpaying because you can't control yourself. 

News Roundup: 

WoW: Midnight Gets Real

Jon brought the news: World of Warcraft's next expansion drops March 2nd, 2026. Mark your calendars, prepare your excuses for missing work.

Half-Life 3 Copium Intensifies

People—including "insiders"—still think HL3 is getting announced this year. Spoiler: It's not...

Main Topic: Game Awards Nominees. Megabonk dev withdraws "Best Debut Indie" nomination (made previous games). Claire Obscur: Expedition 33 breaks record with 12 nominations. Notable snubs: ARC Raiders, Dispatch, Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Other News

Xbox Partners Showcase (Tides of Annihilation, Vampire Crawlers, Total Chaos)

Epic/Unity partnership for Fortnite integration

Krafton AI controversy re: Subnautica 2 bonuses

Dispatch skill requirements discussion

First live-action Zelda movie set photos

Our Week in Gaming

Shared: Dispatch progress (Beau completed, Jon restarted, Scott finished Episode 1)

...

Valve has three new hardware options for you, and we talk about them in detail today. Plus all the news and stuff you can stand, as well as a visit from Bobby for a nice little WoW update! 

GAMES PLAYED

SCOTT

Tavern Keeper

JON

Dispatch

CyberPunk 2077

BEAU

Farthest Frontier

Jump Space

REPO

ARC Raiders

Vampire Survivors VR

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All the details on CORE.show, and what you can get from it! WoW is not coming to consoles, says game lead at Blizz. Fortnite has all the cartoon dads now. Rockstar doing some devious firings. Your Steam Deck can now download while asleep! Warhammer Survivors is HAPPENING! Blizzcon tickets go up tomorrow. Playstation Portal finally does cloud. The return of Nexeopardy! All the games of the week and loads more.

SCOTT

Hoop Land

Mech Havoc

Utopia Must Fall

JON

The Outer Worlds 2

...

Nintendo wants you to feel like those happy pandemic times again with a big update to Animal Crossing on Switch 2. Also, all the games of November, the Amazon Games layoffs and the apparent shutter of New World. Civ 7 trying to fix things. Claire and Cloud together at last. All the games we played plus all the usual stuff Enjoy!

SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK

Slots & Daggers

SCOTT

Powerwash Simulator 2

Warside

JON

The Outer Worlds 2

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection

Dispatch<...

How does anyone make a definitive list of the best games? It’s impossible, but we talk about the latest attempt anyway. Plus, Remedy losing their CEO after Firebreak did so poorly, and Vampire Survivors adds DLC to DLC. We also field a load of your questions this week, along with the usual dork-athon, and the games we played to boot! 

SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK

Battlefield 6

SCOTT

Superliminal (beat it!)

Battle-Suit Aces

Yet Another Zombie Survivors

Geometry Survivor

Dungeon Clawler

S...

Early reviews for the Xbox handheld are out, and it is a mixed bag to say the least. Understanding Fearless Drafts. Glen Powell wants in on E33 movies. EA employees not happy about the sell out. Quantic Dream is making a….free to play MOBA? Yep. Also, all the games we played and loads more!

GAMES PLAYED

SCOTT

Ball X Pit

The Exit 8.

Funguys Swarm

Soulstone Survivors

Silent Hill f

JON

Megabonk

BE...