Active Reload: A Video Game Podcast

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James and Grant discuss the news that PlayStation will be ending their distribution of physical copies of their games starting January 2028. Is this the beginning of the end of physical media in video games? Will Xbox and Nintendo be quick to follow suit, and if so, when?

After that, the guys discuss Grand Theft Auto 6's pricing model and the subsequent backlash from the announcement of their ultimate edition and the difference between that edition and the base game. Plus, was Rockstar the real reason Sony decided to end disc production?<...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James and Grant open up the show discussing Grant's favorite trailers from Steam Next Fest! After that, the guys talk about the pricing release for the Steam Machine, setting you back well over $1,000 dollars, James wonders who this is really for, while Grant says it's for a guy just like him.

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Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James, Grant, and Steven talk about the reverse of course from Xbox as they're on the verge of shuttering multiple in house studios as part of their new clean-up. Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, and Double Fine are reportedly on the way out, and it leaves the guys wondering, how do teams like Bethesda get such a long leash but these studios with more recent success, get cut off at the knees?

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Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James and Grant go over a HUGE weekend in video game announcements! With Summer Games Fest and the Xbox Games Showcase giving us trailers for Resident Evil Veronica, Alien Isolation 2, Crossfire, The Wolf Among Us 2, Senua, Doom The Dark Ages Revelations, Gears of War E-Day, and a bunch more!

The guys discuss everything they saw and what they're excited for!

Welcome to Active Reload! This week James, Grant, and Steven discuss all they saw at PlayStation's June State of Play. They give their reactions to the gameplay of Wolverine and God of War Laufey. As well as, ILL and Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve!

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Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James and Grant open the show discussing the surprising announcement that Bungie will be ending active development on Destiny 2 in just a few weeks. It's also being report that once the last update, "Monument of Triumph", is released Bungie will be conducting round of layoffs seemingly from the Destiny team. What does this mean for Bungie in the near future? Could Marathon also be in trouble even with the seeming incoming reinforcements?

Also, Unreal Engine 6 got a surprising reveal from Epic at the Rocket League Paris Major in which Epic announced...

Welcome to Active Reload, this week, James, Grant, and Steven talk about Mixtape and the interesting reviews it's gotten, from 10 out of 10s to 5 out of 10s to people even wondering if it counts as a video game. The guys break it down and ask what even does make a video game?

Plus, the entirety of Forza Horizon 6 leaked online, so people are playing it early to their at their own discretion. And, to make matters worse, all of Subnautica 2 leaked as well, just a couple of days before it's official release. The guys talk about how...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James, Grant, and Steve discuss GameStop offering to buy eBay for 55.5 billion dollars! What are GameStop's plans to transition the company, and are they trying to become the next Amazon?

Also, the Steam Controller 2 is already out of stock via most major retailers and scalpers are selling it at a 250-300% higher price. How can we stop the scalper problem and is anything worth that sort of up charge?

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Welcome to Active Reload! This week James and Grant talk about the reporting around a possible Halo extraction shooter in the works. What could it look like? Will it be dated by the time it eventually releases? Or, will Halo Studios scrap it for whatever the next trendy thing is in the future?

Also, the guys discuss whether their excited about the Assassin's Creed Black Flag remaster. Does it still keep the things that made the original Black Flag special? Will it be worth the $70 price tag?

Finally, Steam officially revealed their second rendition of...

Welcome to Active Reload! On this week's episode, James and Grant go through and make a tier list of current video game developers! From Capcom to Bioware and more!

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James and Grant open up the show discussing the Metro 2039 reveal! What do they expect from this new entry in the franchise? Will they be going back into the Metro? A voiced protagonist!?

Plus, Rockstar was hacked and had some of their financials leak including revenue from both Red Dead Online and Grand Theft Auto Online. And, let me tell you, the money that Rockstar is pulling in from Grand Theft Auto Online alone will blow your mind. They discuss the numbers and what to expect from Grand Theft Auto 6 and...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week James, Grant, and Steven, break down the accusations from Build a Rocket Boy CEO Mark Gerhard of alleged sabotage of their game Mindseye. He also plans to put a mission in the game called Blacklist that will outline some of the alleged sabotage. Is it legit? The guys discuss.

After that, former director, Vinit Agarwal, who was in charge of the ill-fated Last of Us Online, stated in a podcast appearance that the game was about 80% done when cancelled, saying Sony had to choose between that game and the new Neil...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James and Grant give their top five favorite first-person shooter maps of all time! Everything from Call of Duty to Halo, Unreal Tournament, and Rainbow Six!

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Welcome to Active Reload! This week James, Grant, and Steven talk about their favorite reveals from the March 26th Xbox Partner Preview! Stranger Than Heaven stole the show, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is looking to fill the void that Mass Effect has left behind and a bunch more!

After that the guys go over what they've been playing the past week and gush over a new arcade style racing game that's out right now!

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Welcome to Active Reload! This week James, Grant, and Steven talk about Nvidia's new DLSS 5 tech that will use AI for certain shadows and lighting effects, but also seems to be AI glamming characters faces in the process!

Also, Starfield is coming to PS5 on April 7th, and it's coming with a couple new updates that are attempting to 2.0 the Bethesda sci-fi adventure. Will it work and bring Xbox players back as well? The guys discuss.

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Welcome to Active Reload! This week James, Grant, and Steven discuss the announcement of the next Xbox! Codename Project Helix, the guys discuss what they expect from the console, what it could look like, will it be a seamless transition from console to PC? Also, what audience is it being made more?

Next it's a big week in releases. With Ghost of Yotei Legends, John Carpenter's Toxic Commando, Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake, GreedFall: The Dying World, and more there should be no shortage of fun games to play!

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Welcome to Active Reload! This week, the James and Grant open things up with reviews of Resident Evil Requiem, where does it stack up with the other Resident Evil's? Is it top 3? Was this Capcom's original idea for RE9?

Plus, Grant gives his thoughts on Marathon after the weekend server slam. Will it be a big hit? Or will it struggle with Arc Raiders still pulling big numbers.

Finally, Wildlight Entertainment officially announced they would be permanently shutting down Highguard later in March. What can the industry try to learn (again) from this failure at...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James, Grant, and Steven discuss the massive changes in leadership at Xbox Game Studios. Phil Spencer retires, Sarah Bond resigns, Asha Sharma the new gaming CEO, Matt Booty promoted to CCO. Could this be the beginning of the end of Xbox Game Pass and maybe the Xbox as a console? Or could it be a welcome change bringing back Xbox towards their prime?

Next, the guys go through some big releases this week such as Resident Evil Requiem and World of Warcraft Midnight, and the Marathon Server Slam!

Remember...

Welcome to Active Reload! On this week's episode: James, Grant, and Steven go over their favorite announcements from the recent PlayStation State of Play! What they expect from the God of War Trilogy Remake, Control Resonant, Star Wars Galactic Racer, Project Windless, and more!

After that, the guys discuss Highguard's developer Wildlight laid off most of their staff for the multiplayer shooter. Because of that, one of the former developers had some strong words after the initial reaction of the game, James and Grant go over those comments and how they might reflect the industry as a...

Overwatch is BACK! Sort of. Blizzard is relaunching Overwatch with new content and without the 2. Have you ever wanted a coop Horizon Zero Dawn game? Neither have we, but Sony thinks we do! So we get Horizon Hunter's Gathering... Active Reload breaks it all down on this week's episode! Plus, New Games releasing like, Mario Tennis Fever, High on Life 2, Reanimal, and more!

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James, Grant, and Steven, discuss video game reviews! Who they like to listen to when it comes to reviews, as well as their opinion on numbered reviews and non-numbered reviews. That leads them into a conversation about what their exact middle of the road games are, their five out of tens that they use as a base point for other games.

It's also a big week in releases with a new pilot dog fighting VR game that looks incredible. Quietly Nioh 3 is out this week, and a new Grant and Odin...

Welcome to Active Reload! On this week's episode, James, Grant, and Steven open the show discussing the release of Highguard and give their initial impressions! Will it be another Concord or will it have the legs to last? Also, was the trailer at the Game Awards actually a blessing in disguise?

Also, Division 2 is getting a realism mode, that has the guys discussing why it takes Ubisoft to find what works from their own games.

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Welcome to Active Reload! This week James, Grant, and Steven give their reactions to the games shown at the Xbox Developer Direct! From Forza Horizon 6 showing the new setting in Japan. To Fable's new take on Albion, plus, a game where you play as a ceramic pot and try to defeat other players who are also ceramic pots called Kiln! (Double Fine is on that good stuff).

Next, the guys go over Ubisoft's announced "major reset" where they canceled and delayed a bunch of games and did some organizational shifting. Causing a major drop in their share...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week it's just James and Grant, and they go down their predictions in the gaming world for 2026! Will the Steam Machine under perform? How will Marathon do with a fresh coat of paint? What to expect from Fable and Xbox as a whole? Those and a bunch more on the predictions' episode of 2026!

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Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James, Grant, and Steven go down their list of their favorite games they played in 2025! Remember to rate, follow, like, and subscribe!

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James, Grant, and Steven open up the show with the unfortunate passing of video game legend Vince Zampella. The guys discuss the impact his work had on them personally and overall on the industry as a whole.

After that, there was some Rainbow Six Siege hack that made some players rich in R6 credits, then the guys talk about Rainbow Six Mobile.

Ark 2 got another delay that pushed it back to 2028, James poses a question of which game will actually see the light of day first, Ark 2 or Elder...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James and Grant open the show giving their good, bad, and ugly of all the Game Awards reveal trailers!

Next, Marathon got a re-reveal from Bungie with a 23-minute inside look into the development of the upcoming extraction shooter. The guys discuss if the new look, price point, and release date is enough to attract players.

Finally, Nvidia is reportedly planning to cut production by 30-40% of their RTX 50 series GPU's in the first half of 2026. What should we expect from console and PC prices with the possible increase...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James, Grant, and Steve open up the show talking about the purchase Warner Brothers purchase by Netflix (or Paramount). It could have big impacts on a bunch of IP gamers are familiar with.

The "future" of the Tomb Raider franchise will be revealed at the Game Awards according to host Geoff Keighley, the guys discuss what to expect from the next entry in the game.

Speaking of Game Awards, James and Grant give their three reveal predictions for the show, ranking them from likely to possibly to highly unlikely.<...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James and Grant are joined by a special guest, and they speculate more on the price of the upcoming Steam Machine, could it be priced up to $1,000? What can Valve do to try to pull appeal towards it from other consoles?

After that, Grant breaks down his most underrated games of the year so far.

Finally, the gang wraps up breaking down the games releasing this week.

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Welcome to Active Reload! This week James, Grant, and Steven open up the show going over the Game Awards nominations! Grant is really pining for Arc Raiders even though it literally can't be game of the year. They break down specific nominations and their descriptions, such as what does Art Direction even mean? Plus, their picks for specific categories!

After that, there are some very reputable leaks and rumors that are pointing to the possibility of an actual Half Life 3 announcement. The guys break down how we've come this far and if the meme will actually become...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James, Grant, and Steve discuss the biggest news of the week: That's right, Pigeon Simulator is OUT!!! Just kidding, Grand Theft Auto 6 was delayed again, this time to November 2026. The guys debate whether we could see it on new consoles next year, or will it be the same thing that happened to Grand Theft Auto 5 with the previous generation of consoles.

Plus, Todd Howard was being interview by GQ and stated that Elder Scrolls 6 is "years away". It's been seven years since the 2018 E3 splash screen trailer and there has been...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week James, Grant, and Steven break down the new trailer and gameplay reveal of Halo Campaign Evolved, the remake to Halo Combat Evolved. James and Grant both have some mixed feelings about it, and they share their pros and cons!

Next, Valve pushed out one seemingly tiny update that wiped three billion dollars out of the Counter Strike skin marketplace overnight! The guys talk about the aftermath of the crash and if we're going to see any course correction from Valve.

Finally, Bethesda celebrated their "Fallout Day" last week with...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James, Grant, and Steve talk more about Battlefield 6 and the massive success it is having with it reaching over 7 million copies sold in the first three days!

ARC Raiders also saw insane success, reaching 189,668 concurrent players on Steam during its Server Slam, which would make it the biggest extraction shooter in the platform's history, and it's not even out yet!

It's also a big release week in the industry with Ninja Gaiden 4, Dispatch, Jurassic World Evolution 3, and of course the insanely massive gigantic release of PowerWash Simulator 2! The guys...

Welcome to Active Relaod! This week, James and Grant (mainly Grant) open the episode by talking about Battlefield 6! Grant gives his good, bad, and ugly after his time with it.

Then, the guys discuss Remedy's profit warning to investors due to "weak sales" from FBC: Firebreak. The show was wondering who this game was for when it was first announced and Remedy seemingly never got an answer to that question. Also, does this have a bigger impact on the games as service model as a whole?

Finally, is Pokémon officially back?! Pokémon Legends Z...

Welcome to Active Reload! On this week's episode, James and Grant open the giving their Borderlands 4 impressions, as well as reacting to Randy Pitchford seemingly getting flustered by fans who are upset with the performance issues of the game. Even though the game is fun, has this been kind of a mess for Gearbox?

Next, the Wolverine game there has been one single trailer for, lives! A report has slated it for a 2026 release, with a possible solo Venom speed off coming after. Is it too late for fans to be excited about the new Insomniac release...

Welcome to Active Reload! On this week's episode, James and Grant go over MachineGames studio head Jerk Gustafson's comments regarding the possibility of a third installment in the mainline Wolfenstein series. Could a third game be on the horizon?

It has officially been one year since the Concord release that shook the industry with it's subsequent shuttering. Has Sony learned anything from the debacle? Could there be more situations like it in the future?

Roundhill Investments did a deep dive into the gaming industries revenue over the past decade and came up with some substantial...

Welcome to Active Reload! It's a slow news week, but there are some items that slipped through. Bungie is looking for play testers to play Marathon for 30 days straight, and they're willing to pay $500 for them to do it! The guys discuss if they've ever seen anything like this before.

Also, CD Projekt Red is teasing something in Cyberpunk with some in game statements being issued by a character on Twitter. What could be coming up in Night City?

Finally, it's a packed week for game releases from Metal Eden to Cronos to Hell is...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James, Grant, and Steve open the show talking about the announcement of longtime Bungie CEO Pete Parsons leaving the company. What is Parsons legacy given the much more recent struggles at the company?

Next, Skate got an early access release date with a new trailer. There is some negative discourse around it, but both the James and Grant are excited to see it in September.

Finally, an official 1.0 release for Escape from Tarkov was announced with a new trailer as well. Grant talks about the eight-year road it has...

Welcome to Active Reload! This week, James, Grant, and Steve go over the announcements at opening night of Gamescom 2025. A new Call of Duty Black Ops 7 gets a full reveal, Silksong is finally playable for the first time, and Lego Batman steals the show!

Plus, Halo is officially partnering with Halo for a new warbond that is exclusively Halo ODST themed.

Delta Force is coming to console and Black Myth Wukong is coming to Xbox, Grant and Steve get you prepared for the new releases.

Finally, there is some the guys discuss their...

Welcome to Active Reload! On this week's episode, after a long hiatus, the guys can finally talk about the Battlefield 6 beta! They give their loves, likes, dislikes, and hates, as well as what they want to see in the next beta test!

Next, Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox later this month and with the release the Arrowhead Game Studios team is teasing a massive collaboration with Halo (seemingly ODST related) that has Xbox and Halo fans clamoring.

Finally, the guys wrap things up with the games releasing this week and what they've been playing over...