The XboxCast

I Am Currently On Trousers

Apparently, q-tips are not supposed to clean your ears.
Thats our Top Tip of the Week!
 
Lee is stuck in Diablo IV but we're in no danger of becoming a Diablo IV podcast! Kyle is sailing away in FAR: Changing Tides, because it seems he is now the new gamer player. Oh how the turn tables. 
 
Season 10 is here for Sea of Thieves and comes with guilds and private servers! This is exciting as you can now sail the seas without being hunted down by 10 year olds. But how does progression work? Are we limited? Rare have been pretty light on details. 
No More Robots, the makers of SpiritTea, have shared exactly how good Game Pass is for the industry. And he even shares some exciting stats about how good it is. 
 
Baldur's Gate 3 shares stats as well, and it turns out that people have played about 81,000 years of the game! Thats slightly insane. And only 400 people have completed Honour Mode, with 150,000 people starting it. The biggest game of the year for sure! 
And what the heck are hall effect thumb sticks?? We break this down for you, so you're not as confused as we were. You're welcome. 
 
Our game award voting is now live, and you get to have your say! Because we're the only awards show you should be listening to. So, hop on over to our fantastic voting form and nominate your Games of 2023. 
 
To all our dedicated fans - thank you for helping The XboxCast grow. Please continue to rate, share, and interact with us on the socials. We appreciate every one of you.
 
--
For previous episodes, all our socials, community events, and more, visit
⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐
 

That’s Just a Little Fan That’s Been Enlarged!

We have received a photo of our biggest fan! 
But it's not a big fan. It's just a small fan that's been enlarged! 
 
The Golden Joystick reveals their winners for this year's Game Awards and all we can say is thank goodness there remains some sanity in these award shows. If you're unsure what this means, then you clearly haven't listened to last weeks' episode. There's a bunch of games who totally deserve the win, and we offer our sincerest congratulations! 
 
Warner Bros has seen the light! Wonder Woman will not be a live service game, so we can all breathe easier. It will have a beginning, a middle and an end! Almost like they understand that people enjoy finishing the games they play. Especially when there's news of server closures. Twelve EA games are going to be put out to pasture as the last remaining laptop running these servers gets unplugged at the end of the year. 
 
And if you're interested in Dune: Spice Wars, well Kyle has the low down for you. While Lee is stuck playing Diablo, Diablo and more Diablo...  
 
Kyle is growing an epic goatee for Movember! And you can help donate if that's your thing. If you want to throw a few dollars to a good cause, check out this link. If you have no idea what Movemeber is, then check out the official website. 
 
To all our dedicated fans - thank you for helping The XboxCast grow. Please continue to rate, share, and interact with us on the socials. We appreciate every one of you.
 
--
For previous episodes, all our socials, community events, and more, visit
⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐
 

No Bali for Barney

Barney will never visit Bali. And Bali will never experience Barney. 
What a sad state of affairs.
 
Apart from the fact that Lee's dog, Barney, will never travel to Bali, the rest of this week's Regular Show is much more upbeat! That we can promise you. Balder's Gate 3 has gotten a massive win on the Xbox side of things, allowing the Larian Studios to make the game more optimized across all platforms. Time to start getting hyped for the epic D20 roll that will be this release on Xbox. 
 
The Game Awards have come out with their nominees and in a normal year, we're used to the Xbox snub, but this year has shown just how much of a farce it really is. Can anyone take The Game Awards seriously after the colossal mistakes they made this year? Or are you used to the disappointment that is Geoff's PlayStation Lovefest? 
 
Kyle is growing an epic goatee for Movember! And you can help donate if thats your thing. If you want to throw a few dollars to a good cause, check out this link. If you have no idea what Movemeber is, then check out the offical website. 
 
To all our dedicated fans - thank you for helping The XboxCast grow. Please continue to rate, share, and interact with us on the socials. We appreciate every one of you.
 
--
For previous episodes, all our socials, community events, and more, visit
⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐
 

Starfield Discord Thing

We have a Starfield Discord Thing!
Some even call it a forum...
 
Cities: Skylines II has a great game loop. You build a village, run out of money, lose the game and then start again. At least that's how Kyle has been playing it. All the while Lee is firmly stuck in Diablo IV. He has been running around in Season 2 and having a blast by the sounds of it. 
 
Microsoft is banning unofficial Xbox accessories, but it doesn't go far enough according to Kyle. Some Xbox accessories are going to give you an error code if you try use them, yet the known cheating accessories - Cronus and Xim - are still left to function. How infuritating. And it's not like they couldn't stop it either... 
 
Xbox is injecting AI into its game studios. Are at least will be partnering with InWorld - the makers of tool that allows generative AI to build NPC's and quest lines. What does this mean for future games? It means that those epic side quests you pick up in Starfield have the potential to be even better. And in the future, quests could even adapt and change to how you, the player, interact with them. 
 
We truly live in an age of wonders. 
 
Kyle is growing an epic goatee for Movember! And you can help donate if thats your thing. If you want to throw a few dollars to a good cause, check out this link. If you have no idea what Movemeber is, then check out the offical website. 
 
To all our dedicated fans - thank you for helping The XboxCast grow. Please continue to rate, share, and interact with us on the socials. We appreciate every one of you.
 
--
For previous episodes, all our socials, community events, and more, visit
⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐
 

What! Bethesda Games Have Bugs?

In a surprise twist, it turns out Bethesda games have bugs! 
Almost like all games have bugs!
 
Sea of Thieves is getting a big update with Season 10 - private servers, guilds and a whole lot more! Looks like this game has found its sea legs. We love to sea Xbox continuing to support such a fantastic endeavor. Will these changes make you dive back in, or are you waiting for a boarding pass? 
 
Fallout's TV show has a release date and it's looking like it will live up to the hype. Could this be the same date as the fabled Next-Gen update for this game? Who knows, but we're waiting with baited breath to see what rolls out the vault later this year. 
 
Xbox has decided that marketing is a good thing as it takes over the Las Vegas Sphere during TwitchCon. How much does it cost to run an ad on this giant LED sphere? Well we could tell you, or you could listen to this episode and then cry your eyes out. Thats what we did, so don't feel too bad... 
 
All this and more in this week's episode of The Regular Show! 
 
To all our dedicated fans - thank you for helping The XboxCast grow. Please continue to rate, share, and interact with us on the socials. We appreciate every one of you.
 
--
For previous episodes, all our socials, community events, and more, visit
⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐
 

I’ve Put All My Time Into Killing Things With My Brain

It's finally done. 
Activision Blizzard are now officially under the Xbox umbrella!
 
Prepare to melt faces as Robocop! The dark dystopian sci-fi epic is coming to Xbox soon, and everyone will be able to play as their favourite cyborg cop. The demo captures everything that made the cult movie great and Lee of one is super excited. But then again, when isn't Lee excited about shooting people in the face? 
 
More shooty shooty comes to Game Pass, but this time it's a bit scary as Dead Space Remake crawls its way onto the service later this month. Are you brave enough to play it? Or is Peppa Pig Makes Friends more your style?  
 
And you coul win a very cool looking, but very non-functional, Xbox Series X! Xbox and Blizzard have teamed up to bring you a fantastic looking console modeled after the gates of hell from Diablo IV. While it looks great, it doesn't actually work, for reasons unknown. But hey, it looks cool! And half of what makes people good gamers is how cool their consoles look. It's a known fact. Thats why Xbox players dominate at FPS games. 
 
All this and more in this week's episode of The Regular Show! 
 
To all our dedicated fans - thank you for helping The XboxCast grow. Please continue to rate, share, and interact with us on the socials. We appreciate every one of you. Now, be a dear and visit our website, YouTube or Discord.
 
--
For previous episodes, all our socials, community events, and more, visit
⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐
 

Does Paul Have A (Starfield) Problem?

Have you ever stolen so much stuff you just needed to sit at the bar for a day? 
Paul has. 
 
Lee is still stuck in Cyberpunk, and is urging everyone to get the expansion - Phantom Liberty and he's trying to convince Paul to abandon Starfield. However, Paul has some incredible hours in Starfield, so he's in no danger of straying off the path. We're so proud of Paul! 
 
There's a new Xbox Series X, themed around the brand-new Assassin's Creed: Mirage. And Paul wants to put it on the wall. However, you'll have to enter the competition to win this. Probably not open to us down under, but we still get excited about cool looking Xboxes! 
Could Activision Blizzard close on Friday this week? Things seem to be happening fast and furiously now that the CMA have given provisional agreement. Game Pass is about to get a massive boost to the already 400+ games currently on the service. 
 
Amazon Prime Day is here and it brings a bunch of sales! Want to pick up the expansion card for cheap? Now is your chance. And in some exiting news, some deals even extend to us here in New Zealand and Australia! Time to kit out the Xbox with some new accessories, just like its having a birthday. But you're the one getting spoiled. 
 
All this and more in this week's episode of The Regular Show! 
 
To all our dedicated fans - thank you for helping The XboxCast grow. Please continue to rate, share, and interact with us on the socials. We appreciate every one of you. Now, be a dear and visit our website, YouTube or Discord.
 
--
For previous episodes, all our socials, community events, and more, visit
⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐
 

I Was Off Camera, Rescuing My Cat

Producer Paul joins Lee this week, and chaos ensues! 
 
As is custom, we thank our Patrons on the first show of the month. Because what better way to convince you guys to support us than by shaming those that aren't... Thank you guys for supporting us and making sure we keep ticking along. If you'd like to support us, please consider signing up on Patreon! 
 
Meta (formally Facebook) and Xbox are becoming pals and you'll be able to play XCloud on the Meta Quest, which used to be called the Oculus Quest. Still, games in VR! It's a win for all three people who bought one! The writers guild want to shut down the games industry to try to get more people to support their failed strike in Hollywood. The problem is no one seems to care, and the games industry has just collectively shrugged at them. Is this the W we think it is? 
 
Lee has dived into CyberPunk and declares it's better than Starfield. Its ok, we won't lynch him just yet without hearing him out first. Still, CyberPunk 2.0 and the expansion seem to be exactly what was needed. Paul is still in Starfield and will probably be for the foreseeable future. 
 
All this and more in this week's episode of The Regular Show! 
 
To all our dedicated fans - thank you for helping The XboxCast grow. Please continue to rate, share, and interact with us on the socials. We appreciate every one of you. Now, be a dear and visit our website, YouTube or Discord.
 
--
For previous episodes, all our socials, community events, and more, visit
⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐
 

FPS Isn’t Real

We are confused all the time. 
Or are we confusing? 
 
New Zealand flicks over to Daylight Savings, and hasn't let Australia know. How rude! But it does mean poor Lee was sitting for an hour by himself. In future, we may get Lee's dog - Barney - on as co-host. If you want to see this happen, hit Lee up on Twitter/X! 
 
News has run very dry. It's that time of the year where all the stories are just not interesting. And so uninteresting, that it's now time to do lists! This week's news is full of lists. Listing that and listing this. Do you agree with our lists? Or would you like to see another list? 
 
Lee has been having issues in Starfield. While trying to be sneaky, good ole Sarah decides to start shooting. As she always does... Kyle gets involved in base building and constantly getting distracted by all the different shiny things. Starfield remains a classic Bethesda game that way. Have you discovered anything exciting? We have a Starfield forum on our Discord if you have! You should totaly join. 
 
CyberPunk joins Train Sim World 4 as our highlights for this week's new games! Hack into the mainframe, while traveling keeping on the rails. Sounds like a win in our book! 
 
All this and more in this week's episode of The Regular Show! 
 
To all our dedicated fans - thank you for helping The XboxCast grow. Please continue to rate, share, and interact with us on the socials. We appreciate every one of you. Now, be a dear and visit our website, YouTube or Discord.
 
--
For previous episodes, all our socials, community events, and more, visit
⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐
 

Does Anyone Know Where Electricity Comes From?

Lee is showing off his production skills on this week's Regular Show. 
But it turns out he just reads waveforms.
 
Starfield is still sitting at number 1 in the charts, with 10 million players! Not to bad, but it begs the question - how many people were playing Fortnite every week to keep it at the number 1 spot for so long? But more importantly, how do the golden toilet seats inside Epic's offices feel? And do they drive you to work? 
 
Xbox has suffered its biggest leak ever! From hardware roadmaps to how much Microsoft pays to put games on Game Pass - everything you could ever want to know is now out in the wild, thanks to the FTC uploading unredacted documents. Even though we cover a few interesting tidbits from this leak, one thing to keep in mind is that this is all from 2020 and things have no doubt changed. 
Could Xbox move to an ARM chip? These leaks hint at the biggest hardware shakeup in Xbox's history. ARM could be the secret sauce that would propel Xbox to massive generational leap in performance, and possibly leave PlayStation 6 in the dust.
 
All this and more in this week's episode of The Regular Show! 
 
To all our dedicated fans - thank you for helping The XboxCast grow. Please continue to rate, share, and interact with us on the socials. We appreciate every one of you. Now, be a dear and visit our website, YouTube or Discord.
 
--
For previous episodes, all our socials, community events, and more, visit
⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

Starrim? Skyfield?

It's The Regular Show! No gimmicks, names, or funny shenanigans. 
Ok, so we lied about the shenanigans... 
 
With Simone leaving us to our own devices, who's going to keep us in check? No one! Thats who! It's going to be chaos, anarchy, Kyle, and Lee talking about nonsense for three hours straight. Because we know what you guys want. And it's longer, nerdier, ramblier podcasts! You can thank us later. 
 
The Regular Show is just like #NuNews. In fact, some may even get it confused with #NuNews. But it is not, in fact, #NuNews. It has news, it has nu, but now it comes with fan mail and Starfield stories. Maybe this should be called #NuNews+? 
 
In this episode of The Regular Show, we cover so many exciting stories! Starfield is top of the charts. Again! Will anyone take this beast down, or is this the new Fortnite? And what exactly have Kyle and Lee been up to in this game anyways?
At least you won't have to worry about how to pay for GamePass now that Xbox has teamed up with Mastercard to give all gamers a terrible deal on an Xbox branded credit card. Seriously guys, do not sign up for this. It's not worth it! 
Unity has put its foot in it and decided it doesn't like money, or developers using its products, as it announces that it will start charging for game installs. After an outcry from game devs the world over, Unity looks like it's going to double down on this terrible choice. Because that's how normal people react to feedback it seems... 
 
All this and more in this week's episode of The Regular Show! 
 
To all our dedicated fans - thank you for helping The XboxCast grow. Please continue to rate, share, and interact with us on the socials. We appreciate every one of you.Now, be a dear and visit our website, YouTube or Discord.
 
--
For previous episodes, all our socials, community events, and more, visit
⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

#GameFace! Who’s Going to Replace Simone?

It's our 50th Episode of the year! 🎉
And it's our last #GameFace! for a while... 😢
 
Join us as we bid (a temporary) farewell to Simone, and to GameFace!, the only Xbox podcast show that brave enough to cover the games we've been playing! While #GameFace! may be on hiatus for a while, you'll still be hearing from Kyle and Lee as they cover everything in The Regular Show! 
 
And this so happens to be our 50th episode for the year! The big five oh. And what better way to celebrate getting to 50 episodes without going mad than to have a 2023 retrospective. From the best games we played each month to our personal recommendations, you may think this is our Games of the Year show, but it's not. You can't get rid of us that easily! 
 
Ever since we introduced #GameFace!, you guys have tuned in week after week, and we can't thank you enough for that. 
 
--
For previous episodes, all our socials, community events, and more, visit
⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter