After a fantastic developer direct showcase from Xbox to kick things off for 2026, the team return to chat through it all – and the news of the week in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 298!
There’s plenty to talk about this week, and for the most part, it’s all good news! MIO: Memories in Orbit hits Game Pass (and other consoles) and it’s really great, according to Jesse. He also took some time to review a new expansion for Cult of the Lamb, which you can read all about in our review. Aarsal has been out adventuring on assignment – Yes, Highguard is real, and you’ll hear more from us about it very soon. He also reviewed Final Fantasy 7 now that it’s arrived on Xbox, and upset quite a few people in the process. Lastly, Jon has been making swords in Bladesong, and reliving some nostalgic memories with G-Police ‘spiritual successor’, G-Rebels.
The biggest headline of the week of course is the Xbox Developer_Direct, and you can watch our live reactions right here. Playground Games turned up with a double whammy for Forza Horizon 6 and Fable, Gamefreak showed off Beast of Reincarnation and Double Fine appeared to show pottery-based multiplayer brawler Kiln! It was a great showing overall, and 2026 continues to excite us all with so many great games coming our way.
We also cover plenty of news from the week, including the carnage at Ubisoft, which saw Sands of Time cancelled, and a complete ‘reset’ at the company. All of this and plenty more – including your community questions in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 298!
Timestamps:
00:00:00 – Show Start
00:05:30 – Aarsal went to LA to play Highguard
00:19:15 – What have we been playing – Aarsal
00:29:30 – What Jesse has been playing
00:37:24 – What Jon has been playing
00:46:39 – Ad-Break
00:49:00 – Xbox Developer Direct Breakdowns – Forza Horizon 6
01:12:33 – Beast of Reincarnation
01:25:41 – Kiln
01:36:34 – Fable
01:55:42 – Ubisoft canceled 6 games, delayed 7
02:03:50 – Game Pass Jan Wave 2 was great
02:19:43 – Halo celebrates 25 years
02:25:16 – Don’t Read The Comments
02:31:22 – Community Questions
03:08:08 – Housekeeping
03:12:41 – Show is over
