{"podcast":{"title":"The VGBees Podcast","slug":"the-vgbees-podcast-6924874","podcast_index_feed_id":6924874,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/the-vgbees-podcast/","website_url":"https://vgbees.com","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/3320d25d-ee27-4d43-b975-63d6a9712289/IOANjiIWTI06F0gdiYDoBImA.jpg","author":"VGBees","episode_count":120,"summary":"Host and founder of VGBees, John Warren, is joined every week by cohost Niki Grayson and illustrious guests adjacent to video games and culture for candid, funny, and enlightening conversations about an art form that is both uniting and dividing us. Every week, The VGBees Podcast will explore trends and touchpoints you need to know in order to have the most well-rounded idea of what's going on in games. Explore vgbees.com after each episode for notes on each episode as well as written pieces by our collaborators and guests. We all have to work together to build a brighter future for games, so Join The Honey Hive today!","last_synced_at":"2026-07-10T22:18:01.795928+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vgbees-podcast-6924874"},"episode":{"title":"Ep 106: Xbox Preparing Layoffs, Nintendo Direct, Pokemon Go Military Defense Data","slug":"ep-106-xbox-preparing-layoffs-nintendo-direct-pokemon-go-military-defense-data","published_at":"2026-06-14T09:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vgbees-podcast-6924874/ep-106-xbox-preparing-layoffs-nintendo-direct-pokemon-go-military-defense-data","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vgbees-podcast-6924874","url":"https://vgbees.com/captivate-podcast/ep-106-xbox-preparing-layoffs-nintendo-direct-pokemon-go-military-defense-data","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/6edd3c3b-30e8-42ab-950b-52af833f86d1.mp3","summary":"Lotus , Niki , and John recovered from Summer Game Fest 2026 and reconvened (in home studios, not John's car) to discuss an extremely busy news week, including Xbox preparing major layoffs, Nintendo Direct revealing the Ocarina of Time remake, and more information dropping about Pokemon Go and its role in data gathering for defense purposes. 00:00:00 Intro & how waffle fries are made Go to nogamesforgenocide.com to learn more about the BDS movement and Microsoft's continued role in the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. 00:08:20 Asha Sharma writes memo to Xbox staff; heavy layoffs reported 00:25:00 Xbox console exclusives are returning 00:37:30 Lotus' 50 most anticipated indies from the week's showcases 00:40:10 Nintendo Direct reveals Ocarina of Time remake ; is Nintendo bored? 00:47:10 Kingdom Hearts IV is here and looks like it looks 00:49:00 Final Fantasy Resonance strips the gacha out of mobile game inspiration 00:52:00 God of War Laufey creates an interesting branch for the series 00:55:37 How do waffle fries work? (part 2) 00:56:38 RGG wants to explore what Tupac's life could've been in Stranger Than Heaven 01:01:17 PlayerUnknown facing layoffs 01:03:56 RPG Maker forums shuttering and migrating 01:11:20 Team17 eliminating marketing department 01:13:24 Crazy Taxi reboot working with generative AI art flow 01:16:45 GOG sends out email with Nazi symbols in subject line 01:25:06 Ubisoft shutting down two studios 01:28:05 Pokemon Go likely being used to collect data for defense contracts 01:31:15 Blood Dungeon is Vampire Survivors in platformer mode 01:35:10 Onimusha: Way of the Sword is perfectly competent action combat from Capcom 01:40:18 John (almost) corrects the record on last week's Code Veronica misadventure 01:43:55 NBA The Run is a shallow facsimile of better…","meta_description":"Lotus , Niki , and John recovered from Summer Game Fest 2026 and reconvened (in home studios, not John's car) to discuss an extremely busy news week, incl…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":10042,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-vgbees-podcast-6924874/episodes/ep-106-xbox-preparing-layoffs-nintendo-direct-pokemon-go-military-defense-data/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vgbees-podcast-6924874/ep-106-xbox-preparing-layoffs-nintendo-direct-pokemon-go-military-defense-data.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}