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The Xbox brand is a shadow of it’s former self. Are Microsoft execs really happy with his decisions?

Bioware and Bethesda Game Studios once stood as giants, casting long shadows over the RPG landscape with masterpieces like Mass Effect, Dragon Age: Origins, and The Elder Scrolls series. They weren’t just studios, they were architects of worlds, builders of mythologies, and masters of narrative. Dragon Age: Origins laid the groundwork for future legends like The Witcher 3 and even inspired the modern triumph of Baldur’s Gate 3. The DNA of Origins is embedded within these successors, its lessons passed on like whispers from a sage. So how is it, then, that we now get games like Dragon Age The Veilguard, a title that feels like a corporate parody of its own heritage?

The answer lies in the captains steering these once-majestic ships. Bioware, now bound to Electronic Arts, and Bethesda, tethered to Microsoft, have been dragged into the orbit of corporate mandates. These studios are no longer sailing into uncharted waters as they cling to the safe harbors dictated by risk-averse overseers. Much like the philosophical dilemma of the Ship of Theseus, these studios have been rebuilt piece by piece, board by board, or developer by developer, until they are no longer recognizable for what they once were. Many of the talented minds who brought us Morrigan’s cunning moral quandaries or Skyrim’s sprawling landscapes have left. Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn, and other luminaries have departed, founding new indie ventures like NEARStudios in an effort to recapture that magic spark without corporate interference.

Meanwhile, the hollow shells of their former studios march on, like skeletons refusing to acknowledge their own demise. The Veilguard showcases this decline with brutal clarity. Where Origins allowed you to forge a path as the Grey Warden, making morally questionable decisions, forming alliances or rivalries with complex companions, Veilguard neuters those choices. It plays it safe. The moral grey zones that once defined the series have been replaced by a sanitized, performative attempt to engage with real-world culture wars. Taash, a character supposedly meant to add depth, instead feels like a shallow injection of modern debates, lacking the layered conflict of a character like Morrigan or even Jack, who questioned your choices and redefined what it meant to be a character in these stories.

The future of Mass Effect, a franchise once celebrated for its complex, emotionally charged relationships and mature storytelling, seems uncertain, a series that couldn't even live up to its own bold writing by playing it safe with the ending of the final entry to the trilogy. A new entry now looks bleak under EA’s corporate thumb. If Andromeda is any indications, a "Veilguard" version of Mass Effect could be disastrous. What once felt bold and unflinching now risks becoming a watered-down simulation of its former self.

Bethesda’s decline is perhaps even more glaring. It’s been 15 years since the release of The Elder Scrolls Skyrim, with TESVI still a distant dream. In that time, Bethesda delivered Starfield, a game nobody really asked for. Instead of the quirky charm and awkward brilliance of games like Oblivion, Starfield feels like a hollow echo. While awkward dialogue and potato-faced NPCs were entertaining in the mid 2000s, they stand out like a sore thumb today. All of Starfield’s NPCs are flat and unappealing, with its worlds feeling paper thin, and its atmosphere lacking the immersive spark that made The Elder Scrolls phenomenonal. The quirky imperfections that gave older Bethesda games their character have been ironed out, leaving behind an uninteresting, lifeless product that plays it safe when it should be taking risks. Adding insult to injury, the legendary composer Jeremy Soule, who once gave Skyrim its ethereal heart through music, is no longer with the company, and Bethesda seems content to erase his contributions amid controversy.

The fallout (no pun intended) of this decline is evident in Bethesda’s handling of the Fallout franchise. Despite the surprise success of the Fallout TV adaptation, the studio failed to capitalize on its momentum with a new game. Instead, fans are left clutching the ashes of a franchise that once defined post-apocalyptic storytelling. It is sad to think that the last entry for Fallout we have is the ill fated Fallout 76 project and its attempt to monetize the series as a live service, rejecting what the unique RPG experience had been known for.

This is the reality of Bioware and Bethesda in 2025, shells of their former selves, weighed down by corporate mandates and devoid of the daring souls who made them great. The attempts to recreate their past glories feel like xeroxing a Da Vinci painting, technically accurate but lacking the soul, the ineffable magic that made those games masterpieces.

The magic is gone. The divine spark that once ignited these worlds now lies extinguished, replaced by calculated mediocrity. The Bethesda and Bioware you loved are dead, replaced by ghosts wearing their names. They cling to their legacies like aging monarchs, unaware that the kingdom has moved on without them. But the fans haven’t forgotten what made these studios special. Now we turn to studios like Larian with spiritual successors birthed from the ashes like Baldur's Gate 3, or potentially OnceLost Games with The Wayward Realms. Perhaps, in those studios, the spark still flickers, waiting to catch fire once again.

Is there any restrictions cause I cant do that ? It just says there is an error occured but nothing specifc.

That game has been the one and only instance where I had to fight my friend at the end kf the campaign and I am looking for something with a similar mechanic. The more recent the better, my friend plays a lot based on graphics

I’ve always wanted to try mods so wish me luck

Hello!

I am curious if FH5 is a different experience from Motorfest. I am playing Motorfest right now, completed all playlists and I feel there's not much to do (as I do not play online).

Not talking about graphics, sound, does FH5 have a better career more or interesting races? I am also put off by "6000+ cars" but you have Lamborghini Aventador in 20 configurations or Porsche 911 with different skins (Motorfest has this, maybe Forza also?)

Can you explain what you actually do in FH and the type of activities and why you'd choose Forza over Crew?

Thank you so much!!

I remember as a kid there were a lot of famous dance franchises. Dance Dance Revolution, Bust a Groove, Audition Online, Space Channel, Dance Central, etc.

But currently the only dance saga that exists is Just Dance. There are not even indie dance games.

What happened? Is this genre really dead? People have no interest in playing these types of games no more? :(

While i know by today's standard, My pc would be considered low to mid end, But coming from a poor income as a Personal Trainer/Fitness Instructor, I appreciate my system more.

My PC started as a Dell Optiplex i7 3rd gen with 8gb ddr3 ram, Upgraded it over the years, My very first GPU was a GT 640 2GB, which back then i thought was pretty OP, I then got myself a Radeon R9 290 4Gb, while pretty strong, gave me endless issues with its problems and made me appreciate Nvidia more.

I got a GTX 1050ti 4GB from a friend which back then was a pretty OP card when i got it versus my previous cards, Ran pretty much every game i had at it and locked it at 50-60fps, Performed beautifully when i was big into GTA Online.

Short story, Got myself 24GB ram when my one 8GB DDR4 failed & recently i got myself a GTX 1060 6GB OC Edition and man this card runs every game i throw at it beautifully, Even moving from 1600x900 to 1920x1080 and the frame rate remains high, Even AC Origins was hitting the 80fps range on High settings, Paired with a Ryzen 7 1700X CPU, running on a Kioxia 480GB SSD.

My pc is nothing special, no rgb or fancy case, Its got a plain case but the performance takes priority over looks. I am however planning on upgrading the case to a better airflow case, CPU upgrade to a Ryzen 5 5600X Hexa Core & finally a RX 6600LE 8GB.

TLDR: Appreciate your gaming platform more when you look back where you started at, When you were underprivileged, You appreciate and take better care of what you have earned over the years to be able to play games at a high fps versus when you started off where you were happy to get 30fps on low

https://preview.redd.it/3k6x3g3p1rge1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=bdcda26a4b6ca14425a22b20fcbbb6ff727dc176

Featuring full 3D environments, a juggling combat system, breakable character armor, coupled with enclosed and destructable arenas Fighting Vipers was ahead of its time. Sega's extremely busy and successful AM2 division ported it well to the Saturn, but the console was already doomed compared to the extremely well received Playstation.

Super Mario Odyssey has such great movement and is such a smooth game and is so speedrun-able. Is there anything like that on the Playstation?

I'll go for an easy couple;

1. Final Fantasy XV - Starts off promising with a big open world, but by the second half it's just linear areas that speedrun wrapping up the plot. Also major events happening offscreen (yes I know this was to promote other media, but most didn't like it)
2. Fable 3 - When you take the throne, the days start ticking down until <big event>, IIRC it's perhaps a year. Suddenly it starts skipping huge timespans without warning, then the end is here.

My kid has been playing Doom and Titanfall 2 on my pc - both games I got for the campiagn, as that's the kind of gaming I enjoy. He's started checking out the multilayer modes, which I've ignored so far, and seems to be really enjoying them.

I mentioned this to my wife, and somewhat sarcastically said "I think he's turning into one of those gamers", referencing the perceived division between single- and multi-player gamers.

Her response? "Oh, you mean the kind of gamers that are actually good enough to play against other people?"

Taking suggestions for a hospital in central Scotland with a good burns unit, tia.

I'm especially looking for games that look really nice, think A Plague Tale, but in the Middle East. Assassins Creed comes to mind of course, but outside of that? I'd also appreciate any Indie games, like Dujanah. I'm also generally okay with having a gun, I just want to stay away from the classic "American in the Middle East" trope.

edit: especially set in the arabic speaking parts of the middle east

So I'm a huge Star Wars fan and love the Souls-Borne genre but for some reason Fallen Order didn't hit home for me. A big problem I had with it was that exploration seemed only to be met with a new Pancho or color scheme for bd-1 so I found myself just wanting to advance the story and not caring about anything else. I'm not saying it's a bad game, just that it didn't hook me like I wanted it to. I put about 15 hours into it before putting it down so I gave it an honest try. I saw Survivor just dropped on game pass and I really want it to be what I wanted Fallen Order to be but I was wondering if it's even worth the bother if I wasn't hooked by Fallen Order.

hi guys,

just looking for a bit of advice.

So, I just played Great Circle since I've got gamepass and really loved it. I actually feel a bit sad that I've finished it now.

weirdly, I've not enjoyed an FPS for a really long time. maybe the only one I've really enjoyed in the last 15 years was Firewatch.

my thing is story. I want something that's a good story, well voiced, and something that isn't just a grind fest.

Horizon was interesting, but I couldn't get through all the fake accents and stuff. the recent star wars games were ok, but a lot of grind.

is cyberpunk now in a state where it's worth dropping money on it? I'm thinking about it, but want some reassurance my money won't be wasted. I've avoided FPS for so long I'm still a bit skeptical.

For reference, my favourite games are the Mass Effect series. I know that's a high bar, but it's that kind of immersion and story I enjoy, and FPS games generally aren't for that, which is what put me off cyberpunk.

any and all advice welcome. thanks in advance.