Infinite Scale - A podcast about Video Games · Nerd Orgy

Infinite Scale Podcast #75 - Michael Vick Had Crazy Stats

·1 hr 55 min·5 clips

Halo is coming to PlayStation, marking a major shift in Xbox's exclusivity strategy.

This episode of the Infinite Scale podcast features hosts Christopher Merced and Chris Crossley discussing recent video game releases and industry shifts. They open by catching up on personal news, including a Top Golf outing and a recently earned degree, before diving into gaming topics. The conversation centers on Microsoft's strategy shift, with Halo's announced release on PlayStation signaling a move away from console exclusivity. The hosts analyze this as an admission that Xbox is now primarily a games company rather than a direct console competitor. They reference rumors about Microsoft's next hardware potentially being an x86-based PC-like device and compare the strategy to Sony's timed PC releases for games like Death Stranding 2. The discussion covers the Microsoft acquisitions of Zenimax and Activision Blizzard, questioning the output from those studios so far. They specifically mention the mixed reception to *Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2* and the *Gears of War* remaster, which some criticized for feeling dated. A significant portion is dedicated to *ARC Raiders*, an extraction shooter from Embark Studios, the developers of *The Finals*. Merced details the game's heavy PvE focus, with powerful AI bots that encourage player cooperation over immediate PvP conflict. He describes the social dynamics, where players often use voice chat or emotes to negotiate truces, and the game's loop of looting, extracting, and upgrading a personal base. The hosts note the game's 80s futuristic aesthetic, its performance on Unreal Engine, and its monetization model with a $40 base price and cosmetic purchases. A surprising claim is that encountering another player in *ARC Raiders* can feel like a scene from Cormac McCarthy's *The Road*, where you must quickly determine if they are friendly. The hosts find it interesting that the game's threatening PvE elements can make other humans feel like potential allies rather than just threats. They contrast the community response to *Cyberpunk 2077*, which they argue was always a great game beneath its technical issues, with the reception to *Starfield*, which they label a "seven out of ten." The tone is casual and conversational, filled with inside jokes and friendly banter between the co-hosts. The style is opinion-driven and exploratory, meandering from industry news to personal gameplay impressions without a rigid structure. Listeners who enjoy informal, deep-dive discussions on gaming industry trends and specific game mechanics will appreciate this episode. Those seeking highly produced, tightly edited content or who dislike tangents about personal anecdotes might want to skip it.

As heard by us

A loose catch-up that folds game talk, grief, and humor into one wandering but engaging episode.

After a long gap, the show falls back into its usual catch-up rhythm: travel, Switch 2 talk, Topgolf nonsense, a quick Arc Raiders check-in, and then a sharper turn toward Tomonobu Itagaki's unexpected death and the mark he left on games like Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play for a messy games catch-up that still knows when to get serious.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Infinite Scale - A podcast about Video Games