Gaming news, judged in public.
Game Mess Decides turns gaming news into a loose argument between sharp, funny regulars. It moves from PlayStation hardware rumors and Xbox strategy to guessing games, retro collecting, and whatever comes out of the hat.
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Game Mess Decides is a gaming news and commentary show that sounds like two people sorting the industry in public. Jeff Grubb leads the table, usually with Mike Minotti beside him, and the result is loose without feeling empty. The show starts from the week’s obvious headlines, then keeps pulling at them until they become arguments about hardware, publishers, taste, incentives, and player expectations. It is fast. It is skeptical. It is often funny in the middle of making a practical point. Recent episodes move through Prince of Persia hopes, PlayStation handheld speculation, Xbox console strategy, Resident Evil Requiem impressions, Capcom scheduling, Pokopia buzz, Crimson Desert disappointment, and another Xbox Partner Preview. The show also has a strong appetite for industry side effects, from backward compatibility and retro pricing to Warner Bros. Games questions after a possible media deal. It is comfortable being blunt about companies. It is also happy to spend several minutes on Mega Man 64, Virtual Boy, old commercials, theater snacks, or whether a new stream format needs a name. That mix is the identity. The news matters, but the banter is how the news gets tested. Recurring bits give the show a clubby rhythm: the hat segment, prediction games, community super chats, Pokemon drafts, sequel brackets, and occasional community game-night mentions. Some segments feel like live radio with a gaming Discord attached. Others feel like a running argument that has been going for years and happens to pause for ads. Game Mess Decides works best for listeners already fluent in platform rumors, review averages, game launches, and the strange economics of nostalgia. It does not slow down much for newcomers. Instead, it rewards people who want their weekly game news filtered through sharp familiarity, dry jokes, and a willingness to call a bad idea a bad idea.
Made for: For gaming fans who follow industry news closely and enjoy commentary that moves quickly from headline to argument. It especially fits listeners who like platform strategy, release chatter, community bits, and skeptical jokes more than formal analysis.
What sets it apart: The show stands out because its recurring games and live-community energy are part of the editorial engine. Predictions, hat pulls, drafts, and super chats turn news discussion into a running contest of taste, memory, and stubborn takes.
The Game Mess Decides podcast is the weekly gaming news show from Jeff Grubb and Mike Minotti. They decide all of the biggest issues in gaming so you don't have to think for yourself.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Jeff Grubb and Mike Minotti connect gaming headlines to the practical experience of buying, playing and remembering games.
Game Mess Decides turns the week's video game business into a running argument between Jeff Grubb and Mike Minotti. Studio closures, Xbox upheaval, PlayStation hardware speculation, publisher ownership and new releases all receive the same useful treatment: firm opinions tested…
A ten-gallon Arby's hat is ready to decide what you think about games.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A possible Prince of Persia reunion leads into backward compatibility, Neo Geo math, and a hat-led format.
Game Mess Decides uses the possibility of a Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown team reunion as a loose way into games-industry logic. Jeff Grubbin and Mike Minotti slide from a Capcom aside about incest being nerfed, but not really, into a hypothetical thousand-dollar PS6 and…
A quarterly prediction game turns release timing and review scores into entertaining industry bookkeeping.
Game Mess Decides frames its quarterly prediction ritual as a brisk check-in on release timing, review-score guesses, and the small dramas that come from being publicly wrong.
A PlayStation 6 handheld discussion opens into Mario movie opinions, Mind's Eye, Mega Man 64, and old commercials.
Game Mess Decides uses talk of a potentially powerful PlayStation 6 handheld as the way into a broader games conversation. From there, the hosts branch into Mario movie opinions, the Mind's Eye situation, old games, convention-floor prices, and the familiar pull of collecting.
Resident Evil Requiem, industry shakeups, and a Pokemon trainer draft give Game Mess Decides a loose, lively charge.
Game Mess Decides turns a crowded week in games into an easygoing, opinion-forward episode. Jeff Grubb has been playing Resident Evil Requiem, while Mike Minotti is set to play it soon, so the discussion has a useful sense of buildup instead of rushing to a final verdict.
A skeptical, joke-streaked PlayStation discussion built around Bluepoint uncertainty and bigger studio questions.
Game Mess Decides turns Bluepoint questions into a wider read on how PlayStation decides what gets protected. The episode moves through the studio's uncertain future, canceled projects, the chat's claim that Lego Horizon did not sell well, the claimed 19 increase in profits, and…
A relaxed gaming hangout where Kingdom Hearts charity plans, metroidvania shopping, and RPG-bundle regret overlap.
This single-episode review works best when it stays close to the practical overlap between game collecting and charity-stream planning. The discussion centers on bringing Final Mixmas back on Sunday with Dream Drop Distance, then opens into a call for spare game codes that can…
A sleepy check-in where super chats, Crimson Desert, PAX, and a lobster roll keep the game talk moving.
Game Mess Decides turns a nearly missed week into a compact dispatch from a crowded schedule. Jeff Grubb and a slightly sleepy Sean McDowell start by saying there is no main topic, then let super chats carry the show through Crimson Desert, PAX plans, a salted-caramel lobster…
Jeff Grubb and Sean 'Turbo' McDowell host a fast-paced episode of Game Mess Decides.
Hosts Mike Minotti and Sean McDowell discuss Larian Studios facing criticism after CEO Sven Vincke admitted using AI for concept art and placeholder text in game development.
Jeff Grubbin and Mike Minotti open with reporting that the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown team may reunite at Ubisoft after being moved onto Assassin's Creed support.
Game Mess Decides opens with Jeff Grubb and Mike Minotti framing the episode around an April 16 Sony State of Play rumor and the show’s quarterly OpenCritic prediction game.
["Jeff Grubb and Sean McDowell spend Game Mess Decides 440 on Sony's higher PlayStation prices, including the PS5 Pro at $900 and a PS5 digital edition that jumped from $400 to $600.", "They dig into Kepler L2's PS6 handheld reporting, which claims 24 GB of RAM, a Zen 6 CPU, and an RDNA 5 GPU aimed above Xbox Series S performance.", "The show also covers the Mario Galaxy movie, which opened on Wednesday with $4 million and early Rotten Tomatoes scores around 90 percent.", "It closes on Mind's Eye, where the CEO says a new mission will show sabotage and name the people involved, a claim Jeff and Sean treat as surreal."]
Jeff Grubb and Sean Turbo discuss the disappointing Xbox Partner Preview and other gaming news in a quick episode without a main topic.
Jeff Grubb and Mike Minotti discuss Crimson Desert and Mike's theater experience watching Secret of the Ooze.
Jeff Grubbin and Mike Minotti discuss Pokopia's success, Microsoft's Project Helix, and a sequel battle March Madness bracket from Kinda Funny.
Jeff Grubb and Mike Minotti discuss Capcom moving up Pragmata's release, Xbox's next-gen console being PC-like, and decide on a name for their launch streams.
Game Mess Decides hosts Jeff Grubb and Mike Minotti open with Resident Evil Requiem's critical reception — tracking 88-89 on Metacritic — and Jeff shares his impressions of the game's Leon-and-Grace pacing structure, which he compares favorably to Resident Evil 4 Remake.
Game Mess Decides hosts Jeff Grubb and Mike Minotti open by breaking down Jason Schreier's report that Sony is shutting down Bluepoint Games, the 70-person studio responsible for the Demon's Souls and Shadow of the Colossus remakes.
Jeff Grubb and Sean Mcdowell discuss Xbox's upcoming Developer Direct, GTA 6's incomplete status, and the return of Starcraft Ghost.
Jeff Grubb and Mike Minotti discuss The Outer Worlds 2, Microsoft's Xbox strategy, and rank Obsidian games on a Mount Rushmore.
Jeff Grubb and Mike Minotti discuss the announcement of Battlefield 6 and other gaming topics.