A new year is here, and that means an entirely new slate of games to look forward to! Polygon editor-at-large Giovanni Colantonio joins Marcus, Charles and Eric to discuss what they played over the holidays, as they picked at their backlogs and indulged their guiltiest pleasures. 

Then, we roll some dice for a snake-style draft and each pick our five most anticipated games of 2026. From the big games like Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil to the hidden gems you should keep an eye out for, there's a little bit of everything in this week. Let us know in the comments who you think won the draft!

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Jump ahead to a specific segment: 

• 00:00 - Intro
• 07:11 - What We Played Over The Holidays
• 41:33 - Drafting Our Most Anticipated Games Of 2026

Game Informer is taking a break for the holidays, but our editors sat down to record a podcast and rank their favorite games of 2025. Each editor shares a breakdown of their top 10 Game of the Year lists, including must-play games like Ghost of Yotei, Avowed, Trails in the Sky: FC, Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, and Hollow Knight: Silksong.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Subscribe to Game Informer Magazine: 
https://gameinformer.com/subscribe

Follow our hosts on social media:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7)
• Charles Harte (@ChuckDuck365) 
• Kyle Hilliard (@KyleHilliard)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)

Jump to a specific timestamp:
00:00 - Introduction
03:35 - Alex Van Aken's Top 10 Games of 2025
36:25 - Marcus Stewart's 2025 Top 10 Games
52:12 - Charles Harte's Game of the Year List
01:12:29 - Eric Van Allen's GOTY Picks
01:21:07 - Kyle Hilliard's Top 10 Games of 2025

The year is winding down, and we're wrapping up for the holidays. Before the team gets going, though, there's still a few games to discuss and stories worth breaking down.

Marcus returns from The Game Awards 2025 to tell Alex and Charles about the on-the-ground experience. Then, the crew digs into their Steam Replay for 2025, then talks about a few neat games like Death Howl and Dogpile. And finally, Alex and Charles discuss the newly announced World of Warcraft: Midnight cover story.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Jump ahead using these timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
06:03 - The Game Awards 2025
27:55 - Beastro
32:33 - Damon and Baby
39:06 - Steam Replay 2025
1:00:00 - Death Howl
1:06:27 - Dogpile
1:11:19 - World of Warcraft: Midnight

The curtain's closed on The Game Awards 2025, and what a night it was. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 swept the show, and some big games got dates and full reveals.

Join Alex, Wesley, Charles, and Eric as they discuss their favorite moments and reveals of the night, from Star Wars and Divinity to Orbitals and Lego Batman. Also, we discuss skin care and the French, because we were all still a bit wiped from the awards.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Jump to a specific timestamp here:
00:00 - Intro
03:23 - The Game Awards 2025 Winners and Reactions
26:37 - Our Favorite Trailers and Reveals

Winter's here, the snow is falling, and the last big games of 2025 are debuting. It's a packed week on The Game Informer Show, as Kyle Hilliard discusses his review of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Marcus Stewart dives into the super-sprites of Marvel Cosmic Invasion.

After the break, Charles Harte joins the dynamic duo to discuss more Kirby Air Riders, as well as spotlight a cool new indie mystery called Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved. Don't turn the dial on 2025 yet, as the year's clearly got a few more heaters left.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
06:26 - Metroid Prime 4 Beyond
32:16 - Marvel Cosmic Invasion
51:26 - Kirby Air Riders
1:10:31 - Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved

It's Thanksgiving week in the US, which means the GI staff is taking some time off, heading to wherever they rest their heads, planning dinners and get-togethers, and getting in some extra game time.

In light of that, we're publishing a special early edition of The Game Informer Show this week with a little twist - rather than a roundtable discussion, we had everyone contribute their own solo take on what they're playing, thinking about, or otherwise getting back into this holiday break! From the 2025 backlog to older games, and even some tabletop options, we've got a boatload of personalized selections from the GI crew. Enjoy!

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

We're nearing the month of December, which means Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards are soon upon us! The nominee list is out, and Marcus, Charles, and Eric are here to react and provide some insight into what the voting is like for The Game Awards.

Before all that, though, Charles shares some early impressions of the zany, speedy Kirby Air Riders and a new indie rogue-like called Morsels. Plus, we close the show out with another edition of GI Oughta Know, this time all about the history of The Game Awards!

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

It's a hefty week for previews on The Game Informer Show! First up, Wesley talks about his experience seeing Dragon Quest 7 Reimainged for our upcoming cover story. Then, Eric reports back from a trip to New York to see Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

Afterwards, we've got discussion around Possessor(s), Lumines Arise, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. There are almost as many games on the podcast as there are enemy soldiers on-screen in a musou game! (Almost.)

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
03:54 - Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined
17:22 - Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
35:00 - Lumines Arise
47:16 - Possessor(s)
1:10:47 - Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, the crew dives into Arc Raiders, the highly anticipated extraction shooter making waves with its launch, and Dispatch, a superhero narrative adventure we're loving. Later in the show, we discuss the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection and the games we're playing during our Game of the Year catch-up.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Follow Our Hosts on Social Media:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Marcus Stewart (@marcusstewart7)
• Charles Harte (@ChuckDuck365)

Jump to a Specific Discussion Via Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
03:27 - ARC Raiders
28:40 - MK Legacy Kollection
45:39 - Dispatch
01:00:24 - Game of the Year Catch-Up
01:20:00 - Outro

It's Halloween on The Game Informer Show, and that means costumes, candy, and frights! Marcus, Kyle, and Eric take some time to discuss the latest spooky sleuthing game The Seance at Blake Manor, then dive into a full discussion on our favorite scary games.

Everything from the classics to modern darlings gets a shout, and we even surface some old cult-classics. If you're looking for something a little spine-tingling to play, tune in - and video viewers get an extra-special visual gag.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

It's a big week on Game Informer, as we've got several major releases on the docket, plus an excellent guest! Samantha Béart, the prolific voice actor for roles including Karlach (Baldur's Gate 3) and Cider (Absolum) joins the show to chat about their work.

That's at the end of the show, but before all that, we've got a few games to discuss. The Outer Worlds 2 brings Obsidian back to its sci-fi consumer-driven setting, Ninja Gaiden 4 sees Platinum put a spin on Team Ninja's classic series, and Dispatch might be one for fans of Invincible, Telltale, or both to check out. All that and more await in this new episode of The Game Informer Show.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Follow our guest and hosts on social media:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)
• Marcus Stewart (@marcusstewart7)
• Wesley LeBlanc (@wesleyleblanc)

It's another week of The Game Informer Show, and we've got plenty of games to dig into. But first, Bill from NerdNest joins us to discuss his impressions of the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X, the latest PC handheld to hit the market. Is it worth the price tag, or is a different portable PC more your speed?

Alex, Marcus, and Eric also dig into Ball X Pit, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, Battlefield 6, Bye Sweet Carole, and the early hours of Pokemon Legends: Z-A. It's a packed episode, so grab a warm beverage and get cozy.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Thursday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Follow our guest and hosts on social media:

• Bill Fairchild (@nerdnest.tv)
• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Marcus Stewart (@marcusstewart7)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)

Ah, autumn. The leaves are changing, the sun is setting earlier, and we're all getting cozy with a smorgasbord of new games to play. This week on The GI Show Alex, Eric, Charles, and Wesley sit down to chat about Little Nightmares 3, the new Little Nightmares from a new studio. Then, we get into some early impressions of Digimon Story Time Stranger and Absolum, and close it out with our favorite games of the fall. Whether looking for a fright or a calm night by the fire, stay tuned for all of our recommendations!

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Thursday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Follow our hosts on social media:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)
• Wesley LeBlanc (@wesleyleblanc)

We've revealed our latest cover story, The Outer Worlds 2! And on this week's episode of The GI Show, we've got Marcus on to chat about his visit with the studio and everything he saw in Obsidian's upcoming sequel. Plus, Charles and Kyle chat more Ghost of Yotei, we dig into the fascinating indie Consume Me, and Charles throws a special game show around all of GI's 10s!

All this, plus a closing interview with Trinket Studios, the makers of 2017's Battle Chef Brigade, who are launching the sci-fi mecha deckbuilder Battle Suit Aces on October 7. There are tons of games and lots to talk about on this feature-length episode of The Game Informer Show!

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Thursday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Follow our hosts on social media:

• Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7)
• Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)
• Kyle Hilliard (@kylehilliard)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)

Jump to specific discussion using these timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
10:12 - The Outer Worlds 2 Cover Story
40:51 - Ghost of Yotei
53:51 - Game Informer's Top 10s
1:32:14 - Consume Me
1:44:46 - Battle Suit Aces Interview

October's just about here, and that means we are struggling to stay afloat in a sea of virtual experiences. Marcus, Kyle, and Charles gathered together this week to discuss the big games they've been playing, and oh boy, there are a lot of them.

We start off with Sucker Punch's Ghost of Yotei, followed by Hades 2, both of which seem to be frontrunners for this season's lineup of games. Silent Hill f has caused some consternation and evaluation, perhaps appealing to those drawn to rough edges, and/or creepy knife monsters. Baby Steps toes right in after them, and the show rounds out with Hotel Barcelona, a strange game from two well-known makers of strange games.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Thursday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Follow our hosts on social media:

• Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7)
• Kyle Hilliard (@kylehilliard)
• Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)

Jump around using the timestamps:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 04:07 - Ghost of Yotei
• 26:26 - Hades 2
• 44:19 - Silent Hill f
• 1:09:42 - Baby Steps
• 1:24:27 - Hotel Barcelona

The fall season is fast underway, with a few different early access games arriving alongside some big names. We give our impressions of the new Skate from EA, Sonic's latest kart racer in CrossWorlds, plus some more Battlefield 6 talk, Riot's fighting game 2XKO, and the surprising indie Herdling.

There are more games than you can shake a Joy-Con at this week, so tune in and hear about some of the biggest stuff happening right now.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Thursday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Subscribe to Game Informer Magazine: https://gameinformer.com/subscribe

Follow our hosts on social media:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7)
• Brian Shea (@brianpshea)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)

Jump to a specific discussion using these timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
03:11 - Skate.
31:59 - Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
52:05 - Battlefield 6
1:07:08 - 2XKO
1:25:01 - Herdling

Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally available, and we've been playing the highly anticipated Metroidvania. In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, we dive into our impressions of Silksong's first act (roughly the first eight hours until the Greymoor area) and boss fights. Beforehand, Marcus interviews Gearbox leads Graeme Timmins and Andrew Reiner (big disclaimer: Reiner was formerly EIC of Game Informer) about Borderlands 4, which was released a few days ago. Finally, we round out the show by breaking down our Hell is Us review, a fascinating investigation puzzle game with action elements. Notably, it's not a Soulslike. 

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Thursday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Subscribe to Game Informer Magazine: https://gameinformer.com/subscribe

Follow our hosts on social media:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)

Jump to a specific discussion using these timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
03:35 - Borderlands 4 Interview
50:32 - Hollow Knight: Silksong Act 1 Impressions
01:27:17 - Hell is Us Review
01:50:39 - Outro

In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, we dive deep into the past to save the future with Cronos: The New Dawn, which sounds cool, but is ultimately fine. It's a solid survival horror game from Bloober Team. We also dive into the latest major update for Deadlock, the new multiplayer game from Valve, discuss why the Trails In The Sky FC remake could similarly popularize the role-playing games like Yakuza 0 did for its respective series in 2017, and talk about Kirby and the Forgotten Land's Star-Crossed World DLC on Switch 2.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Thursday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Subscribe to Game Informer Magazine: https://www.gameinformer.com/subscribe

Follow our hosts on social media:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Kyle Hilliard (@KyleHilliard)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)

Jump to a specific discussion using these timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
04:09 - Cronos: The New Dawn Review
14:40 - Borderlands 4 Final Preview Impressions
20:45 - Trails in the Sky FC Remake
33:40 - Valve Introduces 6 New Characters in Deadlock Update
51:51 - Kirby Star-Crossed World DLC

In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, Emmy-nominated writer, comedian, and former Nintendo developer Mike Drucker (The Tonight Show, Bill Nye Saves the World) joins us to discuss our Ninja Gaiden 4 cover story, roguelite first-person shooter Voidbreaker, UFO 50, and his time working on Kid Icarus: Uprising — a formative handheld title for co-host Charles Harte. Later in the show, we laugh about the absurd controls of Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, Lumines Arise, and The Rogue Prince of Persia.

We connected Drucker with legendary game designer Roberta Williams (King's Quest, Mystery House) to discuss her legacy and its impact on his life in a new feature in Game Informer Magazine Issue 371. Drucker's latest book, Good Game, No Rematch, is available now.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Thursday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Follow our hosts on social media:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Kyle Hilliard (@KyleHilliard)
• Brian Shea (@BrianPShea)
• Charles Harte (@ChuckDuck365)
• Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker)

Jump to a specific discussion using these timestamps:
00:00 -- Introduction
06:04 -- Ninja Gaiden 4
25:40 -- Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
31:34 -- UFO 50
41:06 -- Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D
46:30 -- Kid Icarus: Uprising
55:05 -- The Rogue Prince of Persia
01:00:32 -- Lumines Arise
01:08:55 -- Voidbreaker

The summer is slowly waning, and an autumn packed with new video games fast approaches. Join Alex, Kyle, Charles, and Eric as they take a look at some of the first big games of 2025's latter half, from Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater to early impressions of Battlefield 6 through its open beta.

There's also some details on the strange sports game Drag x Drive from Nintendo, the gorgeous blade-skater Sword of the Sea, the charming indie puzzler Is This Seat Taken?, and our reactions to Gamescom Opening Night Live. We must stress: this was recorded before the Hollow Knight Silksong broadcast, so enjoy a few speculative guesses at what it might have been, preserved in amber for our audience.Subscribe to Game Informer Magazine: https://gameinformer.com/subscribeFollow our hosts on social media:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Kyle Hilliard (@kylehilliard)
• Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)

Jump to a specific discussion using these timestamps:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 03:36 - Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
• 15:31 - Sword of the Sea
• 30:23 - Drag x Drive
• 42:33 - Battlefield 6 Open Beta
• 1:01:00 - Is This Seat Taken?
• 1:20:41 - Gamescom Opening Night Live reactions