UNBOXING: Play and Profit for the Gaming Curious
Episodes
UNBOXING’s GDC 2026 Postmortem
20 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week on UNBOXING, Laine and Joost spill all from their week at GDC 2026. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes...
Loot Boxes on Trial, Zillow in Azeroth, and Our GDC Survival Guide
06 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
New York takes on Valve over loot boxes. The WoW × Zillow collab no one asked for... PLUS: Our guide to surviving GDC this year! -- Never miss an ...
The Hottest Take on the Xbox CEO Turnover You Haven’t Heard Yet
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if we told you that Xbox’s CEO reshuffle wasn't just a swap… 🤯 Tune in to this week's episode for the more of our hottest take yet...
Discord Has Entered Its Verification Era. Is Enshittification Next?
13 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Discord has entered its verification era... Face scans. IPO plans. Enshittification? Laine and Joost break it down. -- Never miss an update and list...
Project Genie in a Bottle?
06 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Google's Project Genie: What it actually does vs. what it promises. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherev...
Pod Friends with Julian Togelius
23 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Joost talks games and AI with pod friend Julian Togelius. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get y...
Another Week, Another Megadeal
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Netflix’s $80B bid for Warner Bros. PLUS: an indie sweep at The Game Awards?! Tune in! -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXIN...
UNBOXING’s End-of-Semester Wrap Up
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
UNBOXING's end-of-semester wrap: finals, feedback & feels. PLUS: Pwns, owns & holiday vibes! -- Never miss an update and listen to your ...
From Rockstar Chaos to the Game Awards Canon
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
GTA VI delayed (yet again) & union-busting allegations at Rockstar? PLUS: Our thoughts on the Game Awards preview. -- Never miss an update and l...
Speculating Irresponsibly: Steam Machines, Saudi Money, and More!
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Steam Machine crashes the console party. Ubisoft delays earnings & halts trading (!?) PLUS: Laine's thoughts on Sky Sports’ “Halo” disas...
GDC Is Dead––Long Live the Festival of Gaming
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
GDC gets a rebrand! PLUS: Laine’s inside look at GDC’s State of the Industry report. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXIN...
Pod Friends: Mitu Khandaker & the Future of NYC Games
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The EU’s Digital (Un)Fairness Act? PLUS: Pod Friends returns with Mitu Khandaker, the Associate Director of NYU Tandon’s new Game Design Future La...
ESA’s Global Games Report Gets Graded
17 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The ESA’s 2025 Global Games Report drops, and Laine + Joost have some thoughts.
The $55 Billion Question: Are Games Geopolitical Assets Now?
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
EA acquired in a $55B Saudi-backed buyout––what this means both for the gay couple in The Sims and for our geopolitical landscape. PLUS: Xbox’s ...
“Pod Friends” with Colleen Macklin
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What Trump’s $100K H-1B visa fee means for games. “Pod Friends” kick off w/ Colleen Macklin, fresh from the Game UX Summit. PLUS: Stone-skipping...
Back to School Pt. 2: What Our Students Are Playing
19 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The long awaited student gameplay survey results revealed. PLUS: WNBA playoffs & Mario turns 40!
Zigging with Nintendo & Scrambling with Roblox
12 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nintendo’s Switch 2 smashes records & why they keep winning, then Roblox under fire... again! PLUS: the $80 game debate & student survey sne...
Back to School Pt. 1: Teaching Games in 2025
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fall syllabi with final cuts revealed, then get a behind the scenes look at the annual gameplay habits survey. PLUS: Roblox doc w/ Chris Hansen? Yep, ...
UNBOXING brings you: More Game Gains and Platform Pains!
15 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
EA, Take-Two & Krafton earnings decoded. Updates on this summer’s top stories. PLUS: Find out who is throwing dildos at WNBA games and why!
Roblox's Gains, Epic’s Courtroom Victory, and a Union Milestone
08 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Roblox quarterly earnings broken down. Updates in the Epic v Google lawsuit. PLUS: Raven Software locks in a historic union contract!
UNBOXING’s Censorship Gone Wild Week!
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Steam and Itch.io pulled thousands of NSFW games. PLUS, find out how payment processors became censors and how the UK’s Online Safety Act isn’t he...
Do All Games Go to Heaven? Platforms, Power, and Preservation
25 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
UPDATE: UNBOXING is coming to you… well.. pre-recorded but hey, we're on video now! Apple delists a classic while Stop Killing Games campaign re...
UNBOXING Goes Professor Mode With Mid-Summer Syllabi Exchange
18 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Laine & Joost go full professor mode with a mid-summer syllabi swap. PLUS: buy now, pay later comes to gaming and Nintendo announces casting choic...
Charts, Cuts, and Change: Layoffs at Microsoft and the ESA’s Annual Report
04 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Another round of Microsoft layoffs spark consolidation questions, then what the ESA’s Essential Facts report tells us about gaming in the US. PLUS: ...
Union Wins, Summer Heat, and the Reorganization of Embracer
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Embracer gets serious about restructuring. PLUS: Microsoft ratifies the first-ever U.S. game worker union contract and your hosts discuss new and exci...
Summer Game Mess and GameStop's Pokémon Pivot
20 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Laine and Joost wade through the glittering but sometimes shallow waters of summer games season, breaking down what the Xbox Showcase, Summ...
We’re Back, Baby––And It’s For Real This Time
13 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Laine and Joost return from hiatus older, wiser, and slightly more disillusioned. After swapping life updates (burnout, sabbatical travel, bike repair...
We Missed You. Have an Episode.
14 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Unboxing is back with a fresh summer season! Hosts Joost and Laine catch up and discuss the top four stories they missed: Sony's new CEO duo, Disn...
Building the creator economy part 2: Minecraft
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Another Unboxing exclusive. We interview Minecraft's Kayla Kinnunen on Mojang's vision on user-generated content. Plus, why The Game Awards ca...
UNBOXING's live reaction to the GTA6 trailer
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The worst of Florida as a canvas for the best in gaming. Join team UNBOXING breaking down the long-awaited trailer. We discuss female protagonist Luci...
OpenAI's CEO musical chairs
26 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why Emmett Shear's stint was short-lived. PC Gamer's history issue causes Twitter fury over sexism, but did critics get it right? Plus: lighth...
The political economy of games journalism: Interview with David Nieborg
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon Games layoffs lead Laine and Joost to consider what it might signal about the economy at large. Roblox beats expectations and Take-Two drops th...
FaZe falls short, Bungie bungles layoffs, and Netflix can't convert
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Laine and Joost give you the highlights on FaZe's Icarus-like fall from grace, as it recently got picked up by GameSquare for a fraction of its IP...
Building the creator economy, part 1: Roblox
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Another Unboxing exclusive. We interview Roblox's VP of Economy, Enrico D'Angelo, on where one of the most popular games for kids is headed ne...
Riccitiello retires from Unity and Polish dev unite
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What's next for engine maker Unity post-Riccitiello, Poland gets its first game union, and fossil fuels are fun in Fortnite says Big Oil. We discu...
Epic layoffs, EA's FIFA fallout, and the future of gaming haptics
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joost phones it in from an investor summit in Las Vegas, while Laine regales with tales of a weekend spent at the New York Renaissance Festival. Tune ...
Video game actors vote to strike, Unity's walk-back, and the Xbox data leak
27 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's a week of gaming shakeups--SAG-AFTRA performers vote to authorize a strike, Unity rolls back its revenue plans, and there were some glaring d...
Worst games industry decision of 2023
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Unity has always been a cornerstone for game developers, but their recent price alteration has sent shockwaves throughout the industry. In this episod...
Roblox's child gambling lawsuit. Starfield lights Xbox's plans. And, boy, do our students love the Switch
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Laine and Joost debate the relative responsibilities of corporate actors vs. distracted parents. Microsoft's new release Starfield may not be its ...
Venture capital's role in gaming. Gamescom 2023 kick off. And Microsoft's second run at Activision Blizzard
25 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this solo episode, Joost talks to Shan Shan, a partner at Light Speed Venture Partners, to discuss the difference between being a strategic investo...
Asia gaming declines. Embracer loses sugar daddy. Nicki Minaj dolls up for CoD.
18 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joost unravels the financial struggle of Southeast Asian tech giant, Sea Limited, and its ripple effects on the regional market. Laine unpacks what it...
Why Wall Street doesn't love Roblox but is smitten with Take-Two. And an insider's look into the PS5 giveaway turned "riot"
11 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Laine and Joost disagree on Roblox’s strained financial situation and explore what makes Take-Two such a favorite among Wall Street inves...
Activision takes Diablo 4 to the bank. UNBOXING Goes Gang Gang for NPC Streaming. And an informed look into ESA's Essential Facts Report.
28 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Joost and Laine explore the second quarter earnings of gaming giants Activision and Ubisoft before diving head first into the viral sensat...
Overwatch League faces elimination. Microsoft starts overtime. And the plea for game preservation
21 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joost offers insight into Sony and Microsoft's cheeky 10-year deal over the Call of Duty franchise. We review the devaluation of the Overwatch Le...
FTC licks its wounds. Google embraces blockchain gaming
14 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We review the longer-term implications of Microsoft winning its case against the FTC and how will it impact the structural makeup of the games industr...
The Sega data dump explained. Niantic layoffs are a mixed reality. And a preview of the coming summer semester
07 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're back with season 3. Laine puts the 272 pages of confidential Sega documents in their proper historical context. Joost explains what the lay...
Apple's new headset, NVIDIA's trillion dollar kingdom, Zelda but while high, and Embracer got shoved but by whom
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Laine and Joost stay on the hype train with Zelda's new drop even if it is taking over their lives. We discuss Wall Street's new favorite tri...
Europe hearts the Activision deal, Tears of the Kingdom, and the worst list of the best video games ever
21 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What happens now that the EU approved the Activision deal. The new Zelda game is out and woo boy. And Laine and Joost dissect GQ’s list of the great...
UK watchdog blocks Microsoft's plans, and SEGA finds out about unions
28 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joost and Laine discuss if Microsoft's takeover bid of Activision is dead after the CMA decided to block the deal. SEGA embraces a worker's un...
Sega buys Rovio, Mario fetches $700M at box office, and demographic deep dive.
21 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sega offers to acquire Angry Birds maker Rovio for $776 million. Laine and Joost dissect demographic data on Hogwarts Legacy players. And, why does e...
Recap of SXSW and GDC 2023, the Saudis buy Scopely, and what's next for The Last of Us
08 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joost is back from the road and shares his impressions from SXSW and GDC. Our first audience call-in question has Laine filleting the nuances around t...
Sony's new media empire, GamePass expansionism, and the true Hogwarts legacy
03 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Laine is slowly emerging from old men media YouTube to secure themselves long-term academic stability. Joost explains how Sony is moving away from try...
Roblox's earnings, live service games versus the economy, and GDC's misstatement of the industry
17 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We reach the end of this earnings season with Roblox, AppLovin, and NEXON. Laine and Joost take a closer look at how live services games are managing ...
The issue with Harry, Take-Two's "big miss", and recent moves in anti-trust
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Take-Two Interactive and Activision Blizzard reported earnings, but doing well and acting right aren't the same thing. Anti-trust regulators in Europe...
Playtika's bid for Rovio, The Last of Us breaks HBO, and the impact of generative AI
04 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our second season starts with a review of earnings for Electronic Arts, Sony, and Hasbro. Laine and Joost delve into Playtika's $800 million offer to ...
Unboxing Wrapped. Highlights and predictions for 2023.
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Laine and Joost close their inaugural season with tall tales from the first podcast semester and share expectations for the year ahead. Unionization, ...
FTC vs Microsoft explained, top picks at the VGAs, and the role of game engines
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Laine and Joost discuss the FTC suing to block Microsoft from buying Activision Blizzard, and why the deal will go through as planned. They question w...
The FTX effect on gaming, Sony's plans in China, and the latest on the Activision Blizzard deal
25 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Joost picks through the wreckage of the FTX collapse and discusses its impact on gaming. Laine explains what Sony is up to in China. And how muc...
China's games market decline, Sony's earnings, and what's on students' minds
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A Covid scarce forces Laine and Joost to record remotely for the first time, but the party doesn't stop. Mixed earnings from Sony, Microsoft, and Elec...
The Big Games Journalism Debate Gone Wild episode
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Laine and Joost go head-to-head on games journalism, how it struggles to be both critical of new technologies like VR and Blockchain, and yet tries ge...
Netflix's cloud plans, the Sony hypocrisy, Amouranth, and virtual idols
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Netflix aims for the sky and opens yet another studio. Laine questions if the video streamer is up to the task. Sony talks out of both sides of its mo...
Meta's Alternate Reality, Twitch's Bigger Cut, and Lizzo Plays the Ocarina of Time
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Meta announces its new, much more expensive VR headset. Is Marc out of touch with reality? Also, Laine and Joost run the numbers on Twitch going dutch...
Crypto gaming creeps back, Take-Two vs tattoos, and how to measure Covid's impact
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Apple and Epic Games both allow the sale of NFTs on their platform. Does that mean crypto gaming is on its way back to haunt developers? Guest star le...
Google retires Stadia, Razer and Logitech launch handhelds, and Netflix heads to Finland
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Google discontinuing its cloud gaming service Stadia is disappointing but was entirely predictable. Laine and Joost discuss what it means for the futu...
Twitch gambles, loses. Rockstar leaks. And video game extremism.
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
GTA6 springs a leak, Twitch slows its (dice) roll on gambling streams, and the hosts weigh in on online games being used for extremist recruitment. Pl...
Video game price hikes, inflation, and farming
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nintendo and Sony announce their big deal title line-up, we explore the justification of a $70 price tag for premium games, and why the world needs mo...
Industry origins, Tencent buys more Ubi, and the cycle of life
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tencent's purchase of yet another piece of Ubisoft opens a deep dive into the origins of the games industry. Laine shares data on the devices that stu...
Back to school
03 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Laine and Joost introduce the UNBOXING podcast, discuss the start of the fall semester, the perils of teaching video games, and respond to the news fr...