This week, we tackle some of the gaming industry's biggest—and most controversial—headlines.

We discuss:

* 🚗 GTA 6 preorders and its $80 standard edition, the $100 Ultimate Edition that reportedly locks in-game stores behind a paywall, and the move to code-in-a-box releases instead of physical discs.

* 🔥 Sony's massive layoffs at Bungie, with roughly 300 employees reportedly losing their jobs.

* 🖥️ The new Steam Machine and its eye-opening price tags, including a $1,049 base model without a controller and a $1,428 high-end version.

* 💸 Xbox raising console prices yet again beginning August 1st, pushing the Series S to $499.99 and the Series X to $799.99.

* 📉 New sales figures showing Xbox recording its lowest console sales ever, while PlayStation posts its lowest hardware numbers in 25 years.

* 🎉 We also celebrate the **10th anniversary of Inside** and the **30th anniversary of the Nintendo 64 and Super Mario 64**, looking back at the impact these gaming milestones have had on the industry.

What do these price increases, layoffs, and industry trends mean for gamers? Is the industry pricing players out, or is this simply the new normal?

🎮 **SupaPod Episode #529: Digitall** is here!

The future of physical media is looking uncertain, and this week we're diving into the biggest stories shaping gaming's digital future.

This week we discuss:

* 💿 Sony reportedly planning to stop issuing physical PlayStation games beginning in January 2028, while also shutting down the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita online stores.

* 🎮 Xbox testing a new Disc2Digital program for Xbox One and Xbox Series games, allowing physical owners to receive a digital entitlement tied to their disc. If that disc changes hands, the digital license goes with it.

* 👾 A possible new Metroid game, **Metroid Ravenous**, leaks through Brazil's ratings board.

Is physical media on its way out? Is Xbox's Disc2Digital program the bridge between physical and digital ownership, or just another step toward an all-digital future?

Join us as we break down the latest news, discuss what these changes could mean for collectors and gamers, and debate where the industry is headed next.

Xbox is facing one of the biggest shakeups in its history, and we're breaking down everything happening across Microsoft's gaming division.

This week we discuss:

💚 Microsoft's latest wave of Xbox layoffs, with approximately 1,600 employees let go on July 6 and another 1,600 reportedly expected by the end of the 2027 financial year—nearly 20% of Xbox's workforce.

⚙️ Reports that the id Software engine (id Tech) team has been reduced to a single person.

🏢 Cuts affecting Bethesda Game Studios, along with reports that Compulsion Games and Double Fine have been allowed to become independent once again.

🎮 Microsoft reportedly selling Undead Labs and Ninja Theory, while continuing to help fund the completion of State of Decay and Senua's Saga.

⚠️ Reports that Arkane Studios may still be at risk.

☢️ Obsidian Entertainment reportedly shifting resources away from Avowed 2 to work on a Fallout project following significant layoffs, though Avowed 2 may still remain in development.

👋 The departure of Kevin LaChapelle, Microsoft's Vice President of Xbox Platform, after 37 years. He helped oversee Xbox's backwards compatibility program and cloud streaming initiatives.

🖥️ Reports that Xbox's Hardware and Advanced Technology divisions have been heavily reduced.

What does all of this mean for the future of Xbox? Is Microsoft changing course, or are these cuts a sign of much bigger problems ahead?