Ep. 54 - Ghost of Yotei Impressions, EA Gaymes in Danger, Kojima Casts Hunter Schafer

For the first half of the show, Cleo and Lloyd are back to discuss yet another piece of hot gossip: EA has been purchased by Jared Kushner and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund for $55 billion, which is the second largest video game company purchase of all time. What does this mean for the queer games at EA, namely Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and The Sims?

Of course, we also talk about what we’ve been playing along with a bunch of other headlines (Kojima has cast a trans woman as a lead in his new PT-inspired horror game, and we’re pretty excited)! Plus lots of other queer game news, including indies and AAAs.

In the second half, it’s me and a new guest: Juno! Juno and I have played the first chunk of Ghost of Yotei, which features genderfluid actor Erika Ishii as the player character Atsu. We discuss minor spoilers for the early sections of the game and our experiences with it.

00:00:00 - Intro

00:04:01 - What We’ve Been Playing

00:25:35 - News

00:59:00 - EA Gaymes in Danger?

01:13:55 - Ghost of Yotei Discussion

***Minor spoilers for early section of Ghost of Yotei***

The news segment was recorded on Oct 3 2025, and the Ghost of Yotei segment was recorded on Oct 5 2025.

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Guests:

Cleo: https://www.instagram.com/cleostrophobia/

Lloyd: https://www.twitch.tv/lloyd_lloydster

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHCqxLtwy5g

https://www.ign.com/articles/hideo-kojima-reveals-debut-poster-for-playstation-exclusive-physint-first-cast-announcement

https://insider-gaming.com/konami-asked-fans-which-metal-gear-remade/

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/09/classic-mech-anime-and-tactical-card-combat-collide-in-battle-chef-brigade-devs-new-rpg

https://battlesuitaces.com/

https://bsky.app/profile/tanatb.housefuckinggame.com/post/3m2aub7jc6s27

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/days-before-release-borderlands-4-is-indefinitely-delayed-on-switch-2/

https://www.theverge.com/games/784264/pokemon-legends-z-a-hands-on-fashion-nintendo-switch-2

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/avalanche-is-closing-its-liverpool-studio-following-contrabands-cancellation/

https://www.ign.com/articles/just-one-month-after-xboxs-contraband-cancelation-developer-avalanche-announces-layoffs-and-uk-studio-closure-plans

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/starbreeze-has-cancelled-its-dungeons-dragons-game-and-is-laying-off-44-staff-as-it-focuses-on-payday/

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/dune-awakening-developer-funcom-announces-redundancies

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/xbox-game-pass-is-increasing-in-price-by-50/

https://x.com/lbabinz/status/1973394895017845236?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ

https://x.com/lbabinz/status/1973395627183935628?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ

https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/9/24195312/microsoft-xbox-game-pass-ultimate-price-increase-standard-subscription

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ea-confirms-that-it-will-be-acquired-for-55-billion-by-investors-including-saudi-arabias-pif/

https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/eas-new-owners-are-leaning-heavily-on-ai-to-make-some-money-and-its-huge-debt-go-away-which-seems-like-one-helluva-gamble-to-me/

https://insider-gaming.com/bioware-staff-worried-about-studios-future/

https://www.reddit.com/r/gaymers/comments/1nuzffk/are_we_screwed_for_the_simsbioware_games/?share_id=_1xwZ04x__KFgmQKnGdzj&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

Petition: https://www.change.org/p/protect-the-sims-from-censorship-and-political-control