Happy Friday, Geekly Gang! Today may be the first month where I had two game design brain dumps. Let’s keep the streak going. Yay! Thanks to everyone reading. You’re awesome. We all know it. The past couple of weeks were eventful for a couple of my board game designs. I’ll save Rustbucket Riots’ updates for a future game design brain dump. Instead, let’s discuss the changes for Spill the Beans. I can sum up all the updates in two words: production considerations.
Originally, Spill the Beans featured double-sided jelly bean tokens where most beans had different bean types on both sides. Players would pick beans from their supply, add them to the bean jar, shake beans from the jar, and shed cards from their hands. The game was dumb fun.
Despite being a card-shedding game (like Uno) with extra steps, Spill the Beans worked well. But I thought of how the game worked. I marketed Spill the Beans as a party game. Party games usually accommodate at least six players should be able to play the game, and if I include enough cards for six players, I would’ve needed 120 cards. That’s a lot of cards for a party game. It could work if Spill the Beans only included cards. But I intend on having jelly bean tokens. The card-shedding mechanism also took away focus from the jelly beans. At first, this wasn’t that big of a deal. The jelly bean tokens were flat and circular with jelly beans printed on them. And then, I 3D printed the jelly beans.
The original game had too many cards, and I couldn’t have the cards upstage the cute jelly beans. So, I cut the game mechanisms that no longer worked and reduced Spill the Beans’ game components to the jelly bean tokens, the jar to shake them from, and five mason jar (point-value) cards. Players still shake the jar and try to get so many beans from the jar. Then, they place at least one bean on one of the jar cards and eat the rest (add them to their score pile). As soon as three of the five mason jar cards are filled, play ends. Whichever bean has area majority in each mason jar card, claims that jar’s point value. Then, players score their “eaten” jelly beans. Whoever has the most points wins.
This new ruleset is simple. It puts emphasis on the jelly beans, not card shedding. And the new Spill the Beans scales well at higher player counts. Perfect for a “party game.” And the new game’s toy factor is through the roof. I can’t wait to codify the rules, pitch to publishers, and see Spill the Beans on shelves. Yay!
That’s all I have for this week’s game design brain dump. If you’ve made it this far, you’re awesome. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. During today’s post, our writers share what they’ve been listening to over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been listening to over the past month. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get things started with what I’ve been listening to over the past month.
Kyra’s Tunes
Gorillaz made one of my lists from last year, but I’ve been relistening to the band’s catalog. I’m getting hyped for Gorillaz’s upcoming release this year, The Mountain. March 2026 can’t come soon enough. I won’t go into too much detail with Gorillaz’s music. I did that in my previous post. But I absolutely adore “Désolé.” It’s a vibe, and I love the featured artist, Fatoumata Diawara’s, voice. Slay!
I sense a trend, because my next band is another one I covered last year: The Smashing Pumpkins. While I delved more into Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in the previous post, I’ll concentrate more on Siamese Dream in this one. “Today,” “Disarm,” and “Cherub Rock” received a heap of praise when Siamese Dream first released, and I love these tracks. They’re classics. But I can’t get over “Soma’s” hundreds of layered guitar tracks. It’s haunting, and so is “Mayonaise.”
Yep. I’m going down the “Mayonaise” rabbit hole. “Mayonaise” exists through a series of flaws. This song proves that imperfections can make something beautiful.
First, you’ll notice mayonnaise is misspelled. This is intentional. The title comes from a Japanese rock magazine that translated a Billy Corgan lyric (from the Pumpkins’ first album, Gish) as mayonnaise seas, as in a sea of mayonnaise. The Japanese writer had omitted one of mayonnaise’s Ns. The writer blamed the mistranslation on Corgan’s enunciation. To his credit, Corgan agreed, and the Pumpkins would joke that they needed to write a song named “Mayonaise.”
Next, Billy Corgan and the Pumpkins struggled to complete Siamese Dream. “Today” is about the day Billy Corgan chose not to attempt suicide. Yikes! The Smashing Pumpkins were not in a good headspace. It doesn’t stop with Corgan. Due to his heroin addiction, Drummer Chamberlain was in and out of rehab. Bassist Wretzky and lead guitarist Iha were going through a brutal breakup. And the Pumpkins were over time and over budget with the album. “Cherub Rock” goes into the “joys” of deadlines and corporate ultimatums.
Finally, “Mayonaise” derives from a guitar demo Iha had made during the Pumpkins’ Japanese Gish tour. With his cheap rhythm guitar that whistled whenever he stopped playing, Billy Corgan did his best to accompany Iha’s gorgeous guitar riff that begins and ends the track. In fact, Corgan’s problematic guitar was part of why Siamese Dream required so many guitar tracks. I’m looking at you, “Soma.” Corgan would cut and splice out his whistling guitar. During “Mayonaise,” he leaned into the flaw.
“Mayonaise’s” lyrics lay out several of Corgan’s insecurities, but in the end, it retains a defiant optimism. I love the repeated line, “When I can, I will.” “Mayonaise” reminds us to be kind to ourselves. Give ourselves grace. Who knows? A flaw–even a collection of flaws–can become great art.
I have one final entry for this past month: The Mill Brothers. I’ve listened to many tunes from the Fallout series’ soundtrack, but “You Always Hurt the One You Love” holds a special place for me. Sure. Originally, I heard this song covered by Spike Jones & His City Slickers. That version has plenty of belches and gunshots, but underneath the cacophony lies a beautiful voice. And The Mills Brothers sang the original. Gorgeous. “You Always Hurt the One You Love” is a lovely song that I’ll gladly listen to on repeat.
Okay. I may need to skip my podcasts this month; I’ll share them next month, I’m sure. Let’s check in with Season.
Season’s Tune
I’m kicking off this year with Rick James’ “Super Freak.” I’d heard snippets of it before, but never the full song. I’m also ashamed to say I wasn’t familiar with Rick James at all before listening to “Super Freak” and watching the music video. I’ve heard Motown Records music before, but only bands like The Temptations. I’m not used to overtly racy Motown music. I enjoyed seeing many women of different backgrounds featured in the music video. I’m not sure if that meant he was an equal opportunity ladies’ man, or if he wanted to attract a wider audience. Regardless, Rick James was R&B Shaft.
I haven’t branched out too much so far this year. I’ve listened to predominantly comfort tunes. I’m always down for recommendations, Geekly Gang.
Skye’s Tunes
Out of the Blue is an album I’ve been wanting to add to my collection for a long time. Given that this is the album with “Mr. Blue Sky,” it’s not hard to see why. Ever since I was a kid, I loved listening to “Mr. Blue Sky,” and it’s fantastic that I finally have the pleasure of owning it on vinyl. Thanks to my family for making that dream a reality this past holiday. While my primary reason for wanting Out of the Blue was for the sake of owning “Mr. Blue Sky,” I’ve been having an amazing time getting more familiar with each of the other tracks as well. That’s easily one of my favorite things about vinyl. The fact that I can discover all sorts of great new songs just by owning an album. Thanks, Out of the Blue.
The general theme of last Christmas was acquiring classic albums from my childhood. Enter Monkey Business. Of course, Monkey Business is an album my parents imposed strict rules on, considering specific tracks (I’m sure you can guess which ones), but each of the other songs quickly became staples. I’ll even say that Monkey Business played a role in helping me realize my love for dancing. Nearly all these tracks are bangers, but some of my favorites include “Pump It,” “Don’t Phunk With My Heart,” “They Don’t Want Music,” and “Gone Going.” Even now, I still remember the glory days in our old base housing quadruplex while getting certifiably down to this album in my sister’s room. Great stuff.
There aren’t many albums (or even bands) I would consider “musical comfort food,” but CAKE easily fits that bill for me. Across several years of my childhood, my parents had a way of steadily introducing my sister and I to CAKE during road trips. It was never the plan to consistently listen to them in the car on our way to or from vacation spots; it just so happened to be how it worked. Eventually, CAKE became the band I associated with long car rides, and they always made the trip more pleasant. Out of all their albums, my favorites had always been Comfort Eagle and Fashion Nugget due to how many of my favorite tracks were on them. To this day, you can still catch me humming songs like “Opera Singer,” “Long Line of Cars,” “Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps,” “Short Skirt, Long Jacket,” “Comfort Eagle,” “Frank Sinatra,” and so many more completely at random. So much nostalgia.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. Those are all the Geekly Tunes our writers have for this past month. What have you been listening to over the past month. Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Monday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with Geekly’s first-ever video game history post, where we discuss a video game company’s history. Today’s video game publisher/developer is the indie darling, inXile Entertainment. It took me a while to realize that inXile is pronounced “In Exile.” That phrase will factor into the game’s history, and wow, do founder Brian Fargo and inXile Entertainment have a long and bumpy history, complete with plenty of stellar games. Before we get to the formation of inXile, we must first talk about Brian Fargo’s first video game publishing company, Interplay.
Brian Fargo Pre-inXile Entertainment
Brian Fargo began developing video games while he was still in high school. Per a 2017 interview with Stay Awhile and Listen, Fargo’s first semi-widely distributed game (he had an earlier game that sold five copies) was Demon’s Forge. The title Demon’s Forge will return, but not until much later. A handful of years later, Brian Fargo would co-found Interplay Entertainment in 1983 with fellow developers Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca Heineman. Fargo was 20 years old at the time.
In 2022, inXile Entertainment released a 20th Anniversary Documentary. I will draw from this documentary often, but since it was released by inXile Entertainment, it glosses over some details, so I’ll be providing some context from other sources. If you have a chance, and hopefully after reading this post (wink), you should watch inXile Entertainment’s 20th Anniversary Documentary. It runs about 20 minutes. According to Fargo in the documentary, (he was so young), his vice president had to buy him beer if he wanted it. Fargo tries his best to hide a smirk. I, Kyra Kyle, have never participated in underage drinking. (Wink.)
Brian Fargo’s Time at Interplay
We won’t spend too much time on Interplay’s history — that could be its own video game history post — but we will need to cover Brian Fargo’s time with Interplay Entertainment, as it provides context for inXile Entertainment. Fargo hit the ground running with a trio of hits between 1985 and 1988. Fargo led the Interplay team with the original The Bard’s Tale (1985), Battle Chess (1988), and the RPG classic Wasteland (1988), which would later inspire the Fallout series.
When the Eighties transitioned into the Nineties, Fargo ceased to develop games directly with Interplay. The last game I could find Fargo co-developed for Interplay Productions was 1991’s Track Meet for the Game Boy. Instead of designing games, Fargo served as Interplay’s CEO. The business may have started small, but with Interplay amassing numerous intellectual properties like Dungeons & Dragons (leading to the Baldur’s Gate series), Wasteland undergoing a title change to Fallout (and thriving as Fallout), Earthworm Jim, and Alone in the Dark, the company became a major force in video games. At this time, Interplay was easily one of the best video game developers.
Fargo has a knack for spotting video game development talent. During the early 1990s, Fargo advised Silicon & Synapse. In exchange for 10% equity in the company, Fargo and Interplay contracted Silicon & Synapse to port games developed by Interplay into other consoles, which gave Silicon & Synapse the capital it needed to transition into making original games (and eventually becoming Blizzard Entertainment).
Despite a great track record and hits like 1997’s Fallout, 1998’s Fallout 2, and 1998’s Baldur’s Gate, Interplay experienced financial difficulties. To avoid bankruptcy, Interplay went public on the NASDAQ. According to a Bit Gamer article, Brian Fargo admitted that further losses (because of increased competition, an underwhelming sports division, and a lack of console titles) forced Interplay to look to a third party. That third party would be French software developer Titus Interactive S.A.. Per a Los Angeles Times article, Titus bought 6 million of Interplay shares for $25 million, giving Titus a controlling stake in Interplay. Fargo and Titus’s relationship was strained.
Fargo would claim (in a Gamespot interview) that he and Titus have a “very different ideology of management that was not compatible.” Fargo always loved video games, and Interplay grew into a huge company of over 500 people with offices all around the world. He had to deal with shareholders. He grew distant from his first love, video games. Fargo no longer got to make games; he didn’t want to be a CEO. Ripples of this pattern will emerge in the future.
So, Fargo stepped down as Interplay’s CEO. He was a CEO without a company for several months, when he’d attend an industry convention.
Founding inXile
Fargo recounts his experience at E3 in an interview found on RPG Codex: Right after Interplay, I was going to E3 in May. I needed a quick name to get a badge. I chose the “Workshop,” and as a joke, I gave my title “CEO in exile.” It got such a funny response that we figured there was something to it.
“InExile” was already taken, so “inXile” was chosen as the newly formed company’s name. Fargo’s experience with finding talent during his days at Interplay served him well as he recruited the best team for inXile. According to the YT inXile Documentary, Fargo called Matt Findley (New Orleans, Louisiana Chief) to join the newly minted inXile. Unlike what Interplay had become, inXile would work on only one game. (Vice President of People) Elene Campbell received a phone call from Fargo to go to lunch, and she quickly joined. Max Kaufman (inXile’s former art director) also joined.
My favorite anecdote during these early days of inXile came from Elene Campbell. Campbell said, “inXile Entertainment’s office had a great location. We were right across the beach. We would purchase a surfboard for an employee if they wanted to surf.” Sounds like you couldn’t beat inXile’s location.
The Bard’s Tale (October 26, 2004)
The one video game inXile Entertainment chose to develop first just happened to be its first hit. 2004’s The Bard’s Tale couldn’t continue the story of the original trilogy because Interplay/Electronic Arts still owned the copyright. 2004’s The Bard’s Tale was neither a remake nor a sequel. It had to be something different, and it certainly was. According to Findley (in the inXile Documentary), we wanted to make some sort of cliché-busting, fourth-wall-breaking game. Former art director Kaufman added, We wanted The Bard’s Tale to be irreverent, looking back at the tropes of RPGs and making fun of them.
Fargo noted the difficulty of including comedy in video games. Humor is a subjective thing, Fargo said, but typically, people rate your game on certain criteria: graphics, gameplay, sounds, (control) responsiveness. When you add humor, you’ve added another category for people to criticize you for. You could hit on all the other categories, but someone could think the jokes are not funny. It’s very tricky doing humor.
Adding humor to The Bard’s Tale was risky, but the risk paid off. The Bard’s Tale became a classic because of its sarcastic humor. While the classic Bard’s Tale trilogy used a first-person view, 2004’s The Bard’s Tale had a 3D environment with the player watching in third-person. The player controlled “The Bard,” who never received a name. Dialogue followed a “snarky” or “nice” option system. While the player wouldn’t know exactly what The Bard would say, the player can set the tone for how the game’s world perceives The Bard.
The first dialogue decision is with a barmaid in The Drunken Rat. Being nice to her gives the barmaid the impression The Bard is a gentleman, and she leaves him alone, while being snarky results in the barmaid spending the night with The Bard. The Bard’s Tale gets into some adult themes. Nudge-nudge. Wink-wink.
inXile always intended The Bard’s Tale to be a comedy, but Findley shares (in the Documentary) the moment The Bard’s Tale became a “silly” comedy was when Art Director Maxx Kaufman turned in a drawing of a Bug Bear. Findley told Kaufman the bug bear looked like a guy wearing a terrible Bug Bear costume.
Kaufman admitted he rushed the Bug Bear character concept. He was doing a character concept a day, maybe even two a day. When he made the Bug Bear, he was being serious with the character. His intent was not to make a funny character, but that’s what ended up happening.
I have to agree with Findley. One of The Bard’s Tale’s most enduring legacies must be its use of music within the game. One of The Bard’s Tale’s biggest innovations was the original music that they wrote that had lyrics, Findley said (in the documentary). The songs weren’t just a soundtrack; they were being performed by characters in the game. This cornerstone survived all the way up to Wasteland 3 and The Bard’s Tale IV. inXile loves using original music to tell a story.
I always liked “The Blood of the Lamb” song that plays when dealing with a crazed cult in Wasteland 3. So creepy. And I appreciate inXile’s use of original music to tell a story. It also doesn’t hurt to have stellar voice actors for a video game. Tony Jay narrates The Bard’s Tale, while Cary Elwes earned a nomination for Outstanding Character Performance — Male from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
With one hit under their belt, inXile looked poised for a long run of hits (much like Interplay a couple of decades prior), but inXile immediately hit a snag.
HEI$T
Heist (stylized as HEI$T) is a cancelled action-adventure video game developed by inXile for publisher Codemasters (known for the video game peripheral Game Genie). Set in 1969 San Francisco, Heist follows a group of criminals as they perform various thefts.
Heist features plenty of high-speed chases in what could’ve been an immersive open-world. In a Gamespy article, Lead Heist Designer Sean Patton, cites Need for Speed: Most Wanted and its virtual cops as one influence in the general flow of the getaway chase in Heist. The game sounded amazing. inXile sunk tens–if not hundreds–of thousands of dollars and countless design hours into making Heist the best they could, and then, Codemasters canceled the project.
“Heist is probably my favorite title I ever worked on that never made it to the end,” Findley said in the documentary. “We had an inspired concept of doing something that was supposed to feel like Quentin Tarantino. We had Bruce Campbell as the main character. Ed Asner, Rutger Hauer, Vinnie Jones, Christian Slater, and we had recorded the entire script from beginning to end before the project was shut down.”
Fargo added, “It (Heist) was the closest I’ve ever come to finishing a game–it was finished–and not coming out, but we just couldn’t. Unreal Engine, at the time, to do a true open world wasn’t working for us. Our publisher (Codemasters) really wanted a true open world, but we would have had to make it sort of modularized. Our publisher canceled it.”
There are conflicting reports as to why Heist was canceled. In an interview with Video Games 24-7 (VG247) about Wasteland 2, Fargo said, inXile had an agreement with Codemasters to create an open-world using Unreal Engine on the PS3–but the specs didn’t yet exist for the PS3. They (inXile) found a way to make Heist run great on PC and Xbox, but Codemasters wanted PS3. I gather that Heist worked on every system besides the PS3. Based on the wording, I’m unsure if Heist could’ve been an open-world on the other two systems (PC and Xbox) and needed to be a hub-world on PS3, or if Heist only worked as a hub-world on the other two systems and didn’t work at all on the PS3. Either way, Codemasters canceled Heist.
Heist was a massive blow. It certainly left a bad taste in Fargo’s mouth. He said in the documentary that he couldn’t wait to get back to making games he loves. He disliked making games other people wanted him to make. Well over a decade later, Heist still haunts inXile. They had created a great game in their minds, but their publisher wanted something different. And you don’t need to take my word for it. Heist gets a full segment dedicated to it in inXile’s 20th Anniversary Documentary. Fargo even lists various games, like Payday: Heist, that resemble what Heist attempted to do, but they didn’t have Bruce Campbell, Ed Asner, Rutger Hauer, and Christian Slater in their cast. Fargo insists Heist could’ve done well on the market.
Mobile and Web-Based Games
While one half of inXile developed games like The Bard’s Tale and Heist, the other half developed mobile and web-based games. This half of inXile yielded mixed results. In 2006, inXile acquired the rights to Line Rider, and later on, Fantastic Contraption. inXile ported these indie games to a wider market. They also created a series named Super Stacker. You can still play Super Stacker 2 for free as a web-based game.
Baby Pals Controversy
Fargo discusses inXile’s early days and why they chose to create two branches of the company. “We were trying to find a sustainable business model,” Fargo said (in the Documentary), “but the (video game) world was shifting underneath our feet. We just had to be plucky entrepreneurs and find something. We had the rights to Line Rider. Nintendogs had come out, and we said, let’s do cats (Purr Pals), and we sold three-quarters of a million copies. Dogs are done. What could we do next? People like babies.”
Enter Baby Pals. inXile had licensed the same sound library as the one Mattel was using for their upcoming dolls, so the company thought it was safe. But the next thing Fargo and company knew, inXile was in the news. If you listen carefully, one of the babies says, “Islam is the Light.”
During the documentary, Campbell says, “It was just a baby babbling. There were no hidden references, and it caused so much trouble.”
I like how Findley contextualized these small titles. “I have nothing but warm thoughts for Baby Pals, Purr Pals, Super Stacker, and Line Rider,” Findley said in the documentary. “All of those small and mobile titles we did during those periods…allowed us to do crazy things like Heist and the early stages of Hunted: Demon’s Forge.”
While I thought Findley had a slight smirk when he discussed inXile’s smaller titles during the 20th Anniversary Documentary, his inclusion of these smaller titles financing larger ones rings true.
Hunted: The Demon’s Forge
I promised the title of Fargo’s first semi-widely distributed game, Demon’s Forge, would return. With Heist in their rearview mirror, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge allowed inXile to return to their role-playing roots. But they added a cooperative gameplay twist. Hunted: The Demon’s Forge was an ambitious title. According to Findley in a Game Sauce article, Most co-op games are two guys with the same guns running through the world, so we really like the concept of teamwork…We’ve built these arenas with different heights and areas for players to really get out. They get to use their skills and still be able to help out their partners.
Based on Findley’s description, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge sounds something akin to an early hero shooter. The only other hero shooter available at this time would’ve been Team Fortress 2. But Hunted: Demon’s Forge only allowed couch cooperative play. With World of Warcraft going strong for seven years by 2011, and first-person shooters like Battlefield 3 (also released in 2011), and trying to capture the budding online cooperative wave, couch cooperative games were fading in popularity, and Hunted: Demon’s Forge underperformed.
Competition in the role-playing space was fierce during 2011. It didn’t help that many critics viewed Hunted: Demon’s Forge as a Gears of War clone. Hunted: Demon’s Forge may have fared better if it had been released in a different year. RPG juggernauts Mass Effect 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword were released the same year. Bethesda, Hunted: Demon’s Forge’s publisher, even released Skyrim that year. Yikes! Bethesda may not have given Hunted: Demon’s Forge much of a chance.
Choplifter HD
A little over seven months later, inXile released its 3D polygonal remake of the classic 1982 game Choplifter by Dan Gorlin. inXile even hired Gorlin as a design consultant for Choplifter HD. Despite Choplifter HD remaining true to the original, it was the second game in a row by inXile that received mixed reviews. Some critics appreciated how faithful the remake was to the original, while others criticized the game’s difficulty. Ryan Winterhalter of 1Up.com, compared Choplifter HD to that of a bullet hell shooter. I love Winterhalter’s title: Choplifter Appeals to Your Inner-Masochist. Yowza! That’s good copy.
For those keeping score, that’s a canceled game (Heist) that cost countless hours of development to make, a controversy (Baby Pals) that eventually led inXile to halt production on smaller games, and back-to-back near misses with Hunted: Demon’s Forge and Choplifter HD. inXile was at a crossroads.
A Comet Almost Hits the Earth
Fargo shared in the inXile Documentary, “I’ve had so many near-death events in this industry, where the comet almost hits the Earth. If Battle Chess wasn’t a hit…If Castles wasn’t a hit. I can go through ones where if that didn’t work, we’re out of business. Hunted didn’t work, so we had to scale back to a very small group of people.”
Up to this point, Brian Fargo had seen his share of misses and near-misses. inXile’s history began to mirror Interplay’s over a decade earlier. Interplay started as a focused team working on a couple of titles and then swelled to a company of 500 working on dozens of projects. Findley says (in the Documentary), “The years between The Bard’s Tale (2004) and Wasteland (2) was a roller coaster. We got smaller again, then we got bigger, and we got smaller. We went from being a focused team working on one title to 120 people working on four or five titles at once. We were all over the place.”
Interplay made itself a “public” company, entering NASDAQ. inXile would also go “public” but in a different manner. Only this version of “going public” involved inXile’s and Wasteland 2’s historic KickStarter campaign. Like Fargo said, “We threw it all in with our KickStarter and that changed everything.”
Wasteland 2’s KickStarter Campaign
“We were able to pitch the games we want to make,” Findley said (inXile Documentary), instead of pitching the game you know you can sell, which is a much more fun place to be.” This mindset changed everything for inXile. Heist and Hunted were financed by another company. Codemasters wanted a game in Heist inXile couldn’t deliver, while Bethesda released Hunted a few months before Skyrim. KickStarter showed inXile what their fans wanted to play.
For years, gamers asked for a follow-up to 1988’s Wasteland, but the rights to Wasteland proved tricky. Before inXile could begin work on Wasteland 2, they needed to obtain the rights to Wasteland from Electronic Arts. The original publisher, EA, had let the rights lapse. The last time Electronic Arts had worked on a project connected with Wasteland was Fountain of Dreams. “Originally, Interplay (and Brian Fargo) were supposed to be involved with Fountain of Dreams (1990), but EA took control of the project and produced it themselves,” said Fargo in a Wired interview. “By 2003, Electronic Arts dropped all claims that Fountain of Dreams had any connection to Wasteland.” This opened the legal door for Wasteland 2 to become a reality.
Wasteland 2 was a sequel to 1988’s Wasteland. To be fair, Wasteland 2 is a fusion of a sequel and an update to the original. The stories of both games share many similarities. Wasteland 2 is a joy to play. I highly recommend playing it. Wasteland 2 delivers on Fargo’s idea of a “hardcore role-playing game.” There is no one way to play through Wasteland 2. Your choices affect the world.
There are moments where it’s obvious how your choice will affect the world, especially the game’s first choice of saving Highpool (a community based around a local dam that provides water to the region) or the Ag Center (which grows genetically modified vegetables to feed the locals). You can’t respond to both distress signals. Other moments are more subtle in how your choices will affect the world.
But why KickStarter? inXile had never used a crowd-sourced platform before, in fact, Fargo had never heard of KickStarter. Fargo shares the moment he decided to Kickstart Wasteland 2 (in the inXile Documentary), “Tim Schaefer launches his KickStarter (Double Fine Adventures). The first day, it makes half a million dollars. I was like, this is it. I called Matt the next day, drop everything. This is what we’re gonna do. We went from what’s KickStarter? to launching within 30 days.”
Wasteland 2’s KickStarter did not end up beating Double Fine Adventures (per an inXile community post), but it was, at the time, the second-largest video game KickStarter campaign, closing in at just over $2.9 million. Add in PayPal donations of over $100,000, and Wasteland 2’s total funds equaled over $3 million.
To this day, Wasteland 2’s KickStarter campaign sports the third-highest total on KickStarter. I’ll admit, KickStarter is better known for board games than video games, but this fact may make Wasteland 2’s success on KickStarter all the more impressive. Wasteland 2’s success goes a long way to show how much the video game community appreciates inXile, and more specifically, Brian Fargo’s work.
Torment, The Mage’s Tale, and The Bard’s Tale IV
Torment: Tide of Numenara was released in 2017 after another successful KickStarter campaign. inXile learned plenty of lessons from their first crowdfunding campaign. Torment: Tides of Numenara was written by Monte Cook, who also wrote the rules to the tabletop role-playing game Numenara where Torment is set, but Torment: Tides of Numenara is also a spiritual successor of a former Interplay game, Planescape: Torment. Torment: Tides of Numenara received favorable reviews, continuing inXile’s hot streak. It also honors inXile’s past.
We won’t go into too much detail with the remaining titles in this segment. The Mage’s Tale was developed in parallel with The Bard’s Tale IV. The two projects share some assets. Both games received average or mixed reviews. Regardless of reviews, both games had ambition. While The Mage’s Tale brought the world of The Bard’s Tale to the new medium of virtual reality, The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep attempted to fuse elements of the original 1980s Bard’s Tale trilogy with the 2004 spin-off The Bard’s Tale.
After a shaky decade, inXile had found a sustainable business model. But nothing stays the same for long.
Joining Xbox
In November 2018, Microsoft Studios acquired inXile Entertainment and Obsidian Entertainment on the same day. Eurogamer made the announcement, stating, “The two independent studios who had fought against each other would now be under the Xbox umbrella. This announcement led to Fargo staying as head of inXile, because in March 2017 (also on Eurogamer), Fargo had announced his plans to retire from inXile following the release of Wasteland 3.
Fargo has said in the past that he doesn’t enjoy being a CEO. He may have wanted to leave on a high note (with Wasteland 3). Microsoft Studios’ absorption of inXile as a subsidiary allows Fargo to stick to his passion, developing video games. Microsoft’s near limitless resources mean that inXile won’t need to rely on crowdsourcing to make the games it wants to make.
Clockwork Revolution
This video game history post is one of the final pieces I wrote in preparation for my end-of-year novel writing/editing break, so I’m writing this post in 2025. Clockwork Revolution is slated for a 2026 release. Who knows? Clockwork Revolution may already be released by the time you’re reading this. I am stoked for this title. What I’ve seen looks amazing, and since Clockwork Revolution is categorized as an action-RPG, I’m anticipating it having gameplay similar to The Bard’s Tale (rather than Wasteland). Regardless, I have Clockwork Revolution wishlisted and will be playing it soon after it releases.
inXile and Brian Fargo had a crazy ride, filled with hits, misses, and near-misses. I’m glad Fargo and his team had those Wasteland 2 KickStarter moments. In the inXile Documentary, Fargo said, “They (fans) valued the work we’ve done before. It felt good. I can say that when we hit our funding goal, it was one of the highlights of my whole career.”
Thank you for reading. Let us know what other video game companies you want us to write a history for, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! We have another week of Geek News to discuss. Rejoice! CMON (Cool Mini Or Not) Games broke its months-long (almost a year) silence and gave gamers a roadmap to when they intend to ship most–if not all–the board games they have yet to ship on Gamefound. We’ll have this and new video game and board game release on this week’s Geekly News.
CMON suffered $7 million in 2025. The struggling board game company had at least a dozen outstanding crowdfunding projects prior to 2025. They’ve sold off properties like Cthulhu: Death May Die and Zombiecide, which also had crowdfunding projects that have yet to be fulfilled. Layoffs took place, and CMON froze production on newer board games while it focused on delivering on its promises.
Things weren’t looking good for a once-powerful board game company. For better or worse, CMON was the one who pioneered crowdfunding. This week, CMON provided updates on several, though not all, of its outstanding projects. Dune: Desert War will be packed and ready for pickup in the first quarter. By the third quarter, production will have begun on Masters of the Universe (hopefully we’ll see this project ship shortly after the movie releases). The fourth quarter features mold making and core box production for DCeased, DC Super Heroes United, and God of War: The Board Game. Other projects, like Massive Darkness, A Song of Ice and Fire Tactics, Super Fantasy Brawl Reborn, and The Dead Keep, have been pushed back to 2027.
CMON continues exploring further IP sales (like the ones for Cthulhu: Death May Die and Zombiecide) or licensing opportunities. It also plans to deliver in batches, so retail sales “help fund the manufacturing of remaining products in the line.” If you’re like me and you backed one or more of CMON’s outstanding crowdfunding projects, you’ll be happy to hear that CMON will not be asking existing backers for additional money. That’s music to my ears. I was worried about those pesky tariffs.
CMON asks fans for “patience as we work through fulfillment in a way that ensures completion rather than risking further setbacks. We will continue to share updates as milestones are reached and as plans become firm enough to communicate responsibly.” I’m good with better communication. I heard few DC Super Heroes United updates in almost nine months. Yikes! Communication like this week’s announcement is welcome.
Knave! Launches on KickStarter
Knave! combines elements Slap Jack with Rock-Paper-Scissors. Take up your guards in hand and set a rhythm with your opponent. Each guard beats only one type of guard, so keep an eye out for when you might be able to strike. Or if you’re fast enough, throw up a block before your opponent strikes. Knave! attempts to simulate the frantic and sudden nature of swordfighting.
Knave! marks publisher, Foggity Whims Press’s–great name by the way–first game. The artwork matches the theme, and at $11, Knave! may be worth a shot as a quick, small card game. If you’re interested in Knave!,check out its KickStarter page.
Beetle Battle Launches on Gamefound
Something must be in the air because Beetle Battle is our second Slap Jack-inspired card game. Only this time, Slap Jack combines with combos. What? Players chain beetle abilities, trying to connect colorful beetles, and unleash mischievous chain reactions. But beware of the Cockroach. If you see a Cockroach, you must squish.
While I like the streamlined nature of Knave!, Beetle Battle includes numerous game modes and could offer plenty of replayability. We don’t have information for Beetle Battle’s pledge levels, but that shouldn’t stop you from following Beetle Battle. If this game sounds interesting, check out Beetle Battle’s GameFound page.
Dicequest Launches on GameFound
Dicequest is a dice pool builder. You have my attention. I’ve loved the concept of a dice pool builder ever since Quarriors and its spiritual successor, Dice Masters. We know little about Dicequest’s gameplay. Fingers crossed for a playthrough soon. But the game’s page reads as follows, Gather Your Party, Level Up, and Choose Your Path. Dicequest states that one can play it solo, cooperatively, and competitively. It sounds like the game will have plenty of game modes.
I like the trend of neoprene playmats, and Dicequest features one. Yay! Again, I have my fingers crossed for a playthrough. Dicequest sounds like a game that’s in my wheelhouse. With each game session taking about 45 minutes, it doesn’t appear to outstay its welcome. Since Dicequest has yet to launch (as of writing this post), we have no details on its pledge levels. But if you’re like me and you’re interested in Dicequest, check out its GameFound page.
2XKO Releases
Alright, video game new releases heat up this week. We have a few interesting games. Our first is the free-to-play 2XKO from Riot Games. Yes. 2XKO is set within the League of Legends’ universe, but it takes the franchise in a new direction: a 2v2 tag-team fighting game.
As of writing this post, I have yet to play 2XKO, so my comments will be conjecture. But I’m getting strong Street Fighter meets Brawlhalla vibes with 2XKO. Brawlhalla (a Super Smash Bros clone of sorts) has a 2v2 fight mode. I always wondered what could happen if someone applied Street Fighter mechanisms and graphics to a game like Brawlhalla (or the maligned Multiversus). I may have to give 2XKO a chance. 2XKO is available on PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.
Mio: Memories in Orbit puts gamers in the role of an agile robot named MIO that explores a forgotten ark spaceship named The Vessel. The Vessel’s AI caretakers, known as Pearls, have stopped working, and you must explore the vegetation and survive the machinery to revive The Vessel’s memories, preventing a shutdown.
Mio: Memories in Orbit features stunning art. Since it’s a Metroidvania-style video game, its gameplay reminds me of Hollow Knight. And developer Douze Dixièmes has indie game street cred. Mio: Memories in Orbit has my attention if only for its graphics. Those are some pretty pixels. It’s received generally favorable reviews and is available on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.
Escape from Ever After Releases
Our first two video games had stunning graphics, but Escape from Ever After looks adorable. Be prepared to dive into storybook worlds packed to the brim with colorful characters and locales. But beware of electrifying secrets. Escape from Ever After borrows from Lovecraftian horror and that piques my interest.
Escape from Ever After’s graphics remind me of Paper Mario and Cat Quest in the best possible way. Players can build and customize their party; every character has unique skills that can be equipped and upgraded. You even get to decorate your office as you climb the corporate ladder. But my favorite feature may just be Escape from Ever After’s big-band soundtrack. Not enough video games use big band music. Escape from Ever After is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Nested Lands Enters Early Access
We conclude this week’s new video game releases with yet another intriguing entry: Nested Lands. Holy cow! Nested Lands is an RPG, survival, village-building, and social management game in a medieval setting. I don’t know if Nested Lands leans more toward Ark Survival, The Elder Scrolls, a combination of several games in various genres, or does something different.
Gather (plague) survivors, build a settlement, craft, master your skills, survive, and endure alone or in online co-op. Yes! Nested Lands sounds like it may scratch several itches. And yes, I wishlisted it on Steam, and if I have time, I may play the demo. Nested Lands is available on PC (with GOG, Steam, and Epic Games).
That’s all the geek news we have for this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Saturday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. We made it to the weekend. Woo hoo! Today, I’ll share my reaction to the latest Fallout Season Two episode. “The Other Player” confirms who pulled the strings behind the scenes before the bombs fell.
“The Other Player” doesn’t harbor too many spoilers besides our first glimpse at a super mutant, portrayed by none other than Ron Perlman. It’s about time Perlman got screen time in Fallout. He’s been the narrator for most of the Fallout games. Nope. He doesn’t deliver his iconic line of “War, war never changes,” but it was great seeing him as a super mutant, and the small screen time Perlman received carried a ton of world-building.
I wondered why we hadn’t seen a super mutant before the seventh episode of Fallout season two. You can’t sneeze in a Fallout game without encountering at least one super mutant. According to Perlman’s character, humans have hunted them to near extinction. And no, we don’t know who Perlman is supposed to be. Is he The Master from Fallout: New Vegas? Marcus? Or someone else entirely. One thing’s for certain, Perlman’s super mutant isn’t a nightkin.
Too bad. Perlman could pull off Lily Bowen. “Oh, pumpkin, Grandma’s sorry about that. Sometimes she gets mad and listens to Leo when she really shouldn’t.”
We get even more of The Ghoul’s backstory in “The Other Player.” Fallout season two tiptoes toward too many flashbacks, especially in the past two episodes, but I liked Barb’s scenes. And the idea that The Enclave could predate the bombs dropping is a nice touch. The impression I got from the games made it look like The Enclave became active after the bombs dropped. Michael Emerson’s Dr. Wilzig also shares a good scene with Barb. And I like how Season 2 calls back to how Cold Fusion was transported. All of this is good, but a second flashback-heavy episode made “The Other Player” feel like it marked time in moments.
And what was up with The Ghoul waiting until sundown before trying to pull himself off the pole? He may have made it to the top if he didn’t wait for at least four hours. The Ghoul spending time on the pole gave Fallout an excuse for more flashbacks. That’s the only reason he wouldn’t try and free himself.
“The Other Player” made me care about what happens in Vaults 32 and 33. That’s no small feat. Honestly, Norm’s storyline–we need more Norm–set up potential stakes in the Vaults. According to the records we saw last week, Vault-Tec still intends to use the Forced Evolutionary Virus on the Vaults. That’s the same virus that created super mutants. What happens when Vault 33 runs out of water? Will they consume unfiltered water that could transform them? We’ll have to wait and see.
And I’m loving Hank MacLean’s villain arc. His worldview suggests that order without autonomy is preferable to conflict. Interesting. Hank and Lucy’s dynamic is great. I can’t wait to see where Fallout takes their relationship.
Overall, “The Other Player” is a good episode. It just misses the great label because it spends too much time in the past. Granted, everything we discover in the past intrigues me. But I didn’t care for two consecutive episodes, spending half their runtime in flashbacks. It’s excessive.
What are your thoughts on Fallout “The Other Player?” Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Friday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another writing brain dump. I’m in the middle of editing my most recent completed novel (based within the Rustbucket Riots board game universe) and had an epiphany. The specifics of the epiphany don’t matter much–two of the main characters are related for the curious folks out there–but how I came to this realization serves as a good reminder that writing ideas can come from anywhere. And you may need to step away from yourself. When the idea struck, I wasn’t at my desk writing. I didn’t have a pad of paper and a pencil at the ready. I was grocery shopping.
Since I’m a veteran, I shop at the local military base’s commissary. The commissary still employs baggers who will carry out your groceries to your car, and on this faithful day, I had a bagger whose past aligned with mine to some extent and even more so with my protagonist. My bagger was half Native American, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him. He and his brother looked and acted nothing alike. And I have some experience with both of those aspects. It makes sense to adopt some of those elements for my protagonist. Heck. Some of those elements already existed. I just had to give them a sibling. I don’t want to get into too many details. I’m unsure if someone reading this may try and track down my bagger. But talking to others can help with your writing.
By no means am I a social butterfly. I’m happy to spend most hours of many of my days at my desk. I think most writers operate well in isolation, but when you’re stuck with a story/character/scene, stepping outside yourself can help. I may not talk that much when I’m in public, but I love to listen. You’ll never know which found stories (stories a writer finds while in the world) you’ll discover.
The next time I see “Name Redacted,” I may let him know that he helped me with a story. Or I may just listen. Have you found stories by listening to or observing others? Let me know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a fantastic day.
Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. Today, our writers share what they’ve been watching over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been watching this past month in the comments. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get us started with what I’ve been watching this past month.
Kyra’s Movies
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story marks the second or third time I’ve seen this story told. I’ll keep this off the cuff and not research the topic, so I may get details incorrect. There’s a reason Jodi Hildebrandt’s story has been told multiple times. It’s harrowing. Sporting countless injuries (like rope burns on his wrists and ankles), a pre-teen boy wanders the Utah desert barefoot. He approaches three houses before someone calls the police on his behalf. That’s a killer opening.
Turns out the titular Jodi Hildebrandt coaxed MomTube influencer Ruby Franke to abuse her two youngest children. Hildebrandt leverages Franke’s religion (she’s a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints). Franke does everything Hildebrandt tells her to do, and the result is two emaciated children, scared for their lives. Yeah. There’s a reason the 2023 story of Jodi Hildebrandt has gained multiple documentaries. But Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story glosses over several key details or omits them.
Again, I’m going off of memory, but Hildebrandt lived with the Frankes (Ruby and her husband Kevin) for months before Hildebrandt had Ruby kick Kevin to the curb. According to other documentaries, Hildebrandt has had past lesbian lovers, so most likely Hildebrandt and Ruby had a sexual relationship. They did sleep in the same bed for well over a year. Perhaps a previous documentary got hit with a lawsuit for stating that. But Hildebrandt as a self-hating queer makes sense. Her actions resemble those of someone who struggles with their identity. I’m not condoning Hildebrandt’s actions. She’s reprehensible. But this lens does make her actions more understandable.
And Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story glosses over Hildebrandt’s “possessions.” Again, I could see someone’s self-hatred manifesting into something akin to demon possession. This went on for months while Hildebrandt lived with the Frankes, and in interviews with Kevin Franke, he suggests there would be no reason for Hildebrandt to stop after he left the house. There was also a lot of drama between Hildebrandt and the older Franke children. We get neither of the older Franke children’s accounts of what happened.
To my recollection, the oldest Franke son reconnected with Kevin after several years. Evil Influencer is a brisk 80-minute watch. Perhaps that’s another reason why it skipped several talking points. While not the most comprehensive show on the subject, Evil Influencer was enjoyable to listen to and half-watch while working on a board game. Lol
I won’t go into too much detail with This is Spinal Tap. This was one of the movies Skye got for Christmas, and we watched it on her birthday. Happy belated birthday, Skye!
The first handful of times I watched This is Spinal Tap, decades ago (Yikes! I’m old), I missed a lot of the wordplay. Frankly, I found This is Spinal Tap boring. But that changed with this viewing. I saw the groundwork of what would become Christopher Guest’s improv comedy movies like Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. Many of the actors from those films make an appearance in This is Spinal Tap. Also, RIP, Rob Reiner.
Kyra’s Shows
I’m still in the middle of rewatching Grimm. The special effects continue to hold up, but the idea of “don’t tell fill-in-the-blank the truth about wesen” gets old fast. Nick hides his other life from Juliette for far too long. Hank learns about wesen the hard way, and once the gang allows the same to happen to Officer Wu, I got ticked. So much of the show’s early interpersonal tension derives from people needlessly keeping secrets. I mean, Wu goes to a psych ward because he doesn’t believe what he saw. You might want to tell him the truth.
Outside of pressing the misinformation button repeatedly, Grimm has a gripping storyline. The political intrigue of the royals making moves to shift the world’s power keeps me hooked. That may be why the I can’t tell so-and-so who I am plots are so frustrating. Grimm doesn’t need to use that cliche.
As you can guess, I’ve also been listening and half-watching to Grimm while I’ve been working on board game designs. It’s a good trip down memory. Grimm was one of the shows my late mom would watch. We’d talk about it over the phone, and it brings back good memories.
I’ve also been watching the Fallout series on Amazon Video. I won’t go into too much detail. You can check out my thoughts on the first four episodes by following this link. Hopefully, I remembered to link post. Eek!
That’s all I have for what I’ve been watching this past month. Let’s check in with Skye.
Skye’s Movies
After the release of the sequel last year (Spinal Tap II: The End Continues), I’ve felt the need to give This is Spinal Tap a watch since I hadn’t seen it before. I was lucky enough to experience Spinal Tap on my birthday and had fun. Most of Spinal Tap isn’t laugh-out-loud funny since it primarily focuses on representing a realistic depiction of a band touring through the United States. Despite that drawback, there’s a specific hilarious scene that justified Spinal Tap’s existence, and it didn’t overstay its welcome, unlike many modern movies. The whole thing fits neatly into an hour and a half runtime and manages to remain vivid weeks after watching. If you haven’t seen This is Spinal Tap before, I highly recommend it.
Salò is a testament to the most heinous, hedonistic desires of humanity. Given the alternate title, The 120 Days of Sodom, I’m sure you probably could’ve guessed that. Although, despite my existence on this planet as an asexual person, I still thought it was important enough to analyze. While most flicks you watch with your eyes and mind, I watched Salò with my entire body. If I could’ve recorded and posted a video of myself watching Salò, you would’ve seen me contort my body in feelings of discomfort I never knew existed. Unlike lesser exploitation films that revel in the worst of humanity, Salò stands out by conveying a distinct message. The whole thing takes place in Northern Italy at the tail-end of WWII. Salò outlines the true nature of fascism and what ultimately leads to its downfall. So long as you think you can handle it, feel free to take a look. Just make sure it’s on an empty stomach.
I’ve been in a weird mood lately. Given my last entry, that may have been assumed. I topped off last month with a movie I’ve been meaning to watch for a while: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Ever since I learned that Fear and Loathing was directed by Terry Gilliam, I wanted to see it. Gilliam is associated with abstract imagery and avant-garde styles. Fear and Loathing is trademark Terry Gilliam. Not only is it chock-full of insane situations and fantastic camera work, but you can also say it’s a commentary on American living. Fear and Loathing chronicles protagonist Raoul Duke’s massive drug trip, so it’s impossible to say what parts of the film are real. Duke’s excessive lifestyle, reckless choices, and insufferable personality are quintessential parts of the American ethos. “The Land of the free to do whatever you want at the expense of everyone around you,” that’s the motto of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Season’s Show
Hey, Geekly Gang! It’s been a while since I’ve contributed to this series. Much has happened these past couple of months. We’ll save that for another update. I haven’t watched The Big Bang Theory since I was in high school, and I stopped watching around season six or seven. I can’t remember. Anyway, The Big Bang Theory is stereotypical of geek culture, and Sheldon Cooper has varying degrees of appropriate autism representation. If you’d like to read more, follow this link to Kyra’s article about The Big Bang Theory and autism representation. I remember Sheldon made me laugh a lot when I watched the show initially, and I liked seeing things I enjoy (comic books) being represented in a show.
I’m still watching The Big Bang Theory with the intention of finishing it this time. Parts of it haven’t aged well (it’s a bit too stereotypical), but it’s fun to see two Harley Quinns (Kaley Cuoco and Melissa Rauch) share a screen.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. That’s all our writers have been watching over the past month. Let us know what you’ve been watching in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. We covered the DCU earlier this month, and today is the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU’s) turn. Despite Captain America: Brave New World’s lukewarm reception and Thunderbolts* underwhelming box office returns, 2025 was a great year for the MCU. Superhero films–heck, films in general–don’t make as much money. Thank you, pandemic. 2026 looks to build off of last year’s success. We’ll see the return of multiple animated and live-action shows. The Marvel Animated Universe (MAU) and street-level television superheroes may be in full swing. And Marvel Studios may only have two films scheduled for 2026, but the two films on the schedule may be the biggest ones in years.
One little disclaimer: I wrote this post months before January 2026 because I limit my Geekly output the final four months of the year to write a new novel and edit older ones; I’ll try and remember to update this list if anything changes. Without further ado, let’s get to the shows.
Wonder Man (January 27, 2026)
I should be reviewing Wonder Man as it releases, and the show will most likely have already concluded its run as of this post. If you want to see my thoughts on Wonder Man, you can check out our review(s). Hopefully, I remembered to include a link. Lol
Okay. Wonder Man has been pushed back to January 27th, so I should begin reviews next week or the following week. Wonder Man has an interesting backstory. The MCU could go in multiple directions with him. Instead of talking at length as to why Wonder Man is an interesting character, I’ll leave a link to our Wonder Man Starter Stories post.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 (March 2026)
While I still stand by Kingpin having the better storyline in Daredevil: Born Again’s first season, we may see Daredevil’s story take flight in the show’s second season. Daredevil: Born Again’s second season should center around Daredevil mobilizing an army of vigilantes to overthrow Mayor Fisk. Bullseye is still in play, and that should add some spice. With little left to lose, Daredevil may get desperate. While Jon Bernthal’s Punisher will most likely not return because he’ll star in his own Special Presentation later in 2026, Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones will join Daredevil: Born Again’s cast. I’m also holding out hope for Mike Colter’s Luke Cage to make a return.
Matthew Lillard makes his MCU debut in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 in an undisclosed role, and The Conjuring actor Lilly Taylor joins the series in a supporting role. During the first season, Daredevil: Born Again was a solid, if uneven, series. Season two should build on a series that found its footing toward the end.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 31, 2026)
Spider-Man films always do well at the box office, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day looks to continue that trend. Jon Bernthal’s Punisher will return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and he’s joined by a villainous Hulk. Geekly reported several months ago that the fight scene between Spider-Man and Hulk will predominantly use practical effects, and that makes sense, considering director Destin Daniel Cretton of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings fame has taken over the reigns.
We’re still unsure which version of Hulk will appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Will the MCU return Hulk to his savage self? Will they introduce an older Hulk from an alternate universe, and then Spider-Man will face off against Maestro? Or will the MCU choose a different option? No matter which direction the MCU chooses, I can’t wait to see this iconic fight scene hit theatres.
X-Men ’97 Season 2 (Summer 2026)
Marvel Television chairman Brad Winderbaum confirmed, “Season 2 of X-Men ’97 is going to be in 2026.” While I believe Winderbaum, X-Men ’97 Season 2 has slowly progressed. The first season aired in early 2024, but the wait should be worth it. X-Men ’97 ended on some great cliffhangers. Wolverine lost his adamantium, Apocalypse returns, and The X-Men in the past should all make for appointment viewing.
We’ve waited years for a follow-up season of X-Men ’97, but we may not need to wait nearly as long for Season 3 after Season 2. Season 3 is in active development simultaneously with Season 2. Originally, I put two quarters for X-Men ’97’s release, because we could see both follow-up seasons released the same year. If that happens, Season 2 could release in the summer, and then Season 3 could follow in the fourth quarter. I’m all for double the X-Men fun.
The whole cast is set to return for both seasons. However, Beau DeMayo was actively involved in X-Men ’97 Season 2’s development; he won’t return as showrunner or be involved with the show after Season 2. Despite DeMayo’s exit, X-Men ’97 should be in great hands. Winderbaum has stated that “The fact that we get to play in that universe (1990s X-Men Animated Series) with those actors is honestly why I went into this business in the first place.” Between Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and X-Men ’97, the Marvel Animated Universe is poised for greatness.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2 (Fall 2026)
Okay. I’m writing this months in advance, and we’re nowhere near an official release date for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2. My original guess of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2 was Second Quarter 2026. Okay. I was way off. Lol
Anyway, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man surprised me. While it had some flaws, it was a strong debut series for the Marvel Animated Universe (MAU). The art style grew on me. Norman Osborn and Peter Parker’s relationship shakes up the MCU’s version of Spidey and the comics’. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man isn’t afraid to take risks. I can’t wait to see what the series does with Ghost-Spider, Gwen Stacey, and watch Lonnie’s transformation into Tombstone. I loved Lonnie’s storyline in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s first season.
And fun news, like X-Men ’97, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man seasons two and three were worked on simultaneously. The year-long gap between MCU movies could serve to establish the MAU. I grew up on Marvel cartoons, so I’d be okay if the MAU dominated Marvel’s release schedule for a year.
Vision Quest (Late 2026)
Vision Quest has been a long time in the making. White Vision made his debut during WandaVision’s finale (2021). Since he left Westview, White Vision has most likely been trying to recover the original synthezoid’s memories or construct an identity of his own. While we don’t have any details, I could see Wonder Man factoring into White Vision’s story, if only as a nod to the comics. In the comics, Vision’s personality was a copy of Wonder Man’s.
But we do know that Ultron actor James Spader will reprise his role, so White Vision may reconnect with characters from the original Vision’s past. We don’t know if White Vision will meet his resurrected son Billy Maximoff (from Agatha All Along), or if Vision Quest will revisit Scarlet Witch. Vision Quest has the potential to further the Multiverse’s theme of magic versus technology.
The Punisher Disney+ Special (Late 2026)
As of the writing of this post, there’s still a chance The Punisher Disney+ Special could release before or after Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but it should release around the same time, so we’re giving it a third or fourth quarter release window, making The Punisher’s release date between July and November 2026.
We don’t know how The Punisher will play into the events before or after Spider-Man: Brand New Day. We do know that the special will build off of the original Netflix series and the events of Daredevil: Born Again Season 1. Frank Castle will most likely face a new street-level MCU villain. And The Punisher marks the first mid-length format for the MCU since 2022’s The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. I always liked the Werewolf By Night Special. The Punisher should be a great addition. Marvel Television chairman Brad Winderbaum described The Punisher as a “shotgun blast of a story” with plenty of “pathos and emotion.”
Avengers: Doomsday (December 18, 2026)
Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will look a lot different in Avengers: Doomsday. Sam Wilson’s Avengers, Bucky and Yelena’s New Avengers, and Earth-828’s Fantastic Four will join forces to take on one of Marvel’s greatest villains, Doctor Doom. Nuff said.
Okay. I will add that this major Marvel crossover film has seen plenty of snags, but that’s to be expected, especially after the unexpected firing of Jonathan Majors’s Kang as the central villain. Doctor Doom is the best possible alternative. This accelerated the Fantastic Four’s timeline, but Fantastic Four: First Steps did a great job of introducing Marvel’s first family to the MCU. Dozens, if not hundreds, of cameos are scheduled for Avengers: Doomsday.
Avengers: Doomsday should set the MCU ablaze. The events of Avengers: Doomsday will play directly into what happens during Avengers: Secret Wars, and after Avengers: Secret Wars, the MCU will receive a “reset.” Who knows what the MCU will look like after Avengers: Secret Wars?
That’s all we have for our MCU 2026 Preview. Which MCU project are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. We have more video game and board game releases to discuss, but first, let’s discuss another angle of the MCU’s future. The Spider-Man license between Sony and Marvel/Disney may soon change.
Rumors of a New Spider-Man License Deal
Almost three decades have passed since Marvel Comics sold the movie rights to Spider-Man and other characters within Spider-Man’s universe (Venom, Carnage, Kraven, and others). Since the deal, Sony has done what it can to hold onto every character it can. The last couple of years we’ve seen Madame Web, Kraven, Morbius, and Venom: The Last Dance release to less than stellar responses. Let’s be real. Most of those movies stunk. I don’t blame any actor, director, or anyone else involved in those movies for their quality or for being involved in those movies. Some of them— like the Venom movies — made money, but audiences and critics didn’t rate them highly. But change could be in the air. According to trusted industry insider DanielRPK, Sony’s Spider-Man embargo may soon come to an end.
Why is Sony open to a new deal? We don’t know for certain. The aforementioned Venom: The Last Dance concluded the Spider-Man Villain movie franchise. Even if Sony chose to relaunch, reboot, or rework the franchise, Venom actor Tom Hardy has retired from the role, and Venom was the franchise’s biggest box office draw. Then, there’s the news that the Black Cat solo film has been cancelled, and the fact that Sony has begun cancelling films within the Spider-Man Villain movie franchise raises red flags.
According to Nerd Tower (via Twitter/X), Black Cat has been in production since at least 2021. Here’s what Nerd Tower recently shared: “There was a Black Cat movie in production, I saw storyboards and in a specific sequence, she was dressed as a goth at a costume party, cries in the bathroom, smears her makeup and makes the ‘mask,’ BAMMMM Black Cat ready for action. It was awful.”
True. That origin for Felicia Hardy/Black Cat sounds awful. But it’s not the worst storyline Sony’s Spider-Man Villain movie franchise has released. The less said about Madame Web, the better. Change must be on the horizon if Sony heard a movie pitch they didn’t like for Spider-Man or his villains. We don’t yet know what this means for the MCU’s Spider-Man or if a deal will happen with enough time for it to affect Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Negotiations between Sony and Marvel/Disney are ongoing and predate Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s development. There’s a chance we could see Venom, Carnage, Kraven, or the Sinister Six in the MCU.
But I wouldn’t hold my breath. Unless a deal occurred under the table, the best Spider-Man: Brand New Day could do is hint at the Spider-Man Villain movie franchise characters joining the MCU. But the next Spider-Man film could feature any number of these characters. I’d love to see a Sinister Six movie.
Mountain Goats: Legacy Launches on KickStarter
In Mountain Goats: Legacy, players battle each other for top spot on the mountain. Each turn, roll and combine dice to race up the mountain. Get to the top to score, but don’t get knocked off! If you roll the goat symbol, activate new abilities—powers that rotate every mission. As your story progresses, you’ll unlock even more powerful abilities and face tougher challenges. The mountain itself might even transform beneath your feet.
I’ve never played the original Mountain Goats, but I’ve heard great things. I’m unsure how Mountain Goats lends itself to a Legacy game, a game that can be played over multiple gaming sessions, and the game changes after each session, but I’m here for it. I saw the original Mountain Goats when it was first released at Origins and have been kicking myself for not trying it out during the convention. But I didn’t get much of a chance. Gamers flooded the tables where Mountain Goats was on display. Mountain Goats: Legacy is among the highly anticipated games for 2026 on most other board review sites. You can back Mountain Goats: Legacy for $39-88. There’s even an Enchanted Ivy, a dedicated solo variant of Mountain Goats for $19. If you’re interested in Mountain Goats: Legacy, check out its KickStarter page.
Small-Time Heroes Returns to GameFound
Small-Time Heroes is another title I haven’t had the chance to play yet. It’s received high marks on BoardGameGeek. In this cooperative deck builder, you’ll take on the role of one of the Small-Time Heroes and work together to defend the town. With each battle, you’ll build up your deck of cards, choosing from a variety of cards that represent your hero’s unique abilities. As your power builds, you will defeat waves of minions and end with a final boss battle. Defeat the boss before they defeat you!
I love publisher Solo Game of the Month’s mission. Produce high-quality and accessible solo board games each month. Small-Time Heroes continues this trend. The original Small-Time Heroes is available for $39, and so is its first major expansion. Small-Time Heroes’ GameFound page offers several other add-ons, too. If you’re interested in Small-Time Heroes, check out its GameFound page.
Boktor Launches on GameFound
Boktor is a cooperative adventure game for 1 to 6 players, blending dungeon-crawling, tactical combat, and character progression in a world where elemental chaos threatens to consume everything. Each game is a self-contained mission in which players take on the role of legendary heroes sent to explore a dynamically generated dungeon. Their goal: survive waves of enemies, gather powerful abilities, and confront the final Tyrant before the Vortex obliterates the land. I like Boktor’s idea of quick level-ups for your heroes. Too often, dungeon-crawlers like these take too long for the leveling to happen.
I’m getting Betrayal at House on the Hill vibes from Boktor’s map, and that’s a good thing. I always liked Betrayal’s exploration, and Boktor looks to include exploration. And the biggest issue with dungeon-crawling board games is the time it takes to learn and play them. Boktor boasts a 5-minute teaching of the rules and 60-minute game sessions. If that’s true, sign me up. We don’t know Boktor’s price point as of this write-up (it will release early next week), but if you’re interested in Boktor, check out its GameFound page.
What you can’t see… doesn’t exist. Cassette Boy is a puzzle action RPG where you control the game’s perspective to change the world you see. Rotate a 2D pixel-styled 3D world, using disappearing obstacles and newly appearing paths to uncover the mystery of the vanished moon. Honestly, I knew little about Cassette Boy before researching for this post, but the premise has me hooked.
Cassette Boy’s aesthetic channel slightly beefed up GameBoy graphics, but no one’s planning on playing this indie game for its graphics. Cassette Boy’s gameplay may be one of the better puzzle action RPG conceits since Katamari Damacy. It builds its story through gameplay, and that has me stoked. And for its listed price of less than $15 dollars, Cassette Boy may be worth a look. Cassette Boy is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, and Nintendo Switch.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon Releases
I sense a trend with the games (board games and video games) on this list. I’ve never played a game in the Trails series and have been meaning to for some time. If anyone knows where best to begin the series, let me know in the comments. The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon is not only a continuation of the Trails series of video games, but it’s the direct sequel to 2022’s The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II. Okay. I may not begin Trails with this title, but look how pretty.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon looks like a game I’d enjoy. It features an updated combat system–from the rest of the Trails series. Mechs play a large role. Yes, please. And the previous games from this series within the larger Trails series have received favorable reviews. The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.
That’s all the geek news we have for you this week. If you’ve made it this far, you’re fantabulastical. We all know it. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Saturday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. We moved our review day from Friday to Saturday this week, and during today’s review/reaction, I’ll share my thoughts on the most recent Fallout episode, “The Wrangler.”
I’ll begin with a sentiment I’ve shared multiple times before: Fallout has an amazing soundtrack. I’ve always liked The Mills Brothers’ “You Always Hurt the One You Love,” but to be fair, the first time I heard the song was a Spike Jones and His City Slickers’ cover. There was a lot of belching and gunshots during that version. Needless to say, I’ve been listening to The Mills Brothers’ “You Always Hurt the One You Love” on repeat ever since I finished watching “The Wrangler.” Fallout is to early 20th Century music what Guardians of the Galaxy is to 60s and 70s tunes. Ah! It’s so good.
If you haven’t noticed, I’m stalling with my “The Wrangler” reaction. I don’t know how to discuss the episode without spoilers, big and small. I’ll try my best to avoid them. If I include spoilers, I’ll warn you and try to keep them to a single paragraph that you can skip. Here it goes. “The Wrangler” answers several questions while posing new ones. Fallout Season 2 has done a great job with cliffhangers.
Speaking of cliffhangers, “The Wrangler” doesn’t pay off the previous deathclaw cliffhanger. But that isn’t too big of an issue. All The Ghoul and Lucy can do is run. It makes sense that they don’t engage with any deathclaws at this stage. The opening scene gives a nod to Fallout: New Vegas (no spoilers yet as to what), but it made me smile. And I suspect this won’t be the last time we’ll see these deathclaws. I don’t know how the deathclaws will factor into future episodes, but I’m certain they’ll return. The remainder of “The Wrangler” splits the difference among exploring The Ghoul’s past and how it mirrors what occurs in the Wasteland, progressing Norm’s Vault-Tec storyline, and throwing in some Lucy and Hank MacLean mayhem.
The episode’s name derives from the Atomic Wrangler Casino, introduced in Fallout: New Vegas. You can see someone in the picture above falling from one of the building’s high stories. Ah! It’s so easy to spoil the episode. Moving on, Fallout has done a good job switching between storylines. While jarring at first, the season has found a good rhythm of when to shift from one set of characters to the next. We don’t see Vault 32, Vault 33, or the Brotherhood in “The Wrangler,” and that’s fine. I’m sure episode six will weave in one or more of these elements into its narrative.
Okay. I’m done with spoiler-free stuff for now. Here comes the spoiler-filled paragraph. You’ve been warned. The deathclaws trapped inside New Vegas are none other than the ones players can find at Quarry Junction in Fallout: New Vegas. Yay! I don’t know how the deathclaws migrated from Quarry Junction, but I trust we’ll learn more later. I chuckled when the snake oil salesman met with Fully Integrated Security Technetronic Officer (FISTO from Fallout: New Vegas) and apologized for cheating on them. And I winced when the camera panned after the snake oil salesman was fitted for a mind control device (that blew off heads in the past). Great payoff. And while observant viewers would’ve caught the initials of Future Enterprises Ventures as being FEV, meaning something else, “The Wrangler” let everyone in on FEV’s true definition: Forced Evolutionary Virus. Bring on the Super Mutants.
Oh. And I’m sure The Ghoul will find a way to pry himself from being impaled. Yikes!
End of spoilers. Overall, “The Wrangler” does a lot of heavy lifting while allowing for emotional weight. “You Always Hurt the Ones You Love” is a fitting song for this episode. I can’t wait for next week’s release. What are your thoughts on Fallout “The Wrangler?” Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
jkgeekly.com 