On July 2nd, Microsoft made significant cuts to Xbox, resulting in the loss of 9,000 jobs, the closure of The Initiative, and the cancellation of Perfect Dark and Everwild. On this REACT podcast special, we share our candid thoughts on the disturbing news and what it all means for the future of the Xbox brand. What are your thoughts on the Xbox layoffs? Let us know in the comments section below.

Is The Last of Us on HBO the greatest video game adaptation of all time? The Koalition Editor-In-Chief Richard Bailey Jr., Senior Editor Adam Vale, Throwdown Host Tony Polanco, and Co-host Carlos Romero answer this question and more in our review of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 1 "When You're Lost in the Darkness". Check out our full discussion and let us know what you think of the show in the comments section below.

On today's episode of The Swift Report, I sit with The Koalition Co-founder Anthony Frasier, who recently appeared on an episode of The Toys That Built America on the History Channel. Anthony was there to speak about Jerry Lawson's role in the American games console revolution. Jerry Lawson was the first black video game engineer, and furthermore, he led the team that launched the first video game console to feature a removable game cartridge. However, the History Channel minimized a few fine details about Jerry's story, and we're here to speak on it. We go into even more detail about the story of Jerry Lawson on our Audible documentary Raising The Game: The Untold Story of Jerry Lawson: https://amzn.to/3tqD8Ol  Disclaimer: This is a friendly critique of the TV series and no malicious intent is meant towards The History Channel or the people working on The Toys That Built America.

Gary Swaby and Richard Bailey Jr. discuss the reviews for God of War Ragnarök and talk about all aspects of the game itself. Richard Bailey talks about how it performs as a cross-generation PlayStation title, and whether the growing number of characters takes away from Kratos himself. This discussion is spoiler-free. 

We recap the PlayStation Showcase where Sony highlighted the following games: KOTOR remake, Project EVE, Tiny Tina Wonderlands, Forspoken Rainbow Six Extraction, Alan wake Eemastered, GTA V, Ghost Wire Tokyo Guardians of the Galaxy, Vampire Blood Hunt, Deathloop, Radiohead Experience, Tchia, Uncharted Collection, Wolverine, GT 7, Spider Man 2 2023, God of War Ragnaraok

The Koalition founders reunite to give their takes on all of the news coming out of Gamescom. We touch on Forza Horizon 5, Halo Infinite, Saints Row and Marvel Midnight Suns. We also reveal some details about the upcoming Audible documentary on Jerry Lawson, made by Anthony Frasier and ABF Creative.

We discuss the Sony State of Play stream in which Square Enix revealed Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and how the upgrade to PlayStation 5 will be handled. The upgrade will also unlock a DLC pack featuring popular Final Fantasy 7 character Yuffie, but we have some pretty interesting thoughts about this.

We run through the history of Cyberpunk 2077 and offer our commentary on how the game was handled. We also share our honest opinions on the game after playing it for ourselves. 

We react to the Sony PS5 stream that just took place, with announcements such as Final Fantasy 16, Harry Potter, God of War: Ragnarok and more. We also breakdown the PS5 price.

This is a special one hour discussion about Microsoft's decision to delay Halo: Infinite. Will this delay hurt the Xbox Series X in the longrun? Let us know what you guys think. On this show: Gary Swaby, Richard Bailey, Max Moeller. 

We discuss the Xbox Games Showcase that took place earlier today and reveal whether it made us want an Xbox Series X. We also compare the gaming lineup with what we've seen of the PlayStation 5's library.

We speak on Cyberpunk 2077, Marvel's Avengers and Crash Bandicoot 4 news.

The PlayStation 5 was officially unveiled tonight when Sony showed two versions of the console. One is the regular version and the other is a digital only version with no Blu-ray drive. There were also some major game announcements for the system. Including: Spider-Man Miles Morales, Gran Turismo 7, Horizon: Forbidden West and Demon Souls. The crew shares their thoughts on these announcements and whether they'll be purchasing the PS5 this year.

We share our thoughts on the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo, Ghost of Tsushima and Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 Remastered.   Topics discussed:- Unreal Engine 5- Ghost of Tsushima- The decline of Overwatch- Tony Hawk- Streets of Rage 4  

Our reactions to yesterday's Inside Xbox and Assassin's Creed: Valhalla

On this episode we discuss the delay of The Last of Us Part 2 and what it means.  Other topics discussed: - Phil Spencer IGN Unlocked interview thoughts- Supporter question: Why is an 8 or an 80 review score seen as bad?- E3 returns in 2021, but do we want it to? - Someone has something bad to say about Animal Crossing People on this episode: Richard Bailey Jr., Gary Swaby, Edward Velazquez, Anthony Frasier

In the return of the The Co-op Podcast, Gary Swaby and Richard Bailey Jr. are joined by TK Alumni Anthony Frasier and Edward Velazquez. Show topics: - Thoughts on Mark Cerny's PS5 briefing - Anthony calls out PlayStation fans - Predictions on the price of Xbox Series X and PS5 - Will this be the generation when we go all digital? - Is the PlayStation brand's reach limited to the console itself? 

On March 18th 2020, Sony's Mark Cerny gave a technical presentation about the PlayStation 5 architecture. This is our official recap of the stream, which includes our thoughts, predictions, speculation and comparisons to the Xbox Series X.

Gary Swaby interviews Annabel Anzy, the founder of Melanin Gamers to find out what Melanin Gamers is, why it was started and what the group is doing to unite gamers all over the globe. In the interview, Annabel discusses her origins as a gamer, her favorite game series', and why spreading awareness about representation in gaming is important. Annabel also touches on how she's able to keep up her grind, despite suffering with Sickle Cell Anemia, a chronic illness. Melanin Gamers is throwing a gaming event at the Microsoft Store in Oxford Circus this Saturday (November 2nd). It's free for anyone to attend and The Koalition will be in the house. 

Disney and Sony have struck a new deal for at least one more Spider-Man film to be released in the MCU. We discuss the terms of the deal, as well as which cameos and appearances we want to see happen in the new film. We also discuss Sony's potential plans for the future.