The Expansion Pass
by The Expansion Pass
Latest episode
Gears of War's $500M Budget, BioWare & Xbox's Sales Slump
Gears of War's $500M Budget, BioWare & Xbox's Sales Slump
About this podcast
Welcome to The Expansion Pass (XP) — your place for clear, thoughtful discussions on gaming without the console-war noise.
Hosted by Luke Lohr (InsipidGhost) and Captain Logun, XP covers the biggest stories in gaming across Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, PC, and Game Pass through weekly news analysis, in-depth reviews, and long-form developer interviews.
Formerly Xbox Expansion Pass, the show has evolved into a multiplatform gaming podcast while staying rooted in the strategy, ecosystem, and conversations that built it.
With 150+ interviews featuring developers, journalists, and studio leads — from AAA to indie — XP offers a grounded perspective on how games are made, why decisions happen, and where the industry is headed. Guests include creators from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, Ubisoft, Respawn, id Software, Ninja Theory, Blizzard, Asobo, Remedy, and more.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 250 episodes
- Gears of War's $500M Budget, BioWare & Xbox's Sales Slump · 1 h 35 min · Episode 399Gears of War: E-Day reportedly cost Microsoft more than $500 million, but is that enormous investment actually a problem? Luke and Captain Logun examine the reported budget…
- BioWare Is Gone, Mass Effect Cancelled & Xbox’s Next-Gen Gamble · 1 h 42 min · Episode 398BioWare is closing after more than 30 years, and development on the next Mass Effect has been cancelled. Luke Lohr and Captain Logun are joined by Brian Altano of The X Button to…
- GTA 6 PC Rumors, Xbox Labs & The Future of Xbox Exclusives · 1 h 41 min · Episode 397The Expansion Pass crosses over with The Nerd Chat for a late-night discussion covering GTA 6, Xbox’s evolving strategy, new hardware, and what everyone has been playing. The…
- INTERVIEW: Dead by Daylight’s 2027 Overhaul, Terrifier & the Future of DBD with Mathieu Côté · 1 h 11 min · Episode 396Mathieu Côté of Behaviour Interactive returns for his third conversation with The Expansion Pass to discuss the future of Dead by Daylight. Mathieu shares new details on the 2027…
- INTERVIEW: Gears of War: E-Day — The Coalition on Horror, Horde Siege & More Gears · 31 min · Episode 395The Coalition joins The Expansion Pass for a launch-day conversation about Gears of War: E-Day. Nicole Fawcette, Aryan Hanbeck, and Matt Searcy discuss making the Locust…
- Gears of War: E-Day Reviews, Xbox Sale Rumors & PlayStation’s Collector’s Edition Shift · 1 h 40 min · Episode 394Gears of War: E-Day takes center stage as Captain Logun is joined by Jesse Norris from Day One and Joseph Moran from The Trophy Room: A PlayStation Podcast. Jesse breaks down his…
- Shawn Layden on PlayStation’s Future, Physical Games, Xbox & the Changing Industry · 1 h 25 min · Episode 393Former Chairman of PlayStation Studios and former CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America Shawn Layden joins The Expansion Pass for an extensive conversation about…
- Halo Moves to Activision as Xbox Restructures Again · 1 h 36 min · Episode 392Halo is moving to Activision as Microsoft reshapes Xbox Game Studios. Luke and Captain Logun examine what the restructuring means for Halo, Ninja Theory, Obsidian and Bethesda…
- Xbox Goes All In, StarCraft Returns & Wolverine Sells Big · 2 h 6 min · Episode 391Xbox had a huge week. We break down its Tokyo Game Show push, Hideo Kojima’s latest Xbox appearance, and what the growing Japanese and Asian partnership strategy means for the…
- PlayStation Drops Kojima, Xbox Gets PHYSINT · 1 h 34 min · Episode 390PlayStation walked away from Hideo Kojima’s PHYSINT — and Xbox stepped in. Luke and Logun break down what the surprising publishing deal means for Kojima Productions, Xbox, and a…
- Xbox Cloud Gaming Gets Worse + Sony’s State of Play Was Awful · 1 h 32 min · Episode 389Xbox Cloud Gaming is getting worse at the exact moment Microsoft wants xCloud on more devices. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers are being capped at just 15 hours of cloud gaming…
- GTA VI Gameplay Is Massive, Xbox Project Helix Takes Shape · 1 h 55 min · Episode 335Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto VI gameplay reveal shows the enormous scale of Leonida, including reports of an 80-hour playthrough and a map roughly three times the playable size of…
- GTA 6 Hacked Again & Xbox Is Changing Everything · 2 h 6 min · Episode 388GTA 6 has been hacked again—and this time Take-Two is going after the source. Microsoft and Discord have been pulled into the investigation as Rockstar faces yet another major…
- Gears E-Day Is Exploding — Can Xbox Finally Have Its Win? · 1 h 51 min · Episode 387The E-Day beta is drawing impressive numbers, including an estimated 1.2 million Xbox players, while Steam engagement has already surpassed recent Gears releases. Luke and…
- Xbox Backward Compatibility, Gears E-Day & Ghost Recon | XP 332 · 1 h 52 min · Episode 386Xbox is making major changes to backward compatibility, Achievements, game preservation, and the overall Xbox experience — while Gears of War: E-Day may be shaping up to be…
- Is Gears of War: E-Day a Winner? Xbox's Strategy Shift & PlayStation's Digital Gamble | XP 331 · 1 h 33 min · Episode 385One of the biggest Xbox releases of the year is almost here, and Jampack Sam joins us after going hands-on with Gears of War: E-Day. We break down everything he learned from the…
- Andrew Hulshult Interview | DOOM, Iron Lung, DUSK & The Dark Ages Story · 50 min · Episode 384Andrew Hulshult has become one of the defining composers of modern FPS games, with credits including DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods, DOOM + DOOM II, DUSK, Prodeus, Heretic +…
- God of War Gets a Release Date, Halo Campaign Evolved Reviews & Steam Machine | XP 330 · 1 h 47 min · Episode 383God of War: Laufey officially launches in February 2027, Halo Campaign Evolved and Splatoon Raiders earn strong critical reviews, and this week we're joined by Jefftroidvania to…
- Is Bethesda Finally Getting It Right? Fallout 5, Switch 2 & Gaming's Next Generation | XP 329 · 1 h 31 min · Episode 382Bethesda finally pulled back the curtain on what's next. This week on The Expansion Pass, Luke Lohr and Captain Logun break down Todd Howard's biggest interview in years…
- Xbox's New Strategy, PlayStation's Physical Future & Black Flag | XP 328 · 2 h 10 min · Episode 381Xbox is finally revealing what comes after its historic restructuring. Luke and Logan break down Bloomberg's report that Obsidian is shifting toward Fallout, what that means for…
