Plus Borderlands 4 will release 2 weeks earlier and Xbox console prices go up
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SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Courtney Smith, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Cat Jahne is Social Producer, Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia and Apple for their support of SIFTER.
FIONA: Hi I’m Fiona Bartholomaeus
KYLE: and I’m Kyle Pauletto
FIONA: Welcome to Walkthrough, SIFTER’s weekly recap on the biggest news in video games.
KYLE: This week GTA VI gets a confirmed release date, a dodgy Switch update bricked some consoles, and Borderlands is releasing a little earlier.
Here is the news for Sunday 4th of May. Let’s go!
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FIONA: Some good news and some bad news for GTA fans this week.
The good news is we finally have a release date of May 26…the bad news is it’s May 26 2026.
Rockstar put out a very succinct statement late Friday night apologising to fans for the delay, and thanking them for their patience and support.
KYLE: The team at Rockstar say the delay, as expected, is to give the developers the extra time they need to make sure GTA 6 lives up to the standard expected…which honestly I get.
The hype and expectation around this release is of a level rarely seen in this industry, and Rockstar really cannot afford to fumble it.
I mean really they can afford anything, GTA 5 made like a dumb amount of money, but you get what I mean.
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KYLE: Speaking of release dates The highly anticipated Borderlands 4 has had a release date change and for once it’s NOT being pushed further away.
Announced this week by Randy Pitchford CEO of Borderlands developer Gearbox Interactive, the release date has been moved up by 2 weeks to September 12th.
In a video posted online he said the development was going so well that they decided to release the game earlier however there were some theories floating around that the company just didn’t want to compete with GTA VI.
Which I guess they don’t have to worry about at all anymore!
FIONA: Pitchford has since come out and said the change in date has nothing to do with GTA 6 or Marathon, which was also set to be released on 23rd September, Borderlands’ original date.
He just said they’re confident with the development of the game.
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FIONA: Yet another gaming company has put a halt on shipping to the US because of the increase in tariffs.
This week gaming controller and accessories company 8BitDo has suspended shipments from its Chinese warehouse to avoid the new 145% tariffs on imports from China.
Similar to what we reported with Anbernic last week, US customers can still order controllers, mice and other accessories that are already at the company’s US warehouse; however you won’t know what’s available until you get to the checkout page.
KYLE: The company is well known for its quality third-party controllers that are compatible with many platforms including Nintendo Switch and its fun controllers like a mini Xbox controller.
These new tariffs have made the video game and tabletop industry go into a bit of a panic because while some electronics are exempt from the 145% tariffs for now, video game consoles aren’t because they’re classified as toys not technology.
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KYLE: If you haven’t got an Xbox you better brace yourself as the prices for the consoles, games and accessories have gone up this week.
The Xbox Series X will now cost $849 AUD, up from $799 and the Xbox Series S will now cost $549, up from $499.
The controllers are also going up with the limited edition Xbox controllers now $129.95 AUD and the Xbox Elite controller now $279.95.
While our price increase isn’t as bad as the US, it’s still crazy.
FIONA: We saw Sony increase their prices recently and we’ve already talked about how expensive the Switch 2 and its games will be.
And speaking of games it’s been announced that first-party Xbox games will reach $80 USD which is about $125 AUD by the end of the year.
Microsoft has said the changes were made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development.
Again, how are people supposed to play the games they make if we can’t even afford the console.
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FIONA: Okay crisis averted, but for a moment there nintendo had the whole world freaking after an update straight-up bricked some Switches.
Earlier this week Nintendo released a firmware update for the Switch, with a bunch of users taking to the internet to complain that the update came with a big fat error message that rendered their consoles unusable.
KYLE: Thankfully Nintendo are onto it, and have now released a patch with full instructions on their website for how to bring your beloved Switch back to life.
Not a great look, but hey at least it was resolved relatively quickly. We’ll give them that.
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KYLE: That’s it for the headlines, here are the games coming out this week for Sunday 4th of May.
FIONA: First up we have a brand new third-person action RPG, Empyreal. But it’s spelt E M P Y R E A L. Explore the ruins of a lost civilization on an unexplored planet on May 8 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S and X.
KYLE: Also out on the 8th is The Midnight Walk. It’s a super atmospheric first person horror adventure with a really cool claymation art style. It gives Tim Burton mixed with Little nightmare vibes and could really be worth checking out if you’re an indie horror fan. Grab is on PC or PlayStation 5 this Thursday.
FIONA: Last one out on Thursday is Revenge of the Savage Planet. It’s the second in the sci-fi platforming adventure series, with I think the first one being really underrated. One major change is this sequel has shifted the series from first person to third person, which is a really bold move. We’ll see if it pays off when it comes to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S and X on the 8th.
KYLE: And lastly, live out the most boring part of your criminal fantasties when Cash Cleaning Simulator drops this week. It’s a first person life sim with some mystery thrown in for good measure, and actually looks pretty fun. It's out on PC this Friday.
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PROMO: Articles to read, videos to watch and podcasts to listen to on sifter.com.au
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KYLE: This has been Walkthrough by SIFTER, my name is Kyle Pauletto.
FIONA: And my name is Fiona Bartholomaeus, thank you so much for listening.
KYLE: If you’re looking for another short episode to chuck into your day, have a listen to Drop Rate, we’re doing Speed Runs over there which are bite sized reviews, and the latest one is with Gianni who play Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion remake if you were curious about that game,Search for Drop Rate and SIFTER on your podcast players and look for the Green icon -
FIONA: SIFTER is produced by myself, Kyle Pauletto, Adam Christou, Courtney Smith, Chris Button and Cat Jahne. The episode is edited by both Senior Producer Mitch Loh and Gianni Di Giovanni who is SIFTER’s Executive Producer and also Walkthrough’s script editor.
KYLE: Thanks to Brian Fairbanks from Salty Dog Sounds for composing the Walkthrough theme tune, and Audio Technica Australia and Apple for their support of SIFTER’s podcasts.
FIONA: We’ll be back with more news next Sunday, see you then.
