Key Points:
- Created by former GameSpot editors, there’s a ton of gaming expertise and history on Giant Bombast.
- Hosted by Jeremy Perish and Bob Mackey, Retronauts is the podcast of choice if you enjoy classic and retro gaming.
- What’s Good Games is a podcast that has made a giant name for itself in the gaming space thanks to its strong female perspective.
If you love gaming and want to keep up on all of the latest news and happenings, there’s no better way to do just that than with gaming podcasts.
Between reviews, rumors, hot takes, and conversations that engage and educate, a gaming podcast is going to entertain for hours.
Gaming is as big as it’s ever been so there’s no shortage of podcasts all vying for your attention. Influencers and creators from online publications, YouTube, and passionate gaming fans alike have made the move into gaming podcasts.
After weeks of listening to podcasts and even more podcasts, we’ve made a list of the best gaming podcasts for 2022.
- Best Overall: Giant Bombcast
- Best for Retro Gaming: Retronauts
- Best for Comedy: How Did This Get Played?
- Best Women-Run: What’s Good Games
- Best for Industry News: Game Scoop!
- Best for Industry Insiders: GamesIndustry.Biz
- Best Official Podcast: Nintendo Power Podcast
- Best for Guests: Call Me By Your Name
- Best for Stories: Triple Click
- Best for Media: People Make Games
Best Overall: Giant Bombcast
Dating all the way back to 2008, Giant Bombcast is an easy choice for the best podcast about gaming.
Created by former GameSpot editors, there’s a ton of expertise and history. Even with some host changes earlier this year, there are always exciting guests stopping by to drop their hot takes on what’s happening in the gaming world.
New episodes release every Tuesday and follow a fairly traditional format. Shows open with the hosts talking about what they have been playing and then they jump straight into industry news. Conversations can also cover upcoming games as well as spending time answering listener emails. A particular favorite is episode 726 back in February 2022, as the hosts discussed the beauty that is Horizon Forbidden West, a favorite game of ours.
One of the many reasons for Giant Bombcasts’ success is that not only can you listen to the podcast, but you can also watch it on their website.
Listen to Giant Bombcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Best for Retro Gaming: Retronauts
Hosted by Jeremy Perish and Bob Mackey, Retronauts is the podcast of choice if you enjoy classic and retro gaming.
Originally a subsidiary of the gaming site, 1Up, the podcast went independent after the site went belly up and never looked back.
Weekly releases explore the history of video games one game at a time. The hosts are joined each week by industry experts all while looking at four decades worth of gaming history.
The July 4th episode covering the Metal Slug series was an instant classic covering this popular Neo Geo title. It was a fantastic look back at a series that still lives on today across mobile and classic consoles.
Listening to Bob and Jeremy is entertaining not just from their subject matter knowledge, but their sheer passion for it. It’s a combination that just works.
Listen to Retronauts on Audioboom or Apple Podcasts.
Best for Comedy: How Did This Get Played?
You might be wondering why a comedy podcast is on a list about gaming. Well, How Did This Get Played? Is all about gaming, with comedy.
Hosts and comedians Heather Anne Campbell, Nick Wiger, and Matt Apodaca offer the perfect blend of humor and gaming. It’s instantly noticeable how much the hosts love creating an environment where these two passions intersect.
Episodes generally focus on either a particular game or a discussion of gaming at large. The twist is that any game they choose to focus on is often considered pretty terrible. That’s where the comedy comes in, as the hosts joke and poke fun at online reviews written by other players or just discussing the game. There’s a formula here that sucks you in every time and keeps you laughing.
Their July 18th episode released this year about the movie, Uncharted, was pretty great. The movie definitely didn’t capture the magic of the game, but the hosts gravitate to the quippy dialogue of the film and it’s right up their comedic alley.
Listen to How Did This Get Played? on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Best Women-Run: What’s Good Games
What’s Good Games is a podcast that has made a giant name for itself in the gaming space thanks to its strong female perspective. Hosts Andrea Rene and Brittney Brombacher have more than 30 years of combined gaming experience and it shows.
This podcast delivers plenty of hot takes all while adding a fresh perspective on what you are playing. There’s a mass appeal here but, make no mistake, this is a podcast for women by women, all while being inclusive for everyone.
Their discussion about the release of Horizon Forbidden West was engaging and you felt every word of it. Their ability to dive deep into such a strong female character with their own perspective is well worth the listen.
Listen to What’s Good Games on Spotify and Apple Music.
Best for Industry News: Game Scoop!
If you had to choose just one gaming podcast to listen to each week for the best on what’s happening in the industry, make it Game Scoop!. IGN’s premier podcast for gaming news is hosted by Daemon Hatfield and a rotating crew of IGN personalities.
As part of what is arguably the biggest web property in all of gaming, there is just something about the way this team covers the best news of the week in under an hour. That they can fit so much in while still being entertaining is a testament to the hosts and their passion for their craft.
Fun segments like “20 questions” make engaging episodes even more fun, and there are plenty of entertaining episodes. That’s especially true for the May 13th episode this year, which asked the question of whether it’s time to abandon previous generation consoles. There were definitely some strong opinions on this episode.
Listen to Game Scoop! on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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Best for Industry Insiders: GamesIndustry.Biz
Nearly every gaming podcast focuses on the industry at large and what’s the next big reveal or announcement on the horizon. GamesIndustry.Biz goes down a different path and focuses more on industry analysis, financial impacts, and game development.
Guiding you through these complex topics is a cast of industry insiders who converse with both a passion and deep knowledge of the industry. A recent podcast with former Nintendo CEO, Reggie Fils-Aimé, showed the true nature of this podcast as they tackled tough topics.
Other topics that help separate this podcast are a deep look at if the time has come for in-game marketing to go away or how the industry responded to the invasion of Ukraine.
These are topics most podcasts would steer clear of, so it’s refreshing to have one strong gaming podcast not shy away from the tough issues facing the $160 billion industry.
Listen to GamesIndustry.Biz on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Best Official Podcast: Nintendo Power Podcast
Sure, it’s an official podcast from Nintendo, so don’t expect much in the way of tough topics. However, the Nintendo Power Podcast does everything right for a podcast from the biggest name in gaming.
For fans of the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo consoles long before it, there’s something very nostalgic with the Nintendo Power name. Trying to capture the magic of the once beloved magazine is done well by the hosts.
In under an hour, the team covers everything from game reviews and previews, but it’s the nostalgia that really captures you. Point in case is the August 27th, 2021 episode which celebrated 30 years of the Super Nintendo. The hosts talked through their favorite games and memories of this incredible console of the past.
As someone who thinks the SNES is the best game system of all time, the nostalgia hit hard in the best way.
Listen to the Nintendo Power Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Best for Guests: Call Me By Your Game
Gaming podcasts are often as much about the conversation between hosts and guests as they are about the topic of gaming. No place is this more true than Call Me By Your Game, where conversation is the name of the game.
Hosted by Connor McCabe, Call Me By Your Game emphasizes nostalgia and does so with a new guest every week. It’s incredibly engaging to tune in every week to hear about a different game with a different guest. You never quite know what system or generation console is going to turn up, and that’s almost as fun as listening.
A favorite listen is the 12th episode on Marvel vs. Capcom 2, a fan-favorite fighting game that has seen a surge in popularity as of late. The passion with which this game is discussed makes it clear that everyone involved really loves these games.
Tune in to Call Me By Your Game on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Best for Stories: Triple Click
When three former Kotaku staffers decided to start their own podcast, Triple Click, little did they know it would become one of the best in the gaming world.
Kirk Hamilton, Jason Schreier, and Maddy Myers all bring a wealth of knowledge about gaming that makes you feel instantly connected.
Jason Schreier, in particular, has an excellent perspective as the author of two of the best gaming books you can read today. For that reason alone, you should listen to their show weekly, but it’s more than that. Along with regular guests, the hosts are journalists at heart and they approach every topic from that angle.
The May 12th, 2022 show on why video games leak showed exactly why you should listen to Triple Click. There’s a deep level of industry knowledge that ensures you aren’t getting fluffy answers or unnecessary conversation. It’s all business, but also tons of fun with plenty of laughs.
Listen to Triple Click on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Best for Media: People Make Games
The newest podcast on this list, People Make Games, with host, Chris Bratt, is all about interviewing the people who talk, write and discuss your favorite games. Episodes are infrequent with often a month or two in-between, but they are worth the listen every time a new episode drops.
As two of the largest gaming properties online, both the podcast with Tina Amini, former Editor-in-Chief at IGN, and Kotaku’s current Editor-in-Chief, Patricia Hernandez, are incredible fun. The paths that each took to get to the top of their respective publications is a fascinating look at gaming media at large. The stories they tell and the love they have for gaming is so apparent that you want to listen to each episode twice.
Even as we wish for more episodes, the current catalog of 10 episodes and counting leaves the door open for hundreds of more interviews with gaming media past and present.
Listen to People Make Games on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
What to Know Before Listening to a Gaming Podcast
Before you listen to any gaming podcast, you will want to consider a couple of factors before making your choice.
Make sure you’re choosing a gaming podcast that aligns with your interests. While many of the best podcasts about gaming are generally open to many different topics, there are niche podcasts, like People Make Games, that won’t appeal to a general gamer. That’s where Giant Bombcast comes in as it’s the best gaming podcast for the widest range of interests around games.
You will also want to consider if there is anything you want to learn. Perhaps you want to get into the gaming industry. GamesIndustry.biz is a fascinating look behind the curtains of the industry, its financials, and the challenges it faces. You won’t find a better listen that tells you all about the seedy side of this huge industry.
The last thing to keep in mind is that the hosts, as the ‘who,’ often mean as much, if not more, than the ‘what.’ It’s fair to say that not every host is going to be someone you want to listen to. How Did This Get Played? is the best option if you want to laugh out loud while talking about games. On the flip side, having a women’s perspective with What’s Good Games brings an important take on gaming, all while having such engaging hosts.
For those that have a true passion for gaming or just want something to listen to while commuting, the 10 best podcasts about gaming will cover everything from current generation consoles, retro gaming, and PC releases.
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