You may have already seen that Xbox has a new CEO, Asha Sharma, and she's pledged not to "flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop".

The news was announced on the Microsoft website, and it's sparked no shortage of passionate discussion among the gaming community.

The fact that Matt Booty, a familiar face to Xbox fans, was promoted to CCO in the same announcement, doesn't seem to have dampened the discourse at all. These are very passionate responses we're seeing from Xbox players.

If you dig a little deeper into the Microsoft announcement blog, you'll find a lengthy statement from Sharma that explains her priorities for Xbox going forward. There's a lot of sense being spoken here, we'd argue.

There are three key priorities that Sharma outlines for her new regime - great games, the return of Xbox, and the future of play. She makes some good points in each section, in this writer's opinion.

Under 'great games', Sharma says, "Everything begins here. We must have great games beloved by players before we do anything. Unforgettable characters, stories that make us feel, innovative game play, and creative excellence.

"We will empower our studios, invest in iconic franchises, and back bold new ideas. We will take risks. We will enter new categories and markets where we can add real value, grounded in what players care about most."

Fans who want bigger exclusives from Xbox, and more frequent outings for their iconic characters like Master Chief, should receive some hope from that statement.

Under 'return of Xbox', Sharma adds, "We will celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are. It connects us to the players and fans who invest in Xbox, and to the developers who build ambitious experiences for it.

"Gaming now lives across devices, not within the limits of any single piece of hardware. As we expand across PC, mobile, and cloud, Xbox should feel seamless, instant, and worthy of the communities we serve. We will break down barriers so developers can build once and reach players everywhere without compromise."

In this section, fans of Xbox hardware should note keenly that Sharma says "starting with console" before she mentions any other platforms. As much as Xbox has a big cloud business, there's still a core audience that wants an actual Xbox plugged into their TV.

And under future of play, Sharma notes, "To meet the moment, we will invent new business models and new ways to play by leaning into what we already have: iconic teams, characters, and worlds that people love.

"But we will not treat those worlds as static IP to milk and monetize. We will build a shared platform and tools that empower developers and players to create and share their own stories.

"As monetization and AI evolve and influence this future, we will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop. Games are and always will be art, crafted by humans, and created with the most innovative technology provided by us."

There's no shortage of fear about AI taking game development jobs away from humans, so people in the industry should take some assurance from this promise.

Of course, it's easy to say something, but it's harder to actually achieve it. As this new era of Xbox begins, we wish Sharma all the best. If she can deliver on these promises, we're sure the discourse will change dramatically and she'll be hailed as a hero. Here's hoping that's what happens.

Read more: New free Xbox Game Pass games confirmed for February 2026

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

If you're reading this, you must be stuck on the High on Life 2 tax quiz. This wizard (also known as Finance Wiz James Stevenson) sure does value fiscal prowess, am I right?

It's worth noting that you can bypass this quiz altogether - if you don't want to stand around and answer tax questions, you can walk straight ahead and solve a puzzle instead to gain access to the castle.

However, if you skip the quiz, you will be giving up your chance to get one of the High on Life 2 missable trophies. There's an achievement named 'Why do you know all that stuff?' which is only getable at this point in the game, and you'll only earn if you ace the quiz.

So, if you want to boss the quiz and earn that achievement, read on for the answers. We won't tell if you don't.

High on Life 2 wizard riddle answers: How to get full marks in the tax quiz explained

All the answers you need for the wizard's tax-based riddles are below! Note that, if you get a question wrong, he'll just keep asking them again and again until you get full marks. That is, unless you skip past him and solve the puzzle instead.

In part eight of my fifteen-part webinar The Grind Runs From You, how is nontaxable income defined?

Nontaxable income is income that is not subject to taxes, like some municipal bond interest or disability benefits.

In section 13Q of Pefie Truffet’s How to Get Rich on the Backs of Others, how are current taxable year fixed liability terms explained in paragraph F451?

Liabilities are what you owe other parties.

In section 27J of the galactic tax code referendum, what does it say under the capital gains header in paragraph R?

The gain may be short-term or long-term.

In section 318X of The Income Tax: A Study of the History, Theory and Practice of Income Taxation at Home and Abroad, what is the deduction example of adjusted gross income - aka: AGI - listed in footnote 12.2?

Interest on student loans can be deducted from your gross income.

In section 6Z of Tobin’s Spirit Guide & Accounting Glossary, what does it say about casualty loss in chapter 14?

Casualty losses are caused by the complete or partial destruction of property resulting from an unexpected event, such as floods, storms, fires, etc.

In section 93P of the accounting lunar law handbook, how are intangible fixed assets discussed in paragraph H17.5?

Amortization of an intangible fixed asset periodically lowers its value over a set period of time.

When you've finished the quiz, head inside and prepare for a big boss battle! One of them most memorable ones in the game, in fact.

Once this quest is done, you will have a few High on Life 2 bounties still to go, but your collection of High on Life 2 guns is pretty much done - that is, unless you haven't found the BALL Guys yet!

For more intel on High on Life 2, you could also check out our developer interview from before the launch. You can even watch it in the video player below, if you're short of things to do.

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

If you're playing High on Life 2 and you've spotted the unusable BALL Gun just chilling in your quarters, you might be wondering what that's all about.

This weapon was added in the first game's High on Knife DLC, but it's a little harder to get in High on Life 2 - because the BALL Guys, three little blue men who make it work, have gone missing!

Finding the BALL Guys will take some effort on your part, as they're all tied to different side missions that you might not stumble upon without knowing where to look.

These three little dudes will feed pinball-style balls into the gun for you, but you're going to have to find them first! The BALL Gun is great for crowd control, as it lets you drop down three pinball bumpers, enabling your ball to fly around between them and hit multiple enemies in a row.

We've got a video guide to explain the BALL Guys' locations in the player above (or you can watch it on YouTube). Use the time codes below to hunt down each of these BALL Guys and bring them back into the fold of your servitude.

• 00:14 Ball Guy 1 location
• 02:56 Ball Guy 2 location
• 08:18 Get the fishing rod (you'll need it for the next part)
• 10:03 Ball Guy 3 location
• 10:52 Pick up the Ball Gun
• 11:28 Ball Gun gameplay

Or if you prefer written guides, we've got you covered below!

High on Life 2 BALL Guys locations: How to get the BALL Gun explained

If you were hoping that you'd stumble upon the Ball Guys simply by the playing the story, think again! Each Ball Guy is tied up in a different side quest. We've got the key details below to help you tick off each of these jobs.

Ball Guy 1 location in High on Life 2

Ball Guy 1 is located in the Harbour area, specifically in the Town. Head there in the RV. When you land, turn right and you will see the building pictured above (a brown building with a curved roof).

You will need to use Bowie's special power to open the door and get inside this night club. (If you haven't unlocked Bowie yet, you don't have all the High on Life 2 guns you'll need for this job – you'll have to to push through the main story a bit more before you can tackle this side quest).

Once you're in the club, head into the far right corner and speak with the people at the DJ booth to start a dance-off. This Guitar Hero-like rhythm mini game shouldn't take you too long. You'll be given Ball Guy 1 as your reward for completing it.

Ball Guy 2 location in High on Life 2

Ball Guy 2 is located Downtown, specifically in the City Plaza area. Head here in the RV. Once you land, go up the flight of stairs to your right (picture above).

At the top of the flight of stairs, turn right and walk in that direction until you find a taxi driver asking for help. Pick up his side quest to begin your mission to bring home Ball Guy 2.

The taxi driver will ask you to pick up some passengers and ferry them around town. You'll need to look around the Downtown area until you find them all (we counted six, and it didn't seem to matter that we failed with a couple of them).

When you're done, return to the taxi driver (he won't have moved from the first place you met him). He'll give you one final challenge, and once you've done that, he'll reward you for your Crazy Taxi shenanigans by giving you Ball Guy 2.

How to get the fishing rod in High on Life 2

Before you can get Ball Guy 3, you will need to pick up the fishing rod (who is, of course, a living being called Rod). If you already have this, you can skip to the next section of this article.

The fishing rod in High on Life 2 is located in the Harbour region, specifically in the Beach region. Travel there using the RV, and when you land, consult the image above. You'll need to jump across this little bit of water to find the fisherman sat there.

Speak to him, and he'll ask your help to dislodge his fishing boat. Turn to the water, and use Travis's special ability to send the boat flying into the air. Once you've done this, the fisherman will give you the rod, parting with his best friend in the process.

Ball Guy 3 location in High on Life 2

Ball Guy 3 is located in the Zoo, and you can start at the Gift Shop to begin your hunt for him. Once you're at the Zoo, head to where the player is located in the map above (right down in the bottom right corner).

In the bottom right corner of the map, you will find a fishing spot. Settle down here with Rod, and keep fishing until you find a Ball Guy. In our experience, he was the third golden 'fish' that we found in this spot.

And if you're new to fishing in High on Life 2, our main tip is to jiggle both sticks on your controller when the fish is nearly caught. This takes some getting used to, but once you understand the process, it gets a lot easier.

Now that you have all three Ball Guys, how do you actually get the Ball Gun? Simply return to your quarters, interact with the tank near the white board, and pick up the gun on top of it.

You're now free to enjoy one of the most fun guns in the game! Hopefully, you agree that it was worth the effort. And if you'd like to learn more about High on Life 2, check out our big interview with the developers.

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

"It's very experimental," creative director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz revealed, "because not many games do this."

Before we go any further, please be aware that you can hear the full version of this conversation on the Radio Times Gaming podcast feed or YouTube channel.

Tomaszkiewicz spoke to us at the Gamescom conference about The Blood of Dawnwalker, the upcoming vampire game that he — and many other former Witcher 3 developers — have started their own company to build.

He was explaining the game’s time system, which will force players to make tricky decisions. There are a limited number of hours in every in-game day, and you only have a set number of those days to save your character’s abducted wife.

Tomaszkiewicz told us: "First of all, we wanted it to feel like the time matters. You know, there is this feeling of urgency to objectives. And we wanted you to actually think, ‘Do I want to do this? Or do I want to do that? How do I want to spend this resource?’

"At the same time, we don't want this artificial pressure that will stop you from exploring the world, for example, right? You do get clear communication from the game at every point."

Indeed, we did see this mechanic at play in a hands-off Gamescom demo. We saw that certain actions, like committing to a side quest, will spend a certain amount of your time, which the game flags to you nice and clearly.

Tomaszkiewicz said, "As you could have seen in the build, for example, the quest objectives tell you like how many time segments are you gonna spend if you're gonna finish these objectives. Sometimes, specific dialogue options can lead to spending time segments."

"We call it ‘time as a resource,’" Tomaszkiewicz added. He also clarified that, "Just standing in one place is not gonna cost you any time. So, the time is kind of waiting for you to perform these actions."

If you’re looking for a comparison point to make this system make sense in your mind, Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz mentions Persona, and his colleague/brother Konrad Tomaszkiewicz points to the first two Fallout games from the nineties.

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the game director and CEO of developer Rebel Wolves, chimed in and said, "Spoiler alert, but we're speaking about it in the interviews; your main goal in the game is to help your abducted family.

"And you know that, in some time, something can happen to them. And you cannot build the proper tension, and emotions, if you know that they'll be there forever. You cannot do, story-wise, this thing. That's why we added the system to show you that the clock ticks, and stuff will happen."

"Our game structure is totally different than the games you know," Konrad Tomaszkiewicz added.

But we couldn’t help but wonder, what happens if you don’t save your family in time? Is it a full ‘game over’ situation?

Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz teased, "We don't wanna spoil it for the players. I would say, we treat it more as a choice and consequence thing, than a game over thing. This much I can tell you."

We got to see a lengthy hands-off demo of the game, and the time-spending system did look pretty cool, although we're sure it will take some getting used to.

The game’s day-night cycle also impacts your gameplay options. By day, the player-character (a 14th century chap by the name of Coen) can walk around like an ordinary person and try to talk or punch his way through situations.

By night, he becomes a form of vampire with added stealth, traversal and combat options. But if you wait until nighttime to do everything, you’ll be wasting valuable time and your family will inch closer to peril.

It looks like a fun game, and we very much look forward to getting our hands on it. Watch this space, and we’ll be sure to bring you more coverage as the release nears.

The Blood of Dawnwalker will release in 2026 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. You can wishlist the game now.

Read more about upcoming games:

• LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight producer talks Arkham inspiration
• Scott Pilgrim EX creators "wouldn't call it a traditional beat 'em up"
• Directive 8020 boss promises "a huge leap forward for the series"
• Resident Evil Requiem preview: Remixing the greatest hits

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

It's finally time for FC 26 TOTY, and the voting is now open!

The promo has players vote for the best players in the world from the previous year, with the winners receiving hugely upgraded promo cards.

You can now vote, so here's what you need to know about the promo release date, how to vote and the full list of nominees.

2025 is over, and you know what that means – FC 26 TOTY is about to arrive!

The yearly promo sees players vote for their Team of the Year, with the very best players in both the men's and women's games getting huge promo cards.

With voting about to start, here's what you need to know about the FC 26 TOTY voting and when the promo might begin.

When will FC 26 TOTY be released? Our speculation

We would predict that FC 26 TOTY cards will start being released on or around Friday 16th January 2026.

Again, we’ve based this prediction on last year’s drop, which saw the first set of cards (attackers) being released two Fridays after the voting began.

We would expect to see a number of different drops on consecutive Fridays. Last year, the first week saw the attackers, the second week gave us the full men’s and women’s squads, and the fourth week unleashed the 12th Man and 12th Woman.

As for UK launch times, it tends to be 6pm GMT on Fridays for FC drops. Of course, EA could buck tradition at any point, but we’d be surprised to see that happen with such a reliable promo as this.

FC 26 TOTY voting and nominees

Voting for FC 26 TOTY began on 7th January 2026, and you can vote now on the EA Sports FC website.

As ever, the nominees are split between men's and women's teams, and by positions.

Here is the full list of FC 26 TOTY nominees:

Men's TOTY nominees

Goalkeeper

• Alisson
• Thibaut Courtois
• David Raya
• Gianluigi Donnarumma
• Manuel Neuer
• Jan Oblak
• Mile Svilar

Defenders 

• Alessandro Bastoni
• Denzel Dumfries
• Gabriel
• Marc Guéhi
• Dean Huijsen
• Jules Koundé
• Marc Cucurella
• Marcos Llorente
• Marquinhos
• Maximilian Mittelstädt
• Nuno Mendes
• Willian Pacho
• Andre Rațiu
• David Raum
• Amir Rrahmani
• William Saliba
• Nico Schlotterbeck
• Jonathan Tah
• Micky van de Ven
• Virgil van Dijk

Midfielders

• Maghnes Akliouche
• Salem Al Dawsari
• Nicolò Barella
• Jude Bellingham
• Bruno Guimarães
• Moisés Caicedo
• Frenkie de Jong
• Luis Díaz
• Ritsu Doan
• Evander
• Ryan Gravenberch
• Grimaldo
• Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
• João Neves
• Joshua Kimmich
• Lamine Yamal
• Riyad Mahrez
• Scott McTominay
• Jamal Musiala
• Nico Paz
• Nico Williams
• Felix Nmecha
• Michael Elise
• Riccardo Orsolini
• Cole Palmer
• Pedro
• Raphinha
• Declan Rice
• Mohamed Salah
• Angelo Stiller
• Corentin Tolisso
• Federico Valverde
• Vitinha
• Kenan Yıldız
• André-Frank Zambo Anguissa

Attackers

• Julián Alvarez
• Antony
• Ayoze
• Bradley Barcola
• Karim Benzema
• Cristiano Ronaldo
• Ousmane Dembélé
• Désiré Doué
• Anders Dreyer
• Emanuel Emegha
• Serhou Guirassy
• Viktor Gyökeres
• Erling Haaland
• Harry Kane
• Moise Kean
• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
• Robert Lewandowski
• Romelu Lukaku
• Lautaro Martínez
• Jean-Philippe Mateta
• Kylian Mbappé
• Bryan Mbeumo
• Lionel Messi
• Christian Pulisic
• Patrik Schick
• Heung-min Son
• Vini Jr.

Women's TOTY nominees

Goalkeepers

• Christiane Endler
• Hannah Hampton
• Lorena
• Chiamaka Nnadozie
• Constance Picaud

Defenders

• Selma Bacha
• Millie Bright
• Lucy Bronze
• Ellie Carpenter
• Emily Fox
• Vanessa Giles
• Giulia Gwinn
• Lauren
• Katie McCabe
• Tara McKeown
• Nerea Nevado
• Olga Carmona
• Wendie Renard
• Izzy Rodriguez
• Kayla Sharples
• Leah Williamson

Midfielders

• Aitana Bonmatí
• Alexia Putellas
• Bernadette Amani
• Sandy Baltimore
• Klara Bühl
• Delphine Cascarino
• Sam Coffey
• Erin Cuthbert
• Kenza Dali
• Fiamma Benítez
• Taylor Flint
• Laura Freigang
• Vanessa Fudalla
• Manuela Giugliano
• Pernille Harder
• Yui Hasegawa
• Lindsey Heaps
• Svenja Huth
• Sakina Karchaoui
• Chloe Kelly
• Rose Lavelle
• Mariona
• Marta
• Janina Minge
• Olivia Moultrie
• Patri Guijarro
• Trinity Rodman
• Georgia Stanway
• Ella Toone
• Vicky López
• Selina Vobian
• Keira Walsh
• Caroline Weir

Attackers

• Alba Redondo
• Lineth Beerensteyn
• Mathilde Bourdieu
• Linda Caicedo
• Sofia Cantore
• Selina Cerci
• Tabitha Chawinga
• Temwa Chawinga
• Claudia Pina
• Kadidiatou Diani
• Melchie Dumornay
• Elena Julve
• Esther
• Cristiana Girelli
• Caroline Graham Hansen
• Edna Imade
• Clara Mateo
• Manaka Matsukubo
• Larissa Mühlhaus
• Ewa Pajor
• Alexandra Popp
• Géraldine Reuteler
• Alessia Russo
• Emma Sears
• Khadija Shaw

Voting should last for about a week – looking back at last year, it ended on Sunday 12th January, and the voting will take place on the official EA Sports FC website.

Read more:

• FC 26 best formations and tactics explained
• FC 26 cheap 84, 85, 86, 87 and 88-rated players in Ultimate Team
• FC 26 wonderkids: Best young players with high Career Mode potential

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Walton Goggins has arrived in Fallout 76. Yep, you read that right! Prime Video's Fallout TV show is crossing over with the video game franchise that birthed it in a pretty major way.

Goggins's iconic TV character The Ghoul is hosting a new bounty hunting feature, which is available in the game now (ahead of Fallout season 2).

That bounty hunting feature dropped in a big new update, Burning Springs, which also adds a new region to the north-west area of the map.

This new region, Ohio, has been inspired by Fallout 3 and New Vegas, to make sure it thematically resonates with the vibe of Fallout season 2.

One of the key points of interest in this new region is Highway Town, where you’ll find The Ghoul doing some shady business in a bar called The Last Resort. He has a huge stack of bounties to hunt, and you’re gonna help him do exactly that.

To get ahead of the game on this one, Radio Times Gaming travelled to New York City to chat with two of the key developers of Fallout 76 about this exciting new development. So, how did they end up getting The Ghoul himself?

Fallout 76 creative director Jonathan Rush told us: “So, it kind of happened organically. You know, with the new region, we wanted to figure out what the tentpole feature of the new update would be, and something that captured the spirit of that region and also the broader strokes of player feedback came to be bounty hunting, right?”

Rush continued: “And so, who better to host a bounty hunting feature than Walton Goggins? As The Ghoul. I mean, there's nothing better. So yeah, Walton Goggins, of course, being a big fan of Fallout, being a big fan of the games, this was a very, very easy fit to have this character be in this update.

“It was great getting the script written out. There were some writers on our side and a writer on the show side, and they were collaborating there and getting the script into a good place. And, of course, that all comes together once Walton Goggins has that, as like a starting point, and he then really crafts that into his own character, which is The Ghoul.”

What was it like, then, actually seeing Goggins in the booth delivering lines as The Ghoul? “It's amazing,” Rush admitted. “It was amazing watching him record these lines. I found it just astonishing, seeing how quickly he could just transform into The Ghoul, and you're not hearing Walton Goggins anymore. You're hearing The Ghoul. To me, that was just magical.”

Jumping into the game ourselves, we tried to exhaust the dialogue options with The Ghoul to see what has brought him to Appalachia. After some probing, he did obliquely refer to a bounty that he followed out here, but he doesn’t get into details.

“We don't really explain why he's there,” Rush told us. “He's simply there being The Ghoul. He's The Ghoul, as we would expect. He's The Ghoul, doing something that The Ghoul would do, with bounty hunting.

“And so, taking it even further than that for this patch, for this update, didn't really seem wholly necessary. That's not to say that, perhaps, down the road, we learn more, or maybe we don't. But that's part of, I think, the allure, it's the mystery of The Ghoul.

During our couple of hours of playtime with the new update, the bounty system revolving around The Ghoul proved to be very playable and enjoyable indeed.

There are two different types of bounties you can pick up from The Ghoul — there are smaller ‘grunt hunts’ that you could happily handle on your own, and there are larger ‘head hunts’ that function more like raid battles, with other online players joining you to take on a more powerful enemy as a group.

In both of these bounty types, there was a lot of humour to be found in the gameplay. The first grunt hunt we took on was just a scientist wandering around (very Fallout season 1 vibes), who didn’t put up much of a fight. This, in itself, was quite comical as we turned our very well-armed level 300 characters against him.

One of the most memorable head hunts that we faced featured a very powerful old lady in a suit of souped up power armour. This was much trickier, even with a whole group of level 300 players. It’s a very good sign that, every time someone started a head hunt, I immediately wanted to drop what I was doing and join in with the fun.

Certainly, The Ghoul feels right at home in Fallout 76, and it makes sense in the Fallout timeline that he would be alive and active at this point in the overarching story. Bring it on!

Fallout 76: Burning Springs is out now.

Read More:

• Is Fallout 76 good now? We asked its producer this trending question
• Fallout 5 release date speculation: Latest news on the next Fallout game
• Ella Purnell reacts to Fallout's "overwhelming" success

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.