Defining Duke: An Xbox Podcast

Today, we tested the Brad curse. It worked.

Timestamps:

Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.

0:00 - Intro
02:55 - Our favorite games from this week
15:41 - Is the GTA 6 threat overexaggerated?
24:33 - The great PlayStation vs Xbox Originality debate
43:24 - Asha Sharma vs Phil Spencer
50:33 - The Brad Curse becomes real
1:18:05 - Xbox confirms “reliable pipeline of exclusives”
1:48:42 - The Gears Of War PS5 Fiasco
1:58:37 - Xbox lost millions of Game Pass subs after price hike
2:05:47 - Fable gets 30 minutes of new gameplay
2:24:45 - Halo: Campaign Evolved gets 28 minutes of new gameplay
2:42:01 - Gears Of E-Day is the longest campaign yet
2:44:40 - Premium editions for Halo, Gears, and Fable
2:54:21 - Project Mara is officially canceled
2:59:05 - Blade is still alive
3:01:28 - What We’re Playing
3:28:44 - Is Xbox trying to cut hardware prices?
3:44:03 - Wrap Up

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Xbox's 2026 summer showcase has come and gone! As per usual, it was a relatively strong showing featuring big reveals and welcome surprises, yet it still managed to put up a few big head scratchers. Fortunately, the good outweighed the bad. For starters, the hardcore Xbox community has deeply yearned for the return to exclusivity. After months of lip service, Xbox is taking action by making Gears Of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution console exclusive. Obviously, that leaves us with many questions! Why these two games? What data do they hope to collect from them? Is Xbox appeasing their hardcore community for enough time to help rebuild the base before transitioning to a fully PC ecosystem? Beyond the strategy updates, we have plenty of good games! Halo, State Of Decay, A Plague Tale: Resonance, Persona 6, a new Spryo, Vivarium, and a chockful of other delightful looking games all made their presence felt. Unfortunately, Xbox has decided for what is technically a third year in a row to round out a showcase on a Call Of Duty game. Combined with a predictably lacking performance by Bethesda and the otherwise strong showcase experiences some serious lows. Last, but not least, we got an extended showing for Gears Of War: E-Day. Did Coalition's return to the essence of this franchise go off without a hitch? We discuss!

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Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.
0:00:00 - Intro
0:06:45 - General Impressions
0:19:04 - Commitment to Console Exclusivity
0:38:30 -Fable
0:48:31 - Halo Campaign Evolved
0:53:12 - A Plague Tale: Resonance
0:57:10 - Persona 4 Revival
1:06:31 - State of Decay 3
1:12:15 - Sea of Thieves Season 20
1:15:22 - Metro 2039
1:20:36 - Bad Magpie
1:22:31 - Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember
1:25:08 - Join Us
1:26:30 - Senua
1:34:00 - Fallout 76: Infestations
1:44:44 - DOOM: The Dark Ages – Revelations
1:48:23 - Crazy Taxi World Tour
1:54:04 - 25th Anniversary Hardware
1:57:54 - Age of Empires IV Expansion
1:58:56 - Minecraft Dungeons 2
2:00:38 - Magicians: The Devil's Deal
2:02:07 - Valor Mortis
2:04:26 - ESO – Season One Teaser
2:07:49 - Flight Simulator World Update 22
2:09:12 - Where Winds Meet
2:09:49 - Castlevania: Belmont's Curse
2:11:59 - Vivarium
2:18:34 - Persona 6
2:29:08  - Spyro: A Realm Beyond
2:32:14 - Clockwork Revolution
2:42:10 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
2:54:30 - Gears of War: E-Day
3:14:22 - Wrap Up

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It's officially showcase season! As tradition dictates, Rand Al Thor 19 of Xbox Two joins the Dukes for a smorgasbord of predictions! This year, we approach things a touch differently. Yes, we get into every (!) first party studio under the Xbox folder as per usual. However, 2026 marks the first Asha Sharma led summer showcase. With many business decisions up in the air ranging from exclusivity to hardware, this feels like a great time for Xbox's new lead to truly put her mark on the brand. With the "This is an Xbox" slogan out the window, will Xbox dare to don the logos of other platforms on their own stage? What of Project Helix? Much of Asha's rallying cry has been around "Return to XBOX." So, is it too early to show what Helix is truly made of during the 25th anniversary year of the brand? Will the shortage on consumer electronics plague what could be a massive announcement for the brand? Indeed, this showcase is a central point for a lot of business decisions that Asha could make in front of a crowd. Given this is her first showcase, the trio discusses what her "Hail Mary" moment can be. Is it time for a new Elder Scrolls VI trailer? Hi Fi Rush 2? Persona 6 or Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3? A sequel to Fallout: New Vegas? There are many avenues for Xbox's new lead to take! Join us as we debate the appearance of over 30 first party studios, dig into third party partnerships, and stew over what could be a monumental showcase for the brand!

Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.

0:00:00 - Intro
0:11:18 - Exclusivity
0:43:01 - Hardware
1:06:13 - Activision
1:17:28 - Arkane
1:25:33 - Bethesda Game Studios
1:35:38 - Coalition
1:41:07 - Compulsion
1:42:44 - Double Fine
1:45:13 - Halo Studios
1:59:38 - iD Software
2:03:45 - InXile
2:18:42 - MachineGames
2:27:09 - Mojang
2:29:05 - Ninja Theory
2:32:13 - Obsidian Entertainment
2:38:00 - Playground
2:48:14 - Rare
2:53:22 - Turn 10
2:54:11 - Undead Labs
2:59:27 - World's Edge
3:02:08 - Xbox Game Studios Publishing

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The Belgium Beauty joins once more as the Dukes combine to tackle our favorite topic: EXCLUSIVITY! Yes, PlayStation appears dead set on reverting to the ways of old as news has come in via Bloomberg. Moving forward, all PlayStation single player games will be exclusive to the console. With the launch of Xbox Player Voice, fans are louder than ever about exclusivity on the other side and as we approach the June showcase season, the topic has reached a fever pitch. Through a combination of our brains and your write ins, we leave no stone unturned. Is this good for gaming? Are Xbox and PlayStation doing all this to remove any semblance of power from Steam? Can Xbox ever untether themselves from Steam? We dig through it all and much more!

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Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.

0:00:00 - Intro
0:03:34 - Health Is Wealth
0:50:02 - Comment boys
0:55:58 - Quick summer showcase wishlist
1:03:08 - Tough decisions in September
1:18:30 - Xbox is now XBOX
1:24:43 - Forza Horizon 6 surpasses 1 million players in early access
1:27:42 - Warhorse is making a Lord Of The Rings RPG
1:49:40 - The Colin Moriarty PlayStation Hack
2:10:30 - PlayStation is returning to exclusivity
2:54:39 - We almost got Star Wars: The New Republic
3:14:58 - What We’re Playing

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What's this?! The esteemed 'Belgium Beauty' as part of the Dukes in 2026?! Indeed, it's Lock and Matty here to sprinkle some extra fun in the world of Xbox where the news never stops moving! This week, we have two types of leaks: A fun release window... and an actual game ahead of its launch. Starting with the fun stuff, Gears Of War: E-Day is looking to take a slot in what will, no doubt, be an extremely busy September. How it leaked is the fun part! In the not so fun stuff, Xbox themselves leaked Forza Horizon 6 via Steam. Fortunately, it is very close to the game's launch, but there is more to this story. How did this go down and should there be any panic? Let's dive in!
Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.
0:00:00 - Intro
0:03:42 - Health Is Wealth
0:08:37 - The Xbox-Discord partnership is official
0:21:22 - Forza Horizon 6 leaks online ahead of launch
0:28:22 - Ken Levine on why Judas took a decade to make
0:47:07 - eBay rejects Gamestop’s offer
0:55:40 - Lies Of P sequel in full production
1:10:19 - PlayStation first party is diving into the world of AI tools
1:31:10 - SEGA cancels Super Game
1:38:02 - The Bungie acquisition gets uglier
1:48:57 - 007 First Light claps back at FPS jokes
2:00:38 - Switch 2 price hike is here
2:06:12 - Game sales update
2:09:47 - What We’re Playing
2:57:03 - Gears Of War E-Day appears set for September
3:06:45 - Wrap up

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It appears that Xbox got sick of the whole weekly negative news cycle schtick and has decided to go in the other direction. Is this week's news truly all that positive? I sincerely depends on how you look at it and nobody will actually know until much later. Asha Sharma has made new additions to her leadership team. Sarah Bond's former team has been replaced by alumni of Meta, Instacart, and CoreAI which all happen to be people that worked with Asha at the same time she led those respective companies. Is this the invasion of AI into Xbox as we initially feared? We get into that, but there's almost zero doubt that Xbox anticipated this because they pulled out quite the plot twist. Copilot for console and mobile is stopped, effective immediately. So, while there is more AI focused leadership than ever in Xbox, they also just axed one of the worst things the brand started rolling out last year. How do the Dukes feel about all of this? Well, that's why you're here, no? Pull up a chair, relax, and let's talk about Xbox some more before Brad returns and ruins it all.
Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.
0:00:00 - Intro
0:09:13 - Health Is Wealth
0:16:28 - Halo 2 & 3 reportedly being remade
0:38:22 - New Xbox boot up screen for the first time in 6 years
0:42:12 - Jez Corden’s latest Xbox exclusivity scoop
1:10:20 - GameStop is trying to acquire eBay
1:17:06 - Steam Machine pre orders soon?
1:21:17 - PS4 and XB1 may finally be on the way out
1:27:54 - Bank Of America wants higher priced games
1:33:03 - NBA: The Run revealed and arrives June 2026
1:38:00 - Are content creators heavily influencing the conversation?
1:56:15 - Marathon has story plans for the next few years
1:59:00 - Looking ahead at May 2026 game releases
2:27:17 - What We’re Playing
3:10:04 - Xbox is giving up Copilot and bringing in a new leadership group

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The Dukes are finally reunited and what a week to do that! In a massive writeup on the Xbox Wire, we are seeing Asha Sharma and Matt Booty practically walk back on everything that the old regime stood for. Exclusivity is back under consideration, the "Microsoft Gaming" label is being ditched, and Xbox is focusing on their console. Just like old times! Perhaps most surprising with this blog post is the clear addressing of pain points for this brand: High prices, lacking PC presence, poor discovery tools, and most notably, disenchanted, frustrated players. The focus now for Xbox is daily active players. What does all of this mean and is this enough word salad to buy into? The globetrotting Dukes have you fine folks covered, so let's dig in.

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Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.
0:00:00 - Intro
0:42:20 - Xbox Game Pass “Starter Edition” leaks
0:49:16 - Asha Sharma on Xbox Helix timing and pricing
0:54:41 - PS5 DRM drama
1:07:15 - Valve drops updates on Steam Machine, Controller, and Deck 2
1:12:56 - Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced officially revealed
1:22:51 - Far Cry show director says the worst things imaginable
1:27:23 - Assassin’s Creed Hexe loses a ton of key staff
1:32:56 - RPG developer Spiders is shutting down
1:41:30 - New information on Blood Of Dawnwalker
1:50:26 - Alien Isolation 2 teaser
1:51:46 - What We’re Playing
2:30:29 - Xbox shares massive update on the future of the brand

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The first 60 Days of Asha Sharma's tenure has been MORE than eventful! News of an Xbox Game Pass price drop and removal of Day One Call Of Duty from the service has reverberated throughout the games industry. What does this unprecedented price drop mean for Game Pass, future tier integrations, and COD moving forward? Cog enlists the unique perspective of Ebontis to break down all these ramifications. Beyond that, a fun Asha Sharma vs Shawn Layden interaction "debate", bold statements from Jason Ronald on Project Helix, and a huge week of Xbox news!

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Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.
0:00:00 - Intro
0:05:18 - Health Is Wealth
0:15:56 - warmups
0:21:38 - Jason Ronald shuts down 3rd-party Helix console rumors
0:30:37 - Starfield’s PS5 numbers are in
0:42:54 - Asha Sharma wants to chat with Shawn Layden
0:58:19 - Does Major Nelson want to go back to Xbox?
1:03:23 - Shuhei Yoshida reveals that Jim Ryan fired him
1:16:15 - Metro 2039 revealed
1:20:19 - Mass Effect showrunner denies rewrite reports
1:29:38 - Pragmata sells 1 million copies in 2 days
1:34:22 - Gears Of War movie update
1:39:05 - Former Halo executive and Xbox Film/TV lead has left Microsoft
1:42:38 - Elden Ring movie gets release window and casting details
1:45:55 - Xbox Unveils Forza Horizon 6 Controller And Headset
1:49:39 - What We’re Playing
2:46:40 - Xbox drops Game Pass price and Day 1 Call Of Duty from the service
3:19:41 - Halo Studios reportedly abandons battle royale?

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As the Asha Sharma regime begins to take shape, rumors of ending Day One Call Of Duty On Xbox Game Pass are heating up! In addition to Game Pass price drops, are exclusive Xbox games also back on the table? Thanks to recent discussions on The Xbox Two Podcast regarding these topics, Cog enlists Jez Corden and Rand Al Thor 19 to break these down further. Beyond that, another busy week of more Xbox Game Showcases, more Halo Studio drama, and how the release year of Xbox in 2026 is taking shape!

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Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.

0:00:00 - Intro
0:05:12 - Warmup Up Questions
0:24:59 - Matt Booty Official Xbox Podcast Interview
0:35:51 - Xbox First Look: Metro 2039: New show format
0:55:19 - Halo Studios drama continues
1:23:13 - Playground Confirms Fable Delay Rumor Is False
1:35:50 - Diablo 4 Could Be Coming to Switch 2
1:43:51 - WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers Dev Team Dissolved
1:50:32 - What We’re Playing
2:26:31 - Xbox Having 'Very Big Discussions' About Exclusivity
3:18:11 - Xbox Considering Ending Day One Call of Duty on Game Pass & Lowering Price

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Remember the 2020 trailer for State Of Decay 3? Turns out, that trailer was greenlit when the game was just a Microsoft Word document. Indeed, the team was barely above a handful of people and yet it got a full on trailer! That's only the start of today's story which leads us into the start of a private alpha playtest for the game. Indeed, it appears that this game truly began its work sometime in 2023 at best. The Dukes have thoughts, but much of it leans into the 'glass half full mentality' thanks to an interview by Sunny Games. In this, we learn about State Of Decay 3's direction for its co-op mode, combat, base building, choice and consequence, and plenty more. Beyond that, it was a busy week for Xbox as we finally are seeing movement on the achievements from. Naturally, there's also Halo drama to get into because when isn't that a thing?

Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.
0:00:00 - Intro
0:20:31 - Game Pass refunds are dead?
0:21:41 - Xbox theme parks
0:25:12 - Halo Campaign Evolved release date leaks
0:41:20 - Xbox is finally updating achievements
0:56:29 - Mass Effect show being made for non-gamers
1:12:36 - Xbox continues to tinker with back compat
1:17:12 - Steam Deck 2 release date news
1:23:44 - What We’re Playing
2:19:49 - State Of Decay 3 has a pulse
2:55:35 - Halo Studios has more drama

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