The Dropshot

We start with a short follow-up on the Fragmentary Order gameplay reveal. We think it ends up taking the whole extraction shooter genre from Escape from Tarkov, and the $45 Prime Batch looks like a good deal next to Tarkov's $150 editions.

Then Warzone moves to Modern Warfare 4 with the new Hajin map. The early reviews are better than we expected: the movement is better and the map is fine, but the audio and performance are rough, and it's solos and quads only. Raz thinks DMZ is now officially dead, and that the real problem with Warzone is that nothing is new. Every year they get a few things right that they already got right before, so why isn't there just one Warzone that builds on the last? We also go over the MW4 launch numbers, which came in under Black Ops 7, and why Call of Duty keeps losing people.

Then World of Warcraft Forever. Raz has been playing an undead warlock and explains what's different from WoW Classic, why it's the biggest WoW launch ever, and what bugs him: the long runs, the paid Skyborn race and region locking. Jake still can't tell it apart from Path of Exile. We finish on why players keep paying for old versions of games like Old School RuneScape and WoW Classic, and which Call of Duty we'd freeze forever.

The two-hour Fragmentary Order reveal breakdown is on Patreon: patreon.com/thedropshot

0:00 - Intro

2:37 - Today's lineup

3:06 - New Patreon bonus on Fragmentary Order

4:57 - Fragmentary Order: Tarkov in space

7:09 - Tarkov is ugly and clunky. This isn't

10:35 - Jake: the stuff outside the raid

12:18 - Playable as soon as December?

13:29 - War Dogs at 60%, Fragmentary Order at 95%

15:44 - Why stop-start betas suck

17:41 - Does GTA 6 hurt Fragmentary Order?

18:46 - Will the NDA let us talk?

19:17 - The $45 Prime Batch vs Tarkov's $150 editions

21:16 - One extraction shooter takes the whole genre

22:24 - Warzone moves to MW4

23:25 - DMZ is officially dead

24:55 - What Warzone on Hajin got right

25:42 - Audio and performance are rough

26:24 - Aim assist is too strong again

26:55 - Grabber drone and movable cover

28:51 - Mixed reviews, leaning positive

29:33 - Day one hype always fades

30:26 - Why can't we just have one Warzone?

33:50 - Battle royales are played out

35:16 - Jake: nothing gets me back on it

36:33 - Solos and quads only

37:38 - Not enough players to split the playlists

38:32 - The XDefiant problem

39:39 - MW4 launch numbers came in under Black Ops 7

44:41 - Is Call of Duty finally slipping?

46:27 - From the classics to Vanguard

49:11 - What can Call of Duty even do now?

50:18 - A data-driven dopamine machine

51:16 - Peaks and valleys

52:54 - We've seen this before: MW3 to BO6

53:36 - World of Warcraft Forever

54:21 - Raz the MMO guy

56:09 - What WoW Forever actually is

58:10 - Reviews: slow, old school, long runs

59:27 - You're not 14 anymore

1:00:08 - Raz's WoW history

1:00:44 - The plan: ranked Battlegrounds

1:02:15 - Biggest WoW launch ever

1:03:00 - Jake: it looks like 2004

1:04:05 - Don't call your game retail

1:05:10 - Where Forever goes next decides everything

1:06:32 - Who's streaming it

1:07:26 - WoW vs Path of Exile, explained

1:10:23 - Leveling vs endgame: where MMOs fail

1:15:05 - Open world PvP

1:16:55 - Auction house and the PoE economy

1:17:42 - Blue fireball this time

1:18:10 - Ugly, boring and region locked

1:21:19 - Smoothest launch in WoW history

1:22:13 - Skyborn, the paid race

1:23:01 - Included in the normal sub. Right call?

1:24:05 - Why players keep buying the old version

1:27:33 - Which CoD would you freeze forever?

1:29:50 - Why not Aion 2? Pay-to-win whales

1:33:21 - Playing it for the pod

1:34:00 - Wrap up and next Saturday

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

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Infinity Ward changed DMZ matchmaking in Modern Warfare 4 and didn't put it in the patch notes. Charlie Intel reported that the update increased PvP matchmaking for everyone, and that replaying a story mission you've already finished now puts you in a regular lobby. Raz and Jake go through what changed, why players noticed before anyone said anything, and why leaving it out of the October 28 patch notes is the bigger problem.

We also talk about reports that MW4 is selling worse than Black Ops 7, even though BO7 was on Game Pass, and why Warzone season 1 might be the game's last chance. We go through a few theories for why Infinity Ward made the change, from slowing down progression to holding onto PvP players until Warzone launches.

Then EA shut down BioWare, and early work on the next Mass Effect is ending. We talk about Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Mass Effect 3, Larian as the new BioWare, and which games we'd want turned into TV shows, from Tarkov and Gears of War to Knights of the Old Republic.

Also: Al Mazrah coming back to Warzone in season 4, and GTA 6 reportedly being around 210 GB.

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

0:00 - Intro

4:52 - Patreon shoutouts

6:52 - DMZ matchmaking drama

11:16 - Charlie Intel: more PvP in DMZ

13:02 - Nothing in the patch notes

15:04 - Last "Live from the Ward" of the year

15:56 - MW4 sales vs Black Ops 7 and Game Pass

21:13 - Infinity Ward's yearly pattern

23:56 - Warzone is MW4's last chance

27:15 - Just write accurate patch notes

28:33 - A game for everybody is a game for nobody

33:32 - Call of Duty is mall pizza

37:04 - Charlie Intel confirms it

40:38 - Built for the next earnings call

43:12 - Why would they make this change?

50:41 - Holding PvP players until Warzone

55:01 - How the patch notes should have read

57:27 - The tiger did tiger stuff

59:17 - What do IW devs do all day?

1:01:35 - Is Call of Duty dying?

1:06:20 - The DMZ trailer and why CoD still feels good

1:08:47 - CoD is lucky most players don't look around

1:16:12 - "Beckoning of Responsibility"

1:19:00 - Is the matchmaking change a test?

1:20:53 - Al Mazrah returns to Warzone

1:25:43 - GTA 6 at 210 GB

1:27:56 - Is a DMZ PvE mode coming?

1:30:04 - Warzone season 1 date

1:32:43 - EA shuts down BioWare

1:37:21 - Veilguard sealed it

1:39:47 - Next Mass Effect is over

1:41:38 - Larian is the new BioWare

1:43:30 - Video games as TV shows

1:44:16 - Drew Karpyshyn

1:45:56 - Tarkov, Dead Space, Gears of War shows

1:50:18 - Star Wars is oversaturated

1:55:54 - #SaveMassEffect and EA's RPG studios

1:59:17 - Outro

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #DropshotPodcast #GamingPodcast #CallOfDuty #MW4 #DMZ #Warzone #InfinityWard #BioWare #MassEffect #DragonAge #Larian #GTA6 #SaveMassEffect #CODNews #GamingNews #Podcast #VideoGames

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Modern Warfare 4 is fully out, and we're surprised by most of it. Multiplayer is getting hammered: the maps are bad, spawns are broken, SBMM is cranked up, and the movement got slowed down. Raz goes through each complaint, defends Call of Duty on a couple of them, and makes the case that arcade shooters are dying and we're aging out of them anyway.

DMZ is the surprise. We said it would be dead by the time multiplayer came out, and people are still streaming it. We get into why: multiplayer is rough, the XP is good for camo grinding, and a lot of these players have never played an extraction shooter before. We still think DMZ runs out of content fast and won't last a month for most people.

Then the big one: should MW4 DMZ get a PvE-only mode? Infinity Ward says no and that it believes in PvPvE. We agree, and we explain why a PvE DMZ would be finished in a week, why losing 100K when you die is the whole point, and why "just get better" is real advice. We also cover Tarkov PvE, Arc Raiders, extract camping, and what CoD does next year.

0:00 - Intro: audiobooks and The Terminal List

2:18 - We're live: Episode 610

4:01 - Patreon shoutouts and trivia night

6:55 - Modern Warfare 4 has launched

7:34 - Infinity Ward unlocks it early

8:30 - Multiplayer: worst CoD ever?

10:28 - We were wrong: everyone's streaming DMZ

11:46 - The complaints: maps

13:52 - Spawns are broken every year

15:26 - SBMM cranked to the max?

19:12 - Movement nerf and losing wall jumping

21:42 - People are finally over arcade shooters

24:09 - We're aging out of arcade shooters

28:56 - "Worst CoD ever" after 30 minutes

29:54 - What the critics are saying

30:54 - Are game critics a fake job?

32:55 - What changed: maps, hipfire, Kill Block

34:37 - Jake on spawns (and why learning them is cringe)

40:17 - DMZ is still doing well

42:38 - XP and camo grinding in DMZ

44:12 - The map's already charted

45:52 - Do you still play after Season 2?

47:06 - Why DMZ works when multiplayer doesn't

48:40 - DMZ is another campaign with PvP

51:49 - Can Warzone carry the year? Hajin vs. Avalon

54:41 - The viral DMZ PvE post

56:19 - Arc Raiders "Care Bears"

57:59 - Just get better at the game

1:01:22 - Arc Raiders PvE and Tarkov PvE

1:08:17 - Infinity Ward: no PvE-only DMZ

1:09:43 - Remember AI in Warzone 2?

1:10:57 - Paying 100K every time you die

1:14:12 - Is there SBMM in DMZ?

1:14:55 - The case for a PvE mode

1:17:27 - PvE would split the player base

1:18:00 - The middle ground options

1:20:12 - Extract camping

1:21:56 - Verdict: surprised, but it won't last

1:24:26 - What does CoD do next year?

1:25:15 - Bread Man's DMZ collection room

1:27:58 - Silver lining: new extraction shooter fans

1:29:50 - Outro

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips #GamingTalk #MW4 #ModernWarfare4 #CallOfDuty #DMZ #Warzone #ExtractionShooter #EscapeFromTarkov #ArcRaiders #InfinityWard #MW4DMZ #DMZPvE #WorstCODEver #GamingNews #HotTake #GamingDebate

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WARDOGS Season 2 came out on October 15, and two days later Bulkhead said its faster progression was the wrong call. Players had Tier 4 armor and main battle tanks within days, so the wipe never really felt like a fresh start. Bulkhead isn't doing another reset. They're bringing Season 3 forward instead.

We go through the Season 2 patch notes first: the TCX SPR, PP-19 Bizon, M14 and new LMG, Molotovs, the level 4 helmet nerf, the rain weather preset, squad intent, the Wager vendor, and the new anti-air vehicle. Then the drama. The Lone Star cash and XP bonus worked so well it got pulled after a day, players who used the driver exploit to get tanks early got 24-hour bans and lost their progress, and Joe Brammer is in the replies.

Raz thinks bringing Season 3 forward is the right move. Jake thinks Bulkhead should have seen this coming and is worried they're already trying to please everyone. We also talk about a time-gating idea for gear and the 209K players still on Steam.

Then the Modern Warfare 4 campaign. It's getting called the best since MW2019, and Raz still doesn't care, because nobody plays Call of Duty for the campaign. Plus DMZ, and why Call of Duty should split Warzone and DMZ into their own games.

0:00 - Intro

1:39 - What's on today

2:20 - Patreon trivia night + upcoming games episode

4:40 - WARDOGS Season 2 is here

5:41 - Big Bear and Mount Ski Bump

6:49 - GTA 6 final trailer

8:01 - Season 2 patch notes: four new guns

10:19 - Words we learned from video games

12:10 - Molotovs and rangefinder batteries

14:31 - Defibrillator PSA

15:03 - Level 4 helmet nerf and suppression

17:12 - New vehicles and anti-air

19:22 - New buildables and rain

21:01 - Gold bars and the Wager vendor

23:25 - Squad intent, loadouts, pre-match football

26:31 - The Lone Star faction experiment

31:58 - T-shaped vs Y-shaped spawns

35:01 - Compound bow, controller fixes, faster leveling

37:10 - Blue bonus pulled: "We f***ed up"

42:03 - Driver exploit bans

46:52 - Limited mode servers

48:53 - Is Bulkhead's honesty refreshing?

52:25 - The X post: Season 3 is moving up

54:35 - You can't please everyone

58:23 - "Nobody is enjoying the climb"

1:01:35 - Fix idea: time-gating gear

1:06:21 - Joe's replies and the Twitter crybabies

1:13:17 - Tarkov and how long seasons should be

1:17:19 - 209K players: does the drama matter?

1:22:57 - MW4 campaign early access and the staggered launch

1:26:00 - Best CoD campaign ever?

1:28:12 - Two campaigns: Korea and Price

1:30:00 - Movable optics

1:31:06 - Best since MW2019 (and BO7's floating head)

1:32:05 - The JoeWo face and DMZ dread

1:33:39 - Split Call of Duty up

1:38:04 - The campaign's one silver lining

1:39:07 - Wrap: gloating next week

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

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🔹Jakedown:

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🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We go through Activision's MW4 DMZ Deep Dive Part 2 blog post, the full guide to the Forward Operating Base (FOB), section by section. Part 1 is on the Patreon.

Some of it is a real step up from DMZ 1: there's finally a stash, an actual DMZ cash economy, a vendor with rotating stock, weapon manuals you have to find and extract to unlock gunsmith builds, and three operator trait trees (Warfighter, Scout, Survivalist) that play pretty differently from each other.

The rest is where it falls apart for us. Minor traits are randomized, and prestige traits are random too, so you can't build the operator you want. Your bank is capped at a maximum amount of saved cash. Loot auto-breaks down into four crafting resources, and mission items get their own slot. The bounty system marks "Wanted" players on the tac map for everyone nearby while assimilated squads stay hidden. And the $100,000 cargo plane infil costs twice as much as the helicopter while doing less.

We also get into DMZ orders, survival kits and the Vault Edition, lieutenants and commanders on the Boss Board, the 3D printer, deployment options, and why this is the reason the show isn't a Call of Duty podcast anymore. Early access starts October 20th. We think it won't last past November.

0:00 - Intro

1:50 - DMZ 2 Blog Post Part 2

3:18 - Patron Hangout and D-Rock's Trivia

5:06 - Trunk-or-Treat

6:54 - The Forward Operating Base (FOB)

11:05 - Active Duty Operators

13:18 - Finally, a Stash

14:35 - Survival Kits and Bounty Board

16:58 - Boss Board: Lieutenants and Commanders

19:53 - The Vendor and DMZ Cash

21:41 - Gunsmith and Weapon Manuals

24:23 - Dog Tag Case

25:08 - Operator Station, MIA and Buybacks

31:24 - Warfighter, Scout, Survivalist Trait Trees

39:32 - Minor Traits Are Randomized

54:06 - Warfighter Traits (Quick Fix, Possum)

58:50 - Scout Traits

1:00:17 - Survivalist Traits and Last Stand

1:07:13 - Operator Prestige: Random Traits

1:18:40 - DMZ Orders and the Stash

1:21:50 - Your Bank Is Capped

1:27:37 - Loot Breaks Down Into Four Resources

1:30:50 - Loadouts, Backpacks and Mission Slots

1:34:44 - Survival Kits and the Vault Edition

1:37:24 - Bounties: Killers and Hunters

1:46:56 - Most Wanted Leaderboard and Tac Map Marker

1:51:05 - The 3D Printer

1:53:29 - Boss Board Details

1:54:32 - Vendor and Gunsmith

1:58:16 - Deployment Options: Helicopter vs Cargo Plane

2:01:27 - Why This Isn't a CoD Podcast Anymore

2:05:15 - Could DMZ 3 or 4 Be Good?

2:08:09 - Is This the Last DMZ?

2:09:16 - To the YouTube Commenters

2:15:47 - CoD Needs New Studios

2:17:25 - Wrap-Up and Bets

2:21:49 - Outro

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #DropshotPodcast #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips #DMZ #MW4 #ModernWarfare4 #CallofDuty #ExtractionShooter #Warzone #Tarkov #ArcRaiders #DMZ2 #CODNews #MW4DMZ #DMZEarlyAccess #HotTake #GamingNews #PodcastLife

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GTA 6 isn't even out yet and the Miami Heat are changing their name for it. On November 18th, the night before launch, the Heat become the Vice City Heat — new jerseys, a new court, a "Welcome to Vice City" sign, all on ESPN. Raz and Jake try to figure out what Rockstar paid, why the NBA said yes, and why Coca-Cola still bothers advertising at all.

Then the GTA 6 ESRB rating drops, and it says more than Rockstar has: decapitation and dismemberment, strip club private dances, and cocaine you can carry around and snort straight off your hand. Plus the NFL fining a guy for a fake beer celebration and cutting straight to a Bud Light ad.

Also: Steam's record $1.7B September, why gaming is the most cost-effective hobby on earth, Gears of War: E-Day, MW4 and DMZ, and everything changing in Wardogs Season 2 — progression wipe, rain maps, trait system, and the economy rebalance.

And to close it out: David Grusch's alien species lineup on Joe Rogan. Grays, 7-foot reptilians, "very beautiful" blue-white beings. Jake is convinced there are alien bases in the ocean and that we've explored way more than 5% of it. Raz brings up the Antarctic. Nobody wins.

0:00 - Intro

1:08 - Pre-show recap: does texture even matter?

2:35 - Patreon shoutouts

4:18 - What we're playing: Blood of Dawnwalker & Tarkov

5:55 - Open-world fatigue is real

9:38 - Crusader Kings 3 & a W for targeted ads

13:53 - GTA 6 is six weeks away

14:22 - The Miami Heat become the Vice City Heat

20:21 - The NBA's squeaky-clean image

25:16 - Why does Coca-Cola still advertise?

32:51 - What did Rockstar actually pay?

35:43 - GTA 6 ESRB rating: M for Mature

37:24 - Buying Vice City as a kid

38:15 - What the ESRB rating reveals

40:43 - Snorting coke off your hand in GTA 6

43:04 - NFL fines a fake beer, airs a Bud Light ad

47:12 - Will your nose collapse in GTA 6?

49:24 - Steam's record-breaking September

52:08 - Gaming's up

54:19 - Gaming is the best hobby, prove us wrong

1:00:18 - Real friends from video games

1:02:55 - Why Steam is a great company

1:05:54 - Ace Combat 8 & the origin of "Razinon"

1:06:33 - Gears of War: E-Day

1:08:39 - Star Wars Galactic Racer? Skip.

1:09:37 - MW4 & everything hinges on DMZ

1:10:55 - Wardogs Season 2: the progression wipe

1:12:38 - Rain maps: snipers and helis nerfed?

1:16:37 - Night matches in Wardogs?

1:17:11 - Economy rebalance: infantry needs a buff

1:19:47 - Give us a loadout builder

1:21:22 - Teased: anti-air, Molotovs & jets

1:23:02 - David Grusch on Joe Rogan

1:24:00 - The alien species lineup

1:29:41 - Disclosure before Trump's term ends?

1:31:31 - Underwater alien bases

1:32:15 - "We've only explored 5% of the ocean"

1:38:01 - Map our own planet first

1:39:40 - Why would aliens be beautiful?

1:40:19 - Outro

1:41:05 - Post-credits: the James Cameron argument

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

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#TheDropshot #Dropshot #DropshotPodcast #GamingPodcast #GTA6 #GrandTheftAuto6 #ViceCity #Rockstar #Wardogs #Steam #PCGaming #MiamiHeat #ESRB #DavidGrusch #JoeRogan #UAP #Aliens #Podcast #GamingNews #HotTake

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Microsoft just handed the next mainline Halo to Activision, and two guys who ran a Call of Duty show for years have thoughts. Raz has been saying for five years that Halo should have made a battle royale, and he explains why it might already be too late. Jake makes the case that Halo is in such a bad spot that new developers can't make it worse, and asks what Call of Duty's monetization playbook will do to it.

Then Warzone's new operator skin toggle: MW4 lets you swap every Nicki Minaj and Squid Game skin for a grounded military operator, but only on your screen. Is that the best of both worlds, or a way to please nobody? Plus Call of Duty getting Community Noted, MW4's locked carry-forward guns, and the rumored Game Pass tier with ads.

GTA 6's $400 collector's edition doesn't come with GTA 6. We go through every item in the box, and it turns out to be a cocaine bundle. Rockstar's Miami takeover, the city council vote on GTA 6 beach umbrellas, and whether this is the first video game that could actually move crime numbers.

Also: the WARDOGS price increase drama, Sombra moving to support in Overwatch, and Arc Raiders adding a PvE-only mode.

0:00 Intro

3:11 Patreon news and the hangout recap

8:51 Raz on Twitch and Pathfinder

10:30 Why Raz always plays evil

15:05 The BG3 dog dilemma

16:36 Remember Craigslist?

17:42 Halo is a Call of Duty studio now

20:07 Halo should have made a battle royale

22:46 Can Activision save Halo?

26:55 Bring back Forge mode

33:35 First CoD thing in the next Halo

35:57 The Halo show and video game movies

41:10 Obsidian, Rare and the Xbox shuffle

42:24 Is Xbox still a console company?

43:40 Game Pass with ads

48:27 Warzone's operator skin toggle

50:16 MW4's locked carry-forward guns

54:43 Call of Duty gets Community Noted

1:00:35 Would we turn the toggle on?

1:03:16 GTA 6's $400 collector's edition

1:05:40 It's a cocaine bundle

1:12:43 Rockstar's Miami takeover

1:16:01 Miami Beach votes on GTA 6 ads

1:20:37 Spotify x GTA 6

1:23:56 The biggest entertainment launch ever?

1:25:11 Why everyone plays evil in GTA

1:26:04 Does GTA 6 marketing even matter?

1:28:46 WARDOGS price hike drama

1:31:47 Sombra moves to support

1:37:18 Arc Raiders adds a PvE mode

1:41:00 Abandon hope, Arc Raiders fans

1:46:51 Wrap-up: Halo of Duty

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

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#TheDropshot #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips #GamingTalk #Halo #Activision #Xbox #Warzone #MW4 #CallOfDuty #Overwatch #ArcRaiders #WARDOGS #GTA6 #GTAVI #GTA6CollectorsEdition #GamePass #GamingNews #HotTake

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Call of Duty is done with Black Ops, and Modern Warfare 4 is the "epic conclusion" of the Task Force 141 story. We think it's the smartest call Activision has made in years. It only matters if the next series changes the game as much as jetpacks did, and a new name and new villains won't do that.

We also make a prediction: Call of Duty will copy WARDOGS. It happened with PUBG and Warzone, then with Tarkov and DMZ, and now WARDOGS has sold over 2 million copies and peaked at 428,000 concurrent players on Steam. Raz guarantees Infinity Ward is already being told to build it.

Also covered: WARDOGS one week into early access, the drill-spam meta, the mortar complaints, why we still think no monetization is a mistake, and the Bulkhead CEO crunch controversy (we don't see the problem). Then GTA 6 Online reportedly landing in 2027, why the PC version probably comes with it, and what GTA 6 does to MW4 and WARDOGS in November. We finish with WoW Forever, Aion 2, and an investigation into whether any elves have round ears.

Raz still wins either way.

0:00 - Intro: Big Jacob of Nibiru

2:05 - Patreon hangout & Death by AI

6:01 - WARDOGS one week in: 2M sold, 428K peak

9:24 - Balance complaints & the drill meta

13:40 - There Will Be Blood is overrated

15:01 - Bulkhead devs on Twitter & the loadout fix

17:16 - Mike Tyson's impregnable defense

20:09 - You either love a game or you're good at it

23:29 - No monetization is still a mistake

30:38 - Still in the honeymoon phase

33:07 - WARDOGS CEO crunch controversy

38:26 - Treyarch is done with Black Ops

42:20 - CoD needs a jetpack-level shake-up

46:33 - Future setting vs. grounded CoD

49:24 - Prediction: CoD will copy WARDOGS

57:08 - DMZ2 is going to fail

1:01:41 - CoD fans: don't get excited yet

1:03:53 - Wolverine hand-holding & NICKMERCS on Tarkov

1:06:30 - Why extraction shooters must be hardcore

1:10:22 - Mads Mikkelsen & MW4

1:11:07 - Does Raz come back to CoD?

1:15:53 - GTA 6 Online in 2027

1:21:52 - GTA 6 PC will launch with Online

1:24:15 - What GTA 6 does to MW4 & WARDOGS

1:30:47 - WoW Forever enters beta

1:32:45 - The elf investigation

1:34:49 - Aion 2

1:37:49 - Outro

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

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🔹Jakedown:

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🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips

Gaming topics: #WARDOGS #CallOfDuty #BlackOps #ModernWarfare4 #Warzone #DMZ2 #Bulkhead

#GTA6 #GTA6Online #Treyarch #WoWForever #Aion2

#GamingNews #HotTake #Prediction #GamingTakes

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WARDOGS launched into Early Access on Thursday, peaked at roughly 340,000 concurrent players on Steam, went straight to the #1 seller spot — and got review bombed down to Mixed at the same time. Raz has 8.5 hours in since launch. Jake has 0.0, because Tarkov currently has him in a chokehold. So this one is a split: what WARDOGS actually plays like two days in, and what the launch looked like from the back of a 138,000-person queue.

We get into whether a negative Steam review about a queue is a legitimate review, what Bulkhead actually did to fix the bottleneck overnight, Valve's rate limits, the wrongful ban wave, and the accusation that Shroud and every other big streamer got whitelisted while paying customers sat in line.

Then it turns into the streamer economy: TimTheTatman calling WARDOGS boring and getting cooked for it, ARC Raiders reportedly offering him six figures to come back, and whether paying a streamer $100,000 actually sells a single copy. Plus the drill strat that's quietly deciding matches, and why $40 for forty hours is the cheapest hobby on earth. One of us thinks most people never read a review before they buy. The other refuses to believe it.

0:00 - Intro

1:53 - Welcome to Episode 604

3:04 - Patron Shoutout + the "What Is Hardcore?" Bonus Ep

5:47 - 8.5 Hours vs 0.0 Hours

7:16 - 340K Players, Mixed Reviews

7:57 - First Impressions: "Varied"

10:41 - The 12-Kill SKS Run

13:33 - What Changed From the Beta

15:14 - Why Jake Hasn't Touched It

16:31 - Tarkov Has Him in a Chokehold

19:28 - The Recon Grind and Starter Gear Pain

24:07 - "The SKS Isn't Good"

27:47 - Looting Better Gear Off No-Lifers

28:01 - The Queue: 138,000th in Line

29:24 - Review Bombed to Mixed

32:55 - What Did They Actually Do to Fix It?

38:38 - Did Streamers Skip the Queue?

43:12 - The Miami Nightclub Argument

47:53 - Valve Rate Limits and the CEO's Panic

50:18 - Wrongful Bans and Where Refunds Start

54:33 - Bulkhead Are Gamers and It Shows

56:00 - The CEO Reacted to a Whole Review Video

58:14 - Joe Brammer's Pea-Shooter Sniper Excuse

1:01:08 - Is a Launch-Day Negative Review Legit?

1:05:04 - Which Streamers Are Still Playing

1:06:01 - TimTheTatman Says WARDOGS Is Boring

1:11:41 - Should Streamers Care What Chat Wants?

1:17:40 - Will Anyone Still Be Playing in a Week?

1:20:25 - ARC Raiders Offered Him Six Figures

1:24:24 - Do Paid Streamers Actually Sell Games?

1:34:24 - Cutting Boards vs Video Games

1:42:34 - The Project Zomboid Counterexample

1:43:18 - Make a Good Game, People Will Play It

1:45:51 - $40 for 40 Hours

1:53:54 - Tabling the WARDOGS Deep Dive

1:54:56 - The Drill Strat Is Winning Games

1:57:38 - How the Meta Is Already Shifting

2:02:31 - Starting Late? Here's the Play

2:03:26 - Looting Your Teammate Before Reviving

2:04:54 - Do We Recommend WARDOGS? + Outro

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

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🔹Razinon:

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🔹Jakedown:

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🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #GamingPodcast #GamingCulture #WARDOGS #Bulkhead #EarlyAccess #ExtractionShooter #TacticalShooter #EscapeFromTarkov #ARCRaiders #TimTheTatman #Shroud #ReviewBomb #SteamReviews #StreamerDrama #GamingNews #FPS #PCGaming #PodcastClips #HotTake

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The first FPS Games Show happened, and the two biggest things in it both came from the guy who's had Escape from Tarkov in beta for a decade. Nikita opened the whole showcase with Fragmentary Order — sci-fi, Unreal Engine 5, maps four to five times the size of Tarkov's, and a promise that it'll be "more complex, more punishing, more painful."

Then Battlestate turned around and launched a publishing arm for hardcore games nobody else will fund, with devs keeping their full IP. We go deep on both: whether a game more complex than Tarkov is a game anyone actually plays, why Tarkov's bloat (two types of croutons, twenty types of Keter ammo) is the thing a fresh start fixes, and why every extraction shooter after Tarkov has failed for the same reason — they weren't hardcore enough.

Also: Bulkhead built this entire showcase because a trailer slot elsewhere runs $300,000 for 60 seconds, then immediately fumbled their own big Wardogs announcement into a clip contest. Plus Tarkov's PvE player base hitting 50%, and Star Wars Zero Company. Timestamps below. Let us know if Fragmentary Order is going to be a bust or a banger.

0:00 - Intro

2:35 - The FPS Games Show

4:21 - The Wardogs beta and what's coming at launch

7:03 - Fragmentary Order: first impressions

9:03 - Tarkov's three real problems

10:52 - It's not Battlestate — Nikita's new studio

12:50 - "More complex, more punishing, more painful"

18:33 - Tarkov's bloat problem

20:09 - How sci-fi is this actually going to be?

25:55 - "Not an extraction shooter" — Nikita's combat simulator

30:18 - Why Unreal Engine 5

37:41 - Is there a release date?

43:14 - When will Fragmentary Order actually be playable?

45:21 - Tarkov is old and it looks it

48:47 - Battlestate Games is a publisher now

58:09 - What does a game publisher actually do?

1:02:04 - "Make hardcore live forever" — mission or marketing?

1:04:27 - Extraction shooters aren't dead, arcade shooters are

1:08:00 - Does this change the Tarkov roadmap?

1:12:44 - $300,000 for 60 seconds

1:14:42 - Genre showcases vs. the big generic ones

1:19:28 - Bulkhead's Wardogs announcement flops

1:23:15 - Who actually wins the $100K?

1:25:18 - Everything else from the show

1:26:39 - Road to Vostok, Ready or Not, Hell Let Loose

1:28:30 - Beautiful Light

1:32:49 - Gray Zone Warfare is "entering alpha"

1:34:50 - Tarkov PvE is 50% of the player base

1:40:05 - Is seasonal PvP actually worse?

1:47:11 - Star Wars Zero Company

1:53:50 - Grievous vs. Darth Maul

1:55:21 - Outro

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

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🔹Razinon:

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🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips #FragmentaryOrder #EscapeFromTarkov #Tarkov #BattlestateGames #Nikita #ExtractionShooter #WARDOGS #Bulkhead #FPSGamesShow #ARCRaiders #ZeroCompany #StarWars #UnrealEngine5 #GamingNews #FPS #HardcoreGaming #HotTake

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