Defining Duke: An Xbox Podcast

As the industry prepares for 2024's final and massive news week in The Game Awards, we sink our teeth into Indiana Jones & The Great Circle! This is the final massive (and temporary) Xbox exclusive for 2024, but more importantly, this is Machine Games's first release since the disastrous Wolfenstein Youngblood. What has the team been cooking in the time they've been away? The results just may surprise you if your expectations were in the company of Uncharted and Tomb Raider. We also dive deep into Kingdom Come Deliverance 2's aggressive release date move and what that means for its direct competitor in Avowed plus rumors of Forza Horizon 5 dropping on PlayStation, Game Awards predictions, and plenty more! Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:29:26 - Forza Horizon 5 coming to PlayStation? 0:35:11 - Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 releases February 4th 0:53:10 - A new Stalker 2 patch is out with over 650 fixes 0:55:18 - Ubisoft is shutting down XDefiant 1:06:21 - BioWare’s Corinne Busche on future choices within Dragon Age 1:11:46 - News on Lies Of P developer next game 1:20:47 - FromSoftware is not doing Elden Ring 2 1:28:25 - Visions of Mana director Ryosuke Yoshida is leaving Netease 1:29:57 - Hironobu Sakaguchi on returning to Xbox 1:36:45 - Marvel Rivals monetization revealed 1:43:59 - What We’re Playing 2:39:10 - The final Game Pass drops of 2024… 2:43:12 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The world of gaming sure didn't slow down for turkey week as the Dukes has plenty to dive into! It begins with the handheld wars. Steam, ASUS, Logitech, and many others have thrown their hat into the ring, but most await what Xbox and PlayStation will do. Recently, it was confirmed that an Xbox handheld is in development, but now Bloomberg has suggested that PlayStation is working on their own too. With the rise of PS Plus and streaming, PlayStation is slimming down the gap between them and Xbox on many features. What will Xbox need to do beyond timing its release well to compete with a company as synonymous with handhelds as Nintendo? More importantly, will Xbox and PlayStation find any success in a market that has seen very little handhelds sold in the scheme of things. We're far removed from the days of the Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and PlayStation Portable. So, what gives? The Dukes sink their teeth into this juicy rumor. Naturally, we discuss the evolving situation including Avowed and its art director. Has the situation gone too far and what action can be taken on both sides to mitigate this disaster? The talk is complicated and so we peel it back layer-by-layer as we get into the thick of another fantasy game caught in chaos. Plus, more on Xbox's new Game Studios lead, Call Of Duty's 4 year development cycle, and much more! Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:25:01 - Avowed director Carrie Patel spoke to Gamesradar on Obsidian’s next game versus the competition 0:34:59 - 4 year dev cycles for Call Of Duty are the new norm? 0:42:37 - S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has already sold 1 million copies 0:48:27 - Square Enix wants Final Fantasy VII Remake on Xbox 0:57:51 - Craig Duncan is officially the new head of Xbox Game Studios 1:00:09 - Black Myth Wukong getting “surprises” later in the year 1:02:03 - The Witcher 4 has entered full production, Cyberpunk 2077 has sold 30 million copies, and a new animated Cyberpunk show is on the way 1:08:09 - Casey Hudson’s studio, Humanoid Origin, has shut down 1:23:03 - Baldur’s Gate 3 profits insight 1:28:48 - Balatro made a looooot of money 1:32:29 - Top 20 best selling games for October in US 1:37:31 - What We’re Playing 2:09:08 - PlayStation's handheld has leaked 2:35:24 - Avowed drama recap 3:05:18 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Contrary to their usual behavior, Xbox's communication has left no room for guessing as of late. In a recent marketing campaign titled "This Is An Xbox," the team showed a plethora of devices that you can access the Xbox ecosystem from. Following our conversation about Phil Spencer's interview with Bloomberg, the message already seemed clear that multi-platform is the future. Now, that message is crystal clear and there is no going back. The Dukes dive into the meaning behind this ad and, of course, what caveats may lie within their messaging as Phil was quick to assure console users that there would be more hardware. With plummeting hardware sales, why would Xbox seemingly abandon an install base of over 30 million users and risk damaging the start of their next generation? This becomes an even bigger question when their push on mobile is in its early beginnings and its PC app desperately needs work. The Xbox experience is best on the console, so what gives? Naturally, we have a lot to say on that, but we also have much to say on GAMES! The Dukes had a chance to go hands-on with Avowed in a digital preview event and things are shaping up quite nicely for Obsidian's next RPG. We get into the thick of our builds, choices, exploration, and even some bugs. We also dive into the hotly anticipated S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 which has faced much adversity in its lead up to launch. Now it's here and Matty has some thoughts after over 15 hours with the game so far. Plus more on Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's disastrous launch, The Game Awards GOTY nominee kerfuffle, Starfield's November update, and plenty more in an episode with seemingly endless subjects to dive into! Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:11:51 - Game Awards GOTY nominees 0:29:02 - Starfield's November Update 0:30:42 - Todd Howard’s takeaway on Shattered Space 0:42:48 - Microsoft Flight Sim 2024's chaotic launch 0:50:55 - Atomfall gets a release date 0:53:52 - Assassin's Creed Syndicate gets a next generation patch 0:59:48 - Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess failed to hit its sales targets 1:03:52 - Remedy's shocking sales and budget transparency 1:07:55 - Embracer Group continues to plummet 01:13:21 - Dynasty Warriors Origins gets demo on November 22 1:13:52 - What We’re Playing 2:10:24 - This is an Xbox advertisements 2:33:56 - Sony is looking into purchasing the Kadokawa Corporation 2:56:22 - Avowed is coming to Battle Net and has 5 days of early access 3:11:19 - Coming soon to Xbox Game Pass 3:14:20 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's main topic would have set the internet on fire earlier this year. Xbox's complete admission of a mutli-platform push, delayed handheld and mobile plans, as well as a desire to acquire more studios? Team Green is typically in a meltdown state by this point, but this time around, the news was met with indifference. Why is that the case? Well, for one, many who paid close attention to Xbox's actions, or even lack of action, knew that all this was inevitable. Xbox is seemingly abandoning its exclusive games initiative as Phil Spencer has stated there isn't a red line for quite literally any first party game in its stable. The Dukes break down his comments alongside the third party scene to see if there is any vindication for the Xbox leader's words earlier this year. Long anticipated was a Xbox handheld, but with Phil confirming that it's years out, where will this leave Xbox if they are the last to enter the ring as a handheld competitor? Steam, Logitech, Nintendo, PlayStation, ASUS, and so many others have brought their own ideas to the market with varying degrees of reception. Can Xbox succeed in an inevitably saturated market where players have already made their choice by the point they show up? The Dukes hash it out! Plus a deep dive into Indiana Jones's new gameplay, Halo 2's famous E3 demo is now playable, OG voice actors are returning for Gears E-Day, and so much more in one of our biggest episodes of the year! Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:01:57 - Health Is Wealth 0:15:25 - Game Dev Talk 0:20:06 - John Dimaggio and Carlos Ferro are returning for Gears Of Way E-Day to voice Dom and Marcus 0:22:14 - The Halo 2 E3 2003 demo 0:25:32 - Death Stranding is now available on Xbox 0:31:44 - Indiana Jones & The Great Circle gameplay deep dive 0:39:29 - South Of Midnight previews are out 0:46:22 - S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has gone gold 0:56:20 - Phil Spencer on future Fallout games 1:05:14 - Black Ops 6 is collabing with Halo, Gears, and DOOM? 1:07:04 - Spyro Reignited Trilogy is now available in Xbox Game Pass 1:07:37 - Warner Bros is plummeting 1:15:29 - GOG announces game preservation program 1:21:30 - SEGA is delisting a ton of retro classics 1:27:38 - 2K opens up on future games lineup 1:32:54 - GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition gets a surprise update 1:34:28 - Tom Henderson’s report on Ubisoft’s Project U 1:39:23 - Sea Of Stars gets a massive free update 1:46:28 - Hideaki Itsuno joins Tencent 1:52:17 - Why exactly did Konami choose MGS3 for a remake? 1:55:24 - A Mass Effect TV series is in development at Amazon 2:05:41 - What We’re Playing 2:53:16 - Phil Spencer tells all in an interview with Bloomberg 3:39:05 - Bethesda goes on strike 3:46:14 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices