Defining Duke: An Xbox Podcast

On the week of September 22nd, the games industry was blessed with not one, but two showcases! Today, the Dukes dive into both the State Of Play and Xbox's Tokyo Game Show 2024 presentation. With the State Of Play, much was announced for the Xbox platform! As for Tokyo Game Show, Xbox is showing that developers of all sizes are looking to support the "challenger brand." While the presentation was absent of any major reveals, games such as Threads Of Time or the long desired Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster did get us excited! Beyond the minor showcases, we also dive into the latest for Assassin's Creed Shadows where the writing is on the wall here with Ubisoft. It's clearly a do-or-die situation for them and based on their recent statement to investors, this game absolutely must perform. Will the delay help and how deep do Ubisoft's issues run? We get into just that plus a new Yakuza game, Xbox's 25th anniversary, Metaphor Re:Fantazio's demo, and much more!Cancel your unwanted subscriptions at https://www.rocketmoney.com/duke Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's episode is quite the unorthodox one! In the spirit of our friends over at the Friends Per Second podcast, we've split this episode between our usual news coverage and a fun interview the Dukes has the opportunity to conduct! Joining us this episode are Gabriela Leskur and Brian Stone. Gariela is the Narrative and Experience Lead at Oxide Games and Brian serves as Product Leader and Head Of Engineering at Xbox Game Studios Publishing. Together, these two answer our burning questions about the upcoming historical turn-based strategy game. Furthermore, we dive into the thick of Starfield's Shattered Space preview which gives us nearly ten minutes of gameplay to understand just what this is. Fortunately, it appears to be a direct response to much of the criticism laid at Bethesda's feet last fall. We also get into what may be going on with Tony Hawk, Marathon possibly being $40, more layoffs at Xbox, their strong dependence on Call Of Duty, and much more!Level up your game and get 10% off @TurtleBeach with code DUKE at https://wwwturtlebeach.com/DUKE! #turtlebeachpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Much has been said about Xbox's lack of desire to do a mid-generation refresh. For some, it symbolizes the platform's lack of care for the future of its own hardware and, for others, a sign that the green team has their eyes on the next generation instead. In a surprise move, it is not Xbox who stepped on the rake this week! PlayStation has sneakily experienced a troublesome year much like Xbox between Concord, the rollercoaster ride that is Helldivers 2, and now the pricing of the PlayStation 5 pro. Of all our write-ins this week, 90% were asking one question: Did Xbox dodge a bullet by not going down this hardware rabbit hole? Naturally, the Dukes debate and discuss the ins-and-outs of this initially innocent announcement from PlayStation. In other news, Xbox will be returning to Japan for their own Tokyo Game Show event in 2024 and State Of Decay 2 support is finally over! We also get into the exclusivity situation surrounding Black Myth Wukong, the return of some classic Transformers games, and plenty more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Dukes are off to San Diego and that means we had to get a little crafty compared to our usual episodes! Since we’re recording in advance, we forged an episode in the spirit of Defining Duke Ultimate and leaned heavily into one topic: the Series X/S generation thus far. Easily our most asked question is whether or not to dive into a Xbox at this point, so we dedicated an entire episode to the idea! Matty and Cog sift through every first party release and discuss the highs and lows they’ve brought. Furthermore, we analyze every Day 1 Game Pass drop since the service began introducing third party with Outriders. We also happily indulge in another conversation of where Xbox could stand to improve and even what could be green lit to shift some of the optics around the brand. Indeed, this is the all-encompassing conversation on Xbox’s star in 2024 and we hope you do enjoy!Cancel your unwanted subscriptions at https://www.rocketmoney.com/duke Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As always, we like to source questions, comments, and concerns from our lovely audience each and every week. Many times, that alone defines the theme of the episode and that's certainly the case here. Following the news of Indiana Jones headed to PS5, plenty of Xbox fans have been left flat-footed. What does this mean for the future of the console's exclusives and will any of their competitors follow suit? Phil Spencer has shared his thoughts on the matter and now it's time for the Dukes to chime in! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the first time ever, the Dukes are gathering in person to record an episode! What a time for it to happen too as we have plenty to discuss. For starters, we’re got our hands on a plethora of upcoming Xbox titles. Avowed, Ara History Untold, Towerborne, Atomfall, Metaphor Re Fantazio, and plenty more! As we were on site, we even had a chance to speak with a ton of the devs meaning we have added insight beyond the games themselves. Beyond the scoops, we naturally have to discuss the Indy situation as the game has been announced for PlayStation. We knew multi-platform was Xbox’s future, but this was quite an aggressive move. How do the Dukes feel about such a play from the green team? Naturally, we have much to say on top of the announcements at Opening Night Live itself.Go to https://www.takethesis.com to take the free 3-minute quiz to find out what your brain needs and use DUKE to get $60 off your first purchase when you sign up for Thesis. Thanks to Thesis for sponsoring today’s video! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a year chockful of layoffs and studio closures, we needed a W like this. What was originally considered one of the biggest losses amidst these changes was Xbox's closure of Tango Gameworks. Originally known for survival horror titles, Tango stormed out the gate last year with the beloved action rhythm game, Hi Fi Rush, to critical acclaim. Krafton seems to have liked the numbers they saw because they've stepped in to take Tango and the Hi Fi Rush IP off Xbox's hands. While The Evil Within and Ghostwire Tokyo remain in the hands of Xbox, the people's champion lives to fight another day. Naturally, the Dukes have plenty of thoughts. It's still a loss of talent for Xbox at the end of the day, so is there more to a partnership here? What happens to the lingering IP from Tango? We dive into the jaw dropping news and an otherwise slower news week.Cancel your unwanted subscriptions at https://www.rocketmoney.com/duke Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Avowed is getting moved back to February 18, 2025 out of respect for our backlogs. How kind of Xbox to do such a thing! Avowed was a subject of much debate for the Dukes. While the game looked solid coming out of the January Developer Direct, it clearly needed more time. Come June, Avowed looked to be in much better shape and has now found itself a new date away from the noise of the holiday season. This sets up Xbox for a rare top quarter of the year game, a second for them in this generation. The Dukes settle into what this means for the roadmap moving forward and if it spells any trouble for the anticipated fantasy RPG. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The results for Microsoft Gaming's FY24 Q4 is in and it's mighty telling of where the company is at. On one hand, Xbox is making more money than ever before, but it's come at the loss of hardware sales which are down a staggering 42% YOY. Can Xbox afford to keep this trend up in a world not yet ready for digital only? According to Microsoft CFO Amy Hood, this is all well and fine as the company marches toward content and services. The Dukes dive into all the numbers, including Activision's ability to make the entirety of Xbox a boatload of money in spite of the remaining parts of Xbox plateauing. We also dig into the newest Starborn trademark, Bungie's daunting task ahead of them after massive layoffs once more, and plenty of other subjects in yet another busy week!Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.0:00:00 - Intro0:33:22 - World Of Warcraft team are unionizing0:38:39 - Stalker 2 delayed to November 20th0:44:37 - A new Playground Games studio has opened0:47:44 - Some Game Pass leaks0:51:31 - Halo Infinite’s Operation Fleetcom details0:53:06 - Double Fine’s “PsychOdyssey” documentary is getting a blu-ray release0:56:01 - New Xbox transparent controller revealed0:57:46 - 500K players for Flintlock: Siege Of Dawn1:00:06 - What is happening at Bungie?!1:24:06 - An open world Patrick Star game has leaked1:27:34 - Legacy Of Kain 1 and 2 remastered spotted at SDCC1:29:42 - Visions Of Mana demo available now1:30:37 - Wildermyth comes to consoles on October 22 this year1:32:18 - Dragon Age Veilguard Steam details1:35:34 - Mortal Kombat 1 “Khaos Reigns” and Kombat Pack 2 revealed1:40:56 - What We’re Playing2:16:09 - Microsoft Gaming FY24 Q4 results2:38:12 - Starborn Zenimax trademark2:40:33 - An update on the Xbox-Capcom issues2:42:53 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week2:49:15 - Our Xbox 360 Memories Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI, layoffs, restructuring, and so on. Indeed, we're in the midst of interesting times for our beloved industry, but the clash between creator and executive has never been greater. Jobs are being lost to AI as we expected, but it's happening now. Not later, but now. Every publishing label is claiming that times are tough, but no adjustments on spending has been made. As the industry continues to bleed talent, who will want to join it? This subject matter is the very heartbeat of this episode as the Dukes collectively recognize the missteps being made. So, how do things get better? What can be done to improve an industry controlled by misers? The Dukes have thoughts and hopes such as unionization which is what Bethesda Game Studios has recently done. We also hear from our old friends again at the FTC on how Game Pass Standard is losing its value and what the source of Xbox's faltering marketing initiative is.Cancel your unwanted subscriptions at https://www.rocketmoney.com/dukePlease keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.0:00:00 - Intro/Patron Write-Ins0:34:02 - Quiet: Level One kickstarter from Jonah Lobe0:37:12 - Elder Scrolls VI has a strange leak0:42:39 - Xbox working on cloud only version of Game Pass?0:47:15 - MW3 officially on Game Pass1:07:27 - Dungeons of Hinterberg dev needs your help1:14:57 - Halo TV Show canceled by Paramount+1:25:24 - Halo Combat Devolved gameplay1:27:13 - Tales Of Xillia Remastered leaks1:32:00 - Heihachi announced for Tekken 8 at EVO1:41:12 - First Player Games has been acquired by Warner Bros Games1:49:12 - Multiple games are skipping Xbox1:56:11 - Shadows Of The Damned: Hella Remastered returns this Halloween1:57:03 - Humble Games is undergoing restructuring2:01:57 - What We’re Playing2:25:40 - The FTC criticizes Game Pass changes2:36:13 - Xbox's Marketing isn't blessed like Sony... Says Xbox...2:52:37 - Bethesda Game Studios has unionized2:58:15 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices