Defining Duke: An Xbox Podcast

In the wee hours of the night, an absolute stunner landed. Prolific and beloved game director, Hideo Kojima, has killed off his partnership with PlayStation for his upcoming action-espionage title, PHYSINT, and signed on with Xbox. According to the man himself, PlayStation was ready to cancel his game this June! After three months of searching, he found his partner in XBOX. It's a partnership where Kojima claims that they "share a common vision for the future" which says more than just about anything else within this next. Those who recall the PHYSINT announcement in 2024 will also remember that this was TV/movie deal as well. According to the XBOX Wire, they've got that too! So, what gives? Is this just a money play? Has Sony lost touch with optical wins when it was only last generation that they reaped the massive benefits of saving Kojima from Konami? What is XBOX's end goal in all of this? There is much to discuss! Beyond that, we talk about the Cloud Gaming snafu, the diabolical Steam achievement leak, and so 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 (Gamescom and Pax West Debriefing)00:34:17 - Health Is Wealth00:46:26 - Will Metaphor: ReFantazio get a definitive edition?00:49:43 - Cog’s thoughts on GTA 6 gameplay00:55:41 - Nintendo Direct recap01:04:04 - Ocarina Of Time Remake impressions01:30:30 - Developers opt out of Xbox’s disc to digital program?01:37:55 - Every NPC in Fable is handcrafted01:41:42 - Hideki Kamiya once again requests to make Scalebound01:48:31 - Rumors suggest Forza Horizon 6 isn’t coming to PS5 in 202601:50:43 - Blood Of Dawnwalker sequel in the works01:55:54 - More Final Fantasy 7 beyond the remakes01:59:20 - Capcom is focusing on reactivating IP02:02:31 - Witcher 1 Remake is on hold02:05:45 - PlayStation is looking to bring back Killzone02:12:05 - Venom game is still in development02:13:38 - Game Releases for September 202602:21:55 - What We’re Playing03:04:45 - Hideo Kojima jumps ship to Xbox03:54:14 - The catastrophic Steam achievement leak03:18:37 - Xbox’s Cloud Gaming Snafu
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for a rare one! Indeed, it is I, Matty, and I shall be tickling your ears across the airwaves in a solo venture here from Paris. Today, I dive into the post-Gamescom fallout in what has been an eventful trip for Xbox. For starters, BBC News briefly spoke with Asha Sharma and managed to snag a few answers from her on everything from Helix's "family of devices" to Halo getting some more focus over time. Most interestingly to me was her approach to physical games versus Sony's recent statement on how "reasonable consumers" know they don't own their digital games. Naturally as a game collector, I'm very interested to see where Xbox's disc-to-digital program goes. If this is the starting point, or "step one" as they've put it, then I can imagine great things arriving down the stretch. The question is: what does this mean for physical releases? Is it possible that Xbox pulls out limited runs of their games following the launch? I discuss that, plus Asha's thoughts on Xbox's approach to exclusivity which say more than I think most are considering! Beyond that, we dive into Fable's story length, Xbox's ambitious movie deal, my experience with State Of Decay 3, and (somehow) a whole lot more. Enjoy!

Sign up with code DEFININGDUKE at DraftKings! Spend $5 to get $200 in rewards within 21 days Timestamps:Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.0:00:00 - Intro0:13:58 - State Of Decay 3 release plans0:30:11 - Double Fine's Game Jam Kickstarter0:41:00 - Xbox's Ambitious Movie Deal0:51:59 - DOOM's DLC Crunch Story0:59:11 - Thoughts on GTA 6's Gameplay Reveal1:09:43 - Star Wars: Zero Company Devs Furloughed Ahead Of Launch1:15:39 - A Motive's Iron Man Game Confirmed1:54:05 - What I'm Playing2:17:25 - Asha Sharma's comments on Helix, Physical Media, and Halo
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IN PERSON DUKE ALERT! The Dukes have united in Germany for Gamescom 2026. This marks a first for the duo! Join us as we recollect on our adventures across Europe from jetlag to McDonalds and, yes, even Fable! Much has been said about the game following its delays, but now we have a clear look at combat. What about it is strong and are the comments about the enemy reactivity overplayed? We dive in. Plus more on State Of Decay 3 from graphics to feel. How is this shaping up as it hails from a former Xbox First Party studio? Naturally, we dive into that, plus all the other things we've seen and played while out here. It's a bit of a structureless conversation, so we appreciate you bearing with us and enjoy what is a rare type of episode for all of us. Due to the episode being in person, there are no timestamps.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the week before Gamescom! Around this time, the Dukes never expect much as Xbox has already fired out their reveals for the year thanks to June's annual showcase. A recent rumor changed all of that! Thanks to NateTheHate, we are officially aware of a sequel to an Xbox owned IP being developed by a third party team which would see a release this year. The Dukes crack open the archives of Xbox and sift through all the dreams of what this could be. One thing is for certain: It's not Banjo.

Timestamps:

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

0:00 - Intro2:47 - Health is wealth18:26 - An Xbox first party game you’ve missed27:38 - You can DoorDash games30:22 - Harvey Smith is back43:00 - Sledgehammer was prototyping a Halo game56:05 - Xbox’s 25th Anniversary Controller details leak57:46 - Fallout 4’s newest update has some serious lore1:21:14 - Xbox is partnering with McDonalds1:30:02 - Kingdom Hearts 4 news galore1:45:04 - Shuhei Yoshida’s peculiar advice to Sandfall Interactive1:50:18 - Trails In The Sky gets a unique localization patch1:56:34 - PlayStation’s live service struggles continue2:05:35 - Oxenfree studio Night School is shutdown by Netflix2:11:57 - What We’re Playing2:29:16 - Xbox has a secret game announcement coming to Gamescom2:59:08 - Wrap Up
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How hungry are people for Elder Scrolls VI? Apparently, very! All it took was eight asterisks within the game's subtitle to send a flurry of fans into everything from lore wikis to decoding employee identification numbers in Starfield's Developer Direct. With such rampant curiosity, this led the Dukes down the rabbithole. What do these eight characters represent? Indeed, if the theories are true, they tell us more than you'd expect. Beyond that, we settle into a chat about the coming generation of consoles. Will Xbox weaponize Elder Scrolls VI as a lightning rod which can draw people into the ecosystem? Is it worth risking millions upon millions of dollars lost for this? Essentially, is this game going to find itself in a camp with Call Of Duty and Forza or Clockwork and Gears? There are compelling arguments for both sides, so join the very delirious Dukes as they settle into a lengthy conversation about Elder Scrolls!

Timestamps:

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

0:00 - Intro11:20 - Health Is Wealth25:12 - Gears E Day beta sets records for series38:32 - Currently hired ID Software dev blasts Xbox1:02:12 - Xbox explains the big server outage1:05:33 - Update on Halo Campaign Evolved sale’s estimates1:20:34 - GTA 6 gets a gameplay reveal on Netflix1:50:45 - Ghost Of Yotei Complete Edition announced1:54:22 - Lord Of The Rings remasters inbound2:00:15 - Atlus thinks they have to do Persona 1 & 2 Remakes2:06:52 - Hog Leg 2 confirmed2:09:56 - What We’re Playing2:42:49 - The extremely desperate Elder Scrolls rabbithole3:11:43 - Blizzard is Microsoft’s top performing studio3:16:48 - Wrap up
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices