Defining Duke: An Xbox Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#213 | Xbox's Bold Risk Is FINALLY Paying Off...? Feb 02, 2025

Show notes

After a strong financial performance in December 2024 and a non-disastrous Phil Spencer interview, gamers are seemingly starting to bite on Xbox's vision a bit. After managing to fund games like Kunitsu-Gami, Ninja Gaiden 4, and reportedly picking up the phone to talk about Ori 3, Xbox appears to be driving all of their capital into making the unlikely games actually exist. If Xbox's future as a third party publisher is looking like this, it means that excellent games are enroute and that is a win for everyone. Do the Dukes agree?! Perhaps. You're going to have to listen to find out, obviously. Nerd.

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

0:00:00 - Intro

0:18:21 - Sony Interactive Entertainment announces that they are appointing Hideaki Nishino as President and CEO

0:34:57 - Ninja Gaiden 4 was in talks 6-7 years ago

0:42:35 - Gears Of War E-Day in 2025?

0:50:39 - The Gears Of War Judgment developer is back on Gears!

0:57:36 - Ori 3 is happening?

1:10:27 - DOOM: The Dark Ages is strictly single player

1:12:47 - Some updates on future Halo projects

1:25:42 - MLB The Show 25 is not coming to Xbox Game Pass

1:31:38 - BioWare is dramatically shrinking down

1:48:14 - Ubisoft is making cuts

1:49:18 - Split Fiction has officially gone gold

1:49:57 - Warner Bros Gaming division will have a new president

1:53:48 - What We’re Playing

2:22:26 - Xbox’s bold risk from 2024 is finally paying off

2:27:48 - Destin Legarie’s Phil Spencer interview

2:54:56 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week

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#212 | Our Thoughts On Xbox's Developer_Direct 2025... - Did It Deliver?! Jan 26, 2025

Show notes

The January Developer Direct has come and gone! With it, Xbox has finally achieved what many fans have desperately sought out for them to do since this generation started back in 2020: Have consistent releases in the front half of the year. Indeed, you'll be getting three major games from them between April 8th and May 15th on Game Pass. Those titles are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, South Of Midnight, and DOOM: The Dark Ages. That's not all as the mysterious fourth (fifth?) showing is a strong return for Ninja Gaiden. A fourth entry is real and inbound for Fall of this year. Today, you can play Ninja Gaiden 2 Black which aims to straighten out problems over a decade old. With the return of 2D and 3D Ninja Gaiden, it truly is "The Year Of The Ninja" and the Dukes couldn't be happier about it.

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

0:00:00 - Intro

0:23:52 - Xbox Financials

0:36:25 - PlayStation’s live service initiative is a failure

1:18:07 - Extas1s has shared more games leaving Xbox

1:25:41 - Respawn’s upcoming Star Wars RTS game reveal soon

1:30:23 - Dragon Age Veilguard director leaves BioWare

1:39:25 - Hollow Knight Silksong is still real

1:41:40 - EA Origin is shutting down

1:42:34 - Some new sales numbers

1:43:55 - What We’re Playing

2:01:28 - Xbox Developer Direct

2:59:33 - BioWare Sales Update

3:12:19 - Indiana Jones sales

3:19:12 - Coming soon to Xbox Game Pass

3:24:11 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week

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#211 | The Xbox Rumors Are Swirling - Big Reveals SOON? Jan 19, 2025

Show notes

As expected, the Xbox Developer_Direct is set to arrive soon and it will boast four games. Those titles are South Of Midnight, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and a mysterious fourth game that's rumored to be from a "legendary Japanese IP." Naturally, the Dukes have many guesses about that, but also if there will the be usual fifth game that shows up like it has since Developer Direct became a thing. We won't have to wait long to find out. What we'll need to wait a while for is if Xbox will survive beyond 2030. No, that's not hyperbole. Outlet The Information reports that the Xbox business was set to shutdown in 2021 unless Game Pass subscriptions went up. What the rest of the write-up depicts are spooky times for the Green Team as it seems more and more like these moves by Xbox are more for survivability. Oblivion Remake continues to be a horribly kept secret, so we get into some new gameplay details on that, and also into what's going on with Ubisoft as Assassin's Creed Shadows sees another delay. You can get all of that, plus your weekly throat coat, all here on Defining Duke!

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

0:00:00 - Intro

0:26:02 - Bombshell report on Xbox’s financials

0:53:47 - Final Fantasy 7 to Xbox

0:55:34 - Marvel Rivals revenue on Xbox

0:58:50 - Unannounced Bethesda game listed on a French retailer

1:08:20 - Why Starfield did not have gore and dismemberment

1:11:10 - Assassin’s Creed: Shadows delayed to March 20th

1:21:52 - Larian Studios goes dark

1:22:29 - Blood Of Dawnwalker reveal

1:24:08 - Godfall developer Counterplay has reportedly shut down

1:26:32 - Smite 2 goes free to play

1:31:33 - What We’re Playing

1:56:00 - Avowed gut-check

2:04:06 - Game reveal nerves

2:25:32 - Xbox Developer Direct

2:50:48 - Xbox shipping games on PlayStation and Switch

3:10:49 - Oblivion Remake gameplay details

3:37:01 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week

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#210 | Is 2025 The Year That Xbox Delivers? Jan 12, 2025

Show notes

After two weeks of R&R, the Duke boys are back! Plenty happened while we were away. Everything from Oblivion Remake leaking (again) to a supposed Xbox console dropping in 2026 circulated, so we have much to pick up at the start of the new year. For starters, a Developer Direct looms and the lineup could be stacked if it's to include The Outer Worlds 2, Fable, DOOM: The Dark Ages, and South Of Midnight as expected. The question on the tip of everyone's tongue is simply this: "What is the mystery fifth game appearance?" In year one, it was Hi Fi Rush. Year two gave it to a rare third party appearance in Square Enix for Visions Of Mana. The Duke debate what could show up! We also dive into Xbox's sudden competition with Valve as they've lept headfirst into challenging Windows with their own OS. How has this accelerated Microsoft's plans without a handheld ready? Plus, grim estimates of Xbox's current console sales and, even worse, Xbox's sales hits to Game Pass titles!

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

0:00:00 - Intro

0:35:13 - Dispelling the Black Myth Wukong… myth?

0:44:29 - Series X & S sales estimates are bleak

1:03:08 - 80% of sales lost on Game Pass titles

1:11:44 - Xbox Cloud Gaming is headed to LG Smart TVs

1:12:38 - Kojima's OD sees a setback

1:16:40 - Xbox rejected a Halo/DOOM crossover for Secret Level

1:21:22 - Jez Corden on more Indiana Jones games

1:24:19 - Season 1 of Marvel Rivals revealed

1:30:54 - Splash Damage cancels Transformers: Reactivate

1:33:52 - SEGA considering its own subscription service

1:37:24 - First look at Virtua Fighter 6

1:41:31 - PlatinumGames says they’re planning some things..

1:44:22 - Will Shen, former lead quest designer at BGS, on massive games

1:52:33 - So, this is where the former Annapurna Interactive team went

1:55:46 - SteamOS is available for third party devices

2:04:14 - Destiny 2 has lost 90% of its Steam players in seven months

2:13:37 - What We’re Playing

2:51:47 - Matty's 74 Hours on Xbox

3:06:31 - Xbox Developer Direct soon?

3:30:03 - Oblivion Remake rumors

3:48:17 - Coming soon to Xbox Game Pass

3:51:00 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week

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#209 | The Best & Worst of Xbox Game Pass in 2024 Jan 05, 2025

Show notes

Games are releasing at a ridiculous, potentially unsustainable pace. It's no longer a question of money, but rather time. Game Pass is always putting out good stuff, but there's so much to sift through that it makes the service a bit overwhelming. Well, the Dukes have arrived, and they have lists that they've checked twice. It's time to go over the naughty and nice for Xbox's prestige service in 2024. What games hit for Matty and Cog and which deserve a lump of coal in their stocking? Let's find out.

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#208 | Looking Back At Xbox's 2024 - Was It A Disaster? Dec 29, 2024

Show notes

To say 2024 resembled a year of change for Xbox would be a bit of an understatement. Heading into a new year, the brand had all the momentum they had finally been seeking. They just delivered great, high profile exclusives in 2023 with the likes of a new Forza Motorsport, Starfield, and Hi Fi Rush, Game Pass delivered GOTY level experiences, and the Activision deal was finally done. Now, it was time to get down to business for the rest of the generation and Xbox did just that, only not in the way we expected. The reality is that the aforementioned momentum we all thought Xbox has ended up meaning very little. Their gaming brand barely generated profits in the final quarter of the year despite a highly anticipated Bethesda Game Studios game leading the charge. It was time for change and they made plenty. At the end of 2024, Xbox is now a multi-platform publisher, their dedication to future hardware is in question, and the social commentary surrounding their games has started to get messy. Combined with low quality deliveries in Shattered Space and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 as well as how divisive the long sought after Hellblade 2 ended up being and you have quite a lot to sift through. In a year full of negatives, can the Dukes find the positives, if any? How does 2025 shape up for Xbox with these changes now solidified? There's quite a bit to parse through, so let's get into one of the busiest years for Xbox.

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#207 | Xbox Ends 2024 in a Blaze of Glory Dec 22, 2024

Show notes

It’s never a slow week on the Green Team, is it? Here are the Dukes thinking our final episode of the year will be a nice, steady, and quiet exit into the new year, but Xbox had different plans! This week, Satya Nadella addressed investors and claimed that Microsoft’s newest “This Is An Xbox” campaign is specifically defined to, well, redefine what it means to be an Xbox fan. So, what is an Xbox fan now? What is one by the new generation? Will there even be a shiny new box with that new generation at this rate? Every time the Dukes think this conversation is laid to rest, Xbox manages to twist the knife one more time. We also get into Xbox’s Project Rainway, a cross platform Xbox guide system, as well as why The Outer Worlds 2 is PS5 bound! We also sink our teeth into SEGA’s renaissance, what dormant IP Capcom may tackle next, why Starfield has so many loading screens, a boatload of “health is wealth” write-ins, and plenty more in a strong finish to a mighty interesting year for Xbox!

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

0:00:00 - Intro

0:47:23 - Big Xbox Game delayed in 2026?

0:52:26 - Call Of Duty to Game Pass soon?

0:54:08 - LEGO Horizon Adventures to Xbox

1:01:30 - Ex BGS developer Nate Purkeypile on Starfield’s loading screens

1:06:59 - Zenimax Online Studios workers have unionized

1:07:49 - Capcom is going back dormant IP

1:22:20 - Borderlands 4 might actually be serious

1:28:36 - New Far Cry leaks

1:37:58 - Dark Alliance is going offline on February 24, 2025

1:39:28 - What We’re Playing

2:10:15 - Xbox is "redefining what it means to be an Xbox fan"

3:00:36 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week

3:07:18 - What games are we playing during our holiday break?

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#206 | WHAT A SHOW! - Our Reactions To The Game Awards 2024 Dec 15, 2024

Show notes

After a disastrous showing in 2023, Geoff Keighley and his team put together arguably their best show for the 10th anniversary of The Game Awards! While not perfect, major issues with pacing, presenters, and speech time seemed to be ironed out. It also doesn't hurt that the show was chockful of insane announcements. Of course, we get into The Black Rock who is delivering not just one, but two massive RPGs in a single year thanks to The Outer Worlds 2, but also a staggering list of other games. An Okami sequel is real as is Naughty Dog's new sci-fi IP. Onimusha is back as is a new IP for Yakuza developer, RGG. They're not just working on Project Century at RGG, but also reviving Virtua Fighter. Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country, massive showing in their own right, end up as footnotes due to the seismic amount of announcements packed into this show. The list goes on much longer than that, but we'll leave you a little something to listen to now. Enjoy!

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

0:00:00 - Intro

0:43:25 - What We’re Playing

1:17:26 - General thoughts on The Game Awards

1:28:51 - Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound

1:31:39 - Thick As Thieves

1:32:38 - Shadow Labryrinth

1:33:48 - Steel Paws

1:38:14 - Rematch

1:41:16 - Solasta 2

1:44:38 - The Witcher 4

1:50:00 - Elden Ring Nightrein

1:54:20 - Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth goes to PC

1:55:22 - Untitled Project from Ico, Shadow Of Colossus, Last Guardian devs

1:57:11 - The Outer Worlds 2

2:12:25 - Split Fiction

2:14:36 - Killing Floor 3

2:15:30 - The Long Dark 2

2:16:38 - Borderlands 4

2:23:42 - Clive Rosfield to Tekken 8

2:26:29 - Splitgate 2

2:26:49 - Virtua Fighter announcement

2:29:04 - Project Century by RGG

2:31:38 - Turok Origins

2:32:54 - Helldivers 2

2:33:14 - Warframe 1999

2:34:04 - Palworld Feybreak

2:36:11 - Onimusha Way Of The Sword

2:38:05 - The First Berserker

2:39:54 - Arad: Dungeon & Fighter

2:43:15 - Dying Light: The Beast

2:45:55 - Fortnite Ballistic

2:46:25 - Squid Game Unleashed

2:48:47 - Stage Fright

2:49:37 - Game Of Thrones Kingsroad

2:52:29 - Double Dragon Revive

2:54:21 - The Last Of Us 2 on PC

2:54:43 - Den Of Wolves

2:56:04 - Sonic Racing Crossworld

2:58:04 - Mafia: The Old Country

3:00:45 - Dispatch

3:02:48 - Okami Sequel announced by Capcom and Hideki Kamiya

3:05:48 - Crimson Desert

3:08:24 - Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

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#205 | Indiana Jones & The Great Circle Is HERE - Did It Deliver?! Dec 08, 2024

Show notes

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

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#204 | Xbox vs PlayStation - The Handheld Wars Are ON! Dec 01, 2024

Show notes

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