Defining Duke: An Xbox Podcast

Many have said that you can't put the genie back in the lamp, but PlayStation begs to differ. After years of flirting with PC releases (many of which were delayed after the game's initial launch), Sony's gaming group is erecting the walled garden. Naturally, some Xbox fans are looking over at these moves and wondering if the new leadership regime at Xbox can pull off a similar feat. Have these platform holders been running from their fate all along? Can Xbox even dream of undoing all their years of work on damaging their brand? The Dukes sound off on...

The winds of change are blowing through Xbox! Two of their three leaders that have guided the entire Series generation in Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are out. Staying is Matt Booty, who was also promoted (!), and joining as the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming is Asha Sharma. Despite Sarah Bond seemingly being groomed as Phil's successor, Asha steps in with a background that touts her as President of Microsoft's CoreAI alongside time spent at Instacart and Meta as an executive leader. Similarly to when Phil inherited the mess from Don Mattrick, Asha has her work cut out for...

It's the Todd Howard show this week! In a mega interview, we have plenty of juicy information to pick through. How are things going with Elder Scrolls VI and what's the direction for that game? What's going on with Creation Engine 3? Are there any new Fallout games enroute? How are things hanging after the TV show? The questions are many, but the answers are far more tantalizing! Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at https://www.shopify.com/duke Please keep in mind that our timestamps are a...

As Grand Theft Auto VI begins to lock in its November 19th release date, we're already started to see publishers scramble with their release plans. A recent report out of The Verge firms up that Xbox, like much of this industry, will be attempting to evade the blast zone. As such, they are moving some games up and there's a chance others fall out of the year. Joining Matty this week is Last Stand's own Brad Ellis to talk about everything from Halo Campaign Evolved to Gears Of War: E-Day as we debate and discuss the respective windows of...

Xbox's marketing beat for 2025 was "The Year Of Obsidian Entertainment." Frankly, it made sense. No matter how you feel about the quality of these games, the fact that this team shipped Avowed, Outer Worlds 2, and Grounded 2 all within a calendar year (while many other teams within the first party fold continue to stumble around) was worthy of all the praise. Well, Obsidian has some thoughts on that marketing tagline. Indeed of it being a rallying cry, Obsidian's own Josh Sawyer defined as a "sign that something went wrong." Both Avowed and Outer Worlds 2 were in development for over six...

Well, we've seen our fair share of Xbox earnings reports. As expected, there's a lot of negative discourse around it, but this time there are some more troubling facts resting within these underlying numbers. As we've seen Xbox's hardware has been down for almost two years now. That continues in this quarter, so it is not much of a shocker by this point. That is if you only consider the console and not the recently released Xbox Ally. When it comes to gaming revenue as well as content and services, they're down. This is significant because this is all...

Everything from Forza Horizon 6 and Kiln to Beast Of Reincarnation and Fable was shown off here! While the other games made their own noise, the Dukes (including Gene Park) were most captured by Fable. Judging by the noise online, so were many, many other people. For the first time in a long time, it feels like Xbox has a broadly appealing hit on their hands. Playground Games showed off everything from combat and choices to the economic and social simulation elements that always made Fable such a joy to play. With this comes the new introduction of "Living Population"...

After years of secrecy and many delays, Xbox is set to pull the lid off one of its most anticipated RPGs at the upcoming Developer Direct. First rumored in 2017 and announced in 2020, Fable has been baking at Playground Games, the prolific racing game studio, for a long, long time. Now, Xbox promises a deep dive on everything from combat and choice to British humor and chickens. Is it do or die time for Fable? How does its early year showing shake up the already packed summer showcase? Will we finally get a release date? Perhaps just a release year...

Xbox didn't miss a beat to kick off the new year. In a scratch pad by Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, he spoke to how we need to accept AI as slop versus sophistication. As one would imagine, this had the adverse effect as "Microslop" began trending all over social media. The timing could be better as the rise of AI datacenters have caused a massive spikes in hardware prices. So much so that there are now reports that both Xbox and PlayStation may delay their upcoming hardware as a result. The question now becomes if a delayed Xbox system...

After 2025, it's safe to say the years of saying "next year is their year" are over for Xbox. When it comes to the prior 24 months, it has not gone according to the Duke's plans whatsoever. With that in mind, we have dared to look ahead in spite of all of that. The games, the unimaginable business decisions, and yes, even hardware. What is in store for this brand next year? Tons of surprises, no doubt, but just how many? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Xbox has seen a lot of changes in the last two years and that's putting it lightly. Everything from a disconnect with their own base to price hikes galore has led to a near complete disenfranchisement with the brand. Today, the Dukes gather and do their best to scrounge up the positives in a relatively down year. What shined so brightly in 2025 for Xbox? Well, I'm glad you asked... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Lord Cognito long predicted, the AI conversation reached a breaking point online when people saw one of the industry's golden children announced that they'll be using generative AI for their game's development. That team is Larian Studios who is responsible for the Divinity franchise alongside the incredible Baldur's Gate 3. The CEO of Larian, Swen Vincke, said that it will be used for mostly pre-production stuff along the lines of whiteboxing or even company e-mails. However, he also let it slip that concept art ideation will be part of that process as an optional tool. Well, social media did...

Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic. Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro0:01:35 - Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic0:15:50 - Pragmata Release Date0:17:26 - New Divinity Game0:23:50 - Coven of the Chicken Foot0:25:26 - Ontos0:27:00 - 4:LOOP0:29:23 - Order Of The Sinking Star0:30:52 - South of Midnight gets PS5 and Switch 2 reveal0:33:50 - Exodus0:39:34 - Control Resonant0:41:42 - Lego Batman...

Despite any gripes with Xbox this year, there's no denying that 2026 presents a fun challenge for them. Fable, Forza Horizon 6, Halo, and Gears Of War E-Day are all slated to drop next year. However, a new wrinkle has been introduced in the ambitious RPG, Clockwork Revolution, which hails from inXile Entertainment. After a seven minute trailer from this summer's showcase, we felt this thing had to be ready to go soon. Sadly, the RPG titan tempered our expectations when the trailer ended with the familiar statement from its initial reveal: "Coming in due time." Well, if a LinkedIn profile...

Thanks to the likes of OpenAI, hardware manufacturers are scrambling to adjust prices amidst a shortage of RAM. As a result, things are about to become more expensive again! Unlike companies like Lenovo or PlayStation who seemingly bought stock in advance to help avoid price shock, Xbox appears to be ready to pass this one onto the consumer. Naturally, the "Xbox refugees" have turned their attention toward the Steam Machine which could fill a void in our gamer hearts. However, the Dukes find it hard to imagine a hero in this stock shortage story. Just how much will the...

As was originally reported, Xbox brought out a Partner Preview in November. It was chockful of everything strange like a co-op alien shop simulator or a thuggish rabbit beating up baddies to more traditional first person horror titles. The catch was that every game we saw throughout was a Play Anywhere title, a program that many of Xbox's players still yearn for the platform to leverage more. All in all, the Dukes enjoyed the show, especially given it dropped ahead of the biggest show of the year in the Game Awards where announcements are typically prioritized. Beyond that, we...

Xbox's big bet for bringing PCs to the living room has officially been undercut. This week, Valve announced three (!) different pieces of hardware. First, there is the Steam Machine, which serves as the strongest competitor to consoles. While still very much a PC, the Steam Machine packs a lot of punch for a small device and could be a force if priced well. Second, a brand new VR headset in the Steam Frame. Despite Meta having massive first-party support, Valve has decided to challenge a space that many of us thought was finished growing. Third, and finally, is a...

It's been quite the year for Obsidian Entertainment. Following three major releases in one year with Avowed, Grounded 2 (Early Access), and The Outer Worlds 2. Obsidian finds itself discussing their future and relevance in a world where "Microsoft Gaming" exists. Cog and Hoeg discuss the significance of revisiting the Pillars of Eternity universe with their latest turn based announcement. What does the future also hold for this studio? In addition to all the latest news in the world of Xbox! Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off...

Following months of swirling rumors, Halo Combat Evolved has its remake. It's called Halo Campaign Evolved and you can play it next year on Xbox, PC, and yes, even PlayStation! It has everything from sprinting to aiming down sights, but more surprising is the new content found within. Cutscenes have been entirely reshot, new prequel missions are being added to the game, new weapons are getting thrown in there, and even the warthog saw an expansion to it. Cog and Gene had the opportunity to go hands-on with a demo of this remake and the takeaways are what you'd...

There's much to be said about how The Outer Worlds 2 was handled prior to its release. Everything from a lacking preview and Avowed's underwhelming launch to Xbox attempting to force a $80 price point put this game on the uphill climb. All of that is out the window now. Cog and Matty have it in hand and have logged their many hours! Is the Black Rock ready to deliver on the RPG pedigree that they're known for or are they best off focusing on their new strength in games like Grounded or Pentiment? Please keep...