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[WRITE-IN] What Are We Doing Here, Xbox? | Firelink Podcast (Patreon)

Published:
2026-07-09 16:35:15
Imported:
2026-07

Content

Hey all! On tonight's show, we'll be going over the latest news out of Xbox's "reset," predict the future of Fallout, and then bring things up a bit by chatting about games we've been playing, such as the excellent Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake.

Get your questions/comments/concerns about any of the above, or holler at us with your favorite run so far in this week's GDQ.

Cheers!

Files

What Are We Doing Here, Xbox? | Firelink Podcast

This week on Firelink, KC and Marty chat about the recent update in Xbox's big studio reset. Keep up to date on the standings of our Firelink Fantasy Critic Draft -- https://www.fantasycritic.games/league/6093c943-c06e-4f44-8206-157e410d7914/2026 If you dig the podcast, considering supporting us over at Patreon -- https://www.patreon.com/SecondWindGroup Check out our excellent selection of merch over at our DFTBA store -- https://store.dftba.com/collections/second-wind

Comments

Donald Seaman

Marty I need to know, are you still casually following wrestling? Cus I’m hype for Brock Lesnar v Oba Femi in Hell in a Cell and I need you to be hype too

Lil' Cass (CJ)

Here's some positive news: TennoCon 2026 is this weekend, July 10th and 11th, and I am so excited for it. We all lift together, fellow Tenno.

A Winged Potato

Do we think the utter disaster of Xbox’s past strategy will prevent the widespread gobbling up of smaller companies and big acquisitions in the future/more resistance to it by regulators who should have long ago realized how these all end for workers? (it won’t)

linaloki

With how much Microsoft is investing in its AI arm despite near 0 interest from customers and how they're seemingly cannibalizing their video games division and other divisions to keep that AI boat afloat, it seems like there's a possibility that Xbox as a whole collapses. Do you think Xbox dying off as a video game publisher/developer would be ultimately beneficial to the industry as a whole, allowing studios to grab now floating investment dollars and have time to breathe and actually make games? Or has Xbox eaten too much of the investor pie for smaller studios to survive its collapse?

Mrticketron

I do want to give xbox some credit. They're talking and negotiating with the studios. They're allowing independence. Unlike say sony, ubisoft, ea, take two, any of the other big players, ect. Who will just outright close down a studio and not even seek any other potential business options for their assets. Xbox at least knows how to do business. And side note i hope now that double fine is independent they branch into becoming an indie publisher like outer sloth especially since they're already known for day of the devs.

Pollio

Not a great sign of confidence when the fresh new idea is to go back to mine 30 year old franchise IP. They seem to be uninterested in creating the Mario, Sonic, or Master Chief of the next hardware generation (if one even exists.) People 8-13 years old now need a unique flagship for their generation.

Simon Lane's Luscious Toesies

With all the craziness going on involving Xbox lately, lets conjure some positivity. As a predominently Xbox focused gamer ive always loved the console and its games. I live for the days when you could download your CDs directly onto the console and play them overtop of games. What is your guys' favourite niche or lesser known games from xbox's past? Mine would be Kingdon Under Fire or Goblin Commander.

ImmenseCookie

At least XBOX aren't throwing them all in the meat grinder. I wonder how long games will stay on GamePass from the severed studios?

Th3P4tM4n

I'm glad Double Fine and Compulsion were emancipated instead of executed, but I'm concerned about the news about layoffs among the other Xbox games studios. Bethesda and it's studios in particular seem hard hit. Do we think there's a future where Xbox no longer keeps internal studios?

Far Too Many Frogs

it's hard not to look at xbox and sony and start to feel bleak. iDTech looking like it's being killed, SONY union busting and tossing physical games into the trash, it's killed any interest in a 10th gen console for me.

TooManySpreadsheets

This is probably cold comfort to the 3200 Xbox employees facing layoffs, but I am relieved that Double Fine, Compulsion, and Ninja Theory are going to survive this reset. I was real worried that they would be shut down, and while they probably have rocky roads ahead of them, at least they have roads.

LaboratoryManiac

Really feels like I should just go play my Switch 2 and try not to look at what Xbox and PlayStation are doing in the rest of the console space right now...

Riley Lemon

It feels like Xboxs position is fundamentally existential. Broadly speaking Sony and Nintendo are entertainment companies. Is it even possible for an outright tech company like Microsoft to own a gaming division. Up until the PS3 tech and gaming were complimentary, by the next generation they were just different, now they are in direct competition, for both components and capital investment. Is there even a future where Microsoft still owns Xbox in 10 years? Or are they getting sold to someone like a Hasbro or a Disney or someone from a different sphere.

LookItsChefEric

Xbox is behaving like somebody who spent too much at the beginning of the months and is now trying to save money wherever they can.. The difference between me and them is that I'll buy less fancy coffee drinks and they'll put hundreds of people out of work, the fiduciary responsibility Of tech executives strike again

Mopman43

Ironically, the studios being let go seem to be getting much better treatment than the studios that they’re keeping.

Mopman43

Xbox is apparently going to make new games with the id tech engine even though they canned almost every dev on the id tech team. I’m sure this will go great.

Anthony Kessen

Xbox says this is their reset. But they will still be changing their landscape making it even more bare over the next year…. But then when do we honestly think we see a resurgence? 2 maybe 4 years from now after the whole landscape has moved on from Xbox as an entity? Or are they just hoping people stick around for their past library? Like what is the game situation after E-day?

Fuzzy Freestyle

I hate the direction the video games industry is going. Between not owning digital media and constant layoffs, this isn't what Geoff Keighly meant when he said the best days were ahead of us. I also blame the AI bubble. I live in Canada and our local government is making deals to build a data center in my backyard. Can we go to a different timeline, please?

Tommy Salty

I'm certainly not going to say anything groundbreaking, as I'm but a pleb and not a smart corporate executive. However, I can't understand their logic. EA bought studios that they later gutted (remember Westwood?), Sony did it, and of course XBOX too. Has it ever worked? Spending shit load of money on a studio and then cutting it down, getting rid of all the talent. It seems that despite years they've been in the gaming business, they understand very little. They don't listen to the journalists, to their customers, to the gamers. And of course the CEOs only fall upwards, and it's the devs who get fired. I truly hope both consoles go down in flames.

Steady Goblin Wood

I heard nothing but good things about Black Flag from previews and the folks who played it in the past being really excited. I was planning on picking it up and finally trying it out but it's getting mostly negative reviews and a bunch of backlash for microtransactions? What are they charging people for and do yall think this is the final straw for Ubisoft maybe making a comeback of some kind? I heard they are already laying people off?

Andrew White-Winter

Hey You, Pikachu was an amazing run at GDQ! I didn't even know that game existed.

bluemage27034

Does xbox end up out of the hardware market and become a publisher like Sega?

Inverse Skies

All the way back in 2002 Edge magazine ran a piece called “Operation Xbox, Is it terminal?” Whilst the answer then was no would that be the same answer now if the same article was run again?

Inverse Skies

PC gamer magazine in their black flag remake article essentially said “It’s good. But so is the original and this didn’t need a remake”. After spending some time with it do the second wind team feel the same way?

JoMo SlowMo

What they did to ID Software has me fuming, I could probably power two of microslops anti human ai datacenters, if they ever get to have so many. They want to make new Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, Fallout and Elder Scrolls games, and the way to go about that is to gut the studio that has been making Doom games consistently. microchop turned the grandfather studio of fps into Raven Soft (F) and why? Was it because they pitched a Perfect Dark game? More likely because they were inbetween projects. They crunched to release the DLC for Dark Ages, and the thanks recieved is to get shit canned. microsatan took in 100$ billions in profit last year, they could still easily afford to keep ID in it's entirety, but they chose not to. Instead talking about "14 levels of management" to divert attention away from all the artists, coders, engineers and qa testers sacked. I'm sure the singular developer left at ID will be much easier to talk to than the whole team. I'm not hyped for a new Obisidian Fallout made by a studio that didn't want to make one, and one made under duress with the Sword of Damocles hanging over them, has to produce good results, right? Right? I am so fucking done with microchop, I'll never upgrade to windows 11, I'd rather deal with learning linux and drop all the expensive software I can't bring along, than have to give those anti gaming psychopaths any more of my money. It's so short sighted and it reeks of not understanding their own business as much as not being competent at it. Fuck asha sharma, fuck satya nadella, and fuck the rest of the pathetic, lying ghouls that have wrought this reality upon us. Damn, forgot to actually post this. Ah well, it was good to vent

Freakjob

Xbox gambled hard on GamePass, and now we have mass layoffs as a result. I personally loved it; I played both Expedition 33 and Avowed in the same month for a fraction of what it would have cost to buy them individually. There are so many good games on the platform, both indie and AAA. However, I have a) a limited budget, b) limited time, and c) a massive backlog that costs me nothing to catch up on.