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Defining Duke, Episode 294: The Thread (Patreon)

Published:
2026-08-17 19:48:28
Imported:
2026-08

Content

Hey, all! It's time to submit your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas for Episode 294 of Defining Duke.

Great ways to get your write-up used: Be pithy, be topical, and be insightful. Walls-of-text, posts littered with poor grammar and punctuation, etc., are promptly (though respectfully) ignored.

As this is an Xbox podcast, be sure your submission makes sense within that realm. You have until Wednesday, August 19th at 3 PM ET to make your submission.

Comments

Raisin

With the news of Hayden Panettiere passing, I wanted to implore us all to tell the people we love that they are indeed loved. In gaming, Hayden is best known for her leading role in Until Dawn and voicing Kairi in Kingdom Hearts I, II, and Birth by Sleep. At 36 years of age, she would've celebrated her 37th birthday the day after this podcast goes live on Patreon. Seeing as I turn 31 this Sunday, I've been thinking more than I normally would about her passing. Whatever her cause of death is revealed to be, I want to say: if you are suffering from depression of any kind, please don't wait. Please get help. If you are struggling with addiction of any kind, please reach out for a hand. If you are the hand they reach for, pick them up. If they fall, pick them up again and again and again. Never make your support conditional. To those suffering, you are stronger than the demons that haunt you. If you are suffering from anxiety, like myself, know that you are your own master. You hold dominion over your own mind. Your kingdom is yours and yours alone. No amount of pervasive thoughts can or should persuade you otherwise. I know we are really good about giving advice to people and not taking it ourselves, but don't let that fact stop you from doing an act of kindness. Do a loving act. Love in spite of pain. Love in spite of fear. Love in spite of the inevitable. Please don't think you're above asking for help. I promise you someone will heed the call. I will reiterate: whether it's depression, addiction, or anxiety, you are stronger than the demons that haunt you. You are your own master.

Gaming Empire Chronicles

Microsoft gives each of you the power to reverse one decision in Xbox history, but you must also accept every plausible consequence that follows from changing it. Which decision do you undo, and how differently do you think Xbox history unfolds afterward?

empty_0

Howdy Dukes! Not XBOX related, but Matty I was hoping to hear you weigh in on the upcoming loss of Pokemon Bank in February of 2027. Since you're a pokemon fan and a gamer with a retro focused channel, this is a huge blow. TPC is breaking a link from 2002 to 2026, where you could transfer a pokemon and keep it with you throughout almost every game. I recently did this with my favorite Pokemon Swampert to get a champion ribbon from every reason, all the way up from my Emerald cartridge. I hope this gets some attention like the loss of discs, because it's a pure greed play by TPC to take this feature that benefits collectors and nostalgic fans away. Have a "gotta catch em...only on switch after you rebuy our ports" kind of day

Mr. Scott If You're Nasty

My Lovely Dukes of Loveliness, So, Wolverine previews come out and yeah not sad I sold my PlayStation. I want to stress the word looks because I haven't played it, but yeah it looks like another Sony paint-by-numbers first person game. It seemed uninspired to me. I will most likely be happily playing Blood of the Dawnwalker while it releases, but Dukes, you both are more of the superhero guys. What did you all think? Have a I went to extract my claws but they came out limp kind of day! P.S. That Wolverine console looked awesome though! Wish Xbox would do one for Gears.

Papa Fridge

Dukes! Question for Marty. With Kingdom Hearts 4 being shown off and dated for 2027, I’m interested I getting into this series. I’m now a certified Disney adult and have recently played my first several Final Fantasy games so Kingdom Hearts seems like a logical next step. However, I’m absolutely confused as all hell on what I’m supposed to play. Is it acceptable to play 1-3 and use recap videos to catch up on the other games in the series? Or should I not bother unless I commit to every KH game released to date. I need your wisdom my friend. Please enlighten me on these dark arts. Thanks and have a “don’t fuck with the Mouse” kind of day.

MonstaPontes93 (Ricky Pontes)

Happy Monday duke boys! With the D23 come and gone! Holy cow we got the un thinkable Coco in KH4, an extended trailer, a release year confirmed, a deep dive in the history of KH and an animated series what??? Matty were eating good! Right now! Also big year for square next year Ff14 expansion-winter 2027 Final fantasy 7 revelations-spring 2027 Kingdom hearts 4-Fall 2027 Pinch me or please let me be alive and healthy enough to experience this year of some of my favorite franchises! My question now, Matty when does the replay of the series start? Cog are you finally jumping on and what’s ur thoughts? Or to creepy cog energy.. Also RIP to the wonderful lovely hayden panettiere voice of kairi in KH and so much more! 🙏

ChiefAtom

Hello dukes, about 2 months ago my best friend of over 20 years passed away due to heart failure at 34 years old. It has made me realize that your health is not something to take for granted. Im ashamed to admit that when I started my journey I weighted 515 lbs and due to diet and hard work I’m down 65lbs with a lot more to go. I’m not sure if this will be read but I just wanted to thank you both for keeping my head clear during these hard times. Listening to you both open about your issues means more than you can possibly know, Just know you both have a forever fan in me Much love and gratitude from Michael.

DandyGuyinSpace15

Hey Dukes, Hope you’re both doing well. I’ve been following Defining Duke for a while and really value the way you both talk about Halo and the bigger picture for Xbox overall. Wanted to run a pitch by you and see if it sparks any interest. I’ve put together a Player Voice submission calling for a third-person action-adventure Halo game based on the Halo: Epitaph novel, where you play as the Didact in the Domain. The idea is to keep the mainline games focused on Master Chief in first-person, while using spin-offs to do bolder and more experimental things. Halo 4 introduced one of the most compelling antagonists in the franchise. The Didact was powerful, tragic, and full of unfinished potential. Then the games mostly moved on. His complete arc, corruption, defeat, and hard-earned redemption was finished in the novel Halo: Epitaph, set inside the Domain. That story deserves to be experienced as a game. Gameplay would center on the Didact as the main protagonist using his Forerunner abilities, starting weakened and gradually reclaiming power. The story could also serve as connective tissue between Halo 4 and Halo 5, Infinite, and the Forerunner Saga novels. I know you’ve talked about wanting to see more spin-off games in the Halo franchise over the years, and this feels like the kind of idea that could actually deliver on that. Something that expands the universe without touching the core formula. Curious if this is something you two would find interesting or worth discussing on the show at some point. Here's the Player Voice post for more details: Halo's Boldest Spin Off Game Yet: Play as the Didact. Open the Domain. · Community https://share.google/O9lhnJqnLYteMRFjj Appreciate the work you both put in every week! Have a finish this fight kind of day!

Tom Sweeney

Hello Gentlemen, Matty, I saw your video on the Wolverine previews, and like usual the comments are upset. Unfortunately, there were some comments that made some decent points. Wolverine giving the finger with his claw has been done before in the first X men movie and in X Men Legends 2. The sentinel boss is technically labeled as a prototype so we may see a bigger boss similar to the one in origins Wolverine but time will tell. And the suit comparison between Wolverine and Batman represent two different perspectives. Batman suit damages at certain points in the game, showcasing how the night has beaten him down (as most Arkham games take place in one day). While Wolverine it’s supposed to show how much damage he is taking, and it damages throughout the gameplay not a specific story points. This correction isn’t supposed to be meant as an attack but I wanted to help your future coverage of the game so people can’t get easy lay ups on you (if you do any future coverage). Have a great day gents, and keep smiling!

Make America Grodd Again

Greetings Duke Boys, if you ever wanted to know how over it was regarding physical games look no further. You can now purchase digital game codes directly from DoorDash. For some reason no PlayStation codes on Xbox and Nintendo. Regardless digital is being pushed literally everywhere and we are cooked.

rokku

Dukes! Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter just dropped a new update almost a year after release where they have adjusted the localisation, with the voice acting included, to better reflect the legacy terminology as well as pronunciations. Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter will also be consistent with these adjustments. Never in my days have I ever seen a developer go out of their way to make changes to localisation long after the release and even to the extent of recording new voice lines. Especially with how localisation is often an afterthought. With that being said, have the Dukes ever seen something like this before? Also for someone like Matty who's familiar with these games, was this really that big of an issue and are these changes for the better? Have a "JRPG Fans are feasting" kind of day.

Manuel Nascimento

Hey Dukes, This might be more of a PlayStation-specific point, but it really affects the whole physical media ecosystem: I've got a proposed solution to the whole "death of physical" debate: why doesn't PlayStation just sell physical games directly to players through playstation.com? They've said the digital-physical split is around 82%-18%, so they could easily capture some of that 18% by selling directly to the players who really want physical copies — a lot of whom are collectors anyway. This way, PlayStation cuts out the retailer's margin, and it would probably curb a chunk of the second-hand market too, since people buying directly from playstation.com are more likely to actually want to keep the disc rather than resell it. PlayStation could even throw in a digital license tied to the buyer's account, so they can still play at launch even if the disc hasn't arrived yet — no shipping anxiety. The only downside I can see is that this means PS6 would still need some kind of disc drive, maybe as an external attachment — but that seems inevitable anyway, since they'll need to keep supporting PS4 and PS5 discs on PS6, right? What do you all think? Cheers.

Tdot’s Finest82

Dukes, I gotta call you to stand a little bit! I’ve heard us listeners and viewers of DD called out a few times since this show started 293 episodes ago, for low write-in count. Every week, I pop in here to see what fellow listeners are talking about and think to myself “great topic, wonder what the Dukes think?” Sadly, almost none of these topics make it to the big show. Unless it’s health is wealth or someone writing in regurgitating a current headline, and adding a one sentence catch-all at the end, nothing else gets read or talked about. I’m not expecting Sacred Symbols level of listener inquiry inclusion, where they do 6 of them at the end of the show, along with a bunch sprinkled in throughout…but some sort of not-headline-news discussion about Xbox and the industry would really encourage more of us to write in. I say this out of nothing but love, I’m one of the many who haven’t had an Xbox in a long time yet listen to the show every week, because I love the content that much. Just my two cents.

Soulful Bison

Dukes of the Zone, Are either of you going to check out the 2.0 update for Stalker 2? I got it on sale but I have held off on the recommendation from Lock to wait for this update. I’m ready to hunt anomalies and uncover the secrets of the zone, are you?

Sean Mason

Hey Dukes, First, I want to keep up the amazing work. Both of you guys are an inspiration to everyone. Your work ethic truly shows in your enthusiasm for games! Second, NateTheHate is reporting that a recently Xbox game has a sequel in development and "the developer behind it had him intrigued." Given that last line, I'm expecting it to be something surprising. What recent game getting a sequel would surprise you the most? Best, Sean M.

sam croese

Gday dukes. Cog take 5 because this is aimed straight at Matty. And I’m going long so bear with me. “A chocolate cake. I love chocolate cake and I can eat a lot of cake but when I’ve had it for years I want a different cake”. That was your analogy this past week for PlayStations games. I wrote it word for word so as not to misquote you. To put it bluntly it rings hollow. Firstly because you don’t seem to be tired of the same cake. The 6th forza horizon ? Delicious. A fresh helping of the 7th mainline gears game with the recycled gears protagonists from 2 console generations ago ? Bon appetite. But forbidden west, Ragnarok and Yotei were a bridge too far ? Were you just too full ? You didn’t seem to want pick up a controller and take a single bite from what I gather. What about gt7? Astrobot ? Saros? The very recent marvel Tokon ? Ratchet and clank ? That’s 5 different genres of cake but you still won’t pick up the fork ? Have you been eating them for as you say, “years”? You’re a critic and a damn good one but to harbour this attitude with games you literally haven’t played undercuts your arguments. Wolverine and Laufey aren’t even out yet but somehow you have them figured out ? Which is especially baffling in laufeys case you haven’t so much as tasted the preceding course. I’m not branding you a hater. But some first hand experience beats someone else’s preview every time. Have a middle claws up kinda day.

Dwindleless

Hey boys, Is Gears of War E-Day breaking series records on PC just an indicator that Xbox gamers have moved over? Seems like an inevitability rather than an accomplishment. Thanks and have a day.

JP

Hey Dukes, This question is inspired by Matty's latest video on the Wolverine previews and the great discussion on the Patreon thread from little Raisin and Mr. Scott If You're Nasty. The fatigue of the formulaic third person, narrative focused game with RPG lite elements. Probably most synonymous with Sony but I think a lot of the Ubisoft games could be included as well. What do you think needs to be done to silence the criticism? Is it the narrative structure and dialogue of these games? Is it the combat and level design? What would you change about these style of games that would reinvigorate your own interest without wholesale changing the genre and potentially alienating a large subset of the more casual audience that looks forward to these kinds of games?

Mike Carley

Hey Dukes, More of a rant today. Can we stop with the “I dont understand why people preorder digital games” comments? I see it on every post/thread about GTA6 lately, and plenty before that. Beside the obvious “who cares how we spend our money,” why do people not understand for normal ass working 36 year old dudes like myself and the vast majority of gamers there truly is as much reason to preorder digital early as there is not. It does not matter. We are going to play these games were are excited for Day 1 regardless, we don’t need reviews. Games aren’t as broken as people love to parrot online. Its fine. I currently have 5 games preordered (mostly physical but still) and plenty more when available, do we really think any of Orbitals, Wolverine, GTA6, Control, or TitS SC are going to be broken on release? Cmon people. Relax

Aaron Shepherd

Hey Dukes! Health is wealth write in for this week. I used to be a competitive trail runner, but the last few years have been getting harder to bounce back after big races or runs in the mountains. I was feeling tired all the time and just felt stuck since all I’d ever done was run and occasionally lift weights. I’d also use running as a way to cope with the stresses of being married, a father of two and the sole income for our household for about 18 months. Needless to say, I ground myself down. About two years ago I started swimming as therapy for my legs and back. It was something I was interested in since high school but just never gave myself the chance to try it. I fell in love with it instantly and have worked up to swimming now being my primary sport, lifting in the gym several times a week, and trading long mountain runs for open water swims in the lakes of Georgia and North Carolina. Just wanted to remind my fellow listeners to not let what you’ve always done or your identity hold you back from new experiences. Especially as we age and can’t quite do the same things we could in our early 20s. Have a “I only feel I can earn my game time by doing endurance sports” kind of day.

Fictional Lets Plays

Hey Duke boys! I have a simple question: What is an Xbox first party title that, for one reason or another, you never got around to playing before? My best friend is a die hard Xbox fanboy with a 300k gamerscore but has never played through a single Halo game before. Thanks for all you do!

CreamLord

Hello, Dukes! Just wanted to ask Cog a quick question. Your dope Ninja Gaiden shirt you often wear, was just wondering if you knew it was a reference to a particular Iron Maiden song, "The Trooper". They're my favorite band so I was just curious. And on that note, do either of you dip your toes into the metal world at all? Thanks for always being positive open minded voices in the space.

Eddie Spaghetti

Hey dukey-dudes, According to rumors, gamescom could be a great place for Xbox to announce a potential sequel to an Xbox owned IP. NateTheHate adding on that this potential game is under a non owned Xbox studio, who are we letting get inside the Xbox IP pantry and what could they be cooking up? Thanks and have a “electrical substation injuring your favorite NFL team” kind of day.

Pet Dog

Greetings Duke Sly and Lord Beefy. Matty this ones mostly for you but Cog please share your thoughts too! Do you think bethesda is going to have a serious problem with people prep playing skyrim in the months leading up to TES 6 and then comparing it to modded skyrim? Im not sure if youve ever played a wabbajack mod list, but the experience truly feels like playing skyrim 2. As a huge skyrim fan, i will personally be really let down if bethesda cant make a game with comparable graphics and textures and great unique lore accurate loot. They really need to rise above their usual slop if they want to justify a near 20 year wait. Some people have literally waited their whole life for this game. So am i crazy and setting the bar too high, or should we expect them to deliver a true to form sequel that improves on the last iteration? Thanks and have a "if obsidians fallout is awesome this will be one of the craziest decades in gaming history" kind of day

EvanThePoet

My dear Dukes, some health is wealth for you this week. It all started when I went to go update some things on my ID since it’s been too long. The horror on my face of remembering my ID still has me at a strong 135 pounds, while now, I sit at 180. The twig built emo boy build I’ve had my whole life disappeared and I couldn’t remember who that person was. One day I woke up and poof, gone from too many snack days. To make this change, I’ve started the Matty special. Hearing you’ve been in your backyard just throwing some pitches inspired me to have something like that of my own, so I dropped the money and got some hitting equipment. Went to the park, and like the opposite of the 2026 Mets, I hit some dingers. The body soreness from being active for the first time in so long truly was a pain I felt good to have. Morning sit-ups and push ups humble me as I am nowhere near what I once could do. And Matty, I’d love to throw some pitches around if you could pass on what you’ve been throwing to, I perused and am too unsure of some of these nets. Now to just keep this up, and get some good snacking recommendations to remember I can achieve a comfortable and healthy figure again. Thanks for the listen gentlemen, I appreciate you greatly. Let’s all stay active and have a “Fernando Tatis Jr must’ve bought stake in City Field the way he owns the Mets” kind of day!

McHaggis

Ahoy there! I would imagine you would both have seen the rumours circulating that Sledgehammer might be given Halo. Although I think all halo games under 343 are still great, it’s clearly not working. But lets be honest, halo fans a cry babies who would have a tantrum at the slightest of modernity brought into the franchise (sprinting, loadouts, etc). So my question is should xbox even bother or just put it in the back burner for a while? Personally they should do something other than Mr Chief and do something that would allow them to innovate, but what do I know. P.S halo infinite has better multiplayer than halo reach. Have a lovely weekend my xbox bros

DextrousJOE

My fellow Dukes! What’s wrong with Burger, Fries, and Shakes? So much of the internet and esp in the consoles wars (yes they still exist) seem hell bent on saying sequel fatigue is real! My question is why? Xbox tried to give us and succeeded in some ways with the AA first party dev but always go back to what we know: Halo, Gears,and Forza. PlayStation gave us Demon Souls, Returnal and Astro Bot. Then proceeded to give us GoW, Horizon, Yotei. Why do so much perceive this as nothing but repetitive, when no one else in the industry makes those games? When we have a market that is flooded with content from every genre imaginable, I do love when our marque titles come around. Much love and have a Nuka Cola on me!

thejjuan1

Hello Dukes. Have you seen the report of the possible reboot/ cancellation of Horizon Hunters gathering? This will be like the 6th cancelled live service game from Sony. If it does get cancelled. I know Matty has been crashing out on Sony first party games. Being all the same third person action, sad dad game. Even though Gears E day is just another Gears game. After playing the beta. Just saying….. But I would take 10 sad dad games then another live service game from Sony. It’s crazy how bad they are at making these games. Even though Destiny 3 is right there! Just cancel Fairgames and be done with this experiment. Have a Wolverine sticking up the middle blades kind of day.

MK

Hey Dukes Excited to head to Europe? Do you think the number of games released daily, weekly, monthly has a direct correlation on the general malaise on the perception of the games industry., and more recently a lack of “innovation” in games. Do you think we need constantly innovate to stay enjoying games? MK!

J Reid

Greetings Sir Matthew Frolics and Lord Low Key Undercover, Let's give a shout-out to Frogware and the Sinking City 2! These guys used to make the sherlock Holmes games and the first Sinking CIty have pivoted to full on survival horror! Made in Ukraine during the war I feel like they deserve a shout-out not only for making this game during a years long war but successfully pivoting from combat free adventure games to survival horror surprisingly well! It's like resident evil with shades of Alan wake and the evil within wrapped in Lovecraft lore. I recommend diving in before the tide of games rises next month! #gothicbreak

Bigfootisreal

Hey Dukes! Listener since the Starfield reviews and love the show. I seen the news of Xbox themed McDonald's Collab with foods from favourite franchises. What dish would you like to taste the most? Also how do you think Asha Sharma is doing as the leader of Xbox, at least apparently there seem to be less rakes being stepped on. Have a "I've eaten a radroach burger and started glowing" kind of day

RK128

Blessed Day Battle Bus Dukes, I hate to say it, but they got me. Fortnite adding the Blue Blur and friends into the Battle Royale has me excited to finally give the game an earnest chance. But this has me asking a question for you both, any franchises that got you to try things you weren't keen on playing originally? And will either of you speed through the green hills now that Sonic is added to Fortnite? Any of the other collaborations from the Override event pulling you in? Have a 'Sora uses the Gunkey and Shadow finally uses a gun again' kind of day.

RK128

Hello Dukes, With all the undeserved hate that Wolverine has been receiving, how do you both feel about the public seemingly turning against Insomniac Games? They aren't an Xbox studio but they are the sole studio that encouraged me to even get my PS5 (between Spidey 2 and FFXVI). I understand the hate against Sony for their recent actions but the hate lobbed against anything remotely promoted on PlayStation's social media teams, but it's unfair to the talented developers and publishers wanting spotlight on their games. Do either of you think this hate is warranted? And do you guys think things will get better?

DonglerofThaShnutz

Whats clappin Dukers! MATTY did you see? Jujutsu Kaisen is having a crossover with your favorite game! Vampire Survivors?! What if its your mortal enemy that finally does justice to your beloved anime, unlike the poo poo fighting game?! Is it time to believe in the words of Lies of P- aka Phillip Spencer that its a 10/10 game?! Ps play more Vampire Survivors lol. Time to give in baby! Crawlers was lit!

Deonte Shepherd

Dukes, With rumors abound that Microsoft has a secret project to announce and the news that Harvey Smith is back!!! I’m putting two and two together. You guys follow me? That’s right Redfall sequel time! Seriously though do you guys think there’s any chance these two news items are related and we could actually see a sequel to something like Prey or even a new Dishonored game?

Kanzen Zero

Hello dukes I have a health update, I’m a regular listener and I would always skip the health updates, but last year around April i listened to it, and I just decided to do it, it’s been a year and a couple months since then and I’m a completely different, lost weight, gained muscle, just completely different, I look in the mirror and can’t even recognize myself. I wanna send a message to all my fellow dukes, you can take control of your life, no matter how old or young or what stage you are at in your life, you can change and be the person you want. You just have to start doing it today. One thing that helped me is using gaming as a reward, go to the gym or if can’t play a rpg (metaphor or persona) and after every couple of battles do push ups. I hope this can help motivate someone. You can be anything you want, you just have to put in the hard work