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Defining Duke, Episode 303: The Thread (Patreon)

Published:
2026-10-19 23:05:39
Imported:
2026-10

Content

Hey, all! It's time to submit your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas for Episode 303 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, October 21st at 3 PM ET to make your submission.

Comments

Raisin (edited)

Comment edits

2026-10-21 06:00 With the news that RAM and NAND storage for the PS6 are estimated to cost over $680, I was wondering: how is the Asha Sharma regime supposed to balance next-gen hardware and affordability when Xbox's parent company is in no small part responsible for the current component crisis due to Satya Nadella's raging boner for gen AI? A major goal of the Asha Sharma regime is to stabilize Gen 9. But with a 512GB Series S selling for $499.99 and a 1TB Series X selling for $799.99, how is Project Helix expected to come in anywhere below $1,000? If the PS6 is expected to cost $1,000, what does that say about Helix? Does any of this make you question recent decisions regarding exclusivity? I know that if I were Sony, I'd be reconsidering my PC strategy, and if I were Microsoft, I'd be reconsidering Gears of War E-Day and Clockwork Revolution's exclusivity status.
2026-10-19 23:07 With the news that RAM and NAND storage for the PS6 are estimated to cost over $680, I was wondering: how is the Asha Sharma regime supposed to balance next-gen hardware and affordability when Xbox's parent company is in no small part responsible for the current component crisis due to Satya Nadella's raging boner for gen AI? A major goal of the Asha Sharma regime is to stabilize Gen 9. But with a 512GB Series S selling for $499.99 and a 1TB Series X selling for $799.99, how is Project Helix expected to come in anywhere below $1,000? If the PS6 is expected to cost $1,000, what does that say about Helix? Does any of this make you question recent decisions regarding exclusivity? I know that if I were Sony, I'd be reconsidering my PC strategy, and if I were Microsoft, I'd be reconsidering Gears of War E-Day and Clockwork Revolution's exclusivity status. ***EDIT*** I've since seen the reported price of Project Helix. Everything I said remains true. In the immortal words of my favorite blue-haired punk, Chloe Price, next-gen is about to be HELLA expensive.

With the news that RAM and NAND storage for the PS6 are estimated to cost over $680, I was wondering: how is the Asha Sharma regime supposed to balance next-gen hardware and affordability when Xbox's parent company is in no small part responsible for the current component crisis due to Satya Nadella's raging boner for gen AI? A major goal of the Asha Sharma regime is to stabilize Gen 9. But with a 512GB Series S selling for $499.99 and a 1TB Series X selling for $799.99, how is Project Helix expected to come in anywhere below $1,000? If the PS6 is expected to cost $1,000, what does that say about Helix? Does any of this make you question recent decisions regarding exclusivity? I know that if I were Sony, I'd be reconsidering my PC strategy, and if I were Microsoft, I'd be reconsidering Gears of War E-Day and Clockwork Revolution's exclusivity status. ***EDIT*** I've since seen the reported price of Project Helix. Everything I said remains true. In the immortal words of my favorite blue-haired punk, Chloe Price, next-gen is about to be HELLA expensive.

Genes family friendly stained Xbox Helix shirt (edited)

Comment edits

2026-10-21 06:00 DUKES, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. according to reporting from Jeff Grubb Star Wars Battlefront 3 is reportedly in talks by Disney. They are currently eyeing bungie (no thanks as a huge battlefront fan) and DICE as the developers. There have also been other reports that Respawn could be co developing with dice. Are we back? Is the greatest franchise in gaming history about to be revived at the perfect time? Will I cry if they pick bungie to ruin it? Let’s talk about it. Ps. This counts as health is wealth because my mental health relies on this game coming out. Love you guys please pray bungie doesn’t touch my favorite game franchise of all time.
2026-10-19 23:08 DUKES, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. according to reporting from Jeff Grubb Star Wars Battlefront 3 is reportedly in talks by Disney. They are currently eyeing bungie (no thanks as a huge battlefront fan) and DICE as the developers. There have also been other reports that Respawn could be co developing with dice. Are we back? Is the greatest franchise in gaming history about to be revived at the perfect time? Will I cry if they pick bungie to ruin it? Let’s talk about it. Ps. This counts as health is wealth because my mental health relies on this game coming out. Love you guys please pray bungie doesn’t touch my favorite game franchise of all time. PS,PS EDIT Cog said battlefront by accident when referring to battle.net at 2:47:26 on summon sign this week! Is he teasing battlefront 3???

DUKES, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. according to reporting from Jeff Grubb Star Wars Battlefront 3 is reportedly in talks by Disney. They are currently eyeing bungie (no thanks as a huge battlefront fan) and DICE as the developers. There have also been other reports that Respawn could be co developing with dice. Are we back? Is the greatest franchise in gaming history about to be revived at the perfect time? Will I cry if they pick bungie to ruin it? Let’s talk about it. Ps. This counts as health is wealth because my mental health relies on this game coming out. Love you guys please pray bungie doesn’t touch my favorite game franchise of all time. PS,PS EDIT Cog said battlefront by accident when referring to battle.net at 2:47:26 on summon sign this week! Is he teasing battlefront 3???

Fran

Hey Dukes. Most of the talk about Xbox's problems has understandably focused on Game Pass, but I think that's only half the issue. The other elephant in the room is Xbox games Day 1 on PC. I think this is really what damaged Xbox's ability to sell consoles late last gen and this gen. It devalued the box long before those games came to PlayStation and then Game Pass taught the remaining hardcover console users not to buy games. A toxic combination. If Microsoft was serious about doubling down on the console, shouldn't they remove Day 1 exclusives from PC? Keep up the great work!

MrImYourLawyer

With the rumors of Xbox pulling back on Day One Gamepass games next year, what do you gents think game pass looks like after the change is implemented to still make it enticing? Do they lower the subscription cost? Do they guarantee first party games on Gamepass after a certain amount of time (maybe 3-6 months after release)? Do they continue to make deals with third party publishers to get their games day one on Gamepass? Curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks for always keeping the world of Xbox entertaining through its highs and lows.

empty_0

Howdy Dukes! Did you claim your free backpack in Fallout 76 yet? What an exciting fallout week! In all seriousness, show goes live day before bombs drop day. Does Bethesda give us a crumb of a tease for fallout 3? The fact that ravens rock expansion is coming summer and fallout day 2027 will be in DC has me a little worried F3 remaster might be late 27. Would love it in March/April like Oblivion. Have a "if fallout shelter is all we get maybe the bombs should just fall" kind of day

Mr. Scott If You're Nasty

Hah!! I was thinking that exact same thing. I was like what if you get first party releases if you have been subscribed for 3 consecutive months or longer. I love Gamepass. I'm just huffing that copium

Jonathan Turner

Dukes, a little health is wealth! You guys have inspired me to start traveling next year. At 35, I’m not getting any younger, and my goal is one domestic and one international trip every year for as long as I’m physically able. Born and raised in Southern California, New York has always been out of sight, out of mind. But I figure it’s time to see where the Dukes originated. Has traveling broadened your perspectives like everyone says it does? And what do you think will be the biggest culture shock for a hardcore California native visiting New York? Have an “I’m gonna have to say pause every time I hear one man call another man Papi” kind of day.

Mike Cosmo

Hey Dukes, hope you guys are having a great week so far. So, Taylor Swift has the Swfties and Andrew Cuomo has the Cuomosexuals (yes thats real), what do we call ourselves? Are we the Dookies? I would love to hear what you and the rest of the community have to say. Have a, just high-fived a fellow dookie kind of day.

Mr. Scott If You're Nasty

Raisin, Just get a series S and play these games. They're not coming to Playstation. Haha 😃 All in fun friend.

James Over

Hey guys. So I've been thinking about the Xbox removing first party day one games from game pass situation. What if there's a middle ground? Currently it's around $30 to upgrade to the early access edition of a game if you have game pass. What if they raised this to say $40/50 BUT the the "standard" $70 version became early access AND you "own (don't get me started)" the game? I'm on Game Pass but if it was something like Fable and I had the choice of paying $40 for early access with Game Pass or an Extra $30 to get early access and actually own the game, I'd do it. It creates a middle option, which in sales is often used to make the lower option seem cheap and the higher option more premium, so most people opt for that middle tier. Currently if you want to own the game and have early access you're looking at $100. This new way of selling their first party games could seem more appealing whilst they play catch up and not piss off game pass subscribers. Have a... I'm British but I just did this whole write in using Dollars instead of Pounds to be kind and now I'm feeling shame, kind of day.

Raisin

I know this is all in good fun, Mr. Scott, but genuinely, no! I bought a Series S shortly after Forza Horizon 5 was announced in 2021. I sold my Series S the day pre-orders for FH5 went live on PS5. Maybe in five years, when we're staring down the barrel of FH7 (hopefully in Germany) and it's actually exclusive, I'll get an Xbox. But much like how Xbox gamers have been trained not to buy their games, primarily PlayStation gamers like myself have been trained to wait. But my larger point is that in a world where the price of entry (hardware) is so high, you can't be stingy with software. Saros should've launched day-and-date on PC. Why isn't Marvel Token on Xbox? While Hunter's Gathering ain't got a snowball's chance in hell of success, an Xbox release couldn't hurt. I'm ecstatic that Sony is publishing the sequel to Kena: Bridge of Spirits on PC also. At this point, I don't really care where the games are. If hardware were more affordable, I'd be down for an exclusivity play. But it's not. Until then, Sony needs to embrace PC, and Xbox needs to embrace PlayStation.

Klaw117

This might have worked with Xbox's traditional core franchises, but they cannot afford to do this with Bethesda's franchises. Half the point of those games is to mod them, and that's significantly harder to do on console, even if they allow mods now. Also, PC players are exceptionally conditioned to hate exclusivity. They wouldn't install an extra storefront after what Epic did, and they definitely wouldn't buy a whole new platform either. All this does is cripple Xbox's already-tiny customer base. PC and console do not overlap like the way Xbox and PlayStation do. Besides, the data already shows that Xbox sales were declining before games were selling on PC.

Mr. Scott If You're Nasty

Hardware prices are going to force long long long cross generational software. Unless of course Playstation believes in those generations again haha

Klaw117

The problem is that the mass market and Xbox's core users don't think that way. Those of us who own multiple platforms and use each one evenly don't care where the games come from, but everyone else will think "They brought their games to PlayStation once, they'll do it again. In the meantime, I'll play all these other great exclusive games while I wait." Going multiplatform even once eliminated a lot of trust that Xbox would cater to its core users. Going multiplatform a second time will ensure no one ever buys an Xbox ever again. After all, they couldn't be trusted to cater to their core users twice now. I'm a PC gamer. I hate exclusivity. I want PlayStation players playing Halo, so I'm not constantly matched with the same people in Halo's dwindling user base. Still, I know you can't be the only company trying to sell gaming hardware without having exclusive games. If someone wants Xbox to go multiplatform a second time, they might as well admit they want Xbox to leave the hardware industry for good. That's not ab outcome I want, so I'll accept Halo's lower player base in exchange for more competitors in the market.

Raisin

You're right, Mr. Scott! If Sony's smart, they'll have cross-gen PS5/PS6 exclusives well into the 2030s. I suspect the same for Xbox. But there's still the issue that the "cheapest" Gen 9 entry point is $499.99. That's a $200.00 increase. And if recent statements made by Micron hold true, the global memory supply will continue to be strained well into 2027 and 2028. I'd expect price increases for the Series consoles, PS5, and Switch 2. And that's all before an official price for next-gen has even been announced. It's not sustainable. You have to spread the field.

Raisin

Well, I disagree with the sentiment that wanting Xbox to put its games elsewhere means I secretly want them out of the hardware business, Klaw117. They did this to themselves. They did it way before they went multiplatform. They did it with Game Pass. They did it by telling their most core consumers that they don't have to buy the games they play. If the soft E-Day sales are anything to go by, then I think that speaks for itself. Which is a shame. The game looks great. So does Saros. Did Saros light the world on fire? No! The answer is no! I guess it comes down to what you care about more. Do you care more about the games or the platform? Personally, I care more about the games. So do you. We care about the games. But not everybody has the luxury of owning every console. If the PS6 and Project Helix are going to be $1,000, people are going to have to make a decision. The days of having all the consoles are over. It was one thing when buying both a PS5 and a Series X was equal to $1,000. That is just not attainable anymore. Unfortunately, we partially have Satya Nadella to thank for that.

Klaw117

Then why is your proposed solution to get rid of exclusives? If Game Pass is a problem (which I agree with by the way), why is the proposed solution not to do away with the actual problem but instead to make Xbox even more disadvantaged in the market? Also, we already know going multiplatform wasn't the big golden goose we all thought it was. It wasn't for PlayStation (though I would've liked to see them try a simultaneous launch or a discount for a delayed launch before they made that call), and it wasn't for Xbox because the extra PlayStation buyers paying 70% did not offset the loss of Xbox buyers paying 100%. More than exclusivity, I think Xbox needs to fix its output pipeline. It's just not getting the franchises most in demand out quickly enough. We both agreed last week that even a Gears of War launch on PlayStation would've been very weak. Xbox's traditional franchises just aren't relevant anymore, but they haven't capitalized enough on their acquisitions to make up for that.

Addison117

Hello dukes.  It's been 3 months since the 4 OG XBOX games came to PC when we will see more OG and possibly 360 games with the achievements

Raisin

Because the console business as we know it is broken. PlayStation and Xbox cannot sell affordable hardware and use exclusive software to push that hardware if the hardware costs $1,000. A PS5 Pro is $899.99. RAM and NAND storage for the PS6 already cost more than a base PS5. If hardware were more affordable, then I'd be all for an exclusivity play. But it's not affordable. No one, relative to any relevant statistic, is going to buy a next-gen Xbox or PlayStation at $1,000 for a hypothetical Elder Scrolls VI or TLOU3. Which is probably why we're going to see a prolonged cross-gen cycle well into the 2030s. But if what companies like Micron are saying is true, and the global supply of memory will continue to be strained well into 2027 and 2028, then we're going to see additional price increases on top of expensive next-gen hardware. You can't spend $250–$400 million on AAA exclusives for a machine that costs $1,000 and that only enthusiasts will buy. Which is to say nothing of what the price of the PS5 and Series consoles will be by the time next-gen comes out. Besides, enthusiasts like myself are satisfied. Casuals will be satisfied for decades with GTA VI. There's no need for these consoles. If they're insistent on releasing these expensive consoles, then they need to spread the field. E-Day and Saros prove this. Despite their GOTY-contender quality, their respective platforms weren't enough.

DeucesBruh

Hey guys, Can we take some time to call out all these weenies pearl clutching about AI recomps? This is the perfect use of the technology. An incredibly boring, near impossible slog to do by hand, AI now opens up many games to being completely platform agnostic. It’s an obviously amazing development for consumers, and something these losers would completely glaze, except for the fact AI is involved. Ridiculous.

Adam Niksch

Howdy Dukes Is there any chance we can get a Gears of War E-Day spoilercast? Given the story is the most controversial part of the game, I’d love to see a deep dive in to the first Xbox exclusive in what seems like forever. I know DD Ultimate is no more, but maybe doing it as a holiday episode is a possibility? Thanks and have a “it’s good, but it could have been great” kind of day.

Macro

Alright Dukes, I gotta call Matty out for some nonsense last week. Imagine me, in the bonnie land of whisky and haggis, hearing about the God Howard sighting in "Eedin burg"... for shame Schroeder. The people of Ediburgh (pronounced "Ed-in-bruh") would weep. Play Townfall and you'll be forgiven. Cog, you're doing great man keep it up.

Ross Stoddart

Hello Dukes from Bonnie Scotland. I have to admit, I’m concerned Asha and team are following the same path as Uncle Phil’s reign - starting off with changes that get the core fan base energised, bringing in some pro consumer moves, then starting to talk too much to the media, and eventually saying one thing while doing another. They say they want to reach a billion people while also making some games exclusive to the lowest selling console platform. Asha says they want new IP while they close most of their Xbox Games Studios and lay off thousands of people. They say they can’t manufacturer enough consoles to satiate demand (yeah, sure…) while sales decline 30% every quarter. And apparently, they’re not preparing to sell Xbox while they make everything as lean and segmented as possible (if you’re from the corporate world, you’ll recognise this pattern). Honestly, it makes the whole thing very hard to read as a consumer and the “exclusive” conversation is the antithesis of this. As long as their games are on PC, Xbox as a platform will never be first choice as a console for the core or the mainstream market because you can play their games elsewhere. What say you, Dukes? P.S. Matty, referring to Todd being spotted in Scotland a few weeks back, our capital city is pronounced “Eh-dun-bruh” 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Mr. Scott If You're Nasty

I'm honestly not sure if franchises that take so long are relevant anymore period. You can't expect consumers to go 12 years and get two games. Hell, look at Wolverine, one of the more beloved comic book characters. It looks like the sales have been pretty soft, if estimates are to be believed. You just can't take that long between games anymore. Gears E Day is a fantastic game. Gamepass takes sales away, absolutely, but it does bring in subs and keep people subscribed. Only Xbox knows the true numbers there. I think it's obvious they need to change Gamepass. Maybe first party games only go to people subscribed to it for 3 months or longer (another commenter here beat me to this great idea) Rewarding your more loyal customers and getting rid of the scummy practices of certain LSM hosts of subscribing then refunding. The side of the equation that MUST be fixed is the development side. Games take too long and cost way too much to be successful. That's why Phil needed to go. Zero accountability for results and a blank check mentality. I agree though. Rooting for Xbox to go multiplatform is rooting for Sony to be the only hardcore console in the market. And, when Sony dominates the market, all you Sony boys get taken for a ride with less options, less consumer friendly decisions, and higher costs.

Raisin

Multiple things to touch on, Mr. Scott. Bear with me. Much like you with E-Day's alleged budget, I'm skeptical Wolverine actually cost $305 million to make. That number comes from old 2023 data from the Insomniac leaks. That was prior to them losing Brian Horton as Game Director. All due respect to Brian Horton, but leaving Insomniac to direct Perfect Dark didn't exactly turn out very well. That's despite how promising the game looked. The difference is Wolverine will ultimately make its budget back. It's not going to make it back in a week like Insomniac's Spider-Man did. And with respect to Xbox gamers, Sony has not trained its base not to buy games. You're right! Games can't take seven years to make in an environment where people subscribe instead of buy. My honest opinion is that I don't know what they do. They're in the ultimate pincer. They have to cater to people like yourself who've stayed subscribed to Game Pass all this time. However, despite its objective quality, if E-Day SALES are anything to go by, ripping first-party games out of Game Pass is a death sentence. Outside of Starfield in 2023 and the Forza Horizon games, which have, historically speaking, always sold well, I can't think of a single first-party game that sold well on Game Pass. It was one thing when Game Pass was being fed games like Hi-Fi Rush, but you can't "give away for free" big AAA games like E-Day. You've gotta pay. But why would you when Game Pass exists? I don't blame people for just spending the $30 upgrade for early access. You said the side of the equation that MUST be fixed is game development. Totally agree! The console business was built on selling hardware at a loss and gating software to entice buyers. That only works if hardware is affordable. You and I both know it's not. $1,000 consoles, plus $250–$400 million game budgets, can't sustain an exclusivity strategy. If the proliferation of hardware is strained, you must spread the field with software. With respect to your last point, I vehemently disagree that "rooting for Xbox to go multiplat" is rooting for Sony to be the only hardcore console on the market. I believe you are way too focused on the Xbox part of this conversation. I'm the one telling you Saros should've launched day-and-date on PC. I'm the one saying Marvel Token should be on Xbox, too. Hell, since Motorsport is dead, thanks, Asha, Polyphony should pounce and put GT7 on Xbox and rule the sim racing market. Again, with respect, you saying this is no different from annoying liberals saying voting third-party is actually a vote for Trump. Or vice versa. Lastly, Sony doesn't dominate the market. Despite its $50 increase, watch how many people buy a Switch 2 for the Ocarina of Time remake. Watch how much of the sales Sony would've gotten for FF7 Revelations go to Nintendo since the game is launching multiplatform. I think you need to accept that competition doesn't have to come exclusively from Xbox. They haven't been a real competitor since the launch of Xbox One.

Klaw117

I said this already last week, but we're in agreement on a lot of this. I don't think we'll see anything purely exclusive to PS6/Helix for a long time. We're still seeing high profile AAA games for PS4/2013 Xbox (I refuse to call it an Xbox One). Any Xbox exclusive that comes out is really going to be on Helix, Series, and PC. Similarly, any PlayStation exclusive will be for PS6 and PS5. I was about to go on a rant about why I can't wrap my head around how you think Xbox can survive another multiplatform push until your response to Scott where you said PlayStation should port some first-party stuff to Xbox too. I know you said from the start PlayStation should've shipped on PC too, but that's not quite the same as Xbox shipping on PlayStation since PC doesn't directly compete with either console the same way consoles directly compete with each other. When someone says only one platform should ship games on its competitor's platform while the other doesn't have to, it looks very console war-ish, but it's clear now that's not what you're trying to do after reading your last reply to Scott.

Daniel Ross

Hey Dukes, Little bit of a mental health is wealth write in today. Lately I realised that I've not been necessarily coping all too well with depression, and had been very stubborn in seeking help. Things are slowly beginning to turn around but it did reach a point where my interests, hobbies, and relationships had been adversely effected. But I wanted to shout out you guys. While I may not always write in every week, I do listen to every show. You never fail to put a smile on my face. And to any other listeners; don't be ashamed to seek help if it starts to be too much – these are crazy times we live in after all. Lastly, do the Dukes have any conventional/unconvential methods for mood boosting and mental health? Many thanks, Daniel

Raisin

Well, thanks, Klaw117! Perhaps I wasn't clear enough in my previous replies. That's on me. I own that. If I were to put a finer point on it, I am in no way against exclusivity. I'm against it in this specific environment, where both major platforms cannot subsidize the hardware in order to gate software and attract buyers to their systems. Personally, I think multiplayer and live-service games should exist anywhere and everywhere. Hence why I think Marvel Token should be on Xbox. Gears does fall into a grey area. I'd definitely classify it as live service. It might look fanboyish, but the reality is that the majority of stuff Xbox makes is live service. The same isn't true for PlayStation. I doubt you'll ever see high-profile single-player games like TLOU, Uncharted, GOW, Ghost, etc., ever cross over. But I see no harm in those games going to PC. I doubt Sony would go day-and-date, but on a personal level, if Until Dawn 2, Laufey, and Intergalactic launched day-and-date on PC, it wouldn't bother me. I'm a console bro. But again, I don't think Sony will ever go day-and-date. I do think they'll revisit PC releases, though. I think the reality is that things are different for Xbox. They own two of the biggest publishers on the planet. They continue to consolidate all of their studios and biggest IPs into their two publishing houses. They have a core base of around 30–40 million players. Despite Sony's constant mistakes this gen, by the time GTA VI releases, there'll be 100 million PS5s out there. Their addressable markets are different. Then we get into the business. Sony has far greater economies of scale. Xbox's economies of scale are actively hindered by its parent company's weird fetish with gen AI. In a world where a PS6 will cost as much as $1,000, that's going to be the "cheaper" option compared to Xbox simply because of Sony's greater economies of scale. Not to mention the fact that a not-insignificant portion of Xbox's core base consists of Series S users. I was one of them. A Series S is not worth $500. This is the pincer they're in. They have created the most price-sensitive base of all the consoles. They have a subscription service where you can get all first-party games (barring Call of Duty) for $23 a month. Half of their base bought their Series S consoles for $300. Now you're asking them to potentially spend $1,000 on a next-gen console and start paying $70 for their games. I don't know how Asha solves this issue. The decisions that the Phil Spencer regime made in the moment made sense. Buying studios like Ninja Theory (R.I.P., I was genuinely looking forward to Senua), Compulsion, Double Fine, and more to make Game Pass canon fodder made sense when the service was under $20 and consoles were affordable. The ground underneath them changed. The ground continues to change underneath them. In order for Xbox to emerge as a viable alternative, Xbox needs to beat Microsoft. Unfortunately, I don't think they will. Satya has got a weird gen-AI boner. And despite her recent popular moves, the CEO of Xbox is a gen-AI tech bro. Or, in this case, tech girl. See her recent glazing of gen-AI decompiling and recompiling games. I ultimately fear for this hobby, specifically the console-centric side of it. If, in order for consoles to survive in a post-gen-AI world, they have to embrace other platforms and reach new audiences, I'm fine with that. Again, I am a fan of the games, not the platform. Unless we can figure out how to get hardware down to an affordable price, I don't see a path forward for long-term exclusivity if consoles are going to cost $1,000 and games are already $70, soon to be pushing $80.

Ilostmytacos

Hey Dukes! I've got a question for both of you. With the recent rumours that Bungie and DICE are preparing pitches for Star Wars Battlefront 3, which do you think we'll see first: Fallout 5 or a Bungie-led Battlefront 3? I reckon DICE could get Battlefront 3 out sooner by building on Battlefront II, but Bungie would potentially be starting from scratch and might have to put Destiny on ice. Sorry, Cog! Meanwhile, Bethesda could potentially leverage assets from Obsidian's Fallout project, assuming it's using Creation Engine 3. So, who wins this race between Bungie and Bethesda Game Studios? Hope you have an “if I had a nickel for every time I had to wait over a decade for Star Wars Battlefront 3, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice” kind of day!

Risen

Yo Matty & Lord Micro (Controller), What’s your gaming agenda look like for the rest of 2026? Still got games that are already out which you want to play to consider for your GOTY rankings? Or perhaps, besides GTA 6, what’s turning you on a little bit when you look ahead, perhaps even to the holiday break? Also shout out to Cog, I feel like my man has been putting up triple-doubles on podcasts recently. Loved you on summon sign sir. Cheers, Risen

Anthony Ragucci

Ladies and Gentledukes, Happy Fall. In this season of games galore I have notice something...disturbing with my physical Xbox games. I have picked up Star Wars Zero Company, Galactic Racers, Gears E-Day and Control Resonant and I have notice something odd with every single ones case. They're all upside down. What do I mean? When you open them, the Xbox logo is upside down on the inside left and the disc on the inside right. This can't be a mistake can it? Four times in a row? What is right? Have a "my new game just came and the disc is all loosey goosey inside the case" kinda day

Alex K

Hey dukes I just wanted to talk about what I’m playing and what you should play. I recently finished the Modern Warfare 4 campaign and I feel like I can say it’s the best one we have had in years. I thoroughly enjoyed playing it and had to force myself to stop at one point because it was 2 in the morning. Have you guys played it yet? If not I highly recommend it. Also Matty I just recently bought the kingdom hearts collection after never playing them and I gotta say I regret not playing them sooner. Love the show guys and I hope you have a “let me see them THICCS big boy” kind of day.

K. Huntington

i just wanted to write a quick testimonial for this disc to digital feature. i picked up gears of war e-day and control resonant for xbox, and when i put both in i was granted a digital license. it's been really nice knowing that while the wife watches tv i can just dip out to the computer room and fire each up on my 5080 rig with ultra graphics and max ray tracing, and just continue the action. this is a game changer. and honestly it would really convince me to keep buying games on xbox instead of playstation knowing i can own the disc, and also be able to "play anywhere" with that same entitlement. all hail asha. ps, today is my wife's and my 19th anniversary, so a happy anniversary shout out to tori.

Captain Hero

Dear Dukesters One aspect of the Xbox reset that's been particularly interesting is the leadership psychology and political positioning. Yes, it is standard practice for any incoming CEO to distance themselves from the past regime, if the results were bad. But since Phil's exit, what has been striking is just how INERT the last two thirds of Phil's tenure was, and it is not just what Asha has said about profitability and overly dense management layers, we could see Phil's leadership team was collapsing even before that infamous 'kind of funny' interview. Something was clearly very very wrong. Early on Phil made great moves - back compat was fantastic, Xbox One X was an amazing machine and gamepass was great value. Then he just seemed to give up...? Where was the team focusing their efforts - internal politics around ABK and Bethesda 'management'? Project Helix OS building? I'm genuinely curious to know where the time was going? Do you have any insight into what led to the collapse in competitive mojo? Was Phil just huffing on copium fumes telling himself PC and mobile growth would replace core Xbox? Did Sarah Bond mesmerize him with a siren song about exclusives not mattering anymore? Or was he perpetually triangulating new non console 'cloud' and 'PC' initiatives to keep Satya happy? Was he unable to set aside nice guy 'uncle phil' approach to do what was necessary? Or, did our once great, and now fallen king, just get tired and run out of ideas? As you can tell, I'm genuinely fascinated in figuring out what was going on inside Phil's head the last five years. The numbers were clearly bad for a long time - and the strategy was clearly delusional - and yet they kept at it. As much as I like Phil's aspirations to democratize gaming for everyone, it is clear the multi plat push did massive damage to Xbox. Probably more than even Mattrick's worst efforts. Even if Asha fails in resurrecting Xbox, I have a lot of respect for how she's pulled out all the stops to give the platform a fighting chance and is punching back on Sony. I am now actively spending on the Xbox store and buying games again to show my support. I hope others are doing the same. Sorry for the long write in (feel free to paraphrase me if it helps). Curious to get your thoughts on just WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED within Xbox towers. Have a 'Sorry Matty - Halo 3 campaign is so overrated, Halo 2 campaign is where it's really at - COME AT ME BRO' kind of day. Cheers, CaptainHero

Booga the heart breaker

Hey Dukes, I wanted to check in with Matty and see if you’re feeling lonely on the show these days. Cog keeps saying “I’m not gonna hold you” and I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Maybe ask for a hug every now and then? In all seriousness, you guys do a great job every week and I wish you both the best. Have a Ashas listening and changing just like Phil used to in 2014 kind of day.

AstroParrotKing

Hello Dukes, A Fortune-based report has a few key rumors about the next handheld; among them is the fact that the next console is projected to cost $1,200– $1,800 and the Windows and Xbox teams have been fighting over which OS to use so much so that an executive would rather cancel the handheld (sorry, Lord Beefy). Do y’all believe that these prices are totally unreasonable for most consumers? Personally, even though I love new hardware, I do not want to touch a console for anywhere near $1,200. Have a “Retro gaming seems much better than spending $2k on a console” type of day.

It's ya boy, Seanny D

Hey Chooms, with the new season of Edgerunners and the New Cyberpunk 2077 update to coincide with the release of the show, how are we feeling about it? The new quest that goes along with it seems to be the regular thing that CDPR does with these seasons, but dual wielding Pistols!!! I’m locked in, ready to zero some poor Gonk just trying to get by in Night City. Also have an excuse to play again since I haven’t even played Phantom Liberty yet, and since there’s a little build crafting. Maybe I do a Robin Hood build. Sandevistan, Mantis Blades, Pistols, and Snipers, and even though Robin Hood is boisterous and loud, this isn’t a fantasy world, son; this Robin Hood’s got to be quiet and stealthy with invisibility camo and everything. So, are you all gonna get back in (probably not since you are busy chooms) and are you all excited for the new season? I hope you two chooms avoid the fate that seems inevitable for this Edgerunner crew, kind of day.

Patrick is a PlayStation fan

Greetings my Dukes! I just wanted to put my two cents on buying physical media. I was one of those that bought physical copies of Blood of Dawnwalker, Onimusha and Control Resonant. I am part of the majority that buys most of my games digitally but when I saw the steel covers for these babies, I just had to buy them. I think that the initial run of physical games should be more special and expensive for the early adopters but these guys are the ones that truly care and want the product. Then after that initial release they can release more physical copies with those flimsy plastic cases. I don’t always buy but when I do it has to be something you will be proud to have on your shelf. Now if only we can get Konami to release the steel cover version of Castlevania here in the US as well instead of only the UK/EU. Thanks for the great program you both provide to the LSM community. I am a PS5 user and I enjoy watching your perspectives here on LSM and your own channels. Funny how a year ago we were worried about the future of DD. Look at you now! Keep it up gents! Much love and respect from Dirty Jersey.

Shaun Sannerude

Hey Dukes. Do you think that XBOX are doing too much too soon with them introducing XBOX XP and LABS. I like how quickly Asha has implemented changes that the player base have wanted but surely they should just slow down a little and concentrate on Helix and future games being the best they can be. I get they want to expand the exposure of XBOX but it all seems like they are dipping their fingers into everything rather than having a defined focus. Thoughts?

Ya Boy T Nasty

Hey dukes! While Cog has been out here spitting Nas lyrics on ILP, i was wondering if you, Matty, have any updates on your 90's rap journey. Lots of good stuff out there. Thanks and keep up the positive vibes, "cause life's a bitch and then you die".

Joe

Hi Dukes, Longtime listener first time writer into the show. Without getting too doom and gloom I will get straight to the point. My love of games started with my father who recently passed away this month. It started with playing Sonic Jam and graduated to my love of Resident Evil which I used to watch him play for hours as a child. It was all the way from the first one to when it came full circle when he watched me play RE9 Requiem. My question is how did you find the love for games again after tragedy?

Soulful Bison

Fellars, With the reporting of Project Helix costing anywhere from 1200-1800 bones, what is your gut reaction? I don’t imagine the PS6 will be that far off either. What improvements to the new console could justify the price gap between the generations? Are we truly cooked Thanks amigos

J Reid

if only it worked for fallout 4! 😭

J Reid

Greetings Dukes, Matty are you aware that Cog ranks halo as a better series then Elder Scrolls?! I need a 20 minute rant from Matty about how insane that is! All the best!

Optimus Pounds

Gents - Fortune reports that the next gen XBox could cost consumers between $1200 and $1800 unless Microsoft decides to subsidize the cost, with a potential release date in 2028. In addition, they report a handheld coming by holiday season 2027. Both of these dates seem reasonable estimations for the hardware. This is an unpopular opinion, but I actually don't even think the pricing is that crazy for Helix if you know anything about the global supply chain right now w/projected 2 year inflation. Microsoft subsidizing a console would be a flat out dumb move IMO. Just get out of the game if that's the case. That said, I am under no illusion that anyone willing to pay $1800 is going to opt for a console vs. a PC at this price point if you can only choose one. The gap between getting a B or even A- tier rig for that price v. console is alot smaller. Appreciate yinz OP

Mr. Scott If You're Nasty

I always enjoy your thoughtful responses, Raisin. I disagree with you about certain things, like putting Gears on PlayStation. I also disagree with the insinuation your argument makes that sales is sort of the only thing that matters. I subscribe to Gamepass all year. That's revenue for Xbox every month. If I were buying games, I'd go months without buying them, thus giving them zero revenue. It's not a simple argument. Even the news over the last 6 months is a little weird when it comes to Gamepass. On one hand, you have an article revealing Gamepass revenue was subsidizing Xbox studio misses, and on the other, Asha saying their current Gamepass strategy isn't working. Does she mean altogether or the subsidization model. It's really tough to say, because we don't know those numbers. Sony doesn't put their franchises on Xbox and Xbox shouldn't put theirs on Sony (as it stands now). I could see that changing if the hardware was so different where it would create a major value add but not now. Raisin x Scott Defending Duke Companion Pod? LoL!!!

Raisin

Thanks, Mr. Scott. I appreciate your replies, too. To be clear, I only bring up sales not because I explicitly care, but because they're representative of the health of a game. E-Day and Saros are GOTY-contender games, regardless of their lack of sales. I think you playing your games through Game Pass is a completely valid way to experience games. I think it's clear that Game Pass is no longer enough for Xbox. Now, that's not for you to worry about. You and I are the consumers. It's up to the companies to make that work for them. The only other thing I'd say is to reiterate that if the PS6 and Project Helix are going to cost over $1,000 each, then I think people are going to have to become less sacred about things like exclusivity and prolonged cross-gen releases. You and I agree on cross-gen, at least. Unless the economics of the industry change and we can start selling hardware at a loss again, I think it's a whole new world. We have gen AI and data centers to thank for that.

Klaw117

Hey Dukes, We just got a slew of hardware pricing rumors today, and they are not pretty. Given Asha's pivot from the previous multiplatform plan, do you think the plan for Helix is something she would've favored? I don't want to turn Phil and Sarah into scapegoats for another one of Xbox's current problems, but it feels like the hybrid and power-centric nature of Helix was meant to be their last hurrah for the hardware business before shutting it down; something memorable for Xbox's final holdouts to last as long as technically possible. Now that Asha is trying to revitalize the traditional business, Helix seems completely antithetical to that. Hardware plans are usually decided years before release, and it seems like Helix's were decided before Asha could do anything about it. I remember Matty speculated that Asha was trying to get hardware costs as low as possible after reading her initial statements when she took the job. It looks like that plan crashed and burned to a spectacular degree. Is there any hope of getting Helix's price down to at least PS6's speculated price or at least successfully justifying to its customers that the price is worth it? Is Helix yet another shackle left behind from the previous administration, or is it something Asha would've gone with anyway? If it wasn't, what do you think she would've preferred? Have a "‘I will work more hours to buy one’. We want people to feel that they want it, irrespective of anything else." kind of day! I'll have doughnuts delivered to your houses if you know where that quote comes from.

Arqum

Good day Dukes, I have a question for Matty. First off, i want to say I’ve been watching you since your Skyrim guide videos and have always liked watching your content. So when I ask this question I’m not trying to be confrontational or have a gotcha moment. In last week episode you said that you draw the line at AI generated art. On September 3rd you posted a sponsored preview of Tomb Raider: Legacy Of Atlantis. This game has been heavily criticized for its use of genAI, specifically for saying the art is “AI-assisted”. The developers have not disclosed the full extent of their use of AI. During a GameInformer interview in June of this year a PR representative cut the interview short when a developer was questioned on how their AI technology actually worked. My question is where is the line exactly? Are you allowed to take sponsorships from games using AI art? Would you review said game if provided a review copy? Does the line simply end at “I will not purchase games that use AI art.” Obviously, we don’t know the extent of AI usage in this new Tomb Raider remake, so i could be blowing this out of proportion. It would be impossible for you to know to what extent any game is using GenAI but how does the relationship of content creators and sponsorships evolve for anti-AI art creators, who now have to navigate the seas of AI slop? I wish you well and have a great day!