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Defining Duke, Episode 305: The Thread (Patreon)

Published:
2026-11-02 20:13:47
Imported:
2026-11

Content

Hey All! It's time to submit your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas for Episode 305 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, November 4th at 3 PM ET to make your submission.

Comments

Raisin

With Jason Schreier's recent video providing more context on his reporting of E-Day's budget, do the paid-for-blue-checkmarks on Twitter owe Jason an apology? Look, on a personal level, I don't care if a game is "successful" or not. I only care about it in relation to my selfish need, want, or desire for a sequel. But Jason is the proverbial man in the arena. If anyone in the games journalism space would know how much E-Day cost, it's him. So I leave the question to you: do the Klobrilles of the world owe the man an apology? Personally, I think the answer is yes. It's real easy to throw tomatoes at the man in the arena rather than actually be in the arena yourself.

Joshua LaGrew

dukes , i write this with a heavy heart and as a man whom literally put an OG Xbox on his wedding registry . yes i am still married to that wonderful woman and the curse of last stand has not taken hold . i ask this question, at this point is Xbox and Asha hurting their own brand by not going full publisher/ 3rd party and discontinuing hardware ? i get it we want the past but sometimes that’s hurting our future . what say you ?

Jonathan Turner

What's up Dukes! I've been trying to get into Skyrim since it originally released, but for whatever reason, it never clicked for me. I've given it multiple chances over the years across different consoles and PC, but nothing stuck. Fast forward to this past weekend. I'm out of town, staying in a cabin in the middle of the woods, and decide to fire up Skyrim on my Steam Deck. And wouldn't you know it, after all these years, the game finally clicked! Maybe it was the atmosphere, the handheld experience, or a combination of both. So my question to you boys is, have you ever had a game you couldn't get into until you changed how or where you played it? Whether it was switching platforms, going handheld, or simply playing in a different environment, did that change your entire experience? Thanks Jonathan

Zach Theuriet

Howdy Dukes, Got a question for yall: what are some other good coop games in the modern era? My wife and I are looking for some games to play. And to answer Cog’s question from a few weeks back about my wife and I playing Gears after our honeymoon: you know we cuddling up on the couch and getting our romance scene on. Keep up the great work gentlemen.

Disgraced Former President Andrew Johnson

Dukes. In last weeks episode Cog referred to Asha’s tenure at Xbox and managing of studios may lead to the c-word. “Crunch” is what I believe was meant. But in the future the use of the phrase “c-word” in context with Xbox’s tough, no nonsense, pull no punches, female leader may be unadvisable. Good day gents.

Sassy Tabasco (edited)

Comment edits

2026-11-04 03:00 Hey Dukes, With the Elder Scrolls rumors trickling in and Asha going all in with the Bethesda IPs, what's your dream scenario for the release cadence of future ES and Fallout titles?
2026-11-02 20:45 Hey Dukes, With the Elder Scrolls Sentinel rumors trickling in and Asha going all in with the Bethesda IPs, what's your dream scenario for the release cadence of future ES and Fallout titles?

Hey Dukes, With the Elder Scrolls Sentinel rumors trickling in and Asha going all in with the Bethesda IPs, what's your dream scenario for the release cadence of future ES and Fallout titles?

Ilostmytacos

Hey Dukes, got my first health is wealth write in, I've been planning a pretty big adventure recently after I feel like I'm over the hurdle of my mental health struggles last year. I've caught the travelling bug, partly thanks to hearing about your own travels, particularly Germany and Gamescom, and it's inspired me to finally take the plunge and head to Australia. The flights are paid for, and I'm just waiting on a start date for work, which should hopefully be around March or April next year. The plan is to spend at least a year over there, potentially three or more if things work out. It's quite exciting, but also a little daunting knowing I'll be heading somewhere so unfamiliar. One thing I'm hoping for is that the Dukes can keep me company along the way. Hopefully you'll be joining me for plenty of long journeys, wherever I end up! On another note, I also wanted to give my approval to the name 'Congregation'. It makes us sound considerably more prestigious than we probably have any right to be, and I think that's reason enough to keep it and to those that are out there struggling there's always people out there willing to listen and if you're not try to be that ear for someone that is it can make more of a difference than you realise. Much love to all the Congregation.

Starlight137-Roko (edited)

Comment edits

2026-11-05 23:00 Greetings dukes, I wanted to throw a more regional perspective in the mix regarding Gears E-Day sales numbers. While many US centric gamers see Gears as a major franchise for Xbox, nothing of that sort could be further from the truth in Europe. Even during its prime, this franchise never resonated with us here and is mostly unknown in the wider gaming public. The dude bro presentation and whole tone just isnt something that works here, even Halo shares this problem to a certain degree. From our perspective, we dont really get why they keep trying to invest in this franchise, it absolutely goes against our sensibilities. I think other franchises from Xbox, which are percieved as way smaller in the US like Age of Empires are widely more known and liked here. This isnt a plea against the Gears franchise, games that target specific regions are absolutely valid, but maybe this shines a light in a different datapoint to explain its low sales. Have a "grinding for thics on the little man" kinda day.
2026-11-02 21:46 Greetings dukes, I wanted to throw a more regional perspective in the mix regarding Gears E-Day sales numbers. While many US centric gamers see Gears as a major franchise for Xbox, nothing of that sort could be further from the truth in Europe. Even during its prime, this franchise never resonated with us here and is mostly unknown in the wider gaming public. The dude bro presentation and whole tone just isnt something that works here, even Halo shares this problem to a certain degree. From our perspective, we dont really get why they keep trying to invest in this franchise, it absolutely goes against our sensibilities. I think other franchises from Xbox, which are percieved as way smaller in the US like Age of Empires are widely more known and liked here. This isnt a plea against the Gears franchise, games that target specific regions are absolutely valid, but maybe this shines a light towards a different datapoint to explain its low sales. Have a "grinding for thics on the little man" kinda day.

Greetings dukes, I wanted to throw a more regional perspective in the mix regarding Gears E-Day sales numbers. While many US centric gamers see Gears as a major franchise for Xbox, nothing of that sort could be further from the truth in Europe. Even during its prime, this franchise never resonated with us here and is mostly unknown in the wider gaming public. The dude bro presentation and whole tone just isnt something that works here, even Halo shares this problem to a certain degree. From our perspective, we dont really get why they keep trying to invest in this franchise, it absolutely goes against our sensibilities. I think other franchises from Xbox, which are percieved as way smaller in the US like Age of Empires are widely more known and liked here. This isnt a plea against the Gears franchise, games that target specific regions are absolutely valid, but maybe this shines a light towards a different datapoint to explain its low sales. Have a "grinding for thics on the little man" kinda day.

Lil Jimmy420

Shoutout to all the Jiu Jitsu members in LSM been doing it for 5 years and am a blue belt Cog and Matty if anyone is giving you trouble hit me up 🤙🏼

Nick Dawe

Health Is Wealth response to last week's write-in: Hey boys, I'm hoping you can give a Health is Wealth return shout-out from last week to my best friend Luke Bernard. He has indeed been helping me out with my fitness journey and has been a brotivating factor to my success, but he was being modest. Beyond that, he has been my mainline support in overcoming an addiction to alcohol, and has even joined me in the journey to sobriety. I'd be in a tough spot without him and cannot thank him enough for his support as I work to become a better person in and outside of the gym. In response to your query from last week, I was indeed listening to the episode while getting a lift in. And while I did not pull a muscle, the inspiration helped me power out a few extra reps. Luke and I talked about it while getting our Monday morning workout done this morning. Thanks for the great content, and have an "eyeballing that rowing machine for the 9th time, but remembering there's always the next workout" kind of day. Sincerely, the Brotégé (Nick Dawe)

MJPGrass

Hey Boys Last week in Asha's post about Q1 earnings for Xbox she said that supply for the Xbox is seriously constrained. Okay. Makes sense but then why is it that I can get a Xbox anywhere I want right now? Best Buy? Yep. Amazon? You bet your 2-Day Shipping Walmart? Got some socks coming too! I wish there was more context to this statement because they gave notice that hardware will be down again next quarter and we have GTA6 weeks away - Shouldn't this give them the best bump also? What say you? Is this just Cyberpunk Corpo answers? And why for all that is holy don't they just drop the stupid price and get some out. Make the box $499 from Black Friday to Xmas and see what happens? Take care Dukes!

SpicyCowboy

Damn dukers Really enjoyed eday not sure what all the fuss is about online hopefully we get a sequel sooner than later, my question is, do you think the coalition is doomed to be the gears of war studio forever or will we see them eventually start developing something we for Xbox?

NeO JD

What up gang? Thoughts on the Persona 1 remake leak? Are you guys excited to try this one out? Have you two played the original? And what about 2? As this suggests the rumored remake of 2 is now confirmed as well. Thanks and have a “Matty kept dismissing my Game Pass write-ins so I’m running up on him outside like N.O.R.E. with Persona kind of day.”

DadbodDerek

Health is wealth: CONGREGATION OF DUKES! Matty and Cog, thank you both, and thanks to everyone who writes in about where they are on their health journeys. I’m an introvert without many friends in the gaming space, so you’ve all become my de facto community. I also appreciate you making room for all things health on the show: physical, mental, and hell, even the content creation grind. About a year ago I started making dad/parenting comedy, and it’s gone better than I ever expected. The flip side is some burnout. My life was already busy, and now I also feel like I always have to be on, posting and trying to keep the momentum going. Hearing you talk about your experiences and being candid about the toll it takes helped me step back, take an honest look at how I’m doing overall, and refocus on the part of content creation that actually matters: having fun. So thanks again, and have an “at least I’m not an Indianapolis Colts fan” kind of day.

Avatar Theory

Good day Dukes, Why does Xbox / Microsoft still allow refunds for Gamepass? Earlier this year, I subbed to play Fable for 2 weeks, then cancelled and got a refund. Last month, I subbed to Ultimate and played Gears E-Day for 3 weeks (about an hour or so a day average) then cancelled; they offered me a refund, again, so I took it. I also subbed to Geforce Now Ultimate so played E-Day, on my OLED TV, at Ludicrous settings (which uses a 5080). I had no need for an Xbox console or a PC for that matter. Do you think this will change in the future? Why do you think they still offer refunds? Anyways, enjoy… in 2 months 2017 will be 10 years ago kinda day. Basil (a South African living in Norway)

Alex K

Hey dukes With the recent content creator controversy surrounding purchasing games like gears e-day I feel like some have become jaded by their success. I won’t mention names but the content creator in question was saying that game pass users should have bought E-Day instead of playing through gamepass. They received backlash that I feel was valid. How can someone tell us, the customer, how to spend our money? We already pay for the subscription so if XBOX wanted me to buy the game they should not have put it in the service. I think a lot of content creators have become out of touch with their audience. The same audience who supported them monetarily or by watching their content to allow them to receive the free games. Both of you have always felt like you have a gratefulness to be where you are at. I know you guys have worked hard to get in the positions you are now and it doesn’t go unnoticed. I’m curious what you both think. Thank you guys and I hope you have a “playing COD in 2009 and having an open mic” kind of day

Eddie Spaghetti

Hey Dukey-Dudes, I guess I’ll come to the defense of my (mostly great) state of Idaho catching strays for no legitimate reason last week. Yeah we don’t have the best “New York style” pizza, that’s fair I guess, but we do have all the chains yall were hyping up too. So there’s that, but just remember the next time you’re mixing up the meal prep with potatoes, who’s state grows “World Famous” spuds. Next time you take out a loan to get some Five Guys, I’d bet 195 of my 196 Thiccs, them taters came from my state. So yeah, enjoy your pizza, but in the words of Will Smith “KEEP MY FUCKING STATES NAME OUT YOUR MOUTH” Have a fuck “fuck Ohio, nobody likes Ohio” kind of day.

Donald A. Duck

Big Boss Colin has spoken: Xbox is a dead man walking. Revenue is down, console numbers are abysmal. Xbox services like Disc to Digital, Play Anywhere & Games Pass aren’t bringing in the masses. Xbox’s own IPs like Halo and Gears have flopped. Xbox as the traditional console platform competitor is over, despite the good PR. Their entire strategy can’t just be to operate exactly like Sony but with far less Aura. Why can’t the new fight just be: PlayStation (the default console) vs PC (the open platform) in the high end market? Asha can change the focus of the business into adapting the Valve Playbook. Publish games on your own storefront and release their own Steam Machine for those who want a console experience. Everyone gets what they want & the brand survives.

Fatsloth

Greetings Dukes, With the announcement of Sentinel finally being here, I'm seeing a lot of complaints online about how long it took. While I'm personally happy with Bethesda's new style of communicating more openly and more frequently, it seems some people will be unhappy no matter what given how they've handled things in the past. Is this something that can be remedied, or are Bethesda forever cursed with being known for taking a decade to release a game after announcing it?

J Reid

Greetings Dukes, Now that the Bethesda 40th anniversary happened and they revealed the title of TES 6 I think we need to call Tom Warren to the front of the congregation. The excitement I would have otherwise felt at that teaser was preemptively replaced with irritation that we got nothing more. This would not have been the case if Tom hadn't leaked the name early. Especially if it was coming this soon why spoil it? I understand the need to clicks but I wish they'd keep leaks to twitter speculation and not publish articles that appear on my newsfeed and spoil things for me in the headlines.

MagisterdeVita

Greetings, Dukes! Bethesda just dropped its 40th anniversary celebration video, and we've apparently got a title for the next Elder Scrolls: The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel! Needless to say, I'm excited, and I'd love to get the Dukes speculating. Based on what we've heard and that little stinger at the end of the video, what are you expecting to see in the game, and what are you hoping Bethesda delivers? And what do you make of the cryptic quote below? Any theories about its significance or what it might be hinting at? "The scroll offered only a shimmer, a veil thinly lifted to my eyes. A future lost. A victory undone. Sands of Time scattered by fate." - Yazar, Moth Priest of High Queen Iradne of Hammerfell Have an "Imagining a world where Bethesda made an open-world Terminator game instead of Starfield after learning they actually made Terminator games in the past!" kind of day!

Jordan Wray

Hey fellas, It took Bethesda 8 years to go from a teaser trailer to a Subtitle announcement without a second of gameplay shown. The near universal reaction has been "Who cares?" Is it safe to call it the worst studio purchase in history yet?

Jordan Wray

Lol, not to be rude but new style of communicating? They showed a teaser 8 years ago and now revealed the name, committed to nothing and didn't show a frame of gameplay. Is this new form of communication based on spitting in the fanbases face or?

Signal Seeking

Greetings Dukes, You compared companies hiding their AI use to being served a meal, then finding out they put "shit" in it and didn't tell you. The meal's still ruined, and now you can't trust the cook either. I see it differently. Picture someone who swears they hate mushrooms but has never actually tried them, no matter how much people push. Sometimes the only way is to put some in their favorite dish. They love it, they find out, and suddenly mushrooms aren't as bad as they'd made them out to be in their head. I know the hope is that all the fuss online will push companies to reverse course on AI. I think it'll do the opposite. They won't stop using it. They'll just stop telling us. And that's how we end up in the mushroom scenario: people loving a game, finding out later that AI was part of it, and realizing the problem was more in their heads than on the plate. What gets me is that we say we want people in this industry to stand for what they believe in, but the moment it's something we don't like, they get torn apart. Look at Epic's CEO, Tim Sweeney. He's been saying for about a year now that AI labels on game stores are pointless and just paint a target on developers, and every time, he gets dragged instead of debated. You can think he's wrong, but civil dialogue can't only be an option when it's something we agree with. So here's my question for you: how do you think people 100 years from now will look back on our views on AI today? Have a, I thought we were holding strong and then I saw the numbers type of day.

Say Hello to your Mother for me

Hello Dukes, with Elder Scrolls Sentinel getting a new teaser this week, how excited are you for this game? It feels like after GTA 6, this is the next big thing for video games. But will it sell XBOX consoles? Thanks and have a good week

KB

LOL Raisin, c’mon. The Klobrilles, Jez Cordens, ColtEastwoods, and TimDogs of the world would rather wave the pom-poms than ever admit they were wrong, let alone apologize to Schreier. These are the same people who parroted “this is just where the industry is headed” when Xbox started porting games to PlayStation. Jez, of all people, would continuously cite Forza’s success on PlayStation as some sort of “Trojan horse” and argue that more people on PlayStation were buying Xbox games than PlayStation games. Now that the winds have (sorta) changed, they’re right back to waving the pom-poms again. That’s a long-winded way of saying: no. They’re not going to apologize because they’re far too dug in as acolytes at this point.

Nick deVries

Hey Dukes, First time, short time - your pod has been a new discovery for me in 2026 and I've been loving the passionate yet sensible conversations you guys consistently deliver. I'm a PlayStation guy, but I'm so fed up with Sony lately that I've been wanting to make the jump to Xbox. I might be a total sucker, but I like the vibes/direction of Xbox's new leadership and would be more interested in their potential exclusives compared to PlayStation's. To ease my conscious of dropping money on a new console, what would your elevator sales pitch be to a PlayStation gamer in 2026 that is tired of Sony's shit? Cheers to you both!

Raisin

Fair point, KB! You're probably right. I guess I just don't understand how someone can willingly pull the wool over their own eyes. Despite the fanatic fanboyism of the likes of Klobrille, ColtEastWood, and TimDog, numbers don't lie. Whether that $500 million is in relation to the studio budget or just E-Day, despite its critical acclaim, the game is clearly a commercial flop. A PS5 release wasn't magically going to make the game profitable, but seeing as Gears Reloaded sold more à la carte copies on PS5 alone than E-Day did on Xbox and PC, I think the current administration needs to stop looking a gift horse in the mouth. While admittedly anecdotal, both premium editions of Forza Horizon 6 and Fable are in the top 10 best-selling pre-orders on the PlayStation Store right now. Xbox has got to be seeing the numbers for E-Day juxtaposed against the numbers for Horizon and Fable and realizing that this strategy is not sustainable. Conversely, PlayStation has got to see the numbers for Saros and realize that a PC release probably couldn't have hurt that game.

Gary Clark

Great trailer for Elder scrolls what a joke

Arqum

Hello Leliana Lover Matty and Iron Bull Rider Cog, The ES6 name reveal trailer is out! Obviously in the grand scheme of things its a nothing burger. But I was wondering what are your thoughts of it are when compared to the original 2016 trailer? I really liked it and thought it was better than the original reveal trailer. The sand shifting and the elder scroll rising out looked really cool and Sentinel is strong sounding name with a lot of lore behind it (also my favorite class in Mass Effect lol). I especially love the new rendition of the Elder Scrolls theme, it had this nice bass and gravel to it. I have a second question, if you don’t mind. I was wondering if you two would do a spoilercast for E-Day. I know you two are busy but the Sacred boys seem to do a spoilercast for every Playstation first party game so I feel like we should match that energy. No big deal if you can’t though. Have a great day!

PsychCoffee

Hello Dukes! Who keeps making wishes on a monkeys paw for Xbox? I just saw a rumor that Ubisoft is bidding for Arkane Lyon. It's good to hear Arkane may still live but is it worth it under Ubisoft? Do you think Ubisoft will make a good Dishonored 3 and Blade or will we be climbing more towers with a cluttered map screen? Have a, "Blade is now just a reskinned Assassins Creed," kind of day.

Donald A. Duck

Yo Matty, when will you giveaway your ROG Xbox Ally X? We all you ain’t gon use that shit! But if not, why not just install SteamOS? You said recently Windows is a pain to boot and navigate on a handheld. Are you just not interested in the hardware itself aswell, even on SteamOS? SteamDeck Oled is great, but Ive been thinking about upgrading. I want the ability to play more AAA games with better performance. Speaking strictly single player games on the go, which is wiser: ROG Xbox Ally X with SteamOS or wait for Dedicated Xbox handheld next year?

Malevelon Creek PTSD

Greetings Duke Boys, It's been 8 years and we get a trailer to give Elder Scrolls 6 a subtitle? Look Matty, I know you're the Bethesda guy at Last Stand Media, but when do we admit that the past decade has been a joke for this company? I'll hang up and wait 8 more years for the release date.

Bartevious (edited)

Comment edits

2026-11-05 01:00 Often time listener few time commenter checking in. Matt, we need to talk. Along this Grand Theft Auto pilgrimage, I’ve heard you bandy around words that I feel may be too humble. You talk about yourself as if you’re some newcomer to the Grand Theft Auto content stratosphere, yet one of your most viewed videos ever is you bragging about your GTA 3 Marijuana Shop that rakes in $9K a week. Forgive me if you’ve mentioned this, I listen to the show at work and may have missed it. All jokes aside, shoutout to the Dookies. Matt I’ve been a fan of yours since the fallout 4 hype train, and Cog I’ve been a fan of yours since you guested when Karak was still around, was actually one of the people clamoring for you to be the new chair when Matty teased it. Have a wonderful day gents, you two are awesome.
2026-11-04 03:43 Often time listener few time commenter checking in. Matt, we need to talk. Along this Grand Theft Auto pilgrimage, I’ve heard you bandy around words that I feel may be too humble. You talk about yourself as if you’re some newcomer to the Grand Theft Auto content stratosphere, yet one of your most viewed videos ever is you bragging about your GTA 3 Marijuana Shop that rakes in $9K a week. Forgive me if you’ve mentioned this, I listen to the show at work and may have missed it. All jokes aside, shoutout to the Dookies. Matty I’ve been a fan of yours since the fallout 4 hype train, and Cog I’ve been a fan of yours since you guested when Karak was still around, was actually one of the people clamoring for you to be the new chair when Matty teased it. Have a wonderful day gents, you two are awesome.

Often time listener few time commenter checking in. Matt, we need to talk. Along this Grand Theft Auto pilgrimage, I’ve heard you bandy around words that I feel may be too humble. You talk about yourself as if you’re some newcomer to the Grand Theft Auto content stratosphere, yet one of your most viewed videos ever is you bragging about your GTA 3 Marijuana Shop that rakes in $9K a week. Forgive me if you’ve mentioned this, I listen to the show at work and may have missed it. All jokes aside, shoutout to the Dookies. Matty I’ve been a fan of yours since the fallout 4 hype train, and Cog I’ve been a fan of yours since you guested when Karak was still around, was actually one of the people clamoring for you to be the new chair when Matty teased it. Have a wonderful day gents, you two are awesome.

boogersupreme

What's up gangsters, I'm pissed off (kind of joking). Minor spoilers for the first 20 minutes of Hellraiser: Revival. This game gives you a giant warning before the game starts where it says "This game includes mature language, strong violence, gore, torture, CONSENSUAL MUTILATION (that's a fucking new one), drug and alcohol abuse, tobacco use, and non-explicit consensual sex. Narrative sequences additionally contain themes of suicide, domestic abuse, BDSM practices, and addiction." Nowhere in this big ass warning did it say "Hey, the character is going to have a massive fucking nail slammed into his penis hole by one of the coffin enemies from Lies of P." What in the Sean "Diddy" Combs is going on here? May I also mentioned that the first frame once you start the game is some random dude sitting in his car with cuts all over his chest listening to music in a Pulp Fiction gimp costume? I listened to Jimmy Champagne and Dustin Furman (full governments) both cosign this game with no mention of this shit. Please hold your coworkers accountable. Thanks. On a real note, how did this game not got an "Adults Only" rating? I've never seen a game combine sex and violence so freely. Definitely curious to see what studios try to sneak into their games now knowing that this is not enough to get an AO rating. Wild shit

RK128

Blessed Day Sonic Racing Dukes, As of this post, Year 2 of sonic racing is here! Killer Godzilla track, amazing remix of city escape, tons of new sp and mp options, and even improved visuals do a ton to the game You guys checking it out? And which SEGA console you gonna race with? Have a ‘gonna listen to the new remix on loop’ kind of day.

James Over

Dukes, everyone seems to be saying ES6 will be 5 years after Skyrim from the quote we got at the end of the trailer. I know we're in speculation season but many of the quotes in Elder Scrolls games can be from the historical lore - there still could be a time jump on the cards here, maybe not 200 years but the 5 year since Skyrim quote is likely historical. Your thoughts? Have a ES6 is announced in 2027 for 2028 only to be delayed until 2029 kind of day.

Ross Stoddart

Hey Dukes, Watched Matty’s video talking about Xbox’s financial results and I thought it was really insightful. Are they really saying that in the QTR when GTA VI, COD MW4 and WoW: Forever launches Xbox are only expecting single digit % growth for content and services? Maybe gaming discussion on twitter isn’t real life after all. Have a “is the console demand in the room with us right now” kind of day.

STATS

Immersive Matty and Sim Cog It appears the monkeys paw has curled once again! It started with Halo going to Activision and now... Arkane Lyon being saved by UBISOFT?? I have to be honest in saying I'm not so sure this is saving them at all! I've had a firm no Ubisoft stance since they tried removing content from peoples libraries years ago and honestly its the easiest boycott of a lifetime since their games nowadays suck. I pass this one as a member of the Congregation onto the Dukes. What do y'all make of this joke god is playing on us? Would you rather see Arkane Lyon release the immersive sim where Corvo becomes a kleptomaniac stealing the high lords crypto? Or see them shutdown? Have a 6 hour podcast kind of day

Fragments of Grenth

Greetings Anti-kid Cog and MrMattyInsider, First time subscribing and writing in, long time listener. The numbers are in, and after almost a month on the market it appears that Gears of War: E-Day has sold around 400,000 copies on console and PC, with roughly another 722,000 choosing the $30 upgrade via game pass. I've played all of the previous mainline Gears games, and enjoyed them all. In fact, the ending of Gears 5 made me really intrigued to see what came next. While I may very well be in the minority, I can't imagine I'm completely alone in the world. Would it have been better for The Coalition to pick up their half made sandwich and finish what they had started with a Gears 6? Could it have enticed the old Gears faithful, while maintaining people like me who just want the story to move forward? Or does E-Day show that any Gears game was doomed due to a combination of waning interest in the IP, Game Pass, the sacrificial altar of exclusivity, and the insanely packed release schedule we've all been dealing with? At the end of the day, I can't speak for anyone but myself, and I don't imagine it would have reversed the fortunes of the Gears franchise, but I definitely would have gone out of my way to buy and play Gears 6 if it had released a month ago. Instead, E-Day has become a "maybe I'll pick it up on sale a few months from now" while I've been enjoying Star Wars: Galactic Racer. Curious to hear what you both think. Keep up the good work and have a "for whatever reason, the market said 'fuck them old dudes'" kind of day. P.S. I know it isn't the first part of my username, but I go by Grenth.

JP

Hey Dukes, What was the point of officially announcing the name for the next Elder Scrolls game if they had nothing else to show or say? When they first revealed the game, it was a direct response to placate the fans angry with Fallout 76. You now confirm the name and essentially the location that had already leaked months ago and we'll be waiting another two years at least before we likely see anything more. Do you think Bethesda will have any goodwill left by the time they do show something? Thanks and have a "rolling out Tua in a Penix jersey" kind of day!

Minji of NewJeans

For Matt. How much would you pay to suck Todd Howard to completion? Max?

CombatSneeze

howdy dukes, Have you guys seen the insanely stacked humble bundle for this month? For $15 you can get steam keys for Mafia: The Old Country, Shinobi: Art of Vengence, Yakuza 6, 4 dope looking indie games and a Battle.net code for The Outer Worlds 2. With a line up like that, they're definitely sizing up the Greatest Deal in Gaming (Game Pass) Have a "holy shit Cog was not exaggerating how great shinobi feels to play" kind of day!

SolidEvolution

How is EA doing as a publisher? They can’t even make Battlefront 3 and Mass Effect at the same time

SolidEvolution

He can’t use play anywhere games if he puts Steam OS on it

Donald A. Duck

I think he mentioned in a recent episode that he doesn’t use it at all because it’s cumbersome to use.