Defining Duke: An Xbox Podcast

• #218 | The Gears Collection Is REAL... And Not What We Expected...

  After years of rumors, the Gears Of War Collection has become a bit of a running gag in the Xbox community. If it happens, great. If it doesn't, we never fully believed in it anyway. This week, we have Jez Corden to thank because it made for one of our fastest evolving stories mid-show! Starting off as a discussion of whether or not the Gears Of War Collection would ever happen, we quickly learned it is happening and... it won't have multiplayer. Is this a major dealbreaker for Xbox fans? Naturally, the Dukes debate, but the real question after assessing the early Forza Horizon 5 sales data is if it will matter to those playing on other platforms. Forza Horizon 5 is already beating out hot products with full marketing campaigns that are set to hit the market. Most stunning of all is that despite amassing 40+ million players and being available on multiple platforms for years, Forza Horizon 5's early access edition is the lead seller. It says a lot about how Xbox as a platform is viewed versus their content. So, let's dive in! Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:30:09 - Tony Hawk Pro Skater is back 0:50:44 - A new Gears Of War rumor 1:06:34 - Expedition 33 previews 1:14:46 - Hideki Kamiya still wants to make Scalebound 1:18:11 - CoD leaker doubles down on new Xbox consoles in 2026 1:25:03 - Monster Hunter Wilds has sold 8 million copies 1:27:35 - Sonic Unleashed has been ported to PC by fans 1:34:35 - Turok Dinosaur Hunter suddenly gets released 1:36:27 - Terminator 2D: No Fate arrives on September 5th 1:38:43 - Jason Schreier reports that a new LEGO game is on the way 1:44:48 - Suikoden announcements 1:48:42 - Rockstar Games has acquired Video Games Deluxe 1:49:26 - Steam reaches 40 Million concurrent online users 1:50:12 - La Quimera revealed 1:51:30 - Demon Slayer is getting another game 1:52:30 - Games publisher Acclaim has returned 1:55:35 - Ubisoft’s Far Cry extraction shooter has been rebooted 2:05:38 - What We’re Playing 2:40:40 - Jez confirms no multiplayer on Gears Collection 3:12:17 - Coming soon to Xbox Game Pass 3:17:35 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• #217 | Fable Is DELAYED To 2026... - Now What?

  It has been a whirlwind of a week for the games industry. Massive studio closures continue at a rapid pace and now we have Fable delay for the cherry on top! Where to begin? Well, for the Xbox faithful, let's sink into Fable first. It was given a 2025 release window at Xbox's 2024 Summer Showcase, but Playground Games has pulled the plug early on that happening. Announced by new head of Xbox Game Studios Craig Duncan, we also got a glimpse at some pre-alpha gameplay for Fable. The game looks great, at least visually, but has left many wondering what's taking so long? Rumors of this game started kicking around in 2018 only for the game to be fully announced in 2020. By summer 2026, we're looking at six full years of building this game up. So, what gives? Is it a PS5 port, the looming release of GTA VI, or something much deeper? The Dukes discuss in Cog's return! Naturally, we dive deep into the mismanagement of WB Games as we have for weeks. To put an exclamation point on things, they have shut down Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB San Diego. As their game's division continues its tailspin, the Dukes sift through the wreckage to see if there's any hope in saving what remains of WB Games. We also tackle the conversation around MUSE once more following new comments by Satya Nadella, how NetEase is hitting a speed bump despite the rocketing success of Marvel Rivals, and much more! Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:33:55 - Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 has been rated 0:39:50 - 11 games announced at ID@Xbox showcase 0:43:33 - The truth behind Avowed's development revealed 0:53:23 - Satya Nadella speaks on MUSE 1:08:09 - Bloober Team and Konami announce a deal together 1:09:52 - Some updates on the January hardware performance 1:12:45 - What's going on with NetEase? 1:22:18 - Tekken 8 has reached 3 million copies sold 1:27:16 - Exodus is targeting a 2026 release window 1:29:45 - Persona 4 Remake on the way? 1:32:11 - God Of War remasters soon? 1:33:43 - Dragon Age The Veilguard is already on PS Plus 1:38:27 - What We’re Playing 2:14:16 - Xbox delays Fable to 2026 2:44:16 - WB Games shuts down three studios 3:15:06 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• #216 | Xbox Goes FULL AI - What's Next?!

  This week, Xbox unveiled MUSE, a generative AI model aimed at boosting creativity and possibilities for gameplay. Published in the journal Nature as well as announced by Microsoft Research, the Xbox team shared findings alongside Ninja Theory on what this new AI model that was trained on Bleeding Edge could accomplish. In the extensive write-ups, we learn about the principles of this AI model, what Xbox's mandate is for it across their first party studios, and even get teased a bit on what it could mean for backwards compatibility. However, is it all sunshine and roses here for Xbox's new approach to game development? The push for AI is on more than ever and it's no longer a matter of "if" but rather "when." Like any tool, its public perception will be dictated by how responsibly it is handled. Joining Matty this week is Brad, to clean up the AI mess, and dive into a whole bunch of other Xbox news. We follow up our last episode's conversation on Avowed, dig into the future of Obsidian, mull over yet another Phil Spencer interview, and plenty more in what is bound to be divisive subject for many listeners. Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro/Avowed follow-up 0:22:33 - How will Obsidian scale after Avowed? 0:27:42 - Bobby Kotick interview 0:37:53 - Another Tony Hawk Pro Skater on the way? 0:45:09 - Jez Corden on Xbox’s next console 0:56:28 - Machine Games grows 0:59:35 - Updates on the leaked Final Fantasy remakes 1:09:14 - Stalker 2 is getting its biggest update yet 1:11:49 - Lost Soul Aside is getting a physical copy! 1:12:44 - Fairgame$ has been pushed to 2026 1:15:07 - System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster is getting a release date soon 1:18:47 - Kingdom Come Deliverance passes 2 million copies sold 1:19:57 - Funko Fusion developer 10:10 has reportedly been hit with layoffs 1:22:22 - Visionary art director Viktor Antonov passed away at age 52 1:24:39 - What We’re Playing 2:00:13 - Xbox introduces MUSE 2:35:24 - Phil Spencer interview 2:41:28 - Coming soon to Xbox Game Pass 2:43:30 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• #215 | Our Avowed Review Is HERE - Did It Deliver?!

  After a long build up, the boys have played and finished Avowed! Joining the Dukes is Gene Park where we discuss everything from our combined experience with Avowed, to a preview with South Of Midnight, and even Sony's recent State Of Play. While there are few subjects to tackle, each of them have a lot of meat on their bones. So, let's not delay any further. Is Obsidian's latest RPG worth the dive? Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro 00:07:31 - State of Play 01:53:21 - WB Games continues to plummet 02:17:48 - Warhorse Studios updates 02:27:40 - Elden Ring Nightreign launch date 02:31:05 - GTA6 is still on for 2025 02:36:11 - What We’re Playing (Avowed) 04:02:43 - Game Pass Pick of the Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• #214 | The TRUTH On Avowed Is HERE... (We Interviewed The Director)

  Joining this episode is Obsidian's very own Carrie Patel to tell us all we need to know going into Avowed! Everything from framerate and role-playing mechanics to the future of the Pillars franchise is covered in our deep dive with the game's director. Also, we get a bit into what's behind the secret sauce that allows a team like Obsidian to release so many games in a short period of time while the rest of the industry toils away on one-and-done projects. That's not the only news to come out of Obsidian as the lead writer of Fallout's most loved entry in New Vegas just returned to the studio. John Gonzalez is known for not only his work on the Horizon series, but also his iconic characters created such as Mr. House, the Strip families, Caesar, and so on. Could Obsidian be cooking on Fallout? Well, not according to John, but we theorize nonetheless. Naturally, we get into the plethora of PS5 ports announced this week in Forza Horizon 5 as well as the Age Of Empires series plus plenty more in a girthy week of Defining Duke! Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:12:02 - John Gonzalez, lead creative designer on Fallout: New Vegas is back 0:21:33 - It’s raining PS5 ports! 0:31:31 - Gears Of War Trilogy Collection leaks? 0:36:09 - Breaking down Xbox’s Q2 2025 stats 0:59:05 - The Sleeping Dogs saga 1:04:05 - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth had a strong launch on Steam 1:08:48 - Devil May Cry 1 Remake possibly in development 1:13:51 - EA suggests that Dragon Age would’ve done better as a live service game 1:28:39 - First look at the new Battlefield 1:34:40 - Hideki Kamiya confirms that Platinum lost a ton of talent 1:41:24 - Some Capcom announcements 1:43:42 - Multiversus is going offline 1:47:19 - Fun economic updates for ya 1:52:49 - What We’re Playing 2:33:58 - Interview with Carrie Patel 3:17:16 - Coming soon to Xbox Game Pass 3:22:02 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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