This week, Phil answered one of the most pressing questions since the reveal of the Steam Deck. Can it play Xbox games via the cloud? Now, we finally have our answer. Carrying it beyond that, Matty and Cognito dive into if this is enough or could Xbox go make their own handheld with Nintendo and Valve successfully entering the space? Beyond that, the head of Xbox took an interview with GamesRadar where they honed in on the fine craft of PlayStation and their excellent open world titles. His repl...
Aug 22, 2021•3 hr 51 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast Joining us this week in one of our longest episodes to date is the Man With A Million, Rand Al Thor! Matty, Cognito, and Rand team up for the perfect week as Xbox blew the lid off all their plans for upcoming content. For starters, three different showcases arrived for the company this month. One has already passed which is ID @ Xbox's Twitch indie showcase. What Game Pass additions and indie gems caught the boys' eyes? Later in August is the headliner, Xbox's Gamescom show. It aims to provide u...
Aug 15, 2021•3 hr 14 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast Alongside a fantastic technical preview for Halo Infinite's multiplayer came some scary news for fans who have been waiting years for Infinite to finally drop. For starters, story spoilers are spreading throughout the web thanks to campaign files which were data mined from that very technical preview. That's not all as the very fitting battle royale mode may have also been discovered thanks to some voice lines uncovered by Jeff Steitzer! What do all these leaks make for the future of this make-o...
Aug 08, 2021•2 hr 26 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast Lots happening in the Xbox world this week! For starters, eager fans can finally sink their teeth into Halo Infinite flight testing as it goes live this weekend. Only one of the two hosts made it in... can you guess who? That aside, it is a test boasting bot matches, but more than anything we will finally be able to get a true feel of the game! On the other end of the spectrum, Forza Horizon 5 displayed even more impressive visuals throughout three new biomes. The game is staggering on multiple ...
Aug 01, 2021•2 hr 24 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast Last week saw the PC savvy Valve announce their entrance into the console market in the form of a handheld that aims to bring the PC experience in Switch-like form factor. As Team Handheld, Matty and Lord Cognito immediately love what they see, but the potential in Steam Deck goes beyond that of Valve. Indeed, it is the potential Xbox has to grow through this device like many others as we continue to wonder if Xbox will finally enter the handheld market. Beyond that, Xbox saw a record month in h...
Jul 25, 2021•2 hr 28 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast The Xbox team made the press rounds this week and dove into the likes of controller changes, VR/AR, early access, but most importantly to everyone (and especially Cog!) is that #JustONE! Fans have wanted Xbox to go all out with their single player narrative games and Phil Spencer has just claimed they have more in development than they ever had in the history of Xbox. An exciting trajectory for sure, so Matty and Cog shake out Xbox's future. Alongside that, a major week in the world of Japanese ...
Jul 18, 2021•2 hr 20 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast Reports, reports, and more reports! That's a TLDR for you. We have reports on the future of Grand Theft Auto's next entry which will feature an "evolving map" best compared to events in Fortnite. Assassin's Creed joins the fray of single player platforms that will be supported for years. In yet another report, it is revealed that much like Halo Infinite, Assassin's Creed will have a platform boasting multiple settings which will be added to for many years to come. How does this shift the single ...
Jul 11, 2021•2 hr 19 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast In a special episode, we welcome Lord Cognito into the Last Stand Media family as our permanent co-host for Defining Duke. Cognito brings years of podcasting experience across Iron Lords Podcast & The Last Word podcast while standing as a strong representation of what Last Stand brings to the table. Honesty, respect, and hard work. He was #1 on our list and we're honored to have him in the fold week in and week out. Now, for the news! In the realm of PlayStation, they wrapped up one (maybe even ...
Jul 04, 2021•2 hr 28 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast First and foremost, a big thank to Karak for being an excellent host for Defining Duke. We will miss his commentary, jokes, and analysis on the latest in Xbox. With that in mind, Defining Duke will soon be bringing a new host on board that we will announce soon. Onto the news! Xbox has touted the cloud for years and now they're making big hirings and one in particular is for Hideo Kojima to help him make something for Xbox. The prospect of Xbox extracting one of the dominant players in the PlayS...
Jun 27, 2021•2 hr 57 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast One of the primary points of critique for Xbox since the Xbox One has been its lack of meaningful releases. It was significant when an exclusive occurred, but the towering dominance of quality known as PlayStation exclusives would play as cleanup time in and time out. After E3 2021, one part of the critique can be put to bed. Month in, month out, Xbox has games for 2021 and they are bringing many more in 2022 as their investments heat up for 2023. So, for the first time in our show, we can sit d...
Jun 20, 2021•2 hr 23 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast It's a special episode for a special event. Xbox and Bethesda have teamed up for the first time to put on a showcase displaying what is heading to the ecosystem throughout the rest of 2021 and into 2022. Out of the 30 titles shown off, 27 are making their way to Xbox Game Pass which no doubt piles on the already staggering value. With that, they also hit hard with new console exclusives like Contraband, Starfield, Redfall, and many more. For a company with "no games," Xbox has attempted to flip ...
Jun 15, 2021•3 hr 33 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast Christmas in June has arrived! With E3 season in full swing, developers are set to make major announcements on all manner of games! With that, we tap the shoulder of Lord Cognito to dissect all 23 first party studios under Xbox and give our ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ to their appearance at the grand show. Who will we see? Time shall tell! In other news, Ubisoft dives into the political nature of their latest game, Far Cry 6. Meanwhile, Dying Light 2 enjoys a re-reveal and Battlefield is setting up to show i...
Jun 06, 2021•4 hr 46 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast With E3 hyping ramping up, anything is possible! Yes, that even means Valve coming to consoles. Reports are in that the company is working on their own PC handheld akin to the Nintendo Switch. What does this mean for the likes of emulation, game streaming, xCloud, and more? There's plenty to sift through. Speaking of, Karak and Matty obsess to an annoying extent over the asset announcing Xbox's E3 showcase. Backwards compatible additions? Starfield? Halo Infinite beta? So many possibilities! Xbo...
May 30, 2021•3 hr 44 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast This week in news that's kind of, sort of not news, we talk a ton of Starfield! Just as Head Of Xbox Phil Spencer had said, it will indeed be an Xbox and PC exclusive. This brings forward two major questions. First, what is occurring in the industry where widely known news is news? Second, what does this mean for IP such as Fallout, Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Dishonored, and more? We re-visit and discuss! Plus, new Day One Game Pass additions in the name of Dungeons & Dragons Dark Alliance, Knockout C...
May 23, 2021•3 hr 57 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast Xbox looks to be shifting to a next generation state of mind. First party studios inXile Entertainment, Ninja Theory, and now The Coalition have all moved their work to Unreal Engine 5. This settings up the alluring discussion of how quickly we can transition, if at all, into those generation defining experiences! All is not well in the first party world! 343 Industries came under seemingly unfair criticism from the press and content creators when accusations of crunch began to surface. This all...
May 16, 2021•2 hr 25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Epic and Apple are currently engaged in battle in the courtroom thanks to Fortnite’s mobile version which tried to circumvent the 30% cut Apple typically takes. Through that, we have seen all that occurs behind closed doors and it has been fascinating. For starters, a Phil Spencer e-mail that shines a spotlight on a recurring topic yet again: xCloud on Nintendo Switch. Plus, PlayStation’s true stance on crossplay has been unveiled and we even have financial dealings between publishers and Epic G...
May 09, 2021•3 hr 49 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast It is a rare quiet week for Xbox as we quickly approach E3. As plans begin to be set in stone, we look at the potential titles to expect at gaming's biggest show and, subsequently a release in the fall. That's where Bethesda Game Studios' first new IP in two decades arrives and sets the conversation for our show. With more rumbles of a 2021 reveal and release, should we truly expect that with how game development has gone? Xbox Game Pass quietly adds a nifty title to its library, updates on Obsi...
May 02, 2021•2 hr 11 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast Xbox’s executives have earned a reputation for teasing upcoming announcements in the background of their set-ups. This week, the games continued with a Nintendo Switch appearing in the studio during Microsoft’s Game Stack event. The boys sit down to investigate! In other updates throughout the Xbox world, Discord backs out on a Microsoft purchase, new Xbox Game Pass additions and subtractions, as well as the introduction of Game Pass Cloud streaming for iOS devices! Learn more about your ad choi...
Apr 25, 2021•2 hr 11 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast So, we're an Xbox and PC show. You've read the title, you know this. However, a large chunk of the audience write-ins were reflections on the Don Mattrick era and PlayStation's major shifts that have dragged Xbox into a favorable position. I thought for this episode it would be fun with a slower news week to turn our attention toward Bloomberg's reporting of PlayStation honing in on blockbuster titles only. As we continue to say, it's more clear than ever that Xbox and PlayStation are marching t...
Apr 18, 2021•3 hr 37 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast E3 was one of the victims of the pandemic, but with a new digital strategy in place it will be making a return in June of 2021. Xbox will be attendance and Bethesda will following them up leaving a lot of opportunity available to make a major impact. Will Xbox ditch their CGI trailer ways of the last year and give us strong looks at the likes of Fable, Avowed, Starfield, and Forza? Is Bethesda Game Studios going to fully dedicate Starfield to next-gen hardware? After analyzing some Todd Howard c...
Apr 11, 2021•3 hr 49 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast The monthly embarrassment has arrived! While Game Pass kills it to the point of saying it yet again feeling redundant, Games With Gold continues to meander. Bringing another package of lackluster titles leaves us with one big question... is it time to sunset this one beloved program? In the backwards compatibility world, Xbox continues to push the limits. Elder Scrolls or Fallout: New Vegas on the phone? Sign us up! The timing is great for them as it syncs up with PlayStation shutting down the P...
Apr 04, 2021•3 hr 55 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast With the attention on Xbox, the time is now for them to strike and strike again. Rolling on weeks after one of their biggest moves they are now setting up a Indy showcase the debut brand new exclusives to the console. More shockingly, word has started to get around about a big Microsoft focused acquisition that could directly benefit Xbox in the name of the very popular video game chat service known as Discord. The major question has been will these games round out Xbox is big 2021 and 2022 as w...
Mar 28, 2021•3 hr 49 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast Hot on the heels of rolling Bethesda into the fold, Xbox is sustaining momentum in the following week. Xbox Game Pass continues to solidify itself as the best value deal in gaming and things have somehow managed to get even better. On day one of its release you will be able to download Outriders through Game Pass on consoles! Major third party deals will continue to lift the service to new heights and Xbox understands that as they are bringing Octopath Traveler to Xbox as well. This is momentous...
Mar 21, 2021•3 hr 44 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast No more guessing. This week, Phil Spencer, Pete Hines, Todd Howard, and many others gathered to break down everything on the future of this acquisition. Game Pass additions, exclusivity, a summer event. It is all laid out for us to feast on. Now that we know what is happening, where do we go from here? Matty and Karak sift through week's of build-up and release it all in this very episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 14, 2021•3 hr 45 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Walkthrough and Soulsbornekiro expert FightinCowboy joins the show! After nearly two years of silence, fans of Elden Ring finally have some answers. Unfortunately for Namco Bandai, none of this was planned. The new IP by From Software has suffered a major leak boasting an internal gameplay trailer and, worse yet, the potential showcase for this re-reveal has been outed as well. What do we make of this? Will it be a situation similar to Hogwart's Legacy where the leak comes and then the game disa...
Mar 07, 2021•3 hr 44 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Week by week, we inch closer to the conclusion of the Bethesda-Xbox merging and, more importantly, answers to pressing questions. What of exclusivity? When is Bethesda Game Studios' Starfield arriving? It looks like in the middle of March we will be learning what this means for the future of both companies becoming one. On the other side of the spectrum, PlayStation has moved another one of their exclusives to PC and this is a good sign for those of the 'master race.' Both sides are embracing th...
Feb 28, 2021•2 hr 27 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Xbox has been leading the charge on backwards compatibility for years. This has mostly come in the form of being able to access your games from previous generations, but this week, they made good on a promise of making those games better. By introducing an FPS boost, Xbox hopes to make those backwards compatible titles even better for you as Karak went hands on with the program and breaks down his experience. Last week brought about the conversation of Halo MCC possibly moving to a new platform,...
Feb 21, 2021•2 hr 12 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Games are often understood as a form of art, but it appears that many suits are still playing catch-up in that regard! After five years, WB Games has successfully managed to lock down the defining mechanic for their Middle Earth series of games. This isn’t the first we’ve seen of game mechanics being patented, but is a move that only serves to stagnate the industry further as options to innovate become limited. Furthermore, Xbox has teased a new place and way to play for the Halo Master Chief Co...
Feb 14, 2021•2 hr 28 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast The terms "Xbox" and "Future" tend to be synonymous. While there are great games, the true investment lies in the plethora of exclusive deals and acquisition made by the company. With that in mind, gamers are hungry to learn more on what Xbox plans to do with all the Bethesda studios now under their umbrella and it appears the answer may be arriving next month. Interestingly, Xbox has managed to nab an exclusive from PlayStation as MLB The Show has moved to the multi-plat business meaning you ca...
Feb 07, 2021•3 hr 31 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast It was an incredibly busy week for Xbox! The Xbox Live Gold fiasco, their first major Xbox Series X/S exclusive released, and Microsoft shared the company's recent earnings painting a clear picture of where Xbox stands as a division within the company. Even more crazy is that amongst all of this, there are rumors spreading of how one of the original Xbox's RPG exclusives may be making a return. That very RPG is Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic and it is seemingly in development at a studio...
Jan 31, 2021•2 hr 17 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast 
