Defining Duke, Episode 58: The Activision Exclusives Situation Gets Perplexing (Patreon)

The Dukes have spoken on multiple accounts about Xbox progress as a brand, but their communication leaves much to be desired. There has been no better public example than the back-and-forth statements on how Xbox plans to handle the games from their newly acquired publisher, Activision. From uncertainty, to delays of when the team will speak on such subjects, an "intent" to honor agreements, and now the latest statement which says that Call Of Duty will remain multiplatform. It leaves the Dukes asking what this means for future deals if Bethesda's acquisition was specifically for exclusives. Are some for Game Pass? Are others to keep Tencent and others away? It's tough to constantly read between the lines. In more digestible news, Scalebound is a potential return target, Halo Infinite is "dying," Nintendo is on another planet, and a man who listens to our show eats a whole onion for lunch.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:03:00 - Some smaller news items and follow-ups.

0:16:36 - What we’ve been playing.

0:27:42 - How are we feeling about Atomic Heart?

0:30:18 - Is Xbox bolstering their engagement with Eastern European devs?

0:33:53 - Where is the marketing for CrossfireX?

0:42:26 - Have we seen the Shenmue anime?

0:49:09 - Has Microsoft learned their quality control lesson for Game Pass?

0:52:49 - Will Microsoft push Game Pass on Steam Deck?

0:58:35 - Call of Duty will not be exclusive to Xbox.

1:16:28 - PlatinumGames helped tank the Xbox One generation.

1:32:07 - Halo Infinite’s numbers are slipping..

1:43:00 - Nintendo will not join the acquisition race.

1:51:08 - Grand Theft Auto 6 is confirmed to be in development.

1:53:12 - Game Pass pick of the week.

1:58:15 - How would Xbox respond if the Activision deal was stopped by regulators?

2:02:33 - What are our ideal comic book/developer mashups?

2:10:10 - Why does Crystal Dynamics seem to be bleeding talent?

2:14:56 - What are our most disappointing series?

2:25:38 - Why is Matty a Falcons fan?