Forza Horizon 6 Release Date Leaked?! - Kinda Funny Games Daily 01.14.26

Summary

Kinda Funny Games Daily – 01.14.26

Episode: Forza Horizon 6 Release Date Leaked?!
Date: January 14, 2026
Hosts: Tim Gettys, Blessing Adeoye Jr, with Barrett Courtney and guest caller Paris Lilly

---

Episode Overview

The crew breaks down the hotly rumored Forza Horizon 6 release date leak and spins into a freewheeling, in-depth discussion of upcoming Xbox and Nintendo releases, market strategy, and the state of the games industry in early 2026. Along the way, they swap stories about their gaming backlogs, the allure of classic RPGs, and how calendar traffic jams (hello, GTA 6) are shaking publisher decisions.
Throughout, the mood is classic Kinda Funny: insightful, fast-paced, and brimming with banter and memorable one-liners.

---

Major Discussion Points & Insights

1. What We're Playing & Backlog Season (01:41 – 09:56)

• Blessing is Streaming Final Fantasy X for the First Time

  • Blessing shares early impressions, surprised by the Sphere Grid and the game's ambition for its era.
  • Tim offers advice: "Don't let the Sphere Grid overwhelm you... It's just a skill tree, but it's the dopest" (02:56).
  • Both reflect on the game's visuals, music, and combat, noting its influence on modern RPGs.

• Tim Revisits Chrono Trigger

  • Playing the Steam version—now much improved—with thoughts on why the original still holds up.
  • "We really don't need a remake... but I think an HD-2D version would be good for the IP" (08:32).
  • Brief banter on dream casting voice actors if it were remade ("Ben Starr is Frog!").

2. News - The Roper Report (09:58 onwards)

Story #1: Forza Horizon 6 Release Date Leak (10:05 – 29:50)

• The Leak & Industry Context

  • Forza Horizon 6 reportedly set for May 19, per an internal FH5 notification leaked by an X (formerly Twitter) user and sourced via The Verge.
  • Early Access May 15. Premium edition will offer typical perks plus various car packs and expansions.

• Hype and Setting

  • Both Tim and Bless put Forza 6 in their top 5 most anticipated of 2026, energized by the Japan setting:
    • "Every open world game needs to go to Japan... Forza in Japan does something special" – Blessing (11:24).
    • "We're about to see some vistas, sunsets, so many cherry blossom trees!" – Tim (13:20).

• Release Date Analysis & Xbox's 2026 Problem

  • Blessing: "The only bad day would be the same day as GTA."
  • Tim: "Forza feels immune to sales slumps...the prestige it has now, it’s a must-play."
  • Conversation shifts to Xbox’s stacked calendar (Fable, Halo, Gears, etc.) and hazards of crowding the schedule around GTA 6’s gravitational pull.

• Caller Paris Lilly's Xbox Release Predictions (24:33 – 27:19)

  • Forecasts a relentless fall schedule: “Halo in August, Fable in September, Gears in October, Call of Duty before GTA 6 in November.”
  • On anniversaries/fan expectations: “The 25th is about celebrating Xbox. Maybe tease the next Halo, not necessarily release it.”
  • Paris is more confident in Fable launching in 2026 over Gears E-Day.

Story #2: Nintendo Share Price Drops 33% in 5 Months (34:08 – 41:45)

• Share price fell from record highs following Switch 2’s huge launch—now dropping, mainly due to:
  • So-so holiday numbers
  • No “killer app” six months into Switch 2
  • Hardware cost fears (RAM prices, US tariffs)
• Bless: “Switch 2’s first-year lineup just doesn’t compare to Switch 1... there’s not a Zelda or Mario at launch.”
• Tim: "Not a concern—new consoles spike share prices, then normalize. If anything, maybe we get a black screen announcing 'Zelda in development' for shareholders."

Story #3: Hytale - Surprise Breakout Twitch Hit (43:33 – 44:57)

• The Minecraft-adjacent sandbox (from Hypixel devs) becomes the most watched game on Twitch during Early Access.
• Bless: “There are whole worlds out there I just don’t know—like, a Minecraft follow-up launches and hits 420,000 viewers?!”
• Rapid turnaround: Riot Games canceled it, then devs reacquired and launched it months later.

Story #4: Rockstar’s Mod Marketplace (46:22 – 49:38)

• Rockstar launches official marketplace for mods (CFX Marketplace), following an acquisition.
• Bundles can cost hundreds; Bless isn't sold: “Every time someone explains making money off mods, it ends in a scam.”
• Prediction: GTA 6's online may become more like Roblox or Fortnite's user-generated content platforms.

Story #5: Echo the Dolphin Returns (49:47 – 53:17)

• Several new Echo titles, incl. remasters and a new game, are in development by original creators.
• Panel nostalgia: "Did you ever get past level one?... Why does this game sound so haunted?"
• Jokes on childhood memories and challenging final boss ("huge praying mantis alien?").

3. Quick Hits: “WE News” (53:17 – 55:12)

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0 launches (early for Switch 1).
• Ubisoft lays off 29 people at its Abu Dhabi studio—"year sucks."
• Aerial Knight’s Drop Shot out Feb 17.
• PlayStation Plus January 2026 lineup headlined by Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Resident Evil Village.
• It Takes Two crosses 27 million sold.
• Pocket Mortys (Rick & Morty Pokémon-like) shutting down April 13.

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments

| Timestamp | Quote / Moment | |-------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:56 | “Don’t let the Sphere Grid overwhelm you…It’s just a skill tree, but it’s the dopest.” – Tim | | 11:24 | “Every open world game needs to go to Japan... For some reason, there's just a hype to that.” – Bless | | 13:20 | “We’re about to see some vistas, we’re about to see some sunsets, we’re about to see so many cherry blossom trees.” – Tim | | 24:33 | Paris joins to break down Xbox schedule: “From August to end of year, they got a game every month.” | | 34:08 | “I think you still had the thing with Switch 1—Zelda, Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8. That was such a trilogy of high sellers…” – Bless | | 44:04 | “There are whole worlds out there that we just aren’t in... I never had a Minecraft era!” – Bless | | 46:38 | “Every time someone’s explained making money off of mods, it always ends in a scam. Always.” – Tim |

---

Other Notable Discussions

• Racing Game Renaissance:
  • Excitement for new and unique racing games like Screamer; wishes for a Burnout return.
  • Tim and Bless swap favorite arcade racer memories—Auto Modellista, Blur, Split/Second.
• Industry Calendar Shuffles:
  • Deep dive into publishers playing “date chicken” with GTA 6, Halo anniversaries, and how next-gen hardware might be pushed later due to tariffs/RAM costs.
• Podcast Friendship & Banter:
  • Running jokes about “not wanting to know what Roger did in Minecraft” and childhood stories of Echo the Dolphin at church.
  • Bless and Barrett debate their next tattoos, album covers vs. games, and fearful first-timer stories.
• Listener Superchats:
  • Outer Wilds tattoos, building a PC for Game Pass, Neon White love, and what games you'd "uncancel."

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:41 – 09:56: Opening chat & What We're Playing
• 10:05 – 29:50: Forza Horizon 6 Release Date Leak & Xbox Calendar
  • 24:33: Paris Lilly calls in
• 34:08 – 41:45: Nintendo Share Price/Lineup Speculation
• 43:33 – 44:57: Hytale Twitch Breakout
• 46:22 – 49:38: Rockstar Mod Marketplace Launch
• 49:47 – 53:17: Echo the Dolphin Returns
• 53:17 – 55:12: WE News (Quick Headlines)
• 55:14 – end: Superchats, random banter (tattoos, canceled games, etc.)

---

Tone & Style

• Fun and conversational: The show keeps things upbeat, irreverent, and occasionally tangential without losing focus on the news.
• Banter-rich: Playful digs, in-jokes (“Why does this sound so haunted?” re: Echo) and honest opinions abound.
• Industry-savvy: Deep dives into why decisions are made, skepticism about publisher promises and game delays.

---

Summary Takeaways

• Forza Horizon 6 leak seems legit—May 19, with Japan setting, high anticipation, and little genre competition.
• Xbox’s fall may be too stacked; Fable and Gears launch timing likely dictated by GTA 6's massive shadow.
• Nintendo’s share drop reflects natural post-launch cooling and market fears, not lack of future momentum.
• Hytale and the Return of Echo the Dolphin are examples of gaming’s cyclical surprise comebacks.
• The industry is prepping (or dreading) GTA 6’s arrival, reshaping release schedules like few games before it.

---

End Note:
If you miss an episode, this is the perfect way to catch up—analysis, context, comedy, and all the bread brother energy you expect from Kinda Funny.

Transcript

[A]

Good Morning Crust. It's a great day to be a bread brother.

[B]

Ugh.

[C]

Mornings are not my jam or jelly.

[A]

Oh come on. Stop loafing around. I just woke up feeling hollow inside.

[D]

Just grab one of the new morning.

[A]

Uncrustable sandwiches like Bright eyed berry or up and apple filled with 12 grams of protein and tons of deliciousness crust.

[E]

What are you eating?

[A]

It's just granola. Not even yogurt. No crust, no fuss.

[D]

Uncrust your mornings.

[C]

This episode is brought to you by Rocket Money. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. [e-mail] KindaFunny this episode is brought to you by Factor. Make healthier eating easy with Factor. Head to factor meals.com kindafunny50 off and use the code kindafunny50OFF to get 50% off your first factor box. Plus free breakfast for one year offer only valid for New Factor customers with code and qualifying auto renewing subscription purchase.

[A]

Today's stories include Forza Horizon 6's release date might have already leaked. What does share prices dropping mean for Nintendo? And the first breakout video game hit of the year. We'll have all this and more because this is Kind of Funny Games Daily. What's up? And welcome to Kind of Funny Games daily for Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Of course. I'm Tim Gettys and I'm joined Today by Blessing Adoh Jr Very good day, Tim. Very good day to you. I feel like you might have had a good night last night.

[E]

I did have a good night last night.

[A]

Why is that?

[E]

I started following Final Fantasy 10 for the very first time. Really cool game so far. I'm like an hour and a half in.

[A]

Okay.

[E]

Of course I know this is one that is near and dear to your heart. This is the one that's not like Mike played last year and fell absolutely, absolutely in love with. And it's one that I've heard people talk about throughout the years. But I think I didn't realize how big the hype is for Final Fantasy 10 until very recently. I think it was Snow White Mike playing it that put me on to how much people just love Final Fantasy it was that in clear obscure Expedition 33.

[A]

Oh yeah, they're very similar. They're very similar games in. In story and characters in a lot of ways. So I. I'm so excited for. Oh, and you're streaming it too. Oh, this is so awesome. Now I get to watch you react to so many amazing moments in this game. Do you think you're going to stick with it?

[E]

I know it's early, but I think so. Yeah. This was one that I've been calling this month, BBL January.

[A]

Okay.

[E]

For big backlog January. Of course, it's kind of like we kind of have the space. There are some video game releases, but there's not anything that's too big that's really speaking to me. And so I have the time, I have the space to check out a game like this. And so so far I'm sticking with it. So far I'm enjoying it. I'm like, I. Here's what I saw last night. Yeah, I saw the Sphere grid and that shit overwhelmed me.

[A]

Oh, don't overwhelmed me immediately. Don't let it overwhelm you. It is very much. It's at this point I feel like we've played so many video games that have role RPG elements. Right? Like the Sphere grid is just a very, very early example of just like tree of a skill tree. That's it. You know what I mean? But it's the dopest whatever. And it's like plus what if I told you that it's all one grid and they all start in different parts of the grid and over time they can connect to each other.

[E]

I love that.

[A]

So you can take characters any direction you want to go. Oh my God.

[E]

There's like a moment where they tutorialize it. It's weird because it is like they hit you with a tutorial out of nowhere. And one I love going back to a game from what year was this? 2002.

[A]

Yeah. 2002. Yeah.

[E]

Going back to a game from this era and like being like, okay, yes, this is bringing me back to it, but also seeing how I think far ahead one, maybe 2001, seeing how far ahead this game was in terms of like, I mean even FF7. I talk about this, but the pre rendered cutscenes and how good that looks, the fashion of the characters, the world I like I'm. There's like you get to the bat, you get to the opening like segments of the game and you can see the city in the background. And I'm sure it's just like some JPEGs, but they do a really good job of placing them where I'm like, this looks beautiful.

[A]

Yeah, man. The look, the game like beside island is one of like the standout locations for me in just video games. Like when you're walking around it, like there's some shots that are just to this day breathtakingly beautiful. Like it's so damn cool. I'm so, so happy for you because I. I really think that this one's going to hit with you. What do you feel about the combat?

[E]

I mean, I'm not. I feel like I'm not far enough to really get a hold of it. I will say there have been segments that I really like so far. There was one underground combat segment where it's me and Riku. Yes, Me and Riku. And there's like a giant fish thing. Giant fish thing? Yeah. And it does the thing where it like it kind of swims away and then it gives us the option of like, all right, do you want to hang out or do we want to like try to pincer it and like come from both sides? I like that type of. That reminds me of kind of like what they do in even modern Persona games. And so I'm. That I'm already into Eddie.

[A]

Eddie Dean in the chat says, Tim, tell him who plays Walker.

[E]

Oh, I. I learned this Bender. I. I realized because I was sitting there and I was listening to him talk and I was like, what is the accent? That is. He's a moment like, I can't tell what this accent is. And somebody in chat said bender. And I was like, oh, okay. Yeah, I can see it. I can put it together.

[A]

What I really love about the. The combat in Final Fantasy 10 is that it's truly turn based. Like final fantasies mainly have the like active time battle. Right. Which is yes, turn based, but it's like so much more active. This is way more chess. Like where if you. Or like Pokemon even. Right. Where it's like if you don't touch the controller, nothing's going to happen.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

They're not going to attack you. And like having the. I forget what they call it, but in the top right corner you see like the turn order.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Of everyone. It's like, oh man. It's just like a different type of game. I love this. I love it so much. Guess what I'm playing right now.

[E]

What's that?

[A]

You'll never guess. In my final moments, which continue to just get delayed more and more and more. I went to the doctor yesterday for G and they're just like, this baby's continuing to grow and this gave us a deadline date where if it's not out by like January 25th, they're like, we're making this thing.

[D]

You don't think I'm gonna win the baby pool then for my birthday?

[A]

Probably not. I don't. We don't think it's gonna make it to February here. But I've been kind of just like, now that we've got a lot of the prep done, I've just been like, all right. Similar to what you're saying, like, it's a little slower in the year right now in terms of video games, and I'm about to be gone. So it's not like I'm playing things for a review or anything. So I'm like, I'm going to play some games for me, I'm just like, what. What are some, like, comfort food things to go back to? So I've been playing through a bunch of the Metroid games. I did Zero Missions and Super Metroid and Fusion and things like that. But I was like, I want to. I want to do something. Switch it up a little bit. So I started playing for the first time in decades, Chrono Trigger.

[E]

No shot.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay. About four hours into Chrono Trigger, having a great time. It's just like, it's been so long and I've been waiting because I. I feel it in my bones that we're going to get that HD 2D remake at some point. So I've been trying to hold off, but I'm like, this is a great time. I'll just replay it when that happens anyways. And I've been having such a nice time with this game, and I feel like the heavens are shining down on me specifically because this morning I didn't know this. This year's the 30th anniversary of Chrono Trigger and they did orchestral concert in Japan and released the CD of it. So now I have the orchestral versions of the songs to listen to. They've done it before, but this is like a 2026 version. I'm like, oh, man, this is great.

[E]

That's awesome.

[D]

30Th anniversary.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

What's the over under this year, Tim? If they actually do it?

[E]

I'm waiting for over years.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, I think it's time at the clip that they're pumping out these Ox Path Traveler games. Like they. They could do it.

[D]

And the Dragon Quest games, well, they've also got the. The man with the Stupid Hat game coming out this year, too.

[A]

Exactly, though.

[E]

But it's so funny because they're in their remaking things that they don't necessarily need to remake. Like they remade Live Alive, a game that I didn't know I loved. And I played it, I was like, oh, shit. If they're going back to Live Alive, I think Chrono, there's a reason it's gotta happen. Maybe they're waiting for the 30th. There's a reason they haven't done Chrono Trigger yet.

[A]

Here's something I will say, though. Four hours into Chrono Trigger and I'm playing on Steam. And when the Steam release first dropped, everyone hated it. There was a trend a couple years ago that like all the Square games from that generation were being ported and they did that smudgy Uprez bullshit where it's like the emulation, the characters just look like garbage.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And they've since fixed that and they've added ultra wide support. They've added like all this stuff. The Steam version of Chrono Trigger is amazing. And I'm playing it. I'm like, we really don't need a remake of this.

[D]

I want one.

[A]

And I think it'll be good for the the game and the IP and getting out to a bunch of new players. And like, it'll look gorgeous in HD 2D, but the art style holds up, especially in widescreen. And the look of it now when they added like the original Pixels back, I'm like, this is kind of just like the definitive version of this game. Like they somehow quietly pulled it off with updates.

[D]

But do they do a tactics and include voice acting?

[A]

That is the killer thing.

[E]

You read my mind, Barrett.

[A]

That would be amazing. That would be amazing.

[E]

Who would you cast as Chrono?

[A]

I don't know. I don't know.

[E]

Ben Starr does his best.

[D]

No, he's.

[E]

He's.

[A]

He's Frog.

[E]

Yeah, that's. He would be a really good friend.

[A]

He'd be a killer frog.

[E]

That'd be hilarious.

[A]

I don't know.

[D]

That's.

[A]

Frog is so cool. He's so cool. Anyways, the story for another time.

[D]

I hope by the end of this episode I'll have a good answer.

[E]

I'm looking forward to a banger Baird answer for this.

[A]

Okay. Okay, remember, if you're watching live, be a part of the show by super chatting on YouTube.com kindafunnygames we couldn't do this without our patreon producers on patreon.com kindafunny so thank you, Carl Jacobs, Omega, Buster and Delaney. The Psalm Twining. For now, let's begin with what is and forever will be the Roper Report. It's time for some news. We have six stories today. Yep, there we go.

[E]

I love it. I love it.

[A]

I like that. It was just one really angry spurt right out of them.

[E]

We've all been there.

[A]

Number one, Microsoft might have just leaked Forza Horizon 6's release release date. This comes from Tom Warren at the Verge. Microsoft is getting ready to show the first gameplay of Forza Horizon 6 next week, and it might also be ready to put a date on its release too. X Poster Xbox Infinite claims they received a Forza Horizon 6 pre order notification inside Forza Horizon 5, implying the release date of the new title is May 19th. I haven't been able to reproduce the message myself, but the X poster claims it appeared in the Garage section of Forza Horizon 5. Sources tell me that Microsoft has been planning to release Horizon 6 in the May time frame, so this date does align with Microsoft's plans. The notification also notes that the Premium edition to Forza Horizon 6 will include early access on May 15, as well as VIP membership. A welcome Pack, Car Pass and Time Attack Car Pack, two premium expansions and an Italian Passion Car pack, wow. Are also coming post launch, according to the leaked notification. Go.

[E]

Let's go. Mid May puts it a few weeks before 007, first light and Lego Batman Legacy of the Dark Knight. And really those are the only two big, big game releases we have in May so far. So this being a third one makes sense. Yeah, it'd be awesome. Forza Rising 6 is in my top five most anticipated games of the year this year.

[A]

Me too.

[E]

I'm really looking forward to this. It's funny. It. I feel like whenever you they whenever games say they're taking place in Tokyo or Japan automatically there's a hype to that. Like for some reason I want every open world game to go to Japan and Forza Horizon 6. They could have said they were going anywhere. I would have been like, I'm going to play Forza Horizon 6. I'm excited for this. I love this series of games. But yeah, I'm particularly excited about this one. I want to see what that gameplay looks like. I want to see what the energy is. I think one thing that I've appreciated about Forza, but I think it's tough to try to replicate each and every time is having like a that festival high energy. Oh, we're in the countryside. Oh we're hanging out in Europe. Oh we're in Australia. Oh we're in Mexico. I feel like when I the first Forza Horizon game I played was Forza Horizon 3. When that first hit, that hit for me like crack. I was like man this feels good. And they've kind of been able to like replicate that. But I feel like as we get Further and further with Forza Horizon, it kind of just feels like dipping into kind of like that same energy. I want to see if in this game they can kind of like find not a new energy because I want that upbeatness to it, but I guess like a unique kind of thing to it, a unique vibe. I don't know.

[A]

Yeah, Horizon 5 was kind of my real entry point to the franchise. Like I played the final, not Final Fantasy Fast and Furious DLC for. What was that? Horizon three, I think.

[E]

I don't even remember.

[A]

It might have been four. Like it was like 2015 or 16, but just played that for a little bit, had a fun time with it. But Horizon 5 was really where I was like, oh my God, this is, this game is awesome. And I love that it took this long to get to Japan because I feel like now is the time, like technologically, technology wise, because it's going to be beautiful. Horizon 5 was already beautiful, but like, yeah, just where we're at with just this generation of consoles, like, oh man, we're going to see some vistas, we're about to see some sunsets. We're about to see so many cherry.

[E]

Blossom trees and battles so many cherry blossom trees.

[A]

That's going to be so damn cool. But yeah, may feels like a good date. The thing About Forza Horizon 6 is I feel like there's not really any bad date for this game, so.

[E]

No, like the only bad day would be the same day as gta.

[A]

Exactly right. GTA does have that, that vortex around it. But I feel like Forza I, I feel is kind of immune to that kind of sales conversation because of the type of game that is and because of the prestige that the title has now. Like, remember Forza Horizon 5 won IGN's Game of the year when it came out like this. That's a big deal for a racing game like that. I think put a lot more people on to what a ton of people already knew was an amazing video game. But it's on a different level of conversation. So the excitement going into six I think is like at an all time peak here. So they, they have the road in front of them for a massive, massive hit. And I do think that it being in Japan does allow. I thought Mexico had a lot of fun vibes too with like the, the festival. But like I think the Japan one could be even better.

[E]

Yes, exactly. I'm, I'm excited about this. I think there's also the thing too where Forza Horizon kind of feels uncontested. Of course there's other racing games, but at the level of quality that they're putting out, a fast paced open world racing game that kind of brings us that energy of a burnout paradise or brings us the energy of something that leans were arcadey. Even though I think they kind of exist in this in between space of Simi and Arcadey. There's nothing really like it. So like really Forza Horizon only contests Forza Horizon, which I think kind of lends itself to what you're talking about as far as. Yeah, there's hype for it. Right. People are anticipating it. It can kind of come out whenever and people will show up to it. Because there's not really many racing games like Forza Horizon. Even though. Have you seen this game Screamer that's coming out?

[A]

Screamer?

[E]

Screamer, yes. It is the return of a. Of an older racing game series, but it's being developed by people who make racing games. I forget which one it might be like F1 or some other kind of like semi type of racing game.

[D]

Hot Wheels Unleashed.

[E]

No shot. They made Hot Wheels Unleashed.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

Oh shit. Then they made that and they made others. But it's basically think what you think of when you think like sim, like traditional racing game but with a bunch of anime bullshit injected into it. Like anime cutscenes.

[A]

Oh shit.

[E]

A big story mode.

[D]

This was that Game Awards.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

[E]

Oh, was it? Okay. I was wondering where I saw this.

[D]

I thought it was.

[A]

Maybe I'm hallucinating, maybe not Game Awards, but this is now looking a little familiar.

[E]

This is another one I was doing look through of all the games coming out this year and immediately I was like, oh, this is in my top 10 most anticipated. I want to play this game desperately.

[A]

Like, oh, that's cool.

[E]

You see how like this is. You're watching an anime right now with a really cool art style and all that stuff. But then when you cut the gameplay, it is a straight up. Oh, this is a racing game.

[A]

Barry, can you put.

[D]

Yeah, that was a store. That was a story trailer specifically. Let me. I'll pull up a gameplay trailer for you.

[A]

It's kind of said it was Game Awards. Was it this year's Game Awards?

[D]

Yeah. I remember being in the bar when we were doing. When I was down in LA and we. We saw it on the television. I think they also just announced the. The Homie Alex Lee and Troy Baker as voices in this.

[A]

Oh, that's awesome. And this looks freaking.

[E]

This looks fucking awesome. This is kind of what I wanted from the last need for Speed game.

[A]

Yeah. When they kind of scratched that itch a little bit. A little bit. Just a little bit like tickled the. They add.

[E]

They had like, like graphics and UI that would pop up that kind of had like an anime ish flair to it. But this is leaning all the way into hey, we have cutscenes in a story that is anime and then you get into actual races and it looks really fun. Like it reminds me a little bit of like kind of like some old school or older need for speed games.

[A]

Yeah. I am a little concerned. I don't really like it when racing games control where it kind of feels like you're the rear loading a little drive. You know what I mean? Like yeah. So like the look of this little concern there. Damn it. It went by the chat but they brought up Auto Modelista. Do you remember that?

[E]

Yes.

[A]

Hell yeah.

[E]

We talked about this.

[A]

We probably did. It sounds like a Tim and Bless conversation. Yeah. But Auto Modelista was a PS2 game that was like back during the Cell Shade boom of the early 2000s where every game had to be cell shaded but it was a racing game and it looked so sick. Like it was just the coolest thing.

[E]

I want us to bring back and I guess we are with Screamer and new Forza coming out.

[A]

Right.

[E]

Like let's bring back just kind of like more unique racing games.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

You know what I mean? Let's get back. Let's bring back a burnout.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

You know, I mean what are we doing?

[A]

What are we doing Back burn.

[E]

Figure it out now to bring it back to this a little bit. Tim, what does this do for you as far as Fable?

[A]

That is interesting. Right. So that kind of goes back to what I was saying of like this game could come out whenever.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Like I don't. I really don't think it's going to be too affected sales wise. And another thing to bring up is like this game killed on PlayStation 5 when it released years later and that was last year. So again there's just more energy in a positive direction towards the Forza Horizon franchise than there's ever been. So I kind of feel like they're in prime position. May seems to be. I call they're choosing that for a reason and Xbox knows they have other games to contend with. Xbox also has proven they don't really give a fuck and they'll just put things out week after week if that's what they have because of their game pass model and everything. So Babel, I don't think this release date has Anything to do with where that game releases. I mean, I don't think it's going to be before May 19th. I'm still not confident Fables this year. Fable, to me is a big question mark. And we'll see next week, but I'm not confident we're going to get a release date next week.

[E]

Yeah, I, I think next week they'll say 2026. I don't know if I'll believe 2026 when they say it. I think it'll be a wait and see of how, when we get further into the year, what does the lay of the land look like? How much energy is GTA absorbing? Does it just make sense to push Fable into spring of next year instead of maybe releasing it in the fall? Because I guess for me, Forza Horizon 6, you're right that like, with Xbox's strategy, they could just release Fable in June maybe. But I feel like from the same studio, you almost want to at least like, maybe have like a two month buffer. I feel like that's just a lot of weight on the studio.

[A]

Obsidian, right?

[E]

Yeah, but even Obsidian, it's like, all right, you had your first game come out and when we're talking about last year, right, you had one in February, one in July, and then one in like October.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

So it's like you had a little.

[A]

Different, you know, part three games last year.

[D]

Barrett, my prediction, next week when they announce a release date for Fable, it'll be September. Whether it actually comes out in September.

[E]

September.

[D]

Okay, we'll, we'll, we'll see there. But yeah, I could see that kind of going from summer into the fall, giving, you know, a couple months before they tried to release Halo for its anniversary around the same time as GTA 6. All that.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, there's also Gears and then there's also Halo. I think Halo's the easiest one to pinpoint. It's going to be November 15th. Like it's going to be the 25th anniversary.

[E]

Oh, okay.

[A]

But I also think that that's the least consequential in terms of these games. Like, it being.

[E]

You don't think that's too close to gta?

[A]

I mean, it is, it just is what it is though, right? It is the 25th anniversary.

[E]

Like, I mean, but like, I don't know, I feel like I, I totally get.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[E]

But I feel like what's more important is that the game gets air when it.

[A]

Yeah, you're right.

[E]

I'll just push the money.

[D]

But it's also a remake of A game or reimagining, from what we've heard, right. Of a game that we've already played before that is apparently only going to be the campaign. That is what, ten hour campaign.

[A]

Yeah. What I remember, like, Max. Well, there'll be a couple of new levels, but yeah, like, yeah, 11 hours.

[E]

Then if I'm on the, if I'm on the Xbox marketing team, I'm busting open the doors to Halo Studios and I'm like, hey, fuck your anniversary. Put this thing out at a reasonable place. Let's not put it out four days. That is the same week as GTA 6.

[A]

It's not even just Halo's anniversary, it's Xbox's anniversary. And Xbox is going hard with their Xbox 25 thing. Right. So I, I don't know. You're making very solid points. Yeah, but. And then there's also Gears E Day, right? Yeah, which also. Is that this year or not?

[E]

I think, I believe Gears E Day being this year for some reason, more than Fable. Yeah. Yeah, but I guess they're kind of in that same conversation.

[A]

We've seen more of Fable, but that's just because it was announced earlier. Yeah, just keep talking about it.

[E]

Yeah, it's tough. It's tough to place all these things, but I think, yeah, it's just the thing where Xbox has so much happening on that bigger scale and I just don't know if it's even. I don't even know if it's worth releasing everything this year. Like, what, what, what does Xbox have coming next year anyway? For software?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I think it is worth. If they have the ability to put out all their biggest titles this year on their 25th anniversary. I think they should. Like, I really think that, like if. And a lot of this is also. The games need to be good. You can't just put out games, especially when they are your core franchises. Like, they need to kind of hit. So I also think that the PlayStation 5 side of it is very interesting. Right. This will be Halo's first time on PlayStation 5. I imagine it's going to sell better on PlayStation 5 than it does on Xbox. And like that game Pass is taken into consideration there as well. Right. But like forza is not PS5 day and date. Right. Which sucks. Like, God, that would be so awesome if it was. And then can you imagine how much it would sell if Day and Date was on both consoles? Like, that might be one of the like top five highest selling period of the year.

[E]

But.

[A]

Yeah, God, gta.

[E]

Gta. It's Such a big.

[A]

That isn't even this year.

[E]

I mean, at least it's.

[A]

At least it's so far in the end of the year that, like, if it were to get delayed, I don't think it's going to have too much of an effect on the end of 2026. You know what I mean?

[E]

Yeah, sure.

[A]

Yeah. Because it's like, we. There's a lot they gave the rest of the developers out there and publishers just enough Runway to, like, get your out up till October.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

You know what I mean? Even early November. They're fine.

[E]

Oh, yeah. I think as long as you're just not after gta, then you're good.

[A]

Right?

[E]

And, like, even the same way, like, I think that's where the Halo coming out on the 15th thing, I'm like, that's four days before. That's cutting it too close.

[A]

We got Paris in the chat. I see. I see him itching to get off the bench. Paris, can you call in Barrett? Do we have the capabilities to have him voice only? We could do just to keep this simple.

[D]

Paris, our line is open. Voice only. Whenever you want to drop in.

[E]

This is the one thing I'll say to extend this conversation even more than.

[D]

It needs to be.

[E]

I also think what's looming is hardware and how things have gone with RAM prices and tariffs and all this shit. And is next gen later now than sooner, right? Like, if you would ask me maybe a year and a half ago, I would have said, oh, I think the next. The Next Xbox, probably 2027. Now, if you ask me, I'm like, hey, maybe not. Maybe we're talking about 2029. Maybe we're. Maybe we're seeing if we can stretch this thing out further past. So if that's the case, should you take your time? Should you be like, yo, Fable doesn't need to come out because the X, the next gen Xbox, like, we're not racing towards next gen anymore. We have more Runway for you to maybe put your games out later.

[A]

Oh, that's a conversation that I want to have. But. Paris. Lilly. What's up, man?

[B]

What's up, Tim? Am I gonna.

[E]

Am I gonna see you next week? Are you still gonna be in the studio next week?

[A]

Maybe it's out of my hands at this point. The due date is three days from now, so.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

We'll see. We'll see you.

[B]

But, yeah, not. Congratulations.

[A]

Thank you. Thank you. I hope to see you, but we'll see.

[B]

Yeah. Honestly, I was being a little cheeky in the chat. But I do have thoughts on what I think Xbox's release schedule will be. So Clearly, Forza Horizon 6 leaked in May. I actually think they go with a cadence of Halo campaign evolved in August. Fable is September, Gears E Day is October. And you get Call of duty week or two before GTA 6 in November. And that way they essentially go, all right, May, June, July, we take off showcase, they're going to show new stuff. And then from August essentially till the end of the year, they got a game coming out every month.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, that, that would be killer. Do you. And obviously I know GTA changes everything, and your Call of Duty point is very important as well, that I wasn't thinking about that. But how much does that November 15th date mean to Xbox 25?

[B]

So it's funny because I originally was thinking, oh, Halo, duh. You put it out on the, on the 25th anniversary along, along with Xbox's anniversary. But I think you get out, get that out ahead because the 15th is about celebrating 25 years of Xbox. So maybe they show the next Halo along with whatever this console is going to be on the 15th. Like, here's the future of Halo on its 25th anniversary. And then here's the future of our new console on, on that anniversary as well. That's what I think the 15th is probably going to be. And then like I said, you get all their, their Games out for 2026 ahead of that.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, that'd be a good strategy. Are you confident in all the games hidden this year?

[B]

No, of course not. Fable in the fantasy draft.

[A]

Yeah, but where are you at right now? Like, now that we have one of the dates, probably like looking at Fable and looking at Gears, what's your confidence in each one coming out this year?

[B]

I, I, I have a lot more confidence in, in Fable. And by the way, Snowbike Mike is a freaking maniac for what he bid to get Fable. But I have a lot more confidence the fact that they're going to show it now, so that tells me they feel it coming out this year. Gears E date would be the one now because it's not a part of the DEV direct. I'm assuming we see this in June and that would be the dev direct in June, but that would probably be one have the least confidence in. I think the rest of them will come out this year.

[A]

All right. All right, well, thank you for calling in Paris. Have a fantastic day.

[B]

Yeah, you too. And like I said, I will see you all next week. And I'm sure we'll be talking a lot more Xboxes at dev direction.

[A]

Hell yeah.

[E]

Yeah, yeah, I think.

[B]

All right, see you later.

[E]

Call of Duty is the only one where I'm like, that's a bigger conversation. As far as how much of a tale does Call of Duty need before GTA hits.

[A]

The thing about Call of Duty is I feel like I've always associated as a November release, but I feel like the last couple of years, hasn't it been October?

[E]

I think it usually straddles like it goes between October and November. Usually.

[A]

I feel like it coming in October wouldn't be a surprise.

[E]

Yeah, this year I would. I would. If. I mean, obviously they. They can't get everything they wish for here, but if I could get in Call of Duty like three weeks, three to four weeks before gta, that might be the sweet spot. I think the closer you get, you're going to like, as soon as GTA comes, nobody gives a anymore. Right. I think you're cutting off your sales.

[A]

At a certain point.

[E]

That is going to fall off a cliff. And G not gj. Call of Duty more so than other games, I think kind of relies on that continual. Like, hey, no, we're. We're Call of Duty. We're selling for weeks and weeks and.

[D]

Weeks for Black Ops 7 just recently came out November 14th. Black Ops 6 the year before came out October 25th. What I'm actually interested in, let's go to 2018, which is where Red Dead 2 launched. October, late October.

[A]

Okay. October.

[E]

Okay.

[D]

So that was Red dead to launch October 26, 2018. Call of Duty came out October 12. So like, like a couple weeks, first half of October and then. This is a weird year, but the 2013 Call of Duty was Call of Duty Ghosts.

[A]

Hell yeah.

[D]

What it was.

[E]

That must have. I think that would have launched this.

[A]

That was a launch title, right?

[E]

Yeah, Launch title situation.

[D]

Yeah. And then GTA 5 was actually earlier, so that was September. So yeah, they didn't really have to worry about that for the, for the end months there.

[B]

Man.

[E]

We're gonna see a lot get revealed. Like as we start to see release dates get planted, we're gonna learn a lot about what, like what strategies are, what publishers are. Like think about these games, right? Like, I would put. Maybe not money, but I would. I would bet nothing real that we see Call of Duty come out a little bit earlier than usual.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, that feels right to me. But. Oh, everybody, we went long on that first story, but it was a good one. I want to let you know you can go get the Kind of Funny membership to get this show ad free. But for everyone else, here's some words from our sponsors.

[C]

This episode is brought to you by Rocket Money. The amount of times Mike has signed up for something, forgotten about it after the trial period ends, and then been charged month after month after month is quite frankly terrifying. He didn't even realize he was paying for SoundCloud for 10 years until Rocket Money helped find and cancel his unwanted subscriptions. But he is not alone. So many people have at least one paid subscription going unused each month. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Thanks to Rocket Money, you can see all of your subscriptions in one place and cancel them within the app with just a few taps, saving time and avoiding charges. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. [e-mail] KindaFunny that's RocketMoney.com Kinda Funny RocketMoney.com Kinda Funny this episode is brought to you by Factor. It's a new year, which means new goals and even more things to take up our time. That's why so many of us here at Kinda Funny love Factor. Factor makes it easy with fully prepared meals designed by dietitians and crafted by chefs so you can eat well without the shopping or cooking. On many occasions, Factor has completely saved me and Jen when we needed it most. Choose from a wider selection of weekly meal options including premium seafood choices like salmon and shrimp at no extra cost. Enjoy even more GLP1 friendly meals and new Mediterranean diet options packed with protein and good for you fats. Feel the difference no matter your routine. Head to factor meals.com kinda funny 50 off and use the code kinda funny 50 off to get 50% off your first factor box plus free breakfast for a year offer only valid for new Factor customers with code and qualifying auto renewing subscribers. Subscription purchase make healthier eating easy with Factor hey you. Join us in person for our live in review of Howard the Duck. That's right, Howard the Duck joins MCU in review Wednesday, January 28th at 7:30pm at Cobb's Comedy Club for SF Sketch Fest. You can come watch me do all the podcasts within a podcast you love. Andy'll be going. Nick will be shopping for paper during it, but everybody else will be there too for you to come hang out and see. All you have to do is go over to kind of funny.com sketchfest right now to get your tickets before they sell out because come. And watching a bunch of people talk about a very old Howard the Duck movie is really selling tickets fast.

[A]

We're back. Barrett.

[D]

I thought a lot about it. Blessing.

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

A good answer for Mr. Chrono Trigger. And it's tough. It's a tough question when you have, like, the idea of what these people sound like when, you know, they're. They're walking around these pixels, you know, thinking about them all the way back from your childhood. And there's one person that I think could nail the vision that I think of in my head for Chrono. He is the voice of the dude Hawks from my hero academia. He's the voice of my sad little boy Genya from Demon Slayer. He is the voice of Junpei iori in Persona 3 Reloaded. It is the dude Zeno Robinson. Oh, I think Xeno Robinson would make an excellent Chrono.

[A]

There's a dude named Zeno?

[E]

Oh, you don't know Zeno?

[A]

I don't know.

[D]

Zeno's fucking cool.

[A]

Fucking awesome.

[E]

He's a cool dude. I don't know if I've met. It's. We've been Twitter mutuals, I'm pretty sure for a while, so I must have done something. It might have been related to Roosteeth or something. But ever since I followed him, I'm like, I like this guy.

[D]

I saw him for a second at Game Awards. I was too nervous to have a full conversation with him, so I just, like, gave him a nod and he gave me a nod.

[E]

I was like, all right, cool.

[A]

Hell yeah, dude. Shout out to.

[D]

I saw Saw pass by the actor who played Zero from Holes.

[A]

That was.

[E]

Yeah, Cleo Thomas.

[A]

He was at the Comic Con panel I hosted, and he, like, told me good job afterwards.

[E]

And I was like, wow, he's everywhere.

[A]

I see him everywhere.

[E]

I just see him places and I don't know. I was at Disneyland for. For a bachelorette party and. And I saw Cleo Thomas and I'm like, why are you everywhere?

[A]

I love it. I love it. Let's get to story number two. Nintendo's share price has dropped 33% in the last five months in Japan. This comes from Chris Scullion at VGC. Nintendo share price in Japan is now 33% lower than it was five months ago. As noted by Games Spark, Nintendo share price dropped to $62.70 on Tuesday, the first time the price has dropped below 10,000 yen since April 2025. Back in August 2025, the share price reached a high point of 93.23, the highest share price ever recorded for the company, but has dropped notably since then. While the reasons for companies rise or fall in share price can only ever be speculated, it appears likely that the record high in August was due to Switch to smashing sales records in Japan and the US following its June 2025 release. The subsequent drop then can be likely attributed to such factors as a slowing of Switch to sales over Christmas and a lack of a killer app six months into the console's life. Shareholders will also doubtlessly be concerned about the potential of future price increases as a result of the increasingly high cost of RAM and ongoing tariffs, most notably in America.

[E]

Yeah, I think that last paragraph, like there's a lot of heavy lifting as far as why we're probably seeing this. Yeah, the rain prices, the ongoing tariffs. But then yes, I think also the holiday period and when in comparison to Switch 1, even though I think currently Switch 2 is still doing better than Switch 1 overall, I think you still had the thing with Switch 1 of Zelda Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I think that was such a trilogy of high sellers, high sellers that when you get to that holiday season, oh yeah, I'm going to buy my, my child a Switch and have an assortment of games that they might love. Not to mention other games like, I'm not going to say jokingly, but like games like Arms, you know what I mean? Games like Splatoon 3 I think, or Splatoon 2 actually that came out that year as well. You had the Xenoblade as well that year, if I remember correctly, just the craziest format of Nintendo first year titles for Switch 1. I don't know if I'd say Switch 2 compares, you know, and I think you could have the direct things of like well DK Bonanza is the Mario Odyssey. But as much as I love my guy dk, he's not Mario. You know, like there's not a Zelda Breath of the Wild necessarily. Like we have Metroid prime, but that's more of a hardcore gamers game. Yeah, like I think really for, for big sellers it's like yeah, Mario Kart World, but Mario Kart World can only do so much heavy lifting as far as trying to get them sales going and trying to keep that stock price up for when we get to the holiday season. So I'm. This isn't something to worry about in my opinion, except for the, the tariffs and except for the RAM price and stuff. But Software lineup wise. I think for me personally, I'm just, I'm looking forward to seeing what years two and three bring as far as like some of those bigger hitters.

[A]

Yeah, I don't look at this as a concern at all specifically because like it was a very anticipated console launch so that's going to spike things. So I feel like that kind of got it to a point of being potentially even overvalued. So a drop like this isn't necessarily indicative of a problem. You add on all the tariffs and RAM and all that stuff. That is something that tech across the board is going to be dealing with and we're going to see stock prices accordingly move down for a lot of different companies as price increases actually happen. Right now this is all potential fear of it happening with Nintendo. It hasn't happened yet. Right. We're also, when you compare the Switch one to two, the Switch to it, we just don't have enough information. We don't have the Donkey Kong sales numbers yet. Like we don't know how successful some of these games have been actually. And also Switch one at this point was out what, three, four months longer than the Switch to currently is given the calendar year. So it is going to be interesting to see how it keeps going. What I do think might happen though is if the shareholders are angry and Nintendo have to look at this, be like we need to do something to address this. I do have a feeling that this year we're going to get a couple black screens with text that say the follow up to the Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is in development. Yeah, Mario Mario's next adventure is being worked on. Like things like that, that like are the teasiest of teases. Yeah. And I know people don't like that, but that's the type of stuff that gets shareholders to be like, okay, I have faith that this is going to be okay because the reality is like I, I think you'd be silly to not have faith in the Switch two at this point. Like to look at where Nintendo was for the last 15 years and how bad it was during the end of the wii u into 3ds and how like God, like I, I don't know why I did this to myself. I really don't know why. But I watched Nintendo's was I think 2016 E3.

[E]

Why?

[A]

I don't know. I think it was just autoplayed on my YouTube and that just shows like what I YouTube all the time. It was, it was the Star Fox 01 and just the games that they were talking about, I think Triforce Heroes was there. It was like the Mario Tennis on Wii. Like, there was. It was abysmal. And it was so hard to be a Nintendo fan back then. And that was split libraries across two consoles. And with where we're at now, it's just like, oh, man, we're sitting pretty. Like, I'm looking at the next couple months of Nintendo and I'm like, all right, cool. There's not like the biggest banger titles coming, but there's a consistent cadence of quality releases, whether they're Switch two ports with enhanced things to play with, Animal Crossing and Mario Wonder and all of that. But then also a new Yoshi game coming very soon. We have a new Fire Emblem coming this year. We're still missing that, like, big round of, like, the big ones, but they're coming.

[E]

But what are they going to be? Are they going to release the Zelda?

[A]

Well, that's the thing, right?

[E]

Like, release Mario?

[A]

Yeah. Like, at some point in the next couple of years, we're going to get a big Zelda game.

[E]

What are we getting going here, though?

[A]

It could be Ocarina of Time. I don't think it is right now. Like, I'm not confident, and I was more confident last year that Ocarina would be this year. Now I'm thinking It might be 2027, but I really think it's going to happen.

[E]

We're missing. We're definitely missing. And it's not even February yet. That's when they do their big directs. And so we'll probably know this time next month. But yeah, we're missing like, a couple pieces of the puzzle because Fortunes Weave is definitely one of the big, like, okay, cool. This is going to do great for your audience. Going to sell all that stuff and then we're going to get a new Pokemon game announced that'll probably.

[A]

Gen 10 next month is going to be announced.

[E]

But, like, between all that, there's like, a couple of things you got to fill in. Part of me is, like, scared that it is. We're going to have a couple of, like, those early 2000s. I think 2020 might have been one of the ones where it's like, oh, shit, you didn't have anything. You know, like, we had a Paper Mario in the middle of that year, and then it kind of felt kind of empty.

[A]

I'm not worried about that at all.

[E]

No, this year.

[A]

No, I mean, I feel like this. This is. We're still currently in the first year of the switch to. Right. Like, I think that there's. That this makes sense for where we're at. Like I would bet that we're getting Luigi's Mansion for this year.

[E]

Okay.

[A]

Probably in October. And like that has turned into a big heavy hitter. Like we're talking 10 million sales. Right. Like that's a big, big game. So it's like when you have a lot of those, they add up. Right. I think that it wouldn't be crazy to see a follow up to Kirby in the forgotten land.

[E]

Okay.

[A]

You know, okay, maybe early next year. But still when you're thinking about like the years of the switch to like that would be within year two.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. So anyways, a lot of their big selling games, I think we're going to start getting a lot of those. Like 5 million here, 7 million here. And that shit adds up.

[E]

Do you think? How, how much do you think Dust Blood sells?

[A]

I don't know, man. Dust Blood is such a roll of the dice to me. Where it's like I. I have learned that I should never doubt from software at this point. Like Armored Core, six Fires of Rubicon felt like, is it gonna have the sauce? It had the sauce.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Night Rain was like, is this a cash grab? It wasn't a cash grab. It's just like. Yeah. At this point. Yes. I'm betting on Duskblads.

[E]

Gotta put Mario hats in it. I like, I wanna, I want to see the costumes. I don't want to see the costumes.

[D]

No, you can see them with the Mario Hitman crossover.

[E]

There you go. Yeah. Oh man.

[A]

Let's get story number three. Hytale becomes the most watched game on Twitch on early access. Launch day. This comes from Rebecca Valentine at ign. It's been a banner launch day for Hytale, the new sandbox game from the creators of popular Minecraft server Hypixel. In addition to a surge of players and a lot of positive buzz, it shot up to become briefly the most popular game on twitch with over 420,000 viewers. Nice. This was observed first by PC Gamer, who earlier today clocked that it was the most watched game on twitch and the second most watched category, only behind Just Chatting by about 43k views. At the time this piece was written, Hightail had dropped down to around 260k viewers, but it's still the most watched video game and third most watched category. It's a heck of a comeback story for a game that half a year ago was thought to be canceled entirely. Hightail, made by the developers of wildly popular Minecraft server Hypixel was was first announced in 2018 with an incredibly popular trailer and garnered plenty of buzz at the time. Riot Games took notice, invested and in 2020 acquired it entirely. However, Hightail was delayed several times as its scope grew and just this past year was cancelled entirely by Riot. Then in November, the co founder announced he had acquired the IP rights back from Riot. In an incredibly fast turnaround, he and the team got the game ready for an early access release today. What a story. That's crazy.

[E]

Easy story.

[A]

In addition to the popularity on Twitch, Hytale's already made enough money to cover two more years of development and its modding scenes already bustling day one.

[E]

Wow, that seems like such a fumbled bag for Riot like to acquire this game and be like, ah, we're canceling it and then for a few months later for it to come out and be doing this. Well yeah, I started hearing about this yesterday as it released. There was a big buzz around it like it even before like people started playing it. It seems like there's a Tim. There are whole worlds out there. There are whole worlds out there that we just aren't.

[A]

I know man.

[E]

I. I never had a Minecraft era. I'm sure Mike can probably speak to this more. I'm sure Roger might be able to speak to this more. But like I didn't know how.

[A]

I don't want to hear about Roger in Minecraft. I'm just gonna say that, right. I'm putting, putting my foot down.

[E]

You want to hear about Roger in Minecraft?

[A]

No. Why not? I don't want to know what he got. He did in their minds. You know what I mean? But like that's crazy stories and I don't want to know him. I don't ever want to know him. Same. Don't let it happen, Roger.

[E]

That's fair. But yeah, there was such a buzz for this that like for me came out of nowhere because I hadn't been paying attention obviously. Right. But it's super wild to see that. Yeah, people want this. People are looking forward to this follow up to Minecraft or like this like I guess spiritual successor inspired game from Hypixel I think was the name of the dev who had made stuff in Minecraft that people, people really adored. It's just really cool to see a story like this.

[A]

Yeah, it definitely is. It is also just crazy how like.

[E]

There are whole worlds out there.

[A]

It's fucking Minecraft.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

No, you look at it, I'm like, is this not just Minecraft but Maybe. Here's the thing. Did anybody just try making another Minecraft?

[A]

Did anyone just try.

[E]

Did anybody just try. Hey, what if you try to make Minecraft maybe a little bit better.

[A]

Wasn't that Terraria?

[E]

No, because that's like 2D pixel art.

[D]

2D Minecraft.

[E]

It's a Minecraft. Like maybe we summoned him.

[A]

Here he is.

[E]

He's coming.

[A]

I said I don't want to hear it.

[E]

Yes, people have tried to make multiple Minecraft things, especially around the Xbox 360 Arcade era and the indie game section. Because Minecraft, of course, famously was a PC only game and did not come to consoles for a very long time. So I was in the mines playing Z craft and all this all the time. Me and my friends were locked in. So yes, there was a lot of Minecraft clones back in the day. And some of them awful, most of them awful, but some of them less awful. They look like Minecraft. Because Chad is listing a lot of things. Yeah, for sure. It's like Lego Fortnite and all, but like Hightail just looks like if you showed me how. Well, if you showed me Minecraft and you showed me Hightail, I probably wouldn't be able to tell you the difference here. Now it may be that's the move. Maybe me and you, Tim.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

We leave.

[A]

Straight up.

[E]

Leave behind your family and your future child.

[A]

I've been waiting.

[E]

To the mines.

[A]

Yep.

[E]

And create a new Minecraft.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

And make it look like Minecraft.

[A]

There's never been a better time to.

[E]

Make a new Minecraft.

[A]

Riot Bias Story number four Rockstar launches official marketplace for mods. This comes from Vicky Blake at gamesindustry Biz. Rockstar's launched an official marketplace for every server and every player to buy mods. CFX Marketplace Rockstar. That's sounds like a horrible name.

[E]

I thought it was like some NFT type shit.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

It is a weird name.

[A]

They announced the acquisition of CFX.re, a Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 modding team back in 2023. CFXre is behind two servers, FiveM and RedM, focusing on multiplayer roleplay. FiveM was created in 2015 and RedM in 2019. Back in 2015, Rockstar Games and partner company Take Two called the FiveM server, an unauthorized alternate multiplayer server that contains code to facilitate piracy, leading to the ban of three of its principal creators. However, the developer's policy for roleplay servers changed in November 2022, allowing the use of servers like FiveM and RedM. As long as there's no commercial. No. As long as they are non commercial. Do not misuse IP or trademarks, and don't interfere with its official online and multiplayer services. This new curated digital storefront now hopes to give creators a place to share and sell their work, such as props, scripts, maps and much more. For launch, the team has partnered with a curated list of creators, which Rockstar says it worked with while building the marketplace. Some of the listed mods are free, while bundles can cost several hundred dollars. I don't like this. Bless. I'm just going to be honest. I'm sure there's some people out here that are like, yeah, this is a good thing, but, like, there's something about this that I'm like, no shady shit's going on. The project will rot in stages to ensure the best experience for both creators and server service owners. Every time someone's explained to me, like, making money off of mods, it always ends in a scam. Always. Every single time.

[E]

One time.

[A]

Smash Brothers community had a really big deal with this last year.

[E]

Oh, really?

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

What happened?

[A]

It was a whole thing.

[E]

Oh, no.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

Did it have to do with Project M?

[A]

No, it didn't.

[E]

Okay. Thank God.

[D]

I feel like this is also just the entirety of, like, what Roblox is.

[A]

Built off of as well.

[E]

This is where the conversation goes for me, because GTA Online for GTA 6, I think is going to look a whole lot different than how it looked for GTA 5. I feel like if you pay attention to Rockstar in the last decade with acquisitions and initiatives and record labels, like, stuff that they're launching and hey, we're doing this marketplace for mods and stuff. I think GTA 6 online might look more akin to a Roblox slash, like Fortnite marketplace of creating your own thing more so than just the light MMO like thing that they had with GTA 5, which I'm. I don't know how to feel about. Like, I could. I think it's the obvious step because GTA is such a big thing and because GTA RP and modding and creating GTA content online and creating custom GTA content in the game is such a big thing that this is kind of the natural next step for them to take. But for me, somebody who likes just playing online, I don't. I don't want to do any of this. I don't want to interact with any of this. And I hope this doesn't take over what it is.

[A]

Yeah, man, we'll see. Because I think you're right. Yeah. And I think it will. Story number five. Oh, baby. Strap in.

[E]

Strap in.

[A]

Multiple Echo the Dolphin games officially in development. This comes from Sal Romano Akamatsu. Several new Echo the Dolphin products and games are officially in development. Developer A and R Atelier announced their studio founded in half Moon Bay, California. That's cool. It's like 40 minutes south. By veteran game dev developers, including original creators of Echo the Dolphin. The series creator Ed, the creative chief officer of ANR Atelier previously announced plans to release remastered versions of the Genesis games Echo the Dolphin and Echo the Tides of Time, as well as develop a third Echo the Dolphin game. It's been years in the making and we're honored to bring Ekko back. Ekko's always been more than a game about a dolphin. He's a bridge between worlds. And finally someone said in it is it. While further details are currently under wraps, information regarding upcoming projects and partnerships will be announced at the Echo the Dolphin official website.

[E]

Did you ever get past level one of Echo? Me neither.

[A]

No.

[E]

At what point does it turn into a bridge between. Between worlds?

[A]

I mean probably in the tides of time.

[D]

I just remember like isn't like the final boss fight or final thing like really crazy for Echo the Dolphin?

[A]

Yeah. I don't remember what it was but I think that on some games daily we looked up the along play.

[D]

I feel like I've heard Mike Manati talk about this.

[E]

Can you look up a long play of Echo that often before we.

[D]

Before we click off of the website? I will say Tim is covering a countdown. Oh, and it says 2353 hours, 8 minutes and 47 seconds. I did the math. That is 99 days from now.

[A]

99 days away from the Bridge between Worlds. All right.

[E]

I don't know how to feel about this. I. Because I want to see the long play because I've never. I think we've all for some reason have played Echo the Dolphin.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

But we just not gotten past.

[A]

Because all of us knew someone that had a Sega Genesis.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

It wasn't us though.

[E]

No, they had a second. Exactly. They all. They had a Sega Genesis with Echo to the Dolphin at my kids church like when I. When I went when I was young. Right. Like they had that and Shaq Fu and I think those are the only two games that they had on the Sega Genesis because they weren't going to have Streets of Rage at church. You know what I mean? They couldn't have Sonic the Hedgehog for some reason.

[A]

He's too cool.

[E]

It was Echo the Dolphin and Shaq Fu.

[A]

I love that they're like tripling down, though. Why.

[E]

Why does this sound so haunted? Oh, okay. Is this the first echo that often? I believe so.

[A]

How. How long is this video?

[D]

It's an hour and five minutes.

[C]

Go to.

[E]

Go to go to 35, you need.

[A]

To make Mike beat Echo the Dolphin.

[E]

Is this the last level? Okay, so, yeah, that was the last level. Here's like a.

[D]

A castle maybe.

[E]

Oh, they got like, puzzles in here.

[A]

Yeah, that's what Echo the Dolphin is.

[E]

I, I listen, I. My only experience with Echo the Dolphin is swimming around. I didn't know they had puzzles. I've never really understood what the gameplay loop of.

[D]

It sure is a video game.

[E]

Yeah. I'm very interested to see how they bring this back, what it looks like, because, yeah, I'm. I am now convinced. On the bridge between world.

[D]

Yo, Is that a huge praying mantis alien?

[E]

Yeah. That looks freaky.

[D]

That is the final boss.

[A]

Fears of the deep, man. Hell yeah, man. Echo, baby. God. Echo. Being back not just with one game, but several games. This is big news. Plus. Yeah, big news. But if I want to know about something smaller, where would I look?

[E]

You go to our last news story, the WE News Channel. Recover all the small news items you need to know about.

[A]

Here we are. The Animal Crossing New Horizons 3.0 update is out a day early for Nintendo Switch 1, Switch 2. Still tomorrow.

[E]

Yes.

[A]

You want all the fancy updates, you got to wait. But otherwise you can play.

[E]

Now get in there.

[A]

That's cool. From Game developer Ubisoft has confirmed it laid off 29 people at its studio in Abu Dhabi before the turn of the year. Year sucks.

[E]

Sucks. Hate to see it.

[A]

Aerial Knight's Drop Shot launches February 17th on Xbox Series PS5 and PC.

[D]

Let's go.

[A]

You'll love to see it.

[E]

Can't wait for this one.

[A]

Actually, hell yeah. PlayStation Plus Extra and premium games have been announced for January 2026. Extra tier, you get Expeditions, a Mud Runner game like a dragon. Infinite Wealth, Resident Evil Village, Darkest Dungeon 2, the Exit 8, A Quiet Place. The road ahead a little to the left, Arif Rally. And then on premium, you get Ridge Racer Bomb.

[D]

Can I get clair obscure expedition 33? No, you got Expeditions of Mud Runner game at home.

[E]

That's good.

[A]

Coming to Apple Arcade on February 5th, we got retrocade. I love Hue 2 Plus Plus, Sid Meier, Civilization 7 Arcade Edition, and Felicity's Door. It Takes Two has sold over 27 million copies.

[E]

Crazy damn, y'.

[D]

All.

[E]

That's Nintendo numbers right there.

[A]

That is congrats yeah. He's like, incredible stuff. Pocket Morty's shuts down on April 13th.

[E]

Do you remember Pocket?

[A]

Damn. No.

[E]

Rest in peace. Pocket Morty's came out, like, a long time ago. I remember this show. I think KMTD is how I learned about Pocket Morty's, like, in 2017.

[A]

What is it?

[E]

You know, that's a really good question. It's a really good question. Bear has pulled up gameplay here.

[A]

Oh, it's like Rick and Morty, but different. More you're catching them.

[E]

That's what it is. Yes. It's Pokemon, but with Morty's.

[D]

Yep.

[A]

Okay, that's it for WE News.

[E]

Rip Pocket Boardies.

[A]

Let's get to some super chats here. Mavr says currently getting an Outer Wilds tattoo. Thanks for keeping me company. Ow. It hurts. Ow. That's cool.

[E]

That's really cool. I'm still trying to figure out what tattoo I want. Yeah, I keep, like, thinking about different, like, things I love. Games, TV shows, movies, all this, and I can't settle in on, like, what do I want on my body forever.

[A]

I know. I know.

[E]

Outer Wilds is a really good pick, though. I would get an Outer Walls tattoo. I was talking to somebody about this a few weeks ago where they asked, if you're on your deathbed and you could only experience one piece of media or one game, I think is what they're asking before you pass away, what game would you pick? And I picked out of Wilds. Yeah.

[A]

That's how you want to go out?

[E]

I think that's how I want to go out thematically. Outer Wilds, like, is a lot about death and, like, kind of the inevitability of all of it. And I think it's just such a beautiful game. So I could see myself going out like that.

[A]

I like that.

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

Do. Should I do to you what Ben Bellevue did to me all those years ago? You know, I think about tattoos so much for the longest time, you know, always getting cold feet of what I'm thinking. It's so important, like, what do I get my first one at? And then, you know, homie, Ben Bellevue comes up to the Bay Area. He's like, hey, I'm getting a tattoo tomorrow.

[E]

Tomorrow.

[D]

Want to get a tattoo with me? I said, okay. And that's how I decided on the. The knife on my leg.

[E]

Why'd you get a knife?

[D]

It's the album art for the front bottoms album. Talon of the Hawk.

[E]

Okay.

[D]

So that was, like, it was on the spot. 24 hours. Like, 24 hours from now, I'm getting my first tattoo. What is it? I feel like maybe I do that with you, and that'll help you decide.

[E]

Do it with me.

[A]

Yeah. How many you have now, Barrett?

[D]

See, I've got the. The knife, and then for the law, and then, like, five months later, Covet happened. Or, you know, it was the knife, then the Zelda sword, and then Covet happened. So I didn't get anything for the longest time.

[A]

Very blade forward.

[D]

Yeah. I only had things that stabbed people for a while. Then we have Baby Deku, the Blink logo.

[E]

You had to balance it out, you know?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[E]

It's like, I got knives.

[D]

Let me get Baby Deku, the Blink tattoo, the Hot Mulligan Tattoo, the Persona 3 tattoo, and now Paka flower that I got a matching one with Alyssa for, I think, seven. And I'm working on my. Mentally, my eighth right now.

[E]

Nice.

[A]

What are you gonna get with less?

[D]

Well, I know what I'm gonna get, but it's more about what Bless wants to get, you know?

[E]

I know. I'm just so undecided. So many things.

[A]

Kyle LaBeouf says. My L Watch continues. Tim, are you freaking out yet? One of the best moments of your life looms. Hashtag Girl Dad. Yeah, I'm freaking out. I'm freaking out at all moments.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And it's. It's. Bless. Here's the thing, all right? People are so annoying. Oh, yeah. Everyone is. So. It's just. I can't. Most people are being so, like, just great and supportive and understanding of stuff. I can't say a single thing without half the people being like, oh, you have no idea. And I'm just like, okay, guys, I understand. I have no idea. What can I possibly say to you for you to be like. If I'm like, oh, dude, I'm as prepared as I'm gonna be. Everyone's first reaction. You ain't prepared for shit.

[E]

And I'm like, okay, that's not helping me. Okay.

[A]

Thank you. Just the type of guy I am.

[E]

I'm excited for you, Tim.

[A]

Thank you.

[E]

To have a child.

[A]

I'm about to have a child.

[C]

That's crazy.

[E]

It's crazy. Crazy.

[A]

Mikey Mog says I've been playing some Tim games. The last month I beat Onimusha, played South of Midnight, about to start my first ever final fantasy in 16. And then I'm gonna play on Musha, too.

[E]

Wow.

[A]

Hell yeah, dude. Live your life.

[E]

Holy shit.

[A]

That is awesome. Tommasa Abrams says, have you guys seen the new Aerial Nights Drop Shot. Trailer dropped this morning.

[E]

Looks pretty sick this morning. I mean, let's. Let's bring it up. Let me see if I can find it. It must be under this blue sky or something. But yeah, every single time I see gameplay for that game, I'm like, I really want to play this. It reminds me of a. What's the game we all got obsessed with like three years ago? Fast paced cards. Barrett plays it all the time on his desk. Thinks we don't know.

[D]

Neon white.

[E]

Neon white, yes.

[D]

It's been a minute. I miss neon white, though. Maybe I load that up today. Bless.

[A]

Thank you.

[E]

Load it up at your desk.

[A]

Fuck, man.

[E]

Come on.

[B]

What a game.

[D]

There we go.

[E]

That's the latest trailer. Have you seen this?

[A]

I haven't seen the trailer yet, but everyone, like, kicks ass. Oh, yeah, yeah. So sick.

[E]

Yeah. Every year I need to play like one Boomerang X. Yeah. Game.

[A]

Yep.

[E]

I am your Beast was the one from a couple years ago. I think this is gonna be mine for this year.

[A]

Everyone's just putting games out left and right.

[E]

Oh, yeah. If you're an audio listener, like, the gameplay idea is that you're jumping out of a plane and then as you're diving down, you're like, taking things out with your hand. That's also a gun.

[A]

So cool.

[E]

And it has style.

[A]

It does. Good. Everybody check it out. Aerial Knights Drop shot. Science Dog official says, building my PC today. Wish me luck. Also, having a higher NPC now makes me way more excited for Microsoft's slate of releases. Good luck, man. I did it a couple weeks ago. It was one of the scariest things I ever did. Hitting that power on button when everything worked. It's been weeks and I still think about that moment. It's just magical. Every gaming is just so good right now. Yeah. Am I using my incredibly overpowered PC to play Chrono Trigger? Yeah.

[E]

Is that your first?

[A]

No, no, I've been playing a bunch of stuff. But it is. It is funny that I am playing Chrono trigger on an 3 inch OLED screen powered by a. I love that. It's awesome.

[E]

That's what life's about.

[A]

Gabriel says if we're talking racing games, we need to bring back Blur.

[E]

Oh, did I play Blur? Which one was Blur? That was PS3.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I miss out on Blur entirely. But yeah, that definitely was like, in the. The vein of the Burnouts and just.

[E]

Like, okay, Blur, I might have booted. There's like, one of them that I remember playing, but I can't remember the name of it because there's like a handful of racing games from that era that kind of meld together for me. But I remember playing one that was like Burnout where you're driving through and like you would have kind of like these set piece moments of blowing up a building or some and you take out cars, whatever split second. That's what I'm thinking about.

[A]

Yes. Yes. That's the one storm story says. I'm curious about the skepticism around Fable making 2026 when it's originally dated for 2025. We're seeing it this month. Gears feels riskier. Yeah. It's more just skepticism overall of big games until. Until there's like a actual dates that seems close enough that it's not going to move. And even then it could happen.

[D]

We saw a full vertical slice of.

[A]

Fucking perfect dark when the game's canceled.

[D]

Games game just no longer exists.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

I think for me it's three things. Right. Is what Tim says with like the skeptic skepticism around just big games, period. It's that we've not seen as much of Fable. And then also it's just scheduling for Xbox. They have so many big games coming out. How much of them are going to jam pack into a single period with GTA 6 looming? GTA 6 honestly is the big factor for me as well. Where it's like that controls schedules. Like GTA 6 is a thing to worry about.

[A]

I was thinking about this recently. Like how crazy is it that like 10 years ago if we were talking about like a big game being canceled, we'd use Scalebound as the example.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And that was like such an outlier. Like that was the story that we use. And now we wouldn't even think about Scalebound. There has been dozens of games bigger than that. Like Jesus. Oscar says Zeno Robinson's currently the voice of the main protagonist in the new Digimon anime Digimon Beat Break. That's cool.

[E]

Oh yeah. He's everywhere.

[D]

Give him Chrono.

[E]

I still think about Scalebound, by the way.

[A]

Big curses, Tim. You have no idea. But also congrats. Rogue says. When we were expecting our first, the unsolicited advice we always got drove me crazy. I vowed never to do that to new parents. You got this timing and I've gotten a lot of good advice. I will say that there's been a lot of good stuff, but there's just also just a bunch of people that I'm just like that. It makes me unreasonably angry.

[E]

Oh, that's fair. That's fair. What's the game that you could. That you wish you could un. Cancel.

[D]

Earth.

[E]

Earth Blade.

[A]

I love you so that. Because, like, I've heard I immediately jumped. So, like, cancel it a different way.

[E]

I know.

[A]

I was like. I was like, I don't think there's any game like that. You know what I mean? I don't really give a about Hogwarts Legacy.

[E]

So, like, I'm not a Harry Potter guy. I don't know.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

Chad saying perfect Dark Agent.

[A]

You know, I don't know that I have, fortunately. Oh, Star Wars 1313. That's. That's the best answer for me.

[D]

Yeah, that'd be my second.

[A]

But yeah, like, I think I've been kind of lucky to. To not get any game that I'm like, oh, my God, I want this.

[D]

And it gets Earth Blade still hurts.

[A]

You know what?

[E]

I would waste mine because honestly, my answer might be Knockout City. I'd be like, even though it came out, that's not a waste, dude. That's. We had. We had it. We had our time with it. There's so many games like Perfect Dark or Star wars could still be having time with it.

[D]

Bless.

[E]

Think about one of the best competitive.

[D]

Cartoon sports games ever of all time. We could still be playing it.

[E]

It's like we could have gone pro. There's so many, like, AAA like, games that so many people wanted that I could give, like, life for a day. And I go back and I look at Knockout City and I'm like, you're coming back, baby.

[D]

It's Knockout City on my top 100.

[E]

It's like an arrow when you take a character to the Lazarus Pit when you know you shouldn't, it's like, come back, you zombie version of yourself.

[A]

The final super chat of the day is from Ms. Sanchez Games, who says, tim, people like to over exaggerate stuff. Good parenting is just being thoughtful and a good partner. You got this, bro. You just have to be loving you and Gia got this. You're gonna love it. Amen. I love it. And like, that's the type of comment I appreciate because it's like, you get it. You know what's going on. It's going to be hard. It's going to be the best. It's going to be all the things. Right? Because that's life. Let's get to your wrong. See what we got wrong today, which it's me and Bless, so I don't think it's possible we got anything wrong.

[E]

They know us for accuracy.

[A]

Kebab says Chrome triggers. 30th anniversary was last year. 3-11-95 in Japan and 8-22-95 for the US. Oh, interesting. I was fed false information from the tweet talking about the orchestra album today. Shame on you, X user.

[E]

I mean, 31st anniversary still, that's special.

[D]

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to my birthday in a couple of weeks. The big three one you've been able.

[E]

To drink for 10 years. Come on.

[A]

Hell yeah, dude. And the Kebab says the Switch 2 update is in fact live. I'm playing it right now. Turns out Rebecca forgot to download it and has updated the story. Okay, interesting.

[E]

Yeah. Here's the thing. Golden Spider writes It says GTA Online has already had user generated content GTA 5 since launch. There's always been tons of user modes. Yeah, yada yada. Here's what I'll. I'm going to hit you're wrong with my. You're wrong to you. First of all, it wasn't since launch they added in the custom content later on. It took them like maybe like half a year, a year or so. But it wasn't at launch. I was there. Secondly, that's not what I meant when I say created content. I'm talking about fucking. I'm talking about crazy shit. I'm talking about Fortnite. I don't like having the one. The one scares you for some reason. Because I want to turn into Greg all the time. Like, I'm talking to the camera. But yeah, no, I'm talking more. More so like dev type.

[A]

Right?

[E]

Like in the way that Fortnite is almost like, hey, we're putting Unreal Engine kind of like attached to this thing. Now you can have like games that come out in Fortnite. I am saying Dreams level. I am saying Roblox level. Why am I turning into Greg again all of a sudden?

[A]

And the final one here, I like this. This comes from Fable. Skepticism saying, not really you're wrong. But just some interesting info here. All the games shown in past Xbox dev directs have launched that year.

[E]

Okay.

[A]

So let's see if they keep that. Let's see if they keep that up. And I kind of believe it. I feel like that's. That is a good point.

[E]

After. After Paris got on the phone. I think I am more convinced now that Gears is going to delay or years will come out next year and Fable might actually hit.

[A]

D Day will not be this year. We'll see. This has been Games Daily. If you love what we do, please support us with the kind of funny membership on Patreon or YouTube to get all of our shows ad free and a daily exclusive show. Enjoy the Games Cast next in the stream after that the Games Cast is going to be another kind of funny top 10 of 2,025 where we get a couple of people here. I forget who's on today.

[D]

It's Mike and Greg.

[A]

Mike and Greg Greg. And that's going to be a fun time. Hear about all of their picks and until next time, it's been our pleasure to serve you.