Is This It For Xbox? - Kinda Funny Games Daily 02.25.26

Summary

Kinda Funny Games Daily 02.25.26 Summary

Episode Theme:
"Is This It For Xbox?" — A deep dive into the recent Xbox leadership shakeups, industry speculation on the future of Xbox, the role of AI, and a round-up of the biggest video game news of the day.

Hosts: Blessing Adeoye Jr. & Snowbike Mike
Date: February 25, 2026

---

Main Topic: Is Xbox Being Sunsetted? (00:44–32:36)

The Catalyst: Seamus Blackley's Statement (08:17–10:52)

• News: Seamus Blackley, co-creator of Xbox, stated that Microsoft may be sunsetting Xbox in favor of AI-driven priorities, calling new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma a “palliative care doctor.”
  • Quote [09:39]: “I expect that the new CEO Asha Sharma, her job is going to be as a palliative care doctor who slides Xbox gently into the night.” — Seamus Blackley (via GamesBeat)
• Blackley suggests Xbox is no longer aligned with Microsoft’s big-picture AI focus and may be in decline.
• He claims Sharma’s appointment indicates a shift away from gaming passion toward AI integration.

Host Reactions: Rationality, Skepticism & Nuance (10:52–30:00)

• Mike: Pushes back on immediate doomsaying, noting Blackley hasn’t been involved at Xbox since 2002.
  • Quote [10:57]: “That’s an insane statement... I don’t know if we can just start yelling that we’re going to put this thing down in the night.” — Snowbike Mike
• Blessing: Finds some merit in Blackley’s pessimism, given the new CEO’s AI background and Xbox’s ongoing struggles.
• Both recognize Xbox’s poor performance and strategic confusion in recent years.
• Mike: Points out major investments (Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, etc.) make an abrupt shutdown unrealistic in the next 1–5 years.
  • Quote [12:41]: “There’s no way that this giant corporation is going to shut down Xbox in the next 365 days…” — Snowbike Mike
• Blessing: Fears that AI will either pressure Xbox to shift or lose corporate support if gaming isn’t profitable enough.

Nothingburger Interview with Asha Sharma (02:23, 13:28, 22:26)

• Both hosts criticize Asha Sharma’s first interview (with Windows Central) as “saying nothing”—she claims she needs time to learn and evaluate.
  • Quote [28:36]: “What is she saying that is going to be any different from what we’ve gotten?” — Blessing Adeoye Jr.
  • Quote [24:53]: “The words that are being said strike me as lip service and nothing of substance.” — Blessing
• Blessing is frustrated by “wait and see” leadership after two generations of Xbox underperformance.

Xbox & AI: Strategic Fork or False Alarm? (14:40–22:37)

• Sharma and Matt Booty (Chief Content Officer) state there is “no pressure from Microsoft” to use AI at the expense of game quality or artistry.
  • Quote [16:30]: “At the end of the day... we’re committed to art made by people. Technology is only in support of that.” — Matt Booty
• Mike provides nuance: AI has a place in tools but warns about “AI slop” (derivative, low-effort content) and audience rejection.
• Blessing foresees corporate pressure looming, especially if AI becomes more lucrative than gaming for Microsoft shareholders.

What’s Next for Xbox as a Brand? (21:04–32:36)

• Discussion on Xbox “returning to its roots”—Sharma’s vague talk of “rebellion, surprise, fun” reminiscent of the Xbox 360 era.
• Mike highlights Fable’s upcoming release as a possible “start of a new age” [34:07], but Blessing doubts one game signals a strategic turnaround.
• Both discuss how long it takes for new leadership to affect product output; most near-term releases remain from prior leadership’s greenlights.

---

Other Big News Stories

1. The Backrooms Movie First Look (36:49–39:33)

• News: A24 is releasing “Backrooms,” with original analog horror creator Kane Parsons directing. Still images evoke the internet cult phenomenon’s eerie, liminal vibe.
• Mike: “If I get tripped into the Backrooms, I’m helping us get out of it.” [38:28]
• General excitement and discussion of meme/lore origins.

2. Skate 4 Layoffs (40:05–42:25)

• News: Full Circle (skate developer) suffers layoffs as EA restructures; fans lament poor decisions like gating content and live service woes.
• Blessing: Notes the unrealized potential and heartbreak for fans/followers.

3. Amazon Games Abandons Maverick’s Open World Racer (42:46–45:14)

• Maverick Games (Forza Horizon veterans) loses Amazon as publisher—Amazon further reduces game investments.
• Hopes remain the project can find a new partner.

4. Discord Delays Age Verification Global Rollout (45:35–48:23)

• Discord pushes back global age checks after user backlash, clarifying that only adult-tagged servers require ID/face scans.

5. Assassin’s Creed Hex Loses Creative Director (52:12–55:26)

• Clint Hawking departs Ubisoft; Black Flag/Origins director takes over. Hosts express concern over ongoing franchise upheaval.

6. Nacon Files for Insolvency (49:36–52:09)

• Publisher of Greedfall and Robocop files for insolvency, placing its upcoming and in-development titles in uncertainty.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Blessing (on leadership stasis) [29:09]: “I can’t have another person coming in and being like, I’m still gonna figure it out.”
• Snowbike Mike (on Xbox’s legacy) [25:57]: “Phil Spencer said it best. You lost it when you needed to win it the most, and that was that PS4/Xbox One generation.”
• Producer/Moderator (on Backrooms lore) [70:09]: “Backrooms, the analog horror YouTube series, was created by Kane Pixels but didn’t originate with him… it’s an ongoing lore creation by many people.”

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | Content | |-----------|--------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:44 | Show Proper Starts | Blessing introduces the main news lineup | | 08:17 | Roper Report: Xbox Being Sunsetted | Breaks down Seamus Blackley’s statements, reactions, analysis | | 14:40 | Xbox & AI Strategy | Sharma and Booty’s claims (including direct quotes) | | 21:04 | “Return to Xbox”? | Discussion on new CEO’s messaging, Phil Spencer legacy, Fable hopes | | 36:49 | Backrooms Movie First Look | Hosts react, reminisce about the meme/game origins | | 40:05 | Skate Layoffs | Layoffs and frustration over live-service pivot | | 42:46 | Amazon Abandons Maverick’s Racer | Impact on racing genre, Forza expats, publisher instability | | 45:35 | Discord Age Verification Delay | Hosting missteps, community power, and nitro subscription impacts | | 49:36 | Nacon Insolvency | Breakdown of publisher’s woes and Greedfall sequel predictions | | 52:12 | Assassin’s Creed Hex Director Departs | Ubisoft restructuring reaction | | 55:45 | Super Chats | Fable as inflection point, personal stories, Xbox CEO debate |

---

Tone, Language, and Style

• Energetic, irreverent, authentic: Hosts riff, digress, joke, but maintain an informed perspective.
• Genuine frustration and optimism about the Xbox situation, with Blessing the more skeptical/serious voice and Mike defending optimism and measured hope.
• Quotable banter and meme references: Frequent callbacks to gaming culture, Xbox’s legacy, and inside jokes.

---

Conclusion

• Hosts’ Outlook: Wisely wary about Xbox’s future, especially with new AI-focused leadership, but not buying into doom-saying. Feeling “stuck” in a cycle of strategy resets.
• Audience Takeaway: Xbox isn’t closing tomorrow, but faces major existential/business challenges. Corporate priorities could shift, with new leadership still searching for answers.
• Other News: Backrooms movie, industry layoffs, publisher troubles, and Discord’s struggle to manage user trust—all exemplify a gaming landscape in flux.

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Useful Quick Links to Sections

• [08:17] “Xbox is Being Sunsetted” Discussion — Blackley’s claim, host disagreement, and business analysis.
• [14:40] Xbox, AI, and Sharma’s Messaging — In-depth with quotes from new leadership.
• [36:49] Backrooms Movie Reveal — Hosts’ reactions and Backrooms lore talk.

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For more in-depth breakdowns and direct reactions, tune in to the full episode or catch follow-up discussions on Kinda Funny’s YouTube and podcast feeds.

Transcript

[Blessing]

Ugh.

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[Blessing]

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[Blessing]

Today's gaming news stories include Xbox Co creator says it's being sunsetted. The new Xbox CEO denies AI theories. And we have our first look at the back rooms movie. Love all this and more because this is Kind of Funny Games Daily.

[Snowbike Mike]

Foreign.

[Blessing]

Yo, what's up? Welcome to Kind of Funny Games daily for Wednesday, February 25, 2026. I want your host blessing. Adio. Yay, Junior joining me is the master of hype, Snowbike Mike.

[Snowbike Mike]

Bless my guy. Good to see you. I want everyone to know. I did not know that this was going to be the title of today's episode before I jumped in.

[Blessing]

First of all.

[Snowbike Mike]

But I.

[Blessing]

First of all, you know how this works. You know how this works. I saw somebody in chat that was like, oh, this is a dumb headline. Well, guess that to Seamus Blackley. All right. He's the one who's saying it.

[Snowbike Mike]

We're going to talk about that. Okay? Seamus Blackley. What are we doing?

[Blessing]

Okay, that's the whole conversation, right? And also, you motherfuckers want to hear about Xbox, we're going to talk about Xbox.

[Snowbike Mike]

We got to talk about Xbox. Big article just came out from Jez talking with nothing.

[Blessing]

Where they said nothing. Did you read my mind? They said nerd.

[Snowbike Mike]

Oh, my blessing.

[Blessing]

But also, listen, I'm not trying to talk shit. I'm not going to talk shit.

[Snowbike Mike]

I'm.

[Blessing]

I was going to talk shit. I'm not going to talk.

[Snowbike Mike]

Well, here's the deal. Yeah, it's a nothing burger. Because simply put, this is. She is coming into a new role. She has a lot to learn. This is. It's like that little Uzi vert. I just got here like yesterday.

[Blessing]

Yeah, I just got here yesterday.

[Snowbike Mike]

Literally, I was out here. It's my New job. I just got here. I don't have much to say. Yeah, you come back. Okay. And that's simply how this is. Is she is coming into a new role. She has a lot to learn on top of everything.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

But, like, she's not making decisions tomorrow. So, like, you wait some time.

[Blessing]

He's my beef. Right. Tell me, you know, you had games, industry biz, you have Bloomberg, Jason Schreier. You got the game business. Christopher Dring. Yes. You got. You have a. You have ign. You have a list of people that you can go to to have that first big interview, big conversation, lay out. Like, all right, where are we at with Xbox?

[Snowbike Mike]

I don't know.

[Blessing]

I feel like the place that you went isn't the place that you go if you're trying to have, like a good interview. If you're trying to get something that

[Snowbike Mike]

is like Windows Central. Jazz.

[Blessing]

Windows Central. It has windows in the title of the website.

[Snowbike Mike]

Here's the.

[Blessing]

I don't go to jazz for my fucking objective journalism about a big corporate shakeup at Xbox.

[Snowbike Mike]

It's just a. Don't piss me off opening interview. There will be many more interviews in the next.

[Blessing]

This is your first one.

[Snowbike Mike]

Six months. It's. It's just fine. There's nothing to be said. I just.

[Blessing]

And we're gonna go. And we're gonna go to the person that's gonna. That's gonna make sure that they're okay with us saying nothing.

[Snowbike Mike]

What do you want to do, griller on day one?

[Blessing]

Ask questions that are. Have somebody that's going to follow up. Have somebody that's going to ask questions that matter. Have somebody that's not going to serve you the most softballs of questions. Have somebody that. That's going to give you. That's going to give an objective fucking stance.

[Snowbike Mike]

I'll get on. I'll get on the line with the crew. We'll get a. Hold and we'll. We'll get an interview for you.

[Blessing]

I'm crashing out, Mike. It's all pissing me off today. I'm crashing out.

[Snowbike Mike]

Talk to you before we start the show. Hey, bless. How are you? I didn't. I didn't see what you did last night. Did you stream? What did you do?

[Blessing]

No, I went to Oakland.

[Snowbike Mike]

Oh, my God.

[Blessing]

Yes. I went to the Grand Lake theater.

[Snowbike Mike]

So cool.

[Blessing]

Because I got to watch sinners in 70 millimeters at grand Lake, which is Ryan Coogler's favorite theater, and Ryan Coogler, the director of Sinners was in attendance. So when I tell you I was so excited.

[Snowbike Mike]

Was there a vibe? Was there, like, an air to it all of, like, this is something special?

[Blessing]

Oh, for sure. Yeah, it was. So shout out to the people that brought us out. This is part of. This is being organized by SF film, but they reached out to us as, like, a press outlet to come through and get to experience this. And so, like, it was cool to be invited. Shout out to Kevin, who relayed the invite to me because they hit up Kevin, because Kevin is our movie.

[Snowbike Mike]

Movie bro.

[Blessing]

And so he relayed that to me, and I'm like, well, yeah, I'm gonna do this because I love Sinners. And let me tell you, I watched it only one time last year. I have friends that have watched sinners like, five times in theaters. Yusuf McGee loves sinners. This is my second time watching it.

[Snowbike Mike]

And.

[Blessing]

And this being my second time watching it, let me tell you, the movie is twice as good. It's a little different on the second watch, which is saying something, because Sinners is so good on the first watch, but getting to go in this time, 70 millimeter. Beautiful presentation. There's something in the air because Ryan Coogler is in the building. And you're getting to, like, take in the details more. You're getting to, like, listen to the music more and appreciate a lot of the subtleties in the. In the filmmaking of Sinners. Oh, it's so good. And he got. He did a Q and A afterwards. It was him. It was Delroy Lindo. It was the dude who did the music. I can't remember his name. Oh, I've already lost his name. Not Ludwig Garansson. But it was somebody who did, like, one of the major songs that appears in the movie. Rafael Siddiq. It was Raphael Siddiq.

[Snowbike Mike]

Okay.

[Blessing]

He had him doing the Q and A as well. And then two more people that were on the film crew, people who did sound, people who did music. Such a magical experience.

[Snowbike Mike]

Oh, bless. I'm so happy for you.

[Blessing]

That's what I did last night.

[Snowbike Mike]

Awesome night, man. That's a great way to kick off the week, right?

[Blessing]

Yeah. How's your night last night?

[Snowbike Mike]

My night was fantastic. Bless. I am feeling good, looking good. I'm playing more Tomb Raider, of course. And now, of course, reviews are out. Resident Evil. Talk about it. I did play it before. Ahead of review. Yeah, I'm ready to talk about it. Won't talk about it right now because we have a special games cast. All about it.

[Blessing]

Yes.

[Snowbike Mike]

Coming up.

[Blessing]

Of course, if you. If you booted up this KD to hear us talk about Resident Evil. Thank you so much for launching this episode. I'm talking about it like it's a video game, but thank you so much for launching this episode out. Out of your executable. But you're going to want to go over to Gamescast right after this that we're doing live in order to hear our Resident Evil impression. So when I say our, I mean Greg's. I mean, you're Mike, you're on that.

[Snowbike Mike]

I'm not on that.

[Blessing]

You're not on that.

[Snowbike Mike]

But I'll just give you the look right now.

[Blessing]

He's. He's nodding.

[Snowbike Mike]

That's all that matters.

[Blessing]

He's nodding.

[Snowbike Mike]

I gave you the look. That's Mike's review.

[Blessing]

But we will have. Oh, do I want to spoil it? Because there's a surprise.

[Snowbike Mike]

I mean, let's just say. Let's say. Who's in the building now? The queen.

[Blessing]

The queen of Scream. Yes.

[Snowbike Mike]

Madeline Stanley's here.

[Blessing]

Yes.

[Snowbike Mike]

Big Raj. Daddy. He's on it. And then a special guest. We're calling him now Big Rod's daddy.

[Blessing]

That's what Mike calls.

[Snowbike Mike]

I call him that all the time.

[Producer/Moderator]

All the time.

[Snowbike Mike]

All the time. Really, Daddy?

[Blessing]

Yeah, I hear it. It's disturbing. I've not played it because, of course, me and Andy are going to be playing it this Friday, doing a marathon stream where we're gonna hopefully play through and hopefully beat the game by the time we get around to it, probably going into Saturday, I imagine. So we're very excited for that. But you're gonna want to tune into the review because there's somebody in the who's gonna be in the building that you're gonna want to hear thoughts. You don't want to miss out on that. But enough about that, Mike. Remember, if you're watching live, you can be a part of the show by super chatting in over on YouTube.com kind of funny games. Remember, we couldn't do this without our producers on patreon.com kind of funny. So thank you to 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 eight stories today. Baker's dozen people in chat are telling me that they already know who it is, but I'm still not going to say it because there's. Oh, okay. There's some audio listener right now that's like, who are they talking about? Yeah. So I'm not going to say, but everybody in the live chat already knows because apparently it's on the schedule. Okay Mike, I apologize for crashing out. I don't know if that was too much energy to start the show with.

[Snowbike Mike]

You know what, Bless. I like when you are passionate about something and if that is what we're passionate about today, let's talk about it. Let's ride with it.

[Blessing]

Well, let's keep talking about Xbox because story number one, Xbox is being sunsetted. That is from Seamus Blackley, one of the creators of Xbox. He thinks the recent shakeup spells the end for Microsoft's gaming business. I'm pulling from Wesley Yenpool at ign. Amid the official statements and many tweets that followed one of the biggest shakeups ever at Xbox, One of its creators believes Microsoft's true plan is to bring its gaming business to an end. Seamus Blackley co created Xbox at Microsoft, bringing to life Microsoft's console hardware in 2001 before leaving just a year later. He has watched his former company hit the headlines as Phil Spencer and would be successor Sarah Bond announced their exit. And in a new interview he revealed what he believes to be new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's actual mission, which sounds like nothing good for Xbox fans. Speaking to Games Beat, Blackley said that Xbox is not a core part of Microsoft's all encompassing AI push and so it is being sunsetted. Drafting in Sharma, who Blackley points out came from Microsoft's AI team with no gaming background, is further evidence of the company's true strategy, he claimed. Quote they don't say that, but that's what's happening. He went on. Quote I expect that the new CEO Asha Sharma, her job is going to be as a palliative care doctor who slides Xbox gently into the night. End quote Part of the problem here, according to Blackley, is that Microsoft head honcho Satya Nadella believes that AI will subsume games like it will subsume everything. And that spells the end for the traditional video game business, much of which Microsoft owns. Quote the job of all these people is to gently usher all of these business units into the new world of AI, Blackley said. Quote that's what you're seeing here. Whether or not you agree with it, whether you agree with AI having the potential to do that, whether AI will be successful is a separate matter. But that's what we're seeing. That is in no way surprising. It it would have been shocking if they had if they had somebody in there in a meaningful role who is passionate about games, passionate about the creator driven business of because it would be in direct conflict with everything else Microsoft is doing. Microsoft is a company that is now about enabling its customers by enabling AI to drive things. That's at odds with the auteur model of any art, but specifically of games. Microsoft doesn't have the problem that Apple does or that Netflix does where they have an auteur driven content model to manage. Games are the only place where they have a content business. End quote.

[Snowbike Mike]

Of course someone else is crashing out like you today.

[Blessing]

Oh, you call this crashing out?

[Snowbike Mike]

I mean, that's an insane statement. I, Seamus Blackley, I really respect you and I get down with what you created back in 2001. But like 2001 to 2002 was the time that you were with Xbox. It's 2026. I don't know if we can jump off and just start yelling that we're going to put this thing down in the middle of the night. Like that's just a crazy statement.

[Blessing]

Do you, but you, do you not see any validity in what he's saying here though? Because as I read this, because I think the headline feels like a bit much, especially when it is like co creator of Xbox is saying Xbox is being sunsetted. When I read the framing here, I'm like, okay, well it's just him giving his opinion on a thing and honestly I read through a lot of it. I'm like, I'm kind of nodding my head at a lot of the things he said.

[Snowbike Mike]

There's a pessimistic view that, that I, you know, have a peace of mind, I guess, of like, yeah, well maybe that's right. Right. They bring in a CEO that has no gaming background, that's AI driven. Clearly this is the end. They're in third place. They haven't had any successful moves in the past decade here to build off of that and actually make a splash in the market. Everything that we thought they were doing, lining up these dominoes with great games, we haven't had any great games up until like this year was the domino push, right? You bring back red fall on these games, you bring back just sevens and eights, right? No great games as you always bring out. Bless. And it's like none of that has led to a point where like, yeah, I should be feeling optimistic. I should be feeling like, oh, this is all going crashing and burning right now. Like there's no way. But there's also like the Mike Howard view where it's like, I have to give some people some grace. I have to let them at least try. There's no way that this Giant corporation is going to shut down Xbox in the next 365 days.

[Blessing]

Oh, sure, yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

Fifteen years from now, maybe. Maybe Seamus Blackley is right. But like in the next year to five years, no way that that's happening. Right. Too big of investments in Activision Blizzard, King Bethesda, 20 plus studios already under the umbrella. Like, I don't think Xbox is going anywhere in the next five to ten years.

[Blessing]

I, I agree with you for the most part, especially for the near, near future. Of course, Xbox is not going anywhere within the next year. I don't think it's going anywhere within the next two years. But I think the thing that sticks out to me, and this is going to be an ongoing conversation when we talk about the moves that Xbox is going to make, because we're not even, We're. We're not even in the place where Asha Sharma even knows what she's doing yet, let alone Xbox is a corporation, like having this vision or Microsoft having this vision for what they're doing with Xbox.

[Snowbike Mike]

Right.

[Blessing]

I don't think Xbox. I don't think Microsoft hires Asha as the new CEO to go, all right, now kill it. Like, no, I don't, I don't think any company operates that way. Oh, I won't even say that. I don't think this company is operating this way in this situation. Situation. However, I do think that things change. Right. This is story number two that's gonna be very relevant to what we're talking about here, especially when we're talking about AI and Asha Sharma being like, no, we're not going to use AI. That's, that's not. We're not just going to do AI slop or what you expect with that stuff, Right. We think video games are made by people, yada yada. I think that's an opinion that's going to change very quickly without. With Microsoft. I think you can say that now.

[Snowbike Mike]

The plan's the plan until it's not the plan. Right. Blessed. That's one of her quotes from this jazz article. And of course, Master Chief said it best as well in Halo Infinite. Right. It's like plans change. They always do. And of course, for her as it is day two of this job right now. Yeah, she's got a lot of plans laid out in front of her. She's gonna have to take in a lot of data. She's gonna have to learn a lot with Matt Booty visiting all these studios. And then they're gonna have to really chart a course of what they want next. But like the plan of Xbox, like today, is not changing radically for the next couple of months to years.

[Blessing]

I want to bring in the Asha Sharma statements here because it's very relevant to the conversation we're having. Story number two New Xbox leadership confirms no Microsoft pressure to increase AI use I'm pulling from Luke Riley at IGN in the midst of swirling skepticism concerning the appointment of new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who spent the last two years as president of Microsoft's core AI product group, Sharma and New Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty have discussed the role AI will play at Xbox. In an interview with Windows Central, the pair explained there will be no internal pressure on developers to use AI and that the Xbox ecosystem will not be compromised by slop. Quote I think that with any new technology it brings possibilities as a tool, but even more important, especially now, we need to draw lines on what we won't do, said Sharma. That's what I attempted to do when I shared my opening letter. I will not flood our ecosystem with with slop. End quote. Quote we won't have careless output. We won't have derivative work. I deeply believe in the words that I shared previously there, Booty noted that while game developers are typically quick to experiment with new technology, Xbox's goal for AI will be for it to function in a complementary role. Quote Just as a group, game developers are always eager to adopt new technology, said Booty. When Photoshop showed up, it took about one month for it to appear in every game studio on the planet because it was so useful. What I hear throughout our studios, it is the people, our artists, our coders, the writers, they're doing the creative work. In my experience, in any time there's a new technology, what happens is there's a need for more specialists, new specialists. It raises the bar on what the expectations are for the quality of games, end quote. According to Booty, Xbox developers will not be forced to use AI, and having people behind the art Xbox makes is still the priority. Quote We've got no pressure from Microsoft. There are no directives on AI coming down, said Booty. Our teams are free to use any technologies that might be beneficial, whether it's helping write code or check for bugs, things more in the production pipeline. At the end of the day, as Asha said, we're committed to art made by people. Technology is only in support of that. End quote and to go back and echo what you quoted Mike from elsewhere in the Windows Central article, the plan is a plan until it's not the plan.

[Snowbike Mike]

So it's interesting when we talk AI because this is the one where everybody rolls their eye, everybody groans and huffs and puffs, right? And like we all know in our daily lives, AI usage is up. AI is the next big thing in technology right now, no matter how we want to slice it. We are at the cutting edge of, of technology right now. And we know that in any work style, lifestyle, people are using AI and we talk about video game AI. There's a lot of different ways to talk about it, right? There's the, in the office use of AI, there's the gen AI which is the big no buzzword, right? But like at the end of the day, the people will speak and just like Seamus Blackley put, like, like AI slop will not be taken by the gamers out there and the consumers. Once we get to a point where all of a sudden you've chosen AI down the wrong path, the gamers will speak, the people who make the games will speak and it will stop. Like AI. There's so many lanes of AI that we have to acknowledge that exist. And it's like there's the one form that nobody wants, that's gen AI making games that are just shitty and bad, taking other people's work and creating bullshit. Yeah. And that's the AI that we're trying to avoid. As of right now, you have to take out a word of like, that's not happening. Right? We're not going to Google going make Fable ripoff video game please and hoping that I can spit that out, right? It's like, officers are going to use AI. How they choose to use AI will be up to them. We're going to kind of monitor that. We're going to check in with them and make sure that we're okay with it, they're okay with it. But as of right now, I don't think anyone on the Xbox, Sony, Nintendo teams are going into studios going, you're going to use gen AI and they're going to make these scripts, they're going to make these game codes.

[Blessing]

Yeah, no, I don't think it's happening like that. What I think will happen is that Microsoft, as they continue to lean into AI, will look at the sectors that are bringing in that, that shareholder money and go, all right, we have XYZ technology app systems that we are developing that do use AI, that are bringing in money from shareholders because that's what their interest is, is in right now. And we're looking at our video game studios and we're not doing as much or we're Doing things that, that don't feel as aggressive with AI. Now we have a de emphasis on like how much we want to support this thing. That's kind of where, that's where my fear is at and that's where I come back to the Seamus Blackley thing of like I feel like there's going to be a conversation within the next few years. As for as long as we keep pushing this AI shit, right. That is going to be, hey, either we push AI more in the video game sector in the video game side of the Microsoft business or we start cutting things because the money isn't flowing in as much as we want to be flowing in and we're not figuring out the strategy. It's the two pronged thing where I think they're so confused about what to do with the strategy. Asha Sharma apparently is still figuring it out. Right. It sounds like they want to return to Xbox but me and you know that like you can't just take things that you took non exclusive and just make them exclusive again. Like I think the business side of Xbox is in such a weird place and I don't know if they're going to be able to figure that out in a big way. And then on the other side you have the AI thing looming that I think is going to put either more pressure on them to use it or put more pressure on Microsoft to go, well let's not put as much money into this thing.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Producer/Moderator]

And that's what my worry is of like when probably when a lot of people are saying of like whenever this bubble pops, right. How much is Microsoft still going to try to feed that AI promise that's going to give them over the hump and you know, shoot them to this to the stratosphere and pay off all these shareholders and all this stuff. And if they try to keep pushing that, do they start looking at other aspects of their business to cut to be able to keep up the money to invest in this technology that's giving them some sort of financial promise. Right. And that's the, I think that's more so the worry.

[Snowbike Mike]

When asked about the return to Xbox, she said for me, the spirit of return to Xbox is about returning to the spirit that the team was founded on. It's the spirit of surprise, it's the spirit of building something nobody else was willing to try. I have heard Renegade Rebellion and fun used. That's what I was thinking about when I wrote that.

[Blessing]

What was J's follow up question of that?

[Snowbike Mike]

I think that's when we rolled into

[Blessing]

wait, he didn't ask a question of like, what the do you mean?

[Snowbike Mike]

I think that's like, oh. Back in the day, everybody used the word rebellion and Renegade for the Xbox360 because we were doing something different and radical.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

It wasn't a mature business that we were running at this point where it's 25 years in and being a rebel is very difficult to do. Right. We're not making a new console that is making splashes and changing the world. Right. It's like there's something different now. But there is something to be said about the wow factor, the sense of discovery and surprise. Right. And a perfect one is Fable. Fable is the surprise right now. Fable has returned after a decade plus being gone. Right. It is now surprised fans going, oh, wow, they made Fable fucking awesome. Right. And hopefully it lands at the end of the year. But like, when you watch Fable, that is the sense of surprise that you're looking for. And that I think is like the return of Xbox.

[Blessing]

So you think Ashton Sharma is saying, we want to make more Fables?

[Snowbike Mike]

I think it's. I want to surprise people and delight people with the games that Xbox has. I want them to be surprised and delighted by the console we have.

[Blessing]

Do you feel like, like Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond weren't trying to do that?

[Snowbike Mike]

No, I think they were. I think that's the problem is it's like this person's out coming in off the back of what they just were building. Right. And now she's going to have to take in years of data like she wrote in this with Jazz and like, figure out what they want to do with this and it will be very interesting. That's why I don't think Xbox is shutting down in the night. Right. Like Seamus Blackley is saying, sure, yeah. Because we have a long time to start figuring out where they're going to be.

[Blessing]

We'll see.

[Snowbike Mike]

It's a fun one. Bless. I mean, in all reality, you're talking about a team that's in third place, a team that is just declining in console sales. You're talking about a team that's not going to be sound like she's coming in tomorrow and canceling the next Xbox. That thing has been planned for seven plus years. We talk about this with the hardware teams of all these divisions. Right. Of like, hey, we plan out 7, 15, 20 years now. We're already planning this out. She wasn't going to come in and be like, hey, that next Xbox, that's done. Right. We already know AMD is Ready to pounce whenever they want to start building this or if they're already building this. Right. I don't see this console or next being canceled after that. Then we start having a conversation.

[Blessing]

Yeah. I mean, I think that the tough thing for me, because I'm rooting. I'm rooting for Asha Sharma to turn the ship around and fake and fix things or like, make a version of Xbox that is better than the version of Xbox we have currently. Right. I want that to happen. The issue I'm having is the words that are being said strike me as lip service and nothing of substance. Right.

[Snowbike Mike]

I.

[Blessing]

For me, I read this whole situation as, all right, Xbox isn't. As isn't bringing in as much money. It's not doing for Microsoft what Microsoft wanted it to be doing. And so we ax Phil Spencer, we scapegoat Sarah Bond, and then we bring in somebody else. And just, like, we hope that it gets better. Like, we try to. We try to fucking write the ship with that. But, like, I think they're doing that without a actual sense of a plan because a lot of the things that come that came down on Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond, in my opinion, are things that came from Microsoft. On top are Satya and Adela commands of, hey, we got to make more money. Hey, we just bought Activision Blizzard. What are we doing to bring in more revenue? All right, we're going to put our games everywhere. That way our games can make more revenue. We're not making enough revenue. Like, I don't know. I. When I read those statements, they say nothing to me.

[Snowbike Mike]

Well, yes, I think that's why we said it was a nothing burger. And we agreed on that at the beginning.

[Blessing]

Right?

[Snowbike Mike]

Like, what they wrote a lot in this article was the, hey, we have to get back to Xbox core gamers, the people who invested in over 20 years plus of our console, and we lost that. There is a Games Daily or gamescast where Snowbike Mike had a pouty face on going, why would I invest in this? You have now showed me that we're going third party and we're selling our games everywhere and that the console is on a major decline. Why would I invest in this? Right? And so her first major statement has to be, hey, we're going back to the core audience. Right? We have to ensure that. That you still buy this console and believe in it because you've put thousands of dollars into this. Right? Because there are core gamers out there like me who are questioning, should I even be riding this ship? Anymore. Right. And the problem is, is they've already lost that battle. Phil Spencer said it best. You lost it when you needed to win it the most, and that was that. PS4, Xbox One generations, when everybody created a digital library and a footprint that you could never get out of. I have dug a grave into Xbox with so many titles, so much dollars spent that there's no way I would want to jump ship over there and restart and lose all this baggage. Right. And so they need to ensure that people that are in this ecosystem want to continue to ride. I think Sarah Bond and Phil started to look at and go, consoles are on the decline. Consoles have matured. We need to get over to the iPads, the kids playing Roblox. We need to get into a market that we're not in. And they tried to make a splash and maybe it's still too early to tell if they really started to make headway, if we gave them more time, but they didn't. Right. The Roblox market didn't come in here. The move to mobile didn't pay off.

[Blessing]

Do you feel like there wasn't Microsoft pressure to do that, though?

[Snowbike Mike]

I think it's a pressure with everyone. Right. Games are being more expensive to make than ever before. We see that the console exclusive can only carry you so far. Even Sony is starting to show that right now. Right. And on the flip side, it's like, well, then the move would be to put your games everywhere to get those extra dollars to be able to fund those projects to continue. But when it comes to the console market, there is one Top Dog and Nintendo and it's like the other one isn't going to eat and that's Xbox at this time. And so they had to do something radically different. And I think anyone in that shoes, whether it be Microsoft or Phil and Sarah, were all in that room going, yeah, we have to try something else.

[Blessing]

Yes.

[Snowbike Mike]

And they did some right moves. Xbox Play anywhere. That's a brilliant idea. Right. The cloud gaming department, the cloud gaming development is like, yes, we're not there right now for a lot of people. But when you talk to people who use GeForce now, the people who have used xCloud, they're like, yeah, I could see myself doing this one day. Today is not that day. Right. But in the far future, we'll hopefully get there with Internet and service providers doing that. But I don't think were just, we're like, they took a half step that was almost there, but also not there. But when you're losing the console market, you had to do that. So there's so many things.

[Blessing]

But to get back to the Austin Sharma statement, the idea of we got to return. The return of Xbox. We want to speak to the core gamers like you're talking about. Right. We got to get back to them. How? How?

[Snowbike Mike]

You have to promise them another. You have to make sure that they know that this neck. There's another console. There has to be another generation plus. Right.

[Blessing]

They know that though. Right. Like, Sarah Bond came out and said, we're. We're working on our most powerful. I forget the exact wor. But we're working on a powerful Xbox premium console.

[Snowbike Mike]

I mean, but at the same time, right, you just fired Phil Spencer or you just. Phil Spencer retired and Sarah Bond just resigned. Right?

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

You have question marks of like, well, is that still in play? Because like you said, Asha Sharma and her plans at any moment could change.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

We could go double dip in AI and just change everything.

[Blessing]

My thing is, what is. What is she saying that is going to be any different from what we've gotten?

[Snowbike Mike]

Nothing.

[Blessing]

I need anything she has said. And I know, I know she keeps

[Snowbike Mike]

saying, taken too early of an interview.

[Blessing]

Yes.

[Snowbike Mike]

And I am inexperienced in this area, but I'm experienced in others. I need to go get so much data that my head's going to spin until I can make the right call.

[Blessing]

Which I. And I understand that my beef with it is that that's not enough. Like, my beef with it is that you can't leave us in the middle of a console generation, the console generation, that we're already two. We're two console generations in. Into disaster of Xbox disaster. This is the wrong time to go. I'm gonna figure it out.

[Snowbike Mike]

What was the time?

[Blessing]

You should have figured it out a decade ago. And I know that was on Phil Spencer. That's on Sarah and on like Xbox leadership. I can't have another person coming in and being like, I'm still gonna figure it out.

[Snowbike Mike]

What was the title that she had? There was something in there that was like, Xbox has been brought back before. Gotten back before the people who made it great before. Something crazy like that. Like, have they. Because as of right now, the past decade to two console generations, they've been losing. They've been putting up a bad fight. I don't think they've ever bounced back. Now, sure, you can call it a little bounce back from the Xbox One announcement, but, like, have we really ever gotten back to the Xbox? 360 days? Absolutely not.

[Blessing]

No.

[Snowbike Mike]

I'd go as far as say it's like they didn't bounce back and fight back and make it where they needed to be. Show me the people who got you there. I don't think that's real.

[Blessing]

I'm excited to see what she comes up with.

[Snowbike Mike]

Plus you and I are going to be talking about this for a long time and it's going to be very exciting to see what this new CEO does. What the new head of Xbox decides. I heard Matt Booty have a. A wild couple of years here to prove to gamers that they know what they're doing or else we're going to be. I'm. I'm going to become famous Blackley and say they're going to kill this.

[Blessing]

I just can't do another generation and a half of Domino's Mike. That's all I can. I can't do another generation and a half of like ah, they're building it up, they're figuring it out. Well you have to think they fired their leadership. They brought a new leadership that's going

[Snowbike Mike]

to figure it out on the game side of things. They are figuring it out, right? They are sevens and eights as you said before which is good to great but they are finding better games, right. They are identifying that we're getting Clockwork Revolution hopefully next year from In Exile. That looks great and hopefully delivers, right. You have four major titles this year that all should deliver on high notes, right. That hopefully gamers who have not experienced a Halo or a Gears will open up their hearts and try something new, right. But like you're going down the list. You have Activision Blizzard, King hard to that up. World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch. You have to really up to make.

[Blessing]

Hard to fuck up Overwatch. Yeah, pretty hard to fuck up Overwatch.

[Snowbike Mike]

Hey still was great.

[Blessing]

Hard to up a Call of Duty.

[Snowbike Mike]

Hard to Call of Duty.

[Blessing]

They're gonna do numbers like don't get me wrong exactly. These things are. These things are going to sell. But I don't know. I, I feel like it's too early to say that like ah, they figured it out like or they're figuring it on the game side because then I would have to say let's look at the last year right? Like would we say when we look back at the last year of Xbox we say we figured it out on the game side and if the answer is yes, I'm down for the answer to BS okay but like what, what is it? We got Keeper. I love Keeper.

[Snowbike Mike]

Right?

[Blessing]

We got south at Midnight. Yeah, I like South Midnight.

[Snowbike Mike]

Empowering we love something Fashion projects and games. Yeah.

[Blessing]

Oh, well, we got grounded. Two rounded.

[Snowbike Mike]

Two. Yeah. You got a vowed outer worlds too.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

Two RPGs that were like you said, solid seven and eights.

[Blessing]

Yeah. But I think all the games I mentioned kind of fall into that 7 and 8 that doom. Doom. The dark Ages.

[Snowbike Mike]

That was really good right there. Indiana Jones. Cool.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

Think they're trending in a positive way game wise that you'd want to see.

[Blessing]

Is 7 and 8 the goal?

[Snowbike Mike]

I mean, in a world that we live in right now, seven and eights are the minimum goal. Yes.

[Blessing]

Okay. Then I'd say Xbox.

[Snowbike Mike]

The dream is. The dream is to create a 10. It is very difficult to create a 10 nowadays.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

I think that your goal is to make seven and eights that sell well, that allow you to fund a second game and go make another one.

[Blessing]

Fair enough.

[Snowbike Mike]

All right, let's move on. This is some good shit.

[Blessing]

I know. Yeah, we're going to keep talking about this for what is probably going to be forever. And so let's move on to a bunch of more topics that we had to talk about on this episode. Funny enough, we have a big news day today.

[Snowbike Mike]

Whoa.

[Blessing]

Yeah, they're going to get to the

[Snowbike Mike]

resting us down my.

[Blessing]

Oh no. I mean listen, Xbox is still the biggest news of the lasts forever. And so we're going to keep talking about it, but let's talk about back rooms, Mike. But before we talk about that, let's talk about patreon.com kind of funny and YouTube.com kind of funny games where you can go and get the kind of funny membership which allows you to get shows ad free. Speaking of ads, let us tell you about our sponsors.

[Sponsor Announcer]

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[Blessing]

And we're back. Shout out to people writing in with super chats. I want.

[Snowbike Mike]

Did they write a bunch of.

[Blessing]

Oh, we have so many super chats. I'll read like a couple of them and I'll try to save some time at the end of the show to read even more.

[Snowbike Mike]

Hold on.

[Blessing]

I'M trying to find the one. NAS 24601 I said it says Fable equals start of the new age or the end. Do you think Fable is the start of something or the end of something?

[Snowbike Mike]

Optimistic. Mike will say it's the start of a new age.

[Blessing]

Thank you, Asha Sharma, for delivering Fable to us. She did it. She already did it. Come on.

[Snowbike Mike]

Coming in with your positivity.

[Blessing]

We'll see. I don't know. Fable, I hope is as fantastic as it looks. I have so much stake in my heart for in Fable.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

Because I think that game looks so phenomenal. But I'm scared because I feel like I've been here over and over again with Xbox. But like, it looks good though.

[Snowbike Mike]

It looks great.

[Blessing]

It looks good to bring up a

[Producer/Moderator]

place, a point from Paris in the chat who's been hanging out. I think it's hard to like put Fable as like this definitive point of, you know, a start or end because we're still going to feel the decisions from the last couple of years for the next couple of years.

[Blessing]

Oh, 100%.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

That's why. That's why I joke of like, thank you, Austin Sharma. Because no, like, I don't think Fable marks anything like the next few years of Xbox are still going to be the ramifications of the Phil and Sarah, like tenure of being leadership there. I don't think we're going to. We're going to see some things that are of the Asha Sharma age. Right. I think maybe more on the business, maybe on the. A little bit on the hardware side. We'll see what those announcements. Announcements look like in the next couple years. But as far as games, I mean, maybe we see get canceled, but the games that are coming out are going to be games that are greenlit already.

[Snowbike Mike]

Already. And yeah.

[Blessing]

And then Golden Arms PR says blessing. Put some respect on Jez name. No Sun Lee Boy 1 writes in and says Birthday tax for my 28th on the 27th. Happy birthday to Andy. Also, I also wanted to thank you guys for streaming advice episode last year that helped motivate me and has helped immense me immensely.

[Snowbike Mike]

Happy birthday. Happy birthday on the big 28. Of course, you know it's my birthday as well. I don't know why we're just giving Andy birthday love. So make sure to give me some birthday love.

[Blessing]

And then when.

[Producer/Moderator]

When is your birthday?

[Snowbike Mike]

Every day. Okay.

[Blessing]

Jesus Christ in the sky. Can't let somebody else have like a time in the limelight for a second.

[Snowbike Mike]

Not Andy. I got to share the light with

[Blessing]

andy and then JVC001 says, I saw Black Panther opening weekend at Grand Lake Theater. The audience went nuts at the opening credits when it said 1992 Oakland. Oh, man, that would have been such a moment.

[Snowbike Mike]

That's crazy.

[Blessing]

I wish I could have been there. That's pretty sick. All right, let's move on to story number three. We have our first look at the back rooms movie. I'm gonna read from a tweet from a24. He says, you are not supposed to be here. Back Rooms, a Kane Parsons film starring Chiwoodo Egio 4. I apologize if I mispronounced that. And Rene or Renate Reinsvi. It's in theaters May 29, 2026. Now, bear, I do have the link to the teaser. I know movie teasers can be.

[Producer/Moderator]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

Shaky. If we're not able to play it, can we at least, like, show shots of it? This looks awesome because this shit looks crazy.

[Producer/Moderator]

Show shots because.

[Blessing]

I know.

[Producer/Moderator]

Just. If you guys haven't seen Chat's been blowing up about the Mortal Kombat 2 trailer as well. That just dropped the movie.

[Blessing]

No way.

[Producer/Moderator]

And that is, like, we can't. We're not going to be able to stream that. YouTube will definitely, like, flag us immediately.

[Snowbike Mike]

A cool little image of it.

[Producer/Moderator]

Yeah, so. So same with. With this. I'm just gonna show y' all images.

[Blessing]

Yeah, show us stills. Because, Mike, you've played back rooms.

[Snowbike Mike]

I've. I have fallen in love with the back rooms myself. Nick and Andy have stories along with Chris Anka stories for a lifetime in the back rooms. We've been pumped up about this project for May 24th. They got the kid who created essentially the back rooms to come and do this.

[Blessing]

That's crazy.

[Snowbike Mike]

I watched this teaser trailer. I'm excited as all can be. I think we're nailing this. I mean, this is a weird project. Like the Elden Ring project, and we're cooking here.

[Blessing]

Yeah, this. We're doing the stills that we're seeing. Barrett, if you can bring some of them up, I'm. For me, as somebody who doesn't. Who, like, doesn't really care about the back rooms, but I'm aware of it just through meme culture and, like, Internet culture.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

I feel like they're nailing it. Like, the fact that you have this couch. No clipping through the wall, and, like, the weird eerie. And it's all. It's like, in a weird way. I know it's like live action or whatever, but it looks low poly.

[Snowbike Mike]

Just no blessings. Whoever trip into the Back rooms. And you get one phone call to phone a friend. You call me, I'll help you get out of the back rooms. I've never been more confident in my life that if I get tripped into the back rooms, I'm helping us get out of it.

[Blessing]

Okay, I appreciate that.

[Snowbike Mike]

I've. I can see it in my mind. I get through it.

[Blessing]

Somebody says, is it not cg? I don't think it's cg. I think that's just live shots. Because that if it's not. If it's cg, then that's probably just from the game because that's what it looks like.

[Snowbike Mike]

We got some movement over here. What's going. You sliding in?

[Blessing]

Come in here. Yeah, this is a short.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Well, he's got a gigantic box.

[Blessing]

Okay.

[Sponsor Announcer]

We have a. We have a kind of funny best friend named Larry. Larry works over at Square Enix.

[Blessing]

Larry.

[Sponsor Announcer]

So Larry sent through, like, Square Enix's swag before, like, oh, we're cleaning out the basement. We found this. Another giant box stuff came, but there was one special thing he sent for you.

[Snowbike Mike]

Snowbug Mike from Larry. Oh, Kingdom hearts.

[Sponsor Announcer]

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[Blessing]

That's awesome. Do we have any, like, nier automata stuff in there?

[Sponsor Announcer]

Tons of Final Fantasy stuff.

[Blessing]

Final Fantasy.

[Sponsor Announcer]

You want a Hot Dog Man? I got a lot of Hot Dog Man.

[Blessing]

I mean, that's not near automo. I do like Hot Dog man, though.

[Sponsor Announcer]

I'll get you one.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

Who's Hot Dog man from?

[Sponsor Announcer]

What do you mean, who's Hot Dog Man?

[Blessing]

Yeah, Hot Dog. He's a mascot. He's cool. You. You like Hot Dog Man? You with hot. Hot Dog Man.

[Snowbike Mike]

Thanks, Larry. That's really nice of you, man.

[Blessing]

You're all in on this. Back Rooms.

[Snowbike Mike]

Movie back rooms.

[Blessing]

Yeah, I'm in, too.

[Snowbike Mike]

I'll.

[Blessing]

I'll watch it. Okay. I. I'll go to the theater. Especially a 24. I like a 24 movies.

[Snowbike Mike]

Oh.

[Blessing]

Oh, that was not.

[Sponsor Announcer]

He's lighter than I thought he'd be.

[Blessing]

Yeah. This is Hot Dog. Oh, you see these skis?

[Snowbike Mike]

I've never seen this guy in my entire life.

[Blessing]

Actually, I didn't know he skied 100.

[Snowbike Mike]

Say, I've never seen.

[Blessing]

You've never seen Hot Dog Man?

[Snowbike Mike]

I've never played Life is Strange.

[Blessing]

Oh, I think you'd like.

[Snowbike Mike]

I might have tried one a long time ago. Yeah, Hot Dog Man's lit.

[Blessing]

I've been. I've been a big fan of Hot Dog man for a while.

[Sponsor Announcer]

All right, all right, all right. All Right.

[Blessing]

God damn it.

[Snowbike Mike]

Fuck.

[Blessing]

Oh, no.

[Sponsor Announcer]

I came out for fun. News Bear. Throw up this one on the confidence monitor. I'll read it. Gamatsu reports skate developer Full Circle announces layoffs. Electronic Arts subsidiary and skate developer Full Circle has announced internal restructuring that will impact certain roles as it aims to quote unquote, better support the free to play skateboarding games long term future. The studio announced development.

[Snowbike Mike]

They've been getting absolutely roasted as well. Well, I mean, no.

[Sponsor Announcer]

I mean, like, this is writing on the wall.

[Blessing]

No.

[Sponsor Announcer]

I mean, no, there's no. You and me are, like, what?

[Snowbike Mike]

No.

[Blessing]

Successful.

[Snowbike Mike]

I mean, this is heartbreaking. And my thoughts go out to that whole team because I want nothing but success for them. But, man, I mean, we talked about it from the launch to now, it has been disastrous. Yeah. There has been no upside at all. And the recent one where they were going to put the grom island behind those. Those skaters who still skater die quickly rose up and were like, that's dumb. And they were like, hey, you know, we're still sticking to how many times.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Got to show you this clip of you saying you wouldn't paywall any areas.

[Snowbike Mike]

We just didn't have the game plan there. That's another one you wish you could have back. Like a Mario Sports title was like, call Greg, call Micah. We'll help you.

[Blessing]

You know, let us consult like we know what we're doing.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Yeah, but, yeah, we could make a little bit of money if we just sold a box version, but what if we made infinite money? Because clearly everyone who's. All the people who've said in the Comments they want skate 4, they will be here. Live service, day in, day out skating.

[Producer/Moderator]

What if we made Fortnite?

[Sponsor Announcer]

You know, again, I don't. We've seen a lot of people fail, but we can nail it this time. Enjoy Kingdom Hearts.

[Snowbike Mike]

But here's the deal. Nothing feels better than getting on that skateboard.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Season 3 drops March 11 nothing feels

[Snowbike Mike]

better than getting on that skateboard. Bless the issue.

[Sponsor Announcer]

One last ride.

[Snowbike Mike]

That's the issue. Blesses. That's how they get you. Okay. It's like you just get a little hit. You get that front side nose grind going on. You get that backside blunt locked in.

[Blessing]

I mean, I know it's like, you're right.

[Snowbike Mike]

Nothing feels better than this.

[Blessing]

The one day that I got to stream skate during the launch with you guys was such a fun time. And, like, it almost got me. Like, I could have been there with you guys, but, like, I. I just needed something more. It didn't have it didn't have the sauce.

[Snowbike Mike]

You hit that Christ air.

[Blessing]

I mean, yeah, it was like the one challenge that like we got obsessed with doing, where we would launch ourselves through like the bridge that was at the top and do the manual and then come back down.

[Snowbike Mike]

So much missing there, so much potential. Such a miss. Heartbreaking news writing was on the wall there. That's unfortunate.

[Blessing]

Some more heartbreaking news story number four. Amazon abandons its open world driving game with Maverick Games. This is from Christopher Dring at the Game Business. Amazon will no longer publish the open world driving game from UK developer Maverick Games. The game business can reveal the game is a triple A narrative led game for PC, PS5 and Xbox. Maverick is a UK developer formed in 2022 by Racing Game veterans, including co founder Mike Brown, who was formerly creative director on the Forza Horizon series. The studio is run by former Sega Hardlight and Sumo Leamington boss Harinder Sanga. Amazon has significantly scaled back its game publishing and development projects. Last year it cut most of its MMO development staff, including those working on New World Eternum, which goes offline January 31st next year, and an unannounced Lord of the Rings MMO. It has also ceased operations on the newly released co op game King of Meat and sold the unreleased MOBA March of Giants to Ubisoft. The head of Amazon Games Studios, Christoph Hartman, left the firm last month. Another one bites the dust, Mike.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah, this one was unfortunate because I was looking and following Mike Brown after he left the Forz Horizon team going, why are we leaving that? What are we doing? Right? Yeah, like the idea that they were going to chart their own path and like try something new was like, okay, let's see what happens. Of course, unfortunately, Amazon Games has been absolutely lost in what they're doing here. They've had a couple of hits, they've had a lot of misses. They just don't really have a directive here. And I will see more of this from Amazon until they finally figure out what they really want to do there.

[Blessing]

And heartbreaking because I'm always down for more fun. Like fast. I was going to say fast paced. Every racing game is fast paced. At least you want it to be. Maybe not Mario Kart World, but you want a new fun racing game. Especially when they say narrative led. I'm like, I want to, I want to know what that is. Of course, because I've been asking for like racing games of stories. I miss PS2 need for Speed, Mike.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah, I. We all do.

[Blessing]

Have you heard of this game called Screamer that I won't stop talking about.

[Snowbike Mike]

I'm gonna. The Screamer team is happy that you. You love this.

[Blessing]

I. Dude, I'm so. Give me a preview code. Like I've seen other people do previews. Let me try out Screamer.

[Snowbike Mike]

Get in there.

[Blessing]

I guess we're close enough. I'll just wait for the full thing.

[Producer/Moderator]

Well, never say never with this one, Bless. Because from my understanding, Maverick Games is still trying to find like, they're gonna keep working on this and try to find another okay partner here.

[Blessing]

That's a good. That's a good thing to call out. I appreciate that. Hopefully somebody pick this up. PlayStation. You want your own Forza Horizon, you know, Come on now. Your own Forza right now just.

[Snowbike Mike]

You can pair that up with Gran Turismo.

[Blessing]

I was gonna say just put the Gran Turismo name on it.

[Snowbike Mike]

We saw what Forza Motorsport did.

[Blessing]

If you're.

[Snowbike Mike]

Wait, they cut half of that studio.

[Blessing]

Oh, yeah, that's true. If you're gonna make a Gran Turismo open world, like Forza Horizon type game, what would you call it? Grand Tourismo Horizon. Nice, Grant. No, you can't.

[Snowbike Mike]

Gran Turismo Frontiers.

[Blessing]

So a Gran Turismo Motor Fest. Come on, we're cooking. We're cooking. Story number five, Discord is delaying global age verification until it's improved the process. This is Chris Golian at Video Games Chronicle. The co founder of Discord says the company missed the mark with its rollout of global age verification and has delayed it until the process works better. Last year, Discord added a new age verification system for some users in the UK and Australia that requires them to scan their face or ID to access sensitive material. It then announced earlier this month that it would be rolling out age verification globally in early March, which would require users to confirm their age before viewing certain Discord servers or channels. Now, in a new blog post, co founder and Chief technology officer Stanislav Vishnevsky. I definitely didn't. Didn't know that. Vish Nevsky, I think, is more accurate, says the company is now delaying its global verification rollout until the second half of 2026 as it addresses user concerns. Vishnevsky noted that one of the main reasons for the backlash that was was that not everyone realized that age verification would only be required for Discord servers tagged as adults only.

[Snowbike Mike]

Oh, is that. Was that the problem?

[Blessing]

As opposed to the entire service quote, the way this landed, Many of you walked away thinking, we're requiring face scans and ID uploads from everyone just to use Discord, he wrote, that's not what's happening. But the fact that so many people believe it tells us we failed at our most basic job. Clearly explaining what we're doing and why, that's on us.

[Snowbike Mike]

No shit.

[Blessing]

End quote. I hate these.

[Snowbike Mike]

Oh, man. Well, we knew this from the beginning.

[Blessing]

You're almost there.

[Snowbike Mike]

The official announcement of this. We all knew that they were going to be rolling this back real quickly, right? There was also a little piece of me that was like, discord might be almost too big to fail. Because you look around, it's like, no one's doing it quite like Discord. So, like, there was the feeling of, like, if they just do it, will we just have to submit to it and just do it, right? Because it is so vital and, like, so big. But at the same time, people rose up. Nitro Nitro subscriptions were definitely canceled. And they were like, hey, we're stopping this shit. And that shows you when you use your voice and you stand up the bullies, you can stop the bullshit, okay? And that 100% just happened here.

[Blessing]

100%. Do you think they're just gonna re. Reveal this and be like, hey, guys, just so you know, you. Not everybody needs to do this. It's only if you have the adult tag in the disc. They just. They just announced the exact same thing, but they're like, hey, it's only the adult tag thing. Like, I'm so curious on how. On what the changes are, what the quote unquote changes are, because that's such the wrong thing to gleam from. This is the. As Discord to be like, oh, that's what people were mad about.

[Snowbike Mike]

Wild one.

[Blessing]

Barrett, if I can throw a swerve at you, I know we can't watch the Mortal Kombat trailer. Could we do a thing where, like, me and Mike see it, but the audience doesn't see it? Me and Mike just talk about it.

[Snowbike Mike]

He's eager to see it. I want to see it too.

[Blessing]

I really want to see the Mortal Kombat 2 trailer.

[Producer/Moderator]

The problem is it's not visually showing it. It is definitely audio is how we get tagged. There's no way for you guys to be able to hear it and for the stream to not hear it. That's really.

[Snowbike Mike]

That we mute it and we just click on scenes from it so we can go, oh, wow, he looks good today.

[Blessing]

I mean, that's such a terrible way to watch a trailer. Like, it was fine enough for the back rooms, because the back room, we

[Snowbike Mike]

walk out of here, we're going to watch it together.

[Producer/Moderator]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

I'm just so excited.

[Producer/Moderator]

I'm sorry guys.

[Blessing]

What if you pull it up on our laptops but, like put the volumes? If this was back in the days

[Producer/Moderator]

where we were just streaming on Twitch, I'd say, yeah, fuck it, let's go.

[Snowbike Mike]

I love that you're like, let's. Let's put the volume I was going to watch muted no matter what.

[Blessing]

All right, let's talk about Greedfall publisher Nacon with story number six, Nacon files for insolvency weeks before the RPG sequels launch this is from Wesley LeBlanc at Game Informer Nacon. Am I saying that right? Is it Nason? Nacon N A C O N. It's

[Producer/Moderator]

pronounced how it's spelled.

[Blessing]

N. Thank you. It's a. I was thinking of the other publisher we used to make.

[Producer/Moderator]

Playon.

[Blessing]

Playon. Thank you.

[Snowbike Mike]

Nice fly on.

[Blessing]

Play on. The publisher behind the upcoming Greed Fall, the Dying World and other games like Hell Is Us and Robocop Rogue City, has filed for insolvency. In other words, Nacon is out of money. As such, the publisher has requested the initiation of judicial reorganization proceedings. Insolvency in this instance means Nacon is unable to pay the debts it owes to a debtor. Insolvency typically involves companies that have assets with value, publishing rights, IP and the like in this case, but lack the hard cash needed to make payments it owes. And because the debtor is seeking payment, non cash assets that might otherwise be up for sale have little leverage if they don't add up to the funds owed, which is likely the situation Nacon is in Quote in a video game sector marked by long investment cycles and significant transformations. On February 20, 2026, NACON announced that the situation of his majority shareholder, Big Ben Interactive, which, following an unexpected and late refusal by its banking pool, was unable to make the partial repayment of its bond loan to its bondholders was significantly affecting its own operations, the filing reads. As for what this means for upcoming games like Greedfall, which launches into 1.0 on March 12 after years of early access, it probably means nothing. Greed for the Dying World, which is a sequel to Spider Studios 2019, GreedFall, will likely launch as planned next month. In the longer term, Nacon's filing says the aim of Insolvency is to assess all possible solutions to ensure the sustainability of the company's activity under the best possible conditions, protect employees and preserve jobs while renegotiating with its creditors in a calm and constructive framework. This procedure will enable the company to continue its business, renegotiate its debts, and develop a credible and effective continuation plan.

[Snowbike Mike]

Okay.

[Blessing]

End quote. I feel like I was reading a legal document.

[Snowbike Mike]

It very much feels like.

[Blessing]

That felt very much like a legal document. Damn, that's crazy.

[Snowbike Mike]

Time to get back into the boardroom. Let's negotiate this deal. Let's make it right.

[Blessing]

I hope things land well for them

[Snowbike Mike]

because, like, add some games under that team under that division there.

[Blessing]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, wait. Yeah. We're talking about Hell is Us. We're talking about Greedfall, which, honestly, I don't know much about Greedfall. I feel like Greedfall is one of those ones that's always been in the evening, but I don't know anybody.

[Snowbike Mike]

That's. Roger will shout out sticks. He loves sticks. Oh, Roger. RoboCop.

[Blessing]

RoboCop.

[Snowbike Mike]

RoboCop. Yep.

[Blessing]

We love Robocopier, but crazy. Hope for the best. Hope this doesn't lead to nacon.

[Snowbike Mike]

Mass layoffs. Yeah.

[Blessing]

Mass layoff.

[Snowbike Mike]

Studio shutting down. Yeah.

[Blessing]

Publisher shuts down. Let's close with story number seven. Assassin's Creed Hex director Clint Hawking has left Ubisoft as part of franchise upheaval. This is Andy Robinson at vgc. Clint Hawking, the creative director of the upcoming Assassin's Creed game, codename Hex, has left Ubisoft. VGC understands. The news was shared with staff this week in an internal meeting helmed by the Assassin's Creed franchise's newly announced leadership team. Development on Hex will continue without Hawking, Ubisoft said. Jean gazed on, the new head of content for the Assassin's Creed brand will take over the project as creative director. Gazdon previously directed Assassin's Creed Origins and Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag. Hawking has worked at Ubisoft across two stints since 2001. Notably, he was the creative director behind Splinter Cell, Chaos, The Far Cry 2, and Watchdogs Legion. Ubisoft.

[Snowbike Mike]

There's a lot of shakeup going on at Ubisoft. A lot of sh. They restructure, redesign, and rework the workflow. We know that, right? And so we're seeing a lot of faces, a lot of heads of departments leaving, coming and going. As we know, this is going to be one that you like, circle keep in your back pocket, and you see how they track where they're at and where they go, right? Because we saw that with the division team already. We know that they've reestablished all of the lines of, you know, the. The business order. At this point, it's like, all right, Ubisoft show me what you got. Yeah, show me what we're doing here. Because like, you have clearly not hit the mark as of late. Let's see if you can even rebuild and fix this.

[Blessing]

Yeah, the Clint Hawking's pedigree is like Ubisoft resume here shocks me because that man made Splinter Cell Chaos Theory.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

A game that is so beloved. A game that people would say is one of their favorite games on the original Xbox. Far Cry 2, another game that people hail is like, yo, this is brilliantly designed.

[Snowbike Mike]

Right.

[Blessing]

Kind of like immersive simish elements, you know, a bit more. I guess I said sim.

[Producer/Moderator]

Right.

[Blessing]

Semi like, you know, systemic. That's the word I'm looking for. A bit more systemic in nature, doing really cool things. And then watch Dogs Legion, which was a game that I think tried to be that but didn't actually land. I think in a lot of those things at least wasn't as hailed as much as a Far Cry 2 or a Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, which makes me look less at Clint honking and more at Ubisoft for like, man, you have a brilliant creator here that was just not able to replicate the brilliance of these games in the 2000s, toward the end of the 2010s. These are two different Ubisofts here.

[Snowbike Mike]

It's a hard one.

[Blessing]

It's a. It's a tough one.

[Snowbike Mike]

Video games are getting bigger and harder to make as well. Doesn't get to do a bunch of games in a short period. Yeah, they get even longer to make.

[Producer/Moderator]

Hogging was also the one of the leads, I think on Assassin's Creed Infinity. Remember that?

[Blessing]

Oh, I do remember.

[Producer/Moderator]

Renamed the Hub Infinity.

[Blessing]

Still happening though, right?

[Producer/Moderator]

I think it did happen. It just not in the way that they sold it to us. So. Yeah, but shout out to the. The director from Black Flag and Origins taking over. I a little worried of like if he's the head of what was it? Content and then also directing this game. Little stretch thin. Especially for this game that's, you know, been in development for years.

[Blessing]

But we'll see, man. People in chat are making this Mortal Kombat 2 trailer sound real good.

[Snowbike Mike]

You know what? I hear that the Mortal Kombat trailer ready for this is really big. Big. I'm talking big news, man.

[Blessing]

But Mike, if I wanted something smaller, say the tiniest news I needed to know about, where would I go?

[Snowbike Mike]

Bless. I'd take you into my back room and I'd show you our final.

[Blessing]

I don't want to bring it back.

[Snowbike Mike]

The Wii news Channel where we cover all the small news items you need to know.

[Blessing]

Never say that sentence to me ever again. Story number eight is Wii News. P.S. plus, essential titles for March have been announced. You're Getting PGA Tour 2K25, Monster Hunter Rise, Slime Rancher 2, and the Elder Scrolls Online. Ninja Garden 4 DLC. The Two Masters launches March 4. I put in a trailer here in the doc that Baird's playing currently.

[Snowbike Mike]

Oh, dlc. Okay.

[Blessing]

Dlc.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

Which I didn't realize was happening. I don't know if this is a brand new announcement, but either way, hell yeah, I'm down to check out more Ninja guy.

[Snowbike Mike]

This just gets. You want to get back? Will you jump back in?

[Blessing]

I mean, do I want to and will I? Or two different questions.

[Snowbike Mike]

Okay.

[Blessing]

Do I want to? Yeah, a little bit. Will I? It depends on what I'm doing during the day.

[Snowbike Mike]

Okay.

[Blessing]

You know, what day is this again?

[Snowbike Mike]

March 4th.

[Blessing]

March 4th. Yeah. No. Oh, there's a lot of games coming out that first week of March.

[Snowbike Mike]

I know, but that's like 14 days. But not even that long. But that might be seven days from now.

[Blessing]

Is that. It's definitely like 14 days, but like. Oh, no, you might be right. Holy.

[Snowbike Mike]

March 4th is exactly.

[Blessing]

No, you're right. It is seven days from now. Damn, that's crazy.

[Snowbike Mike]

Maybe you make a night.

[Blessing]

No. Well, here's the night.

[Snowbike Mike]

You do one night stream.

[Blessing]

You just try it, that's all. No, but the problem is. Do you know when Ghost of Yote Legends comes out? Come on.

[Snowbike Mike]

Soon.

[Blessing]

Come on. Soon.

[Snowbike Mike]

I think. March 13th.

[Blessing]

Do you know when Marathon comes out?

[Snowbike Mike]

Server slam this weekend.

[Blessing]

This weekend Hunting or Horizon Hunters gathering. Also happening.

[Snowbike Mike]

Server slam this weekend.

[Blessing]

Why are they doing server slams for two games under. Under Sony? Because it's. Because. Marathon or not. Sorry, Horizon isn't a server slam.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah, that's a. That's a super alpha beta.

[Blessing]

Yeah, a lot of people were tweeting. I saw articles of people being like, whoa, PlayStation is doing these two things during the weekend. I'm like, I do two things during the weekend all the time. PlayStation can't do two things. Like, why are we making a thing about ever? Like, I'll go to Oakland on a Saturday and then grab coffee with a hinge date on Sunday.

[Snowbike Mike]

Like, he does it all and I

[Blessing]

do it all and I make it happen.

[Snowbike Mike]

That's why you can play this Ninja Gaiden for dlc, because you could do multiple things at once.

[Blessing]

But I'm still playing Eugenics.

[Snowbike Mike]

Okay. You get past 20, past 10 hours yeah, they say once you pass 10, then you're in.

[Blessing]

Homie. I am like 12 hours in to me. Genics nice.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yes.

[Blessing]

It plays real well on Steam Deck too. Even though, like, really controller isn't the best way to play it. It's definitely a keyboard and mouse game.

[Snowbike Mike]

But I was wondering that you can

[Blessing]

get it done on. On Steam Deck for sure. Okay. Okay, okay. And then finally, Guilty Gifts drives overseas. Publishing rights are to be transferred from Bandai Namco to developer Art System Works. And that is it for we news. Let's hop into super Chats. See people we're talking about.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah. What's the super Chats? Probably cycle back up to Xbox. I'm sure is what they'll all be talking about.

[Blessing]

Jeff Bull Jr says bless. How do you feel about Andy and Mike going to house a prime rib with Tim Schaefer? It looked fun. It looked so fun.

[Snowbike Mike]

It was delicious. It was a blast. Tim Schaer has so many stories, so many jokes to tell you. It was a lot of fun. A lot of fun.

[Blessing]

And I love house of prime rib. Yeah, we got one from last geek who writes and says no. Mike, Mike, you still tracking your calories? What you eating tomorrow? Also shout out to Blessing's hoodie. That looks nice.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah, I like Blessing's light blue hoodie. I think he looks very nice. It's a good color.

[Blessing]

Pine wonderlands.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah. Am I tracking calories? No, I have not started yet, but I did download the app. I have been mindful more of what I'm eating. I'm slowing down a little bit on the mid afternoon meals, running right into dinner. So I've been slowing down. I've just been skipping a meal. That's what we'll call it, skipping a meal.

[Blessing]

Dhruv Gupta says Mike Brown has a tweet. Don't be worried.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yes, I think that's what Bear probably brought up of like we're still in development here. We're going to try.

[Blessing]

I see, I see, I see. Rally says Mike, glad you know your liquid slash solid measures. This is a reference to the party mode.

[Snowbike Mike]

This is party mode yesterday, which is doing great numbers. Thank you all for tuning into that.

[Blessing]

Get me on one of them game show party modes.

[Snowbike Mike]

I'm going to find more game shows, I promise.

[Blessing]

Because I was. I only saw the clip of the measurement thing.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

And I'm pretty sure I was. Okay. Can you tell me the answer to that question? Because I have my answer.

[Snowbike Mike]

Okay. You ready for this?

[Blessing]

I think it's pint.

[Snowbike Mike]

Oh, I thought it Was leaders.

[Blessing]

Oh, you're right.

[Snowbike Mike]

I think you're right. With pints, it's either pints or leaders.

[Blessing]

Because the question was, which of these is not a whatchamacallit? Metric.

[Snowbike Mike]

Metric measurements.

[Blessing]

And it was like pint, liter, cheat. And one other one.

[Snowbike Mike]

It was pint.

[Blessing]

Yeah. Because my brain. Because I saw that and I was like, well, usually metric measurements, you can say like, milli. Whatever. It's like milliliter centimeter. You know what I mean? Like, those are all metric measurements. Pint is like, that doesn't fit within that.

[Snowbike Mike]

I don't know anything Naming structure. Yeah, yeah, that's a.

[Producer/Moderator]

That's a good one.

[Blessing]

Bliss.

[Producer/Moderator]

Did you see Roger's immediate instinct of saying, what is a quarter after 5?

[Blessing]

I didn't see that.

[Snowbike Mike]

That one was pretty wild.

[Blessing]

What is a quarter after?

[Snowbike Mike]

What's quarter after five?

[Blessing]

Like on the clock.

[Snowbike Mike]

What's a quarter after five?

[Blessing]

5:15.

[Snowbike Mike]

Okay. He thought it was 525 a quarter.

[Blessing]

It was really fun.

[Snowbike Mike]

He was dropping payment.

[Blessing]

To be fair, we don't say that much in. In the U.S. yeah, I feel like in other. Overseas they'll say quarter after five, a quarter after.

[Snowbike Mike]

When you make plans, it's usually top of the hour or at the 30 marker. I feel like you're not throwing 45s at people. You have thrown 15.

[Producer/Moderator]

The only time you're doing that is when like a. Like a. Like a. A game is starting. Like a sports game or like you're going to see a movie. And it's specific.

[Snowbike Mike]

Typically at that time, yes. Oh, you're running late, right? Yeah, I don't think. You're not throwing 6. 15. Meet me for dinner.

[Blessing]

No, if somebody texts me, meet me for dinner at 6:15. I'm canceling. I'm like, no, I'm. In fact, I'm not gonna meet you at all. I'm staying home.

[Producer/Moderator]

What if they say, can we have

[Blessing]

dinner a quarter after six? I'm gonna be playing me genics a quarter.

[Snowbike Mike]

And you're like, I'll see you at 25. You got a deal.

[Blessing]

What? Let's see. Mr. Lousley, gaming says, what excites you most about this project? Which project are we talking about?

[Snowbike Mike]

What excites you most about Assassin's Creed

[Blessing]

Nacon.

[Snowbike Mike]

I liked Assassin's Creed Bless or Bear. What was the one that we liked? That was Recent Mirage. I like Assassin Creed. Mirage lately. So I hope we can go back to form.

[Blessing]

Oh, maybe they were asking about back rooms. My back rooms.

[Snowbike Mike]

Oh, getting lost in the back room. How horrifying Is that right? All of a sudden I push Blessing into a subway wall and disappears. Where has he gone? The back rooms.

[Producer/Moderator]

Why did you push him?

[Snowbike Mike]

That's, that's how it starts. That's how you, that's how you go into the back rooms.

[Blessing]

Right.

[Snowbike Mike]

Teenagers are in the subway plan. All of a sudden we're bullying this one kid. We push him, he's in the back rooms. Blessings rushing with his morning coffee into the office. He accidentally stumbles and falls into the wall with all the just boring office lighting into the back rooms. That's how fast it happens.

[Blessing]

I just like seeing the couch. No. Clip through the wall and then you're sleeping there.

[Snowbike Mike]

You're trapped in there.

[Blessing]

Let's see here, what else we got. RGX says Blackley hasn't been associated with Microsoft since 2002. Why should we give his opinion any validity to what is going on with the company in 2026? I mean, you're right.

[Snowbike Mike]

I mean but it's like any sports things, stuff like that, you go to people who have been there before.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

To get their thoughts. Seamus Blackley is very well known, of course, one of the co creators of the original Xbox. Right. Has been around in the gaming sphere forever and is still around. There's a lot of old heads we still talk about to this day that are sharing their opinions online. Right. And so it's easy to go to people who have been there, done that and ask them their thoughts, Right. Especially when they're might be the loudest in the room on Twitter or on Blue sky. Right. And just say, hey, let's talk. Tell me what you think about this. Right. And so you go, anyone can armchair quarterback sometimes it's nice to have Tom Brady at the commentary desk because he's been there, done that, as opposed to

[Blessing]

Mike who hasn't been done that 1000%. I also like, I don't fully agree with Seamus Blackley, but I also don't think his opinion was that crazy. No.

[Snowbike Mike]

I think we all. If we could rewind to last week, right? You get the announcements of what's happened with Sarah Bond and Phil Spencer, you get the announcements of Asha, you look at her resume, you immediately go, well, this is the end of Xbox.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

This has AI written all over it. She has no gaming knowledge whatsoever. Home Depot board of Directors on that wall. We got Meta, we have, we have the other ones. Like none of this is screaming to me. Or Instacart. None of this is screaming to me. We got a gamer who knows games or we have a person who is passionate about video games.

[Blessing]

Red Misfit says, I love Phil, but folks should stop praising him. Many in the community don't think he was a great leader for Xbox at all. He made poor decisions, including launching series X slash s without exclusives. What do you think about that, Mike?

[Snowbike Mike]

I don't think the ex. The non exclusive push happened until afterwards. But I will say that the launch was not strong with the exclusive lineups. That was because Halo got pushed back. If you remember, Halo was supposed to be the big launch title. And then Halo, we all remember Craig. Yeah, Craig the Brute. We all said, damn, Craig, don't look good. And they're like, we got to go back to the drawing board. Which was probably very helpful for Halo Infinite because it did need that. But I will agree it did not launch with, hey, these are console selling game systems that you need. This is not a console selling game. None of them.

[Blessing]

Yeah, I think people shouldn't get too attached to big corporate CEOs, that's all. That's just my take on it, right? Like, I don't really care. I don't really, I guess, care too much about Phil Spencer's individual input into Xbox as a corporation because like, I kind of view it as a team. It's in the same way that when we were talking about the Sarah Bond story on Monday, you know, there's a lot of. It seemed like there was a lot of like things being thrown Sarah Bond's way as far as like, oh, she did this, she did that, she was responsible for XYZ thing. But I read that and I'm like, well, at the end of the day, it's all Yalls fault. You know what I mean? It's. It's Sarah, it's Phil, it's Satya, it's the entire leadership that has failed this thing because guess what? You guys are a team. And so if something's not working out, right, like y' all are in this ship together, y' all have meetings, right? Like, Sarah can't make everything Xbox by herself. Like, she has to have meetings with people.

[Snowbike Mike]

So there's a new leadership. Take that advice then.

[Blessing]

Of what?

[Snowbike Mike]

Which part of being out of the limelight, just being CEO?

[Blessing]

I hope so, right? But like, here's the thing. I think people would go either way with it because I think Phil Spencer, one of the things he did that worked for him was being very personable and being able to present himself as somebody who knows video games and loves video games. And honestly, he probably knows video Games and loves video games. I believe that about him. But that doesn't automatically make you a great CEO. That doesn't automatically make you a great leader. And I think he had, he's a man that, that as a corporate leader had failings and probably had things he did that were like, probably good for the, for the brand. I don't look at that and go, damn, Phil Spencer, that was a fantastic CEO. We're gonna miss him. I don't really care. Like, I, I'm more so invested in Microsoft is moving. Like we're taking this, this CEO and this president, we're removing them and replacing them with somebody who previously did AI, who was previously the head of core AI. For me, that's the thing that I find interesting. I don't care about the faces behind it now I say all that and I'll say, I think Phil Spencer as a person seems pretty cool.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah, right.

[Blessing]

Like I've, when everything went down on Friday, I was reading different tweets from or different posts from people that are essentially like, dude, yeah, wouldn't. I'm a journalist. And when Phil Spencer, when I was sick, Phil Spencer like DM me and asked me if I was good. I think Imran said that. I've had other people, I've seen other people say that I've had good episodes of P.S. i love you or me and Greg have had like good conversations on P.S. love you where Phil Spencer has slid into my DMs and was like, hey, I listened to your guys conversation. It was, it was a really great conversation. Like I think Phil Spencer as a, just as a dude, pretty solid. Like I, I, I do believe that about him. And I'm saying this also as somebody who's met him at events and all this shit, right? As a leader, as a CEO, I'm not going to sit here and act like he was the fucking best CEO in the world. In fact, I can, I'm not even going to act here and act like he was a good CEO. But I think you, I think people are able to separate those things and talk about those things.

[Snowbike Mike]

That's well said. That's well said.

[Blessing]

We're late in the show and so we'll do one more super chat from Last Geek who writes in and says, what's your favorite demo from Steam next Fest?

[Snowbike Mike]

Oh, I'm gonna steal Blessings because he was playing it. It's that Croak game. That game looks absolutely awesome. Bless. And I want to play more of it.

[Blessing]

Yeah, I mean that's my, the same One, I think Dench Attack. I don't know if that was part of Steam Next Fest technically because the demo came out a bit before. Yeah. But I'll shout out Dench Attack. That's the train game. That is like fast paced. You're doing like tricks with a train. The art style is like fucking crazy and vibrant and colorful. Reminds me of like a Dreamcast game sort of thing. But yeah, you're essentially doing. Playing.

[Snowbike Mike]

Oh, this is the crazy Train game.

[Blessing]

Yes. You're basically like playing Tony Hawk, but you're a train and you're trying to like get the highest score and do the objectives. Pretty fun.

[Snowbike Mike]

Okay.

[Blessing]

But yeah, Croak is definitely a Croak is up. That's gonna be special when it comes out.

[Snowbike Mike]

A lot of people are talking about Windrows Chat, correct me if I'm wrong, which is a survival crafting pirate game.

[Blessing]

Wind Rose.

[Snowbike Mike]

I'm gonna try that tonight.

[Blessing]

Okay. Yeah, that sounds like a mic situation.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

Okay. Windrows. Okay.

[Producer/Moderator]

Is. Is this the. What's the Ubisoft.

[Snowbike Mike]

Remember when Fran Marabella put ridiculous amount of hours into that Ubisoft title? Pirates beyond or whatever the hell it's called. Caverns.

[Blessing]

What was it called?

[Snowbike Mike]

What was that?

[Blessing]

Skull and Bones.

[Snowbike Mike]

Thank you, Bones me and.

[Producer/Moderator]

This looks like the true promise of Skull and Bones.

[Snowbike Mike]

Me and Washy played Skull and Bones for a grand total of three hours one night. And we promised each other we're never playing this again. It's trash. Fran Marabella on Twitch. 40 plus hours into it, she's like, oh, my God, what are you doing?

[Producer/Moderator]

Jesus, Fran.

[Blessing]

Let's hop into kind of funny dot com, you're wrong where you write in. Let us know what we got wrong as we got it wrong so we can correct it. For those watching later on YouTube and listening later on podcast services around the globe, we have only one from Lilvia 1990 who says Back Rooms, the analog horror YouTube series, was created by Kane Pixels but didn't originate with him. It's an ongoing lore creation by many people posting liminal spaces.

[Snowbike Mike]

Thank you.

[Blessing]

The more I learn about the back rooms, the less I understand it.

[Snowbike Mike]

Dude. Bless.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

Sometimes I think to myself, I'm like, I want to be pushed into the back room. I want to clip out.

[Blessing]

We can make that content. I think we can. We can do that.

[Snowbike Mike]

You know what would be a great one? Halloween. Halloween Horror nights down at Universal. They make a back rooms giant maze.

[Blessing]

I like that.

[Snowbike Mike]

That would be fun. But you'd have to make it really big.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

It has to feel kind of endless. And the back rooms is this feeling of like I'm just seeing the same thing over and over again and there is no end. There is no corner. There's no end of it. I just. I go from one way to the other way and I'm just lost in this endless sea.

[Blessing]

That's crazy. That's nice.

[Snowbike Mike]

Clip me in.

[Blessing]

Now, Bear, what if we just put on the Mortal Kombat 2 trailer and said, fuck it. Like, let's. Let's take the stream. Let's take the. Like.

[Producer/Moderator]

I'd really. I'm sorry.

[Blessing]

Tim's on vacation.

[Snowbike Mike]

You know, I mean, he's CEO Junior, though. He's Tim Junior Too.

[Producer/Moderator]

I'm CEO and Tim Junior he has. And even though Greg is back from Dice, when he left for Dice, he did tell me to keep y' all in line. And so this is one where I have to put my foot down. I'm sorry.

[Blessing]

Damn. I mean, he's tough.

[Snowbike Mike]

But what if we go do a Greg way?

[Blessing]

I mean, now you're asking me to do more work. I do what I get paid to do here, Mike.

[Snowbike Mike]

Right.

[Blessing]

I guess I was getting paid to do Greg.

[Snowbike Mike]

We're talking Resident Evil.

[Blessing]

I'll do Greg way. I.

[Snowbike Mike]

Okay, we'll do a Greg way together. I played Resident Evil. I'm excited to talk about it and I can't wait to hear the review today on the stream because it's a big deal. Gamescast Resident Evil 9 How good is it?

[Blessing]

How good is it? You'll have to tune in to see. Of course, this has been kind of funny. Games Daily. If you love what we do. Remember you can support us with the kind of funny membership on Patreon or YouTube to get our shows ad free and get a daily exclusive show. Enjoy the Resident Evil Requiem review right after this and a whole bunch of content after. But until next time. Game Daily

[Snowbike Mike]

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