PlayStation Announces State of Play, Teases Wolverine! - Kinda Funny Games Daily 05.20.26

Summary

Kinda Funny Games Daily – May 20, 2026

Episode Theme:
A major PlayStation State of Play is announced for June, promising big reveals (including Marvel’s Wolverine), alongside coverage of new industry shifts, game announcements, and insider discussion on the evolving state of major franchises and studios.

Hosts:

• Andy Cortez
• Roger Porny

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the breaking news of PlayStation’s upcoming State of Play—with significant focus on its Wolverine showcase and the unprecedented move to screen the event at Alamo Drafthouse theaters nationwide. The hosts also dissect several industry stories (Lord of the Rings RPG, Xbox’s leadership shake-ups, Returnal director’s new studio, and more), predict surprises, and share community reactions. The tone is fun, snappy, and rich with off-the-cuff humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Big News: PlayStation State of Play Announced

Timestamps: 08:40 – 19:35

• PlayStation’s next State of Play: Tuesday, June 2nd, 2:00pm PT; 60 minutes long.
• Headliner: First proper gameplay of Marvel’s Wolverine from Insomniac (release: Sept 15, 2026 for PS5).
• Event will be screened in-person at select Alamo Drafthouse theaters—first time for a State of Play.

Hosts’ Insights:

• This is viewed as a potential “showcase-level” event, not just a routine State of Play.
• Roger: “You can’t put butts in fucking seats... just to watch some random DLC.” (11:40)
• Speculation on the format: will there be live crowd cuts, regional events, themed merch/activities?

Hype & Predictions:

• The panel expects “at least two to three big moments,” beyond Wolverine; touts possible reveals:
  • Hollow Knight: Silksong
  • Half-Life 3 (tongue-in-cheek)
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3
  • Kingdom Hearts IV
  • New God of War, Intergalactic, Ape Escape rumors
  • Bloodborne (wishful thinking)
• Discussion of how this sets expectations for future in-theater, community-based PlayStation events.
• Community feedback: strong desire for new first-party reveals and a diversified lineup.

“If they set the precedent that we’re only going to put the big showcases in theaters, I don’t think that’s necessarily a great thing... It sets kind of dangerous expectations for your fan base.” – Andy (14:37)

2. Marvel’s Wolverine: What to Expect

Timestamps: 09:40 – 19:13

• Wolverine gameplay will be the event’s opener—expectation-setting for the showcase, and high excitement.
• The hosts hope starting with Wolverine will signal that even bigger surprises could follow.

3. State of Play’s In-Theater Experiment

Timestamps: 09:57 – 18:38

• PlayStation leveraging its recent acquisition of Alamo Drafthouse.
• Discussion of past and potential future efforts to put game trailers and events in theaters.
• Desire for these to become social, fan-oriented occasions—not just screenings.

“I want some standees, PlayStation popcorn buckets... they should be leaning into this and making this a mini-PSX at these locations.” – Roger (18:04)

4. Predictions & Fan Hopes

Timestamps: 16:04 – 21:49

• Speculation on shadow drops (esp. Witcher 3 DLC), upcoming RPGs, and third-party exclusives.
• Will PlayStation and Summer Game Fest (Geoff Keighley’s event, a few days later) split “big get” reveals?
• Community super chats express excitement, want more than just God of War, Intergalactic, and Wolverine.

5. Industry News Roundup

a. Kingdom Come Developer’s Lord of the Rings RPG

Timestamps: 27:15 – 33:55

• Warhorse Studios (Kingdom Come: Deliverance) to helm a new open-world Middle-earth RPG.
• High expectations due to their reputation for simulation-style details.
• Cautious optimism: “I want a Middle Earth game in that style... but not too much simulation.” – Andy

b. Xbox Leadership Expansions

Timestamps: 37:28 – 45:23

• Xbox brings in Matthew Ball (strategy), Scott Van Vale (tech/AI/Amazon experience), and promotes Chris Schnakenberg.
• Cautious discussion about leadership focused on AI, shifting console strategy, and Amazon-exec track records.
• Hosts stress that execution and the vision of new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma matter most.

c. Returnal Director Founds New Studio

Timestamps: 45:23 – 48:30

• Harry Krueger unveils Cosmic Division, working on a new single-player IP: “an unapologetically gameplay-first experience and a story with strong emotional resonance.”
• Reflects trend of AAA leads founding smaller, agile studios.

d. Hasbro Cancels Dungeon & Dragons Game from Jedi: Fallen Order’s Stig Asmussen

Timestamps: 48:30 – 51:31

• High-profile cancellation amid Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast restructuring.
• “You don't want to...sound the alarms...but…this is still a bummer.” – Andy

e. Quantic Dream Kills Live Service “Spellcasters” Game

Timestamps: 53:47 – 55:18

• Their MOBA title dead within three months; layoffs expected.
• Market for new multiplayer games is “crowded and brutal.”
• General worry about Quantic Dream’s future—even with Star Wars: Eclipse in dev.

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Notable Quotes

• Roger (11:15): “This is going to be the big one...this is a showcase level event.”
• Andy (14:54): “I do think PlayStation is missing a little bit of that...big press conferences that brought the entire fan base together.”
• Andy (28:13): “You could not have really come up with a better combination of stuff for me to hear...a new Lord of the Rings RPG from the Kingdom Come devs.”
• Roger (41:00): “It makes sense that they are focusing and doubling down...on the strategy of console, which genuinely feels like an impossible task when it comes to Xbox.”
• Andy (55:02): “Regardless of the quality, there are so many great games being made that still can’t find player bases.”

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Memorable/Funny Moments

• Andy and Roger’s opening tangent about coffee stirrers, teeth stains, and car toolkits (00:00–02:52).
• Debates over pre-show pizza bets for Alamo Draft House’s State of Play screening (“Pizza bet: Will they have a themed pre-show?” 23:15).
• Community banter about Baldur’s Gate 3 campaigns, “frog-type” games, and Andy’s Mario spelling bee (61:01).

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Quick Hit News (“We News Channel” segment)

Timestamps: 55:27 – 59:25

• Embracer spins off “Fellowship Entertainment,” bundling Middle-earth Enterprises, Crystal Dynamics, Warhorse, etc.
• Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is April’s US best-seller.
• Splitgate devs working on a Titanfall spiritual successor: Impulse.
• Ubisoft: Next Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Ghost Recon in dev, but this year will be a “low point.”
• Moonlighter 2 and Titanium Court sales milestones.

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Community Super Chats & Engagement

Timestamps: 59:25 – 63:58

• Listeners share predictions, childhood gaming milestones, and encourage future indie devs.
• Example: “GTA 6 Trailer 3 will be one more thing at a state of play...” (63:40)
• Celebrations for Mario Wonder (“Sebastian...beat his first game!” 60:54)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – Opening Banter (coffee talk, show open)
• 06:42 – Witcher 3 Blood & Wine, expansion expectations
• 08:40 – Roper Report: PlayStation State of Play Announcement
• 09:57 – State of Play in theaters, Alamo Drafthouse strategy
• 11:14 – Showcase predictions and hype
• 16:04 – Community reactions & predictions
• 27:15 – Kingdom Come Lord of the Rings RPG
• 37:28 – Xbox leadership changes
• 45:23 – Returnal director forms Cosmic Division
• 48:30 – Hasbro D&D game cancellation
• 53:47 – Quantic Dream’s MOBA shutdown
• 55:27 – “We News Channel” quick hits
• 59:25 – Super Chats/Community Q&A

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Summary

This episode is a must-listen for gaming fans eager for PlayStation’s State of Play and major industry trends. The hosts balance detailed, insightful analysis with sharp wit and humor; they preview what could be a “year of dreams” moment for PlayStation, break down why the State of Play going theatrical matters, analyze the flood of new RPG and franchise announcements, and explore the shifting landscape for both AAA and indie studios. Community interaction shines, with predictions, jokes, and authentic gaming love threaded throughout.

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Closing Reminder:
Stay tuned for upcoming Gamescast (Subnautica 2 review), and thank you for supporting with your ears, eyes, and super chats!

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Transcript

[Andy Cortez]

Today's gaming news stories include PlayStation announces a June State of Play. King McComb Studio has officially announced a Lord of the Rings RPG and Xbox expands its leadership. We'll have all this and more because this is kind of funny. Games daily. Okay, so I don't know what your big deal is with me and my little coffee stir.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. Because.

[Andy Cortez]

And carrying multiples, there's a lot of things going on.

[Roger Porny]

Like, Tim brought you your cough.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

Which I was like, what's that situation?

[Andy Cortez]

Well, let's put on my desk. I didn't. I didn't. I. I didn't want to, like, I. I basically didn't want to get caught by Barrett of, like, me leaving the desk.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Like, I don't want to disappoint him. Yeah. Like you disappoint him all.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

What would make this day different, though? Well, I just, like, I've done it enough. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. And I've done it multiple times this week.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, it's. I was interested in that. Right. Because, like, Tim is your boss, you know, so it's kind of weird to ask him something like that's kind of.

[Andy Cortez]

I was like, hey, kid. Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

You want to come to the big time?

[Andy Cortez]

Go ahead. Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

And then you had a little stir, like the little, like, black show Show. The.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, it's a video stir. It's a little like a coffee stir,

[Roger Porny]

which I call the mini straws, but they're not mini straws. They just have a hole in them.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

And then you put it in there and you start drinking. I was like, wait, how did. First of all, Starbucks doesn't have that. Right. And then why.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay, so I. I don't want my teeth to. The front of my teeth be getting hit by the front of the coffee because. Becomes a barrage of coffee stain.

[Roger Porny]

Okay. Stain. It's not coldness. It's not like.

[Andy Cortez]

No, it's just more of like. I don't want that. My. The front of my teeth to be getting hit by that. Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

Because you're an on camera personality.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. And, you know, it's dentistry work. Can only do so much. Roger.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

So I get the small. I get this. I bought a multi pack of coffee stirs. And I like. I also like the little hole in them.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, I do. I like that.

[Andy Cortez]

That's a sentence.

[Roger Porny]

That's a great.

[Andy Cortez]

I like the little hole because I don't like a whole lot of liquid

[Roger Porny]

hole and whole lot of it.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. And then. So when I get in my car, I have a An L shaped like screwdriver tool kind of just on my glove compartment. Not a glove compartment but like you know, set a console and I stick it in this hole to like make it a little bit wider which is like this is the hole where steam comes out. And then I stick the coffee stir straw in there and then that's my main method to get the liquid into my body.

[Roger Porny]

So you have a L shaped screwdriver that you use specifically to poke a

[Andy Cortez]

hole, a bigger hole into the lid.

[Roger Porny]

In your lid.

[Andy Cortez]

And then I, I extra coffee stir in my pocket just in case.

[Roger Porny]

I just love the priorities here. Do you know if you have like an extra spare tire or like.

[Andy Cortez]

Of course I do.

[Roger Porny]

Okay. Just make.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, I'm very good at making sure. It's one thing I'm proud of cuz I've had to change a tire like seven times. Oh wow.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, that's a little bit too many times. Yeah, well, driving over the, the, the nail cemetery.

[Andy Cortez]

No, I remember one time when I was in my band we had to. We had a real bad van. We had a really bad van.

[Roger Porny]

Tons of holes in those tires.

[Andy Cortez]

Did not belong. It was not road ready. This vehicle.

[Roger Porny]

Road ready or road.

[Andy Cortez]

Welcome to Kind of Funny Games daily for Wednesday, May 20, 2026. I am Andy Cortez and I'm joined by Roger Porny. The lock, the draw on our blessings.

[Roger Porny]

No, yeah, he doesn't like that anymore.

[Andy Cortez]

Roger, you brought up a little game called Everything is Crab.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, everything is crab. I actually saw a northern lion.

[Andy Cortez]

Northern lion.

[Roger Porny]

Northern lion. Yeah, northern lion. And I go my bald goat now. And now he was playing that over on his stream and then I was like, oh, I want to play this game. And I went into the GamesCo chat and boom. There were some codes there. I was like, oh shit, let me redeem one of them. I've been playing this for last like two nights and I'm really enjoying it. It's kind of like a vampire crawlers like type vibe, right? But it's not really like the enemies are coming.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, you mean survivors or sorry for survivors. Well, you know what Steam named that genre?

[Roger Porny]

What do they call it?

[Andy Cortez]

Steam finally like added a genre for that thing for that, this video game and they called it Bullet Heaven.

[Roger Porny]

Bullet? Yeah, yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

I mean, hey, don't fuck it. They'll shoot the messenger.

[Roger Porny]

I like Bullet Ballet, like Soros, that

[Andy Cortez]

was a different genre, you know, but like a vampire survivors, like they're no longer saying it's a survivors, like you know, Bullet Heaven.

[Roger Porny]

But yeah, the Idea here is sort of like that, right? So you're running around as this little crab without a shell, and you have these random enemies around there that you're fighting. And you, you know, you eat their, you know, I guess, corpse, essentially. And then you get the three upgrades, right, that pop up where it's like, you know, you can get a longer beak, so then you can attack enemies from further. You can get a gorilla upgrade, so then, you know, you're stronger. But the cool thing about it is, is that, as you can see from this trailer, your little character can then, like, physically upgrades. Like, you see, like, the gorilla element on it, and then you see the beak element on it. So it's like kind of like spore in that or like something like. It's like, very procedural. And it's reminds me of We Build a Zoo. I think that's the name of that game which has a lot of procedural elements. When you start to.

[Andy Cortez]

We Bought a Zoo.

[Roger Porny]

We. No, we make a zoo. Whatever. There's a game like that.

[Andy Cortez]

Matt Damon has a movie called We Bought a Zoo. Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

But either there's a game, something like that. It's on game pass or whatever. I played it, whatever. But it has that procedural element, so it's fun to see. Like, oh, I have this beak and I have a gazelle horn. But then the. Also, it has, like, a lot of different layers where you're running around. And it is this kind of ecosystem where the enemies aren't necessarily coming at you. They are fighting each other a lot of the times. So you see, like, a little flies getting attacked by, you know, a kangaroo or something crazy.

[Andy Cortez]

You're not the only. You're not the only prey.

[Roger Porny]

Exactly. And you see a lot of, as the trailer is showing right now, a lot of fun side characters that are, like. You have points of interest where it's like, oh, this character is like, you know, a super thief or whatever that's stealing things. And you can run over there. You could try to get that. You have different biomes and ecosystems that, you know, if you're in the cold area, you can freeze really fast. You can turn on fire when you're in the heat area. And then you also have mini bosses, which is really fun. So it breaks up the game. And you have a timeline. So it's a real.

[Andy Cortez]

Is that the structure?

[Roger Porny]

Yes, exactly. And I'm just, like, very much at the beginning, this game goes really deep. It has, like, I think, like, eight separate, like, sections. I'm like, haven't even finished the first One. Right. So it's like super early on, but it's a fun little one to tinker on. It's very easy to pick up. And then you're like, oh, this is a lot. It's. At first I was like, oh, maybe it's too simple. Maybe I don't understand what, what the hype is. And you're like, oh, this is deep. Like, this is a very well constructed video game. So I, I think it's eight bucks right now. Nine bucks.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

So check it out on theme. I think you should. Everyone should try it out.

[Andy Cortez]

Evermore Delin says knew Roger was an NL fan.

[Roger Porny]

The ball to bald connection.

[Andy Cortez]

I mean, it's you.

[Roger Porny]

He's the only normal.

[Andy Cortez]

You gotta support. You gotta support.

[Roger Porny]

Exactly, exactly.

[Andy Cortez]

I love nl. Like, incredible. I. I don't think I've ever watched a Northern lion stream.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, I only watched the clips from

[Andy Cortez]

the library, but it's all like just clips. But when I was on Tick Tock a lot more. But before I like, you know, fully did the uninstall of it, I was getting a lot of NL clips. And yeah, he always makes you like. He's very, very funny. Well, last night I started a little DLC for a video game called the Witcher 3.

[Roger Porny]

Oh, wow. Are you streaming it?

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. Oh my God. Blood and Wine.

[Roger Porny]

Mike in the chat telling you to stop playing it?

[Andy Cortez]

No, but I did have somebody in the YouTube chat pop in and say, I bet you he doesn't even like this game. He's just doing this for like the views. Like he's faking his love for this. And I was like, I am. And luckily it's such a short game. I don't have to fake it for very long. Yeah, I've been streaming this game for goddamn 100 hours. Main campaign. I beat the first DLC, Hearts of Stone. That was amazing. And I started Blood and Wine last night and good Lord, what an experience.

[Roger Porny]

I gotta play one day, dude.

[Andy Cortez]

CD Projekt ready just. They, they just do things differently. And I should have known that with Phantom Liberty and how, you know, even when we had the CD project Red Devs here, we had Radic here and, and one of the other developers, I'm blinking on their name, but they were like, we don't call them DLCs, we call them expansions. These are not just little things, these are gigantic additions to the world. And holy. Completely correct there. You're really milking those views of, you know, timely streaming it ten years after.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, that's good though. It's Your anniversary?

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

Good.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. Yeah. Luckily it's such a short game as well. Yeah. Because I haven't been playing.

[Roger Porny]

How long is this DLC for?

[Andy Cortez]

Apparently about 30 to 40 hours.

[Roger Porny]

Sick.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, it's. It's really sick, dude. It's really sick. God, it's unbelievable. Like, I. After beating the first dlc, I loved it. And while playing it and how even though I was enjoying the hell out of it, everybody was like, dude, you think this is peak? It's like Blood and Wine is the pinnacle of expansion.

[Roger Porny]

DLC might get another pinnacle.

[Andy Cortez]

I don't know, man. I'm like lower. I'm lowering my expectations on a. On this supposed rumored Witcher 3 DLC. I'm lowering expectations for it. I'm like, maybe this doesn't happen.

[Roger Porny]

Well, it's on my fantasy.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm doing what I'm doing. That's true.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. We got to say it's high.

[Andy Cortez]

We got to do the same thing with Half Life 3. It's just. It's never going to come up.

[Roger Porny]

Well, that's never going to come out.

[Andy Cortez]

That was never happening, everybody.

[Roger Porny]

Hi.

[Andy Cortez]

If you love watching life, be a part of the show by super chatting on YouTube.com forward/kind of funny games. We couldn't do this without our producers on patreon.com forward/kind of funny. So thank you so much to the amazing Carl Jacobs, the amazing Omega Buster and the amazing 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 seven stories today. Roger. Big news. State of play returns Tuesday, June 2nd. This comes from Tim Ty at the PlayStation Blog. There will be 60 minutes of updates, announcements and gameplay reveals from top studios around the world. To kick things off, you'll get a closer look at Marvel's Wolverine. Insomniac Games will share more from its upcoming third person action adventure game showing off Logan's brutal, brutal and relentless combat. Along with some new details. This all new take on the comic book legend launches on PS5 September 15th. Watch the State to Play broadcast live Tuesday, June 2nd at 2pm PT. And additionally, there's going to be some screenings at Alamo drafthouses around the country.

[Roger Porny]

This is big. That's a big one right there. I mean it makes a lot of sense, right? Like they own it now. They own all of Alamo. So you, you would have, you've seen the Go connect.

[Andy Cortez]

Totally, totally. Didn't even think of that.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, yeah, they bought, they bought him a few Maybe a year ago. And. And, you know, coincidentally, everything's been getting worse over there, but whatever. Yeah, they've been doing, like, the ghost stuff. They did like a. Like a film festival where they were showing some ghost yot stuff over there. So, yeah, they're doing all these stuff. I'm excited. Actually. We'll be on. I'll be flying back. So I'm. I was gonna be like, I can go to New York and try to watch that there.

[Andy Cortez]

Do you think they'll be cutting between footage of people getting all hyped, like.

[Roger Porny]

Oh, like a live stream, Like. Like all of. Like there'll be cameras there.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, may, like, maybe. Who knows? Not like a camera crew, but just like, in the way that whenever, like,

[Roger Porny]

Nintendo does their thing, whenever the New

[Andy Cortez]

York Knicks are playing in the playoffs and then they're playing away, but then it cuts back to, like, here's the home crowd on this bar or whatever. New York. And it's like, everybody's getting all hyped or whatever.

[Roger Porny]

No, well, I. I think they're going to have a lot of social clips. I think you're gonna see that, right? They're gonna have the crews in, like, the big areas. That's like, oh, my God, look when they announce Bloodborne 4. Holy. Oh, my God.

[Andy Cortez]

How did they get 2 and 3?

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, I mean, they skipped it. Like, Ghost goats him later. I'm have a feeling, Andy.

[Andy Cortez]

Y have a feeling.

[Roger Porny]

Y' all have a feeling.

[Andy Cortez]

Go ahead.

[Roger Porny]

This is gonna be the big one. It's got to be the big one. No, I'm just saying, like, the big. Like, this is the. This is a showcase level event. Like, they're not gonna put this in fucking theaters if this is not going to be the Year of Dreams presentation. I feel like there's got to be a bunch of things here. You can't just have Wolverine. You can't just have one more. I think you got to have two to three big moments. Hollow Knight, Silksong. Finally here. Half Life 3. Finally here.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay, but it's got it.

[Roger Porny]

You can't put button fucking seats. I don't know if they're charging for this, but, like, you can't tell everybody, hey, go to an Alamo draft house, spend $45 on a fucking truffle popcorn. So to watch, you know, some random DLC of a game you don't care about.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay. But on the flip side, to play devil's advocate, put some little horns on me. Barrett, with the graphics. Real life. Yeah, Real time sim. Real time graphics. What if this is just their attempt to make this a regular thing, to

[Roger Porny]

just put it in theaters, like. Like when Nintendo. They always have the reactions. It's like, come to the Nintendo store, right?

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. It's just their attempt at trying to make it a regular thing. Because if they set the precedent that we're only going to put the big showcases in theaters, I don't think that's necessarily a great thing. Again, maybe. Who knows whether the state of play will have the juice necessarily. But I. I think. I don't know.

[Roger Porny]

I think what they do if I was them, is every June you have their big June one in theaters. You don't do the. The Japanese version. You don't do the one that's earlier in the year. You do the June one every single year. And that is like, that they re cement that this is their E3 level presentation. We're doing it every June. Here it is. It's in theaters. It is what it is. We're not.

[Andy Cortez]

We're.

[Roger Porny]

We are back on the summer Game Fest bandwagon properly. And that's the way they cemented. I mean, even the image that I saw over on. I think it was the Alamo. The way they're promoting it. It like has a different background. Like, it's black. It like. Yeah, that kind of like PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 vibe there with like the contrast there. So it feels different. It feels unique. I do. I do have. I'm not saying I'm making the joke, right, that it has to have a million announcements, right. But yeah, as Bear is pulling up, right. There could definitely be Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3. You definitely can show intergalactic. I think it is about time you have Wolverine starting off the show. It's just kicking off the show, right? So like, that's an amazing start there. You have so many games in the pipeline here. There's this rumors of, you know, what's going on with Ape Escape.

[Andy Cortez]

Maybe Ape Escapes what's happening. Maybe the Ape Escape rumors as well.

[Roger Porny]

Mis rumors, right? Like, there is a lot here. And again, we can get hype. We can get.

[Andy Cortez]

Cory Barlog's posting a lot, right?

[Roger Porny]

Cory Barlog is posting a lot. Kingdom Hearts for someone saying in the chat, right? There is so too much shit to. To. To put in this showcase that you can just kind of get your. Your hype too high. But from what they did last time and them ratcheting this up and putting this in theaters, you have to expect this is going to be more impressive

[Andy Cortez]

even I would love if they did set that precedent that June was the in theater one because then that would, that would prevent us from either getting too crazy about future ones or getting too down on current ones or whatever. Like, yeah, the idea that like the June one is always in theaters.

[Roger Porny]

Yep.

[Andy Cortez]

Regardless of whether it pops off or not. There may be one that pops off in October, there may be one that pops off in February or whatever.

[Roger Porny]

Still this year.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, yeah. Much like this year's was, was really fantastic. But I would love if they did set that precedent because I don't love the idea that oh, this one's in theaters also. This one has to be huge too. Like I think that's sets kind of dangerous expectations for your fan base.

[Roger Porny]

I think it is important for the fan base to have these moments. Right. Even Xbox is bringing back their Xbox Fan Fest. Right. So they do see, I mean Xbox is definitely very much in third place and they need that community outreach and they are trying to, you know, connect with the average Xbox gamer to kind of elevate them all. But still, I do think PlayStation is missing a little bit of that. Right. After all the changes in leadership with the missing of PS X, with these missing of these massive press conferences that brought the entire fan base together, I do think that they need a win, which is, hey, everybody go to a Sony owned movie theater that should be in your area or near your area and you know, hype out, hype up with your friends. You know, have the social clips, you know, take photos in front of fucking Wolverine cutouts. Like I do think this is important for the PlayStation brand.

[Andy Cortez]

Scoopy with a two dollar super chat says I got Alamo tickets for Chicago. Hope to see some kind of funny best friends. Go look out. Go look for Scooby. Just yell out Scoopy 5 Scoopy in Chicago. Anywhere in Chicago. Aaron Lime with a five dollar super chat, thank you for your support. Over on the YouTube Super Chat says hoping Sony shows more first parties that come out after Wolverine can't just be intergalactic and God of War need more than just one game to be hyped for.

[Roger Porny]

So I'm looking at my predictions the way that I wrote them down in the beginning of the year for 2026 and one of them coincidentally was Witcher 3 DLC Shadow Drop. During that.

[Andy Cortez]

Wow.

[Roger Porny]

What do we, what are we thinking? Do you think there's a possibility that we see the Witcher 3 DLC at the PlayStation conference?

[Andy Cortez]

Rather.

[Roger Porny]

Well, I'm already saying conference. You know, I mean right back. We're so bad.

[Andy Cortez]

No, you're so you know, you're so right. You're so right, Roger. But I do wonder how much of that juice gets saved for Achille presentation for a summer game Fest because we're

[Roger Porny]

only a few days afterwards.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

After that. Right. That's the fifth, I believe. Right.

[Andy Cortez]

So now unless we get a couple of these like now. Stay tuned for more at Summer Game Fest. Here's just an early glimpse or whatever.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Similar to the preview of the preview.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Or the teaser for the teaser trailer that. That comes out in film. JB Bonifacio with a five dollar super chat says, bro, the Alamo Draft House site has crashed because of Sony state of play. Can we normalize seeing more video game trailers in theaters, please?

[Roger Porny]

I mean, again, PlayStation has been doing this for. I think they were showing trailers for what was the latest. I'm trying to think of the latest PlayStation games, but yeah, they were showing like actual PlayStation trailers before movies at Alamo and things like that.

[Andy Cortez]

I think it was Marvel's Spider Man 2 they're doing that for.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. And they just did one recently. I remember seeing too. Whatever. Yeah, they're doing it more. Which is, which is neat. I think that is. That is a fun connection right there.

[Andy Cortez]

I would love if they were to see success with this for these to be mini regional events where it's not just at one place that everybody has to get their asses out and fly out to. Because it become, you know, we're doing a PlayStation PSX conference in Seattle only and it's like, all right, well, hard for people to travel. But if you have these select locations that a community can still kind of get to and you have some PR there selling merch, whatever the hell. Like I would love for this to, you know, I'm excited to see whatever the lobbies may look like for these events. I hope it's not just buy a ticket you walk in and that.

[Roger Porny]

I think, I think it is going to be for the first one. I think again, I think maybe at the LA one they'll have some cameras there and make it like a bigger event. But like I think most of them are just going to be showing up. But that's a great point. Like they should have. I want some standees, PlayStation popcorn buckets. Right. Like they should, they should, they should be. They should be leaning into this and making this a, a mini PSX at these locations. Maybe show up a little early, you know, I mean maybe there's PlayStation themed hot dogs, you know, the Kratos Glizzy.

[Andy Cortez]

Right.

[Roger Porny]

Like get in There, there's. There's. There's a lot you can do there. I'm excited for that element of it, but I'm excited for this conference. I think there's going to be. Is what is like the biggest thing that you're thinking? Like, is there any locks other than Wolverine?

[Andy Cortez]

Of course.

[Roger Porny]

In your mind, Bun.

[Andy Cortez]

I was thinking just hot dog Bun. Like, Like Boy Kratos.

[Roger Porny]

Thank you, Bun. In the tone of Boy Bun, you're

[Andy Cortez]

right there with me. Well, I mean, you bringing up the Witcher gets me really excited about any. Anything that could show up here. Bear bringing up footage earlier of Final Fantasy episode three, you know, for the final part of the Final Fantasy VII trilogy. That definitely does open up the imagination a bit more.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Because if we start, I think it's an awesome thing to set a precedent and say we are starting off with Wolverine. You're going to get more footage at an upcoming massive video game from an IP that everybody knows, from a developer that if you're fans of us, you know, because they made all the Spider man games, that's how we're going to start off the show. And we have some other cool surprises after that. That gets me super pumped up.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Because now I'm thinking of not only seeing some of the other first parties, but what other third party. Say this sounds sick. We want to be a part of this.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

You know, like I. The. The imagination runs wild, you know.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Now I'm thinking of, you know, a lot of rumors out there about a FromSoftware game about the pirate one. The pirate one that I. I go, okay, well, is that just AI. There were other rumors of a past from software game as well called Spellbound and that was ended up being fake. So who knows? But there it does. It does, you know, tickle the brain and go, ooh, I'm excited for what else could be shown after this.

[Roger Porny]

But it is also interesting because people are bringing up in the chat right now, I see code VERONIC, DMC1 REMAKE. It's like, that's awesome. But also I see Capcom is like sort of equally a Keely event now. Right. Like, Keely is really, really tight with the Capcom people. I mean, the last two, three events have like featured heavily Capcom properties as like, the final things isn't like close to the final thing. So it is an interesting balance of like, do you just show us. Hey. And then we're gonna show it here. Like, what do you do with this being so close to Keely's event? I mean, a PlayStation Achille are close enough to where, you know, you get the certain announcements over there. So I do wonder how close this is going to be and if Keely is involved with. Okay, you take. You get this announcement and then I get the trailer here or I get the trailer at game awards, whatever you need.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, that's a great call from Jace Baldrige who says Tides of Annihilation, a game like that I think is a perfect thing to show up here. Phantom Blade Zero maybe like, I don't know. There's. There's a lot of stuff out there. Go ahead, Bear. Another one to shout out. Chat brought it up. Marvel took on Fighting Souls also coming, I think late summer. So this is a perfect opportunity to remind people about that who aren't just into the fighting game community. Like hardcore in the fighting game community. Right. Another one someone shouted out from chat. Maybe it's time finally for Star Wars Jedi 3.

[Roger Porny]

Yes, that's a really good one. That's a really good one.

[Andy Cortez]

Have they always been very. Have they been very PlayStation aligned in the past? I just wonder if they. Yeah, I don't know what they

[Roger Porny]

is

[Andy Cortez]

there, but yeah, I could see that this year.

[Roger Porny]

I mean SGF last year, Game awards Last year got two Lucasfilm LucasArts games, right? You got the, the two Star wars games there. You got the Star wars. What's the one? Old Republic, whatever, the New Republic, the one by the Bioware people. And then you got the racing game. So yeah, you have the, you have the two ones right there. I saw someone in there really quick. This is a simple one which I think is a slam dunk. Is Danganronpa 2x2 release date. That game has been announced. That is PlayStation associated pretty much always. I could see that one easily. It's a great one. Chat.

[Andy Cortez]

Have a super chat here. And for some reason it's not popping up in like the super chat list. But it did just go by. It did just go by on the stream a little while ago, but it was talking about that the state of play time length on the Alamo Drafthouse website says that it is 90 minutes. Oh, now is that just rounding up too? Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

Is there a pre show? Because Alamo always has the pre shows. They always have the good pre shows where it's like, yeah. Do you think they're gonna have a fun pre show like they always have before their movie?

[Andy Cortez]

I think they have to.

[Roger Porny]

I hope they do. I don't know if they treat live events differently, but I hope you have, you know, the fun Edit of Here's the best craziest moments in all of state of play and competition the most. You know let's, let's, let's talk about the, the dumbest blunders bloopers. They start selling the Connect one it's like what the.

[Andy Cortez]

And they're like ah, why do, why did we release. Why don't we make Lego Horizon or something like that? Well I mean hey, we could do a pizza bed right here. Roger. Will they have a themed pre show? I'll say no just for the pizza bet.

[Roger Porny]

I mean I said no too.

[Andy Cortez]

I'll say yes then.

[Roger Porny]

I don't know. Part of me feels like this is not coming in hot but I just don't necessarily. I, I, I, you would have to really show me that they tried. I just don't believe that. I think this is just like oh we could do this. Oh yeah, it's an easy. Let's just do that.

[Andy Cortez]

Let's just make that happen to sell or sell you. Was the person who sent in that super chat regarding the Alamo Draft House state of place. So thank you for the super chat right there and supporting the stream. Thank you to Giant Bomb for the raid over on Twitch. A lot of possibilities out there. A lot more super chats that we will be getting in here. But let us know what you think about what will happen with this state of play now. You guys are just getting me a little too excited. I need to, I need to bring back the X. I need to lower this. I don't know man. No, we got control.

[Roger Porny]

We got, we got so much. We got so many games.

[Andy Cortez]

We have a lot of, we have a lot of known quantities.

[Roger Porny]

Star Wars Eclipse and now known quantity.

[Andy Cortez]

Here we go.

[Roger Porny]

It's the moment, it's the moment it

[Andy Cortez]

nuts to, to David Cage going we don't even know if this game's coming

[Roger Porny]

out also why am I still here?

[Andy Cortez]

That's our update on this story number two Bear games. Oh I mean after that report which is not confirmed but the report of people saying internal tests are saying like they're struggling to find the fun with it. I'm like damn dude, every video game.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, but find the fun.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay, but we've seen so many, we've had so many games as a service games similar to something like High Guard where the devs and internal play tests are like dude, we can't stop playing this, this fucking game. The, the, the, the, the frog type game that was being made by the Bungee team that then split off to make the Frog type game.

[Roger Porny]

Frog type game?

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. What was it called?

[Roger Porny]

Gummy Bears.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, but yeah, the.

[Roger Porny]

That was a frog type game that

[Andy Cortez]

they were calling it. A frog type. Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

No. What?

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, like a frogger type. That's. And that's the joke that we made. It was like, is it a frogger game? What the hell does that mean? Because it was a. It was a destiny team that split off and was like Gummy bears. It's called Team lfg.

[Roger Porny]

Cat. You can't just say words like that. You can't say Gummy Bears is a frog type game. Like, without.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm telling you that. That the initial rumors were, it's a frog type. It's a frog. Like, that's. Those are the. The terms being used, as silly as it sounds.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Because we were like, I don't even know what the hell that means. But yes, Team lfg, which split off from Bungee when we hear rumors of their game. Roger, we hear that, man, people are just having a fucking blast with this. And they believe in it so much that they are splitting off a team and dedicating time and budget to this. When you have something like fair games with reports, again, I don't know how found it. So again, take it with a grain of salt. But when reports are like, man, there's. They aren't having the most fun testing this game, it gets me scared. Yeah, it gets me scared for the future of Jade Raymond Studio. Did she leave?

[Roger Porny]

She did leave.

[Andy Cortez]

Fuck. And they. They changed the dollar sign to a regular S, I believe. Ah, right, right. Xbox One all caps. You hear about that?

[Roger Porny]

I've been hearing a lot about that.

[Andy Cortez]

Remember when Greg said no cap on a show?

[Roger Porny]

He says sometimes. Yeah. He said he was goaded yesterday and I'd let that one slide.

[Andy Cortez]

I don't mind that. I think. I think, you know, no cap is. And he said it in like maybe where I draw.

[Roger Porny]

It's like it was like during, like a review for a game that locals clipped out. Like a serious one. I just like. It was just the funniest part about it.

[Andy Cortez]

Very Nick Scarpino energy. Yeah, for sure.

[Roger Porny]

Just throw that one out. Like, this game is like a nine out of ten. No Cap, like Craig Miller is incredible.

[Andy Cortez]

Story number two. The studio behind Kingdom Come, Deliverance Warhorse Studios has confirmed their next games. This comes from their Twitter account. You may have heard the rumors. It's time to reveal what we are working on. A new Kingdom Come adventure and an open world Middle Earth RPG bang. Look, Roger, you Could not have really come up with a better combination of stuff for me to hear. Knowing the quality that goes into the Kingdom Come Deliverance video games and pairing that with an IP like Lord of the Rings and it's all the right terms. This isn't a studio. You really, really want saying we're working on an extraction shooter in the Lord of the Rings universe or we are working on a shared world co op mmo. You are saying in an open world, Middle Earth rpg. Yes, all of those things sound perfectly from a studio that I think has the clout and the talent to be able to pull something like this off. Roger, what does this do for you?

[Roger Porny]

I'm excited for the idea behind it, of course. The last Lord of the Rings thing that I played, watched, enjoyed was Gollum. That was the game that. The last thing. I didn't watch the movies recently. I didn't do any of that.

[Andy Cortez]

But I am legit the only piece of media from.

[Roger Porny]

No, I've seen the movies when I was a kid. I saw the movies when I was a kid. I watched all the Hobbit movies in theaters. Fell asleep during two out of him during the final act.

[Andy Cortez]

That's not about right now.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, I got a. Whoa.

[Andy Cortez]

Sorry.

[Roger Porny]

No, it's okay. I thought. I thought Greg was coming up. You know, anytime something happens on the set, it's like, oh, is he about here? Come here. But yeah, I.

[Andy Cortez]

A game so bad that we named it the one on our review scale golf.

[Roger Porny]

Just Gollum. Gollum, man. I'm excited for it. I'm excited for the idea of it. I like the Two Towers game on the PS2 back in the day and I've never played Kingdom Come Deliverance, but this would absolutely get me in to at least pick it up and. And try to go deep as possible because I love those games and I love that universe.

[Andy Cortez]

I obviously know that Kingdom Come Deliverance two and Kingdom Come Deliverance are not games for everybody. They're not games that I would recommend. I played a. I played about five hours of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and enjoyed my time with it. It's just I was caught between a lot of other different video games and I always said I'd go back to it, to go play it, but just unfortunately never found the time for it. I do. I want a Middle Earth game in that style. No, I don't want a game that semi. Yeah, Kingdom Come Deliverance is very much. It is all about the minutia. It is all about those really, really small details that make this Feel like a simulation RPG where when you're making potions, you have to get that. You have to get, you know, the little minerals there and grind them up and then you have to. It is very like, it is even more granular than something like red Dead Redemption 2, which turns some people off where they go be a little bit more arcadey. I don't need you to be that like realistic in how you do things because that can kind of bog down the experience for some people. I appreciate the details in kingdom come, Deliverance 2, and I don't, but I, I enjoy them there. I don't want a Lord of the Rings game to necessarily reflect on a lot of those things. I don't want to be, you know, making lemba spread with the Most like crazy 30 minute. Like I have to, you know.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Roll the dough and all that stuff. I, I just want a really awesome, compelling open world game with awesome NPCs and locations and story turns and, you know, freedom of choosing different paths. Like if this all comes together, this could be an absolute all timer for me.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. I think my issue with what's going on with Middle Earth and the Lord of the Rings games and a little bit of the franchise is like, I think they need the person, they need the person at the top of this. That's like whether it is Peter Jackson, where it's the gaming version of that. Right. Like someone that loves this franchise, that Dixon. Yeah. Peter Jackson. Someone that understands it so deeply and is able to be a front facing voice and be like, hey, like this is what we're going for with, with Lord of the Rings because there's so many games in development that have come out, come and go. Gollum, you had the Shire game, you had so many random Lord of the Rings games. The four player dwarf, co op, co op game. Right. Like what was that? That was the, that was it wasn't that like a deep rock galactic type vibe?

[Andy Cortez]

No, it was more survival. Yeah. It wasn't like a roguelite. It was a. You were just a dwarf, but you were living in Mori. I think it was like mine something of more.

[Roger Porny]

It just comes and goes.

[Andy Cortez]

Right.

[Roger Porny]

Like, and, and I understand that this studio is going to kill it.

[Andy Cortez]

Right.

[Roger Porny]

But I just, I really wish that they just had the guy that's like the person that's going to be like, hey, I'm the head of this stuff. This is what we're going for here. This is what we're going for here. And I think you can create a really wide breadth of Video games. So, like, I think all of our hopes are kind of on this one game to be like the one. But they have. So they have a little whole division over at fucking Embracer that's doing this stuff. So I wish that they were a little bit better about kind of sprinkling them out and making them high quality and not just this one.

[Andy Cortez]

I, I guess when you are mentioning I want the guy. Yeah. For me knowing that that's not necessarily possible right now. Unless they made this a directive in the future and said, hey, from now on, hey, James Gunn, you're going to be running DC now.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

You know, whatever developer you are overseeing, everything, you know, Lord of the Rings or Tolkien related. For me, it's. They finally found like the dev, like they found the person. They found the superstar dev team with the talent and the, and the history and experience to show that, hey, we can really make an awesome video game. This was kind of all I needed because everything leading up to then was, ooh, that sounds like a cool idea. I hope they can pull it off. I remember playing the Shire Cozy game back at Summer Game Fest two years ago and just being like, yeah, yikes, not a great experience. But for me, I've just been waiting for. They finally have the dev. Yes. And hopefully this leads to more moments where they go, we can find another dev. Because that was so successful, it was worth putting our money into that expensive of an experience. We got so much return in it back, not just financially, but critically or whatever. Let's go for another expensive dev and see if they could kind of continue this.

[Roger Porny]

We have John Wick with Sabre. Right. Like we have, we have a lot of good ip is that are going to good devs, that especially Warhorse right there and Saber. Like, I think they're not in the same level, but like, you know, the same vibes of like you have, you have a huge hit now. You get a fucking IP and then you can run with that because we believe in you and you know, you can, can do it. So, yeah, I'm excited also.

[Andy Cortez]

So good, man. It's very good.

[Roger Porny]

I need to go back and actually like lock in. I think I just, as I was playing it, I was just like, man, I want, I just want to just play Gears of War.

[Andy Cortez]

It's got like the best I know of all time. Near the end of it also you

[Roger Porny]

guys, me, because we're playing it together.

[Andy Cortez]

No, don't say you guys. I wasn't a part of that.

[Roger Porny]

You were part of it.

[Andy Cortez]

No, you were playing with Me? No, it was you, Blessing and Mike.

[Roger Porny]

Oh, Andy. After the Baldur's gay thing, I just blame you on everything. I just blame you on everything.

[Andy Cortez]

When are we gonna get back to a balls gay place?

[Roger Porny]

You. Me. Don't talk to me.

[Andy Cortez]

No, you, you, me.

[Roger Porny]

No, no, no, no, no. We're playing the game. Having fun. You'd be headed that's okay. The game let me do it. Why would the game let me do it if I can't do it? Oh, I didn't know there were unwritten rules. Didn't know I could. I can't role play the way we want to role play.

[Andy Cortez]

Be more imaginative than just killing everybody.

[Roger Porny]

Be imagine you guys are doing the same thing always. I'm showing you something you've never seen before. You've never seen this happen. No one's ever done this of the game. We were brave.

[Andy Cortez]

Nobody's gone an all kill route. Yes.

[Roger Porny]

No one's ever done it before. Mike and I were showing you something fun. Have fun with it, Andy. It's not a real thing. Go to. We got.

[Andy Cortez]

I. I played my playthrough so I'm fine with it now. Now I'm.

[Roger Porny]

Oh, now you. Now. Now I can't have my fun. Now I can do what I want to do. Yeah, you were outvoted. You were outvoted.

[Andy Cortez]

If you want to have a worse experience, go for it. I'm. I'm totally okay with that. If you want to maybe.

[Roger Porny]

Maybe they come back at the end,

[Andy Cortez]

no consequences.

[Roger Porny]

Then we tape the head back on, walks around.

[Andy Cortez]

She's fine. We could have Bern. Everybody, this has been a great show so far and thank you to everybody for supporting. And if you're supporting on Patreon, you could be watching ad free right now. But since you're not watching ad free and you're watching live, here's a word from our sponsors.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Do you smell it in the air? It's review season and it's only going to get crazier. Forza, Soros, Lego Batman and so much more is coming soon. And that's on top of games daily in review, screencast, kind of funny, podcast and our streams. Our small 11 person team couldn't do it without your support. Over on patreon.com kind of funny. That's the best place to support us and keep updated on all of our podcasts as they happen. Get shows ad free and access exclusive content. But if you don't got a buck to toss our way, we've got you covered. Head over to our Spotify Podcast feeds, follow, watch, listen and rate us. We've been getting a lot of support from new eyes over there, and your help goes a long way. And Spotify even has video versions of all of our podcasts if you like looking at our beautiful faces. So head over to Spotify, Rate, comment and follow to keep up with all of our upcoming reviews and daily gaming coverage.

[Andy Cortez]

So me, Greg and Nick Baldur's Gate three run. That's your pitch?

[Roger Porny]

I didn't have to leak it. That was a private thing. But yeah, that's my pitch.

[Andy Cortez]

I felt like that's something special, like we were laughing constantly.

[Roger Porny]

You fucked it up. You did this to yourself.

[Andy Cortez]

Did I?

[Roger Porny]

You. You invited Mike on a separate play. I felt like the kid that was kicked out of the, you know, the gym. I can't hang out with them.

[Andy Cortez]

You were.

[Roger Porny]

I was. It was very sad. It's very personal.

[Andy Cortez]

I saw a great comment also.

[Roger Porny]

Mike was part of it. Like, why was Mike invited? Mike did the thing with me. Why was I the one that was singled out?

[Andy Cortez]

Well, because we stream at night and

[Roger Porny]

you, you know, I didn't get the text. You have a thing. What do you think?

[Andy Cortez]

I don't know. It's just, you know, had more fun, you know. Story number three Xbox expands leadership team with major hires. This comes from Christopher Dring at the games business. Xbox has added two big names to its leadership team. Matthew Ball and Scott Van.

[Roger Porny]

What if it's like valet.

[Andy Cortez]

What if. Great question, Roger. The new recruit just giving me nothing.

[Roger Porny]

No Ivlay.

[Andy Cortez]

New recruits. The new recruits are part of an ongoing drive from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to move faster, build better products and make more focused business decisions. The game business can reveal that Ball is joining as chief Strategy officer. He knows Ball. I was trying to figure out a way how to just throw that in there. He is a popular industry analyst who is responsible for the annual the State of Video Gaming report, who is wide, which is widely read across the business. His first job will be to strengthen the console side of Xbox, which is facing significant pressures, not least from the rising costs of memory and storage. In an interview with the game business earlier in the year, he admitted he was, quote, pretty frightened by the situation for the console sector. Ball has previously worked as head of strategy and planning for Amazon Studios and wrote the 2022 international bestseller The Metaverse. He is currently CEO of Appelion, a venture partner and investment group, or at the investment group Makers Fund and senior advisor at KKR and company. Meanwhile, Scott Van Vilay as chief Technology officer, he was previously in charge of Azure, OpenAI and AI core infrastructure at Microsoft and he also led engineering for Microsoft Teams during the COVID 19 pandemic. But he has a games background. He previously worked across games for Amazon including Alexa, Amazon Game Studios and the Amazon App Store. His job will be to improve how Xbox builds products so teams can move faster and deliver stronger results. In addition to these new hires, Xbox has promoted Chris Schnakenberg to Corporate Vice President, Partnerships and Business Development. He was previously VP of Partnerships and Business Development and joined from Activision Blizzard where he spent 12 years in various strategy, business development and partner relations roles. His focus is on third party games, publishers and developers working with Xbox. Thank you for the write up. Christopher Dream over at the Game Business, who has a phenomenal podcast, incredible podcast just called the Game Business. Yes, Very, very awesome one. Well, we've seen prior hirings happen at Xbox, Roger, and you're like, oh man, we're getting some AI people being brought into the company. They have other lines of work as well. They have been in other parts of the industry at this point, not just AI, but part of me does, it does make me happy that Asha just seems like the, the general manager or the coach that gets hired onto a team and says, I'm bringing in my offensive coordinator that I worked with. I like my defense coordinator that I worked with three years ago. Here is my. Well, like she has a team, she has a strategy, she has a plan. Yeah. And that's more than I feel like we could save for a lot of, you know, moments in the past Xbox. It feels like we have a vision, we have people that we want to work with. I still get scared seeing all the AI, you know, involvement. What does this do for you?

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, of course you have the knee jerk of the AI, but then you start to think through, of course, what this industry is and what, I don't know, tech has been in the last, you know, five, six years of like, like everything wasn't AI until everything had to be AI. And those are powers that, you know, these people that are in these positions necessarily didn't choose, you know what I mean? Like, this is what is hiring, this is what is making the money. This is where your career is going to have to go. You know, the amount of people I know in tech that are not AI, people that hate AI, but are forced to use it and forced to be heads of AI divisions. Right. Like at that, at that point, that's how this goes. So I don't necessarily think that this is going to lead to AI within Xbox or even getting worse because, you know, even Copilot was killed, which is their AI initiative for Xbox over there. But it does interest me and it makes sense that they are focusing and doubling down at least with that first hire on the strategy of console, which genuinely feels like an impossible task when it comes to Xbox. I mean you were undoing the whole Xbox series consoles and saying you can just play Xbox anywhere. And now it's like, well, actually buy a console now. And with everything getting more expensive and people are gonna hold onto other consoles for dear life if they even have one. Right. If they have a next gen console, it's gonna be tough to look at everybody and say, actually you have to buy Project Helix. That's the one that you need to buy. When everyone has their PlayStation 5s, they have their switches, they have their PCs, this is almost an impossible task. So I'm a little wary honestly mostly of just the Amazon connection to it all. Because Amazon has been tough in the last few years.

[Andy Cortez]

Of course, exactly where I was taking,

[Roger Porny]

going to the, the head of or one of the leaders of strategy over Amazon, it's like, okay, strategy hasn't been great over at Amazon. Pretty frigging bad. But maybe how much is that? Is that, you know, even were there lessons. Yeah. Meddling like how bad did that get? You know, Amazon is notorious, notoriously bad when it comes to staying with one vision, when it comes to their movie divisions, when it comes to their gaming divisions. But yeah, that's the toughest part about this. Not the AI side of it.

[Andy Cortez]

There's a, you know the emotional whiplash that I went through while reading that.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Paragraph of Scott Van Vliet or Vale joins as chief technical officer. He was previously in charge of Azure open AI and AI core infrastructure at Microsoft. And I'm like, ah man, here we go. But he has a games background. Oh, okay, nice. Where did he work at Amazon? Amazon Game Studios and Amazon App Store, notoriously known for failure after failure after shutdown, after game servers going offline. It's just there hasn't been a great track record to be able to point to now. I do get happy that you know, again, hopefully there were some, there were lessons learned there about here's what worked at the team and obviously working with Amazon, you are working with people that had a lot of money that you felt were, you felt like you were probably invincible. I know that I felt naively when Amazon first gets in the game business many, many, many years ago, I go, oh shit, that's kind of awesome. Because they have a lot of money to toss around.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

And once they see that the, you know, the return of investment isn't worth it, they immediately cancel and act that shit because they have so many different projects going on. And I, I do hope that that experience there of, hey, we know, I know what it's like to work under the worst conditions of something like Amazon. I can hopefully bring some of that knowledge to Xbox. You know, it does get me a bit, I get a bit of encourage there.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, I get, I give a little bit of kudos. I mean he came in 2022. This is after the launch of New World. Right. Like I did enjoy what Amazon was doing for the niche of MMOs and like focusing in on that. I think that is a very smart idea. But once you get out of that like and start to try to expand and move away from MMOs, it's like you already made your bed. You got to stay with the MMO crowd and then slowly build onto something else. You can't just whiplash. And I think that he was a part of that probably of like coming in and being like, okay, well New World didn't hit as well as we want to. Like how do we, what do we do next? So yeah, you're totally right. I, I'm. This to me doesn't really mean anything. Like executives are executives like that. You, you, you get hired for a job, the job doesn't work out, you move to another job. Like it's just about the vision of the leader.

[Andy Cortez]

Right.

[Roger Porny]

So it all comes down to Asha and what she is doing. So she has her team that she feels comfortable with, more power to her. Hopefully she's able to make gamers lives a little bit better.

[Andy Cortez]

Agreed. Roger. Story number four Returnal director founds new game studio to develop new single player IP this comes from Dave Aubrey at VGC Harry Cougar, director of 2021's PS5 exclusive Returnal has announced the formation of a new game studio based in Finland. Kruger previously worked on Outland and Resogun, directed Nex Machina and helped shape the early stages of Saros. After almost 15 years at Housemark, Krueger left in 2023 and has now founded Cosmic Division. Intending to establish their own identity while building on years of experience crafting award winning action experiences, Kruger now steps into the role of founder and CEO of Cosmic Division. Sharing in a statement quote, I'm incredibly grateful to Housemarque for our shared journey which has shaped the foundations for our new studio. We're proud of what we achieved. But we're not standing still. At Cosmic Division, we're building on our strengths while finding a new edge through fresh themes, ideas and talent. We believe there are always. We believe there is always room for games built on timeless values that trust the player and leave a lasting impact. End quote In a press release, Cosmic Division shared its intention to start with creating a new single player PC and console IP as the studio's first project. The project promises, quote, an unapologetically gameplay first experience and a story with strong emotional resonance. End quote Cosmic Division has already secured seed funding to get started, but is actively looking for collaborators, investors and exceptional talent to aid development. Quote we have our feet on the ground and have solid foundations beneath us, Kruger shared in a press release. Now our journey of cosmic wonder begins as we venture toward the stars and beyond.

[Roger Porny]

Beyond.

[Andy Cortez]

Very cool. Exciting.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. Shout out to Harry Kirby.

[Andy Cortez]

I. I was completely unaware that, you know, whenever this story went by, I was just always under the. I was always under the assumption that Gregory Loudon, who, who, you know, headed up Saros, was kind of the lead of Eternal as well. It seems like Harry Krueger was, you know, one of the main leads on Returnal and then left in 2023. That's exciting. I mean, we saw success in sectori with former housemarque developers and this seems to be. If I were to just assume, Roger, this seems to be less of a sectori and more of a Returnal Sorrows experience. What say you?

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, I mean, part of me also hopes that it is a smaller experience. I mean, you see these developers like, I mean we're going to talk about one in a little bit with, you know, former developers from big games try to make a big game and then shit just falls apart in the industry. So part of me does hope this is a smaller double A to triple I type vibe right where it is. Maybe you can go through all this and do a Outlander type thing, maybe 2D type vibe, just so then they can get it out and then hopefully see the return on investment there and then expand. But yeah, it does seem like we're going for a Returnal vibe again or something like that in terms of scope or maybe a little bit smaller. Yeah, I don't think we're going to be going back to what's it called, Resogun or anything like that.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, especially when I hear, you know, strong. A story with strong emotional resonance. It makes me think it might be a bit more than just, you know, Arcadey only. Yeah. Story number 5 Hasbro cancels Dungeons and Dragons Game from Star Wars Veteran this comes from Jason Schreier at Bloomberg. Hasbro Inc. Has canceled a publishing deal with the independent video game studio Giant Skull less than a year after announcing it, the two companies confirmed this week. Giant Skull was founded by Stig Asmussen, the well respected director of games such as God of War 3, Star Wars Jedi, Fallen Order. After he left Electronic Arts in 2023, he recruited several industry veterans who worked with him on the Star wars games at ea. Last June, Hasbro's Wizards of the coast subsidiary said it was partnering with Giant Skull on a on an action adventure game set in the D and D universe, calling it, quote, a definitive moment for both companies gaming ambitions, end quote. But Wizards of the coast pulls a pull out of the deal earlier this year, the company told Bloomberg News. Quote we assess concepts at every stage of development, a spokesperson for Wizards of the coast said, adding that the company was still taking new pitches from Giant School. The quote continues. While we decided not to pursue an early concept from Giant Skull, we have great respect for Stig and his team and value our ongoing relationship, the spokesperson said. End quote. Hasbro has focused more on video games in recent years, placing big bets on expensive productions such as upcoming sci Fi title Exodus, which is slated for release in 2027. But the toy and gaming company which also operates the highly profitable Magic the Gathering card game, has indicated a desire to cut costs. The cancellation of a Giant Skull deal, which hasn't been previously reported, took place alongside a larger reorganization at Wizards of the coast that also included the closure of subsidiary Atomic Arcade. Asmussen says that he enjoyed working on Wizards of the coast and said that he's was talking to people there and at other companies about potential new publishing deals. Quote Things are good at Giant Skull, he said. That's good to hear. I hope so.

[Roger Porny]

I hope so.

[Andy Cortez]

You know, obviously you don't want to make your studio feel like and put out a quote that may, you know, sound the alarms and cause people to, yeah, update those resumes and linkedins. But I mean this is still, this is still a bummer.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

When you think of a power with and when I say power, I mean just an entity with money to throw around and fund things. And when I think of Hasbro and all the money that they have with something like, you know, this Dungeon Dragons game from a veteran that has the track record to put out and work on really, really good video games, I think that's a pretty big bummer.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

I mean you get into as I was mentioning earlier, like we see these so many times with big developers or people that worked on big video games coming out and being like, okay, well I'm gonna make my own studio. And it's, it's very hard right now with the position of all of these studios and IPS and you know, cutting funding is getting cutting cut every single day. Right? So this is not a surprise, but it sucks.

[Andy Cortez]

We've seen so many of these super teams over the years.

[Roger Porny]

So many dude, Samsung the latest.

[Andy Cortez]

It's, you know, the former Rockstar Blizzard bioware devs. Like I feel like those are always the combination.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. And then you hear, you're like, does anyone work at these companies anymore?

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, it has certainly been a while since we've seen anything like that. Story number 6 Quantic Dream Kills Live Service Game Three months after early Access launch Comes from Wesley Yinpole at IGN WYP Quantic Dream has canceled its live service game Spellcasters Chronicles, just three months after its early access launch. The French game company released MOBA Spellcasters Chronicles as its first ever free to play game in February, but it struggled for player but it Struggled for Players was met with mixed user reviews on Steam. According to SteamDB, it peaked with 888 concurrent players at launch and had a 24 hour peak of just 50. Rather than see the early access period through to 1.0, Quantic Dream has decided to kill Spellcasters Chronicles. Now signaling layoffs. Quantic Dream, best known for its single successful single player story driven games such as Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls and Detroit Become Human Spellcasters Chronicles was a drastic departure revolving around 3v3 MOBA gameplay. Clearly it hasn't worked. Quote With Spellcasters Chronicles chronic, Quantic Dream set out to propose a bold and original multiplayer experience, the developer said in an issue. In a statement issued to ign, it gave our studio the opportunity to explore new creative territories and experiment with new concepts. However, in today's particularly challenging market environment, we must acknowledge that the game in its current form has not reached a sufficient audience to ensure its long term sustainability. And yeah, and we go on with the article, Quantic Dream told IGN it was unable to share the number of staff affected as the consultation process has only begun and must work through the French legal process. Discussions are expected to progress in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the studio insisted that the development of Star Wars Eclipse is not affected by the by this decision and continues as planned. But yeah, it does look like they mention they will undertake an internal reorganization. Not a surprise.

[Roger Porny]

I truly did not know this game came out. I, I, I. When you heard this, I read this name. I was like, they made the other that, that spell game where you're going, oh, that's a completely different game. Like, it just like such a generic name. And then I saw the trailer for this and then now it's shutting down. I didn't even know it came out.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, we had just talked. Me and Blessing had talked about a story, like an internal story, saying like they were struggling with the development and not feeling super encouraged by the amount of players playing it. And, and I feel like that is just been the story. With so many different multiplayer games, it's so hard to step into such a crowded landscape where people have their comforts, they have their communities, they have their, their comfort. Games that they hop in their IPs, they like to. Yeah, I thought this game always looks really quality. I thought, you know, it's nothing to say about how it looks and how it performs. Obviously with mixed ratings, not great. I think the game still would have failed if the 888 people said that this was the best multiplayer game of all time. I, it's just one of those situations where regardless of the quality, there are so many great games being made that still can't find player bases.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, I, I'm very, I, I am fearful for the future of this company. And with this and then, you know, Star Wars, Eclipse, where the hell that is. Right. Like, this is not good news. So, yeah, I pretty worried.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, pretty worried. My worries are pretty big, Roger.

[Roger Porny]

It is.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm tired of all that big stuff. If I wanted something smaller, say the tiniest news I need to know about, where would I go?

[Roger Porny]

You go. Our last story, the WE News Channel, where we cover all the small news items you need to know about.

[Andy Cortez]

From mmorpg.com Embracer Group is spinning off Fellowship Entertainment, a division that includes Middle Earth Enterprises and the Lord of the Rings ip, Crystal Dynamics, Dark Horse Media, eidos, Montreal, Warhorse Studios, who make Kingdom Come, Deliverance into a separate publicly traded company.

[Roger Porny]

Wait, Middle Earth Enterprises includes Crystal Dynamics as well. Like, this feels like you're moving.

[Andy Cortez]

It was Middle Earth and Friends. Yeah. At one point. And now they just made it Middle Earth.

[Roger Porny]

That. This feels illegal. This feels like we're moving around assets. That's. You know what I mean? In like a weird way. Like, I don't believe in this one.

[Andy Cortez]

No, no, this is weird. You're just trying to put a cool name on a, on a company.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

Well, it also feels like, oh, like it's the Lord of the Rings company. Also we got a bunch of this, we got a bunch of games. Things with Denton.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, Roger, you're reading too much.

[Roger Porny]

No, no, no, you're right.

[Andy Cortez]

Publicly traded company.

[Roger Porny]

Hey, here comes the money. Here we go, baby. Put everything in it.

[Andy Cortez]

Put everything in it.

[Roger Porny]

Take a second mortgage on your house.

[Andy Cortez]

Buy low, sell high. Everybody from Nintendo Life via Matt Piscatella, Tomodachi Life Living the dream has been projected to be the best selling game of April in the US.

[Roger Porny]

Oh shit. Good for them.

[Andy Cortez]

That's awesome. That's pretty damn red. The big ass game from insider gaming. Splitgate developer 1047 Games is working on a spiritual successor to Titanfall dubbed Impulse. Impulse.

[Roger Porny]

Impulse.

[Andy Cortez]

Impulse. It's. It's the word pulse, but with em at the beginning, everybody. Pre alpha gameplay footage set to insider gaming on the condition that Inaco public shows players fighting in team Deathmatch using grappling hooks, wall running and boost path to quickly traverse around the map. From Rebecca Valtime at Kotaku, Ubisoft promises new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Ghost Recon are coming eventually, but says this year will be a low point

[Roger Porny]

compared

[Andy Cortez]

to what just this year.

[Roger Porny]

And it's crazy. We're already talking about like Ghost Recon like a franchise. Point of sale is announced. You know, that's, that's in the works. Like we're not maybe mentioning that one. They have a whole show called Death Watch. People watched it, I watched it.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay, so I understand Ubisoft rep, but okay, so you said Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Ghost Regret. What about the Splinter Cell? Ah, come on, man. Come on.

[Roger Porny]

This is a serious post. Come on. Serious thing. Come on.

[Andy Cortez]

Why would we. Yeah, come on. Moonlighter 2 blob life balance update is now available. Moonlight 2 rocks. I'm excited to get back to that game. And Titanium Court, Barrett's game of the year has now sold over 25,000 copies in a little over two weeks. And I saw a great write up about the success of Titanium Court and how small of a game it was to make and how 25k copies is like life changing. Yeah, we can, we can, we can fund the next game and the publisher can fund a couple of other weeks. Weird. You know, projects that don't need to be necessary hits, they could be a bit more, you know, risky in what they are.

[Roger Porny]

That, that's my favorite sub genre of YouTube videos is watching indie developers talk and break down like very like openly about how much money they made on Steam. And a Lot of times it's like I made like I sold like 10,000 copies and that changed my entire life. Like I'm, I now can quit my job. I can do this. Like it's really beautiful. So hell yeah. Congratulations.

[Andy Cortez]

But also more, more people should play it if you really want a a fun and sad, satisfying match three tower defense type of game. It's really good and it's really funny. People should play it. I love when games use this art style when they, when they have a, a very dedicated color scheme and color palette that they go with. Yeah, there's so many like Metroidvanias and side scrollers that use this and I, I, I'm always a fan whenever it's like effectively used.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

That's it for we news everybody. Let's get to our super chats and to your wrong. Or you can write into kind of funny.com forward/ you're wrong to let us know what we got wrong during the show. Nothing on your wrong. Wow. Phenomenal from us. Amazing goaded. We have a super chat from Sosa who says Andy, I thought it was important for you to know that the first letters of the eight playable characters from Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 spell out Octopath. Oh I, oh that was sport that was told to me during the our Octopath Traveler 0 review. That and that blew my mind back then rogan with a 20 super chat shout out. Rogan on Instagram who does a lot of indie coverage says I don't super chat nearly enough for the amount of years of amazing content you all have provided me. You guys basically live on my second monitor at this point. I appreciate you both and I appreciate kind of funny. Thank you Rogan.

[Roger Porny]

Hey, thanks.

[Andy Cortez]

Appreciate the love dude.

[Roger Porny]

Appreciate it.

[Andy Cortez]

I think it's Rogan plays games. Let me, let me double check. Always amazing little just indie tick tocks and indie Instagram reels talking about the just you know, here's this new indie game you need to keep your eye on. Rogan plays games is the Instagram account been following for quite a while. Highly recommended. Scoop ball with a five dollar super chat says Happy birthday to my mini me, Sebastian who turns five today and beat his first beat his first earth first game with Mario Wonder. Proud dad. Congrats Sebastian Seabass.

[Roger Porny]

That's huge. What was the first game you finished?

[Andy Cortez]

Oh man. I mean it was probably Mario World.

[Roger Porny]

Wow.

[Andy Cortez]

Maybe Mario 3 mine would probably be Mario 3.

[Roger Porny]

Maybe Mario 3 mine was Batman Vengeance.

[Andy Cortez]

Nice. What console was it?

[Roger Porny]

PS2.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, I couldn't I could slash GameCube.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. I couldn't. There was a moment when you get stuck. You get frozen by Mr. Freeze and you have to like wiggle the stick really fast. And I'd have to always cry Mom.

[Andy Cortez]

Levi little with a $10. Super chat says they got to do something for the state of play to give me a reason to turn on my PS5 instead of my PC. Also, my name is Sprounce Levi, like the jeans. Just FYI, Andy and Blessed from Monday. Oh, did I say Levy? Bless. Probably said Levy.

[Roger Porny]

You would never make a mistake.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm the best speller. Kind of funny. Everybody knows that. Ask me to spell a word.

[Roger Porny]

Mississippi.

[Andy Cortez]

M I, S S I S, S I P P I.

[Roger Porny]

He's goaded. Come on with the sauce, everybody.

[Andy Cortez]

My bad with Super Chat says I played Sorrows and I love it. It reminds me of Hell Is Us. It also makes Roguelites palatable to me as a non fan of the genre. Game deserves more sales. I agree. Soros is gonna be a top three for me most likely at the end of the year. It is phenomenal. Metal Baby Mario with a five dollar. Super chat says Ballers Gate 3 and remnant two streams, please. As they say, a team LFG. That's the good stuff. Do they say that? Wait, what is that?

[Roger Porny]

Do you work for Team lfg?

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. Is it? Yeah. Do you work for Team lfg?

[Roger Porny]

Can you tell us about the frog type?

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. I often say. I always. It's a topic of conversation that often gets brought up while I'm streaming about how much I love remnant 2 and how much I wish that remnant from the ashes 2 was the most sought. Like, I wish we lived in a universe where that's the content everybody wanted to watch.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Because I would like, be so incentivized to go play that again and stream it with Greg or whatever. Because I know Greg loves little third person shooters, but it's just such a. An amazing experience. And one day we'll get to Ballers Gate 3 and hopefully Mike doesn't allow Shadowheart to stab Lazel through the throat. That's something he did. Like, just so you know, when we abandon you.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

And continue our own playthrough. There's a moment where Shadow Hearts on top of Lazelle and Mike's like, let's see. Let's let it play out. See what happens. I said, okay, we've let a lot of stuff play out, but yeah, we'll let this play out. Knife through the Throat. It was like there goes another.

[Roger Porny]

It seems like Andy's fault, you know, I mean, like, you let it happen. You said, hey, yeah, yeah, have fun, have fun. That's what you're like, let's kick Roger out.

[Andy Cortez]

Well, you know, sometimes you need your kid to say what happens when I touch the stove in order to. For them to learn a lesson. You know what I mean?

[Roger Porny]

Okay. Okay.

[Andy Cortez]

Another super chat from Christopher Burnett who says time for a bold prediction. GTA 6 Trailer 3 will be one more thing at a state of play on June 2nd and pre orders will go up around June 16th.

[Roger Porny]

I love, I love when we just just say things. There's no way.

[Andy Cortez]

Pretty awesome to just say stuff.

[Roger Porny]

I love it though. I like dreaming.

[Andy Cortez]

Christian Solario says Arsenal won the league after 22 years. Congrats to all the Arsenal fans out there. And we have another super chat from Christopher says marathon season two drops the same day as the state of play. There will definitely be a state of play or marathon in that state of play. There's no doubt that there will be that because you got to advertise that game because the.

[Roger Porny]

Oh people back in I saw somebody in the chat was like maybe Sorrows Co op. That could be a big one. Hey everybody, Sorrows is out.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, gosh. Hope.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, that'd be dope.

[Andy Cortez]

I hope so, everybody. Thank you for watching super chatting, supporting us with your eyes and ears because when you don't support the things you love, they go away forever. Stay tuned after this for a gamescast where I'm going to be finally talking about all my time with Subnautica 2 because I had to play it without Nick and Mike and I'm very excited to talk about it and review it after this. So stay tuned for the gamescast after that and then a rest of the day of programming. I forget what what else is happening. Blessing Greg are going to stream Thick as Thieves and Greg stay tuned for that until next time though. Gamers, it has been our pleasure to serve you.