Xbox Developer_Direct 2026 Lineup REVEALED - Kinda Funny Games Daily 01.08.25

Summary

Kinda Funny Games Daily – Xbox Developer_Direct 2026 Lineup REVEALED
Episode: January 8, 2026
Hosts: Greg Miller & Stella Chung
Special Segment: DICE Awards Nominee Reveal

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Episode Overview

This episode of Kinda Funny Games Daily focuses on two major topics: the announcement of the 2026 Xbox Developer_Direct lineup and the exclusive first reveal of the DICE Awards nominees for 2025’s best games. Greg Miller and guest co-host Stella Chung share their industry insights, dish out reactions to surprises and snubs, and field live chat superchats. The show maintains its trademark blend of inside jokes, irreverence, and genuine passion for gaming.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. DICE Awards Nominees Reveal ([03:12] – [22:33])

Showkick & Hosting History ([01:05] – [03:02])

• Greg and Stella reflect on their tenure as DICE Awards hosts.
• Greg shares how his iconic 2015 Game Awards speech led to his DICE hosting role (“They made that mistake now for nine years running” – Greg, [01:20]).
• Stella shares her experience growing more comfortable on stage each year.

DICE Awards Overview ([05:06] – [06:59])

• The 29th DICE Awards will be streamed February 12th at 8pm Pacific, hosted by Greg and Stella.
• Emphasis on the DICE Awards’ uniqueness: Votes come from industry peers (developers) rather than the press or public.
  • “The people who MAKE your video games get together and play all the games and then vote on what games they think are the best.” – Greg, [06:07]

Game of the Year Nominees ([06:59] – [10:32])

• Nominees: Arc Raiders, Blueprints, Claire Obscure, Expedition 33, Dispatch, Ghost of Yote
• Stella is impressed by a multiplayer game (Dispatch) making the cut.
• “What a diverse lineup. I love… blueprints break through…Arc Raiders breakthrough…loving dispatch…really nice thing.” – Greg, [09:55]
• The lineup is notably different from the Game Awards, with major games like Silksong, Death Stranding 2, and Hades 2 absent as GOTY nominees.

Deep Dive: Categories and Notable Nominees ([10:51] – [19:39])

• The hosts run through all 23 DICE categories, highlighting standout nominations and snubs.
  • Animation: South of Midnight, Monster Hunter Wilds, Ghost of Yote
  • Art Direction: Clare Obscure, Death Stranding 2, Dispatch, Ghost of Yote
  • Audio: Arc Raiders, Death Stranding 2, Ghost of Yote, Luminesce (“If this is the only one, I’ll rally behind it” – Greg, [13:12])
  • Roleplaying: Claire Obscure, Expedition 33, Citizen Sleeper 2, Monster Hunter Wilds, Outer Worlds 2
  • Indies: Baby Steps, Blueprints, Consume Me, Despilote, Dispatch
• Hosts debate omissions (Octopath Traveler Zero, Sonic Racing, Silksong’s single nomination, Outer Worlds 2's limited recognition).

Audience Reaction and Snubs

• Superchats and chat react vocally to the surprise absences of expected nominees like Hades 2 and Silksong.
• “I’m shocked. But you know what? At least I like all of these…” – Stella re: RPG nominees [17:06]
• “Do you think the people who make video games just aren’t good?” – Greg joking, [21:18]

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2. Xbox Developer_Direct January 2026 – Preview & Predictions ([24:32] – [34:33])

Official Announcement ([24:32] – [26:09])

• Xbox Developer_Direct airs January 22, 2026, 10am PT. Focused on:
  • Fable (extended look)
  • Forza Horizon 6 (gameplay debut)
  • Beasts of Reincarnation (from Game Freak, premiering first deep dive)
  • Hopes/rumors for possibility of a fourth unannounced title “one more thing.”

Host Hype Rankings ([27:29] – [30:19])

• Stella: Most excited for Forza, followed by Fable (never played originals), least for Beasts of Reincarnation.
• Greg differs slightly, “Forza Horizon 6 is going to be my shit…[but] questions about Fable: Can this possibly live up to…the hype and legacy?” [29:08]
• Concerns about nostalgia vs. modern standards with Fable.

“One More Thing” Speculation ([31:46] – [34:33])

• Community recalls precedent of surprise shadow-drops (Hi-Fi Rush, etc.).
• Greg wants/half-expects a Fallout 3 or New Vegas Remaster shadow-drop, or a “big” Xbox 25th anniversary surprise (Halo? Gears? State of Decay 3?).
• “They got to remind you of all the franchises you love, and…put out 8.5/9 out of 10 games.” – Greg [35:23]
• Stella hopes for more info on Halo, but notes anniversary timing and GTA6’s looming launch window could complicate plans.

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3. Jason Schreier GTA VI Development Update ([36:37] – [40:53])

• Jason Schreier reports GTA VI is “not content complete” but release in Fall is still plausible.
• Misunderstandings in media coverage discussed; Schreier clarifies he wouldn’t be shocked if it still launches in 2026.
• “You want a pizza bet me that [GTA VI] comes out this year?” – Greg to Stella, [40:05]
• They officially make a bet: Stella = “comes out”; Greg = “delayed”.

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4. Other News Bites ([50:32] – [54:38])

• Life is Strange: Double Exposure possibly rated, rumored for shadow-drop at Xbox Direct ([49:28])
• Switch 2’s holiday sales down 35% vs. original, but still strong overall, global hardware/software sales soft ([46:43])
• New Joy-Con color variants coming; My Mario “baby/kids” line launches in US ([50:40])
• Various industry updates: Studio closures/spinouts, sales milestones for Shape of Dream and PEEK, PUBG spinoff news, etc.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“This is such a demonstration of our power because…in years past we’ve had to call the people who run the Dice Awards and ask them what time the awards are…They finally got the note and didn’t want us to call…”
— Greg Miller ([04:58])

“I do have to point out I did a video diving into Arc Raiders’ use of…AI, of course, voice generation. That sucks. But you do have to admire how cool the machine learning is…The fact that it learns with…players and they adapt their behavior. That’s really impressive.”
— Stella ([07:33])

“Do you think the people who make video games just aren’t good? …I’ve seen people online make a lot of money saying that, so maybe we start grifting too?”
— Greg, on player outcry over Dice nominations ([21:15])

“You look at this, what band are saying here: Hi-Fi Rush, Visions of Mana, Ninja Gaiden 2. That sets expectations. Let’s bring down expectations of what the [surprise reveal] could be.”
— Greg ([33:29])

“If Blade drops…don’t f***ing talk to me… I’ll have a broken jaw and I need to play this game in my bed. If they say, ‘here is Blade and it’s out today / in the next three weeks’ …I will ring a ding ding, Tim, and be like, you gotta leave that newborn at home and come to work.”
— Greg, on possible surprise Marvel Blade Xbox shadow drop ([45:06])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:12] — DICE Awards hosts reflect & nominees reveal begins
• [06:59] — Game of the Year/major DICE categories discussion
• [10:51] — Category-by-category rundown (animation/art/sound/etc.)
• [19:39] — Full GOTY category wrap and live reactions
• [24:32] — Xbox Developer_Direct detailed preview
• [27:29] — Fable, Forza, Beasts of Reincarnation: hype rankings
• [31:46] — “One more thing” speculation
• [36:37] — GTA VI development/status update & pizza bet
• [49:28] — Life is Strange possible Xbox Direct shadow-drop
• [50:40] — Wii News (brief news bites: Joy-Con, studio moves, sales milestones, etc.)

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Final Thoughts & Flow

The show maintains Kinda Funny’s signature mix: a friendly “inside baseball” industry vibe, plenty of playful banter, and savvy critique of gaming trends and business decisions. Greg and Stella react in real time to what their audience and the industry care about most: which games are being recognized, why some aren’t, and what the next major platform-holder show will mean for the year ahead.

Essential for listeners:

• Full DICE Awards nominations breakdown and what it says about industry peer voting.
• Xbox’s 2026 Developer_Direct is a pivotal moment, with in-depth speculation about what surprises could accompany Fable, Forza, and Game Freak’s new title.
• Community-engaged, meme-driven, and ready for whatever the news cycle throws their way.

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Transcript

[A]

Boot.dev takes your coding from beginner to expert the fun way through a hands on RPG like experience. Go to boot.dev and use code kinda funny to get 25% off your first year on the annual plan.

[B]

Today in the nerdy news you need to know about, Xbox has announced their developer Direct. Jason Schreier gives an update on GTA 6. And let's announce the award nominees for the DICE Awards. Awards Awards. It's all going to happen today because this is is Kinda Funny Games Daily. What's up everybody? Welcome to Kinda Funny Games daily for Thursday, January 8, 2026. I'm one of your hosts, Greg Miller, alongside my co host for the DICE Awards, Stella Chung. Hello, Stella.

[C]

Hello.

[B]

Yay.

[D]

Thank you, thank you. I'm really glad, I'm really glad you owned that, that trip up earlier.

[B]

What are you going to do? It's year 11, Stella. At this point you know what you're getting, all right? You click on a kind of funny video, you know what you're going to get.

[D]

Oh my God. Wait, how long has, how many years have you done DICE now?

[B]

Oof. My first DICE Awards was 2017. So yeah, okay, I've done a lot. So this would technically be my 10th, right, not my 10th time hosting. And then next year would be the 10th year of doing it. Yeah, that's how it works. Yeah.

[D]

Oh, okay.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

Okay, cool.

[B]

But I'll make a big deal on my 10th anniversary right here. You know what I mean? What do. What are you doing, Bear? Oh, Barrett. Yeah, right. It's confusing, right? It's confusing every time. That's why I do it myself where I have to count them usually out. But yeah, yeah, it all happened, you know, you know, no big deal. Stellis, I'm sure you've read about in your history books, I won a game award and I gave a really great speech and that was in 2015 and they liked it so much that yeah, for the next DICE they could. They were like, we want to redo the show and bring you in and celebrate from internal because they had been using Jay Moore of a great actor and a great host, but not necessarily someone from the gaming community. So the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences was like, we liked what you did and we'd like that to be the vibe of the show. And they have made that mistake now for nine years running. So that's been pretty great. That's pretty good. And what's this number for you, Stella?

[D]

I think four.

[B]

Is it four?

[D]

Four sounds about right.

[B]

Four sounds about Right, Yeah. How are you feeling? Are you confident in it now? I know you know for a long time. Why did you pick me, Greg? Why did you want them to do this? Why did you change my life? Why did you save my life, Greg? You'd say that a lot.

[D]

Why did you enter life like. Yeah, I mean, last year it was so funny because the first two years I was like, oh my God. Like, first year I was definitely very nervous. Second year I was like, oh, I see everyone that I know, you know, and. And then last year I was like, oh, this is the most comfortable I felt on this stage because it's, it's the vibe, right? Like everyone kind of knows what to expect. Also, everyone knows things kind of suck right now. So it was, it felt like. It just felt like we were into this room of people who really understood the space we're in. So just felt very comfortable and like, yeah, everyone's like, everyone's friends. It's very nice. So I think I'm feeling comfy going into it.

[B]

Well, after this monologue, after we do the monologue for this year and all the shit we've seen in the past365, we'll see how many friends we have.

[D]

I know.

[B]

Let's not beat around the bush. You're here, of course, because we are announcing that we're hosting the Dice Awards again. But more importantly, giving out the nominees for the Dice Awards this year. Your exclusive place to find them until the press release posts in 30 minutes. So for right now, now remember, if you're watching live, be part of the show by super chatting on YouTube.com kind of funny games just like Red Hudson 8 did. Who said hype for Stella. As always, please lovingly bully Greg. Don't do that. And then Karana 2 said, Stella is awesome. Happy to see you in the KFG D Games daily today. You could be super chatting like that YouTube.com kind of funny games or you could be supporting us as a producer on patreon.com kind of funny. Just like Carl Jacobs, Omega Buster and Delaney. The Psalm twining. For now, let's begin with what is and forever will be the Roper Report. Time for some new six items on the Roper Report. Baker's dozen. As we have been teasing, we're hosting the Dice Awards again and today giving out the nominees for the Dice Awards. The press release reads. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences AIAS is pleased to announce the nominees for for its 29th annual DICE Awards, the video game industry's premiere awards show. With winners selected by a panel of industry peers. Greg Miller, founder of Kinda Funny Games and award winning media personality Stella Chung will return as hosts. Winners will be revealed at the 29th Annual DICE Awards ceremony, the culmination of a week long industry gathering at the 2026 Dice Summit. The ceremony will be live streamed by official media partner IGN on Thursday, February 12th at 8pm Pacific from the Aria Resort in Las Vegas. Now stopping right there, Stella. This is such a demonstration of our power because if you remember, in years past we've had to call the people who run the DICE Awards and ask them what time the awards are because they never say it in the press release. But they finally got the note and didn't want us to call them this.

[D]

Year. They were so sick of seeing Greg Miller pop up on My.

[B]

God. Yeah. Back to the press release. 64 games released in 2025 are nominated. Topping the list with eight nominees each are Claire Obscure, Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yote, followed by Arc Raiders and dispatch with six nominations each. In addition, Blue Prince has earned five nominations with Death Stranding 2 on the beach close behind with four nominations. We're gonna go through them all but some nice shakeups there. The so you know, as a big Dispatch fan, I wasn't like upset upset, but I was like oh man, I wish they could have had more time to gestate for the Game Awards and get really out there and have a chance at it. Awesome to see that representation here, let alone blueprints. But we'll get into all this. The Academy's 30,000 plus members, comprised of the interactive publishing and development communities, recognize excellence in 23 different interactive game categories. In one of the highest forms of recognition in the industry, titles were played and evaluated by members of the Academy's peer panels to determine final nominees. These panels, one for each award category, are comprised of the game industry's most experienced and talented experts in their chosen fields. If you're new around here, this is one of the reasons I love the DICE Awards so much. Is that sure kinda funny. Does their Game of the Year Monday. Don't miss it. It's gonna be great. You know, there's Game Awards, there's ign, there's a million other people doing it. DICE is hey, the people who make your video games get together and play all the games and then vote on what games they think are the best. Which is why you get Crazy Years or Untitled Goose. Game Wins Game of the Year and the Internet's pissed. But developers are super happy. So for the big conversation topic competing for 2025 top honor game of the year are Arc Raiders, Blue Prince, Claire Obscure, Expedition 33, Dispatch, and Ghost of Yote. Stella, first blush, what do you think of the game of the.

[D]

Year? These are all really good titles to be up here. First of all, I'm impressed that a multiplayer game has made it to game of the.

[B]

Year.

[D]

Right. I feel like you don't see that very often. Dispatch, I've yet to play it. I know, I know. It's really good. I know. I. Well, just because Clare Obscure took so long for play and then I was playing south of Midnight and then I dove into Ghost of Yote. So, you know, there's. There's a lot, but these are all really good games. I do have to point out I did do a video diving into Arc Raiders. Use of like AI, of course, Voice generation. Yeah, that sucks. But you do have to admire how cool the machine learning is with the enemy AI that they have in the game. The fact that it learns with everyone's. All the players interactions and they adapt their behavior. That's really impressive. And I'm assuming that's why they probably made it pretty high up in the list with nominations. Yeah, Blueprints I couldn't get into because I'm really bad at numbers and stuff and I heard that there was a lot of.

[B]

Numbers. Thank God Kevin isn't running the show. Kevin would smash through the wall like a Kool Aid man and try to get you to play it. He loves that game more than.

[D]

Anything. Okay. Yeah, just don't tell.

[B]

Him. No, no, he understands. And I think, I mean, that's what again, is so special about the video game industry is that you can have so many different takes, so many different genres and yeah, not everything's going to be for everybody. I played blueprints for a lovely morning with a cup of coffee, like four hours. I saw that, had a great time with it. But it's not the kind of game that hooks me where I'm like, oh, I got to go back. And I got. I was like, oh, that was really fun. And I enjoyed the, you know, the scratching out the thing and figuring out the answer, but that wasn't what called me back by any stretch of.

[D]

Imagination. Okay, sure. Yeah. I think when you posted that you also had a notebook with a pencil, and I was like, oh, God.

[B]

Yes. Yeah, I love doing. I love doing Stella. I know you got to be shooting stuff. You got to be shooting. You're aiming down sights. That's what you're all.

[D]

About. Yeah, But I mean not all the time because clear, obscure. I really love that game and like sure had a really big listen. You know a game is really good when you have so many discussions about which ending is best and how like each ending has a good and bad to it and how realistic either could be. And there's just so much discourse around it. I love it. Ghost of Yotei I think is incredible as well. I started playing that dude, the map, the map design like when it's raining and how it, like how it sprinkles across the map and shit. I'm just saying little, little, little details like that just oh make me so much.

[B]

Happy. So Chad, of course popping off, I need your super chat reactions to the Game of the year as we go through everything else too. Most people calling out the fact of course that quite the different lineup in some regards from what we saw at Game Awards. Right. Game Awards of course was Claire Obscure Expedition 33 which we see on the DICE Awards. Then Game Awards had Silksong Hollow Knight, Silk Song Not Over Here. Kingdom Come, Deliverance 2 not over here. Death Stranding 2 on the beach not over here. Donkey Kong Bonanza not over here. And Hades 2 not over here. So a really interesting shake up there on what that looks.

[D]

Like. How. Wait, how do you feel about that Game of the Year? I didn't, I didn't get to.

[B]

Hear your run through what I think of this lineup. I think this is great. What a diverse lineup. I love that about it and I love seeing stuff like blueprints break through. I love seeing stuff like Arc Raiders breakthrough and again loving dispatch the way I love dispatch breaking through. Like I think that's a really nice thing. And again I think it speaks to the real toss up. This year was like this year has or 2025 was banger after banger after banger after banger. And you get to that point where it's like you really can't get it to a place where everybody deserve every who deserves the flowers. Get the flowers. Right. So I think yeah, this is a great lineup and diverse.

[D]

Lineup. Yeah, that is why I appreciate DICE though because it allows the games to kind of sit towards the end of the year and then you get to really look at everything and make the nominees which by the way, yeah, it was only 64 games that were released in 2025 that are nominated 64. So that means there were of course there were way more, but this is just a fraction of.

[B]

It. Well, let's keep on keeping on and see about the Rest of them. We'll read through all the nominations here for the 22 other categories and then talk about anything that stands out to us. I'll start. Outstanding achievement in Animation. Your nominees are Death Stranding 2 on the beach, Ghost of Yote, Monster Hunter, Wilds, south of Midnight, the Midnight.

[D]

Walk. Bella, I'm so glad to see south of Midnight in these.

[B]

Nominees. Like for animation especially. Great call. Great.

[D]

Call. Oh, yeah, yeah. Beautiful game. I really love my time in it. It's gorgeous. Just everything is just so purposeful. Everything that you see, even in the distance when you see like the trees moving and stuff, it's just. It's also masterful. So very happy to see that.

[B]

There. Give me art direction.

[D]

Stella. All right. Outstanding achievement in art direction. Clare Obscure, Expedition 33, Death Stranding 2 On the Beach, Dispatch, Ghost of Yote, and the Midnight.

[B]

Walk. Again, all great looking games, but yeah. Dispatch. Outstanding achievement in character. Clair Obscure, Expedition 33. And this is. There's going to be another one. First one is ska. Did I say it right? Ski. Ska. Even when I spelled it out phonetically, I couldn't get it right. Ska. Then Claire. Claire Obscure Expedition 33. Male. Then dispatch, Courtney slash Invisigal, which of course, Invisibitch. Don't forget Dispatch. Robert Robinson III Slash Mecha man, and then Ghost of Yote, Atsu. So right there, two games taken up four spots, which is goddamn impressive if you ask.

[D]

Me. Yeah, yeah, I got. I gotta play. I gotta play.

[B]

Dispatch. You do, but it's. It's one of those that you can get through so quickly, so that'd be a great stream. You're still streaming, right? Get out there and stream them. Yeah, Chat loves.

[D]

It. All right, Sounds good. All right. Outstanding achievement in original music Composition, Claire Obscura, Expedition 33, Ghost of Yotei Hurdling, Mario Kart World, and Sword of the.

[B]

Sea. All right. Okay. Yeah. Outstanding achievement in Audio Design. Arc raiders, Death Stranding 2 on the beach, Ghost of Yotei, Luminesce, Fucking Arise. And Split Fiction. I'm gonna let you know, all right. When one of the Greg Games pops up, you gotta know, Stella. I'm sorry. Go. Luminous. I don't know how many nominees you get. If this is the only one, I'll rally behind it.

[D]

Wow. Okay. I was like, I don't think that's the official title, but sure.

[B]

Enhance. I guarantee is thinking about changing the name right now to Lumina is Fucking her.

[D]

Eyes. I am so sad, though, that south of Midnight didn't make it on this because it does have incredible audio design. Like, even when you're walking through the abandoned houses, you can hear the buzzing of refrigerators. I don't know if you've noticed that, but it's.

[B]

Incredible. So see, interesting for me, I would want to see them in original music composition. I think the thing that gets lost in the south at midnight conversation are those original Basie ass songs that are telling you, like climbing the tree that first time and getting that song about what was happening. I was like, holy.

[D]

Shit. Yeah. Incredible. All right. Outstanding achievement in Story, Claire Obscura, Expedition 33, consume me Despilote, south of Midnight, Ant, the.

[B]

Drifter. Look at that. Getting some indies on this one. I like that a lot. Yeah. Outstanding technical achievement. Arc Raiders, Assassin's Creed shadows, Death Stranding 2 on the beach, Donkey Kong, Bonanza, Doom, the Dark Ages. Doom. The Dark Age is a one that you're not seeing enough of in the awards, I think, for 2025. So cool to see them here.

[D]

Yeah. Oh, speaking of action Game of the Year, Absalom, Arc Raiders, Doom, the Dark Ages, Hades 2 and Ninja Gaiden.

[B]

4. As that one was read, as that was Red Rabbit of Canterbaug says. I guess, I guess the industry just forgot about Hades 2 and silksong for these awards. There you go. Go fuck yourself. Hades is right there and, you know, don't get mad at me. Don't get mad at Stella. All the people who made the video games, they voted on this, not us. Adventure Game of the Year. Blueprints Dispatch, Donkey Kong, Bonanza, Ghost of Yote, Hollow Knight, Silksong. Shove it up your ass, Rabbit. What are you gonna say now? You know, super chat and apology. I'd like to see.

[C]

It. No, double down, please. Double down for all of.

[D]

Us. Double or nothing. Family Game of the Year, Lego Party. Sorry. Apparently I'm wrong for talking about Family Game of the.

[B]

Year. The Sirens are on Stella's end. Don't worry.

[D]

Everybody. Yeah, I know. Okay, so, Family Game of the Year. LEGO Party. Lego Voyagers. Luminous. Arise, Marvel Cosmic Invasion. And. Oh, God, I actually.

[B]

Pop. You pop. You come. Yeah. You nailed.

[D]

It. Poppycom. I haven't heard of that.

[B]

One. Oh, really? You should look into it. It's got its audience. A lot of people are there for it. Okay, another great one. And again, luminesce is there, but I think LEGO Party. Have you played LEGO Party, Stella?

[D]

Yes. Oh, my God, I love it. It's so.

[B]

Good. Yeah, we just did. My first time playing it after having read reviews and seen other let's Plays With Us was just on the 11th stream on Monday and God, that's a fun time. That's a really good.

[D]

One. Well, it's really impressive that all of the pieces there, they physically exist. Like you can make all those stages, which I think is the most impressive.

[B]

Part. Fighting Game of the Year 2 XKO Capcom Fighting Collection 2, Fatal Fury, City of the Wolves, Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection and WWE 2K25. I hope Cody Rhodes shows up to accept the.

[D]

Award. Incredible Racing Game of the year. EA Sports F125, Kirby Air Riders, Mario Kart World and Wheel.

[B]

World. Wheel World.

[D]

Yay. Was that this.

[B]

Year? Yeah, it was. Oh, and I have my own problems with Wheel World, but I mean, like, as a racing game of the year, I guess technically it is. You race in it, I guess. Role Playing Game of the year. Claire Obscure Expedition 33 Citizen Sleeper 2 I'm sorry, Clara. Obscure Expedition 33, Citizen Sleeper 2 Starward Vector Kingdom Come, Deliverance 2, the Monster Hunter Wilds, the Outer Worlds 2. Now here is where I join the super chats and say, what the fuck? Where's Octopath? Traveler Zero? Criminally underplayed. Criminally underplayed. Criminally underplayed. Stella. I'm with you, Rabbit of Canterbury. Fuck this Ward.

[D]

Show. I am shocked. But you know what? At least I do like all of these that are.

[B]

Listed. But yeah, of course, yeah. No shade in these. I played a lot of.

[D]

Them. Sports Game of the year. EA Sports FC 26 PGA Tour 2K25, MLB the Show 25, NBA 2K26 and.

[B]

Rematch. Strategy Simulation Game of the Year. The Alters Drop Dutchy Europa Universalis V. Oh, I guess that'd be five, but I was so caught up on the Latin part of it. Don't worry about it. The King is watching. Star Vaders. I still got like a month to figure out how to say all these words before I'm on stage. I'm doing great. You're.

[D]

Fine. You're fine. Immersive Reality Technical Achievement. Ghost Town, Hotel Infinity, Marvel's Deadpool VR Star Beyond Victory. A mixed reality playset and.

[B]

Unloop. Immersive Reality Game of the Year. Demeo Across Dungeons and Dragons Battlemarked Ghost Town, Marvel's Deadpool VR, the Midnight Walk, Thief VR, Legacy of.

[D]

Shadow. Ooh. All right. Outstanding achievement for an independent game. Includes Baby Steps, Blueprints, Consume Me, Despilote, and.

[B]

Dispatch. That's going to be an interesting category to watch with as much love as Blueprints and Dispatch are Getting. I'll be interested to see if one of them is able to steal it away. But of course. Baby steps. What a miraculous achievement. Desperate. Consume me. That's a tough category. Mobile Game of the year Persona 5 the Phantom X Uma Masuma. Pretty. Oh, the Horse girl.

[C]

Game. Uma.

[B]

Musume. Uma Musume. I got a whole month to figure it out. Don't worry about it. What the Clash and where wins.

[D]

Meet Online Game of the year arc Raiders Battlefield 6, Mario Kart World, Marvel Rivals and Split 4 Fiction. Where is my Sonic.

[B]

Racing? The chat did pop off that. That wasn't in racing. And you are right, that is another snub. I'll get on you with that one. I'll get on. Yes. Outstanding achievement in game design. ARC Raiders blueprints, Hades 2, Kingdom Come, Deliverance 2 and. Ooh, did I say that? Barrett, do you know.

[C]

Ooh. I think it's.

[B]

Just.

[D]

Ooh. Oh my God. I hope you get to do that in front of the AUD for so many people. Okay. Outstanding achievement in game direction Blueprints. Claire Obscure, Expedition 33, Ghost of Yotei, Hades 2 and Kingdom Come Deliverance.

[B]

2. And one more time, Game of the Year Arc Raiders blueprints, Claire Obscure, Expedition 33, Dispatch, and Ghost of Yotei. Congratulations to all the nominees. Of course. The DICE Awards are imminent. Thursday, February 12th at 8pm Pacific. You can watch Stella and I host the awards on IGN.com and everywhere else that you get your stuff for the 29th annual DICE Awards. Stella, we ran through them all. What are the other ones that stand out? The Sonic Snub. Sure. What. What else are you seeing in.

[D]

There? God, I can't think off the top of my head, but I think we only saw Outer Worlds two.

[B]

Once. Yeah. Yeah. Does that shock you though? I feel like Outer Worlds 2, a game you and I both loved and I've seen you loving even more since the.

[D]

Review. Oh.

[B]

Yeah. And it's that idea of like, I'm right there with you. But I also feel like in a year of megatons, just gigantic games that are so otherworldly good, no pun intended. Outer Worlds is just like, yeah, it's a really good open world RPG Bethesda E thing. But it's not like amazing. I think if this story would have been amazing on top of all the little intricate things we could do with our characters and role playing and choosing a thing, that would have been different story. But it's a game I fucking adore. But like, I don't think it stands in this rare air, here comes Bear Corn. He's got hot fire to throw down. He's.

[C]

Mad. I'm doubling down with that chatter from earlier. Silksong with one nomination is.

[B]

Insane. Oh yeah, yeah, insane. Do you think the people who make video games just aren't good? Because I saw other people over here, people over here were talking about no Night Rain either for.

[C]

Multiplayer. Like, well, Night Rain's.

[D]

Fine. Oh my God, that's.

[B]

Right. I'm just, I. I'm just the one. The chat is saying the people who make video games aren't good. And I have seen certain people online make a lot of money saying that. So I thought maybe I would throw that out there and yeah.

[C]

Maybe. Maybe that's.

[B]

It. Maybe we start grifting too.

[D]

Huh? Oh, God, please.

[B]

Don'T yote over. Kingdom Come to is insane, says Jake again. Is it? I'm not. You know what I mean? Like we're getting into the minutia of it, but I think Kingdom Come deliverance to being as obtuse as it is a great game. No one's saying that. But as obtuse as it is, I think for people are looking for that frictionless. Let's get into a game and have a great time experience. And I think that sometimes that's what gets lost. But that's what makes a darling, right? That's what makes something special. That's what makes a niche community. That's what does all these different things. I do think it's interesting though, Silksong and Hades to not getting more love out here. Not they didn't get any, but not getting the love we've seen.

[D]

Elsewhere. I mean it was just a big year for games. Honestly, we just had so many come out so I think it's just. It's just hard because you have to look at everything as a whole. So yeah, I'm just glad they showed up at least once. But yeah, I do understand. It's like, oh man, there's so many other categories I would have put them.

[B]

Into. Sure, yeah. Now let's just go get some wins for Luminous fucking arise. Like I said, February 12th, that's a Thursday 8pm ign.com you can come see Stella and I host the 29th annual DICE Awards. I am incredibly excited and it's going to be a good time. Now we've been talking a lot about last year, 2025, but there's so much happening in 2026 including an Xbox developer direct. But we'll tell you about that in one second. First, let me remind you that we couldn't do this show here on Kinda Funny, the number one and number two daily video game podcast in the world if it wasn't for your support on patreon.com kinda funny YouTube.com kindafunnygames, Apple and Spotify you can pick up a membership, you can get everything ad free. You can get your daily dose of me Greg Miller in a series we call Greg Way. And most importantly, you could get good karma for supporting an 11 person 11 year old business all about making you happy for right now that you're not using your benefits. So here's a word from our.

[A]

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[B]

Plan. Number two on the Roper Report, Xbox Developer Direct returns January 22nd. We read from the Xbox Wire 2026 is going to be an incredible year for Xbox players. You might even call it. I'm sorry, you might even call it a fabled year. To celebrate, we're kicking off with the fourth installment of our Developer Direct broadcast on January 22nd, bringing you news, new gameplay and insights directly from the incredible teams working on titles coming this year. Presented by the game creators themselves, Developer will once again give you an inside look at not just the games, but the studio's working on Bringing them to life. Fittingly, the Xbox's 25th anniversary year that includes the return to some of our most legendary franchises, which rub shoulders with a brand new title from one of Japan's most beloved studios. The show includes not one, but two titles from Playground Games, with the UK studio bringing us its first extended look at Fable, as well as the debut of gameplay for Forza Horizon 6. We'll also be taking a trip to Tokyo to visit the legendary game freak, offering a first in depth look at Beasts of Reincarnation, which we revealed at Xbox Games showcased last year. You can tune in at 10am Pacific on January 22nd to see the latest Stella. It's been rumored forever. Now it's happening. Fable, Forza, and of course, Beast of Reincarnation. I start here with this question for you. Is there going to be a fourth game? Are they going to do that thing where we bop around the screen and then when it just like it looks like it's done, like with this little thing pops up when we go somewhere.

[D]

Else. Wait, for which Beast of.

[B]

Reincarnation? No, for a fourth game that they're not promoting.

[D]

Here. Oh, fourth. Oh, okay, okay. Maybe. But developer directs have been pretty pun intended. Direct. Right. So I don't know because it's not like a showcase where they're like, oh, but one last thing. So I don't know, I feel like it could go either way. It's interesting because it's the first showcase that we're gonna see this.

[B]

Year. Yeah. Barrett, what was the one I'm thinking of? What was the Xbox? Have they done it every time or just that one.

[C]

Time? What's the rhythm game? Oh, oh, they fucking gave up the license.

[B]

For. Yeah, I can see it with the guy. He's dancing. Y' all loved.

[C]

Him. Yeah, he's.

[B]

Dancing. He danced at this and he had his fight on the beat. Hi, Fi.

[C]

Rush. Hi, Fi.

[D]

Rush.

[C]

Yes. Yeah, yeah. That was a shadow announce and drop. I think there was something last year, but I don't think it was like a shadow drop or.

[B]

Anything. But last year was Ninja guidance. Says C.J. clogs. Gotcha. There we go. There we go, There we.

[D]

Go. All right. Okay, so then now, why.

[B]

Not? Okay, fair enough. I. I feel like they gotta have something. They'll have something in there we're not looking for, we're not expecting. But I look at this, then let's go with the what's announced, then Fable for it's a Beast of Reincarnation Stella from most hyped to least hype. For you. What are you putting on the.

[D]

List? I'm be honest, off the top of my head, I don't even remember Beast of Reincarnation. So for me it has to be Forza and then Fable because I ended up really liking Forza Horizon 5, I think. And I was shocked because I'm not a racing person. I'm not someone who really gets into cars customization, stuff like that. But it was just so fun in Arcadey that I was like, oh, this doesn't feel like a racing game to me. So I really enjoyed it. Fable, I didn't get to play.

[B]

Because, you know, has anybody.

[D]

Played? I got into.

[B]

Gaming. Oh, you mean the old one. Oh.

[D]

Okay. The olders. Yeah, yeah. So I don't have that connection that a lot of people do. Like Ryan McCaffrey. I know he loved the series. I do know how in depth it can get and how weird the systems can get. So I am excited for that. But I don't know, it's just not at the top of my list. Like other people have.

[B]

It. Sure, fair enough. That's where it's interesting for me is there's two ways to look at it. So for me, not being a soulsy whatever type, as we look at the trailer here for Beasts of Reincarnation, that's at the bottom my list. Just because I don't think it's going to be a game for me, not because I think it's going to be bad. I'm very interested to see what Game Freak does. You know, obviously they're so known for Pokemon, obviously they have done other games as well. But for me, I put Fable in front of Forza in terms of hype, but only because I'm like you. I am not a racing person in the cars and I haven't been since Burnout paradise, right? But Forza Horizon 5, the one that Ben plays all the time, I do really like playing and I do really like watching. So I already know that Forza Horizon 6 is going to be my shit. Because we're driving through Japan, we're in the countryside, we're in.

[C]

Tokyo.

[B]

I. That sounds fucking incredible. That sounds amazing. Playground has proven themselves time and time again with what they do with the Forza Horizon series. So that is a known quantity. That is why I got snatched up in the kind of funny fantasy draft. Everybody knew that that one's going to be a great game. But my questions about Fable, as somebody who did, I am, I have those memories of being in college and hey, Parker had an Xbox and I Went to his room and I would play Fable on his Xbox and Jade Empire on his Xbox. Like, I have that affinity for what Fable was. I put it up there with lots of question marks around it because I do worry, is this going to nail that? Is this. Can this possibly live up to the what I think hype and legacy of Fable is? Or is it going to be the classic what we see all the time now, the sequel to the game you love, the reboot of the game you love, and you play it and it's like, oh, well, it isn't exactly what we want. It isn't exactly what we need. Instead, if you're just doing it that way, I don't know if we can live up to that. And so, like, I'm excited for this extended. Look, I was checking today Fable. And I know, like, I was just me forgetting Fable still not snatched up in our fantasy draft that we just did this week. So there's a lot of, can they prove it here? Is this going to be it? Can it be that kind of RPG I.

[D]

Want? Yeah, that's fair. I think it also doesn't help that you have this idea of the game from. From before. Right. So it's like, can it live up to that nostalgia, which sometimes it doesn't quite hit because it's new? It's still a new game. It has to live up to modern standards, which a lot of people who liked the older games, they might not like the modern systems. So it really just depends on the person, I.

[B]

Think. Falcon in the chat says the original Fable will never live up to the hype of Fable. And that's. That's that you're not wrong, right? That is the problem with rose tinted glasses and things that have been around for so long. Does it get here? And as it is, is it another Dragon Age Vale Guard where fans of the IP are just like, this isn't what I wanted. This isn't it. And then nerds like me are like, this is exactly what I want. And you find out that's not what the world wanted.

[D]

Man. Can I just. Oh, God. Okay, I gotta go on a mini rant about that. Like, I loved that game, but I wanted to love it more. Like, I loved.

[B]

Inquisition.

[D]

Yeah. And like playing that and then going to Outer Worlds 2, where you can literally rely on your characters, your companions to make their own decisions. The amount of times that I just went hands off and went, you know what? This is your thing. Don't make me make the decision. And the way that I trusted them and they would make the right choice for themselves. But then in valeguard, they're like, oh, no, I don't know. Can you hold my hand? Mommy, I need help. Can you help me? And it just sucks because it's like, oh, man, why did these characters get lobotomized? I just love RPGs where you can let characters are their own people. Right? They're real and. Yeah, anyway, sorry, that's my mini.

[B]

Rant. No, I don't mind. You're welcome to rant on this show anytime. In the super chats, Banderasan points out I'm not crazy. He says developer directs are always four games and a secret fifth game. And he calls out the secret games of hi Fi Rush, Visions of Mana, and Ninja Gaiden 2. So I would. I still expect something else to be here. And that's where it starts getting crazy. That's where you start getting crazy. Okay, Developer Direct, 25 years of Xbox. What are they doing here? And how big could it be? Or how small would it be? You know what I'm gonna say, Stella? You know where my heart lies. I need. I don't even care if it's a new old, but I need a new Fallout. So if it is Fallout 3 Remastered, if it is new Vegas Remastered, if it's just the new believing thing, that's what I want. And I know we just talked about yesterday, the fact that there's so many Fallout things happening, and I know we just talked about the Amazon website that has the thing that's locked, but there's a countdown to it. The countdown wouldn't line up with this. And I do think it's a very interesting theory that when the show ends, if it was, they're going to the capital wastelands. You announced then that, guess what, now we're dropping. As of today, on the day of the show coming out, we're putting out Follow through your master. I don't believe it. I can't believe that. I can't buy that. And I don't believe it's here. So then you go, okay, it's the 25th. We already know Halo Campaign Evolved is coming here. Are they going to do. Hey, we've already talked about Halo Campaign Evolved. Now we're finally confirming what everybody said is the stupidest choice of all time. And there will be multiplayer in this because right now it is just a campaign which people go, how much could you possibly charge for that? That's a bad call, Xbox. And then they say, well, now we're going to put the Multiplayer in there and it'll be on everything you can crossplane. You'll be able to. Well, that'd be good. But then you got gears happening out there too. And E day is a big thing I know. Coming this year and they're not putting it here, but that doesn't need. We don't need to read into that. And then you go, what about State of Decay 3? What about State of Decay 3? All quiet on the western front for that one. What is going on with state of decay 3? Because it can't be big. You look at it, Stella. You look at.

[D]

It.

[B]

Yeah. What band are saying here? Hi Fi Rush, Visions of mana, Ninja Gaiden 2. That sets expectations. Let's bring down expectations of what this could be. Where are we going? I think State of Decay could be, but I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I want to believe Stella. I just want to believe Xbox. Just let me believe Paris Lilly has booked his flight. He is flying up to be here for this, everybody. Yesterday, the boy on my ass, Gary Whitta says he's coming for this too. He didn't even know about it till yesterday. But he's going to be here too. So it's an X cast reunion. But I need to believe in something. All right, give me an Oleg Rod, an oled. Rog.

[D]

Ally. Oh, Lord. Oh, my God. Do you have an inhaler? Like do you need something like you just kind of went on a.

[B]

Rant there and more coffee would be.

[D]

Good. It's great. But thank.

[B]

You. I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Still, I'm excited. It's coming up quick. January 22nd. We will be live reacting of course here on Kind of funny at 10am you can be a part of it. Come hang out with us in this vein. Special K9020 says bummed to see Keeper not getting. Not getting much love at TGA or dice. Fantastic game. Game. That's another interesting one that flew so under the radar. Of course, Keeper from Double Fine turned a lot of heads. It kind of funny I forget what the score breakdown was, but I know Blessing adored it. I want to say nines and eights. Barrett, can you keep me honest? Were you part of that? Did you run that show? Do you remember.

[C]

That? No, I was not part of.

[B]

That. I remember that's the ballpark of it. And everybody telling me to play it, but I haven't had the time to go do it. Even though I have had the time, but I've played other things. But it doesn't matter. I was expecting. I. I think that's another criminally underplayed one from everything it seems. Did you play it.

[D]

Stella? Yeah, I didn't finish it, but I did play. It's gorgeous. It's beautiful. I remember starting the game and being like, oh, wait, I can move now. Like it was one of those games where you're just like, oh, the cinematic and the in game look incredibly just the same. So, yeah, actually thinking about that. It is weird that it's not in any of these.

[B]

Categories. Yeah, no, didn't seem like it got the play it needed. Odimus prime super chats and says, I love Fable so much, but do you think the one more thing would be Halo? But it'll be end with the multiplayer announcement. Full unveil in June. It makes sense. 25th anniversary. The Xbox always has the dominoes, but this is the year they have to go big. They got to establish who Xbox is right now. They got to remind you of all the franchises you love. And more importantly, they got to put out 8.5 slash 9 out of 10 games. They are usually good at putting out a lot of eight seven fives. Like, no, no, no, no, no. You need to go up. We need to be like, holy shit. This is the.

[D]

Shit. So I. While I do want it to be Halo campaign involved because it looks really cool that the anniversary date for Halo is November 15th, which kind of gives them more time to work on it potentially because they just announced it.

[B]

So, Stella, there's the. I mean, right around the corner is Godzilla. If you wait till November teens, you got Grand Theft Auto breathing down your neck. You can't. Xbox, on top of everything else that's gone wrong for them, must have won that date.

[D]

Move. Like.

[B]

Fuck. Come on. Like, come.

[C]

On. I mean, is that the release date.

[B]

Greg? We move on to story number three on the rope report. There we go. GTA 6 might not be content complete. Its parentheses. Hard to say if it'll be delayed. This is Mike Straw at Insider Gaming. Grand Theft Auto 6 is one of the most anticipated games in the history of the industry. When it launches, it's expected to be one of the highest grossing games of all time. However, it might not be complete yet. In the latest episode of Button Mash, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier spoke about GTA 6's development and where things stand. According to Schreier, the game still might not be content complete. Last I heard, it is still not content complete. That is to say, people were still finishing things up, still finalizing levels and missions and seeing what is going to make it into the game. Schreier added that content complete usually comes after feature complete and before bug fixing, but even when it gets to the bug fixing stage, there are still things that people might want to try to get into the game. As far as the release date goes, Schreier says that it's quote unquote hard to say if the game will for sure hit the November release date. It's really hard to say right now and I don't think anyone at Rockstar can tell you with 100% certainty that it will make it out in November, he said, while adding he he says it feels more real than the fall 2025 date or the May 2026 date. Quote People feel like this might be a little more solid, end quote. He says the Rockstar can't settle for anything less than perfection with the release of GTA 6. With that in mind, with the goal of releasing this fiscal year, they do have a bit of a buffer as the fiscal year doesn't end until March 31st. That's not to say that Rockstar is leaning towards a delay, but the option is always on the table if needed. And as everyone has seen, Rockstar isn't afraid to delay a game to make it right. Stella Chung, the most trusted name in video games is GTA 6 coming this.

[D]

November. I, you know, last year I was like, yeah, November next year, sure, that's enough time, right? But I don't know if Shrier isn't confident in it and it's not content complete, I want to know. I wish we had more information on that, like finalizing levels and missions. We don't know how far that is, how big the missions are. So like finalizing, do you mean like adding in, you know, music or adding in like sound effects and stuff like that? Like I don't, we don't know quite to the detail levels of what this all.

[B]

Means. Hold on. Barrett has brought in another one here. This is a Jason Shrier bs. That's a blue sky. Tim. This is a complete misunderstanding of what I said, which is that I wouldn't be shocked if GTA 6 does come out this fall following the same delay pattern as red Dead Redemption 2. Of course another delay is possible. It's a video game. But this blog post is very misleading. Just reach out to me. It's not hard. What was this? What was the blog.

[C]

Post? Just the headline saying GTA 6 may not yet be content complete and another release delay is.

[B]

Possible. Okay, he's saying Okay. I wouldn't be shocked if it does come. Okay. And then this thing. Yeah, this. I saw this one. What is this? What is this site? What is this?

[C]

Weird. This is the. This is the website where you can just bet on anything. Yeah, everything sucks. Gambling is just seeped into every aspect of our society now. So people are now betting on GTA 6. Lunch being.

[B]

Postponed. I fucking hate it when people bet on random ass shit. Stella, do you want a pizza Bet me that comes out this.

[D]

Year. Square pie.

[B]

Guys.

[D]

Sure.

[B]

Okay. All right, so what are you saying? It comes out or doesn't come out, I'll do the opposite. I'm.

[D]

Down. Okay, you know what? I'm. I'm gonna put faith in them and say it comes.

[B]

Out. Okay. I'm gonna go the opposite. Say it isn't coming out. Hit.

[C]

It. A lot of things. A lot of things are going wrong right.

[B]

Now. Okay. Okay. The kind of funny computer's freaking out. Yeah. Do you want me to just install before I go anywhere.

[C]

Else? Yeah.

[D]

How's. I mean, it's kind of funny. TV not content complete.

[B]

Either. My goodness. Everything in the 11 years. Our computer is not. Our computer is not. Obs. Is not content complete. Nothing is content complete, apparently. Stella, while that happens, then tell me, what have you been up to.

[D]

Lately? Honestly? Oh, you're going to love this. So because I have had my childhood stolen from me in terms of gaming, I've been going back and finishing games that I never got to play. So last year, no, two years ago, I played Knights of the Old Republic, the first.

[B]

One. Oh.

[D]

Nice. So, yeah, last December I started playing Knights of the Old Republic to the Sith Lords. And it has been really fun. So that's kind of my playthrough right now. Debating on taking a break to play Dispatch because, you see, it's fast, so I don't know, we'll.

[B]

See. For Knights of the Old Republic. Walk me through this. Where are you playing? Are you just doing PC? I know they brought him to iOS at some point. Like, where are you playing.

[D]

It? Oh, actually the first one I played on Switch because I was like, oh, you know what? I don't use my Switch enough. It actually wasn't bad. The port was pretty good. The only problem was that you didn't get to do mods that kind of helped the content a little bit and the running. So I'm playing two on Steam because it has the built in Workshop mods, which is great. So I'm actually playing the content restored.

[B]

Mode.

[D]

Okay. Yeah. So yeah, it's pretty.

[B]

Cool. Over break, I was jumping around looking for that fix that RPG open world, what I wanted and I. So I downloaded Old Republic to my. My Rog ally or whatever. But then it was that thing where it's like, oh, this doesn't have like that version doesn't have controller support. So I had to do. I was like, oh. And then I got in there and then it's immediately like, oh, this isn't built for. This isn't. Does not feel good. And so I was like, damn, I should have bought it on Switch if I wanted to go that route because I'm control fine. Right? It felt good. Yeah. It did not feel that way on what I was doing. So I got burned there, man. But then it was also like, it was so old. Like I played it back in the day obviously. And now have you heard about this new Star Wars Genesis? This is a mod for Starfield that a group has done that is like from the ground up. Yeah, I looked incredible. I have a break right now after this show. Right where I'm going from games daily break. And then it's a party mode I'm on. I'm going to go, Ivan, I installed, I have Starfield on Xbox game Pass version. I installed it on Steam to go in now and fuck with that version to make it into this to try that out. Because that sounds awesome. So I'm gonna be in the kernels doing.

[D]

That. Okay. How annoying is it to get mods on games? Or is it like, do you feel like it's easier.

[B]

Nowadays? As you know, I was anti PC for a long time and then I have become a PC person and I've been using them and doing them thanks to handheld gaming. You know, now that it's a handheld, it's just Vita 2. So it's not as intimidating. Yeah. So for my limited experience with mods, it's been great. I, of course, for my as a Starfield sicko, I use all the Bethesda creations and the people who are uploading their own creations. That's amazing. That's all great. Then when I wanted to try out WoW. World of Warcraft, I used some official modder thing that just gave me controller support. It didn't in general, that's not a game designed for a controller, so that didn't work fantastically. But the process of getting the mods were easy. And then now Star Wars Genesis, you can just Google. What I googled was Starfield Star wars mod. You go to their page and they have a step by step if you want this version, that version depending on your download. So I'm hopeful that I'm gonna be able to have a sandwich over there and just do this, and it'll be super easy. But if I come on party mode and I've pulled out all my hair, you'll understand that. No, it was not. It was not easy. But we'll wait and.

[A]

See.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Barrett, how we.

[D]

Doing?

[C]

Yeah, good enough for.

[B]

Now. Okay. Yeah, the chat said you pulled it together. Gold stars for Barrett.

[C]

Everybody. We're gonna say no more B roll for the rest of this.

[B]

Episode. Fair enough. I like that. Don't worry about it. There's nothing really happening. I think on the B roll front, you did great. Way. Way to power through. I appreciate that. A super chat I want to bring in just to get you too hyped just to ruin your life and the Xbox Direct. Bubby Jubby says, but what if the secret game is Blade? What if. Oh, can you fucking imagine if it was Arcane's Blade, the Marvel Blade game from Arcane, I would fucking lose. Or. Yeah, that's right. I'd lose my goddamn mind. The one thing is, of course, they are very specific. This is 2026. Going to be incredible year titles coming this year. So I don't think you'd swerve right with that one and give you something that's not there. Maybe it is coming this year, but I don't know. I don't know. I don't.

[D]

Know. Okay, so you want them to talk about it and show off more about.

[B]

It. I don't want them to deviate from their plan. If they show Blade like Blades this year, I'll fucking punch myself in the face as hard as I fucking can. Because again, like you imagine all these games, they gotta. They. They can't gamble and say GTA is not really there. So if they're. I mean, this makes me think, are we getting fabled before SGF or is it gonna be a September thing? Like, that's awesome. Where's forts in this? Like, the word in January. These games gotta start coming. But if they're like, here's Blade and it's out. If they shadow drop Blade tomorrow or we know the 22nd. Don't fucking talk to me. Just don't talk to me. Let me go. I'll have a broken jaw and I need to play this game in my bed. I will. If Blade drops. If they say, here is Blade and it's out today, in the next three weeks, I will say, I will ring a ding ding, Tim. And I'll be like, you got to leave that newborn at home and you got to come to work because I'm going to go play this.

[D]

Game. I don't know. I feel like Forza's the more likely one to just drop.

[B]

Right? No, I mean, I think Forza will be imminent. I wouldn't be surprised. Like, here's the Forza trailer and it is March, end of February. February seems too close, but Forza will get the like. That's a big enough IP for them and a big enough thing where I think they drown. I mean, like, even there, I'm like, blade will not be a shadow drop. You want to shadow drop that. And then they say, Brett says it's definitely fault through your master. It doesn't line up with the show. It doesn't line up with the show. I think they will when they, when they redraw. When they do Fallout 3 Remastered, they will shadow drop it. Blade is not going to be shadow dropped, obviously, but I'm just saying, you know, no, don't let me dream. I don't want to dream. I don't want to.

[D]

Dream.

[B]

Oh. We'll move on to story number four, a palate cleanser of bad news. Switch 2 sales slowed over Christmas down 35% in the US compared to Switch 1 launch. This is Andy Robinson at VGC news. Nintendo Switch 2 hardware sales slowed during the Christmas period compared to its predecessor in many Western markets, including the US and uk. That's according to the Game Business, which reports that following a record breaking launch earlier in the year, Switch two sales in the US over the holiday period November through December were down by around 35% compared to that of Switch 1, or what Switch 1 managed during the same time in 2017. The slowing Christmas sales come with the Context that Switch 2 experienced a record breaking launch, selling over 3.5 million units in just four days last June and over 10 million by September. So far, the console is comfortably outselling its predecessor. One senior Nintendo employee told the game business that a quote unquote complicated economic landscape, higher price points and the absence of a major Western game during Christmas made comparisons between Switch 1 and Switch 2's opening Christmas periods difficult. It was grim reading for console sales in the US overall during the historically lucrative months of November. According to Circana Data, hardware and software sales in the US had the worst November since tracking began. It's almost like all the economies are in free fall and the world sucks and everything's more expensive because you didn't want to Use pronouns. But I digress. What's up, everybody? It's me, Greg Miller. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Kinda Funny Games Daily Show. That's not what you call this thing, Kinda Funny Games Daily. So as you probably may, if you were watching live, you know, we ran into the computer started dying here. It just started freaking out. And sadly, not only did it corrupt and sound bad going out live, our local records also sounded that way. So we are going to just cut this garbled audio out for you and then jump ahead to when it came. We restarted the computer and came back normal. So you might lose a story in there, but you couldn't make a sense of it anyway. So we love you, we appreciate you, bye. And we're back. Hopefully it's all working. But right there in the chat, Oral Sanchez plays said. Gold stars for Barrett. Good job, Barrett. Good job. Kevin. Hanging in there, trying to make this happen over there. I see a. Flipping switches, doing your.

[D]

Things. Why Barrett was promoted to senior technical.

[B]

Director. I saw that on bs. That's a blue sky.

[D]

Congratulations. Yeah, I mean I was in.

[B]

The room when we gave you the title, but you know, it doesn't matter. Here's my question to get away from how terrible an idea this is. Even though I will play it and if it's good, I'll be like, I was wrong and I'm glad they did this. Do you think everything we just said, is this going to be a developer direct Shadow drop? Is this one. Is this the thing that they're going to partner with and shadow drop it? Yeah, why.

[D]

Not? It could be. It is. It's quote unquote small enough that they could. Yeah, I mean when was the last. When did the last one come out.

[B]

Man? I really feel like what was it? Double exposure. I really feel like that wasn't long ago, but it must have at this point then been two.

[D]

Years. Was it 2024, double exposure? Let me look at.

[C]

It. 2024 sounds right because I think it came before Bloom and.

[D]

Rage. Yeah.

[B]

2024. October. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I guess that's, you know, they're working. I mean like if it's getting. If it's getting rated, it's imminent. So I would imagine if it's imminent, why not do it, you know, in this Xbox direct. I'll see it'd be interest. See what the Xbox Xbox ness of it is when they do it. Usually they. Are they going to add the other ones to game pass at the same time if they're not already there. There's going to be some announcement with that. We'll see. For now though, Stella. Yes, Blade Life is strange. These would be big announcements at the Xbox developer Direct, but if I wanted something smaller, say what came to the mom and grop shops of the news, where would I.

[D]

Go? Well, Mr. Gregory, you'd go to our last story, the WE News channel where we cover all the small news items you need to know.

[B]

About. I was like, I don't know if we have the power. I don't know if the studio. Does the studio brain computer have enough in it to run the Wii News jingle number the Wii News following its launch in Japan, the My Mario series will make its US Debut next month. Inspired by Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom friends, My Mario is a collection of products, games and experiences designed to offer fun ways for young children and their parents to explore, imagine and play side by side with the characters like Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Yoshi. The My Mario collection officially launches at Nintendo New York and Nintendo San Francisco stores February 19th. My Mario products will also begin arriving at select retail stores nationwide this spring and will continue to expand throughout the year. What timing. We are as of Saturday, one week away from the due date of Tim's first child. And now the Nintendo San Francisco store will have all this Mario baby stuff. Hell yeah. He'll be choking on it. I'll be buying it all for him. From the Verge 2 new Switch Joy Con color variants will launch next month. Again, they're like a pastel, teal and pinkish if I remember correctly. I can open it. I guess I don't have to describe to you. Yeah, like a purple pastel and then a purple teal. No. What's the cyan? The kind of funny color but we'd show it to you but it'll ruin the whole fucking channel. Mario Tennis has received has received a beefy overview trailer on Nintendo's YouTube channel. It's a five minute trailer. I will go watch it later on from Variety. Warner Brothers Discovery has turned down the latest acquisition offer by Paramount Skydance. Warner Brothers board is continuing to back the company's deal with Netflix. From GamesIndustry Biz 26 devs from the Shuttered Netflix owned studio Boss Fight Entertainment band together to form Sunwise Games. Congratulations to them. Kinetic Games, the people who made Phasmophobia have launched the indie publishing label Kinetic Publishing. Congrats to them. Shape of Dream surpassed 1 million units sold. Peak sold over 10 million copies in 2025. Holy fucking shit. And then pubg Blind spot Launches on steam early access February 5th. Stella incredible. That's the end of we news. We turn our eyes to the one, the only, the super chats. Dean8149 says new joy cons are nice, but having the red and blue underneath is going to bother me somehow, if you remember. So it's. If you can't see these, because everything's broken here. It's the same thing where the color is around the. It's still the black joy con, but the colors are around the rings and on the sides, which means on the inside of your switch, you still have the red and blue there, which I understand being annoying and these wouldn't motivate. Would you be motivated to buy these joy cons? Like, I feel like when they were all over with Switch one, I was like, I can see it, I can do it. I could like that. This I'm not. I mean, why would I do.

[D]

It? Not really. I mean, they're so minimal. Honestly, like, if I want to get something, then I want it to be big and colorful and bright. Right. Like, this just feels so, like, uninspired. So. Yeah, like.

[B]

Why?

[D]

What. Why not. Why wouldn't I just get. If it's gonna be. If I'm buying whole new joy cons, why not get something that's bright and colorful and different from what I.

[B]

Have? Exactly. That's what I think I'll wait for when they start getting nuts with.

[C]

It. I thought I saw a great theory from CAMERUS Kennedy on BS. That's Blue Sky. Tim talking about maybe we get full colors of these joy cons when they phase out Switch one production just so, like, this has like a distinct look as a switch 2. Because if you update the joy cons to be the full colors, now, that might be a little bit confusing. For sale.

[B]

Stuff. Fair enough. Kyle LaBouf super chat says Barrett is bringing Tim Jr. Energy. That's because he is Tim Jr. He won it fair and square. 0sp0 says 11 years. Congrats. I beat Death Strandy 2 last night. Pete Kojima goddamn Higgs was hot. LOL. Incredible finale. Agreed. Did you beat Death Strandy 2.

[D]

Stella? I have never played a death stranding game just because I don't know if it's my kind of.

[B]

Thing. Fair.

[D]

Enough. I've watched. I watched some playthroughs. It's.

[B]

Gorgeous. Oh, yeah, yeah. That Higgs fight at the end, all that stuff with Hig is.

[D]

Amazing.

[B]

Yeah. So.

[D]

Good. And lot. A lot of feet. A lot of.

[B]

Feet. A lot of feet. But who doesn't like feet. I don't at all like. And I don't even like your sexual. You guys. They gross you.

[C]

Out. They gross me.

[B]

Out. See, I'm very much.

[C]

Like. I have the opposite of whatever a kink is with feet, and it's an aversion.

[D]

Inversion. Yeah, yeah.

[C]

Okay. Yeah, real.

[B]

Gross. See, that's my thing with feet. Like, I got nothing. I got. They do nothing for me. Like, it's just. But I'm not like, anti.

[C]

Feet. Yeah, no, I'm anti feet. If we could all be peg.

[B]

Legs. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Never heard anybody say that. I'm just a. Billy says hi, Stella. Late to the stream. But what was your game of the year? Also, you got to finish clear obscure, which you said you did, didn't.

[D]

You? I did.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Okay. I don't know, man. I mean, before I played, before I finished Expedition, it was south of midnight, but I think I have to say.

[B]

Expedition. Fair enough. Good.

[D]

Call. Yeah. Just the ending.

[B]

Man. Duro super chats. Birthday tax. Happy birthday. Love, y'. All. Keep up the great work. Give Mike a raise. No, he came. He came in here. You'll. When you watch the buzz on Monday, they. Those morons came in here and filmed the buzz back there while I was doing this show here. But I'm such a professional. You had no.

[C]

Idea. Wait, they came into the.

[B]

Studio? Came into the studio. They came in loudly and then went behind the curtain and filmed the buzz back there. But I can still audibly hear them talking about what the buzz.

[C]

Was. Check.

[B]

It. There you go. It'll all tie together when you see it on Monday. The great PDXM Lord says GTA 6 has such a February 2027 vibe to it. You're not wrong. I could see that this GTA could do whatever it wants, whenever it wants. That's the problem. Will Gordon says, Greg, with Kansas getting the Chiefs in 2031 in Indiana trying to lure the Bears out of Chicago, will Illinois now be the new Kansas? That was insane. That was an insane statement. Okay, I understand what you're trying to say, but like, Illinois has cities you want to go to. Illinois has indoor plumbing. Illinois has power. You know what I mean? Where. Where do you want to go in Kansas? Nowhere. You want to drive through it to get to where the next place are you Hope you don't get taken over by Raiders rabbit. Oh, I already. No, no, this is a different one. Rabbit of Canterbaug is Canter Nog is back and says hypothetical Stella. Clear your mind. Clear your mind. If Wolverine and Blade came out the same day. Which would you be playing.

[D]

First? Blade. I.

[B]

Really. I love Blade, don't get me wrong. But I would. I'd still go Wolverine. But Blade would be interesting because I assume if in this scenario it's a shadow drop, so I don't know anything about it. I don't know what it looks like that there's that part of it. But I mean, an insomniac Wolverine game. I can't.

[D]

Wait. I mean, it's like. I think it's because I know what to expect from an insomniac game. Right? Especially with, like, Wolverine, it's another superhero. So it's like, okay, I kind of know what to expect from their studio because I've played their Spider man, but I. I've never played a Blade game. So for me, that's kind of the appeal.

[B]

There. Sure, that's fair. And I understand that. I respect.

[C]

That. Also, Stella, clear your mind. The first movie you think of when you hear the actress name Evangeline.

[B]

Lilly. Yes. Oh, and not movie. Project, project, project, project. Yeah. When you think of Angie of Angeline Lilly, what do you think her acting in Lost? Fuck yeah. That's why I love Stella. God damn it. Fuck you, Jack.

[D]

Quaid. Wait, what did he.

[B]

Say? He said Ant Man. He backed up the rest of Ant man of the.

[D]

Wasp. Oh. I mean, yeah, for movies. But then as soon as you said acting like. She's definitely more known for Lost, in my.

[B]

Opinion. Thank you very much. She is. That's the right answer. That's the right answer. Joshi Frog. There's. There's a fight going on in the super chats and I'll take your money for you guys to do it. Joshy Frog Super Chats and says Bander sn is losing fantasy critic 2026, then Banderas and Super Chats. It says Joshy Frog picked foam stars in his draft. I like that. Anytime you all want to bring your personal beefs to the fun ones to the Super Chats, you do that. And then final one comes from Machine xp. Also late to the stream. Love you both. Greggy looks great in green. Stella, you also look great.

[D]

Lol. Okay, why did I.

[B]

Whoa. Why? They don't want to just compliment you. They compliment me, they feel like they got to compliment you. I understand. And that's the big thing you and I got to figure out is what we're wearing. Last year we did green for the DICE Awards because there was like a green motif thing going on. We got to figure it out this time.

[D]

Faster. Oh, My God, who was it that did the little scribbles? So you looked like. Oh my God, what's his name? The Riddler. Right? And I looked like Catwoman. That was so.

[B]

Good. Yeah, yeah, I did like that. Let's get some of your wrongs in and get you onto the games cast. We have a bunch, but they're all from Jeop 145 7. I remember I earlier in the show Cena, but I was like, I'll keep these for the jokes. I forgot about it. So as we went live and started talking about DICE noms, Jeppo said, please tell me if Pirate Yakuza got nominated for an award in the dice awards. And then 19 minutes later, Greg, why do all. Why do you and the Dice Awards hate Yakuza? They deserve at least one nom. And then another 19 minutes later, it deserves at least one nom. Greg found Roger's all and then Bander S and Super Chat. It says it was very glitchy the last few words before going standby. Stella said it was Life is Strange 2 had Captain Awesome. It was actually Captain Spirit. Fair, fair. Correction. Fair.

[D]

Correction. Oh, Captain Spirit. Why did I think Captain.

[B]

Awesome. I forget Captain Spirit's name all the time, so don't worry about that. But I won't forget.

[D]

Comic. Okay.

[B]

Sorry. I won't forget all the awards at this year's DICE Awards. Remember? Of course. 29th annual DICE Awards is coming up February 12th. That's a Thursday, 8 Pacific. Stella, myself will. Will be hosting. Evan Wells from Naughty Dog is going into the hall of Fame. There's a bunch of cool stuff happening there and all your favorite developers will be there and probably a little bit drunk. That's always my favorite part is who's going to say something little questionable on stage. It happens. Usually it's me. Stella, thank you so much for coming by and of course always hosting the DICE Awards with me. Where can people keep up with.

[D]

You? Yeah, I mean, you can keep up with a playthrough of Knights of the Republic, Old Republic on Twitch tv. Parallax Stella. I guess maybe I'll take a little break and play Dispatch. Yeah, people convince me enough. I'm also doing this weird project where I decided to make one video a day on my like really small IRL channel. So that's Parallax Stella irl. It's weird so far, but it's like kind of my method of breaking like the creative.

[B]

Block.

[D]

Right. That the last two months. Yeah. So it's just like forcing something. So if you want to keep up with some weird videos. There's that. So yeah, hell.

[B]

Yeah. And of course, if you want to keep with us, pick up the kind of funny membership patreon.com kindafunny YouTube.com kinda funny games Apple Spotify get everything ad free. Get your daily dose of me in a series called Greg Way. And of course get good karma for supporting an 11 person 11 year old business all about live talk shows. Your day is far from done here. You go from here to the kind of funny games cast. You go from there to the return of party mode. Then I have work to do this night live. But we love you, appreciate you and are so happy you stuck through some technical hiccups. Until next time, it's been our pleasure to serve.