The XB2 — An Xbox & Gaming Podcast

🥇WIN Call of Duty MW4 for Xbox/PC via: ⁠http://discord.gg/XB2

Jez and Rand are back in the hot seat, discussing what has been a pretty eventful week in Xbox and industry news. BioWare was killed by EA, Gears E-Day budget rumors create headlines, Fortune claims Xbox Helix is targeting 2028 ... at $1800 max?! What's going on?

🦈 SPONSOR: http://SURFSHARK.com/XB2 | SurfShark VPN! Get 86% OFF a two year plan, working out to just $2 a month! 🦈

TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00: Intro, Silver Pines impressions, Hellraiser impressions. 00:20:00: BioWare dead, Gears of War: E-Day budget, Arkane to be saved?01:05:00: Stellar Blade coming to Xbox? Call of Duty campaign reviews. 01:55:00: Fortune covers Xbox, Helix coming in 2028? $1800 dollars?! Xbox Cloud Gaming pricing.02:35:00: Xbox private equity rumors, Xbox COO leaves?! Battlefront 3 rumors. Patreon Q&A segment.

💚SUPPORT US on PATREON from $1.99: Extra shows, ad-free, Q&A section weekly, and MORE! ⁠http://patreon.com/XB2⁠ | Now cheaper!

A huge thank you to our Patreon members!

PATREON PRODUCERS 🥇:Jason Dorson: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Fool-J-Dorson-ebook/dp/B0GSRP2TLLInner MachineDEKU2511James Wezo

PATREON MVPS 🏅:Adam Bartolo, AloraanGrogu, Asa-T & Madison, Battered Haddock, Briggz Country, BrightTundra1, ChrisM, Conker1031, CWoody, Cyllis, DEKU2511, DiscardedCabose, Ennex, Fantesticles, Frank from WildStarGaming, Good Old Collingwood, GovernerGrim, iamchuckdub, iMikeZero, Inner Machine, J F0LEY, James Moore, James Wezo, Jessica-Star, Jonathan Dorson, Justin Duell, KAYTRIOX, Lazar Wolf, matt, Murray, PatRock, Phrosty, Rand al Thor 19, Ronmar the Only, Rs Donks, Sean Kramer, Shay Elephant, Shrapnel, TrixR4Trey, Vito Chiaramonte, Woggerman, WolfgangKPZ, youngbl00d8.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Rand and Jez talk up Xbox's surveys on exclusive games. Could they really pull the trigger on going fully exclusive? We have the Xbox Labs announcement, what exactly is it? And we talk more leaks from Asha's Xbox Town Hall.

🦈 SPONSOR: http://SURFSHARK.com/XB2 | SurfShark VPN! Get 86% OFF a two year plan, working out to just $2 a month! 🦈

TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00: Intro, WoW writing backlash and AI coding controversy, PS5 jailbroken. Xbox Labs announcement. Game discovery and storefront saturation. AI slopocalypse?00:40:00: Minecraft vs. Roblox, gen-AI, Draconia Malfoid. Rand plays Hellraiser. Jez plays Castlevania. 01:00:00: GTA 6 marketing and Xbox Play Anywhere deal? Game Awards controversy.01:30:00: Call of Duty MW4 is ... good? Gears: E-Day flopped? Asha wants new IP. Will Kojima retire after Physint?02:00:00: Xbox exclusivity survey. Big platform shift?02:30:00: Patreon Q&A segment.

💚SUPPORT US on PATREON from $1.99: Extra shows, ad-free, Q&A section weekly, and MORE! ⁠http://patreon.com/XB2⁠ | Now cheaper!💚
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey Xbox gang, as usual, Rand and Jez are back talking all of this week's major Xboxxy news, including the new Xbox PC app, the rumored GTA 6 deal for Xbox Cloud Gaming, Project Helix comments from Asha, Xbox's new XP division for movies and TV and theme parks, and much more.

🦈 SPONSOR: http://SURFSHARK.com/XB2 | SurfShark VPN! Get 86% OFF a two year plan, working out to just $2 a month! 🦈

TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00: Intro, Xbox Mythics "thiccs," ID@Xbox changes, leaked Xbox PC app, Don Mattrick was crazy? Xbox's new "XP" division.00:30:00: Core gamer problem, and growing the hobby, BlizzCon becomes XboxCon? Hollywood embraces gaming. 00:50:00: Control Resonant impressions, Nick skips all the cutscenes?! Gears of War: E-Day sales fallout.01:55:00: Xbox gets GTA 6 cloud streaming rights? Xbox Elite Series 3 imminent, FSR 4 coming to Xbox? 02:20:00: Xbox Helix, Asha's Town Hall presentation. Patreon Q&A segment.

💚SUPPORT US on PATREON from $1.99: Extra shows, ad-free, Q&A section weekly, and MORE! ⁠http://patreon.com/XB2⁠ | Now cheaper!💚

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

🦈 SPONSOR: http://SURFSHARK.com/XB2 | SurfShark VPN! Get 86% OFF a two year plan, working out to just $2 a month! 🦈

Hey gang! This month's XB2+1 rocked out with Lord Addict of the Iron Lords Podcast! Talking Xbox stuff, GTA 6, events of the summer, the future of Halo, and much, much more!

Lord Addict on YT: https://www.youtube.com/@LordAddictILPIron Lords on YT: https://www.youtube.com/@IronLordsPodcastRoundtable

AIRED FIRST on September 29, 2026 on PATREON!

💚SUPPORT US on PATREON from $1.99: Extra shows, ad-free, Q&A section weekly, and MORE! ⁠http://patreon.com/XB2⁠ | Now cheaper!💚

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

🦈 SPONSOR: http://SURFSHARK.com/XB2 | SurfShark VPN! Get 86% OFF a two year plan, working out to just $2 a month! 🦈

Hey gang, Rand and Jez are going live today as usual! We'll talk the Asha interview with the New York Times, E-Day reviews, Kojima PHYSINT budget misinformation, the latest info on Halo, and much more.

💚SUPPORT US on PATREON from $1.99: Extra shows, ad-free, Q&A section weekly, and MORE! ⁠http://patreon.com/XB2⁠ | Now cheaper!

TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00: Intro, Xbox Mythic Achievements, Kojima + Physint budget rumors.00:50:00: Gears of War: E-Day campaign impressions.01:33:00: Media shenanigans, future of Halo, Take Two publishing agreement with Xbox.01:53:00: Asha says Xbox is not for sale, WoW: Forever hype.02:30:00: Patreon Q&A, Wolverine reviews drama, GTA 6 to miss Game Awards cut-off?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices