The XB2 — An Xbox & Gaming Podcast

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Originally aired on http://PATREON.com/XB2, Tuesday Oct 20, 2026.

This week, we hang out with Samuel Tolbert, Windows Central alumni and damn fine writer, now working on Campaign Mode newsletter.
We'll talk Xboxxy things, Xbox's crazy summer, our top games of the "right now," and much more.

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🥇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?

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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!

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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.

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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!💚
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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!💚

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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!💚

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