#296 | Will Xbox Go All In On Physical Games?

#296 | Will Xbox Go All In On Physical Games?

From Defining Duke: An Xbox Podcast by Last Stand Media & Studio71

September 6, 2026 · 2h 54m · Episode 296

About this episode

Matty discusses Xbox's approach to physical games and exclusivity following Gamescom.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for a rare one! Indeed, it is I, Matty, and I shall be tickling your ears across the airwaves in a solo venture here from Paris. Today, I dive into the post-Gamescom fallout in what has been an eventful trip for Xbox. For starters, BBC News briefly spoke with Asha Sharma and managed to snag a few answers from her on everything from Helix's "family of devices" to Halo getting some more focus over time. Most interestingly to me was her approach to physical games versus Sony's recent statement on how "reasonable consumers" know they don't own their digital games. Naturally as a game collector, I'm very interested to see where Xbox's disc-to-digital program goes. If this is the starting point, or "step one" as they've put it, then I can imagine great things arriving down the stretch. The question is: what does this mean for physical releases? Is it possible that Xbox pulls out limited runs of their games following the launch? I discuss that, plus Asha's thoughts on Xbox's approach to exclusivity which say more than I think most are considering! Beyond that, we dive into Fable's story length, Xbox's ambitious movie deal, my experience with State Of…

People in this episode

Host: Matty

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Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC News, Xbox, Sony

Products: Helix, Halo, State Of Decay 3

Books & works: Fable

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