Dropped Frames

We sound the Rami alarm this week to check the health of the industry after a massive week of game announcements from Summer Game Fest! We go over the Nintendo Direct, pick out some games we're excited about go into the history of 1666: Amsterdam. With the extreme slate of new games on the horizon comes news of Microsoft looking to downsize and possibly sell off the XBOX brand and what that means for everyone else. Then for a little bonus discussion Rami goes into more detail from the development of his own game "Australia Did It!" Games this week: The 7th Guest remake, Path of Exile 2, 007 First Light, Gambonaza and more!   0:00 - Intro1:00 - Dog owners3:50 - Beach vacation4:30 - Rami is here13:30 - The Nintendo Direct21:50 - Fable25:20 - Apples34:00 - Rami on SGF36:00 - Guild Wars 339:05 - gen Alpha45:30 - 1666: Amsterdam50:00 - SGF wrap-up1:10:00 - Competing 1:21:40 - The AI discussion1:26:05 - Microsoft ready to chop up XBOX1:59:00 - Monetary systems2:11:10 - Final Fantasy VII Remake director on streaming2:21:00 - Capcom moving away from auteur development2:28:10 - The 7th Guest remake2:31:50 - Path of Exile 22:33:20 - Gothic 1 remake2:34:50 - 007 First Light2:46:40 - Gambonanza2:48:50 - Joining the end of Destiny 22:58:20 - Shoutouts3:02:00 - BONUS: Australia Did ItSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first real episode of 2026 is upon us. We chat about all the silly things announced at CES 2026, speedruns at AGDQ 2026, Anthem shutting down. Going over the Reddit AMA with Swen Vincke giving more insight into Divinity and their development process also is StarCraft returning? Games this week are StarRupture, Alchemy Factory, Octopath Traveler 0 and more!   0:00 - Intro3:40 - Where Cheeks Meet7:30 - CES 202618:00 - AGDQ 202630:00 - Anthem shutting down32:10 - Larian Studios AMA1:00:30 - XBOX Developer Direct announced1:02:00 - StarCraft is back?1:08:00 - New Game+ showcase1:22:00 - Rumor: Fallout New Vegas Remaster1:24:00 - Old games have no QOL1:46:50 - StarRupture1:59:10 - Alchemy Factory2:06:50 - League of Legends2:10:30 - Octopath Traver 02:11:40 - Trails in The Sky 12:26:20 - Shoutouts  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vote in the community Dropped Frames GOTY here: https://dfgoty.com/   Sodapoppin joins us this week to chat about life after 15 years of streaming and how much streaming has changed in recent years. Then we go over the winners at The Streamer Awards, vote on the winners for The Game Awards happening this week. Then we go deep into Chinese World of Warcraft, running streamer guild OnlyFangs, handling streamer drama and much more!   0:00 - Intro2:20 - Sodapoppin is here5:30 - Growing up with streaming12:00 - The Streamer Awards37:00 - Going over TGA nominees2:03:40 - World of Warcraft China2:39:40 - OnlyFangs2:48:20 - Mana gems3:01:15 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 released this week, to very little fan fare and a lot of mad players. We take our bets on what games will be nominated at The Game Awards this year. Steam launches a new family of hardware with Steam Machine, the new Steam controller and Steam Frame. There's a Horizon MMO in the works, we give our thoughts on Where Winds Meet & The Last Caretaker as well as our review of Dispatch!   0:00 - Intro5:00 - Bubba8:00 - GOTY so far14:00 - Ubisoft getting bought?20:00 - Call of Duty Black Ops 742:40 - Steam launching new hardware1:02:00 - JP's search history1:09:10 - Will there be a Dispatch season 2?1:18:30 - Escape from Tarkov reviews1:22:20 - Fans try to bring Concord back1:24:30 - Horizon MMO1:32:20 - State of Play1:36:10 - Star Citizen1:47:30 - Aion 2?1:49:00 - ARC Raiders update1:53:00 - Battlefield 61:56:40 - Popular YouTuber Chris Wilson1:59:50 - Where Winds Meet2:35:40 - The Last Caretaker2:43:00 - Dispatch2:54:20 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're joined by Brandon Adler and Matt Singh from Obsidian Entertainment to chat about the evolution of the Obsidian RPG and where the studio goes from here. In the news: Amazon shutters Amazon Games Studio and ending the MMORPG New Worlds after a 15 years attempt at dethroning Steam to shift to AI. Is Twitch on the chopping block as well? A remake of Halo CE was announced for Playstation (and XBOX.) We try to understand Digimon, Arc Raiders is fun, Path of Exile drops a peak league, we glaze Dispatch and more!   0:00 - Intro1:20 - Halloween10:00 - New World gets shuttered16:00 - Amazon trying to compete with Steam32:00 - Halo: Campaign Evolved37:50 - Ball x Pit42:20 - 20k bot47:50 - Digimon Story: Time Stranger1:00:25 - Obsidian interview1:01:00 - Outer Wilds 2 or The Outer Worlds 2?1:16:00 - Flaws1:34:20 - Difficulty1:58:00 - Trails in the Sky FC2:05:40 - Arc Raiders2:13:10 - Silksong2:24:00 - Path of Exile 12:26:40 - Dispatch2:30:10 - Keeper2:34:00 - Ire: A Prologue2:39:30 - November releases2:41:20 - Tormented Souls 22:45:50 - RV There Yet2:56:20 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are we witnessing the end of XBOX as hardware? All signs are point to yes as retailers continue to stop stocking the console. EA officially goes private, what does that mean for the studios under their umbrella? Megabonk sells over 1 mil, World of Warcraft Midnight set to change how raids work moving forward and living in the AI hell dimension. We then glaze Hades 2 and Ghost of Yotei and brace for another stacked month of video games! 0:00 - Intro2:30 - Race cars12:55 - XBOX raises prices42:50 - EA goes private55:50 - Megabonk sells 1 million copies59:00 - World of Warcraft removes combat mods1:27:20 - The Age of Lies1:33:50 - Hades 21:40:00 - Ghost of Yotei2:29:00 - October games2:35:10 - Baby Steps2:51:20 - Housekeeping/ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.