Let's Yap: Xbox Layoffs, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Remake & the Rise of Double-A Games (feat. Xavier Ho)
Jul 20, 2026 ·
51m 2s
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Description
Dr Xavier Ho from Monash University returns to Bargain Bin Gaymers, and it's Yap Week at the Bulldog — three gaymers squeezed onto one couch, one associate producer named May,...
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Dr Xavier Ho from Monash University returns to Bargain Bin Gaymers, and it's Yap Week at the Bulldog — three gaymers squeezed onto one couch, one associate producer named May, and enough industry talk to power a small game studio.
Davey, Mitch and Xavier get into the news that's actually mattering right now: Microsoft cutting 3,200 Xbox jobs and spinning off Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs. Is this the end of AAA as we know it — or the start of a proper double-A renaissance?
In this episode:
💬 Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/fqC2FeHSUr
❤️ Support the BQN Network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bqn
☕ Support BBG directly on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/bargainbingaymers
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Davey, Mitch and Xavier get into the news that's actually mattering right now: Microsoft cutting 3,200 Xbox jobs and spinning off Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs. Is this the end of AAA as we know it — or the start of a proper double-A renaissance?
In this episode:
- What everyone's been playing — Sunderfolk (Xavier's D&D-style party game), NieR: Automata (Mitch's philosophy homework), and Assassin's Creed Black Flag Remake (Davey's current obsession)
- The Xbox reckoning — 3,200 jobs, four studios spun off, and whether Compulsion, Double Fine, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs are actually better off free
- Is gaming heading for another crash? Davey brings up the 1983 E.T. moment and asks whether GTA 6 could be the harbinger
- The double-A renaissance argument — why Gen Z doesn't care about photorealism and why the middle tier is where the best games are coming from
- Sony's tone-deaf social media moment — because reading the room is hard
- A packed Release Radar covering every game landing before end of July: Fading Echo, Tears of Metal, Avatar Legends, Disgaea Mayhem, Dino Blade (yes, a Souls-like where you're a Spinosaurus with a sword), Ronin, Splatoon Raiders, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD, Halo Campaign Evolved, BloodRayne, Sextet, Mistfall Hunter, Truxton Extreme, and Xenoblade Chronicles X
- The Bargain Watch List: Xavier flags the Non-Binary Coded Games Steam Fest (running now) and the "Figuring It Out" itch bundle of queer identity novellas and short stories
💬 Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/fqC2FeHSUr
❤️ Support the BQN Network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bqn
☕ Support BBG directly on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/bargainbingaymers
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| Author | BQN |
| Organization | BQN |
| Website | bargainbingaymer.com |
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