211 It's Official: Stardew Is the Highest Rated Game of All Time

Nine years after its initial release, "Stardew Valley" has dethroned "Portal 2" as the highest-rated game on Steam. We discuss this huge achievement and the business of providing long-term value to players in a world of short-term thinking.But it's impossible to kick off the pod without discussing Microsoft's latest round of layoffs, with 9,000 people out of the job, many in the Xbox division. This has led to the cancelation of many promising games. The looming specter of AI certainly plays a role here.And speaking of people losing their jobs, the leaders of "Subnautica's" studio Unknown Worlds were recently told to kick rocks by their parent company Krafton, right before the release of one of the most-wishlisted video games of all time: "Subnautica 2." The community is livid, and new revelations hint at some unsavory details.And Colette shares an update on her progress in "Expedition 33."https://www.theverge.com/news/697125/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2025https://www.dexerto.com/stardew-valley/stardew-valley-dethrones-valve-classic-as-steams-top-rated-game-3224023/https://www.wired.com/story/video-games-voice-actors-strike-over-artificial-intelligence/https://gamerant.com/subnautica-2-founder-statement/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-09/krafton-delays-subnautica-2-game-ahead-of-250-million-payout Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/5xz84B9RRJ Subscribe to the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ColetteAndMattEmail us with what you're playing and we'll read it on the show! [email protected] Follow and subscribe to Colette:https://bsky.app/profile/itscocobee.bsky.socialhttps://www.twitch.tv/hellococobeeFollow and subscribe to Matt:https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.socialhttps://www.patreon.com/influencepodhttps://www.youtube.com/c/freedadvideosOur theme music is by Azure Flux: https://azureflux.bandcamp.com/Our logo is illustrated by @JustCallMeKatarina: https://www.instagram.com/justcallmekatarina/