Let's Yap: Xbox Layoffs, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Remake & the Rise of Double-A Games (feat. Xavier Ho)

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: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 freeIs gaming heading for another crash? Davey brings up the 1983 E.T. moment and asks whether GTA 6 could be the harbingerThe double-A renaissance argument — why Gen Z doesn't care about photorealism and why the middle tier is where the best games are coming fromSony's tone-deaf social media moment — because reading the room is hardA 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 XThe 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🎧 Xavier is back next week for a deep dive on the state of LGBTQIA+ gaming — subscribe so you don't miss it.💬 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