Episode 44: Delivered in the Tone of Igor

Total Playtime is the official Jank podcast, funded entirely by our paying subscribers (and formerly our backers on Patreon). This week’s episode is free, but subscribers get additional episodes every other week. You may join them by subscribing here, and you can find all previous episodes here.   

Alice and Nate are away this week, possibly because we're talking about layoffs again, chiefly those at Microsoft again. Still, this does spare us from having to tell Nate live on air that an unrevealed Age of Empires game has been cancelled. 

Otherwise it's a bit of a bad-news rundown through the extended Xbox universe and into Bungie's recent decision that it's going to spend time on Destiny 2 after all, before Brendy brightens things up with some chat about the cheerily implausible fighter-plane-based fiction of Ace Combat 8. There are also some important tips about carrying car batteries, thus cementing our position as providers of service journalism. 

You can listen to the episode right here, or find it in your podcasting app of choice. 

Our art is by God Ribbon, our art is by Marsh Davies, our editing is by Alix Attenborough and the entire podcast is thanks to the paying supporters of Jank. Share your insights on impairment-based financial charges at [e-mail], in the comments below, or in the rarified environment of the Jank Discord.

Links!
Turns out that estate agents are held in higher regard than journalists although we've still got the edge on "politicians generally" and "social media influencers". Xbox did layoffs again. Don't call it a reset. Ninja Theory is marked for closure.  Microsoft bought Activision for $69 billion. The reshuffle suggests a reverse acquisition. Bungie is de-vaulting Destiny and re-vamping Marathon. 

Games!
Forza Horizon 6. Clockwork Revolution. Gears of War E-Day. Fable (2027). Destiny 2. Marathon. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. Permaban.

Recommendations!
The Hundred Brothers and Resident Evil (2026).

What is Total Playtime?

Total Playtime is the official podcast of Jank.cool and is a conversation about videogames, mostly, by games industry veterans Alice Bell, Nate Crowley, Brendy Caldwell and Jon Hicks. Join them for discussion of the latest and most interesting PC and indie games, grumbles about the state of games media, and impromptu quizzes dredged from the unknowable depths of Nate's brain. Public episodes are released every two weeks, and if you subscribe to Jank you'll get weekly episodes. Send us questions, ideas and feedback at [e-mail], and follow us on BlueSky if you like.