#241 | ANOTHER Canceled Game Hits Xbox... - What's Next?

Defining Duke: An Xbox Podcast

Last Stand Media & Studio71

Hobbies, Leisure, Video Games

4.9 • 947 Ratings

🗓️ 17 August 2025

⏱️ 231 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Contraband was announced back in 2021. Since then, we've seen just about nothing from the game. No messaging beats, no trailers, and even the Xbox executives didn't yap about this one! After four years of development, this collaboration between Xbox and Avalanche has come to a close. Adding it to the list of canceled Xbox titles, this one feels different to Dependable Cog and Choco Matty. Part of it is apathy, but it's also a new angle from the previous shutdowns where we really don't know much about what was lost. It's a valuable lesson in why Xbox shouldn't announce things early. Beyond our headline, we get into Xbox's president offering her talents to Tyson Foods (?!), Halo coming to PlayStation, a legend leaving Xbox, and diving deep into Matty's recent interview with ex-BioWare vet, Mark Darrah. Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro0:10:29 - Cog wears diapers & Matty goes viral for cleaning0:40:34 - Health Is Wealth0:48:38 - Mafia: The Old Country "Controversy"0:58:16 - Are games giving what the fans want?1:04:19 - Ex BioWare dev on Dragon Age remasters1:25:35 - PlayStation is moving away from hardware?1:43:25 - Rod Ferguson is leaving Blizzard1:51:15 - Sarah Bond joins… Tyson Foods2:00:50 - An update on the future of Forza2:05:48 - The release date for the Xbox Ally has leaked2:07:58 - Heretic + Hexen re-release shadowdropped2:12:09 - A Halo game is coming to PlayStation2:17:13 - Halo ODST is coming to Helldivers 22:21:52 - Bungie’s leash tightens with Marathon2:28:48 - S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is getting a massive roadmap2:34:14 - LEGO Batman is getting the Skywalker Saga treatment?2:44:11 - Crimson Desert has been delayed to Q1 20262:45:40 - What We’re Playing3:25:42 - Contraband has been canceled3:33:39 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I've rolled out uni because I want to live at home.
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2:03.7	It is Maddie here today.
2:08.3	Welcome to episode 241 of Defining Duke and Xbox podcast.
2:12.5	Today I'm joined by Mr. Met himself.
2:16.6	Lord Cognito, we got a new home run record holder.
2:20.6	We got a win last night. How are we feeling good, sir?
2:24.6	Oh, we're feeling good. It's been a long time for a W, so we got to celebrate. We've been on the hunt for one for a while. Exactly. We've found a new ways to lose.
2:30.6	The game that broke me was against the Brewers when the pitch clock violation happened.
	...

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