Episode 595: Bethesda Layoffs, Black Flag Resynced & Tarkov Kord Breach

Black Flag Resynced just became the biggest Assassin's Creed launch in history — and it's a remake of a 13-year-old game with mixed Steam reviews. The boys break down the day-one microtransaction backlash, whether the remake gold rush is good for gaming, and which classics deserve the full ground-up treatment next.

Then it gets heavier: Microsoft's July layoff wave hit Bethesda and ZeniMax hard, and Raz makes the case that AI is a top-three reason why. Plus the office memorial HR forced down, 14 layers of management, and why Elder Scrolls 6 should have shipped a decade ago. Also on the docket: Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations DLC and its Metroidvania-inspired level design, Stop Killing Games taking Ls in the EU and California (and the list of "dying" games nobody has ever heard of), the full corrected rundown of Tarkov's Kord Breach Season 1 modifiers, and the BO2 remaster shipping with bugs that were patched a decade ago. One host thinks the ownership question matters. The other thinks the market already answered it. You know how this goes.

0:00 - Intro

3:48 - Black Flag Resynced: biggest AC launch ever

12:35 - The day-one microtransaction backlash

24:29 - Remakes are the new meta

34:19 - Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations DLC

42:29 - Bethesda layoffs

43:35 - Did AI cause the layoffs?

47:50 - The office memorial HR took down

53:43 - Where the hell is Elder Scrolls 6?

1:01:12 - AAA studios don't take risks anymore