Imagine Battlefield, but dying matters. That's the WARDOGS closed alpha in one sentence — and after a weekend in it, we're calling it the most polished alpha we've ever played.

WARDOGS is Bulkhead and Team17's 100-player tactical shooter: three factions, one randomized control zone, first side to 100 points wins. You start with $10,000, you buy your loadout from in-game vendors, and when you die you lose the gear AND the money you spent on it. The money carries between matches. You can loot the guy you just killed and walk away with a level 30 kit you couldn't buy for another six hours.

In this episode: what the alpha actually plays like, why the economy isn't the gimmick people think it is, how three-way faction warfare changes your strategy, the 256 square kilometre map, destructible towers, the reviving system Battlefield should steal, TTK and gunplay, why an Arma 3 King of the Hill mod is the reason none of this feels half-baked — and the two things that genuinely pissed us off.

Plus the final verdict, the scores, and the one thing that could still ruin this game.

Raz thinks it's a flawless alpha. Jake wants free look. Neither of us can stop playing it.

0:00 - Intro

1:14 - Patreon, free trials and the hangout

3:58 - What WARDOGS actually is

4:21 - Two things we had wrong before playing

6:07 - Unlock fees and gear progression

7:51 - The NDA that stopped us streaming

8:23 - Control zone, hot zone and how you score

11:01 - You can't group with your friends

12:59 - "It's so fun I don't recommend you play it"

14:33 - Jake's first impressions

18:07 - The best-performing alpha we've ever played

20:20 - How three factions changes your strategy

23:38 - Battlefield, but dying matters

25:43 - Looting kills and juicer kits

30:39 - Does the control zone actually move?

33:44 - Destructible towers and the M1 Abrams

35:59 - FOBs, spawn trucks and sandbags

40:00 - Infantry desperately needs free look

42:57 - The tutorial is actually good

43:58 - Does 100 players feel full?

47:26 - The log truck last stand

50:19 - Snipers and no scope glint

52:12 - Onboarding and the backpack system

55:15 - The loadout presets they need to add

57:06 - The kill cam that shows too much

58:18 - The milsim/arcade sweet spot

1:02:27 - Why it works: 10 years of Arma King of the Hill

1:04:45 - Visibility matters more than audio

1:08:50 - TTK, armor and ammo types

1:11:04 - Weapons: AK vs T21

1:14:15 - Gunfights that are actually gunfights

1:16:44 - Movement and traversal

1:20:56 - Reviving, defibs and why Battlefield gets it wrong

1:25:01 - Spawn trucks and the ride back to the fight

1:26:26 - Vehicles handle weird

1:28:58 - The first Unreal Engine 5 game that actually runs

1:29:32 - The money mechanic explained

1:35:02 - Is there gear fear?

1:37:56 - Why the economy isn't a gimmick

1:42:34 - What a max-level meta kit will cost

1:44:52 - Wipes, seasons and gold bars

1:47:31 - Selling ammo to your own team

1:49:42 - 256 square kilometers

1:56:30 - Time of day and future maps

1:57:59 - Who is this game actually for?

2:02:12 - Why Tarkov is too complicated

2:06:58 - Will we still be playing in six months?

2:10:00 - The one thing that could ruin it: anti-cheat

2:12:11 - Final verdict and scores

2:15:21 - Outro

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

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🔹Jakedown:

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#TheDropshot #DropshotPodcast #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips #WARDOGS #Bulkhead #Team17 #TacticalShooter #FPS #PCGaming #Battlefield #EscapeFromTarkov #HellLetLoose #Arma3 #WardogsAlpha #ClosedAlpha #NewFPS #EarlyAccess #GameReview #FirstImpressions #HotTake

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On Tuesday, Electronic Arts stops being a public company. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners are closing a $55 billion all-cash buyout — the largest leveraged buyout of a public company in history — and PIF walks away with 93.4% of Madden, FIFA, Apex, The Sims, Battlefield and BioWare.

So we spent half the episode on what that actually means: what going private does to a publisher, the $20 billion in debt that lands on EA itself, whether sports betting is the obvious way to service it, and what happens to queer characters in BioWare games under this ownership. Plus the question nobody answers honestly — is boycotting Madden a real position, or does it just feel good?

Then the other half. Tarkov's first post-launch wipe and the Kord Breach seasons drop August 3, so we get into the state of the game right before it resets. Overwatch Champions Series is live in Paris, and the jetpack cat strat does not translate to Silver. And Baldur's Gate 3's new true third-person camera mod set the internet on fire — someone told modders to be nuked off the face of the earth over an optional camera angle in a single-player game.

Jake wants a normal third-person view in everything. Raz is a Larian hipster who was there before BG3. WARDOGS Alpha hits Friday.

0:00 - Intro

0:50 - Pop Quiz: Name That Tarkov AI

2:41 - Patreon Free Trials & August Hangouts

6:37 - WARDOGS Alpha Drops August 7

8:43 - Escape From Tarkov: Back In It

10:50 - Raz Gets Mogged All Wipe Long

16:36 - Jake's Week in Tarkov

22:49 - Tarkov Is the Dark Souls of FPS

24:19 - Overwatch: Bronze 5 to Silver 3

26:12 - Overwatch Champions Series in Paris

27:11 - The Jetpack Cat + Bastion A-10 Strat

31:50 - Saudi Arabia Is Buying EA for $55 Billion

44:23 - Going Private: Actually Good for Games?

50:47 - The $20 Billion Leveraged Buyout

52:15 - The Sports Betting Theory

55:55 - Nobody Here Bets on Anything

1:00:15 - Tangent: The Intel Bet That Paid 500%

1:02:49 - $166 Billion Wagered in 2025

1:04:08 - Why Do People Watch Gambling Streams?

1:05:10 - Gambling Ads and Kids

1:07:23 - There Is No Moral Panic Here

1:15:53 - "Creative Control" and What It's Worth

1:18:29 - Khashoggi, Non-Disparagement, Game-Washing

1:22:10 - Queer Characters, BioWare, and Veilguard

1:26:02 - Would You Still Buy It? (Yes)

1:28:37 - Is Boycotting Madden a Real Position?

1:31:30 - The BG3 Third-Person Camera Mod

1:32:11 - What the Mod Actually Does

1:36:25 - The Two Camps

1:37:52 - Raz Is a Larian Hipster

1:40:06 - Genre Purism: Is Isometric Load-Bearing?

1:42:20 - Jake Writes Off Every Top-Down Game

1:45:11 - The Elden Ring Summons Crowd

1:47:27 - Divinity's Camera, Confirmed

1:48:05 - Larian Shot Down WASD Movement

1:55:35 - That Divinity Trailer

1:57:37 - Why DOS2 Combat Beats BG3

2:01:44 - Outro

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #DropshotPodcast #GamingPodcast #Jakedown #Razinon #EscapeFromTarkov #Tarkov #KordBreach #Overwatch #OWCS #BaldursGate3 #BG3 #LarianStudios #Divinity #WARDOGS #EA #ElectronicArts #SaudiArabia #GamingNews #GamingIndustry #PodcastClips #HotTake #GamingClips

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WARDOGS ran its first ever gameplay livestream this week and it went about as well as you'd expect from a studio full of guys in their late twenties: the alpha codes were a QR-code disaster, the stream started two hours late, and it ended with a Twitch ban for throwing a sex toy across the room. And yet — the actual gameplay looked incredible. We break down everything we saw: the enormous map, the three-team control zone loop, the destructible environments, the buy menu, and why Bulkhead's 60 FPS performance floor and "gamers first, devs second" attitude has us more hyped for this game than anything else on the calendar. Plus: is a monthly subscription for better servers and anti-cheat a genuinely good idea or the start of a slippery slope?

Then it's Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, which just opened its first free crossplay playtest on the new Đắk Tô Airfield map — the performance is fixed, the hit reg is fixed, and the map is a massive upgrade over that awful jungle one. And Battlefield 6 Season 4 finally brought naval warfare, Tsuru Reef, and a Top Gun crossover that people are somehow mad about.

We close with what we've actually been playing — Overwatch ranked, Stellaris Nomads, a lot of Tarkov, and one MMO Raz will absolutely keep playing despite telling you not to touch it.

Jake's out here getting one-tapped in Tarkov. Raz is defending a game he just called a pile of dog shit. Business as usual.

0:00 - Intro

1:40 - Patreon + Welcome To The New Gold Patrons

3:21 - Patreon Hangouts Are Back In August

4:40 - WARDOGS Ran Its First Gameplay Livestream

5:42 - QR Code Chaos, A Flying Dildo, And A Twitch Ban

6:52 - The Gameplay Though? Actually Incredible

10:56 - This Map Might Be Too Big

13:37 - Why A Huge Map Makes Your Life Matter

15:24 - The Buy Menu vs. Tarkov's Nightmare Menu

16:14 - WARDOGS Isn't Really A New Genre

18:38 - Flight Of The Valkyries In A Helicopter

19:35 - Three Teams, Base Building, And What We Didn't See

21:46 - The Devs Are Just A Bunch Of Bros (And That's Good)

23:58 - Shock Collars And Shots At Hasan

25:27 - The Performance Dev Vlog: 60 FPS Is The Floor

29:44 - Gamers First, Devs Second

30:39 - 650,000 Wishlists vs. 5,000 Expected Players

36:28 - Joe Brammer's Monthly Subscription Idea

41:39 - What Will WARDOGS Actually Cost?

46:55 - Reddit Hates The Subscription Idea

49:44 - BF6 Isn't Unpopular Because Of Microtransactions

53:17 - The Alpha Isn't Until August 7th And That's Annoying

56:50 - Hell Let Loose: Vietnam Got Pushed Back

58:08 - Dak To Airfield First Impressions

1:00:08 - Napalm Strikes And Viet Cong Tunnels

1:01:57 - Why The First Beta Was A Disaster

1:04:39 - If Every Map Is Jungle, This Game Is DOA

1:08:02 - Free Crossplay Weekend, Ends Monday

1:09:40 - Will WARDOGS Have Controller Support?

1:11:55 - Battlefield 6 Season 4: Naval Warfare Finally

1:13:00 - Tsuru Reef Is Big, Bright, And Actually Fun

1:14:57 - The Bloom In This Game Is Infuriating

1:16:41 - Driving The New Warship

1:17:21 - Wake Island And The Top Gun Crossover

1:20:39 - RedSec Added Bots. Obviously.

1:21:02 - Aircraft Carrier Facts Nobody Asked For

1:23:13 - WARDOGS Is The Only Thing That Matters

1:25:11 - What We've Been Playing: Climbing Out Of Bronze

1:26:30 - Stellaris Nomads

1:27:52 - Do NOT Play Star Wars: The Old Republic

1:29:14 - Jake's Tarkov Problem

1:30:57 - Seasonal Character, Wipes, And Cheaters

1:33:39 - Why It's Been A Slow Few Months For Games

1:36:17 - If You Play Shooters, You Have To Play Tarkov

1:37:20 - Star Wars Zero Company (No Co-Op, Sadly)

1:38:25 - Outro + Patreon Hangouts

1:39:30 - Oh, And Black Ops 7 SBMM News

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Infinity Ward just had its biggest Modern Warfare 4 reveal week yet — and the community immediately found the flaws. We break down everything shown at the MW4 creator event and Fanatics Fest: the Kill Block modular map with 500+ configurations, the gunplay reveal and the instant visual recoil backlash, VFX masking, no-bloom hipfire, doors, takedowns, proximity chat, and the Aston Martin Dreadnought that quietly confirmed Warzone isn't dead yet.

Then the real question: MW4 looks like MW19 2.0 — but is a well-executed return to form enough in 2026? We get into why the arcade shooter can't hold anyone's attention all year anymore, why the "third game mode" is the entire Call of Duty paradigm now, and why everything — the game, the year, maybe the franchise's momentum — is riding on DMZ2. Plus: why you should treat beta weekend two as the final verdict, because beta tests aren't beta tests anymore.

Also announced: monthly Patreon hangouts are BACK starting in August — hot take open mics, trivia, and more. patreon.com/thedropshot

One of us is buying in. One of us has seen this movie before. You know how this goes.

0:00 - Intro

1:18 - MW4 reveal week: how we got here

3:30 - Patreon hangouts are BACK (August)

8:31 - Topic of the week: the MW4 reveal

9:07 - Kill Block: the shapeshifting map

15:01 - Was Kill Block worth the dev time?

20:00 - Kill Block in a BR? The bigger idea

25:15 - The gunplay reveal & firing range video

27:56 - Realism vs. fun: the two camps

30:06 - The visual recoil backlash

34:08 - Jake: I'll take Infinity Ward's flaws

35:48 - Raz: "Wouldn't it be nice?"

42:22 - VFX masking & visual noise

43:51 - The feedback honeypot pattern

48:43 - Bullets punch holes through smoke

51:09 - Underhand grenade throws

53:15 - "MW2 with improvements?" debate

57:27 - Raz: it's just more CoD slop

1:01:10 - Is a return to form enough in 2026?

1:07:49 - The third-game-mode paradigm

1:15:23 - Did Aston Martin just confirm Warzone?

1:16:31 - The Warzone fan's dilemma

1:19:10 - Doors, takedowns & prox chat

1:21:39 - No-bloom hipfire & the Tarkov skill gap

1:27:44 - The Aston Martin Dreadnought

1:31:51 - Combined-arms big maps

1:34:25 - Raz's beta advice

1:36:17 - Where is CoD Next?

1:39:21 - Wrap-up & what we're playing

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

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🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

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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

1:07:45 - Stop Killing Games takes two Ls

1:10:01 - Roasting the "games being killed" list

1:16:47 - Our AI's $70 take gets destroyed

1:18:51 - Brazil is bigger than Australia??

1:20:52 - Gold injections & ayahuasca (don't)

1:26:43 - Tarkov Kord Breach: what we got wrong

1:40:28 - BO2 remaster: same bugs, 12 years later

1:41:49 - Jake's Tarkov check-in

1:45:38 - Announcements & Patreon

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips #BlackFlagResynced #AssassinsCreed #Bethesda #ElderScrolls6 #DoomTheDarkAges #EscapeFromTarkov #KordBreach #Ubisoft

Trending: #StopKillingGames #GamingLayoffs #AI #GamingNews

Format: #GamingDebate #HotTake #Shorts #FYP

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Valve's Steam Machine reviews are in — and the verdict is brutal: by most measures it's slightly less powerful than a base PS5 while costing more than double. We break down the benchmarks, why Valve went semi-custom on the chips, and whether "access to the entire Steam library" is worth the price of admission. Before that, we go deep on Escape from Tarkov's first-ever season, Cord Breach — the new seasonal character system, the Path of Exile-style trait modifiers, the Kappa protocol, and whether this shakes up the Tarkov loop for good. Then it's War Dogs: the alpha impressions are rolling in, the hype is real, and the only "complaints" are people mad about camping in a large-scale warfare game.

Plus: Sony is killing physical disc production for new PlayStation games in 2028 — do you even own your games anymore? And one last Call of Duty story from our CoD heritage: Warzone's cheater problem has never been worse, to the point streamers are teaming up mid-match just to survive. Jake sees the upside, Raz calls it like he sees it.

0:00 - Intro & Happy 4th of July

1:26 - This Week In Gaming (the rundown)

2:33 - Tarkov's First-Ever Season: Cord Breach

9:22 - Breaking Down The Seasonal Traits

21:28 - The Kappa Question & Big-Ticket Perks

26:46 - Neutral, Season-Wide Modifiers

29:44 - The Negative Traits

39:18 - Verdict: Is Cord Breach Worth It?

39:32 - Seasonal vs. Permanent Characters

47:03 - War Dogs Alpha: The Hype Builds

1:00:31 - Sony Kills The Disc (2028)

1:10:26 - Do You Even Own Your Games?

1:17:06 - Steam Machine: Impressive Hardware, Baffling Price

1:22:26 - Benchmarks: Weaker Than A PS5 For Double

1:33:24 - How Chips Are Made & The Silicon Lottery

1:34:16 - One Last CoD Story: Warzone's Cheater Hell

1:39:55 - Landing The Plane

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #GamingPodcast #Podcast · #EscapeFromTarkov #Tarkov #CordBreach #WarDogs #SteamMachine #Valve #PS5 #CallOfDuty #Warzone · #SteamMachineVsPS5 #GamePrices #PhysicalMedia · #GamingNews #HotTake #PodcastClips #GamingShorts

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GTA 6 pre-orders are live, the price is confirmed, and the internet is melting down — so naturally that's the whole episode. Raz and Jake break down the $80 standard / $100 Ultimate pricing, the "physical copy" that's really just a download code in a box with no disc, and whether you're actually losing anything (spoiler: lending to your buddies, and not much else). Then it's the free-market case for why $80 is eminently fair, the cost-per-hour argument that makes GTA the cheapest entertainment on Earth, and the uncomfortable truth that the loudest complainers have already pre-ordered.

Then, meanwhile: EMPULSE. The $15 Titanfall-like from the Splitgate devs launched into early access with no store, no battle pass, and no microtransactions — and the guys explain, with the utmost confidence and zero gameplay watched, exactly why it's dead on arrival. Paint bombs included.

Plus: 50 million GTA 6 pre-orders, companies closing on launch day, and a $1,000 bet on EMPULSE failing inside three months.

0:00 — Intro & "we have no likes" cold open

1:34 — GTA 6 pre-orders are live: $80 standard, $100 Ultimate

2:58 — The "code in a box": a physical copy with no disc

4:47 — Is the disc even a loss? Lending, Blockbuster, PS2 days

9:00 — Servers, Stop Killing Games & whether discs matter anymore

12:17 — Onto pricing: is $80 fair? "That person does not exist"

15:31 — The $100 Ultimate Edition: scam or just a menu?

19:22 — Does $80 GTA give every other studio license to charge $80?

23:00 — Big Macs, Netflix & the "communists in our comments" tangent

31:00 — Cost-per-hour: video games are the cheapest entertainment on Earth

34:22 — The one scummy thing: PC release delayed behind console

39:59 — Back to physical ownership: resale, lending, longevity

43:13 — Did GTA kill the disc? No — it was already dead

1:00:30 — Why no disc, really: anti-leak vs. just cheaper (part 2)

1:05:20 — Ultimate Edition breakdown: tattoos, car finds, gang raid

1:06:30 — Day-one Ultimate content: cut from the base game?

1:06:40 — "We're going to pre-order anyway, aren't we?"

1:09:54 — Is GTA review-proof? Outrage-proof? The Kotaku prediction

1:11:06 — Vote with your wallet & why a boycott is inconceivable

1:18:40 — 50M pre-orders, $4B, companies closing on launch day

1:11:06 — MEANWHILE: EMPULSE, the $15 Splitgate-devs shooter

1:13:01 — "This game will fail" — the arena shooter genre is dead

1:18:10 — No store, no battle pass, no microtransactions = $60k revenue

1:23:31 — "60 grand, baby" & the $1,000 bet it fails in 3 months

1:30:20 — GTA vs EMPULSE juxtaposition & "consumer-friendly?" rebuttal

1:32:31 — Announcements: bonus eps, Patreon, shoutouts, sign-off

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #DropshotPodcast #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips #GTA6 #GTAVI #Rockstar #EMPULSE #Splitgate #Titanfall #ArenaShooter #FPS #GTA6PreOrder #GamePrices #GamingNews #1047Games #HotTake #PodcastMoments #GamingClips #Shorts

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Halo is on PlayStation. Let that sink in. On this one we get into Halo: Campaign Evolved — the full Unreal Engine 5 remake landing on PS5, Xbox and PC on July 28 — and why cutting the multiplayer to protect the "next mainline Halo" might be the dumbest part of the whole thing. Plus the AI controversy Halo Studios can't stop being squirrely about.

Then it's GTA 6: pre-orders go live June 25, November 19 release, no PC version, and the $100 price question nobody wants to answer honestly. Spoiler: if you'll pay $70, you'll pay $100, and we explain exactly why.

But the one we're actually hyped about is WARDOGS — Bulkhead addressed the "too arcadey" killcam feedback head-on instead of going quiet like every AAA studio does. We break down the ghillie-suit compromise, the hardcore servers, and why devs who actually play their own game are so rare right now.

Lightning round: CoD 2026 bringing DMZ back as the third mode, Black Ops 1 & 2 hitting PlayStation, and where the extraction-shooter graveyard leaves Marathon.

Jake's optimistic. Raz sees the greed trap coming. Same as always.

0:00 Intro — back in the saddle

1:31 It's all about shooters

2:27 WARDOGS & the killcam controversy

7:07 Can't have it both ways: the killcam debate

7:49 The ghillie suit & hardcore server compromise

15:56 Devs who actually play their own game

19:59 The greed trap: how good shooters get ruined

29:50 Halo: Campaign Evolved comes to PlayStation

30:54 Cutting multiplayer to protect the next Halo

33:23 Are you a Halo or a Call of Duty guy?

45:52 The Halo AI controversy

1:05:09 GTA 6 pre-orders are live

1:05:40 No PC version — the PC wait

1:10:35 The $100 question & CEO spin

1:13:31 If you'll pay $70, you'll pay $100

1:15:56 Lightning round: CoD 2026 & DMZ returns

1:17:12 Black Ops 1 & 2 hit PlayStation

1:23:40 Marathon & the extraction graveyard

1:28:30 Patreon, wrap-up & goodbye

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #DropshotPodcast #GamingPodcast #Halo #HaloCampaignEvolved #GTA6 #Rockstar #WARDOGS #CallOfDuty #BlackOps2 #ExtractionShooter #PS5 #Xbox #GamingNews #FPS #HotTake #PodcastClips #Gaming

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jake's sick, Raz is recovered, and karma is real — so we kept it loose and answered your questions from the Discord this week.

We get into whether Apex hitting all-time-high player counts means anything for a Warzone comeback (short version: Warzone is the abusive ex who shows up with roses), why Zelda is a children's game, the most overrated franchises in gaming, when a game stops being a game and becomes a simulator (Tarkov vs. Squad vs. Hell Let Loose), whether AI will let you build GTA 6 in one prompt, the hardest gaming achievements we've ever earned, and a pile of off-topic chaos — first jobs, childhood cereal, the one-hair-on-your-steak test, and which historical event we'd go witness.

Plus: a new development on splitting donations, the DMZ deep-dive over on Patreon, and a behind-the-scenes look at how the show actually gets made now.

Got a question for us? Join the Discord (linked everywhere) and drop it in the Q&A channel. We may or may not answer it.

Jake's the optimist, Raz is the cynic — guess which one of us thinks Warzone could still be saved.

0:00 - Intro (Jake's sick, karma is real)

3:03 - New: splitting donations 50/50 with Jake

4:02 - Patreon + the DMZ deep-dive

9:17 - Best life advice you've gotten

9:43 - 'Tell the truth, or at least don't lie'

14:03 - Just start — stop making the perfect plan

15:49 - Our first jobs

21:29 - Does Apex's comeback mean hope for Warzone?

23:01 - Warzone is the abusive ex

23:52 - How the rebranded show is going + the AI workflow

26:42 - Selling your old CoD-era Dropshot merch

28:05 - When does a game become a simulator?

31:23 - Would you play a good new Call of Duty?

32:17 - It's all a tax write-off now

33:52 - How we approach open-world games

37:32 - Did you beat Radahn before the nerf?

41:14 - Our most interesting use of AI (this podcast)

44:05 - Claude's Fable 5 + the gov't shutting it down

45:47 - If AI could build any AAA game, what would it be?

49:17 - Most overrated game & movie franchises

51:16 - Zelda is a children's game (hot take)

56:01 - Most useless & most useful real-life skill

57:48 - Hardest gaming achievement (Hearthstone Legend)

1:06:28 - A food that reminds you of childhood

1:10:21 - One app you'd keep on your phone

1:12:16 - Worst restaurant experience + picky eaters

1:18:44 - The one-hair-on-your-steak test

1:24:51 - Weirdest thing you've ever Googled

1:29:15 - A historical event you'd witness

1:36:32 - Ranking awkward social situations

1:39:00 - A historical figure to have dinner with

1:44:17 - Followers you'd rather have

1:44:45 - Hardest game you've ever finished

1:47:18 - Outro + peripherals

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the summer of the delay. This week Raz and Jake break down two tactical shooters moving in opposite directions — Hell Let Loose: Vietnam getting pushed back to August after a rough beta, and Wardogs pulling its early access UP (something you basically never see) — and what each move says about a studio's confidence.

Then it's Summer Game Fest: the turn-based Star Wars Zero Company that's right up Raz's alley, the surprisingly good-looking Lords of the Fallen 2, and the story everyone's actually arguing about — God of War: Laufey, where Sony takes Kratos out of the lead and hands the axe to his late wife Faye. Creator David Jaffe called it live: "this is not God of War."

We get into whether dropping your icon is a bold swing or brand suicide, why the shooter genre feels stale and dead right now, and why most video games — yes, even in your favorite genre — just suck. Two friends, real takes, no script.

0:00 - Intro & the Summer of the Delay

1:27 - Hell Let Loose: Vietnam beta — what's broken

7:00 - Why the HLL: Vietnam delay to August is the right call

10:02 - Wardogs pulls its date UP (you never see this)

13:49 - Plot twist: Team17 publishes both games

15:57 - The shooter genre is stale and dying

20:14 - "These devs actually play video games"

26:30 - Summer Game Fest & why most games suck

29:59 - Keighley, Highguard & the single-player pivot

39:35 - Star Wars Zero Company — turn-based tactics

53:50 - Lords of the Fallen 2 reaction

57:23 - God of War: Laufey — they took Kratos out

1:04:23 - A 20-year fan: "I wanna play as Kratos"

1:23:04 - DMZ tomorrow on Patreon + shoutouts

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #DropshotPodcast #GamingPodcast #GodOfWar #GodOfWarLaufey #Kratos #StarWarsZeroCompany #LordsOfTheFallen2 #Wardogs #HellLetLoose #CallOfDuty #SummerGameFest #SGF2026 #GamingNews #GamingCulture #HotTake #PodcastClips #Shorts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Modern Warfare 4 got revealed, 007 First Light is finally out, and the Hell Let Loose: Vietnam beta dropped — so naturally we spent an episode on the franchise we swore off, a Bond game that isn't quite Hitman, and a beta that can't hold a frame rate.

We get into the HLL: Vietnam open beta (the rubber-banding, the keybinds that won't stick, the studio's track record) and whether it's worth grabbing at the June 18 launch. Then 007 First Light: it's sitting at 88 on Metacritic and "best Bond since GoldenEye," but is it actually a let-down if you came in expecting Hitman? We break down why the reviews and the disappointment can both be right.

Then the big one — Modern Warfare 4. Korea-but-modern is a genuinely cool setting, Ballistic Authority gunplay, DMZ is back, it skips last-gen. We also get into the death of the Warzone era, where extraction shooters go next (Tarkov, Arc Raiders), and a detour into Elden Ring. And we close on Aliens.gov: the site the UFO community thought was disclosure, that turned out to be something very different.

Two friends, zero corporate takes. Jake's still open to it, Raz wants the whole thing to burn.

0:00 - Intro & what's on the docket

1:40 - Hell Let Loose: Vietnam beta — first impressions

8:54 - Will it survive a rough launch? (studio track record)

14:43 - Squad leader pains & why HLL needs friends

19:48 - 007 First Light — Hitman with a Bond skin?

25:08 - 7 hours in: the linearity let-down

31:44 - Why the reviews & the disappointment can both be right

34:20 - "Best Bond since GoldenEye?"

35:32 - Modern Warfare 4 reveal — the COD episode we said we'd never do

39:44 - Korea-but-modern: cool setting, Captain Price shoehorn

42:13 - Ballistic Authority, hipfire bloom & movement changes

49:00 - "We love feedback" — the minimap betrayal

53:50 - The death of the Warzone era & DMZ's return

59:24 - Where extraction shooters go next (Tarkov, Arc Raiders)

1:15:40 - Tarkov's update & the state of the genre

1:22:57 - Detour: getting pulled back into Elden Ring

1:33:37 - Closer — Aliens.gov: the UFO disclosure site that wasn't

1:40:07 - Discord, Patreon & sign-off

_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._

The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time):

🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week

🔹The Dropshot:

🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod

🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast

🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot

🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/

🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast

🔹Razinon:

🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon

🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon

🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv

🔹Jakedown:

🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_

🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown

#TheDropshot #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips #ModernWarfare4 #MW4 #CallOfDuty #COD #007FirstLight #JamesBond #HellLetLoose #Tarkov #ArcRaiders #EldenRing #UFO #UAP #Disclosure #InternetCulture #HotTake #GamingNews #Shorts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices