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