State of Decay Studio Splits From Xbox, Suffers Layoffs - Kinda Funny Games Daily 09.23.26

Kinda Funny Games Daily is a daily news roundup podcast covering video game industry happenings. This September 23, 2026 episode runs 68 minutes and focuses on several major stories: the lead story concerns Undead Labs (State of Decay developer) splitting from Xbox and conducting significant layoffs, covered from 5:19 to 17:51. The show then pivots to lighter fare including a new Xbox PC App feature revealing Xbox Mythic Achievements, a report that the producer of Zach Cregger's Resident Evil and Weapons films is working on a new Silent Hill movie, and a claim from Sonic Team head Iizuka that Sega wanted to cancel the entire Sonic franchise but the first movie saved it. The episode includes a "Wee News" segment and closes with SuperChats and audience interaction. The show is bookended by sponsor reads for Ridge wallets and Factor meals, with timestamps suggesting roughly 3 minutes of ads embedded at the 36-minute mark. The episode structure follows a typical daily news format: lead story with some depth, followed by shorter news items, then community engagement segments.

Verdict: A competent daily news aggregator that delivers its headline story but pads runtime with lighter items and ads, offering limited depth or discovery value for the hour-long commitment.

Leisure rubric

• Enthusiast depth 2/5 24%

  Show notes provide no indication of expert analysis or insider perspective; appears to be surface-level news reporting without deep industry insight

• Useful tips or discoveries 1/5 24%

  No concrete tips, game recommendations, or actionable discoveries mentioned; primarily news aggregation with no 'try this' or 'buy this' recommendations beyond sponsor products

• Fun to listen to n/a

  No information about host personalities, tone, banter style, or chemistry provided in show notes

• Substance 2/5 18%

  Lead story gets ~12 minutes of coverage, but remaining 50+ minutes appears padded with brief news items, ads, and SuperChat segments rather than substantive discussion

• Delivers on its title 4/5 18%

  Title promises State of Decay studio split and layoffs; this is the lead story, though show drifts into unrelated gaming news afterward

• Value for time 2/5 18%

  68-minute runtime for a daily news show with multiple sponsor reads and SuperChat segments suggests significant padding; lead story alone appears to warrant 15-20 minutes maximum

How we score Leisure

Worth it if you want quick daily gaming industry news summaries and don't mind sponsor reads, but skip if you prefer substantive analysis or expert commentary.

Content flags

• Ad-heavy Multiple sponsor reads (Ridge, Factor meals) plus ad break at 36-minute mark in a 68-minute episode suggests ads consume 8-10% of runtime

Based on the episode description. AI-generated; it can be wrong.