Xbox Live Operations overlord Eric Neustadter (maybe you know him as "e") joins Locksmiths Mitch Dyer, Destin Legarie, and Ryan McCaffrey to talk about the history and evolution of Xbox Live. Eric shares stories and secrets about how the whole thing operates, what happens when you complain about awful users, what an always-online console would do to the Live team.

E sticks around to co-host and converse about a bunch of stuff this week, including next-gen games, the rumored Assassin's Creed IV, Gears of War Judgment's VIP pass, and this week's...hilarious releases.

HEADS UP: For whatever reason, this awesome episode was sabotaged by the mysterious ghosts that plague the IGN podcast room. No static this time, fortunately -- it just sounds like we're inhaling a whole lot of helium while hanging out and chatting.