We'll be up front: you might not even like this episode. It's a collection of random, out-of-context outtakes from the past year of Xbox podcasting. Strange stories. Off-topic conversations. Alex Solomita's 15 minutes of fame on ESPN. On the other hand, some of you might think it's hilarious. So give it a listen. It's only 16 minutes long. Then let us know what you think! If you find it boring and/or dumb, we won't do it next year. But hopefully you'll get some enjoyment out of it. And besides, the alternative was to not have any show at all this week. :-)

"I'm not even supposed to be here today!"

We'd planned to be on holiday break this week, but too much Halo happened! First, 343 Industries announced that Halo 3: ODST will be brought to Halo: The Master Chief Collection in 1080p/60fps – for free! And that an Anniversary remake of "Relic" would be added to MCC for free as the seventh Halo 2 Anniversary map. On top of that, we spent all weekend playing the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta during an early access period. Needless to say, we have a lot to say on all of this. Join us for the next 70 minutes or so, won't you?

As the year winds to a close, Microsoft celebrates a November NPD victory. What about December? What about the future? Will they put the system's price back to $400? We discuss. Plus: the big annual year-end Xbox games sale has begun, Grand Theft Auto V finally delivers a peek at online heists, remasters get an ultimatum from us, and more. Oh, and THANK YOU for listening this year. We appreciate your support more than you know!

Sony strikes back, securing Street Fighter V exclusively after Microsoft bagged Rise of the Tomb Raider. We discuss the situation, as well as what other games this could happen to. Plus: after Sony's PlayStation Experience Event, should Microsoft do something similar? Also: Adr1ft gets announced, The Witcher 3 gets delayed, and much more. Most importantly, we welcome back Jared Petty!

We catch up on everything we saw and played over the Thanksgiving break, including passionate (spoiler-free) discussions about Sunset Overdrive, Tales from the Borderlands, Game of Thrones, Limbo, and more. Plus: Xbox One's Black Friday success and whether or not the $350 price point will revert back to $400, Xbox's neverending struggles in Japan, hackers targeting Xbox Live, and much more.

As Ryan's old friend and podcasting partner Dan Amrich sits in to discuss Rocksmith 2014 for Xbox One (which Dan now works on), the crew discusses their thoughts on Xbox One's first birthday and the big Microsoft giveaway that goes with it. Plus: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare's campaign, Dumb & Dumber To, game show video games (like 1 vs. 100!), Titanfall's just-announced Deluxe Edition, and more!

What should be a celebration of one of the biggest weeks of the year for Xbox games is instead clouded by rough launches for both Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Assassin's Creed Unity, as well as online issues for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. We discuss what the root of the cause might be, as well as what recourse gamers have to combat Day One woes. Plus: Halo 5 multiplayer impressions, Just Cause 3 gets announced, Game of Thrones game details from Telltale, Phil Spencer sees a new game at Rare, and more.

The world's #1 Xbox podcast crew discusses the significance of the Xbox One price drop, and there's a *slight* chance we get derailed into an In-N-Out vs. Shake Shack vs. Five Guys cheeseburger conversation. Also: Destiny 2 gets confirmed, and we discuss what we want out of the sequel. Also don't miss our Grand Theft Auto V new-gen chat about the new first-person view, and when we might see a slimmed-down refresh of the Xbox One.

If you don't know how Max Hoberman is, here's the elevator pitch version: he's not only the Halo 2 lead multiplayer designer, but he helped invent all of the amazing party and matchmaking systems that Halo 2 pioneered that we all now take for granted. And now, he has his own studio, Certain Affinity, where they build maps for many multiplayer games, including Halo 2 DLC, Halo 3 DLC, Halo 4 (shipping version and DLC), various Call of Duties, and now Halo 2 Anniversary. Max shares some incredible insights on the making of Xbox Live's killer app, and then shares his gut reactions to every map from Halo 1 and 2. His answers may surprise you...

Microsoft Head of Xbox Phil Spencer makes his first Unlocked appearance in a year, dicussing a range of topics including when certain features will be added to the Xbox One via the monthly system updates, what he wants out of the next Gears of War, why there is no special-edition Halo-themed console to pair with The Master Chief Collection, what the hell Rare is up to, and much, much more.