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NBA, NHL teams told Main Street sports network will end operations
Main Street Sports Group, the flailing regional sports network, has informed NBA and NHL teams it will cease operations at end of their respective seasons.
NBA, NHL teams told Main Street sports network will end operations
Main Street Sports Group, the flailing regional sports network, has informed NBA and NHL teams it will cease operations at end of their respective seasons.
Season on the brink: State of Luka Dončić's hamstring holds fate of Lakers' hopes, NBA honors
West's best winning streaks collide as Spurs visit Nuggets
San Antonio's first dynasty ended when Tim Duncan retired with five NBA titles over 19 seasons. Ten years later, the Spurs are hoping to build another one behind Victor Wembanyama.
Nets retain 28th spot in NBA.com's power rankings
The Brooklyn Nets remain 28th in NBA.com's power rankings heading into the second-to-last week of the regular season.
Faith vs. Sports: Bulls' Jaden Ivey waived after alleged anti-NBA Pride Month remarks
Start your morning with The National News Desk as Angela Brown sits down with the co-founder of Transformation Church and Pastor Derwin Gray to discuss former C
TST Best Bets: April 3, 2026
With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, urgency is at an all-time high across both the NBA and NHL, where every game carries postseason implications.
‘Marathon’ Players Are Furious About A Broken Endgame Weapon
In Marathon weapon balance is key given how one unbalanced gun results in not just lost rounds, but tens of thousands of dollars of forever lost loot.
Emplify Health, Titletown district announce partnership, naming rights
The football field in the Titletown district will have a name after Emplify Health and the Packers announced a new partnership.
NBA MVP rankings: How does Luka Doncic injury shake up race?
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama are the favorites for the 2025-26 NBA MVP award.
LeBron James unloads on Memphis, Grizzlies in Bob Does Sports video
LeBron James is the latest NBA player to express displeasure over playing in Memphis.
Dodgers Dominate MLB When it Comes to Bobbleheads
The Los Angeles Dodgers have made headlines recently for their bobbleheads, especially the small Yoshi figurine that pays homage to star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But according to an analysis by Connor Clark for TickPick, other fanbases aren’t as blessed with…
Anthony Edwards misses Thursday's Timberwolves loss, becomes latest NBA star bitten by awards eligibility rules
Lynx bring back Janel McCarville as assistant coach
The Minnesota Lynx are bringing back former WNBA champion Janel McCarville as an assistant coach for the upcoming season. The team announced several additions to the team’s operations and coaching staff on Thursday. McCarville returns to Minnesota, where she was part of the Lynx 2013 championship team, as well as a star for the Gophers. Minnesota also hired Jasmine Allen as basketball ...
Anthony Edwards becomes latest NBA star bitten by awards eligibility rules with 17th absence
Anthony Edwards is averaging a career-high 29.3 points per game this season. He still won't be making an All-NBA team.
Governor Lombardo touts sports growth, diversification amid NBA talks in Vegas
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo told business leaders in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning that expanding professional sports in Southern Nevada can help strengthen and d
Nuggets Desperately Need “Playoff Jamal Murray” to Win Another Ring
In the summer of 2023, the Denver Nuggets were on top of the NBA world, defeating the Miami Heat to claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Denver took down Anthony Edwards‘ Timberwolves, Kevin Durant‘s Suns, and LeBron James‘ Lakers en route to its first championship in franchise history. Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić took home Finals MVP, […] The post Nuggets Desperately Need “Playoff Jamal Murray” to Win Another Ring appeared first on The Lead.
Philadelphia 76ers star rookie receives major NBA acknowledgement
Philadelphia 76ers star rookie V.J. Edgecombe was acknowledged by the NBA for his productive play throughout the month of March. On Thursday, the league announced that Edgecombe has officially been named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in March. The acknowledgement is the first career monthly award for Edgecombe, who becomes the eighth player in Sixers franchise history to be named Rookie of the Month.
76ers' Edgecombe, Kings' Raynaud named March Rookies of the Month
76ers guard VJ Edgecombe and Kings center Maxime Raynaud have been named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month for March.
Coinbase clears key regulatory hurdle in bid to bolster its stablecoin business
Coinbase has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to operate as a trust bank, the company said Thursday.
NBA Mock Draft: Where AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson and other top prospects could land
OKC Thunder growing into NBA's top villain was inevitable
The OKC Thunder's consistent success has turned them into the NBA's new villains, facing backlash and criticism.
Previewing the NHL and NBA stretch run, plus Puka’s rehab trip
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Maybe I’m too online, but I think all April Fools’ Day content should be banned. Sorry. Real news coming up: 🏒 NHL playoff picture 🏀 NBA playoff picture, too 🗳️ Goal versus hoop, let’s finish this Two of our major sports share the same calendar schedule and number of games. Today, we are table-setting each of their stretch runs as the playoffs near. I had a hard time choosing between metaphorical children to cover first,...
You’re the best player in the NCAA Tournament. It doesn’t mean you’ll have an NBA future.
Being named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four used to indicate a big NBA future. Not anymore.
Caninballz dog water park back in business after employee walkout
After a two-week closure amid controversy, Caninballz Indoor Dog Waterpark in West Toledo has splashed back into business with new employees and updated ...
'A considerable gamble' at 'a fragile moment'
Only Tottenham would respond to the current bin fire at the club by turning to a famously incendiary manager to put out the flames. After tens of thousands of supporters lined the streets in an act of unity, the Tottenham board split the fanbase by appointing Roberto de Zerbi. The Italian, known for his high-pressing, attacking football, arrives with a reputation that has already prompted concern from supporter groups and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust.
Sizzling teams, MVP candidates square off as Lakers face Thunder
Two of the NBA's hottest teams, each with players making a case for Most Valuable Player honors, face off Thursday when the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Los Angeles Lakers.
Las Vegas sports boom raises concerns about market saturation as NBA move looms
Not long ago, the idea of Las Vegas landing major league sports teams was a punchline. Now, the city is on the verge of becoming home to the NFL, NHL, WNBA and
Paige Bueckers, Sabrina Ionescu 'very excited' for new WNBA CBA
WNBA players like Paige Bueckers and Sabrina Ionescu are "very excited" for the new CBA, allowing the season to move forward.
Why women's college basketball star Mikayla Blakes was invited to Team USA camp
Vanderbilt sophomore Mikayla Blakes is the youngest player at Kara Lawson's Team USA camp in Phoenix, surrounded by WNBA stars like Sabrina Ionescu.
Rockets Kevin Durant Reacts to Houston Comets Returning to Houston
Kevin Durant of the Houston Rockets recently expressed pure excitement surrounding the recently announced return of the WNBA's Houston Comets.
Atlanta Dream vs. Chicago Sky - Live Score
View the Atlanta Dream vs. Chicago Sky game played on April 29, 2026. Box score, stats, odds, highlights, play-by-play, social & more
The Metro: Why one sports fan is opening a bar dedicated to women’s sports
Alissa Graff is a sports fan who found out first hand that, despite the growing...
Green Bay area high school sports results for Tuesday, March 31
High school baseball, soccer, and track and field teams were in action.
US on brink of major crypto breakthrough despite bank pushback
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal joins 'Mornings with Maria' to discuss the race in Washington to finalize the Clarity Act, mounting pushback from big banks and how looming crypto regulations could reshape investing for Americans.
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Sends Message After Achilles Injury
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is dealing with an injury late in the NBA regular season.
Masai Ujiri joins ownership group of WNBA's Toronto Tempo
Former Raptors president Masai Ujiri has joined the ownership group of the city's new WNBA franchise.
LeBron James Makes NBA History With Triple-Double Against Wizards
LeBron James had a vintage game in the Los Angeles Lakers' blowout win over the Washington Wizards.
Lakers’ LeBron James laps himself with latest NBA record
LeBron James accomplished another NBA feat after racking up a triple-double in the Lakers' blowout win over the Wizards on Monday.
Heat step up with needed 119-109 victory over 76ers
MIAMI – For those insistent on postseason math, yes, the head-to-head season-series tiebreaker was at stake in this one. But for the Miami Heat this was about more than play-in math. This was about breaking out of a brutal late-season funk that included a road loss a night earlier to the NBA-worst Indiana Pacers. So against the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George, the ...
Bulls cut Jaden Ivey after former top-five NBA draft pick posts anti-LGBTQ remarks
The Bulls waived Jaden Ivey, the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, for 'conduct detrimental to the team'
Tapping, twirling and "T" signs: Sports replays have a language all their own
Every moment of pretty much any major sporting event can be dissected in high-definition these days, and officials and umpires are spending more and more time staring at a TV screen to review close calls. It's also led to a type of sign language unique to the sports world. There's the twirling motion with a finger that's ubiquitous during NBA games when anyone believes their team has been wronged.
Vote for the top Green Bay area coach for the winter high school sports season
Vote for Matt Bosdeck, Mike Buchan, Jason Champagne, JP Coppo, Bobby Kuchta, Sara Rohde, Brad Shefchik or Brian Winchester until 3 p.m. Sunday, April 5.
NBA-best Thunder beat Knicks as Boston seal playoff spot
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points and the NBA-best Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New York Knicks 111-100 on Sunday while the Boston Celtics clinched a playoff berth.The visiting Knicks, led by 32 points from Jalen Brunson, fell to 48-27 and missed a chance to clinch a playoff berth.
Caitlin Clark Reflects on Impact in Women's Sports Before 3rd WNBA Season
Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark was back on the hardwood on Sunday. Clark provided pregame analysis for Sunday’s matchup between the New York Knicks and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center. This is the second NBC broadcast for Clark, who also took part in the pregame show in January during a Knicks-Lakers matchup at Madison Square Garden.
Khaman Maluach: No longer foreign to basketball
Not too long ago, Khaman Maluach picked up a basketball for the first time in Uganda, and now he set a career-high scoring mark in the NBA for the Suns.
Suns chasing top-six playoff berth as they visit Grizzlies
The Phoenix Suns remain in the hunt for one of the six guaranteed NBA Western Conference playoff spots as they embark on a grueling end-of-regular-season schedule.
Could newfound leverage change Christian Gonzalez's contract approach?
It's clear why the Patriots should be in a hurry to get a deal done with Christian Gonzalez. But should the top corner show the same urgency?
Best NBA Player Props Today for March 29: Helping Hand
Our NBA player prop picks for March 29 focus on the passing ability of Nikola Jokic.
Sunday Science: The return of the ruby-throated hummingbird
As spring starts to sprout in Southern New England, birdwatcher's have plenty to look forward too. Turning the calendar to April means that the ruby-throated hu
NBA playoff picture March 29: All of the scenarios and stakes for postseason contenders down the stretch run
How Manchester City grew a die-hard fanbase in Uganda
There’s something almost surreal about standing in a packed bar in Kampala at 3 am, surrounded by hundreds of people draped in sky blue, losing their minds over a Haaland tap-in. No live commentary....
Should Louisiana ban prop bets? After a few sports betting scandals, some propose it.
Several recent high-profile NBA, MLB and NCAA sports gambling scandals came to light in which players intentionally underperformed to influence betting odds.
Lakers guard Doncic gets one-game ban for accumulated technicals
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, the NBA scoring leader, was suspended one game without pay by the league on Saturday after receiving his 16th technical foul of the season.NBA rules require any player or coach be automatically suspended for one game once he is whistled for his 16th technical foul during a regular season.
NASA pauses its lunar Gateway plan, a comet reverses its spin and more science news
Here are some of this week's most interesting science stories.
Bronny James Reveals Unexpected LeBron James Secret After Lakers Game
Bronny James made a big reveal after making NBA history with LeBron James on Friday.
LeBron & Bronny James make NBA history again
LOS ANGELES — For their first act, LeBron and Bronny James became the first father-and-son duo to play together on […]
Late surge lifts Thunder, Celtics rally to down Hawks
The Oklahoma City Thunder got back in the win column on Friday, beating the Chicago Bulls 131-113 to maintain their grip on first place in the NBA Western Conference.It was a key win for the Thunder, who came into the contest with a two-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs for top spot and home court advantage in the Western Conference playoffs.
NBA playoff picture March 28: All of the scenarios and stakes for postseason contenders down the stretch run
NBA fines Timberwolves' Naz Reid $50,000 for questioning officials' integrity
The NBA fined Timberwolves big man Naz Reid $50,000 "for questioning the integrity of game officials" in Minnesota's 110-108 victory over the Houston Rockets 110-108 on Wednesday. Reid was hit with a technical foul and ejected with 4:13 left in overtime.
Sophie Cunningham's Bikini Post Raises a Question for Fans
Fever forward Sophie Cunningham teased fans with a beach social media poll amid WNBA expansion draft uncertainty.
Lakers Announce Bronny James News After 33 NBA Games
Bronny James has managed just 33 games for the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
NBA news, live updates: League proposes new anti-tanking ideas; Friday's playoff scenarios
Seven weeks in, Kristaps Porziņģis enamored with Warriors as free agency looms
Seven weeks in, Warriors center Kristaps Porziņģis is enamored with Golden State ahead of his critical unrestricted NBA free agency.
DETROIT PISTONS TO HOST BASKETBALL FOR ALL NIGHT PRESENTED BY PRIORITY HEALTH ON MARCH 31
The Detroit Pistons will host Basketball for All Night presented by Priority Health
Josh Duhamel Say Actors Talk Politics and Alienate Their Fans
Josh Duhamel will not talk about politics in interviews because he does not want to alienate his fanbase.
Genius Sports opens up real-time live sports targeting to brands
The live sports data firm is working with Publicis and a list of SSPs ahead of major sports tentpoles like the NBA Finals and World Cup
Record-Breaking NBAA SDC2026 Powers Business Opportunities and a Bold Vision for the Future
A record-setting 3,500 attendees had an opportunity to see the full range of leading products and services on a sold-out exhibit floor over two business-driven days that also featured inspiration, innovation and powerful in-person connection at every turn throughout the 2026 NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC2026) in Cleveland.
Businesses around Climate Pledge Arena abuzz with news of potential SuperSonics return
Local restaurants and bars near Climate Pledge Arena are feeling real excitement as the news of the NBA Board of Governors approved a vote to explore expansion
One Roof Sports & Entertainment ready to make NBA Seattle bid after league vote
The wait remains to see if other groups will get involved in the pursuit of an NBA franchise in Seattle, but the only organization to express its intent so far is ready for whatever the next steps call for.
MLB, the NBA, and the battle for second place among American sports leagues
The NFL is king. But baseball's gains of late have changed the terms of its rivalry with the NBA over who is No. 2.
Jokic, Murray, put up historic numbers together in Nuggets' win
Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic have had historic games for the Denver Nuggets before, but rarely do they occur on the same night. Murray scored a season-high 53 points and Jokic had his 30th triple-double of the season with 23 points, 21 points and 19 assists in a 142-135 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Denver is the first team in NBA history to have one player with 50 points and another with at least 15 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in the same game.
Warriors’ dream seeding, matchup scenarios for 2026 NBA Playoffs
The Warriors' season has not gone according to plan at all, but all hope is not yet lost, especially once Stephen Curry returns from injury.
Timberwolves stun Rockets, become first NBA team on record to erase 13-point deficit in OT
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, NBA commissioner Adam Silver address Giannis' health, tanking
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers provided a health update on Giannis Antetokounmpo, and whether the team is tanking or not on March 25, 2026.
Live updates: Celtics, Thunder facing off in potential Finals preview
The Celtics hope to bounce back as they host the reigning champion Thunder in a potential NBA Finals preview. Follow our live blog for updates.
ESPN Earns Industry-Leading 63 Sports Emmy® Nominations | The Walt Disney Company
'College GameDay,' 'E60,' 'Monday Night Football,' 'NBA Today,' 'NFL LIVE,' 'The Pat McAfee Show,' and 'SportsCenter' receive multiple nods.
Chinese lander reveals giant 'cavity' of radiation between Earth and the moon — and it could change how lunar exploration is done
A new study using data from China's Chang'e-4 moon lander found an area of reduced radiation from cosmic rays near the moon. The findings could be used to improve the safety of lunar explorations.
NBA expansion: Seattle and Las Vegas could host new teams after league board of governors vote
The NBA's board of governors vote to allow the league to explore potential expansion franchises in Seattle and Las Vegas.
Las Vegas and Seattle are a step closer to getting NBA teams after league’s owners approve expansion exploration
The NBA’s board of governors voted Wednesday to approve a plan that will allow NBA officials to “formally explore potential team expansion” to Seattle and Las Vegas.
Longtime ESPN Hosts Endorse Celtics' Jaylen Brown For MVP Award
Pardon The Interruption's Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser both backed Jaylen Brown as this season's rightful NBA MVP.
NBA Power Rankings: Wolves are the sleeper to watch (again) as championship hierarchy comes into view
The Nuggets and Lakers are right there, and Detroit will have plenty to say when Cade Cunningham gets back
Live Science Today: NASA announces $20 billion moonbase as unprecedented wildfires spread
Wednesday, March 25, 2026: Your daily roundup of the biggest science stories making headlines.
WNBA's labor deal is a structural shift for women's sports
America's top women's basketball league just agreed to a new CBA. It will have a significant impact on women's sport.
2026 NBA Awards predictions: Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and the awards races to watch down the stretch
Andre Iguodala says winning NBA Finals MVP with Warriors meant ‘nothing' to him
Former Warriors forward Andre Iguodala revealed why winning NBA Finals MVP with Golden State in 2015 wasn't as meaningful to him as one might think.
NBA Draft stock watch: Risers, fallers entering Sweet 16
With the Sweet 16 set, NBA Draft stock is shifting. Here's a look at the biggest risers and fallers from March Madness so far.
Marathon has sold 1.2M copies across Steam, PS5, and Xbox
Alinea Analytics estimates show that Marathon has generated gross revenues of $55M via 1.2M copies sold on Steam, PS5, and Xbox: Looking at the split between Steam, PS5, and Xbox, Steam is clearly the main platform for Marathon, accounting for a little under 70% of the audience (800K copies sold). Meanwhile, PS5 takes about 19% (217K) and Xbox (including console, PC, and cloud) accounts for a bit over 11% or 133K. Marathon is technically a first-party Sony title, so seeing the home console struggle to break 20% of the volume is a notable data point for the ongoing platform-agnostic debate. PlayStation Studios online games will almost certainly continue being multiplatform (despite Sony reportedly pulling back on PC releases). Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe As for Marathon, the consensus among hardcore players who pushed through the awkward onboarding phase – myself included – is that it’s fantastic. The gunplay, aesthetic, and presentation are among the best in the shooter genre. A great game doesn’t always equal an immediate hit, though, as shown by our estimates. Things are looking lukewarm right now. But this might be one of those marathon-not-a-sprint situations. Had to, didn’t I? Why wasn’t Marathon a hit on the same level as Arc Raiders? One topic that came up in a lot of conversations at GDC this year was why Marathon hasn’t hit the same stratosphere as Arc Raiders. On paper, they’re both extraction shooters, and Marathon has the Bungie pedigree – the house that built the gold standard for gunplay in Halo and Destiny. Marathon’s neon-futuristic aesthetic also distinguishes itself from the gritty realism of Tarkov or the post-apocalyptic hope of ARC Raiders. But vibes can only get you so far for first impressions if the onboarding feels like a brick wall. Marathon is a sweaty PvP-focused experience with a first-time user experience and UI that I can only describe as dreadful. Players are dropped into a complex ecosystem where the UI, though visually striking, is functionally uninformative, forcing users to manually hover over nondescript, identical icons just to identify basic gear or weapon mods. This lack of clarity is compounded by punishing mechanics like a severe heat gauge for movement and a scarcity of vital resources, all without a clear tutorial or a low-stakes mode to learn the ropes. Most people – even top streamers and veteran shooter players – have no idea what’s going on in Marathon at first. Arc is on the complete other end of the spectrum. As we covered here and here, Arc Raiders offers a more collaborative, approachable loop where players often work together toward shared goals. And the objectives are instantly clear. To many players, this contrast only emphasised Marathon’s issues, especially during the testing period. Players understand the Arc Raiders loop within 30 minutes, while Marathon acts as a massive filter, chewing up newcomers and spitting them out before they can experience the depth of Bungie’s signature gunplay. What I’m getting at here is that the poor first-time user experience of Marathon’s Server Slam likely stifled launch sales, while the opposite was true for Arc. Let’s look at the pre-launch copies sold for each game during their respective Server Slams (launch-aligned) : Looking at the trajectory: Arc Raiders saw a massive 80% jump in copies sold during its three-day Server Slam (day -13 to -11). Players jumped in, realised the water was fine, and immediately opened their wallets. Marathon, meanwhile, saw a 49% increase in the four days following its Slam (Day -7 to -3). At the time of each game’s respective launch, Arc Raiders had nearly double the Steam footprint of Marathon – and word of mouth only continued to grow. Bungie could have had more time to fix the onboarding process had the beta happened earlier. But Marathon launched three days after the beta finished. These factors limited the launch sales quite a bit, I reckon. Marathon has found a niche audience, though Despite the friction-heavy start, the data suggests that those who survived Marathon’s onboarding are loving life. We’ve been tracking cross-platform DAUs, and while there’s the expected post-launch leakage, many players are sticking with it. After peaking at 478K total DAUs on its first Saturday, Marathon has settled into a respectable rhythm, holding 345K DAUs as of yesterday and averaging 380K DAUs across the weekend. Steam continues to do the heavy lifting here, consistently accounting for the lion’s share of the daily players. Players have been putting in the hours, too: On Steam, Marathon’s average playtime has climbed to 27.8 hours, significantly outpacing the console averages on PS5 (16.5h) and Xbox (17.3h). Even more telling than the averages: 22% of the Steam audience has surged past the 50-hour mark, and nearly 7% have already logged over 100 hours. Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe This data suggests that once the Bungie magic clicks, it hooks players deeper than the average extraction shooter. There’s also started to be a shift in the game’s discourse. Marathon launched as one of those games that’s cool to hate. But as Marathon’s 100-hour club grows, we’re seeing conversations around its mechanical merit outweigh the negativity. Several high-profile creators, who were initially vocal critics, have spent the last week coming around on the mechanical depth of the endgame. It’s a subtle but positive signal; the hate train is losing steam, and a new narrative about the game is emerging. Bungie faithfuls unite Another interesting metric in Marathon’s first few weeks is who, exactly, is playing. Bungie leans heavily on its prestige as the “makers of Halo and Destiny,” in its marketing, and that message has clearly hit the mark. On Steam, the gravity (hammer) of Bungie’s previous work is unavoidable. A staggering 78.2% of Marathon players also played Destiny 2. The trend carries across other platforms, with 74.2% of PS5 players and 82.7% of Xbox players also having played Destiny 2. The Halo legacy lives on, it seems. More on that in a bit. While Destiny 2 went free to play, these numbers still represent a high-intent migration of a fanbase that trusts Bungie’s specific brand of kinetic gunplay and cryptic world-building. The Xbox data adds another layer of legacy. About 85.7% of Marathon players on Xbox have played Halo Infinite, while over half of the Steam audience has spent time in Halo Infinite and 36.1% in the Master Chief Collection (a paid collection of the old Bungie-made legacy games). Interestingly, we see a 55.9% overlap with ARC Raiders on Steam. Overlap is even higher there on PlayStation (60.5%) and Xbox (66.5%). And there’s also significant crossover with Helldivers 2 on all platforms, too. Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe Bungie has found some of its fans with Marathon, and the challenge now is keeping this engaged in a high-stakes PvP environment when they’ve spent the last decade primarily enjoying the power fantasies of PvE. On that note… Go the full 26 miles? Or cut and run? Time for some could’ve, should’ve, would’ve. These things would have improved Marathon’s performance at launch: A more robust onboarding process, perhaps in the form of a short single-player/PvE campaign. We know Bungie fans love this stuff. A traditional arena-based mode akin to Destiny’s Crucible could have been a bridge for the cautious players who’d have been otherwise deterred by the Server Slam. It’s also a great palate cleanser after getting merked. Introducing a dedicated PvE environment would have similarly diversified the conversation and lowered the barrier for the Bungie faithful who found the pure PvP extraction loop too abrasive. PvE is safer than PvP these days. There’s an argument that a thin PvE mode would have just felt like a budget Destiny, potentially hurting the brand more. But given how dire the FTUE is, I think it would have been a net positive. Any kind of tutorialised loop that demystifies the stakes, really. While there is merit in a studio sticking firmly to a singular creative vision, and going all in on the hardcore extraction loop. Less forgiving is the technical reality is that the user interface and first-time user experience (FTUE) were not at a commercial standard for launch. Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe In a landscape where player time is oversaturated and the most contested currency, a flawed FTUE is a critical failure point. But it’s not all doom and gloom, as Marathon has an incredible, unique gameplay loop, suggesting that financial success is still attainable if Bungie can pivot effectively. Bungie and PlayStation now face a difficult strategic crossroads, though – one within a challenging games market. They could: Double down on Marathon with a long-term Rainbow Six Siege- or No Man’s Sky-style recovery plan, which is something I heard Last Stand Media’s Chris Maldonado mention last week. While this could be a sunk-cost fallacy in action, it could eventually yield the audience the game’s mechanical depth deserves. Shift focus toward the inevitable Destiny 3 or another project, mitigating the escalating opportunity cost and cutting their losses, so to speak. Doing both is an expensive proposition, given the high overhead and burn rate of operating out of Bellevue, Washington. With Sony recently demonstrating a lower threshold for underperforming studios and projects, the margin for error has vanished. Whatever happens, the next six months will determine whether Marathon becomes a cornerstone of Sony’s live-service portfolio or a cautionary tale of vision exceeding accessibility. I’m hoping it’s the former, because Marathon rocks. As always, hit subscribe to get updates on Marathon and other relevant games. Subscribe Want to get your hands on our data for yourself – for free? We’re offering a free trial of our platform for games companies. Send us a message here, or reply to this email, and we’ll set you up. The last word Reply to this email – or reach out here – if you have any feedback for the newsletter – or want to request a game for us to cover. [Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things games market data? We’d love to chat!]