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Victoria County political leaders encourage voter turnout as Election Day approaches
With Election Day approaching on November 3, local political leaders in Victoria County are encouraging residents to participate in early voting.
Understanding Intelligence Across Artificial and Biological Systems
Recently I started a new peer-reviewed journal at the crossroads of Artificial Intelligence and Cognition research. The journal, titled "AI and Brain", is published by Scilight Press, a young
Discovering the Science of Fall
By Lynn Michelsen, Crossroads at Big Creek -- The changing season makes October an ideal time to explore the outdoors and observe these natural phenomena firsthand.
Uniting Hearts Music Festival combines entertainment with community service on October 17
The Uniting Hearts Music Festival returns for its seventh annual event on Saturday, October 17th.
This KC business owner thinks Royals stadium will boost development. ‘We all win’
Nicholas Grunauer, owner of the Crossroads Austrian restaurant says the multi-billion-dollar investment could open the door to more.
America’s Rural Hospitals at a Crossroads
This report explores these challenges, the consequences for patients and communities.
Frosty Mornings Offer a Window into Nature's Hidden Science
By Lynn Michelsen, Crossroads at Big Creek -- As crisp autumn mornings arrive in Door County, many residents will begin to notice a familiar seasonal sight: delicate ice crystals sparkling across law...
VIA goes green for World Mental Health Day
VIA Metropolitan Transit will light up Crossroads Park & Ride in green on Saturday, Oct. 10, in recognition of World Mental Health Day.
Gears of War: E-Day sells 230K copies
Gears of War: E-Day has sold 230K copies since its advance-access launch on October 1 and full release on October 6. Steam accounts for 168K of those, with Xbox (console and PC) selling 62K. But there’s more to this story, as Xbox makes up the bulk of revenue. E-Day is the best-reviewed Gears game in nearly two decades (and the best one ever made, in my opinion). The Coalition has made a banger here (it’s currently in my top 10 of the year). Despite E-Day’s undeniable quality, this is a soft result. And it’s down to the business model, really. E-Day has made $37M so far, thanks to the Premium upgrade On Xbox, Game Pass is cannibalising much of the premium revenue. Our estimates show that 1.7M folks accessed E-Day via their subscription rather than a copy. But Xbox is having it both ways – or having it halfway, at least – via its Premium Edition Game Pass upgrade. Game Pass subscribers could pay $30 (or their local equivalent) for up to five days of early access starting October 1. Our estimates show that of the 1.7M who accessed E-Day through Game Pass, 722K paid for the upgrade. Between the review embargo lifting on October 1 and the full release, E-Day managed to shift another 250K early-access upgrades – no doubt helped by the campaign’s rave reviews. So despite selling far fewer copies on Steam, Xbox accounts for almost three-quarters of the revenue (roughly $26M of the $37M, versus about $11M on Steam). So “230K copies” undersells the paying audience. Including the 722K upgrades, nearly 950K people actually paid something for E-Day. The $30 upgrade is a halfstep from cannibalisation, but will Xbox go all the way? While E-Day is a sublime game, these are soft numbers for a flagship when Xbox badly needs revenue wins. E-Day sold 62K copies on Xbox against 722K Premium upgrades, so for every one copy sold on Xbox, nearly 12 Game Pass upgrades were sold. The $70 premium SKU is – functionally – dead on Xbox. Normally you can’t see what a Game Pass player would have paid, because the game’s just there in the subscription. But the $30 early-access upgrade estimate shows that 722K people demonstrated they’ll spend real money on this game. In a world without day-one Game Pass, many of these folks would have bought E-Day at $70. They paid $30 for five days early access to something they don’t own. Xbox is, in effect, charging its most valuable customers the least, based on a hangover from a tried-and-exhausted strategy from a previous administration. Those 722K willing-to-pay players generated about $21.7M via the upgrade. If three quarters of this group – mostly US and European audiences – bought E-Day outright, that’s nearly $40M. Of course, Game Pass does bring in meaningful recurring revenue, and E-Day is adding value for hundreds of thousands of subscribers. However, Game Pass is no longer growing, so Xbox is at a crossroads. Xbox is reportedly looking to do a Netflix and bolt on an ad-supported tier to pad it further. But that will just set a new floor, and leadership keeps telling us the priority now is revenue growth, which is subscriber-speak for ARPU. Xbox has already pulled Call of Duty from day-one Game Pass after day-one inclusion hammered its sales, with new CoD titles now arriving on the service around a year late. We know that some Microsoft executives believe the service devalues games outright, and rumours (which Microsoft has dismissed so far, to be fair) suggest that day-one releases could be taken off Game Pass. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe When a game this well-reviewed does this softly on its home platform, the model – not the game – gets brought into question. What else E-Day’s early adopters have played (including this month so far) Looking at E-Day‘s players on Xbox, most have played the franchise before (86% have played Gears 5, 76% Gears 4), and every game on the crossover list is either a shooter or a title from an Xbox-owned studio (though Game Pass is inflating those numbers, of course, more on that later): As for what else Xbox’s E-Day players have played this month, the top three are Fortnite (16%), Roblox (7%), and Call of Duty (6%). Another 5% played Minecraft Dungeons II, which is also on Game Pass and launched a couple of days before Gears‘ advance-access date. Many Game Pass players are happy to check out most big new additions. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Over on Steam, the top crossover games are also mostly shooters (slightly more PC-coded ones), including Space Marine 2, which was itself heavily inspired by Gears: Looking at what E-Day‘s Steam players are into this month shows who they are – as subscriptions don’t skew the data. The top three are Wardogs (13%), Deadlock (12%), and CS2 (10%), so you’ve got the restless shooter crowd checking out the new hotness. A little further down are Helldivers 2 and Space Marine 2, your co-op PVE shooter players who’ll feel right at home in Horde mode. Game Pass is skewing the playtime distribution on Xbox Looking at the playtime distribution in our platform, E-Day players on Steam are – relatively speaking – playing for longer: 54% of E-Day players on Xbox have played for five hours or less (versus 32% on Steam) 19% of Xbox players played for over 15 hours (versus 33% on Steam) 14% of Xbox players played for over 20 hours (22% on Steam) The absolute number of people playing for over 15, 20, and 50 hours is, of course, bigger on Xbox, thanks to the sheer volume of folks who came in through Game Pass (upgraders included). None of that is cause for alarm. Game Pass is the reason Xbox playtime skews lower, as when a game is free to try, people try it and bounce without putting in even an hour (17% under an hour on Xbox versus 6% on Steam). Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe The subscription brings in tourists alongside the committed, dragging down the average even when the game is excellent (but also perhaps winning over the uninitiated). It’s standard across every subscription-included title, on PS Plus too. Forza Horizon 6, for instance, had 11% of its Xbox players bounce under an hour, versus just 2% on Steam. So, Xbox’s crossroads So there we have it. Gears of War: E-Day is an incredible game whose revenues have been stifled by subscription inclusion and exclusivity. It’s the best-reviewed entry in the series in fifteen-odd years, but it still turned into one of the year’s softer flagship launches, not because players didn’t want it, but because Xbox’s own storefront gave its most willing buyers a reason not to pay. Which leaves Xbox at a crossroads. Will it keep making Gears games when the financial returns are this thin and the margins this low? And if it does, does the next one arrive off Game Pass at day one – the way CoD now does, or even on PlayStation? I think it should. Alright, back to E-Day for me! 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!]
Pope Leo XIV’s October prayer intention is ‘for mental health ministry’
VATICAN CITY (Vatican News) – Pope Leo XIV has dedicated his October prayer intention to mental health ministry, calling on the Church to listen without judging and accompany those who suffer without excluding them. In a video produced by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, the pope prayed that the Church may be an “open house” … Continue reading
The Reality of the Los Angeles Chargers’ Situation
A winless start forces a critical crossroads. Los Angeles must pivot toward a high draft pick and roster development to ensure Justin Herbert’s future and long-term contention.
Black Democrats are facing a crossroads
Stick with a faltering establishment or throw in with an untested new movement?
"Choosin' Texas"" knocked out of top spot on Hot 100
NEW YORK - After a record-breaking 24 weks atop the Billboard Hot 100, Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" is no longer number one on the list.
‘Business for Democracy’ Sees Friends Rising and Keep Showing Up Rally in Downtown Plaza
On a scorching 100-degree Saturday midday on October 3, 2026, local volunteers from Culver City and Friends Rising, joined by Keep Showing Up Culver City, led a march and rally. The demonstration f…
New York Jets: Slip Sliding Away
Aaron Glenn is at a crossroads. What happens next is critical for his, and the Jets’, future.
Packers vs. Buccaneers: Game Time, TV Channel, Injury Report, Betting Odds, Prediction and Key Matchup
The Green Bay Packers face a high-stakes crossroads against a winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad starting a rookie quarterback. Survival hinges on a battle of struggling offensive lines at Raymond James Stadium.
Celebrating Small Business: Crossroads
Brooke Luminelli missed out on learning ballet at a young age. She was 10 by the time she fell in love with the classic dance form.
‘He Could Be a Cheaper Option’ — Sports Media Expert Theorizes ESPN May Be Planning to Replace Troy Aikman With 3-Time Pro Bowler
The longest-standing broadcast partnership in NFL history may be approaching a crossroads, and one media analyst has floated three-time Pro Bowler Greg Olsen as a possible option for ESPN if Troy Aikman departs. When Troy Aikman, the on-air partner of Joe Buck since 2002, revealed on the “Sports Media with Richard Deitsch” podcast that he has not signed a contract extension with ESPN, rumors swirled.
DeWitt’s ‘Pink for the Cure’ returns for 15th year to boost breast health awareness
The Crossroads Health Foundation will celebrate the 15th anniversary of "Pink for the Cure" this October with a series of community events in DeWitt aimed at funding free screening mammograms.
Film screening highlights women in Texas political leadership
A documentary film featuring retired female state representatives screens Wednesday at The Welder Center in downtown Victoria.
Revisiting Collin Gillespie’s Breakout Potential for Phoenix Suns
As Phoenix faces a crossroads, the sharpshooting guard must expand his offensive repertoire and seize a high-volume role to transform from a reliable starter into a legitimate star.
New skatepark opens in West Des Moines
The city of West Des Moines has opened its new skatepark at Crossroads Park at 5205 Ashworth Road. The park features all new concrete features designed for skateboarders and scooter riders of all levels, the city said in a news release. The new concrete features include a slappy curb, box bollard, radius wedge and quarter…
Is Garnacho already at a crossroads at Villa?
Alejandro Garnacho joined Aston Villa on loan from Chelsea with a view to kick-starting his career, but his early weeks in the Midlands have been a struggle.
Lake City hosts Crossroads Music and Market Festival with live music, food and family fun
Downtown Lake City turned into a hub of music, food and family fun Saturday as the Lake City held its annual Crossroads Music and Market Festival.
The Atlantic Festival: Our Health at a Crossroads
me with Vann Newkirk and NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin
Buccaneers Battle Browns With Season at Early Crossroads
Buccaneers look to bounce back against the Browns and avoid their first 0-2 start under Todd Bowles.
Dodgers Face Sasaki Decision After Encouraging Live Session
Roki Sasaki’s recovery forces a strategic crossroads for Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts: deploy the flamethrower as a high-leverage reliever or vital rotation insurance.
Flood leaves Hagerstown business owner at a crossroads
For 26 years, Gary Schuette has owned and operated Nettle Creek Ace Hardware, an anchor of Hagerstown’s shopping center area along East Main Street. Floodwaters ruined that storied business within hours Aug. 12, leaving its future in limbo. In addition to the hardware store, water affected the nearby hair salon, food mart, thrift store, car […]
Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi welcome their second baby
(CNN) — Millie Bobby Brown and her husband Jake Bongiovi have welcomed their second child, a year after adopting their first baby.
Kauaʻi businesses rebuild from Hurricane Lowell while weighing when — and how
In the wake of Hurricane Lowell’s devastation in Kauaʻi, local businesses like North Shore Bike Doktor and Pineapple Kayaks Kauaʻi face a difficult crossroads as they navigate recovery efforts amid uncertainty in the tourism-dependent economy.
3 keys to navigating business crossroads: Growth, succession, exit strategies
Navigate crossroads with confidence when you consider this expert insight.
Phoenix Suns 2026-27 Player Profile: Ryan Dunn
Third-year forward Ryan Dunn faces a defining crossroads. To secure his rotation spot under Jordan Ott, the defensive specialist must unlock his offensive potential and silence lingering doubts.
Marian U. President discusses Crossroads Academic Medical Institute
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Packers TE Tucker Kraft Makes Bold Request With Contract 'Standoff'
As Green Bay nears its season opener, a $20 million demand from the rising tight end threatens to reset the market and force a high-stakes financial crossroads.
New firearms business, shooting range opens today in Meyersville
Owner says new facility welcomes everyone from first-time shooters to experienced marksmen
DeWitt’s Crossroads Business Park gets ready for growth
DEWITT, Iowa – Community leaders and development partners recently celebrated the groundbreaking of five regional water detention ponds in an expansion of the Crossroads Business Park, marking a major milestone in preparing the site for future industrial growth. The project is the first phase of infrastructure improvements that will make approximately 125 acres of development […]
School-based health clinic slated for Willoughby-Eastlake Schools
A school-based health clinic is slated for the Willoughby-Eastlake City School District in partnership with Crossroads Health. According to a district news release, the clinic has been in the planning stages for the last four years and…
DeWitt breaks ground on detention ponds to support industrial development at Crossroads Business Park
The detention ponds are expected to be completed by the spring of 2027.
Cathy Engelbert built the WNBA into a sports powerhouse. Her successor will inherit a league at a crossroads
After Engelbert’s tenure as WNBA commissioner, the league is more valuable and popular than ever—but her successor will inherit a league facing tensions.
Victoria County to weigh mental health facility, road work and airport upgrades
Victoria County commissioners are set to take up construction, transportation, public-health and student-veteran funding items during a special meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Sioux Falls YPN announces Four Under 40 nominees
Fifty-five nominees have been announced for the 2026 Four Under 40 Awards from the Sioux Falls Young Professionals Network of the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce.
Why Paolo Banchero Needs to Have an Elite Year
With Desmond Bane joining a revamped roster, Orlando’s franchise centerpiece faces a defining crossroads to silence critics, master his shooting, and elevate the Magic into elite contention.
The Shifting Ground of Westside Politics
Most people will only see the election results and come out of the primary season with an understanding of who won and who lost. But there’s so much more to learn from an election than the final ta…
This democratic socialist has upset the party establishment. Here’s her strategy for Congress
As the Democratic Party’s socialist summer comes to a close, Darializa Avila Chevalier has become one of the most polarizing — and potentially most influential — faces of an insurgency that has bested several congressional incumbents and left the party at a crossroads.
Ask Pinstripe Alley: Yankees mailbag questions request
The Yankees are at a crossroads with the playoff race reaching a fever pitch.
Ocasio-Cortez faces a crossroads in politics
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is at a career and life crossroads that many women face at the age of 36, even without the pressure of a potential White House run. The congresswoman, still l…
3 Blockbuster Trade Targets Phoenix Suns Should Monitor
As Phoenix navigates a pivotal crossroads, targeting high-impact stars like Zion Williamson and Anthony Davis could bridge the gap between developing youth and maximizing Devin Booker’s prime.
Sweetening the Deal
At 22, Loren Castle found herself at a crossroads in life. She was a fresh communication graduate from the University of Southern California, a certified
Free Fall 2.0 Puts The Front Office At A Crossroads
Too bad the crossroads seem to overlook a cliff on all sides, but which way do you want to go? This reminds me of a trip to Europe years ago in which Siri instructed, calmly, “turn left”. Only we were driving on a mountain road and for as long as the eye could see a […]
NVIDIA says SEGA games are coming to RTX Spark PCs, including Virtua Fighter Crossroads
NVIDIA says SEGA games are coming to RTX Spark PCs, with Virtua Fighter Crossroads named in the announcement. The other titles have not been detailed.
Young entrepreneurs earn business experience with county market
PORT LAVACA, Texas - Student business owners got the platform to sell their homemade and handcrafted products to their local community with a young entrepreneur market.
Rahm Emanuel to deliver bracing message in Tel Aviv as American politics shifting against Israel
Rahm Emanuel, a potential Democratic presidential candidate and longtime defender of Israel, will denounce Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv this week and deliver a bracing message that the country's relationship with the United States is "at a crossroads."
Rahm Emanuel will assail Netanyahu in Tel Aviv speech as American politics shift against Israel
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rahm Emanuel, a potential Democratic presidential candidate and longtime defender of Israel, will denounce Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv this week and deliver a bracing message that the country's relationship with the United States is “at a crossroads.”
Rahm Emanuel will warn Israel-US ties at crossroads in Tel Aviv speech
Potential Democratic presidential candidate Rahm Emanuel plans to deliver a strong message in Tel Aviv about U.S.-Israeli relations being "at a crossroads."
'Accidental American' Balogun at Crossroads of US, Soccer Politics at World Cup
Explore the fascinating story of Folarin Balogun and his pivotal moment in the World Cup amidst politics and identity.
'Accidental American' Balogun at crossroads of US, soccer politics at World Cup
Folarin Balogun plays the biggest game of his life on Monday caught in a complex intersection of soccer, identity and U.S. politics, with an intervention from President Donald Trump helping propel him to the centre of one of the World Cup’s biggest controversies.
'Accidental American' Balogun at Crossroads of US, Soccer Politics at World Cup
By Amy Tennery and Kristina Cooke NEW YORK, July 6 (Reuters) - Folarin Balogun plays the biggest game of his life on Monday caught in a complex intersection of soccer, identity and U.S. politics, with an intervention from President Donald Trump helping propel him to the centre of one of the World ...
Xbox at a crossroads: 25 years later, Microsoft is done playing around
Microsoft is pressing its Xbox business for growth and stronger profits after 25 years of losses and thin margins. Here's the math and the strategy behind the reset, with Xbox layoffs expected as soon as next week.
Should the Houston Rockets Consider Trading Fred VanVleet?
Lingering injury concerns and a murky recovery timeline leave Houston at a crossroads. Can the Rockets afford to wait for their veteran leader, or is it time to move on?
Bakunawa Killer revealed as a new character for Virtua Fighter Crossroads
The "Bakunawa Killer" as been revealed as a brand new character for Virtua Fighter Crossroads. Based on the dialogue heard in the trailer, it's implied that the Bakunawa Killer will have a heavy influence on the game's story ...
Circulating metabolites at the crossroads of lifestyle and brain health
Nature Aging - Circulating metabolites might provide early insights into brain aging before clinical symptoms appear. Ahmad and colleagues show that specific blood metabolites in midlife are...
Plans announced for sports complex, mixed-use development near Huntsville-Decatur interchange
Synergy Sports, Limestone County, the City of Decatur, and Crossroads LLC, announced a cooperative effort to bring a mixed-use development, anchored by a southeast regional sports complex, to the Tennessee Valley.
Virtua Fighter Crossroads announced
Publisher SEGA and developer RGG Studio have officially announced Virtua Fighter Crossroads, previously known as Virtua Fighter New Project. It will launch in 2027.
Beckwith defends Islam comments, gas tax suspension| Crossroads Politics
The Rockets’ Kawhi Leonard Trade Rumors Are Heating Up
Houston’s youth movement faces a crossroads as the front office weighs sacrificing elite prospects for a veteran juggernaut to forge a terrifying new championship core.
Mr K winner sipped deeply with community; now it’s savoring Small Business of the Year accolades
Built at the crossroads of coffee and cultural placemaking, the KC Chamber’s just-announced Small Business of the Year has brewed more than a thriving family business — it’s a story steeped in creating space for the region’s Latin and Indigenous communities alongside incoming FIFA World Cup visitors.
Leaked ‘Virtua Fighter Crossroads’ developer diary appears online
A video of what seems to be a behind the scenes developer diary of the next Virtua Fighter game, titled Virtua Fighter Crossroads, was posted on a Bilibili user’s account today.
Kallipoliti on Intersectional Environmental Politics
The Cal Poly LA Metro Program returns to Helms on Thursday, May 14 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm with a special evening featuring architect, engineer, and scholar Lydia Kallipoliti, whose work explores the …
The 'What Ifs' of 2025-26 for Iowa State athletics
Columnist Travis Hines examines the crossroads moments in Cyclones athletics this school year.
Who’s selling longevity? Biohackers are buying.
Several companies are currently positioning themselves at the crossroads of metabolic health and longevity
SEC meets at a crossroads — and its grip on college football is at stake
Inside the SEC’s most consequential spring meetings — and what’s on the line.
Recreation center reopens as modern healthcare facility in Cincinnati
A former recreation center was transformed and reopened as a modern healthcare facility in Cincinnati.
Winter Garden at a crossroads: Growth plan proposed after small business shakeup
City leaders in Winter Garden are considering a new strategy to support small businesses after months of rapid change in the downtown district left uncertainty about what comes next.
Overwatch Is Making Good On A Decade-Old Promise
The hero shooter’s reboot is getting one thing right
SCIENCE-MONKEYS/
Macaques hold food while an infant sits between them at the Rock in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, July 27, 2019.
The Conversation: As Renaissance Fairs Become Big Business, Can They Retain Their Counterculture Roots?
Renaissance festivals now sit at an uneasy crossroads between countercultural expression and commercial spectacle.
Why science communication has become a matter of life and death
Scientists have always been trained to do research. For 40 years, they’ve been asked to ensure people believe it. How’s it going?
LIV Golf to shut down? Saudi Arabia financiers may pull support, leaving PGA Tour rival at crossroads
Four years after its dramatic launch, LIV Golf may be going out with a whimper
Zach Lowe warns Donovan Mitchell at Cavaliers’ playoff crossroads
NBA analyst Zach Lowe had a worrying message about Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers' playoff status going into the first round series.
110,000-year-old discovery rewrites human history: Neanderthals and Homo sapiens worked together
The first-ever published research on Tinshemet Cave reveals that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in the mid-Middle Paleolithic Levant not only coexisted but actively interacted, sharing technology, lifestyles, and burial customs. These interactions fostered cultural exchange, social complexity, and behavioral innovations, such as formal burial practices and the symbolic use of ochre for decoration. The findings suggest that human connections, rather than isolation, were key drivers of technological and cultural advancements, highlighting the Levant as a crucial crossroads in early human history.
Paul Renner fundraising falls off, with roughly $800k raised to kick off 2026, as burn rate escalates
The conservative is at the crossroads as big donors steer clear.
Crossroads District businesses react to Royals stadium proposal near their neighborhood
Local business owners in the Crossroads District reacted to the city's new Royals stadium proposal two years after voters denied a sales tax extension for a downtown baseball stadium.
Apple’s biggest product in its 50-year history surprised the engineers who designed it
Apple had never built anything so complex. But it was at a crossroads.
Serie A winger linked with Liverpool as Salah replacement
Juventus Transfer Plans: Premier League Pressure Mounts as Champions League Stakes RiseChampions League Race Shapes Juventus FutureJuventus stand at a familiar crossroads, one shaped as much by financ...
A Defining Contest
Collins race puts Maine at the center of a national political crossroads as Democrats wrestle with identity, strategy and generational change.
Trump’s Iran war is at a fateful fork in the road
One month in, President Donald Trump’s war in Iran is at a crossroads.
Top law schools for entertainment law
Entertainment law sits at the crossroads of creativity, commerce and intellectual property. Lawyers in this field navigate fast-moving industries shaped by technology, global markets and evolving business models, often working closely with artists, studios, leagues and media companies.
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!]
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