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The World’s Most Unbelievable Science Fiction Novel
If years ago you’d pitched a novel where Donald Trump got elected president of the United States twice and hastened
Microsoft Defender flagging "Cerdigent" trojan malware on Windows 11, Server PCs worldwide
Microsoft Defender is flagging “Cerdigent” trojan malware alerts on Windows 11 and Windows Server PCs across multiple regions worldwide.
Bungie claims it has a Marathon story plan stretching ‘years’ into the future
But Marathon’s future narrative direction will partly be influenced by players…
Curing U.S. Health Care, Part II
On March 23, 2010 President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — usually referred to either as the Affordable Care Act or as Obamacare — into law. Joe Biden, then the vice president, could be overheard whispering “This is a big fucking deal.” And it was. The ACA, which went into full effect in 2014, created a system of subsidies and regulations designed to make health insurance available to many Americans who had previously been left out. It worked: In 2010 there were 47 million uninsured people in America, but by 2016 this number had dropped to 27 million. This still fell short of the universal health insurance that every other advanced nation has, but it was real progress. In 2017, during his first term, Donald Trump tried to destroy the ACA, replacing it with the American Health Care Act — legislation that would have eliminated most of the provisions that expanded health insurance under Obama. At the time the Congressional Budget Office projected that the G.O.P.’s replacement bill would nearly double the number of Americans without health insurance, increasing the total uninsured population by 23 million and undoing all of the progress achieved under the ACA. However, the attack on Obamacare failed by one vote in the Senate, and the ensuing public backlash against the G.O.P. delivered a large victory in the 2018 midterms to the Democrats. After these developments many observers assumed that the ACA had become a more or less permanent feature of American life. Such assessments, however, failed to take into account the deep hostility of the U.S. right toward policies that expand access to healthcare. As we’ll see, this hostility goes back generations. And the second Trump administration has taken actions that the CBO projects will add 16 million people to the rolls of the uninsured by 2034. How did we get here? And now what? Today’s primer will analyze the political economy of U.S. healthcare since the 1940s and the combination of danger and opportunity created by the current crisis. Beyond the paywall I will discuss the following: US health care on the eve of Trump II 80 years of US health politics The Obamacare story The new assault on healthcare
Vi Lyles chooses big business over the public again in Charlotte
Our readers comment on Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, the James Comey indictment, Donald Trump, mental health awareness and climate change urgency | Letters to the Editor
Atrium Health + WakeMed propose $2B merger, many jobs in major NC healthcare move
If approved, the deal would create 3,300 new healthcare jobs and expand services to 1 million North Carolinians.
WakeMed moves to merge with Charlotte-based Atrium Health system
Wake County nonprofit is one of the Triangle’s big three health care systems, along with UNC Health and Duke Health.
Thousands from across NC join teachers rally in Raleigh
Thousands of teachers and supporters gathered in Downtown Raleigh on Friday for the NCAE "Kids Over Corporations" May Day march demanding higher pay and increased school funding.
Staged? Why Conspiracy Theories Are Stupid, but Also Bad Politics
The attempted assassination at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner exposes America’s deepening polarization,
Every Bird Counts – Delivering Gold Standard Science for North America’s Birds
Each spring, as migratory birds span continents, our ability to protect them depends on one simple but powerful force: people paying attention. This World Migratory Bird Day, the theme “Every Bird Counts – Your Observations Matter!” underscores how everyday observers and community scientists provide the essential data that drives bird conservation.
The California governor's race is heating up. Here's what you need to know
Sacramento Bee reporter Ben Paviour gives an update on which candidates are still in the race for California governor as of April 2026 and what voters need to know about the race.
The most severe Linux threat to surface in years catches the world flat-footed
CopyFail threatens multi-tenant servers, CI/CD work flows, Kubernetes containers, and more.
Gov. Josh Stein signs $319M Medicaid funding bill in North Carolina
Gov. Josh Stein signed a $319M bill Thursday, April 30, 2026, ending a months-long North Carolina Medicaid impasse to provide funding care for 3 million residents while adding policy changes.
Popular science
Isaiah Keys has beaten the odds, and is asking for help with keeping him on a winning streak. Keys, Warren High School freshman, could be the next student to tour The Planetary Society in California with Bill Nye The Science Guy, as well as appear in Reader’s Digest and receive $20,000 to invest in his […]
City council Introduces Ordinance Establishing Downtown Entertainment Zone
The City Council received and reviewed the Downtown Culver City Entertainment Zone Management Plan and unanimously introduced an ordinance to establish an entertainment zone during special events in Downtown Culver City. The proposed program, developed in partnership with the Downtown Business Association (DBA), would allow patrons to purchase alco...
Sony clarifies recent PlayStation DRM update
PlayStation fans and gaming preservations have been alarmed since late last week that a new 30-day timer attached attached to newly-purchased digital games for PlayStation 4 and 5 might render those games unplayable if the system they’re on is offline for longer than a month. But a rep from Sony told Game File today that new system will require only a single online check before it functions as a perpetual license for the digitally purchased game. That is consistent with a newer theory that emerged by gamers testing the 30-day timer over the last two days. “Players can continue to access and play their purchased games as usual,” a rep for PlayStation told me over email. “A one-time online check is required after purchase to confirm the game’s license, after which no further check-ins are needed.” The rep’s explanation squares with the current understanding among players about what’s happening. A multi-day mystery A post last Friday by YouTuber Lance MacDonald spread awareness over the 30-day timer. Quickly, players began stress-testing the system, removing a battery within their PlayStations and checking what would happen if their systems were offline past the timer window. They noticed that setting a PS4 or PS5 to be the “primary” console—a common Sony-authorized method to retain rights to a digital game—wasn’t overriding the 30-day limit. On Tuesday came the breakthrough: A gamer called Andshrew on the Resetera forums posted the results of some tasting. They found that digital games purchased on PS4/PS5 after some time in mid-April would get a 30-day timer that could then be removed and replaced with a perpetual license that would allow the game to be played offline. The transition to the perpetual license occurred some number of days after the digital game was purchased and the system was connected to the internet. They believed that a PlayStation’s online check-in would trigger the license change no sooner than 15 days after the user had purchased the game. This synced with the theory that Sony’s new system is related to the 14-day window that PlayStation users have to request a refund for digitally purchased games. The new timer/check-in system could be a way to defeat some exploit in that refund system, some users theorized. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe In a follow-up, I asked the Sony rep if the 15-day timeline is accurate or if the perpetual license can be activated sooner after purchase. If they share more, I’ll update this post. Sony has not said why they’ve introduced the timer and whether it is designed to stop people from exploiting the refund system. But their explanation suggests that this new DRM method should not result in long-term loss of access to digitally purchased games, just because a PlayStation is offline for a month or Sony’s servers are down. Xbox flashback For many some gamers, the initial reporting of the 30-day timer conjured memories of Microsoft’s disastrous May 2013 announcement of the Xbox One, which was going to require an internet-connected check-in once a day, lest your games become unplayable.1 After widespread backlash, Microsoft abandoned that plan, ahead of the Xbox One’s launch. 1 Fun fact: That 24-hour check-in detail was my scoop from an interview I had that day with then-Xbox exec Phil Harrison. I was EiC of Kotaku at the time and rushing from one Xbox One preview appointment on Microsoft’s campus to another. I phoned the news in to reporter Jason Schreier, who wrote it up for the site.
Science Films Can Inspire Mindful Observation That Grounds Audiences in Local Nature
Surveys show science films help audiences comprehend new concepts through visual narratives. During Climate Week NYC 2025 last September, more than 100 people gathered on Governors Island for a screening of OBSERVER, a documentary film from the Science Communication Lab. The New York Climate Exchange, Stony Brook University and Science Communication Lab/Wonder Collaborative partnered to
Critical cPanel Authentication Vulnerability Identified — Update Your Server Immediately
cPanel patches authentication flaw across supported versions, prompting Namecheap port blocks and temporary access limits.
Texas' Top Criminal Court Has Stymied the State's 'Junk Science' Law. Will SCOTUS Intervene?
If the U.S. Supreme Court renders a decision in favor of Charles Flores and others, it would likely force the Court of Criminal Appeals to relax its extremely strict handling of appeals based on shoddy and outdated science.
Conspicuous 1964 classic sports car goes missing in North Carolina, sheriff says
Chevelle convertibles are among “the best vintage cruisers you can buy,” experts say.
Familiar sports bar replacing shuttered uptown Hooters. It’s ‘something special’
Expect classic bar bites like chicken wings, burgers and signature sandwiches coming into a space that’s long been vacant.
Why 2 former Charlotte councilmen say I-77 tolls could decide 2027 mayor’s race
Tariq Bokhari and Larken Egleston predict several City Council members will run for mayor in 2027.
“With Armis, ServiceNow is positioned to build the largest cyber business in the world”
John Aisien, Senior Vice President at ServiceNow, and Armis CEO Yevgeny Dibrov frame the $7.75 billion deal as a step toward creating a “control tower” for enterprise security in the AI era.
Sales include complex for care facility, new equipment rental business
A multi-building complex that is leased by The Resource Center is under new ownership. The Post-Journal and OBSERVER have been analyzing real estate sales in Chautauqua County and recently looked at the transactions from Feb. 11-17. The county does not provide transaction information, but real estate documents are available for review at the clerk’s office.…
Cape Fear Valley Health expands day care for employees
Cape Fear Valley Health expanded its Fayetteville day care, adding 12 classrooms and increasing capacity.
NC Rep. Carla Cunningham switches party affiliation after losing March primary
Cunningham joins Tricia Cotham as the second Mecklenburg County legislator to switch her party affiliation in recent years.
Florida named second highest state for business bankruptcies
A new study by The Kaplan Group found that commercial bankruptcies are rising faster in Florida than in every state but Texas.
Science Films Inspire Mindful Observation, Ground Audiences
Audience members from a September 2025 screening of the documentary OBSERVER ay Climate Week NYC were surveyed on why audiences engage with science films.
Hackers exploit file upload bug in Breeze Cache WordPress plugin
Hackers are actively exploiting a critical vulnerability in the Breeze Cache plugin for WordPress that allows uploading arbitrary files on the server without authentication.
Olivia Dean review — a masterclass in old-school entertainment
By the time the London star closed the opening night of her first major tour with the megahit Man I Need, not a soul in Glasgow’s OVO Hydro arena wasn’t in love with her
Adversaries may have taken missing US scientists, lawmaker says
Nearly a dozen scientists have disappeared or died in circumstances that some observers have deemed suspicious.
Adversaries may have taken missing US scientists, lawmaker says
Nearly a dozen researchers or people with links to aerospace or defense programs have disappeared or died in circumstances that some observers have deemed suspicious.
Third party mayor finds no honeymoon from partisan politics
Jay Doyle was 100 days into his first term as Mayor of Georgetown. He hadn’t been counting up, he said. He had been counting down. “I was retired, living a nice, peaceful life, and this just throws your life into chaos,” Doyle said. “I think it’s intended to be a part time job. It’s anything […]
Microsoft releases emergency updates to fix Windows Server issues
Microsoft has released out-of-band (OOB) updates to fix issues affecting Windows Server systems after installing the April 2026 security updates.
Riverview apartments sell for $7.5M below 2021 sale price
The community just off Interstate 75 was bought by a Virginia real estate investment firm.
Farewell to Prof. Michael Rabin, godfather of Israeli computer science
A pioneer of modern computing, Rabin shaped algorithms, cryptography and AI foundations, mentored generations and remains the only Israeli to win the Turing Award, the field’s highest honor, as computer science reshaped everyday life
Funeral announced for beach music Hall of Famer killed in a crash in Eastern NC
Celebration of life gatherings also will be held on dates to be announced in Concord-Kannapolis and North Myrtle Beach.
World of Warcraft private server Stormforge is shutting down as Blizzard builds pressure on fan alternatives
The Stormforge developers confirm that its private WoW servers will be shut down in May after a Cease and Desist from Blizzard's legal team.
Paul Gosar's rally appearance reignites health speculation
Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar's appearance at a Turning Point USA rally has renewed public speculation about his health, with observers citing slurred speech, unsteady posture, and difficulty completing sentences. Social media users suggested, without evidence, possible neurological conditions, echoing similar concerns raised in past years. Gosar has consistently denied such rumours, attributing symptoms to arthritis, spinal issues, and past surgeries.
Cardinal Sports Report: April 9 to April 15
Image courtesy of Leyton Ramos-Platt and Catholic Athletics. By Sam Bergstrom and Griffin Cappiello Men’s…
Previewing the 2026 NC legislative session
ABC11's Sean Coffey and N&O politics reporter Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi talk about what to look for in the upcoming session of the North Carolina General Assembly.
Dell: A Value Stock Multiple On An AI Growth Business
Dell Technologies ended last quarter with $43B in backlog, and management guided FY2027 AI server revenue of roughly $50B. Click here for more on DELL stock.
Battlefield 6 Getting 7 New Maps This Year, Plus A Server Browser And More
Classics Battlefield map Wake Island and Grand Bazaar will arrive later this year alongside a server browser, prox chat, and more
Panthers' Dave Canales discusses new Atrium Health Training Facility
The Carolina Panthers announced their new practice facility in uptown Charlotte will be known as the Atrium Health Training Facility on Thursday. Head coach Dave Canales spoke at the event.
G-Mode: Digital Devil Saga: A’s TEST Server Available Now on Nintendo Switch and Steam
During their 6th anniversary live stream, G-Mode have announced that Digital Devil Saga: A’s TEST Server will be released today
White House looking into growing list of ‘missing scientists’
Theories have circulated online after about ten scientists disappeared or died since 2024
Listen as Sacramento County public health officer announces more measles cases
Dr. Olivia Kasirye, Sacramento County public health officer, announces six new cases of measles during a press conference with other health officials in Sacramento on April 15, 2026.
No qualifying bids, so State Health Plan will restart search for new insurer
The initial request for bids came in less than a year and a half after the state switched to Aetna from Blue Cross NC.
After sale of its shoe business, Allbirds pivots to AI
Allbirds is ditching wool sneakers for AI servers, rebranding as NewBird AI after locking in a $50M convertible financing facility.
After sale of its shoe business, Allbirds pivots to AI
Allbirds is ditching wool sneakers for AI servers, rebranding as NewBird AI after locking in a $50M convertible financing facility.
Contested Body Counts, Visibility and the (Necro)Politics of America’s War in Iran
Recent focus on a missing US aircrew member and underreported military casualties in Iran reveals a deeper system controlling war visibility.
In Charlotte, Kamala Harris calls out Trump’s ‘obviously wrong’ Pope Leo post
The former vice president and presidential candidate was back in Charlotte Tuesday night promoting her campaign memoir.
In the shadow of RDU, an NC community seeks its own commercial air service
Business and tourism groups in the Pinehurst area are trying to persuade an airline to begin daily flights from Moore County Airport to Washington, D.C.
Towards better vision: WHO South-East Asia regional meeting on eye health
The WHO South-East Asia Regional Meeting on Eye Health was convened to address the substantial and persistent burden of avoidable vision impairment in the Region. South-East Asia accountsfor nearly one third of the world’s blind and visually impaired population, with cataract, uncorrected refractive error, and diabetic retinopathy contributing to more than 90 percent of cases. The meeting responded to the need for coordinated action to achieve the 2030 global targets for effective cataract surgical coverage and effective refractive error coverage, and to advance implementation of the Regional Action Plan for Integrated People Centred Eye Care. It provided a platform for reviewing progress, identifying system gaps, and strengthening country pathways to accelerate universal access to quality eye care.
Hacker group threatens to release Grand Theft Auto VI data in Rockstar Games attack
The group named ShinyHunters have accessed a third party server and have given the company a deadline of 14 April to enter ransom negotiations
New University City sports bar touts air-fried wings, grease-free game day eats
Expect made-to-order classics like burgers, chicken tenders and wood-fired pizzas.
As WhatsApp faces lawsuit, Elon Musk launches 'no tracking' messaging app XChat
App will offer encrypted chats, voice and video calls, large group messaging and disappearing messages, initially for iPhone and iPad users only, with no ads or phone number required to sign up
Fan World of Warcraft servers face shut down as Blizzard wins Turtle WoW case
Activision Blizzard has won its court case against Turtle WoW, delivering a Cease and Desist order to the World of Warcraft server network.
Dragon Age: Inquisition Servers Going Offline Later This Month
The online features have outlasted many live-service games, including Bioware’s own Anthem
GTA 6 Developer Rockstar Reportedly Hacked, Data Being Ransomed
Well known hacking group, ShinyHunters, claims to have breached the GTA 6 developers cloud servers
Apple is 50: how Steve Jobs pulled it back from the brink
In an extract from his history of the company, David Pogue looks back on the year when its co-founder returned amid crisis and found its lost soul
Skyrim’s massive RP server that replaces NPCs with players just broke a new record
Skyrim’s massive new 750 player roleplay server is transforming the 2011 classic into something entirely unprecedented.
How Teach for America Helped Set Up James Talarico’s Political Rise
The prestigious education group is more than a shiny resume item. For the Democratic Senate candidate, it was an incubator for his rapid political ascent.
Pierce County city approves new youth sports leagues after 10+ years without
Skills clinics for basketball, volleyball and soccer will happen this summer. Flag football, volleyball, T-ball starts in winter or spring.
UNC releases statement on Trump's executive order to reform college sports
UNC chancellor Lee Roberts and AD Bubba Cunningham released a joint statement in response to President Donald Trump's executive order on college sports.
AI breakthrough cuts energy use by 100x while boosting accuracy
AI is consuming staggering amounts of energy—already over 10% of U.S. electricity—and the demand is only accelerating. Now, researchers have unveiled a radically more efficient approach that could slash AI energy use by up to 100× while actually improving accuracy. By combining neural networks with human-like symbolic reasoning, their system helps robots think more logically instead of relying on brute-force trial and error.
Jalen Hurts Has Reportedly Gotten The 'Message' In Philly
There was reportedly a lot of "friction" between Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles toward the end of the 2025 season. ESPN reported on the development. "Close observers point to a lack of creativity and synergy in the Eagles' attack. The pass game wasn't always properly tied to the run, and ...
Miami bank lends $27.5M for Tampa hotel sale
Ocean Bank provided financing for the purchase of a Sheraton hotel near Tampa International Airport.
AWS Engineer Reports PostgreSQL Performance Halved By Linux 7.0, But A Fix May Not Be Easy
An Amazon/AWS engineer raised the alarms on Friday over the current Linux 7.0 development kernel leading to the throughput for the PostgreSQL database server being around half that of prior kernel versions
Google's Gemma 4 model goes fully open-source and unlocks powerful local AI
Now open-source under Apache 2.0, Gemma 4 brings offline, multimodal AI to servers, phones, and Raspberry Pi - giving developers total local control over edge and on-premises deployments.
‘Orban constantly vetoes’: Europe braces for Hungary election
The practicalities of Hungary’s election may not matter as much as the psychological impact, say observers.
Pokemon Home 4.0.0 update released, support for Pokemon Legends: Z-A and Pokemon Champions added
As previously announced, Pokemon Home has received a version 4.0.0 update. Users should be seeing the update roll out now on mobile and Nintendo Switch devices. Keep in mind that the app’s servers are currently undergoing maintenance, making the software unusable until 5 AM PT / 8 AM ET / 1 PM in the UK / 2 PM in Europe....
StarCraft-Inspired RTS From Former Blizzard Devs Losing Online Multiplayer Because Server Partner Was Bought By AI Company
AI taketh, and it taketh some more
Stormgate Adding Offline Mode After Server Provider Ditches It For AI
Stormgate's multiplayer modes will not be available until the devs find a new company to provide online support
Sailing for Science: A 50-Day Mission to Study the Southern Ocean
Emmanuel Boss, Ph.D., University of Maine
Starcrafty strategy game Stormgate is about to lose its multiplayer modes, due to an AI company buying up Frost Giant's server provider
Stormgate's multiplayer modes are going offline soon as a result of the game's server provider being bought by an AI company, Frost Giant have announced.
The secret to a great cup of coffee? Scientists think they’ve cracked it
Preparation rather than origin may dictate the taste of the drink, a study suggests, after X-ray scans reveal grind size is key for the perfect espresso
NC’s Thom Tillis drops the filter as he prepares to leave the Senate
Has Sen. Thom Tillis changed since bowing out of his reelection campaign? His fellow senators don’t think so.
Join Alliance Entertainment's Exclusive Live Investor Webinar and Q&A Session on April 7
/ March 31, 2026 / RedChip Companies will host an investor webinar on April 7, 2026, at 4:15 p.m. ET with Alliance Entertainment Holding Corp. (Nasdaq:AENT).
Weizmann Institute rebuilds after Iranian missile strike, but lost science may be gone for good
Most buildings damaged in the June 2025 attack have been repaired, but destroyed research and data cannot be recovered.
Dell’s CFO is using AI agents to run his finance team—and has helped the AI business go from $0 to $25 billion
David Kennedy discusses the company’s record-breaking year.
Serbia local elections marred by claims of violence
The student movement said some of their observers were threatened and in one incident sprayed with pepper spray
Galaxy Watch 9 gets one step closer to launch
A firmware file for Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Watch 9 has been spotted on the brand's server, suggesting that its testing has started.
Starwatch: Lynx constellation well placed for northern hemisphere observers
A moonless evening away from streetlights will be the best to track down this celestial feline
I changed 3 settings in Plex and my streams immediately stopped buffering
Adjusting a few default settings can transform your Plex experience, by making streaming smoother and more reliable.
The Stein, Berger and Hall era of political dynamics in NC will be brief
On Sundays, our Under the Dome newsletter focuses on Gov. Josh Stein.
Advocate Health will take to the Charlotte skies to start hospital drone deliveries
The healthcare giant is partnering with a drone business to deliver prescriptions and supplies to homes in Charlotte and two other cities.
Meta and Google damaged girl’s mental health, landmark trial concludes
Social media giants deemed responsible for a teenage user, known as KGM, growing addicted to their platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
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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