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Las Vegas restaurants absorb higher import prices, adjusting business
Restaurant owners who rely on ingredients from overseas are adjusting how they do business as costs rise.
Game rankings and predictions for NFL Week 9
The ninth week of the NFL season has 15 games on the schedule. Two of the best see NFC North teams on the road to meet AFC East opponents.
College Football Playoff rankings: Miami leads first rankings of 2026; Notre Dame, Ohio State outside top 10
Unbeaten Utah Hosts BYU In A Holy War That Could Shape The Big 12 Title Race
The final month of the college football season in the Big 12 will shake loose a tight race and determine the teams that will play in the championship game.
Yes, 'Ramayana’s' Ranbir Kapoor Went All In On His Rama Training (An Olympian Is Even Involved)
Maura Higgins Looks Back on ‘One of the Toughest’ Weeks on ‘DWTS’
Maura Higgins opened up about her “lowest” week on Dancing with the Stars. On Monday, Nov. 2, the Love Island alum shocked fans when she and her professional dance partner, Mark Mallas, scored last du...
Trump administration awards $233.6M for California rural health care
California receives $233.6 million in federal rural health care funding as Medicaid cuts raise concerns for Fresno and San Joaquin Valley communities.
Yankees Named Surprising Landing Spot For Free Agent Ace
The Yankees could look to make a big move this offseason.
CVS Health is splitting in two, according to news reports
The retail pharmacies will be in one company and Aetna and CVS Caremark, the PBM, in another, according to news reports.
The Last Disney+ Original?
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we get going, I wanted to remind readers about how I plan to keep your trust while I add advertising to this newsletter. As you’ve no doubt noticed, I’m running ads now, but the danger is that it could impact my analysis and writing. I have a list of sponsors on my About Page, so if you think I’m biased, you can check out who’s sponsored this newsletter! This is something that I’m not sure anyone else in digital media does (if you’re a writer or media outlet and you do this, let me know and I’ll shout you out!) but it’s something I’d love to see embraced by the entire industry. Sunlight, i.e. transparency, is often the best disinfectant. Okay, on to this week’s issue. We (finally) have another major Disney+ TV show to talk about, so that’s my main focus for today. Plus, we had a lot of new shows come out, including the fourth seasons of The Diplomat and Tulsa King! And Love is Blind! The Lowdown! Also, four (four!) straight-to-streaming films came out this week, featuring a lot of big names and celebrities, so I’m going to look at those. All that, mixed news for the WNBA, Reacher ends its run on the charts, Skydance does well in September viewership, NYU’s Sundance dominance, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of October 12th to October 18th, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Disney+’s Porridge Problem Listen, per my headline, VisionQuest isn’t the last Disney+ Original. At least, I’m pretty sure it’s not. They have other MCU shows in development. Well, maybe one: But it sure feels like the end of an era. I’d call it their “porridge too hot” era, to quote myself from The Ringer. I told Ben Lindbergh that Disney+ seemingly couldn’t figure out the right amount of content. In the heights of the Streaming Bubble Era (circa 2019 to 2022), they started releasing an insane amount of TV shows. After their growth slowed, they’re down to two or three shows a year, and that might be down to 1 by 2027. Here’s my TV shows by year chart: Even at the time, I thought Disney was making too many shows (that cost too much). Today? They’re definitely making too few shows (though the budgets are more in check, at least according to the reporting). Porridge too hot, porridge too cold; too many shows, now not enough. Which makes evaluating VisionQuest so interesting. This show didn’t have a great lead-in, whether it be a Marvel Cinematic Universe film (the last non-Sony-produced-Spider-Man flick came out The Fantastic Four from July of 2025) or Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show (the two this year were Wonder Man back in January and _Daredevil: Born Again_in May, both of which underwhelmed). And so far, VisionQuest hasn’t quite recaptured the MCU Originals glory, but it has some signs of sparks. First, it made Samba TV, though at a lowly ninth place. At least it made it, a feat some other Marvel shows didn’t accomplish. (Ironheart landed on the Samba TV charts one week at tenth place, but Wonder Man and Daredevil: Born Again both missed.) VisionQuest also made Luminate, though with only 3.0 and 7.6 million hours. But it missed Nielsen in its first week. The best news might be its 7.8 on IMDb, on 12K reviews so far, great numbers, even for a superhero show. Looking at those numbers, this show will really need to pick up in future weeks—and it may since it’s coming out weekly—or Disney will have another disappointment on its hands. Disney+ binge-released their last few shows to try to boost numbers, but that meant shows like Iron Heart and Wonder Man didn’t last long on the charts. _Daredevil: Born Again’s_last season missed entirely (though it came out weekly). Here’s the Disney+ Originals by totals: And for a fun new look, here are those same shows, rearranged by the years they came out: That really shows that, in addition to Disney+ releasing fewer shows, those shows just don’t hit like they once did. If I had to offer one main explanation, it’s that Marvel Studios moved away from characters who starred in the Avengersmovies (The Scarlett Witch, Vision, Hawkeye, Loki, Falcon, Winter Soldier) to characters who didn’t (Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Iron Heart, Wonder Man, Daredevil). It sounds trite, but more popular IP tends to do better than less popular IP. In Marvel’s case, beloved, decades-old characters trump newer ones. And yes, I think this is a problem for Disney. The failure of Marvel TV shows to linger for weeks on the charts, unlike in 2021 and 2022, explains why Disney’s share of the charts has plummeted: That’s a strategic issue. Yes, these shows are really expensive, but without them, Disney+ will struggle, especially if Disney+ keeps raising prices AND licenses out its shows non-exclusively. My recommendation? Return to the core value proposition, which is Disney+ as “genre HBO”. The goal is six shows a year, coming out weekly, spaced out throughout the year. When a show hits, keep it coming back. Make three to four of those shows Marvel or Star Wars, and fill out the rest with IP swings like Percy Jackson, Goosebumps or something like National Treasure. And make YA-skewing shows like Coven Academy to fill out the schedule. Disney, you can get this porridge just right, er, make the right number of shows. Quick Notes on TV Netflix’s sophomore, er, junior, er, senior season slump abated very, very slightly this week. I speak of The Diplomat, which returned for its fourth season on 15-Oct. Credit where credit is due, this show debuted in April of 2023, and has put out new seasons every year since. Has that helped the viewership? Not really. This season opened to 16.4 million hours, which is down significantly from the first season (21.7 million hours) and down somewhat from the second season (18.0 million hours), but it is up from last year’s 14.2 million hours opening. On Samba TV, it opened to third place; that’s also very good. On Luminate, it opened to 25.0 million hours, which is good, but over thirty million hours is a hit on that platform. Netflix wisely renewed it, since it’s steady and, frankly, Netflix needs hits.1 Paramount+ put out Tulsa King’s fourth season on a Friday. After putting out most of their big, usually-Taylor Sheridan-scripted shows out on Sundays last year, they’ve clearly moved to Fridays going forward. Was this a thought-out strategic change, Netflix mimicry, or a data-inspired move? Tough to say. Fridays are crowded with new movies, but so are Sundays with new shows. Anyways, this one is coming out weekly, and we haven’t seen it hit the Nielsen or Luminate charts yet. But it did make Samba TV at fifth place, which is a good opening. Still, if this doesn’t make Luminate or Nielsen next week, I’d call it a disappointment. Netflix had two unscripted shows hit the charts this week, one a docu-series and one a reality competition show. Tyson is a four-episode docu-series about one of boxing’s most popular fighters, and it made both the Samba TV and Luminate charts, but not Nielsen. That’s a solid run for only four episodes (assuming it didn’t cost an arm and a leg to produce). Netflix’s latest season of Love Is Blind also returned for its eleventh season, which opened to 10.0 million hours, down from previous seasons. It also had 11.0 million hours according to Luminate, roughly in line with the Nielsen numbers. Last issue, I analyzed the triple successes of Below, Carrie and Crystal Lake, noting that all three have done well. I mostly used Nielsen, but all three shows also made Samba TV (see above). Crystal Lake in particular did very well on Luminate, getting 35.0 million hours, top for Peacock among first seasons: The top “show” of the week would have been Thursday Night Football again, at 41.7 million hours. This is still above last year’s game, but it continues the season’s overall downward trend, which happens every year. (Though a big week is coming, based on the news stories I’ve seen.) As I said before, I’ll do a deeper dive on all the October games later this month, with comparisons to previous years. One company is quietly on a roll, when you consider the shows it makes and streams. I speak of Skydance—a point Variety made—noting that it produces Neagley and Reacher for Amazon, along with Paramount+’s Lioness, which means it produced three of the top four shows of September according to Nielsen. By the way, Neagley fell off the Nielsen charts after four weeks, which is a pinch short for how well it started, but it’s still a huge success. (Interestingly, it finished just 7.3 million hours ahead of the cancelled Ride or Die.) The point, though, which I’ve made before, is that Prime Video still has a problem with how many co-productions it buys, most notably _The Boys_from Sony and Reacher/Jack Ryan from Skydance. It’s not a critical flaw—everyone licenses shows—but Amazon still struggles to make its own hits. Reacher finally fell off the Nielsen charts, so here’s its final rank for season four: We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… ...An example of the algorithm NOT picking a film… …whether or not Netflix buys shows simply for the movie poster… ...if East of Eden is above the Obliterated Line... ...what four star-studded straight-to-streaming films didn’t chart... ...and a whole lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. If you want an idea of just how much content you’d get in a full issue, check out this older issue.
Man accused of business break-ins in Grosse Pointe Park
A man was charged with multiple felonies for business break-ins in Grosse Pointe Park, authorities say.
Molecular dinitrogen anions pave the way for low-temperature ammonia synthesis
New antiperovskite-supported cobalt catalyst can produce ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen under mild conditions without precious metals, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. This self-organizing nanostructured material unlocks a novel cooperative mechanism between cobalt, barium, and aluminum that promotes nitrogen activation through the formation of molecular dinitrogen anions (N2)−, outperforming benchmark ruthenium and industrial iron catalysts.
Wastewater surveillance expands to include multiple pathogens, including measles virus
Wastewater monitoring to prevent or mitigate disease outbreaks has ramped up since COVID-19 to include testing for RSV, influenza, norovirus, mpox, foodborne illnesses and more.
Beyond the Health Report: AsiaMedic and Eternami Launch a New Approach to Personalised Healthspan
What happens after a health screening report is delivered?
Rashan Gary’s inexcusable penalty opened the door to final collapse
Rashan Gary had one of the worst moments from last week’s loss.
Inside Iowa Politics: Why this national election legal scholar is concerned about close elections
Ben Ginsberg, a longtime campaign election legal advisor, is urging candidates to accept the results of voters' decisions in the 2026 elections.
Chilling Health Update On Former Bruins Forward Jarome Iginla
While he isn’t known for his time with the organization, Hall of Fame NHL forward Jarome Iginla did spend one season of his illustrious career as a member of the Boston Bruins in 2013-14. Iginla, who was reportedly going to be traded to the Bruins from the Calgary Flames at the 2013 NHL Trade Deadline, […] The post Chilling Health Update On Former Bruins Forward Jarome Iginla appeared first on HEAVY.
AP Voter Poll: The economy and the state of democracy are voters’ top issues
About 4 in 10 U.S. voters nationally say the economy is the most important issue facing the country, as most express concern about gas prices and the cost of groceries. About 3 in 10 say the state of democracy is the top issue.
Barcelona, Atlético Skip Champions League Anthem To Honor Jesus de Miguel
Soccer teams playing in the Champions League have paid tribute to Jesus de Miguel after the Tenerife forward’s death following an on-field collision
For Accel Entertainment, Chicago licenses bolster outlook
For Accel Entertainment, it seems less is more. During Tuesday’s earnings call, Accel CEO Mark Phelan noted that the operator achieved 7% growth in its largest
Jets sign OL Blake Freeland off Bengals' practice squad
The Jets signed offensive tackle Blake Freeland off the Bengals' practice squad, the team announced Tuesday.
Election results: Indiana secretary of state race tests GOP dominance
This competitive and expensive four-way race has been Democrats' best shot at winning a statewide seat in over a decade. Republicans aren't taking it for granted.
Quentin Tarantino felt like he was ‘letting down’ Brad Pitt by ditching Cliff Booth sequel
David Fincher eventually came in to save “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.”
Will Jonathan Taylor, Brian Thomas Jr. get traded? How will Raiders decide on future with Maxx Crosby? What league sources are saying
Trump and the high cost of living loom over California governor's race between Becerra and Hilton
The winner will succeed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who can't seek a third term but is considering a White House run.
Warren County Voters Renew Mental Health and Senior Services Levies; Turtlecreek Fire Levy Passes
Warren County voters approved property tax renewals
Last week’s Springfield restaurant health code violations, Oct. 23-27
Springfield and Willard restaurants received various priority and nonpriority health code violations during routine inspections conducted between October 23 and November 2, 2026.
Mind Your Business: #19 Affordable Care Act & Medicare Updates
In this episode of Mind Your Business, host Gabriel Castillo, Executive VP of Corporate Marketing for IBC Bank, talks about the Affordable Care Act and Medicare program updates.
Michigan home health company settles race discrimination lawsuit
A Michigan home health company will pay $41,137 to settle claims it discriminated against and retaliated against a Black nursing assistant.
DC's Dynamic Duo movie officially casts How to Train Your Dragon star as Robin, confirms co-CEO
Mason Thames is set to voice Dick Grayson
Is politics pushing Americans away from religion?
Some researchers argue that political views are shaping religious affiliation rather than the other way around, a dynamic they say could be hazardous to both American politics and the country’s religious landscape
Nearly half of US adults under 65 had little to no health insurance in 2026: Report
Nearly half of U.S. adults had inadequate health insurance in 2026, as ACA marketplace enrollment declined and millions lost Medicaid coverage.
Apple warns rogue AI agents could ‘conceal’ and ‘manipulate,’ causing unintended consequences for its business
The iPhone maker said AI agents could access systems without authorization and cause damage.
New Mexico midterm election turnout continues to surge
By Kevin Hendricks, Jesse Jones, Rodd Cayton and Pat Davis, The Paper & The New Mexico News — 2026’s midterm elections may be among the biggest in recent memory, both nationally and here in New Mexico, if early voting and midday Election Day turnout trends continue until polls close at 7 p.m. tonight. Election Day […]
Palmetto Sports Daily: USC looks to keep momentum going, Clemson aiming for consistency
PSD discuss USC looking to keep momentum going and Clemson aiming to be more consistent, plus MBB season opener wins and losses.
The Waiting Begins
Millions of Americans headed to the polls Tuesday for a midterm election that could shape the future of health care and artificial intelligence in the U.S. and will determine how much Democrats can try to constrain President Donald Trump during his last two years in office. The political contest has ...
Trump’s Election Day bombshell on Israel points to historic shift in US politics
President Donald Trump is arguably the most pro-Israel president of modern times. So his Election Dayannouncement that the United States would end nearly $4 billion in annual aid to Israel was stunning.
Campaign cash keeps coming: $21.8 million and counting pours into Vasquez-Cunningham race
By Kevin Hendricks, The New Mexico News — If you live anywhere between Albuquerque’s South Valley and El Paso and own a TV, you already know somebody really wants your vote in the 2nd Congressional District. Actually, several somebodies – and each has several million dollars. Campaign donors and outside political action committees have spent […]
Three-star tight end decommits from FSU Seminoles
Florida State loses one of its 2028 pledges as three-star tight end Troy Silberzahn decommitted on Tuesday.
Area voters flock to polls, make voices heard for midterm elections
Matthew Hantz of Latrobe said he feels so strongly about the gubernatorial race that he voted in a midterm election for the first time on Tuesday.
Rural health board shake-up opposed as locals fight cuts to hospital beds
The plans would see inpatient beds reduced from 146 to either 90 or 60 in the county.
Illinois Football Announces Two Future Games vs. Notre Dame
Illinois football is set for a home-and-home series clash against Notre Dame in 2027 and 2028 after the two schools have not squared off in over 50 years.
What the White Sox can learn from Milwaukee’s title run
Despite hitting 57 fewer homers than Chicago in 2026, Milwaukee manufactured enough offense to capture its first title
Elizabeth Holmes’ partner denies ‘You Can See Everything’ director’s story about full-frontal nudity: ‘False narrative’
Elizabeth Holmes’ partner Billy Evans answered numerous questions about ‘You Can See Everything,’ including claims about how his full-frontal nudity scene came about.
Binance hackers used fake job interview in $6.3B attack
Binance revealed hackers used a fake job interview and malicious software to steal $6.3 billion in crypto, exposing vulnerabilities in the exchange's security.
Nashville Predators Lineup Decision Before Clash Against Hurricanes
The Nashville Predators will conclude their five-game homestand tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s the first time the defending Stanley Cup Champions are in town.Head coach Andrew Brunette understands that tonight will be a tough task for his group against arguably the best team in the NHL.“I think they’ve got a lot of momentum after […] The post Nashville Predators Lineup Decision Before Clash Against Hurricanes appeared first on HEAVY.
Man charged with mailing hundreds of letters containing powder to officials ahead of the election
Federal authorities charged an Oklahoma City man with sending hundreds of letters containing white powder and ominous warnings about treason to public officials ahead of the 2024 and 2026 elections.
Science Café examines metals and their impact
Davis Science Café is back Wednesday, Nov. 11, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at G Street WunderBar, 228 G St. in downtown Davis.
Right Men’s Club to host Salute to Veterans luncheon
The Right Men’s Club of Collier County will host the ninth annual Salute to Veterans Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, at the Hilton Naples. Proceeds will support
Perinatal mental health: support is available
Many Philadelphians suffer from poor mental health while pregnant or after giving birth. But is help available.
Oregon, Dan Lanning Receive Promising Update on Top 2028 Target
Four-star offensive tackle Lincoln Fa’alafi narrowed his list to seven finalists, potentially handing the Ducks a massive recruiting win to jumpstart their 2028 class and bolster the trenches.
Fiserv Small Business Index Shows Sales Momentum Heading into Holiday Season
Index rises to 146 as sales increase +2.3% year over year and +0.3% month over monthMILWAUKEE, Nov. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology, today published the Fiserv Small Business Index for October 2026, showing encouraging momentum for small businesses as the holiday season gets underway. Sales rose +2.3% year over year, the strongest year-over-year gain since July 2025, and +0.3% month over month. The
Benefis Health System to restructure services, citing financial pressure
Benefis Health System is preparing to restructure several services in Great Falls beginning December 19 and continuing into the new year.
Our health editors are officially in hibernation mode. Here's what they're buying and loving
Slippers, blankets, slow cookers — tell us it's cozy season without telling us it's cozy season. But getting comfy wasn't our only goal: Here's what made it into our carts this October.
'I can't get away from it.' Columbus voters decry campaign ads, polarization
The Dispatch took to the polls on Election Day to ask voters how they've felt about the tone of this election cycle.
Waymo expands driverless taxi service in Los Angeles County
Waymo expanded its Los Angeles service area on Tuesday, adding three South Bay neighborhoods to the 210-square-mile region where the robotaxis roam. Riders can now travel to Torrance, El Segundo,
Major League Baseball proposes delaying salary cap implementation to 2028 in talks with players
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball proposed delaying the start of a salary cap until 2028, saying teams have too many commitments for next season that wouldn't allow them to reduce spending quickly enough.A day after the start of free agent negotiations for the 2026-27 offseason, owners on Tuesday proposed to players that the sport adopt a hard cap of $258.
Popular Sherlock Holmes TV Show With Harry Potter Star Update Is a Great Sign for Season 2
A Sherlock Holmes show starring a Harry Potter actor has secured multiple international distribution deals after a strong U.S. performance. The development expands the show’s reach across several Euro...
Braves Lock In Acuña And Albies At Shocking Bargain Prices
The Braves kept Ronald Acuña Jr and Ozzie Albies for 2027. The cost? Just $24 million total. Here is why that number changes everything for the team.
Bradbury Science Museum To Present ‘Night With A Nerd: Neuromorphic Artificial Intelligence’ 6-8 p.m. Wednesday Nov. 4
Bradbury Science Museum News:
Patrick Stewart’s 10 best movies and TV roles outside of ‘Star Trek’ and ‘X-Men,’ ranked
Patrick Stewart was best known for playing Captain Picard and Professor X, but his talents extended far beyond those iconic roles. We’re ranking 10 of the late actor’s greatest performances outside ‘Star Trek’ and ‘X-Men.’
ESPN commentator Michael Wilbon takes indefinite leave of absence to address health issues
The veteran sports commentator says people close to him noticed “worrisome signs” in recent years that he largely brushed aside.
Madison’s Restaurant & Bar to close after 26 years in business
In a statement posted to Instagram, restaurant staff confirmed the closure, saying “After 26 incredible years, it’s time to say goodbye.”
Paris Jackson requests dad Michael’s estate transfer $600 million to a trust fund for her and brothers
Paris Jackson requests that her father Michael Jackson’s estate transfer $600 million to a trust for her and her brothers, per instructions in his will.
Pike County, Illinois, loses employee health coverage after HOPE Trust termination
The executive board of the Health Options for Public Entities Trust has voted to involuntarily terminate Pike County, Illinois, health care plan.
A downtown Royal Oak parking garage has been razed. Now the city is asking developers what’s next.
Demolition on the garage started several weeks ago.
Chicago Bears Stock Watch: Offense making plays; secondary struggles
The Bears moved to 6-2 with a huge MNF win. @SamHouseholder has this week’s stock watch.
Phantom Blade Zero made $223M on Steam and PS5 in five days
Phantom Blade Zero was always going to be a hit. We’ve been banging on about it for months now. Well, the results are in, and Phantom Blade Zero has indeed been a hit. Yesterday, S-Game reported that Phantom Blade Zero has sold 4M copies. As of this morning, our estimates show that Phantom Blade Zero has generated $223M via 4.3M copies sold across Steam (3.1M) and PlayStation (1.2M). This instantly makes Phantom Blade Zero this year’s #10 new 2026 game by premium revenue across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation – and without an Xbox release to boot. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Combined, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong account for 55% of Phantom Blade Zero’s copies sold – 56% of copies on Steam and 50% on PlayStation. But revenue is slightly different. Phantom Blade Zero actually made more revenue outside of China However, due to regional pricing, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong account for a lower share of revenue, 45%. The three countries account for 40% of Phantom Blade Zero’s revenue on PlayStation, and 47% on Steam. This is due to regional pricing, which you can easily check in our platform: Using the $59.99 USD base price as a starting point, we can see that Phantom Blade Zero costs the equivalent of $40.31 in China (-32.8% of the US price) and $41.80 in Hong Kong (-30.3%). So while Chinese culture is at the heart of Phantom Blade Zero (in terms of theme and player base), it’s actually making more money in non-China markets. In fact, markets outside of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan account for $123M in Phantom Blade Zero revenues via 2M copies. Even when we remove revenues from these markets from the analysis, Phantom Blade Zero remains a top 20 new 2026 title by revenue across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe In other words, Phantom Blade Zero is a global hit. It’s not all China – or even majority China, when it comes to revenues. The China spring board helped, but a successful State of Play and – more importantly – positive reviews helped this one land in other markets. Quality sells. China was hyped from the start, but Western players needed more convincing As we wrote back in August, China was always going to show up early for Phantom Blade Zero. Our daily Steam revenue data shows just that, and we can see when S-Game’s banging RPG won over players outside of China: On the day Phantom Blade Zero’s Steam pre-order button went live in mid-August, China accounted for nearly 70% of Phantom Blade Zero’s Steam revenue. The shares hovered around 68% throughout August. This is the hometown-hero effect we’ve covered in the past, with the home market committing first – almost sight unseen – on national pride and a lush-looking trailer alone. Then things get even more interesting. Following the State of Play on August 18, US daily revenue more than doubled (from $72K to $146K), China’s daily take nearly quadrupled ($237K to $892K), and the rest of the world’s revenues also more than doubled. As China spiked so much harder than the others, its share of revenue hardly moved, holding at around 68%. So the by-all-counts-awesome State of Play got non-China markets and the West interested (you can see daily spend jump), but it didn’t move the needle for overall revenue shares. Positive reviews were the Western tipping point. US daily revenue went from $106K on October 25 to $230K when the embargo lifted on the 26th, to $463K on the 27th, to $899K on the 28th. So nearly 8.5x more revenue in four days, boosted by the positive reviews and subsequent word of mouth. When Phantom Blade Zero launched on the 29th, things hit critical mass. On launch day, the US and the rest of the world combined out-earned China for the first time in Phantom Blade Zero’s whole pre-order history. You can see this unfolding pretty nicely in the revenue shifting shares, too. China’s lifetime revenue share sat at 68% in August and was still 65% as late as October 25th, but it dropped to 45% by November 2. Over that same period, the US nearly doubled its share from 10% to 18%, and the rest of the world climbed from 25% to 38%. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe That’s not to say that China sold less – far from it. The West and non-China markets just showed up later, won over by the reviews and word of mouth. However you look at it, Phantom Blade Zero has become one of this year’s highest-grossing premium games. Daily volume seems to be decelerating a bit (which is natural), so subscribe below for more updates on performance. Speaking of performance and deceleration… Gran Turismo 7 is one of PlayStation’s biggest earners While games like Ghost of Yotei, Helldivers 2, Astro Bot, Wolverine (2.7M now, by the way), and even Marathon and Saros tend to get all the headlines (we hold our hand up there, too!), there’s one PlayStation game from the past five years that’s earned more than all of these games: and it’s one that’s rarely talked about in enthusiast circles. Gran Turismo 7, which launched in March 2022, has sold 12.7M copies. This amounts to $840M in revenue, second only to Spider-Man 2’s $1.3B – if we’re talking PlayStation first-party for this generation. Gran Turismo 7 still brings in around 3M players every month (and between 400K and 700K active players per day). It’s also an evergreen seller every year. For example, Gran Turismo 7 generated: $189.7M in 2023 via 2.9M copies $161.3M in 2024 via 2.7M copies $119.1M in 2025 via 1.7M copies This year, Gran Turismo 7 has already sold 1.3M copies, generating $74.7M And there’s more laps to come Every December is comfortably GT7’s biggest month of the year (except launch), and the gap is widening there. December generated 2.1x a normal month in 2023, and by 2025 that had grown to 2.8x. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe As the typical months cool off with age, Christmas always holds strong, so the holiday period is becoming a bigger slice of Gran Turismo 7 yearly revenue. For Gran Turismo 7, the week around Christmas does 3x to 5x a typical week – three years running: Christmas week 2023: $14.7M (4.6x the year’s median week) Christmas week 2024: $9.3M (3.3x) Christmas week 2025: $8.5M (4.6x) These Christmas peaks happened at the full $59.99 (Gran Turismo 7 wasn’t discounted at all in December 2023 or December 2025). And although there was a discount late in December 2024, GT7’s peak week that year still happened at full price. You can really see why PlayStation hasn’t added this one to PlayStation Plus, eh? Say it after me: Subscriptions cannibalise premium revenue! On that note… Let’s take a quick look at how Gran Turismo 7 is doing versus its nearest competitor, Xbox console exclusive and long-running sim racer Forza Motorsport (released in 2023 as a reboot for the franchise, about 19 months after GT7). Forza Motorsport has sold around 1.3M copies across Xbox (75.4% for Xbox console and PC) and Steam (24.6%), grossing $89.9M across those platforms. Launch aligned, and on just PlayStation, Gran Turismo 7 had sold 10.2M copies, generating $676.1M, by that point. In other words, Gran Turismo 7 has sold the same number of copies this year as Forza Motorsport has sold since launch. When all is said and done, Gran Turismo 7’s 2026 revenues will have lapped Motorsport’s lifetime, too. It’s worth noting that Forza Motorsport was not released on last-gen consoles, and under a quarter of Gran Turismo 7’s revenue has come from PS4 consoles. Critically, Forza Motorsport is also on Game Pass, where nearly 7M players have accessed it. Meanwhile, the Forza Horizon series has been performing incredibly in terms of revenue. This year’s Forza Horizon 6 has generated $583.7M across Xbox and Steam despite Game Pass cannibalisation, and last year’s Forza Horizon 5 PlayStation port has generated $383.5M on PS5 alone. So two questions, then: How well is Forza Horizon 6 going to do when it launches on PS5 in January? Hit subscribe to get that in your inbox in January (which is in two months somehow!?) Subscribe 2. Open-world arcade Gran Turismo when? Also, if you like arcade racers, go and play Star Wars Galactic Racer. It rules. Like GOTY material, seriously. 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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