🔥🔥🔥 GameOver: Marathon Alpha Disaster, Switch 2 to the Moon, Indies over Gaming Giants

Data: Top Publishers Q1 2025, WTF: Learn how to Vibe Code!

Joseph Kim

Apr 25, 2025

Happy Friday, everybody!

This week’s hot takes:

Marathon’s Alpha: Bungie’s Data Disaster in the Making
Betting Against Switch 2? Prepare to Get Steamrolled by the Stats
Let the Giants Fall: Why Indie Devs Will Win

👇👇👇

Marathon’s Alpha: Bungie’s Data Disaster in the Making

Marathon’s alpha is a masterclass in missing the point. The numbers don’t lie: dislike ratios through the roof, social sentiment in the gutter, and not a single feature that stands out from Apex or Tarkov.
Bungie’s banking on their brand to carry a game that’s visually dated, mechanically uninspired, and designed for a console audience that doesn’t even exist in this genre. The only thing they’re A/B testing is how much disappointment players will tolerate before they churn. If the engagement curve keeps trending down, don’t be surprised when Marathon becomes the next Anthem—dead on arrival, but with better reload animations.

JK Note: A friend showed me some of the Marathon Alpha yesterday, and while I understand there are some challenging issues, I’m not quite sure why there’s so much negativity. I do agree that extraction remains a difficult genre, though! I wish them the best of luck and would love more extraction games to succeed.

Betting Against Switch 2? Prepare to Get Steamrolled by the Stats

The numbers don’t lie: with 105 million active Switch users and 129 million annual players, the Switch 2 has the largest ready-made upgrade base in gaming history. Every forecast that doesn’t factor in this tidal wave of built-in demand is pure fantasy. Even with higher prices and new competition, Switch 2 is on track to outsell every other console’s launch year—possibly by a mile. If you’re still betting on a ‘slow start,’ you’re about to get steamrolled by the data.

JK Note: Holy smokes, I cannot get a preorder. I think she’s right.

Let the Giants Fall: Why Indie Devs Will Win

The collapse of AAA studios is the best thing to happen to gaming in years. These bloated giants spent fortunes chasing trends and hiring armies of middle managers, only to churn out soulless, committee-designed flops nobody actually wants to play.
Meanwhile, indies and AA teams are thriving (Helldivers 2, Palworld, Last Epoch) because they take risks, listen to players, and make games with actual heart. Every layoff is a chance for real talent to break free from corporate shackles and create something meaningful. The future belongs to the scrappy, not the safe. And the old guard is too busy collapsing to notice.

* Pseudonyms in italics, no underline.

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Top 5 Gaming News

Bloomberg Analysts Call Switch 2 “Biggest Console Launch Ever” (MyNintendoNews): A new Bloomberg Intelligence brief predicts record first-year sales for Nintendo’s upcoming console despite supply-chain headwinds.
GamesBeat Spins Off From VentureBeat, Forms New Media Co. (GamesBeat): VentureBeat formally separates its gaming arm; the new standalone GamesBeat will keep the Summit, podcast, and daily coverage while seeking outside investment to scale.
Marathon Reveal Flooded with Dislikes, Bungie Lifts NDA (Geek Outpost):
After the Marathon gameplay reveal received a massive dislike ratio and criticism for dated visuals, Bungie lifted the Closed Alpha NDA, allowing players to share footage and feedback to improve public perception before launch.
Tencent Games Showcases 46 Titles at SPARK 2025 (Tencent): Tencent Games unveiled new content and esports plans for 46 projects highlighting Honor of Kings’ animated series, Delta Force Mobile’s 25 M pre-regs, a global Arena Breakout season, and first looks at titles like The Hidden Ones and Silicon Universe.
Valorant Mobile Launches First in China with Pre-Registration Live (The Verge): Riot and Tencent’s Lightspeed will debut Valorant Mobile in China ahead of a later global rollout, with pre-registration now open and exclusive in-game rewards for early sign-ups.

Top 5 AI x Gaming News

Definitive AI x Gaming Market Map Released (GameMakers):
A new market map highlights the key companies shaping AI-powered game development, spanning generative art, NPCs, and animation.
NVIDIA's ACE Tech Evolves into PUBG Ally, the First Autonomous AI Teammate (Hartmann Capital): NVIDIA’s ACE technology has reached a new milestone with "PUBG Ally," an AI teammate that can perceive, strategize, communicate, and perform complex in-game tasks. This innovation is sparking debate over the role of AI in competitive multiplayer games and whether it enhances or threatens fair play.
Softonic: AI and Gaming Drive 43.6% Increase in Software Downloads (GlobeNewswire): A new report finds AI and gaming are key drivers behind a major surge in software downloads.
Microsoft Copilot AI to Be Embedded in Xbox and PC Games (Radical Data Science): Microsoft’s Copilot AI will soon be integrated into Xbox and PC games, offering real-time support for devs and players.
2025 Set to Be Web3 Gaming’s Breakout Year Thanks to AI (CCN):
AI is credited with reducing Web3 game dev timelines by up to 65%, enabling a surge of AAA and indie blockchain games.