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Shooter Monthly #3: Is Die Hard a Christmas Shooter Movie?

December 29, 2025

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Shooter Monthly #3 is here. Chris Sides, Feras Musmar, and Christopher Anjos (DICE) join me to settle the only question that matters: is Die Hard a Christmas shooter movie? We also break down the latest shooter signals across release strategy, mobile traction, and hero-shooter retention.

We discuss:

  • Call of Duty's rare public admission of failure, and what the end of back-to-back sub-franchise releases actually signals
  • Marathon's delay, the $40 price point, and why fiscal calendars still distort launch strategy
  • Why Valorant Mobile exploded in China, and why Western mobile shooters keep failing to break through
  • EA hiring a VP of Shooters for mobile, and whether Battlefield or Apex can realistically return to phones
  • Highguard's confused reveal, the danger of losing narrative control, and why innovation still matters
  • Marvel Rivals as a ceiling, not a failure, and what the hero-shooter arms race gets wrong about retention

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