E-Sports

Sebastian Leeper Shines Bright in Boise State Esports’ Fighting Game Scene

Published

1 month ago

May 5, 2025

As far as Boise State Esports’ varsity lineup goes, fighting games are a relatively new addition to the games Boise State Esports supports. Fighting games were first introduced to the program through Smash Bros. a few years ago. From there, Boise State Esports has gradually expanded its fighting game lineup, with forays into Street Fighter 6, and Guilty Gear Strive. It’s among these latter games where you’ll find student Sebastian Leeper, also known by his gamertag “Yata”, picking up victories left and right for Boise State.

A collegiate esports player sits in a dimly lit modern esports arena, looking at the camera, arms folded. — Sebastian Leeper sits in the Boise State Esports Arena as one of the most accomplished fighting game players the program has seen. (Photo Credit: Dawson Gutierrez)

Starting Out

Leeper first got involved with Boise State Esports playing Guilty Gear Strive in the Collegiate Fighting Games Conference (CFGC). In an interview, Leeper described Guilty Gear Strive as one of his favorite games.

“It’s the game I have the most time in by far for a reason,” said Leeper. “It’s a mix of the playerbases, community, and mechanics of the game. The mechanics are faster, stronger, and deeper in my opinion…overall giving me much more satisfaction than, for example, Street Fighter gives.”

With fighting games being mostly single player, a lot of responsibility rested solely with Leeper to perform well. Despite all of the singular pressure, Leeper excelled in competition, winning two back to back CFGC championships in Guilty Gear Strive for Boise State.

At the beginning of the Fall 2024 semester, Boise State Esports held tournaments in College Football 25 and Street Fighter 6. Both of these games were new additions to Boise State’s varsity lineup. Top performing players in these tournaments were offered places on the varsity team as well as scholarships. With a strong second place showing in Street Fighter 6, Leeper further expanded his footprint in the esports program. Soon, Leeper was competing in Super Smash Bros, Street Fighter 6, and Guilty Gear for Boise State.

Continuing Success

In addition to his newly expanded role within Boise State Esports, Leeper also found professional success partnering with BadMoon, an apparel company founded by and catered to fighting game players.

“I got into BadMoon mostly by entering a lot of online tournaments,” said Leeper. “They are an apparel company built by other fighting game players that wanted to see me (and a couple others) go to major events. Therefore, I show off their brand and they fly me to events.”

Both Boise State and Badmoon gave Leeper the resources to travel across the country to various fighting game competitions, where he found even more competitive success. Some of his most notable achievements include winning the Spring 2024 CECC West Regionals and finishing top 32 in Guilty Gear Strive at Evo 2024. In addition to these new achievements, Leeper has continued winning championships in the CFGC, winning again in Guilty Gear for a total of 3 championships.

Leeper has shown himself to be just as driven in his academic pursuits. Leeper enrolled in Boise State with an associate’s degree earned in high school and immediately started pursuing a Bachelor’s in Computer Science in the College of Engineering. He is currently in his last semester of study, and is getting close to earning his degree in just five semesters!

“I like looking/sorting through/understanding data, which is a lot of CS. And the degree can lead me towards that type of profession,” said Leeper. “Boise State’s CS program is pretty fine. Most professors are great and they give a lot of resources to learn both in lecture and out.”

Looking Ahead

Once graduated, Leeper looks to continue his competitive career thanks to his partnership with BadMoon. While many people in his position might feel anxious about their competitive future, Leeper looks to continue his journey with the same mindset that has earned him much success up to this point, have fun above all else.

“The most fundamental aspect to ‘performing well’ is just to understand what you enjoy about the games in the first place,” said Leeper. “I feel like plenty of people take away that aspect in pursuit of simply winning for the sake of winning, which means they are more sour to results where they lose. Having fun while competing, then checking the VOD’s to see what could’ve been played better and labbing it out is the main/only way I have improved, to be honest.”

Written by Jacob Palmer

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E-Sports

Chilliwack high schoolers enter the world of competitive video games

Teachers and teens at Chilliwack’s G.W. Graham Secondary tested out the world of competitive in-school gaming this year; the school’s eSports league will be back next fall. Grace Kennedy My hands tremble as they hold the Nintendo controller. My pulse throbs in my ears. I can feel the false confidence of professionalism being stripped […]

Published

4 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Teachers and teens at Chilliwack’s G.W. Graham Secondary tested out the world of competitive in-school gaming this year; the school’s eSports league will be back next fall. Grace Kennedy

My hands tremble as they hold the Nintendo controller. My pulse throbs in my ears. I can feel the false confidence of professionalism being stripped away as teenager Mohammed Zeineddin, the top Super Smash Bros player at G.W. Graham Secondary, moves to my side to give me a lightning-fast introduction to the game.

The X and Y buttons to jump. A and B for attacks. The right trigger to fly, or something along those lines. I pick a character: Yoshi, one of the few I recognize on a screen filled with dozens of characters from various half-known video game franchises.

“Yoshi’s actually one of the best characters in the game,” Nicholas Martinello tells me. He and half a dozen other teenage boys are seated around a classroom table, preparing to watch fellow student Jaxson Morneault destroy me in a friendly competition.

The game begins. Yoshi is jumping—I figured that much out—but he is rolling into an egg, swiping at the air. I am button smashing, watching as percentage figures across the bottom of the screen do things I don’t understand.

Morneault’s character—Shulk, from the Xenoblade Chronicles—and my own are standing on a platform suspended in space. Music is playing in the background. Morneault is patiently taking swipes at my frantic Yoshi. He stabs me with a shining blue sword, dances around my attacks, and sends me off the floating platform once, twice, three times.

Morneault turns to me and shakes my hand.

“So can you walk me through what just happened?” I ask. To me, it looked like a chaos of motion. Morneault, on the other hand, saw the strategy—or in my case, lack thereof.

“You were jabbing a lot, which isn’t really good,” he explains. “You want to throw some variety in there to confuse your opponent and be unpredictable.”

Playing against me—a n00b in video game parlance—Morneault says he didn’t “go 100%, obviously.” He didn’t use any crazy combos, and wasn’t so heavy-handed in his assaults.

If he was playing against someone who knew what they were doing, though?

“I would do all those things.”

Jaxson Morneault (standing, front) discusses part of his Super Smash Bros strategy during a lunch-hour eSports meeting at G.W. Graham. Grace Kennedy

It started as a joke, a laugh, a what-if scenario.

Last school year, some teachers and teens at G.W. Graham had tossed out the idea of hosting an eSports league—an extracurricular for gamers who wanted to play video games during school hours, and challenge each other in-game.

“We kind of joked about it,” Logan Sapielak, a Grade 12 student in the school’s production and broadcasting program, said. “It was a thing between a couple of teachers and the production crew … and it just kind of became its own thing.”

Jenny Cho, G.W. Graham’s computer teacher, made it happen.

“I thought, ‘This eSports thing we were joking about, is it possible?’” she said. It turned out that it was. Teachers in the theatre and livestream programs came on board. Game-loving staff agreed to open up their rooms for lunch hour sessions. The school PAC gave Cho a grant to buy televisions and gaming consoles.

G.W. Graham’s eSports club was born. Teens challenged each other to gaming competitions during lunch, and soon took over the school’s theatre stage for a school-wide intramural. Within months, Graham’s club had brought two other Chilliwack schools on board, and the idea expanded to a district-wide league that held its first multi-school tournament in Graham’s theatre at the end of February. Two-dozen gamers competed. Sapielak was one of the commentators on stage spelling out the stakes for the audience.

“People are learning about it, and now you guys come talk about it,” Sapielak said. “I think it’s pretty cool that we’re getting the publicity.”

“It was a joke, and now it’s not.”

ESports is certainly no joke.

The first official eSports competition was held in 1972 at Stanford University’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. There, five competitors battled each other in a game of Spacewar! to be the last spaceship in the air. Rolling Stone journalist Stewart Brand sponsored the tournament and wrote a 9,000-word story detailing the thrill of the game, the skill of the players, and the potential of computers at a time when few people knew video games even existed.

Since the 1970s, eSports gaming has grown into a lucrative cultural phenomenon, with streaming platforms like Twitch allowing video game fans to watch competitions across the world. In 2019, Forbes wrote that eSports revenues exceeded $1 billion in that year.

That number has not gone down, and professional gamers are reaping the financial rewards. Last year, the eSports World Cup offered a $5 million prize pool for competitors in its DOTA 2 championship. The Gaimin Gladiators, a Toronto-based professional eSports organization, took home the top prize, worth $1.5 million. Other professional Canadian teams, including the Canucks-owned Vancouver Surge, Overactive Media’s Toronto Ultra, and Toronto’s Luminosity Gaming, also took home thousands of dollars for their performance in Overwatch 2, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty competitions.

If those teams—and their million dollar prizes—are in the NHL of the eSports world, Melissa Burns is responsible for the video game equivalent of Hockey Canada.

Burns is the chair and CEO of eSports Canada, a country-wide organization focused on supporting competitive gaming from the elementary school- to the national-level.

Although she considers herself a lifelong gamer, Burns has never competed herself. But as a teacher in Manitoba, she saw her students engaging in video games in their downtime, and wanted to facilitate better experiences for them.

“I knew that my students were all playing games passively all the time, and that’s part of why we see it have the reputation that it does for being a very toxic space,” she said, referencing the often malicious and harmful online interactions video games can facilitate.

“I wanted to bring into schools on purpose, so that we could transition it from being a passive, unregulated space to something that was an intentional conversation, something that would allow them to have a safe place to fail.”

Because video games don’t need a physical space, Burns was able to connect with other Manitoba teachers to form a provincial organization for competitive gaming. They soon expanded nationwide, starting eSports Canada in January 2020.

It was fortuitous timing.

“It was one of the few activities that schools could participate in during the pandemic, and so we saw a lot of growth and success throughout that period of time,” Burns said. Professional and college-level teams reached out to the organization, asking them to create a K-12 pipeline for future athletes.

Today, the organization supports player development from the youngest players (the Timbit teams, to use Hockey Canada terms) to the national athletes. Burns and her colleagues look at ESRB ratings to find games that are appropriate for youth, while also seeking out those that are playable on multiple platforms. The organization doesn’t play with micro-transactions—in-game elements that encourage players to spend real-world money on items, characters and other bonuses.

“If you’re going to win, you’re going to win based on merit and skill, not based on a purchase that you made,” Burns said.

Skill—and intention—is what separates an eSports athlete and a run-of-the-mill gamer. While many people play the games for pleasure, professional gamers take a more strategic approach to their play, often for high rewards. Professional eSports players hone their movements so their actions can be translated at lightning speed through a digital interface.

“They’re looking at strategically developing their technical and tactical skills,” Burns said. “They’re looking at how to assess the opponents, how to counter different plays.”

She mentioned one Canadian gamer who described how he made split-second decisions on which move he would use to counter his opponent based on how many frames-per-second each would take.

“The stereotype of someone who plays a lot of video games doesn’t actually match what the demographic looks like for our high-level players,” Burns said.

While some may picture a serious gamer with a two-litre bottle of pop and an open bag of chips, professional eSports athletes tend to take their physical conditioning more seriously. They undergo training. They work with nutritionists, mental health professionals, and other coaches to help them achieve peak performance.

Vancouver Surge players during an April 2025 Call of Duty tournament. Vancouver Surge/Facebook

That is similar to the vision G.W. Graham English teacher and league organizer Chris Bonshor has for his school’s eSports team.

“Being able to have something like [how professionals train] here—like working with youth care workers and counsellors … would be really powerful for our kids moving forward, regardless of where they go in life,” Bonshor said.

“Mountain Dew and Cheetos only get you so far … We can use this as a vehicle to teach [students] some useful life skills which will serve them well.”

Bonshor is no stranger to gaming himself. His desk is decorated with a Stardew Valley desk mat, and he admits to knowing a fair amount about Super Smash Bros, although he’s “no professional.”

When Bonshor was a teacher at Vedder Middle School, he started the school’s Video Game Club—a low-key way for pre-teens to make friends while playing games they would have gone home to play in isolation.

“The Video Game Club is a lot more … nebulous,” Bonshor explained. “There’s no expectation of competition. It’s just for fun. It’s primarily, especially in the middle years, focused on social connection and mental health support.”

The club has continued, even after Bonshor left for G.W. Graham. And now, Bonshor and a handful of other teachers at the high school are directing students in the world of competitive gaming.

The idea for the league, as Sapielak noted, was a bit of a joke among teachers and students in the production department. But for Bonshor and Cho, the idea of an eSports league was a potential way to try and reach some of the students who were less engaged in the school.

“I feel like there’s a lot of kids who are eager for connection, and looking to represent their school, but just need the right fit,” Bonshor said.

The school theatre was set up with televisions, consoles, and screens. Roughly two dozen G.W. Graham students were waiting in the wings to pick up the controllers. Others sat in the theatre seats—spectators in the upcoming competition for high school gaming supremacy.

It was big. It was loud. It was a surprising success, Bonshor said.

“A lot of these kids that we attract to this program, they’re not kids who are typically involved in extracurriculars at school, so they’re not used to having that sort of drive to commit to something, or the realization that they need to show up and follow through,” Bonshor said.

Of the 20 kids, the eight best players became G.W. Graham’s core eSports team. Zeineddin was crowned the best Super Smash Bros player, while other players excelled in Rocket League, a game akin to soccer played by rocket-boosted cars. Most players were in their first year of high school—only one, Martinello, was in Grade 11.

Over the course of the next few months, the official team began training with French teacher and competitive Smash Bros player Simon Webster. The rest of the league members played more casually during lunch hours, spread throughout several classrooms dedicated to specific games. The core team seemed resistant to taking a more structured approach to their gaming sessions, though.

We can beat each other, Bonshor remembered them saying. We’re the best in the school.

And they were. But being the best in the school wasn’t quite good enough.

In February, G.W. Graham invited Chilliwack Secondary and Sardis Secondary to its theatre for a district-wide competition. Although Graham’s team had done well among their peers, it was another experience entirely facing two other competitive teams.

“We got demolished,” Ewan Ross, Grade 9, said bluntly.

Ross and his teammates had faced off against largely older eSports players from Sardis and Chilliwack.

“We needed to do a lot better up against Sardis and CSS,” he said nearly a month after the tournament.

“It just proves that the work we put in was good, but not good enough. We need to do a bit better.”

What does “better” mean? Ross said the team needed to start learning new strategies, new ways to control their characters, and most importantly, learning new things about each other so they could work better as a team. They are in line with what Bonshor hopes for the team as well—and what he saw on stage once the defeat was final.

“They’ve been hearing [what they needed to do to win] from the adults, but it’s not the same,” Bonshor said. “Learning by doing is a lot different than learning by hearing.”

And although the team was “crushed,” he said “seeing them come together and be compassionate with each other” was a good thing, as was “seeing them get humbled a little bit and realize it’s not simply a matter of just showing up and having fun.”

Many of the gamers in G.W. Graham’s eSports league plan to return next year. The teachers, including Chris Bonshor, hope they can improve and expand the league. Grace Kennedy

With the school year almost over, Graham’s eSports league is set to wind down. Most of the teens involved in the program will likely keep playing on their own over the summer—although most of them will probably pivot to their favourite games rather than keep on with Super Smash Bros.

Bonshor hopes the program will continue to grow and serve students at G.W. Graham with structured opportunities to learn about conflict resolution and health. With any luck, Bonshor and Cho will get other school districts interested in participating too, making Chilliwack’s eSports community into a Fraser Valley- or province-wide league.

If a few students make it to the professional level, that would be a bonus. (Morneault, who so handily beat me in the 1v1 Smash game, is not ruling university-level gaming out of his career goals.)

But mostly, Bonshor wants the program to be there for students who might not otherwise find connections in their school. That’s why so many students on Graham’s eSports team plan to return next year too.

“There are people here who think like me, talk like me, act like me,” Morneault said. “They understand who I am.”

Ross agreed. He was standing near Bonshor’s desk, his friends seated near the console half a classroom away. Empty McDonald’s wrappers were strewn across the table, and his words were nearly obscured by the sounds of his friends excitedly attacking each other in the game.

“This?” he said, glancing back to the team. “Getting all the amazing people over there to play something that we bond over, it just feels amazing.

“You connect with people that have the same kind of thing as you and it makes you want to continue on.”

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E-Sports

Northwood Esports Manager Signs with OG Esports to Lead Professional Team

Schon Hale, a manager and player within Northwood’s Esports program, has been signed by the world-renowned OG Esports to serve as team manager for their professional Marvel Rivals roster. Hale, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, joined Northwood University and its championship-winning Esports program in Fall 2024. In his short time on campus, Hale has made […]

Published

12 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Schon Hale, a manager and player within Northwood’s Esports program, has been signed by the world-renowned OG Esports to serve as team manager for their professional Marvel Rivals roster.

Hale, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, joined Northwood University and its championship-winning Esports program in Fall 2024. In his short time on campus, Hale has made a significant impact, managing the varsity Rocket League team and playing for Northwood’s academy roster.

His leadership has extended beyond the field of play — he helped launch Northwood’s first Marvel Rivals roster and co-founded the grassroots collegiate league, College Deadlock.

“Schon is a rare talent — not only does he bring a professional mindset to team management, but he’s also incredibly forward-thinking,” said Assistant Northwood Esports Coach Aden Frosch. “Marvel Rivals is one of the fastest-growing titles in esports, and OG Esports saw the same leadership in Schon that we’ve benefited from at Northwood. It’s a massive win for him and a testament to the type of talent we attract and develop here.”

Hale’s resume includes stints with professional organizations such as Dark Zero and Elevate, as well as attending the 2024 Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His experience and versatility have positioned him well for this next step, as OG Esports prepares to compete in a newly announced Marvel Rivals tournament featuring a staggering $3 million prize pool.

“OG Esports has always been a legendary organization in the scene — two-time champions of The International, backed by Red Bull, and a leader in European esports,” Hale said. “Getting the opportunity to manage their Marvel Rivals team is a dream come true, and I’m grateful to Northwood for helping me grow into this role.”

Despite his new professional responsibilities, Hale will continue his education at Northwood University and remain active with the Rocket League roster. His involvement is expected to deepen as collegiate Marvel Rivals competitions emerge this fall.

“Schon’s signing is proof that careers in esports extend far beyond the player’s seat,” said Northwood Esports Coach Jacob R. Jacob. “This is a proud moment not just for Schon, but for our entire program. His success reflects the spirit of Northwood Esports — developing well-rounded leaders who are prepared to succeed at the highest levels of the industry.”

With Hale’s professional connections and vision, Northwood Esports is actively exploring the creation of a top-tier Marvel Rivals collegiate team, further solidifying its place as a global leader in competitive collegiate gaming.

For more information about Northwood Esports, visit https://esports.northwood.edu/ or utilize this inquiry form to connect with the Northwood Esports coaching staff.

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E-Sports

Queens high school students take top prize in NYC Minecraft Battle of the Boroughs – QNS

World Journalism Prep celebrates Minecraft esports victory. Photos by Ramy Mahmoud Call it a pixel-perfect victory. A team of students from World Journalism Preparatory: A College Board School, in Queens, secured a major victory at the first-ever NYC Video Games Festival, winning the high school division of the Minecraft Education “Battle of the Boroughs” competition. […]

Published

13 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

battle of the boroughs

World Journalism Prep celebrates Minecraft esports victory.

Photos by Ramy Mahmoud

Call it a pixel-perfect victory.

A team of students from World Journalism Preparatory: A College Board School, in Queens, secured a major victory at the first-ever NYC Video Games Festival, winning the high school division of the Minecraft Education “Battle of the Boroughs” competition.

The high school team, known as ‘Diamond Sword Bustamoney,’ emerged as citywide champions following a three-stage tournament that began with preliminary digital submissions, advanced through borough-level championships, and culminated in the final round held on May 31. This marks the first time a Queens school has won the title since the competition began in 2021.

The students were honored at a celebration held at the school located at 34-65 192nd St. in Flushing on Tuesday, June 10.

“This is a major achievement for our school and for Queens,” said Ernest Lai, computer science teacher and coach of the school’s Minecraft Club. “The competition required students to solve complex urban planning challenges using Minecraft, while demonstrating creativity, teamwork, and the ability to present their ideas effectively.”

The Battle of the Boroughs was launched by the New York City Department of Education in partnership with Microsoft and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. Originally developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a virtual learning environment, the initiative has grown into a citywide scholastic esports competition. Students in elementary, middle, and high school divisions build digital solutions to real-world urban issues using Minecraft Education Edition.

Jose Perez, instructional technologies director for NYC Public Schools, noted the significance of the win. “This was the first time a Queens high school team captured the title,” Perez said. “Diamond Sword Bustamoney defeated tough competition, including the defending champions from Staten Island’s Tottenville High School.”

Team members credited the program with helping them build practical and interpersonal skills. “Being able to apply my creativity in a competitive setting like this was both challenging and rewarding,” said junior Wendell Joseph Quilang Jr. “Mr. Lai really helped me improve how I communicated our team’s work to the judges.”

Bryan Chiu, also a junior, said the experience combined his passion for gaming with new opportunities. “I’ve always enjoyed Minecraft, but this was on another level,” he said. “The event itself was well-organized and gave us a chance to meet other students and represent our borough with pride.”

Principal Dr. Michelle Roberts Bacchus praised the team’s accomplishment as a reflection of the school’s educational mission. “Our students applied what they’ve learned in and out of the classroom to a real-world challenge,” she said. “This competition underscores the importance of integrating technology and creativity into modern learning.”

The winning team consists of five 11th-grade students, and with another year remaining before graduation, the school is already eyeing the possibility of a repeat victory next year.

“This is not just a club—it’s an opportunity for students to demonstrate leadership, critical thinking, and digital fluency,” Dr. Bacchus said. “We are extremely proud of what they’ve achieved.”

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E-Sports

African Powerhouses Seal Global Deal for Davido

African Powerhouses Seal Global Multi-award-winning Afrobeats singer, Davido has signed a landmark global brand partnership with a sports betting and gaming platform. This significant deal was successfully brokered by Dupla, Cresthood Legal LLP, and the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 2 (West Africa). This dynamic collaboration between top-tier African and international specialists in sports, […]

Published

16 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

African Powerhouses Seal Global Multi-award-winning Afrobeats singer, Davido has signed a landmark global brand partnership with a sports betting and gaming platform.

This significant deal was successfully brokered by Dupla, Cresthood Legal LLP, and the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 2 (West Africa). This dynamic collaboration between top-tier African and international specialists in sports, entertainment, and legal advisory brings together Stake. com and Davido.

The gaming platform sought to align with a high-impact African creative whose personal brand and cultural influence could profoundly elevate its profile. This was driven by a strategic aim to establish a dominant market presence in Africa. To realise this vision, Dupla partnered with Uche Egbe, Managing Director of the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 2 (West Africa) and Oluwasanmi Falade, Partner, Cresthood Legal, in identifying an individual whose values and reach perfectly align with platform’s forward-looking brand ethos.

Drawing from their deep understanding of the entertainment ecosystem and leveraging years of relationship-building, Falade and Egbe meticulously curated a shortlist of top-tier African creatives. From this esteemed selection, Davido emerged as the clear and compelling choice. He is an artist whose global appeal, cultural relevance, and entrepreneurial reputation made him a natural fit for the global brand.

The successful brokering and careful structuring of this agreement, was a true testament to the integrated approach of the involved partners. This process included close coordination with Davido’s management team. Luis Cardenas and Miguel Montoro, Dupla’s co-founders, brought their extensive insight and experience, to build synergies across the sports and entertainment worlds. Oluwasanmi Falade’s industry network played a pivotal role in facilitating the deal.

“Working with professionals who understand both the cultural and commercial dynamics of the deal was key. We are impressed with how this deal went,” said Luis Cardenas and Miguel Montoro, co-founders of Dupla and former senior LALIGA executives.

Oluwasanmi Falade, Partner at Cresthood Legal, noted, “Our focus was on ensuring the deal was structured to serve the long-term interests of all parties. It’s a proud moment for us all. Davido’s unique brand value and cultural influence made him the clear choice, and we’re proud to have contributed to making this vision a reality.”

Uche Egbe, Managing Director of the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 2, added, “It’s exciting to see a deal of this scale shaped by an African-led team. The depth of local understanding paired with international experience made the outcome truly impactful.”

This collaboration not only signifies a major win for African representation in global brand partnerships but also sets a new benchmark for strategic alliances within today’s dynamic digital entertainment economy.

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Enriching the Gaming Experience With Microsoft

Gaming is a larger platform than film, TV, and music, forming a powerful media channel and opening vast opportunities for retail media and advertising. In this episode of The Garage, hosts Dan Masamino and Evan Hovorka sit down with Greg Carroll, general manager of gaming experiences at Microsoft Advertising, to explore the nexus of gaming […]

Published

17 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Gaming is a larger platform than film, TV, and music, forming a powerful media channel and opening vast opportunities for retail media and advertising.

In this episode of The Garage, hosts Dan Masamino and Evan Hovorka sit down with Greg Carroll, general manager of gaming experiences at Microsoft Advertising, to explore the nexus of gaming and retail media.

They explore the world of gaming advertising, showing how brands can create authentic engagements with audiences while preserving the integrity of the gaming experience. Take a deep dive into the potential of Microsoft’s ecosystem, which reaches over 3.4 billion gamers worldwide.

From sharing stories about small-town origins to exploring how to turn offline data into actionable insights, this episode of The Garage offers a clear look at how hyperlocal advertising can create new opportunities for brands, agencies, and retailers.

Episode highlights:

[05:26] The Evolution of Gaming — The evolution of how people interact with gaming and its relationship with advertisers, retail media, although new compared to films and TV has introduced the monetization of the industry. Greg discusses how he leverages different things to bring retail media to focus in this space while protecting the gamer. He shares how his expertise in advertising technology and passion for gaming merged to birth his journey.

[09:04] The Delicate Balance of Gaming Experience for Brands and Users — Enrich the experience and unlock something that people are passionate about and love. Greg describes the gaming space as one closest to sports. This strategy ensures the halo effect for brands and retailers and any disruptions to this experience can have negative consequences for both users and brands. Greg adds that the alignment of passions always creates a win-win situation.

[15:43] The Future of Gaming Marketing — Greg shares the importance of a multi-platform approach and the effectiveness especially in a mid-to-lower marketing process and how it helps brands reach gamers in relevant ways across board, highlighting The Prada Candy Crush partnership as one that showcases these interactive branded experiences. He explains that Microsoft’s gaming ecosystem offers a diverse range of interaction channels that optimize advertising performance and aligns messaging with gaming context and platform. He highlights The Prada Candy Crush partnership as one that showcases the effectiveness of interactive branded experiences.

[26:34] How Gaming Influences Community Building — The Covid-19 lockdowns validated how important gaming was as an escape, allowing gamers not just to associate but also socialize. Social gaming platforms recorded a massive surge in participation – it was an absolute boom for gaming according to Greg. The platform creates meaningful connections between people as well as shared experiences and this has transformed gaming. He says that with the engagement levels comparable to traditional sports, gaming communities require a nuanced understanding and respect to ensure successful marketing integration.

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E-Sports

Truxton Extreme Demo Launches After Decades, Now Playable via Steam Next Fest

Image Via Tatsujin It has been a very long time since the Truxton game was last seen. Truxton Extreme is the new title in the franchise after more than 30 years, coming now with a big return. Tatsujin, who is the team behind this game (one of them is Masahiro Yuge from Toaplan), announced this […]

Published

20 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Truxton Extreme Demo Launches After Decades, Now Playable via Steam Next Fest

Image Via Tatsujin

It has been a very long time since the Truxton game was last seen. Truxton Extreme is the new title in the franchise after more than 30 years, coming now with a big return. Tatsujin, who is the team behind this game (one of them is Masahiro Yuge from Toaplan), announced this one for PS5 in 2023. But later, not many updates came. Many fans thought it was maybe canceled. Now, finally, at Future Games Show, they revealed the demo and said the game will arrive on both PS5 and PC in 2025.

Truxton Extreme Demo Out During Steam Fest

Starting from June 9, you can now try out the demo of Truxton Extreme during Steam Next Fest. It will stay available until June 16 or 17, depending on where you live. This demo gives a good idea of how the full game might feel. Inside the demo, there are:

Tutorial for showing game controls

Story Mode with a bit of manga scenes and a new hero Ash

Arcade Mode which is fast and more intense

Heart Starter Mode (a little easier with revival after death)

Some people said it feels very old-school and nostalgic, while others praised the bullet speed in Arcade, saying it was just like before but sharper looking.

Gameplay Stuff and Modes Explained

Truxton Extreme still keeps the old school shooter roots, but also does some new stuff.

Gameplay is vertical shooting, full of bullets and chaos

Weapons like Truxton Beam, Thunder Laser, Power Shot and Homing Shot are back

Bombs still exist too. very useful when surrounded

The 3 game modes include:

Story Mode: It has 18 chapters with manga cutscenes by Junya Inoue

Arcade Mode: Focuses on reflexes and score, no real story

Heart Starter Mode: It’s ean asy way for those who are not good at this type of game

Look and Music Both Upgraded

Visually, the game has new 3D models, but don’t lose the classic feelings. Backgrounds, ships, bosses—everything has much more detailed textures than before. Music is composed by Masahiro Yuge, the same guy from original, and now he mixes old themes with new style which is also kind of catchy and exciting.

When is It Coming and Where

Right now, no final date for full game release, but it said it will be in 2025 for PC and PS5. Tatsujin even held a long livestream on June 8 to play the demo and talk about it.

You can wishlist the game on Steam and also join discussions in community forums.

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So, Truxton Extreme might have been gone, but now it’s back and looks pretty solid in the demo. While some things can be better polished, the core gameplay feels very alive. If you liked the old shoot ’em ups or want to try something challenging, don’t miss this demo during Steam Fest. The full version is not far too much now.

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