Sound Off #104 – Is LBE still the right term, 2026 Predictions, and more!

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"Sound Off" with Kevin Williams
"Sound Off" with Kevin Williams
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Sponsored by Intercard!
Sponsored by Alan-1!

On this week’s show we update our lexicon for 2026 and make the case for LBX over LBE, then track the money as consoles stagnate, retail shifts to showroom mode, and IP owners push into physical transmedia experiences. Then we wrap up with Kevin’s 2026 predictions in our industry.

• LBX as a clearer term than LBE
• Transmedia framing for venues and IP
• Console softness, PC and handheld migration
• Digital over physical game purchases and retro revival
• Retail as showrooms and malls as LBX anchors
• Round1’s food hall and Spo-cha positioning
• Mattel’s experience push and leadership additions
• Sphere’s restructuring and new tech leadership
• Sony consolidates their Peanuts holdings, Netflix buys Ready Player Me
• Attendantless arcades and Scandinavian lessons
• Atari Hotel funding skepticism
• Sixes bankruptcy and single-attraction risk
• Cruise lines as growth channel for amusement and XR
• VR to MR shift and story-led XR with AI on the horizon

About the author

Brandon Willey

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The LBX Collective aims to inform and educate, create opportunities to connect with industry peers, and to spur collaboration, discourse, and cross-pollination of ideas in the location-based entertainment and experience industry.

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