Press kit
Cut the Nets is a college basketball tournament simulation for browsers, iPhone and iPad, made by an independent studio. Everything you need to write about it is on this page.
Fact sheet
- Name
- Cut the Nets
- Developer
- Cut the Nets, an independent studio
- Release date
- (1.0). See the App Store listing for the current iPhone and iPad version and release notes.
- Platforms
- iPhone and iPad (iOS and iPadOS 15.0 or later), and any modern web browser at play.cutthenets.io
- Price model
- Free with ads on both platforms. An optional one-time Remove Ads in-app purchase is available on iPhone and iPad; the browser version is not ad-free and purchases do not carry across.
- Category
- Games (Sports, Simulation)
- Age rating
- 4+
- Language
- English
- Play in a browser
- play.cutthenets.io
- Website
- cutthenets.io
- Social
- Instagram @cutthenets.io ยท Facebook
- Press contact
- support@cutthenets.io
About the game
Platform availability, checked 23 September 2026: the browser game and iPhone/iPad version 1.1.0 include the player-by-player engine, free roster swaps in Rewrite mode, separate style and tempo, daily goals, Program Journey and Matchup Lab. Budget Challenge keeps seed-based swap limits. Game Center and iCloud are iPhone and iPad features.
Short (one sentence)
Cut the Nets is a college basketball tournament simulation for iPhone, iPad and the browser where you claim a team from any of 82 playable seasons, rebuild its roster and coach the bracket out live.
Standard (one paragraph)
Cut the Nets puts you in charge of a team in college basketball tournament history. Choose from 82 playable seasons, back to 1944, claim a team in its real field, and swap in anyone from a pool of 20,000+ real players — with no budget in the main mode, or priced by your seed in Budget Challenge. On the web and in iPhone/iPad version 1.1.0, a player-by-player simulation then plays every game out possession by possession, with real rotations, fouls, fatigue and an exact box score; you pick a style and a tempo before tip-off and can change either at a timeout or at halftime. Win the title and you swipe to cut the net down yourself. A new daily bracket, three daily goals, a weekly gauntlet, a season ladder, Game Center leaderboards, 81 scenario missions and an S-to-D graded career ledger keep players coming back. It is free with ads on iPhone and iPad and free in any modern browser at play.cutthenets.io.
Key features
- 20,000+ real players and 82 playable seasons of tournament history, back to 1944
- An archive of 87 tournaments with historical results, back to 1939
- A player-by-player simulation: real rotations, fouls, fatigue, substitutions and an exact box score
- Free roster swaps in the main mode; Budget Challenge prices every swap by your seed (6 points for a top seed, up to 18 for a 16 seed)
- Pick a style and a tempo before tip-off, and change either at a timeout or at halftime
- Watch any bracket game play out as a voiced announcer calls the big shots by player name
- Program Journey: take one school through its tournament history, in order
- Matchup Lab: any two teams from any two eras, as one exhibition or a batch of sims with win rates
- Win the title, then swipe to cut down the net yourself, strand by strand
- A new bracket every day, three daily goals, a streak to protect and a weekly season ladder
- A weekly gauntlet with three attempts
- Game Center leaderboards for the daily bracket, the weekly gauntlet and your streak
- Every finished run graded S to D and saved to a career ledger, synced over iCloud on iPhone and iPad
- 81 scenario missions built from real tournament results
- Share a link to your exact bracket: the same field and the same fates for whoever opens it
A few notes for accuracy
- Cut the Nets is a statistical simulation. Games and results in the app are simulated, not real results.
- It is not affiliated with any league, conference or school, and uses no school logos, mascots, uniforms, photographs or player likenesses. Player and team names appear as factual references to recorded historical results.
- The numbers to use are 20,000+ real players; 82 playable seasons, back to 1944; 87 tournaments represented in the historical archive, back to 1939; and 81 scenario missions. Please do not combine the 1939 and 1944 figures in one sentence — 1939 is the archive, 1944 is the earliest playable season.
- Seasons from 1985 on are full 64-team fields. Earlier seasons start partway into a smaller bracket.
Logo and art
Logo files and key art are available on request. Email support@cutthenets.io and say where they will run.
When you use the logo:
- Use it as supplied. Don't stretch, rotate, crop or recolor any part of it.
- Keep clear space around it, at least the width of one scissor handle.
- Place it on a dark, quiet background, not over busy art.
- Don't pair it with league, conference or school branding.
Up-to-date gameplay screenshots are available on request.
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Stacked logo -
Key art
About the studio
Cut the Nets is made by a one-person independent studio that designs, builds and ships the game end to end. For interviews, review codes or assets, email support@cutthenets.io.