can i get a hell yeah on the timeline

We're officially fundraising for laid-off Vox workers. Please share and donate if you can! www.gofundme.com/f/support-la...

Oh hey. It's me. I'm back. I wanted to talk to all the devs who took the war chest from their popular games (and YouTube careers!) and turned it into a publishing studio to find out what they're doing differently and if its working out for them. Turns out...yeah seems like its going good!

had an incredible interview the other day with dr. jess morrissette (@decafjedi.com) and dr. megan condis, about their fascinating new research paper:

Hey, this article is about my research with Dr. Megan Condis! Thanks for writing about our project, @nicolecarpenter.bsky.social and @aftermath.site!

It was so nice having another talk with @nicolecarpenter.bsky.social about Perfect Tides! You can see our first chat after PT1 came out here: www.polygon.com/23009993/per...

i wrote about perfect tides: station to station and interviewed @meredithgran.com for @mothership.blog. one of the best games i've played in a while! www.mothership.blog/perfect-tide...

Finally! My book Super Nintendo is out TODAY in the US + Canada. Here's where to buy it: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/753986... "MacDonald is one of the best games journalists... Here is a book bursting with love. Bop your head against it and see if a shower of gold coins comes out." -The Times

Liam, 5, has been freed, but four other students from his school district remain detained in Texas. Two boys from his elementary school were taken Thurs “This isn’t something we are prepared or trained for. We’ve dedicated our lives to protecting + educating children,” school superintendent told me

Very excited to say that 404 Media's zine about ICE Surveillance is here. If you ordered a print copy, I put it in the mail last week. If not, we of course think the info inside is very important so here's a free PDF. We also translated it into Spanish: www.404media.co/icezine/

doing the unthinkable and sending pitches out on a saturday

these are the fountain pens i’ve been using lately ✨🖋️

good morning let me provide you a brief timeline cleanse would you like to play NIL AGENCY TYCOON 95?!? because its out today! And it is free: www.extrapointsmb.com/p/introducin...

My first piece for @mothership.blog! www.mothership.blog/dragon-age-g... I pitched this back when Veilguard was coming out but we ran out of time and Maddy's been hounding me for it ever since. I'm very excited to have it up and on MADDY's NEW SITE which you should sub to

Y'all should read @nicolecarpenter.bsky.social's @mothership.blog piece. www.mothership.blog/gunpla-is-fo...

Minnesota based Independent Journalist GEORGIA FORT has been arrested for filming a protest of the church pastor that works as an ICE manager. SPREAD THE WORD! Georgia has been doing outstanding reporting from ground zero!

Before the Flyers game, NBCSP aired this tribute to @dhm.bsky.social

Please help our laid-off Vox Media colleagues, including those from The Verge. Yours truly will be helping maintain transparency on the fund and disbursement!

new byline 😭 so excited to be in this issue of game informer with a story on love and deepspace!!! gameinformer.com/feature/2026...

"We will not be bullied into submission": Ubisoft unions call for massive international strike aftermath.site/ubisoft-union-...

my first story for mothership! i'll be doing culture stuff and also investigative stuff, so using this post as a reminder to please reach out if you have something you want to share. (info in bio!) it's very rare to have support as a freelancer for investigative work. let us tell your story ✨

a really cool debut from the first unionized game studio in north america. tragic that Vodeo shut down early and never got to make more stuff, but nice to see this get a wider release; well worth checking out!

my first story for mothership! i'll be doing culture stuff and also investigative stuff, so using this post as a reminder to please reach out if you have something you want to share. (info in bio!) it's very rare to have support as a freelancer for investigative work. let us tell your story ✨

I wrote about my childhood friend Alexi Pretti. Please read it and share it and remember him as a human being. @theverge.com

What does Gundam have to do with nail art? Find out in @nicolecarpenter.bsky.social 's first Mothership feature. www.mothership.blog/gunpla-is-fo...

Calling new writers - get mentored and be printed in ON3! We have 6 spots available in the next magazine to showcase new voices. Email [email protected] with an example of your work and any relevant experience by 8th February. on.games #GamesJournalism #GamesWriting

for The New York Times, I wrote about the 1,000 Rejections Challenge and why getting comfortable with "no" is more useful than resolutions about becoming the perfect version of yourself www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/a...

happy mothership day! for mothership's launch i wrote about how much i love hornet and how it feels to play a female character whose compassion is a great source of her power www.mothership.blog/hollow-knigh...

Alex Pretti was already restrained when federal agents shot and killed him in Minneapolis, a New York Times analysis of video shows. The footage contradicts the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the shooting.

the bruins just scored 3 goals in 1 minute, this is the best!!!!!!

Minnesota: "School officials say the [5-year-old] child was used as bait. They say [ICE] agents made little Liam knock on the door to ask to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home."

weird situation going on at that's no moon, according to a new lawsuit

hell yeah!!

Last week, I got a corrections request for a story I didn't write, on a publication I don't write for. It sent me down a very strange rabbit hole involving a mysterious content publisher. There's a lot I don't understand, but here's what I know: aftermath.site/nicole-carpe...

HA HA YES GOALIE FIGHT

Reminder that video game journalism cannot exist without functioning newsrooms that have the capacity to mentor and train new talent and the bandwidth to pursue long-form investigative pieces and break news—all while paying writers a living wage.

Breaks my heart to share this, but today is my last day at The Verge and I am looking for work! I'd really like to stay in video games, preferably in some kind of journalistic capacity but I can do PR/Marketing and maybe even a lil Narrative Design. Please get in touch! www.ashparrish.com

If you know more about this, let us know! I continue to have so many questions!

extremely wild story from @nicolecarpenter.bsky.social (yes that one): aftermath.site/nicole-carpe...

this shit is so wild

This story was the first thing I thought about when I opened my eyes this morning, an odd little mystery that got so weird so quickly and feels like just one more example of how tough things are for journalism these days

Last week, I got a corrections request for a story I didn't write, on a publication I don't write for. It sent me down a very strange rabbit hole involving a mysterious content publisher. There's a lot I don't understand, but here's what I know: aftermath.site/nicole-carpe...

Animal Crossing

former meta employees tell me that a fourth studio, camouflaj, was also hit hard by recent layoffs. unlike the other three, it remains open, but in-development game projects have been canceled, and studio heads have been let go. ex-employees characterized it as being "effectively" shut down

For over a decade I have tied my shoes one specific way: Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot. I learned it from Ian (aka Professor Shoelace) whose site is over two decades old. The knot has never failed me. I spoke with Ian about knots and the dangers of the modern internet. aftermath.site/ians-shoelac...

We traveled back up to Edinburgh to be there as Rockstar Games and its fired union members took their case to court: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnui...

thank you @ethangach.bsky.social for writing about the new website i'm cofounding with @zoehhannah.com! you can get some insight into our post-polygon journey towards creating @mothership.blog here: kotaku.com/mothership-i...

support mothership! ive got a couple pieces on the works and hopefully more in-depth, investigative pieces to come!

hi! i'm co-founding a new gaming website with my former polygon colleague @zoehhannah.com. it's called mothership.blog. i made it for someone like me... the kind of website i always wished we had in our space. watch the video to learn more :D