Just sitting here on a beautiful Friday afternoon remembering the suicide mission, Marauder Shields, The Citadel DLC, "I am a very model of a scientist salarian", the entire chant of light, mabari, Dragon Age Inquisition, IN YOUR HEART SHALL BURN, the deep roads, and Trespasser and just SOBBING

So I decided to write about how a particularly heinous incident that happened earlier this year and the ongoing Valko mess has caused me to end my relationship with Love and Deepspace www.gamespot.com/articles/im-...

I don’t think people really understand how bad the OMB proposed rule is going to be for state and local govt. We’re talking about putting a full third of state budgets under the explicit control of Russ Vought. (1/2) www.bondbuyer.com/news/cities-...

I’m so tired of life being reporting about layoffs in the months between my own team’s layoffs

A long time ago in another life (for me anyway) I was privileged to share pages in an edited collection with Professor Chang. Their new book came out last year but the ebook just dropped - highly recommend if you're curious about what close reading means in the context of play.

I wrote this!

Headed to Gamescom + Gamescom Dev in August. Please email me (see bio) with any press opps, general pitches, or invites to get coffee or Kölsch 🥨

hello! im looking for anyone who would like to be interviewed for my 'What I Do' series, where i detail just what, exactly, people in the video game industry do for a living aftermath.site/tag/what-i-do/ only this one has a catch: i'd love to hear from someone who hates their job, or parts of it

this is not a satisfying answer or solution, but: now is the time to do shit for the love of the game, not the money (because there isn't any). I could give you a million reasons as to why you should just Do The Thing but can't offer any career advice.

'We cannot turn a blind eye to ​the Mexicans who have died,' [Mexican President Claudia] Sheinbaum said during her daily press conference, adding that the criminal complaints will seek to hold accountable those considered to have committed homicides or human rights violations."

Hey guys, what if along with getting rid of people who make games AND people who write about them, we ALSO get rid of people who play them? Think of the margins! No product, no media, no players, all profit!

Recent Reviews just hit Overwhelmingly Positive! There was a surge of positive reviews during the Summer Sale, which was really fun to see. I still read each one, and it's always fun to see everyone's unique perspective on all the esoteric bullshit. If you left a review- THANKS!

"The other staff we spoke to said they were “living in fear” about where the axe might fall next. One studio leader admitted they didn’t know what Xbox expected from them right now, and whether there was anything they could do to avoid job cuts." At some point one wonders if this is the intention.

Really need a Pacific Rim re-watch soon.

Bernie out here dunking on Xbox is wild.

We don't do enough features at Pixel Byte, but I am trying to remedy that. Here's our latest one with the developer behind Vem, Exu!

HELLO SEATTLE GET READY FOR ME (in two months)

The id Tech lineage of software is one of the most culturally foundational works in the history of real time graphics software. To end that lineage is a massive loss to the craft. My heart goes out to the team affected by the layoffs.

I think E33 actually leaves a lot of room for reading Maelle's position as the correct one and I think applying a disability lens to Maelle's choices helps make that reading more legible. It may not be the hegemonic read, but E33 is definitely invested in cultivating a sympathetic read for Maelle.

Launching a new website about video games today. Meet @respec.net. A sibling to @rpgsite.net, a spiritual successor to VG247, & a brother from another mother to other 100% independent UK media brands like @videogameschronicle.com and @trueachievements.com. www.respec.net/feature/87-w...

You can count the number of dev houses as important to the history of the medium as id on *maybe* two hands, and most of them are Japanese. Everybody should be enraged by this. It's no coincidence that most of the cats at id who lost their jobs were union members. Disgusting on every level.

Legit want to cry.

bro they laid off the Doom 2016 developers. that's like if you laid off the studio that made arguably one of the best first-person shooters of all time, like Doom 2016

It's impossible to take Xbox seriously when it says it wants to reach one billion players per day. It's not a plan, it's red meat for shareholders

An Id Software developer claims it’s been 'nuked into the dirt' and ‘relegated to support studio size’, as 136 layoffs are confirmed at the Doom and Quake studio. vgc.news/news/id-soft...

☹️

Fucking sick. Looking forward to seeing what @blondepizza.bsky.social has to offer in this space.

It's time for my pride and joy. The BigNerdGaming Mid Year Awards are here! 10 categories. Top 5s for each from 2026 so far. There is nothing else like this on the entire internet. bignerdgaming.com/2026/07/07/t...

Laying so much as a finger on Obsidian (who delivered like 30% of your first party output over the past generation) or id Software (who released one of the most successful, creative and technologically polished trilogies of the past decade) is straight up vandalism.

This post has stuck with me for the past three weeks, especially thanks to the convo it created here and in some other creative / critical spaces I'm in. The conversation @plante.bsky.social just hosted with @dreamcastaway.bsky.social on Post Games feels like a thoughtful continuation worth finding.

Nothing makes me value my Bluesky feed more than ten minutes on Threads.

Watched War of the Worlds (2005) for the first time in years and that movie has its flaws but man if it doesn’t have some of Spielbergs most haunting images.

there is a cohort of men who resent the responsibilities and obligations of adulthood — of the fact that you owe things to other people. it is a fundamentally childish impulse that they have reconfigured as the height of masculinity, and i think it informs the parasocial attraction to platner.

Wow, this post sure is doing numbers. If everyone who like it signed up for our Patreon/Ko-fi at $1 a month, Skybox would never have to worry about money again, and we'd be able to publish more good work more frequently! Be a $1 hero: www.patreon.com/skyboxcritics

My favorite Xbox memories are still from the OG. Half the reason I bought the thing was because I could rip my own albums onto it. Took me an ungodly amount of time to copy Wonder What's Next to that tiny hard drive, but the hours I spent listening to Chevelle kickflipping in THPS4 were worth it.

Here is my video review of Deer & Boy. Stay until the end for a nice surprise.

Bars.

I’m so sorry for everyone at id Software affected by these layoffs. I know what it feels like to leave id while id goes on. It’s a strange and painful thing to step away from a place that holds so much of your work, friendships and history. 1/5

Cannot stop thinking about that third goal last night. USMNT simply did not have the juice on home soil in front of a hugely supportive crowd. Like that Shoresy line, they just don’t hate to lose.

Today is going to be a blessed day on social. I can feel it.

Hey, I hate to ask, but if you read my game writing guide and found it helpful in any way, I'd appreciate a review. Someone decided to give me 2 stars because it was too "woke" for them and it hurt my rating 🫠 www.amazon.com/Game-Writing...

Ball don't lie you orange bitch

I cannot wait for the women’s World Cup.

As it should be.

Nightmare play by Freese there.

blogged it aftermath.site/microsoft-xb...

been talking to current and former employees of microsoft-owned studios all day, and the prognosis is grim: zenimax, bethesda, obsidian, id, and activision have all taken big hits, while blizzard seemingly remains safe... for now. but how long that, or anything, lasts is anyone's guess

She was held in the detention centre that was owned by Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s wedding guest.

Play old games: They’re good and good for you by @marcnormandin.bsky.social "There are better ideas for weathering this particular storm than taking financial advice from a company that seemingly buys studios just to close them." Read on:

Microsoft is laying off 4,800 workers today. Its CEO made $96.5M in 2025, a 22% increase from the previous year. Microsoft made $101B in net income last year — and raked in up to $12.5B in tax breaks from Trump's Big Ugly Bill. This is what a rigged system looks like.