Games media is bleeding out
Fuck capitalism, go home
Full disclosure: I've had drafts of this kicking around for months. I was originally going to release a version the week Ally Johnson hit her head and asked me to be an editor for what became InBetweenDrafts and I knew I had to accept before she recovered from the concussion. When I did, I shelved this piece because I thought it would be bad taste to run while tying to launch a site.
Since then, the topic at hand has only exploded. We've lost prominent critical and coverage from Fanbyte, Launcher, and most recently (barring more catastrophe) Waypoint. That's to say nothing of layoffs industry-wide that have sent even more writers back into the freelance pool with fewer places to pitch than ever. That alone is a catastrophic loss - even with their best efforts, Polygon, GameSpot, and Kotaku can't possibly handle an entire freelancing industry alone. There will be, almost certainly, interesting and unique stories and critique that will die without an outlet.
That's to say nothing of IGN, arguably gaming's largest outlet. In spite of plenty of good reporting and crit, during the review period of the wizard game this year the outlet made it clear that from an editorial perspective they're primarily concerned about games-as-product, quantifiable by a number out of ten. If the actual wizard game review they ran is any indication, at this point the words around that number don't even matter now. Any of the excellent crit, much less reporting, feels like it snuck out of there.
I could spend furious line after line raging at the root causes of these losses, but we all know why. Vice, just like all these other corporate overlords, mismanaged their business and are incapable of taking responsibility for it. Instead, these roaches will spend the next year and a half cannibalizing the left over resources to try to let generative text tools reproduce the hard work so many had put in to build these platforms. All of this while video games go on to be directly adapted into film and television and gamers once again become easy activations for the alt-right.
Originally, this is where I wanted to pivot course to talk about where I see hope for games media. There have been incredible independent writers and outlets springing up in the past decade and they deserve support. Yet, in the time between drafts (haha get it) I've seen the toll the current environment has taken on these folks as well. Some have had to reduce their output, take a break entirely, and none of which have operating budgets to support a mass of voices running out of platforms. The general malaise is not hard to pick up on. When you have the EIC of an up and coming crit site mulling over hearing games media at the same time veteran critics and reporters are, all on the collapsing social media site that was the only chance any of us had to be seen, shit sure feels fucked.
But the work done by these shuttered platforms has borne fruit, and that's enough reason for those who can to continue. Gaming has arguably never been all that inviting but compared to ten years ago the kinds of characters and stories being told have expanded; and that can be attributed in part to critics and reporters who dared ask this medium why it was the way it was. Conversations about labor rights in the industry are now regular, but those conversations were spearheaded by those bold enough to tell the harrowing stories at the risk of loss of access.
Even without the industry being dragged into a new age, there is an inherent value in critique. While there are still a continent of gamers (and at least one publication) who only see games as a fleeting hit of entertainment, I truly believe a majority of people can now appreciate what they're playing. Some of that is owed to a maturing audience, but a lot is owed to maturing criticism. We've come a long way from the old gaming magazine days that prioritized just the data - to the point where literally a day before word of their shutdown, Waypoint's Patrick Klepek published a case for pre-release reviews no longer meaning much of anything now. It's a bold example, but even five years ago would seem unfathomable to question such things.
What the future of this field looks like is beyond my usual prediction ability. There's been suggestions of something like a "Defector for games," which is a nice idea but I'm skeptical. Defector was the end result of a very public fallout with a corporate entity that sent waves beyond Deadspin's normal bubble. Much as I hate it, no gaming outlet closure has had the same levels of response. If any group was going to be that, it probably would be Waypoint. Maybe it will, but one also has to remember that games media does have Defector adjacent outlets already: Kinda Funny, Easy Allies. People Make Games, and more. Do we all just make Substacks like this? I guess that's an option, but the guy running this place doesn't inspire confidence.
For now, the best option still seems to be supporting what you can-from the remaining major outlets to the burnt-out part timers. I know that's going to be harder as more critics and reporters are scattered to the winds, but there was a time where we didnt have to go on Twitter to then link to other websites and we can do it again. Circulate the tapes in your Discord groups, drop change in the tip jars and subscriptions (as you're able) and do not let your interest in a game waver after two weeks. Consider reading material about a game you didn’t know you wanted to play, too.
It feels like everything is on life support, I know. But life support is still support. I know that I'll still be here, shouting into the void until I run out of words. There's been too much critique by those better than me and have inspired me. I can’t quit trying to be half as good as any of that now. I hope that those better writers are able to stick around too. If only out of spite.
Speaking of:
Instead of calling out specific articles, here are some great sources of writing on games that I personally find enriching and wholeheartedly ask you consider supporting where able:
No Escape, words about games in our modern age. Disclosure, every interaction I’ve had with Kaile have been extremely validating for my own place in this space, and I’m grateful for that.
Into the Spine, currently focused on short pieces about what games make us feel.
Uppercut, criticism in the spaces we don’t see from major outlets. Disclosure, I have had a byline here.
Use A Potion, more traditional feeling but independent of corporate media.
People Make Games, critical reporting on the labor behind the games we play.
Imran Khan has taken to self-publishing on his Patreon, with a free weekly newsletter and paid content leveraging his knowledge and contacts as an editor at two major outlets.
Video Games are Good, reviews focused on creating more healthy discourse.
The Fandomentals, a culture site with multiple focuses. Their gaming coverage also has a strong TTRPG focus, which I appreciate greatly.
And finally, a reminder that a majority of the work I do now is at InBetweenDrafts, for games and beyond.