Can't imagine why all the advertisers are pulling out of Twitter lmao
Follow
Jason Schreier
@jasonschreier
Reporter at Bloomberg | co-host of | New York Times bestselling author of Press Reset + Blood, Sweat, and Pixels + ? | jschreier@gmail | he/him
Jason Schreier’s Tweets
Not that there was much doubt, but I’ve confirmed with Rockstar sources that this weekend’s massive Grand Theft Auto VI leak is indeed real. The footage is early and unfinished, of course. This is one of the biggest leaks in video game history and a nightmare for Rockstar Games
Scrambling to find childcare because my capricious manchild of a new boss just declared that I’ll lose my job if I don’t come into the office tomorrow after years of remote work… le epic
Just spoke to the guy who interrupted The Game Awards. He says his name is Matan and that he's 15 years old. Some thought his speech was an antisemitic dogwhistle, but he is almost certainly a Jewish prankster. He understood a question I asked in Hebrew (then pretended he didn't)
Fun fact: Video game production cycles have gotten so long that if a big-budget game studio started working on a brand new project today, it would likely be for the PlayStation 6
What video game executives will learn from Tears of the Kingdom:
- Games all need crafting now
What they should learn from Tears of the Kingdom:
- Retaining your staff is vital
- The graphical fidelity arms race is a waste of money
- Games all need rockets now
Omicron presents a tremendous challenge: do you go out and risk getting covid or stay on the internet and risk hearing people talk about NFTs
Powerful, unifying words from the 45th president to his country as we elect the 46th
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has filed an explosive lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for discrimination. Some of the details in the complaint are horrifying news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-re
It's now official: testers at Activision-owned Raven Software have voted to form the U.S. video game industry's first major union. There were 19 votes for and 3 votes against
Former Bayonetta actress Hellena Taylor, who asked fans to boycott Bayonetta 3 in a video that was later proven to be misleading, has posted a list of charities to which she would like fans to instead donate. The list includes a Kentucky group that runs anti-abortion billboards:
Quote Tweet
Replying to @hellenataylor
@PetsforVets @LAMDAdrama (Student Pizza Fund)
@DogsTrust MissionariesOfCharity.org (Your local branch) @TeamRubicon @BB4LifeKY @TheHALOTrust @StMonica90403 (Brother Andre Medical Centre, Dandora, Kenya,) @KCFoundationUK @acn_uk westminstercathedral.org.uk
I knew Cyberpunk 2077 was going to be glitchy but I did not expect my entire game to be covered with tiny trees
Former Bayonetta voice actor Hellena Taylor now confirms my reporting that she was offered at least $15,000 and that the final offer was for a cameo, despite the claims in a video that went viral last week:
NEWS: Spider-Man Miles Morales is *not* an expansion or enhancement or remaster, despite a Sony executive's comments this morning, a source tells Bloomberg News. Nor is it Spider-Man 2. It is a brand-new, standalone game similar in scope to Uncharted Lost Legacy.
NEW: Activision Blizzard just told staff that all of its 1,100 quality assurance testers will be 1) converted from contract to full-time and 2) bumped up to at least $20/hour. A big win for QA in the wake of several worker revolts and a burgeoning union effort. Story soon
BREAKING: Microsoft is planning to buy Zenimax/Bethesda, an industry-shaking acquisition that will give Xbox ownership of Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Wolfenstein, Dishonored, and more. Story hitting Bloomberg shortly
If you're gonna go to jail for storming The Game Awards you should at least say something cool, like "where's Silksong"
Quote Tweet
The individual who interrupted our Game of the Year moment has been arrested.
BREAKING: Activision Blizzard employees say they're launching a walkout today in the wake of the Wall Street Journal article detailing CEO Bobby Kotick's knowledge of sexual misconduct and harassment at the company. They're demanding that Kotick be replaced
BREAKING: Sony is buying Bungie, the maker of Destiny — another seismic gaming deal that comes just two weeks after Microsoft purchased Activision Blizzard.
Bungie put Xbox on the map. Now it's part of PlayStation Studios. Filed to Bloomberg Terminal, hitting web soon
The greatest story ever told in video games is the message in Elden Ring saying "hidden path ahead" and then the message behind it saying "liar ahead"
Quote Tweet
BREAKING: Testers at Raven Software, a division of Activision, say they've formed a union and are asking for voluntary recognition. The 34-person unit is the first-ever union in the big-budget video game industry. Filed to Bloomberg Terminal, story coming shortly.
“Speaking of Final Fantasy…” *crowd cheers* “… Doordash has your back” was definitely an all-time Keighley press conference moment
Very silly that Hollywood thinks it can outlast a Writers Guild strike when Zelda comes out next week
"...employees are required to take at least 20 days off per year."
"We try to look out for each other and say, ‘Hey, is this too much?'"
"...if your milestone schedule involves crunching every milestone, your whole production process is broken."
It’s incredible how quickly (and unnecessarily) he’s gone from some rich weirdo to one of the most hated people on the planet
Nintendo really came out with Breath of the Wild, one of the best games ever made, and then said "Nah you fuckers ain't seen nothing yet"
Cannot wait to play Square Enix's Splatoon on my Sony Wii U
BREAKING: Xbox boss Phil Spencer has joined the chorus of industry professionals criticizing Activision Blizzard, telling staff in an email obtained by Bloomberg that Xbox is "evaluating all aspects of our relationship" with the embattled publisher
What went wrong with Cyberpunk 2077? Interviews with more than 20 current and former CD Projekt staff paint a complex picture. Unchecked ambition, technical woes, unrealistic deadlines, and above all, one belief: "We made The Witcher 3 -- it'll work out."
Holy shit - Cyberpunk 2077 on PS4 is so busted that Sony is offering full refunds and even removing it from the PlayStation Store (!!) playstation.com/en-us/cyberpun
So last week I had a baby. She’s only three days old and she’s not very good at Bloodborne yet but I’ve grown quite fond of her
Time for some news that is going to make BioWare fans really happy.
Following the success of Jedi Fallen Order and the failure of Anthem, EA has allowed BioWare to make the next Dragon Age a single-player RPG. Previously, it was planned as a service game
So Epic lost on just about every count & will have to pay millions, while Apple now has to let apps use external payment processors, potentially costing them billions.
Big win for everyone who was rooting for both companies to lose
BREAKING: A U.S. Senator is introducing legislation to ban loot boxes and pay-to-win microtransations in "games played by minors." It begins.
BREAKING: The WSJ reports that Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard, the troubled publisher behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, which has been facing crisis over the last year following numerous reports of sexual misconduct and discrimination. A seismic gaming deal
Last year, the bosses of CD Projekt Red approached me for an interview. They wanted to announce that for Cyberpunk 2077, they would be avoiding mandatory crunch.
This week, they sent out an email to staff announcing studio-wide mandatory crunch. News:
BREAKING: Activision Blizzard employees will strike tomorrow outside Blizzard's campus to protest the company's responses to the discrimination lawsuit and to demand more equitable treatment for staff
We at The Game Awards take a strong stance against harassment of any kind. Now here’s a new game from Quantic Dream
This, from a studio head, is crunch culture defined. Of course nobody is “forced” to work insane hours. But imagine the reduced bonuses and lack of promotion opportunities if you don’t? “You do it because you love it.” Weaponized passion. This is why people burn out of gaming
Hello! Elden Ring is one of the best games I've ever played. It mixes the blissful wonder of Breath of the Wild with the intricate design of Dark Souls. It's more accessible than previous From Software games, yet just as tense, punishing, and weird. A tremendous achievement.
NEWS: During an internal Q&A with CD Projekt management on Thursday, frustrated Cyberpunk developers asked blunt questions about the game's rocky launch.
One asked: How could they make a game about exploitative corporations while forcing devs to crunch?
Tech companies are all just trying to do what the video game industry mastered decades ago.
Facebook: virtual worlds
Netflix: licensed games
Twitter: forcing employees to work 16 hours a day
Replying to
Unverified: Actors, politicians, news organizations
Verified: 4,000 guys with profiles saying "father, founder, web3 advocate" and "hands off my guns"
Replying to
You have to wonder: How many programmers/testers/other devs at CD Projekt Red tried to raise the alarm that the game was just not ready, only to be rebuffed or ignored by the studio's management?
Replying to
Hey man like I said, I'd be happy to chat any time - if it makes you feel more comfortable I can Skype from the bathroom
Holy shit - video game retailer GameStop just sent a memo to all of its staff telling them to keep their stores open even during state lockdowns, and to tell law enforcers that it's OK because they're "essential retail"
Some news: After eight years and some change, I am leaving Kotaku. I'm taking a few weeks off to finish up my book and hang out with my daughter, then starting a new job reporting on video games at another outlet. I wrote one last thing to say goodbye:
PlayStation boss Jim Ryan sent an email today asking his staff to "respect differences of opinion" on abortion rights. Then he wrote five paragraphs about his two cats' birthdays, their habits, and his desire to get a dog.
People are... not thrilled!
Alright, I think it's been long enough: it's time for another remake of The Last of Us
You know it's a healthy democracy when one candidate is beating the other by 2.6 million votes but nobody knows who's going to win because a pipe burst in Georgia and a Wisconsin printer ran out of ink
What went wrong with Anthem? This is the story, based on interviews with 19 people who worked on or close to the game, of why BioWare's loot shooter was such a mess. It's also a story about a legendary RPG studio facing a burnout crisis. My latest:
TODAY IS SUKKOT
Quote Tweet
Rosh Hashana: Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies
Yom Kippur: NYT publishes Trump's tax returns
Sukkot is gonna be wild
Fallout 76's new premium subscription ($12.99/month) costs more than Xbox Game Pass ($9.99/month), on which you can get Fallout New Vegas and The Outer Worlds🤔
Rockstar Games has spent the last four years overhauling its culture and working to become a kinder, more progressive company. But what does that actually look like? And what does it mean for the company's next game, Grand Theft Auto VI? My latest feature:
Cyberpunk 2077 getting a three-week delay is unusual but probably won't change much for the developers, many of whom were going to be crunching into December anyway for a post-launch patch. But I sure do hope reality is becoming clearer to those who tried to deny it.
Replying to
I cannot imagine a more hellish dystopia
Replying to
Some fun facts:
- This is 3x what Microsoft paid for Minecraft/Mojang
- Bethesda and Obsidian are now sister studios. Fallout New Vegas 2 is now actually a possibility
- Microsoft is now releasing two timed PS5 exclusives lol
Activision exec Brian Bulatao, who previously worked for the Trump administration, sent an email to staff this morning saying to "consider the consequences of your signature" on union cards.
Safe to say Activision management is nervous about the burgeoning labor movement
BREAKING: Tripwire Interactive CEO John Gibson is stepping down following severe backlash against his tweet supporting the Texas law that bans abortion after six weeks and deputizes private citizens to sue anyone who aids in the procedure, the company says
OK, time for some good news: Sony's PS4 exclusive Horizon: Zero Dawn is coming to PC this year, sources tell Kotaku. It's an unprecedented move that may help usher in a platform-agnostic future.
Can't believe dunkey started a video game publisher with no experience instead of taking the normal approach: getting a Harvard MBA, working at McKinsey for five years, and then failing upward between C-suites for the rest of your life
Some sentiments I’ve heard from Activision Blizzard employees today:
- Optimism about management changes and the positive culture at several Xbox-owned studios
- Fury toward Microsoft for giving Bobby Kotick a big payday and soft exit
- Determination to keep organizing
Troy Baker is trending for shilling NFTs which is a good excuse to remember one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen on Twitter
BREAKING: Blizzard president J. Allen Brack is leaving the company, Activision Blizzard just told staff. Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra will take over as "co-leaders of Blizzard."
Filed to Bloomberg Terminal, story will be live shortly
This viral Twitter thread about business hustle of course neglects to mention that Eric was supported financially by his girlfriend, Amber Hageman, for all five years of Stardew Valley's development. I think I saw that in some book
Quote Tweet
Eric Barone has made $300M+ (yes, that's not a typo) in revenue in 6 years with 0 employees.
He developed a game that has sold 20M copies to date.
At this rate, he can easily become the first one-person founder to do 1B+ in sales.
Here's how he did it:
Last weekend, Bayonetta's former voice actor called for fans to boycott the new game, saying she was offered just $4,000 to work on it. Her Twitter videos went viral and stoked a debate over voice actor wages. But the full story is much more complicated...
All jokes aside congratulations to Jeff Bezos on successfully launching a rocket before successfully launching a video game
A good look at what corporations really are
Replying to
To those who asked: There are several reasons this is a nightmare for Rockstar. One is that it'll disrupt work for a while. Another is that it may lead management to limit work-from-home flexibility. The repercussions of this leak might not be clear for quite a while
While monopolies are undoubtedly bad news for the video game industry, this acquisition could have some positive effects on Blizzard both culturally and strategically. Under Activision, every game had to be a billion-dollar franchise. Under Xbox, that will likely change
SCOOP: Sony is planning a new subscription service, code-named Spartacus, to take on Xbox Game Pass. It's being pitched as a three-tier service that will merge PlayStation Now with PlayStation Plus. Highest tier could include PS1/PS2/PSP games
In case you missed it, in the last ten minutes Cyberpunk 2077 DLC was delayed, James Harden was traded to the Nets, and the President of the United States was impeached
Ubisoft is such a bizarre company. During the same week that they shut down Hyper Scape, their failed attempt to chase a buzzy new trend, they defend the plan to sell NFTs
I can confirm this is true, and that it's hilarious. The first one was "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" so obviously the fourth one is "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare." Video games are absurd twitter.com/LongSensationY
This Tweet is unavailable.
I like it when video game marketers call their studios "AAAA" instead of "AAA" because it unwittingly exposes the reality that big-budget game development is just one gradually advancing scream
If my kid was a bit older I'd be playing the hell out of the PS5 with her - between Sackboy, Astro's Playroom, and Bugsnax, there's a ton of good child-friendly stuff on this thing. Sadly she is almost 14 months now and still can't even finish Bloodborne
BREAKING: Blizzard staff are compiling a list of workplace requests for management including equal pay, fair promotions, and living wages for QA. The US games industry has no unions -- this is one of the largest collective labor actions in games to date
Just saw Star Wars - definitely an odd creative choice to have the main characters spend 45 minutes talking about how they love Reddit and hate The Last Jedi
It's disappointing but not entirely surprising to be accused of having an "agenda" by influencers who get free chairs from the companies involved.
My agenda is to report on the video game industry as fairly and honestly as I can. And to not take swag from the companies I cover.
Got a bunch of texts from an AAA game developer in Seattle saying it's so hot that nobody can get any work done.
Gamers, I hope you're hearing this. Climate change is preventing games from being made
November 2, 2011: Grand Theft Auto V trailer
September 9, 2021: Grand Theft Auto V trailer
I've had a Nintendo Switch since it launched in 2017. Last night my FOURTH left JoyCon started drifting. Love this console but my god what a pain in the ass
Replying to
Look, a CDPR dev told me recently that they'd just clocked a 100-hour week. Another (former) dev just told me they saw some of their friends there and they looked "physically ill." So kindly gtfo with the "but but but I work long hours too" responses
Stoked to announce that in mid-May I'll be joining the talented, formidable tech team at Bloomberg News, where I'll be reporting on the weird, wild world of video games -- business, culture, labor, delays, and lots more!!!
NEW: Nearly 1,000 current/former Activision Blizzard employees have signed an open letter calling the company’s response to the discrimination lawsuit “abhorrent and insulting."
"We will not be silenced, we will not stand aside, and we will not give up"
Imagine working so many hours that in June your studio head sent out an email apologizing to everyone’s spouses/partners because it “often means [the devs] cannot participate on the home front” and then seeing quotes like this from an executive who owns $70 million in stock
I’ve been on paternity leave for less than a week and already we’ve seen Breath of the Wild 2 get a name, Toby Ziegler scream at Kratos, Suikoden return for the first time in ten years, and now the biggest leak in Rockstar’s history
I know it's fun to make jokes about Stadia imploding and yes a lot of people predicted that this sort of thing was going to happen but it's hard not to be infuriated at Google hiring 150+ game developers only to throw them all away a year later like old Google Glasses
NEWS: Blizzard staff put together an anonymous spreadsheet Friday to compare salaries and pay raises as part of an open revolt against low compensation. While CEO Bobby Kotick makes $40m/year, some Blizzard employees say they can't even make ends meet. bloomberg.com/news/articles/
Ah so this is why Elden Ring is actually coming out
NEWS: Gearbox, developer of Borderlands, pays below-market wages. To make up for that, the studio offers profit-sharing and promised staff five- and six-figure bonuses for BL3.
Until yesterday, when CEO Randy Pitchford told staff that wasn't happening:
After a week of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom I have no idea how they pulled it off. It's Surprise and Delight: the video game — the perfect playground for both explorers and tinkerers. A mind-boggling accomplishment. Except when it rains and you slip climbing. That's some bullshit
