Why would someone assign me work on the day the Pokopia DLC is out? Rude.
Sarah LeBoeuf
@sarahthebeef.bsky.social
I write about video games and other things. Seen @ IGN, Polygon, Ars Technica, NBC News, & more. Ask me about my cats.
Proud to be part of two studios on this list! @causewaystudios.com is announcing its next game as part of PAX Rising (see you in September!). @strangescaffold.bsky.social just released Truck-kun is Supporting me From Another World?! today! Both studios flat out refuse to use AI.
Aftermath@aftermath.site · last wk.All the video game studios that refuse to use generative AI aftermath.site/video-games-no...
This was my first E3, what a nostalgia blast! What I remember most about that show was sneaking off to play Beatles Rock Band again anytime I had a moment to spare. Ended up making some friends at Harmonix and got super lost (without a smartphone) trying to find the Harmonix party!
Video Game History Foundation@gamehistoryorg.bsky.social · 2w agoThe Carolyn Rauch event ephemera collection also has photos of E3... including this gallery of 1600+ publicity photos from E3 2009. (Yes, really. 1600 photos.) archive.gamehistory.org/item/bcd920e...
Having just wrapped two mock reviews, I have upcoming availability in my schedule! If you need written words -- or you already have the words and need a proof pass -- I can help! I'm currently taking content marketing and game consulting clients. Let's talk. sarahthebeef.com
Sarah LeBoeuf
Writer・Editor・Storyteller
sarahthebeef.com
Oh shiiiiii this is gonna be good
Virtual Economy Podcast@virtualeconcast.com · 3w agoAn Industry in Peril with Mat Piscatella: With the video game industry’s infrastructure being torn down, we invited Circana Executive Dir. & Video Game Industry Advisor @matpiscatella.bsky.social to discuss the state of our medium and where we go from here. virtualeconcast.com/podcast/epis...
So at this point are we willing to acknowledge that Philadelphia was right to beat the hell out of that robot
If I were Xbox, here's how I'd make sure we released more good games more quickly: STOP FIRING THE FUCKING PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE GAMES
At this point I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Asha Sharma is actually an AI-powered robot. Absorb pain! Fire everyone! Do AI! Like, what the actual fuck is she about?
Aftermath@aftermath.site · 4w agoAsha Sharma assigned to Federal Reserve's "productivity and jobs" task force the same week she oversaw 1,600 layoffs (with another 1,600 to come) aftermath.site/xbox-asha-shar...
Here's the very very smart @duckvalentine.bsky.social explaining why 1 billion DAUs is an absurd goal from Xbox. Part of the reason we're in this spot is because executives spent years creating wildly unrealistic goals for its developers and setting them up for failure. How is this any different?
Xbox Wants To 'Entertain More Than A Billion People' Daily
One-eighth of the earth's population isn't so many, right?
kotaku.com
Hey real quick how many creative jobs could $100M save
Robert Reich@rbreich.bsky.social · last mo.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.
Game executives during the pandemic: Look at the money go brrrr!!!! Infinite growth forever!!! This will never stop!!!! Game executives today: Well, it turned out that was wrong. Whoops. We've learned our lesson. Anyway we're aiming for one billion players a day
“Listen, we need to be realistic here. We have to cut 5,000 people because it’s just reality. Also we want a billion users a day”
The loss of institutional knowledge and expertise will be immense. Expect established franchises to be farmed out to smaller studios with varying degrees of operational maturity and quality with the underlying conceit of cashing in on nostalgia.
I knew this week was going to be full of bad news but goddamn
I missed this yesterday, but here's an incredibly insightful piece from the brilliant @bryantfrancis.me that everyone who cares about video games and hates the current state of the industry should read. www.gamedeveloper.com/business/opi...
Opinion: Everything hurts and no one knows when the pain will end
As mass layoffs continue in the game industry, developers must reckon with how to handle the uncertainty and pain of the moment.
gamedeveloper.com
Note to video game execs: Any fourth-grader with a loose grasp on math could figure out that fewer salaries = more monies in the immediate term, so what is your actual job? What justifies your overblown salaries? Why couldn't we just get rid of you and keep the actual creators?
Can’t wait till they resolve the episode 3 cliffhanger and we find out whether the protagonist gets a job at the meat bowl joint or 7-11
Kotaku@kotaku.com · last mo.Netflix Reportedly Making Live-Action Persona Series Nobody Asked For With Deadpool Director And Star Trek Picard Writer
Grand Moff Tarkin releasing a press release: “Today we are sharing the painful news that we have made the difficult decision to blow up Alderaan.”
“Painful news” “Difficult decisions” “Hard choices” Give me a fucking break. You chose the path of least resistance to make the numbers go up for a little bit. A difficult decision would be choosing to reduce your own compensation when your terrible mismanagement is what caused these HaRd ChOiCeS
This father's day I'd like to relay the story of how my brothers and I talked my dad into buying us DOOM.
Hey Hollywood, have @carlivelocci.com, @ashleyesqueda.com, and I got the pitch for you!
Sarah LeBoeuf@sarahthebeef.bsky.social · 2mo agoThis guy's dead wife... THE MOVIE.
I want to say something clever and pithy about Xbox but I'm so damn angry that nothing's coming out. This is pure greed and just as short-sighted as every other mistake the company has made to get to this point.
Normally, I ride the high of events like Summer Game Fest for weeks. But today, it’s hard to feel anything but despair for what corporate mismanagement and greed is doing to decimate the games industry. Xbox, Ubisoft, and IGN are the latest to showcase that this industry is in a dire, dire place.
Now that most of the games I saw at SGF have been freed from their embargoes, here's a short thread on some of my favorites!You can hear more on @maximumhearts.bsky.social tonight if @magitekdad.bsky.social ever stops talking about the Nintendo Direct
Not for nothing but laying off your team RIGHT AFTER their biggest networking opportunity of the year is an extra-special dick move